RE: Enough Already!! . . . "good" avant-garde music

["Liebig, Steuart A." <LiebigSA@Maritz.com>]

> Collins [SMTP:collinsclan@sprintmail.com]
> 
> 
> You've got that one right. The only parts of the US that you can get good
> avant-garde music is NYC. 
> 
        ** i would have to say that this is absolutely untrue. having been
at some really great "avant-garde" musical experiences in both los angeles
and san francisco - - as well as great bands from places like new mexico - 
-
i have to take exception to this comment.

        a friend of mine, who is a very well-known bassist on the nyc
avant-garde scene and does much touring in europe, etc, has given me this
nugget of wisdom (when attempting to lure me to relocate to nyc):

        "geography is perception."

        your comment, IMHO, does nothing but prove his point. in my view,
the unfortunate reality is that there are people all over the states who 
are
doing interesting things who will never get the recognition they deserve.
why? i feel that it is because of the fact that the nyc press is convinced
that what goes on there is the center of the (avant-garde) universe, and
that other people in the press follow suit. (i think that you could look at
people like eric dolphy, ornette coleman, charles mingus, don cherry, etc.
who started there thing in la, but didn't "matter" until they went to nyc.)

        an example: here in la, the press almost never writes about people
unless they come from nyc. all of a sudden they open their eyes and say,
"oh, look what's happening here," and then go back into hybernation when 
the
guys from nyc leave. the same thing happens with people who go to see 
shows,
they neglect their own hometown scene, it dries up and then they wonder why
people from other parts of the country won't come here (and they don't have
place to play).

        there is plenty of good music being made all over the states, the
problem is that people feel that it only comes from nyc, thus creating a
self-fulfilling prophecy. 

        if you want to talk about the dearth of places to see shows, i 
might
be inclined to agree. however, people often say that there's nothing going
on in la, yet there are three or four different series that provide this
kind of music - - not as many as nyc to be sure. if you feel stuck in your
town, i guess you can relocate to nyc, or try to develop your own hometown
scene . . . if you can deal with the frustration.

        to be sure, the states in general are a tough nut to crack. i 
played
with julius hemphill for a number of years. in that time period, we did
three fairly lengthy tours of europe - - and only four nights in the 
states.
for getting gigs in europe, the magic of being from nyc is often still 
quite
necessary.

        you mentioned toronto, i've also heard some great stuff coming out
of montreal on the ambiances magnetiqiue label.

        stig