Manzo misfired, mauled music review

To the Editors:

As an outgoing senior member of the Jazz studies department, I feel that I can no longer stand by the wayside while the Review conducts its usual nonsense. In last week's paper, there was a review of the Tuesday night Small jazz ensembles at the Cat in the Cream coffeehouse. The review was extremely pointed and harsh, going so far as to call out names of particular performers, and basically tore down the first three performances of the evening. I'm not interested in debating whether or not the criticism was valid or not; my issue has to do more with whether that kind of critique is justified.

There are certain performance oriented departments that are covered regularly in the review; i.e. dance productions like Spring Back, voice productions like the opera, and the Jazz department. The press coverage is at best, average. More often than not, the thought is appreciated rather than the actual content; one doesn't complain when it has only one press source. The main problem is that the people reviewing the particular performance usually don't have any proper background information or knowledge about the subject they're writing about, or worse, they think they do. Case in point, we'll take Emily Manzo's article on last Tuesday's performance.

Being the girlfriend of a jazz major does not instantly imbibe one with knowledge about jazz and the jazz department here. This was made painfully obvious by her article. She criticized a lot of the soloists of the evening, which, through lack of inquiry, did not take into account the fact that for many of them, it was the first time they were soloing in public. She questioned the quality of the combos, without thinking about the inherent difficulties and the amount of work it takes to try to get a student-run ensemble together. The point I'm getting at is that for her, a no-jazz-playing, no-jazz-knowledge student to just run her mouth off like she is someone that is qualified to do so is completely unacceptable. Leave that to our teachers.

This institution we grace with our money is nothing more than a step toward what we'll actually be doing; a training ground, if you will. To allow mistakes in performance is acceptable; the teachers we trust ourselves to are the people who tell us when we do right and wrong. Now if Ms. Manzo is training to be a professional critic, then she is doing a very good job by not getting all the pertinent information, and opening her mouth when she should know better. --

Burny Pelsmajer Jazz Studies senior & Professional musician

Review didn't emphasize student role in softball

To the Editors:

Although I was pleased to see the news of the new varsity softball team gracing the front cover of the Review, I was disappointed with the paper's failure to recognize the role of students in the creation of the varsity team. Without student initiative, Oberlin would not have a varsity softball team. Students organized a club team, found a coach and sponsor, researched their rights under Title IX, approached the Gender Equity in Athletics Review Committee and then the General Faculty Athletic Committee to petition for varsity status, and attended the General Faculty meeting at which varsity softball was voted on. To neglect to even contact the students involved is an oversight that silences the most important voice in the development of women's athletics at Oberlin. --

Liz Breakstone College senior

Cut on Jazz Dept. inaccurate, off base

To the Editors:

Your review last week of the small jazz ensembles concert at the Cat in the Cream begins, in its opening paragraph with the question "What has happened to the Oberlin Jazz Department?" My question in return would have to be "What the hell are you talking about?" This jazz department is one of the finest departments in any conservatory in the world. It has produced such alumni as Micheal Mossman (Arranger, composer, trumpet player, alumnus of Art Blakey, Out of The Blue, etc.), Leon Dorsey (Bassist, alumnus of Art Blakey), Lafayette Harris (NYC Pianist), James McBride (Pianist, composer, author of The Color of Water, Arranger for Quincy Jones and Disney World), Neal Smith (drummer for Benny Green, Cyrus Chestnut, etc.) - the list goes on and on. Perhaps you didn't realize it, but, at this very moment there are some extremely accomplished young musicians who are jazz majors. We have students who have already toured half way around the world with groups and played with some very big names in the jazz and general music world. We have some unbelievably accomplished teachers - for the sake of space I won't list their accomplishments, just their names (it is your job to do the research and find out how really special these people are). Wendell Logan, Robin Eubanks, Donald Walden, Neal Creque, Peter dominguez, Bobby Ferazza, Kanny Davis, and Greg Bandy. We are the hardest working division in this conservatory. A week doesn't go by when there isn't at least a couple of concerts by the jazz majors - for free I might add (this, of course doesn't count the work that we are perpetually doing in Cleveland and in other cities during the school year). So next time you want to take a potshot at the jazz division remember this:

1. You attended a concert of largely non-majors.

2. The only group you enjoyed was all majors (and seniors I might add).

3. Just because you have a personal connection to a jazz major does not mean that you necessarily know anything about jazz or music for that matter.

Do your research next time you want to take a crack at us. When we perform concerts that are really fantastic there never seems to be anyone from the Review even there - maybe you could change that! I am extremely proud to be part of this program and I don't regret even a second of my five years here. When you see your former Oberlin buddies on the world stage years from now, think about this moment when you're wondering why you can't get a backstage pass! --

Joseph Friedman Jazz Studies 5th year

Fresh the "man," but man among many fellow men and women

To The Editor:

(This is a response to the April 30 letter to the editor ³White girl gives shout out to Doug E. Fresh and Afrocentrism²)

African and African-American culture has had a considerable impact on American culture. Even walking through the town of Oberlin makes one realize that, but sometimes one has to question exactly what aspects of African-American culture America has embraced. It is no big secret that white youths of America have embraced hip-hop and rap culture. Recently, just about every young person around the world has embraced these cultures; wearing baggy name brand clothes and reciting lyrics verbatim is their way of proving their loyalty. This trend has happened on just about every continent. This is good because African-American culture is the bomb, but there is so much more to our culture than hip-hop and rap. Many have forgotten the roots of the style and substance behind the music, and are only trying to be like everyone else, hip. They donıt listen to the words or messages behind the music and solely embrace, no, exploit, the images of what they see on TV and music videos.

Long before the rise of Doug E. Fresh and hip-hop/rap artists of today, there were many African diasporan Americans who contributed to American culture, but have been dismissed, ignored or not given their ³props² by white America. They include writers like Zora Neale Hurston and James Baldwin, singers like Ma Rainey and Josephine Baker, intellectuals like Malcolm X and Ida B. Wells, and graffiti artists, and street corner preachers and teachers. Why donıt white Americans ever want to be like them? When I hear anything about Afrocentrism, like in last weekıs Review, itıs somehow linked to rap and hip hop, but non-entertainment people are never mentioned.

I understand how, as a white woman, you need to give shout outs to Doug E. Fresh and others like him. Hell, sometimes I feel like if it werenıt for rappers like him and hip- hop groups like Digable Planets and Tribe Called Quest, white Americans would not have a clue as to what is happening in the black community. Listening to their music has made people who normally never cared about the African-American community want to build a link. You have to remember though that Doug E. Fresh is not the innovator of this.

Whites have been large scale audiences for black entertainment during minstrelsy period of the 19th century, and especially during the Roaring Twenties. Iım sure that then, like now, many white Americans felt that it was almost inevitable that their world would be intertwined with black folk, but to what extent? Maybe like you said, ³So blacks could give them something to think about, or just to make them smile.² Fresh is part of a gigantic puzzle of many people of color trying to reach out to the world and let them hear our black voices full of frustration and concern.

For too long the African aesthetic in American culture has been marginalized. Many Americans, especially white Americans, fail to realize how, as a matter of fact, African and African-American culture has become a part of our everyday lives. The fact that so many people of different colors and cultures went to see Doug E. Fresh, and sang along with his lyrics, and identified with him though they may not have had the same experiences as his proves that.

I understand that Fresh got you thinking about the significance black culture has played in your life, and will play in the lives of our children. Doug E. Fresh is the man, but he is the man among many other great men and women. Yes Afrocentrism is the wave of the future, but how much is white America willing to embrace?

--

Jihad Id-Deen, College senior