You can grow up with literally nothing and you donβt suffer if you know youβre loved and valued.
Esperanza SpaldingRead
I always say that the problem with jazz accessibility is not the content of the music, it's people's ability to access it.
Interpretation
Jazz is not inherently difficult; rather, people's exposure and willingness to engage with it are the main barriers to accessibility.
Esperanza Spalding emphasizes that the perceived exclusivity of jazz music arises not from its complexity but from the listener's limited access and exposure to this genre. The quote suggests that fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for jazz among audiences is key to breaking down barriers and enhancing its accessibility.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about promoting jazz music in schools and communities.
You can grow up with literally nothing and you donβt suffer if you know youβre loved and valued.
There's nothing wrong with struggle. Anytime I look back at a difficult phase of my life and see what grew out of it - the creative survival tactics - I think that the good is way better than the bad.
I don't think it's about playing and singing, to be honest. That seems like old news, you know? I wasn't thinking about that. I just think that's in my body now. Dancers don't think about their legs moving one way and their arms moving another. Over time, you incorporate that into your instrument.
It's a pity that if someone who has a really profoundly potent art to share chooses not to or doesn't fit into this very thin slice of what's desirable and marketable, chances are the public will never get a chance to hear what they're doing.
I just think music is so intrinsically linked with images in the culture that we live in that you'll be hard-pressed to have an experience with the music without a preconceived notion.
When something in art or music piques my interest, I tend to go check it out, and most things I check out, I'm not very good at. But a few things I've gone to check out have given me back as much love as I gave them, usually much more.
Songs are funny things. They can slip across borders. Proliferate in prisons. Penetrate hard shells. I always believed that the right song at the right moment could change history.
I think ABBA have a pure joy to their music and that's what makes them extraordinary.
My songs speak for themselves. The musicians who play on them and the way they sound and where they were recorded and the way they were recorded is the old Nashville way ... they sound as country or more country than a lot of things that are on country radio.
Radio stations have constructed a narrow door[way], and that's because they don't understand how complex and paradoxical our snap judgments are. It's hard to measure new songs.
Smokin' at the Half Note is the absolute greatest jazz-guitar album ever made. It is also the record that taught me how to play.
I'd like to think that all the old Beatle fans have grown up and they've got married and they've all got kids and they're all more responsible, but they still have a space in their hearts for us.
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