Yea I agree. There is definitely a vibrant hiphop scene where I live, (and so does many other Asian countries).. and in some ways I can relate to the youthfulness and the energy of that scene more so than doing jazz gigs at lounge bar, art houses and universities. I enjoy the raw energy that the band and the audience creates, which I haven't experienced in jazz gigs here.

I'd go with it! You are going to be good at what you like. If that is the good scene where you are just go with it. That's what I'd do. The idea is to express yourself, say what's inside you. You found a fine niche. Work within it. Report back and fill us in on your adventures.

Ha. I remember having an older lady whisper "Can you play stardust?" in my ear as I was playing a solo gig in a bar long ago... made me quit those gigs for awhile.

Music/Boring - here's an interesting quote from Billy Joel about that: He said that recently he was playing a concert and in the middle of one of his tunes his mind was drifting off to the BBQ he was planning for friends. "At that point, I knew I was done". Since then, I've seen him reinvent himself and come back to play, so maybe he's doing exactly what DaveRobertsJazz was saying "mix it up and challenge yourself to keep the music fresh."

Could be worse ! Stardust is a pretty good song and you can challenge yourself by playing it in a different key every time.

If the lady had requested something like My Way ... then you could complain !

True. I guess I was overcome with the smoke and vodka breath. But since that time I have discovered Stardust... love to hear Nat sing it! Favorite moment is when he sings the phrase "...spend the lonely night.." what a super fat chord.

exactly right, you can masturbate at home not at stage.

What does the above post have to do with musical "masturbation"?
Even the most honest and thoughtful jazz quite often goes unacknowledged. If you want to talk about masturbation, look no further than the majority of ego driven garbage you see on MTV.

not with above post but with jazz pseudo improvisations which are very common recently. Believe me if it was any good it would be acknowledged.



that's arguable but at least they have an audience...

I've been really stuggling lately with my cyclic enthusiasm for jazz - I'll hear Hiromi playing something from the Stratosphere and I'll head off to my Yamaha for a couple days till the fingers bleed. But then I venture out into my city... there's not much music happening and I totally get down about it. Gosh I sound like a drama queen, but it bugs me. Maybe it's cyclic? Maybe music and culture will rebound? Yes please.