KEEPING AN OPEN MIND

Hoday!

Recently a person, who is just an owner a music store, came up to me and gave me their opinion of jazz music and jazz musicians. She said, "jazz musicians are scum of the earth people who are basically low life people who beg, steal, and cheat." Yep, she actually said that.

A closed mind does not fully understand what it attacks. And making random judgements against any form of music mostly comes out of ignorance and allows for prejudice, racism, and overall degradation of art itself.

If there is one thing my education taught me was to have an open mind about the music I didn't understand. For example, I used to hate, yes I hated Stravinsky. Why? Because I did not understand his music and his life. I used to hate John Coltrane. Why? Because I did not understand his music and his life. I used to hate a lot of music because I did not understand it. Note the words, "used to" and "hate" because after finding out more information, I came to not only understand Stravinsky and Train, but I literally fall over myself to understand everything I can about them. And I no longer "hate" any kind of music.

Don't let un-educated, watered-down, and mainstream understanding color your judgement it makes you look like a fool and exposes a terrible weakness about yourself. If you hate a certain style of music then educate yourself and understand it before you pass judgement on it. Make an educated decision whether or not to like it but don't just hate it, that's just stupid.

All forms of music including, and especially classical music have skeletons in their closet; Henry Cowell and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky just to name two. If you can't say anything productive then don't say it at all.

-John