[silence] Evangelisti misconception?

[Zac Bond]

Josh Ronsen wrote:

> 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).

I think the reference to Cage's attitude in 1937 is reasonable; in "The 
Future of Music: Credo" where he talks about group improvisations he 
mentions it having "already taken place...in hot jazz" so I think he 
must have had a fair amount of exposure to it.  "Jazz Study" struck me 
as fairly jazzy, but I don't know much about jazz and it's pretty brief. 
  Also, I think there's some debate about its authenticity.

I don't know if it's the cause of Cage's dislike of jazz, but I recall 
he rejected the idea of improvisation because the performers are 
necessarily reacting to each other and making use of their own tastes 
and preferences, whereas his music was attempting to remove those 
aspects and improvisation as used in jazz didn't meet that goal.

"Imaginary Landscape No. 5" from 1952 was originally realized using jazz 
records in an effort to appreciate the style by using it in a new 
context.  Later, in 1986 he performed with Sun Ra, so I suspect Cage's 
attitude toward jazz varied throughout his life.

I guess I went on a tangent there but I think it's safe to say Cage was 
well-exposed to jazz in 1937, like many Americans, and Cage himself 
admits his "prediction" has already happened.

-Zac Bond
Lexington KY