Yes that's quite interesting, comparing him to Pine. I don't really know what you mean by "bring jazz back to black Americans", and myself find all the so called politics associated with notions like that rather uninteresting and retrogressive, cementing and solidfying attitudes we should transcend and largely have.

One thing about Pine though, radically different to WM, is how me mixes up with hip-hop, funk, what not; last time I looked at his web site he was calling himself "Nu Jazz Swing" which I find whimsical, shall we say, to put it mildly.

I guess you can say WM is ossified etc etc, and people certainly do. But there's no substance to that; its just a matter of opinion and others disagree.

While dynamic change was certainly a big driver for previous jazz - without which there would be no be bop for example which is my favourite - there is no reason to extend that indefinitely with the notion that jazz must change and always will change. There just isn't; there is no text book saying that's how it is.

I'm not really interested in being for or against along any formualic lines; I agree in part with WM simply because I think the bulk of jazz achievement is in the past. There is nothing remotely like 52nd Street or Minton's Playhouse nor, IMO, with the achievements of Monk, Powell, Coltrane, Brubeck, Baker, Davis etc. OTOH, there is some interesting new stuff the existence of which contradicts the WM project - but not much of it, I think.


(Edit: oh yeah, and I don't think WM represents so called black politics in the sense in which that is tribal and adverserial. He runs multicultural educational programmes and is outspoken in his condemnation of the belligerent attitudes in hip hop, which is basically black ghetto music, and offers jazz as a culture of mutual co-operation. I suspect this is partly why he's attracted massive funding, because he's doing something socially positive).

Well I've not heard much of his stuff, Royal K, so I can't comment specifically except for a few discs which were as various as Camden, Brixton, Westminster and Pimlico.

Some of it sucked, but some of it was decidedly OK. Indeed, one of the targets of the BBC Bored, "Fishwife" JLU Claire Martin, played a track from Plantation to Penitentiary coupla weeks ago, and ol' greenfox parked up his Toyota for the purpose of enjoying some stationary sounds, smitten with its lovely vibes. I didn't know it was home-boy Wynton until I was told, and in the words of some fella who I forget whom it was, frankly m'dear I don't give a damn.

It was a lovely jass sound.
As for goddamn c/rap......no comment.