I find it a great tragedy that in three or four generations, black Americans have gone from producing jazz and blues to hip hop. I know that back in the day, a lot of jazz and blues musicians found themselves in trouble with the law for drugs, assault, and even murder, but they were still producing incredibly cerebral music. People talk about the wittiness of rap lyrics, but musically, it's for a three year old, especially in light of what came before it.
Recently, I've been watching quite a few Wynton Marsalis and Trombone Shorty videos on Youtube. Both are immensely talented musicians, surrounded by other immensely talented musicians. Yet their audiences always seem to be overwhelmingly white. I'm curious to what extent blacks listen to their music in places such as New Orleans. Obviously some do or that city wouldn't continue to produce newer generations of musicians, yet I wonder how many blacks are into such music even in that city. I suspect that people like Wynton Marsalis and Trombone Shorty are even better known in Europe than amongst black Americans. Something is surely wrong with that.
Recently, I've been watching quite a few Wynton Marsalis and Trombone Shorty videos on Youtube. Both are immensely talented musicians, surrounded by other immensely talented musicians. Yet their audiences always seem to be overwhelmingly white. I'm curious to what extent blacks listen to their music in places such as New Orleans. Obviously some do or that city wouldn't continue to produce newer generations of musicians, yet I wonder how many blacks are into such music even in that city. I suspect that people like Wynton Marsalis and Trombone Shorty are even better known in Europe than amongst black Americans. Something is surely wrong with that.