Branford Marsalis' take on students today

A great clip taken from the documentary
"Before the Music Dies."

You can purchase it @ http://www.beforethemusicdies.com/

Category:

Education

Tags:

• brandord
• marsalis
• jazz
• music
• education
• before
• the
• dies
• performing
• arts

[giovannibulgari]

Open your eyes people! The Marsalis are a family of musicians, who have all worked their arses off and who play for musicians above all.

On Youtube how much rubbish gets incredible views? (i.e. autumn leaves on two guitars). How much does complete shit get praised nowadays? Consider in the 19th century amateur-musicians knew how to read, write and compose music. The amateur of today hardly knows how to play. We are slowly degenerating into morons without any sense of direction, even musically.

[Fjord76]

@ImaniHekima yeah, the main thing in my opinion, is that Branford proly doesn't consider himself as a jazzman (hence the ' ' ;) As far as i'm concerned, he's showing the way since the 80's (i'm really aware of who he is since Spike Lee's Mo'BetterBlues) but reading some of the comments on this page leads me to think that most of people don't really know what he's done actually and when they hear soem real talk like here, they're like 'Get off your high horse...' pff ignorance is bliss...

[LOUD7]

That is the truth.Marsalis talking about something that alot musicians dont want to hear.

[VonNashman]

@jakesmithiron Maybe you should read a book on Jazz history then? youtube isn't the gospel on the culture and traditions of this art. Take, as one example, the swingingest most good-time band of all time, Basie's band. You know what happened when a young Charlie Parker sat in at a jam session with Jo Jones, Basie's drummer? Bird's playing was so sad, Jones threw his cymbal at him on the stand, humiliating the teenager in front of his peers and the audience. Too elitist for you?

[psyoptica]

This guy is a douche. What kind of teacher would tell their students they're "full of shit" and "more interested in an image of themselves?" That wouldn't exactly motivate them to practice and get better, now would it? They might even give up. The key is CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. There's a happy medium between kissing someone's ass and tearing them to shreds.

[dlastqueen]

@dreamsofapollo I think he reached the "you and your generation are shit" after so many "you need to earn good chops through practice, etc." Plus, this is a clip of a longer interview, so we don't know what was said before or after.

[dlastqueen]

He is correct. As a middle school teacher in an urban school district, I'm faced with the same problem. Students do not want to work hard for an education. They want the teacher to do all the sacrificing and compromising while they "breeze" on to the next grade without truly learning anything.

[sandrahathorn67]

The youth today think we owe them something, they look for praise and if it is not given, they act like we're wrong and jealous of their talent. Talent is God given, but do they have to act like they are the ones who invited music. Please. My daughter is talented but she will tell you she works hard, she is always studying to get better. These open their mouths and that's it, I can make money and feel there is no work behind it.

[Khalilullah]

This so true...stunningly great to hear this from a professional.

[neverwrest09]

@jakesmithiron You knew Coltrane? wow, that's pretty cool. Could you give me some examples of how he wasn't a snob? How many students he had in comparison with Bradford? Hey remember that time? No, you dont. Maybe, just maybe, the truth is too hard for people to swallow. Obviously Bradford encourages his students, He's Bradford MARSALIS! Yea I've met him a few times, he encouraged me a lot. If people think this is arragant, they're just not thinking on his level.

[dreamsofapollo]

I don't know for sure what to think, I agree with him without a doubt, but I feel like he states his very valid and true opinion in a pretty arrogant way, if we want current a future generations to reach for a higher artistic level we should approach it as a constructive "you need to earn good chops through practice, etc", not "you and your generation are shit"

[TheLogan1156]

@jakesmithiron Did you watch the video? I don't think you did. What he's saying is that people nowadays are so entitled, that we have to cater things to them and inflate their sense of self-worth. Nothing elitist about that.