"Jazzwise, the UK's main jazz magazine, has set up a new jazz blog aimed at providing a chatty news forum and messageboard. Blogging has become a major new phenomenon on the Internet as posting is easy and immediate. Have a look at what we're up to at Jazzwise by going to http://www.jazzwise.blogspot.com."

Right on! This is most excellent to have someone another Jazz lover and publisher start a weblog. And commit to it to, based on the many frequent posts since the blog launched on March 29, 2003. Like this most recent,

"Slightly left field choice from Branford Marsalis for his latest Marsalis Music release. It's by the gloriously named guitarist Doug Wamble and will be produced by Branford. Doug Wamble’s Country Libations features an all-acoustic mix of jazz, delta blues, country and gospel music. Backed by longtime James Blood Ulmer collaborator Charlie Burnham on violin, plus Roy Dunlap on piano, Jeff Hanley on bass, and Peter Miles on drums the disc features nine original songs and instrumentals, plus a cover of Sting’s Walking on the Moon. It's out in June."

Some quick recommendations for Steve. First, come on my Live jazz show this week and let's talk about your blog, why you're doing it, what you see as it's difference from other outlets for Jazz writers, and how you see it changing, specifically to integration with to the Jazzwise Magazine, it's website, and other Jazzwise endeavours. We'll have fun! Second, one thing I noticed is that for all the great information, there aren't many (any?) links to source stories and background information in the posts. That would make it so much more interesting to see if there is more information behind what's being raised to the surface by Stephen. To help us weblog readers and writers explore New angles and ideas from what's being posted. That's a weblog key! Third, there should at least be some linkage from the blog to the Jazzwise site. Just that linkage would get some good exposure on the search engines to the weblog. AllAboutJazz.com mentioned the launch in March. Looks like I've got to get some better News sources!

And if anyone from the blogging community wants to chime in, at least one Jazz Journalist is probing for answers to the Why Blog question,

"what do you see as the advantage of a blog format over, say, this message board? While some blogs in other areas are quite popular (slashdot.org for the tech/freedom elements, kuro5hin.org for more general cultural discussion), there are a great many thousands out there with no traffic except the poster's mother.

We'll be curious to see your success. If you can succeed, the question would be whether we could do something complimentary but different. kuro5hin started as sort of a slashdot clone, in content, but has survived and prospered by positioning itself so as not to compete with the obvious winner in that area. Blogs seem worth doing only to the extent they are best-of-category. Is there stuff you expect yours not to cover that the JJA might be positioned to handle better?"

Stephen answers well, throwing down a blog challenge to the JJA,

"I think the problem with this messageboard is it doesn't get much traffic. Most messageboards on the web relating to jazz don't either (with the exception of a few such as the allaboutjazz facility). Perhaps a blog won't either but at least it can (with one person committed to putting something on it daily) provide a news or reaction service. With the exception of the ejazznews site there isn't a proper jazz news site on the web. Maybe a JJA blog could help remedy this,..."

My take on this is that I don't know if a blog is BETTER than a bulletin board. But I do know a weblog is good. It gives a personal voice, unmuddled by the varying quality level of some discussion groups. It's hard to know the individual when others are talking at the same time. Probably not so much the case on a Journalist discussion board. If one doesn't have a lot to say and a desire to say it frequently, than a commmunity bulletin board is totally the way to go. Post as often as desired and link to the things you are writing. But if one has lots to say that may not rise to the level of full blown articles or publications...OR...BIG OR...a writer wants to share the process of writing full blow articles or publications (or music), then a blog is it. Your personal voice. Not a group voice.

That's about as much as man heading off to Lego-land can say this morning! There are many more strands to this discussion. And many more blogs to bloom. Happy blogging, Jazz Journalists!!
10:38:15 AM    comment []  Google It!  

"Old favorites like Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter and Ahmad Jamal have brought new offerings, as have younger, more irreverent musicians like Matt Wilson and Dave Douglas, to say nothing of a reissue box set to die for, the long out-of-print work of Grachan Moncur III. Is there a “Kind of Blue” in the bunch? Not quite, but 2003 is beginning to look like a vintage year. There’s still more to come..."

There is so much New stuff in, and more importantly BLENDING, so many different genres of Jazz. And I thing I see an off shoot of this Jazz-wide trend in the number of Jazz releases from local San Diego musicians. Buddy Blue's "Sordid Lives", San Diego State University Jazz Ensemble "Where's My Hasenpfeffer?", Peter Sprague's "Sombra", Tim McMahon (sp?) "Illuminations", and others. There is a continuously refreshed New section of the Jazz 88 library from which I pull the music for The New Jazz Thing Live. It's an exciting time in Jazz.

And it sounds like Jazz Journalists are excited, including our friend Howard Mandel, to see mainstream print coverage of Jazz at all with this Newsweek article. Some other interesting things have sprung from the JJA BBS in recent days, so we'll have to start checking in their more often. And checking in with Howard...wonder what he's up to this Thursday around show time...um...
9:00:41 AM    comment []  Google It!