Re: Thoughts on ethnic music after reading certain recent posts

[Alex J. Lubet <lubet001...>]

I'm not really sure what is meant by honesty in this context.  Much of the
music we seem to be thinking of as honest is often learned from 'fake
books'.  These days an awful lot of 'ethnic' music is performed by people
whose life circumstances are extremely different from the 'folks' to whom it
may be traced; that certainly includes younger generations of American
Jews.  But, as the neo-existentialist philosopher Jerry Seinfeld said, 'Not
that there's anything wrong with that.'

A lot of the music we seem not to be talking about--that folks on the list
don't value, at least for the reasons they value ethnic music--is laden with
gestures that have come to be identified with affectation and
ostentatiousness.  Some of these have to do with one kind of musical
'polish'.  Its opposite is what ethnomusicologist Charles Keil calls
'participatory discrepancies', which, in lesds affected and ostentatious
terms that Keil also uses, are what make music 'hot' or, broadly understood,
'swinging'.  If you can handle the academic language, his writings are worth
checking out and he's a very nice guy to boot.

Shalom,



elliott_simon (at) dca(dot)net wrote:

> > Do you mean authencity?
> >
>
> Yes "authentic" probably captures it....whatever "it" is  better than
> honesty....but there is that authentic v. contrived dimension that
> applies and relates to honesty...i am talking about the music and not
> the performance itself....there can of course be contrived performances
> of authentic ethnic music....but somehow, some musicians are able to
> tap into that authenticity and express it....and it is that aspect that
> I might be finding so universally "ethnic"....elliott
>

--
Alex Lubet, Ph. D.
Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music and Jewish Studies
Adjunct Professor of American Studies
University of Minnesota
2106 4th St. S
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612 624-7840 612 624-8001 (fax)


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