15 Comments

You and my wife would get along, Ramona. She means “painful jazz” more as a metaphor (mostly) but she embraces the concept fully.

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Yeah! I KNEW I wasn't alone!

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Deb wouldn’t even see the Pixar movie “Soul” (great movie, btw; you’d hate it) because of the subject matter — all that jazz.

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I passed it up, too. Along with LaLa Land, once I heard about the jazz. I just can't...

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"New Age" jazz my hubby loved, and I could tolerate some fit, but generally not a fan of the "real" jazz, just like "real" country.....

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PS - love the title....

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Thanks, Linda. I tried to find a way to email you. Wanted to tell you I loved 'A Gentleman in Moscow'. Not sure I fully understood the ending, but it was a total delight! Thanks so much for recommending it.

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I'm not a huge fan of jazz either. But Dave Brubeck? You might consider giving his music another listen. My music of choice is obvious to those who know me and read my books...classical all the way. With some good musical theater music thrown in (I prefer musical dramas such as "Carousel" and "Ragtime.") But I have a good friend, a first rate musician and exceptional choral director, who taught in a high school where I directed shows, whose first choice is jazz. Rock/metal/etc. I steer clear of, but even my operatic tenor husband liked Brubeck and appreciated a good jazz pianist. I most likely wouldn't have lasted five minutes at that party you described. I heard someone say once "There are two kinds of music--good music and bad music." Definitely true of jazz. Also true of classical music, imho. I also sigh with appreciation when I'm put on hold and hear something that at least approximates classical music. Sometimes we luck out. (P.S. When I listen to music all by myself...I don't even consider jazz. Rachmaninoff, Puccini, Ravel...)

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My thing was classical music, even in high school. I sang soprano and thought I might have a career as a singer, but I had terrible stage fright whenever I had to sing solo, and that killed it.

I, too, loved stage tunes, Rachmaninoff, Puccini, etc. 'Carousel' the movie came out when I was 18 and I remember calling in sick, playing hooky from work and going to one of the big, gorgeous theaters in Detroit all by myself to see it. I loved all of Rogers and Hammerstein's musicals.

I like the chorus of Brubeck's 'Take Five', but when he goes off into the discordant riffs I'm done. I've tried over the years, but I'm drawn to melody.

'Swing' is melody, but most real jazz isn't.

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I am shocked and dismayed! Appalled! Flabbergasted!

I actually really like jazz. Sure, there’s a lot of it I don’t like, as with any genre, but it warms my cockles. I have a draft about jazz for a future newsletter. I will link this post. 😂

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I'm disheartened and disappointed! And flabbergasted! It warms your cockles? You need to have a talk with your cockles.

I thought I'd laid out a pretty good case. Always a few holdouts. I'll have to try harder next time. 🙄

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There’s good jazz. I could introduce you. C’mon… just two bars.

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LOL. Been there, done that. I should have made clear I'm mainly talking about dissonant, 'just throw some harsh notes out there' jazz. I like Dixieland and some New Age Jazz, just not the stuff that claims to be music but fights a raging battle against melody.

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We don’t like it either, Mona! It could be why our marriage has lasted over 50 years! 😉🤣

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LOL. Ours, too! Politics and music--they have to be compatible!

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