I get asked a lot about the term “barn jazz”. Just ran across these notes from 7/16/2003, about the time of my first concert at Oracle State Park in Oracle, AZ for the Barn Jazz Vol. I CD release.

BARN JAZZ NOTES

Garden Dreams

A dream state experiencing altered realities or visions

What is it about Oracle and the High Desert that leads us there?

The cat is metaphor for our letting go and experiencing something beyond the mundane, so Barn Jazz is a way of interpreting music that is seen from the perspective of a cat dreaming about insects playing a different kind of music

With the participation of the Yuccas and animals and other critters of the high desert, Annie the cat spins a tale of fantasy. It starts in one of the gardens of Oracle.  The cat wanders in the summer heat through the garden looking for a place to nap

Barn Jazz – The theme song arising out of the idea music in the transition zone, blending elements of blue grass, folk, fiddle jazz, and classical-new age styles, a messy kind of melding, but then cats are not that picky about these things.

Fire on the Ridge – (Oracle Hill Fire) – the cat dreams of a vast holocaust of fire causing animals and insects to evacuate their habitat, much coming and going, disturbance, but ultimately a once familiar part of nature and so not a nightmare.

So the animals are seeking safe havens.

Don’t Tread on Me – imagine a caterpillar undulating along in the garden, underfoot, trying his best to get to the Barnagle, along with other bugs and critters, a great movement is afoot, also snakes undulating, but the other implication is the flag of Vermont during the American Rev, and the motto.

March of the Yuccas – actually has some words, unspoken: “I’m a Yucca, I’m a Yucca, I’m a Yucca, not a tree. I stand upon the mighty desert, king of all that I foresee.”  (but cannot foresee man – the bulldozer). Also marching to get to the Barnagle.

The Barnagle – this is focal point, insect hoe down. I had the image of a spider with 8 batons conducting a rag-tag group of insects and arachnids playing on their web-strings, grass-hoppers blowing on blades of grass making horn sounds, small mammals blowing thru flower-bell trumpets, etc.  The deal is that these musicians are somewhat unruly and competing at first, but eventually falls together at the end. This all takes place after midnight of the summer solstice full moon shining in the broken window glass of the barn/shed.  Here is the image as captured beautifully and faithfully by Oracle artist, Kate Horton.

 

Contours – this is a long, new agey piece that represents the time just before dawn as the outlines of the mountains and hills become apparent, the barnagle is over and everyone is dispersing, the cat is stirring, but not yet awake.

Sweet Annie – The cat dreams of romping after the field mice, pocket gophers, lizards etc who are leaving the Barnagle, basically just running and leaping and having fun but still asleep.

Sweet Annie’s Dream – the awakening and realization that all of this was just her dream, or was it?

NB: “Sweet Annie” was Linda Leigh’s cat. Linda was one of the original Biospherians. Annie was indeed a sweet, gentle, if not somewhat finicky creature.

Also the original Barn Jazz Vol. 1 is out-of-print. I have a few copies remaining in my archive available for an exorbitant price. Contact me if interested.

There was an interesting post on Gearslutz.com, my favorite hangout for pro audio information (and misinformation, you have to be very selective). Lately there has been much analysis (and complaining) about the state of the music industry. Lack of recording opportunities, the shift from physical media to streaming music aggregators like Pandora, Spotify, Google Play, etc.

If you look at the trends in music sales for the past 40 years, there is an interesting pattern.

8-Tracks cassettes, vinyl, 2-track cassette tapes, CD’s, all seem to follow a pattern similar to ocean waves. Initial acceptance, peak, and slow decline. Unfortunately this graph, by Michael DeGusta with data from the RIAA, does not show the data up to present. However we can speculate with some confidence. Digital media started out with a rapid acceptance during the Napster and file “sharing” (re: stealing) years, then declined somewhat as the majors cracked down. However the shift from downloads to streaming services has started in earnest.

I expect that wave to continue peaking for the foreseeable future, especially as bandwidth increases and higher quality audio is made available (e.g. tidalhifi.com). The question is how high and how long will the wave be?

What does this mean for the independent musician? Are physical media dead entirely? I don’t think so. Vinyl is making a come back in a small way (more like a secondary wave) as people are demanding more physical contact and ownership of their music. Streaming services are convenient and will be around for a long time, but there will always be a demand for something you can put in your hand. The real question is this: who is in control of your music selection, and can you count on having your favorites around in 20 years? I personally do not trust iTunes to be my only music source for retaining control of my digital tracks.

We no longer consume music just for listening sessions like my generation did back in the 60’s and 70’s. It is more likely background for work, parties, or used for TV and film cues and sound tracks. Touring bands still sell CD’s but just as likely will have download cards for mp3’s.

Will we see a big resurgence of the music album as art for its own sake? Not until we can package digital media and associate images and liner notes with it. In the meantime independent small-time producers like Barn Jazz will continue to labor in the eddies of the ocean doing work the way we want to do it.

So what is the next wave? Maybe 3-D holographic surround sound with direct implants to our neurons? While we are waiting for the musical industrial complex to shake out, I think I will just go put an album onto my high quality turntable, flip on my 1973 Marantz receiver, and chill.