[silence] Evangelisti misconception?

[Josh Ronsen]

>From Franco Evangelisti's "From the temporary form to the Gruppo di Improvvisazione" which was recently reprinted in the Azioni box of that ensemble:

"In the history of western music, improvisation has always been considered a subjective element. In reality it is closely linked to all the musical situations, as it can be considered the generative element of any type of music. Just like what happens in African and Oriental culture, where the birth of a musical idea and its immediate expression are the main factors behind improvisation. In 1937 John Cage, talking in Seattle about the future of music, predicted the birth of improvising groups. By doing so, he simply repeated a very old idea. It's not so surprising that he could imagine this: being American, he was massively exposed to jazz music, which is an integral part of the culture of that country."

[published in 1991, but maybe written as early as 1967, the booklet does not specify.]

Was Cage "massively" exposed to jazz in 1937? I always got the impression that Cage's avowed dislike of jazz partly stemmed from not hearing much of it, or perhaps only hearing it in Hollywood movies (Tommy Dorsey big band stuff?). I seem to recall that Cage's 1942 composition "Jazz Study" seemed not very jazz-like (I could be mis-remembering it).

-Josh Ronsen
in Austin, Texas