About "Jazz Magazine"
Posted: 10 Jan 2005, 17:19With the December edition, the French “Jazz Magazine” has turned fifty years of regular appearance, without degrading the publishing policy nor modifying the graphical aspect that has turned it in the most intelligent and better illustrated of all specialized publications pop music, a true feat of permanence that doesn´t return it oldest, since they continue appearing, almost out of breath, the North American Down Beat, been born in 1934, and the English Journal Jazz, that it began in 1948. That is without considering Billboard, founded by the end of century XIX, more specialized in the music industry.
Most remarkable of Magazine Jazz it’s that many of which they appeared in the first numbers team -- young that, in spite of writing in French, they modified the way to observe the evolution of the jazz and their creators-- have continued participating actively in the writing, despite their outpost age and although some they became powerful journalistic and publishing industrialists.
This is the case of Frank Ténot, one of the owners of Pariscope, Lui, Paris Match and part of the chain Europe 1, who until his death (78), continued signing his delicious column and co directing the magazine with his partner and friend of all the life Daniel Filipacchi, another tycoon, great photographer and owner of the book collection and surrealists manuscripts more important of the world, that always reserved time for Jazz Magazine.
This continuity of experienced journalistic directors which they not only know jazz - Philippe Carles has been Writing boss for almost four decades -, with a rotating group of new writers who sometimes think better of which they listen, but maintaining the initial spirit, it has allowed the magazine to stay to the height of the events and open to other expressions, like that now they analyze in the Tangentiel supplement, without seeming opportunistic nor to lose its personality, something arrogant, certainly, but always preferable to the trivialities of good part of the musical press.
As it were inevitable in the Paris of half century ago, a challenging publication by the originality to speak on the Afro-American music of deep way, avoiding the traditional controversies but installing some new respect to racism, the vanguard, the political commitment of its creators and the correspondence with other contemporary artistic expressions, Jazz Magazine found its soul twin in Cahiers du Cinéma, with what they shared more of an extraordinary critic --Jean-Louis Ginibre, Serge Daney, Jean-Louis Comolli-- and until the offices in 63 Avenue de Champs-Elysées, where those of the jazz still work. But, although both magazines used identical techniques of intellectual provocation, Jazz Magazine never used musicians nor nobody that aspired to being it to judge the work of its colleagues, a spacing that conserved it more credible and less detested.
Thus it has arrived at the golden wedding, celebrating in family with one of those surveys that can only there finish being something valuable. This time consisted of requesting to fifty of its favorite artist – one per year of life – the definition of de word “jazz”. "The term doesn’t concern to me", responded Archie Shepp, but all the others were more explicit, with certainties like: "it is a freedom space that is to me essential" (Dino Saluzzi); "the good side of the world" (Enrico Rava); "the beauty of the imperfection" (René Urtreger), and the insurmountable contribution of Sonny Rollins: "it’s more than music, it is the social force of the good ".
Grandiloquent phrases, nobody discusses it, but they are those that have differentiated to Jazz Magazine during half century and continue being essential to express huge feelings respect to the instantaneous composition that no other magazine has reproduced with as much conviction.
Most remarkable of Magazine Jazz it’s that many of which they appeared in the first numbers team -- young that, in spite of writing in French, they modified the way to observe the evolution of the jazz and their creators-- have continued participating actively in the writing, despite their outpost age and although some they became powerful journalistic and publishing industrialists.
This is the case of Frank Ténot, one of the owners of Pariscope, Lui, Paris Match and part of the chain Europe 1, who until his death (78), continued signing his delicious column and co directing the magazine with his partner and friend of all the life Daniel Filipacchi, another tycoon, great photographer and owner of the book collection and surrealists manuscripts more important of the world, that always reserved time for Jazz Magazine.
This continuity of experienced journalistic directors which they not only know jazz - Philippe Carles has been Writing boss for almost four decades -, with a rotating group of new writers who sometimes think better of which they listen, but maintaining the initial spirit, it has allowed the magazine to stay to the height of the events and open to other expressions, like that now they analyze in the Tangentiel supplement, without seeming opportunistic nor to lose its personality, something arrogant, certainly, but always preferable to the trivialities of good part of the musical press.
As it were inevitable in the Paris of half century ago, a challenging publication by the originality to speak on the Afro-American music of deep way, avoiding the traditional controversies but installing some new respect to racism, the vanguard, the political commitment of its creators and the correspondence with other contemporary artistic expressions, Jazz Magazine found its soul twin in Cahiers du Cinéma, with what they shared more of an extraordinary critic --Jean-Louis Ginibre, Serge Daney, Jean-Louis Comolli-- and until the offices in 63 Avenue de Champs-Elysées, where those of the jazz still work. But, although both magazines used identical techniques of intellectual provocation, Jazz Magazine never used musicians nor nobody that aspired to being it to judge the work of its colleagues, a spacing that conserved it more credible and less detested.
Thus it has arrived at the golden wedding, celebrating in family with one of those surveys that can only there finish being something valuable. This time consisted of requesting to fifty of its favorite artist – one per year of life – the definition of de word “jazz”. "The term doesn’t concern to me", responded Archie Shepp, but all the others were more explicit, with certainties like: "it is a freedom space that is to me essential" (Dino Saluzzi); "the good side of the world" (Enrico Rava); "the beauty of the imperfection" (René Urtreger), and the insurmountable contribution of Sonny Rollins: "it’s more than music, it is the social force of the good ".
Grandiloquent phrases, nobody discusses it, but they are those that have differentiated to Jazz Magazine during half century and continue being essential to express huge feelings respect to the instantaneous composition that no other magazine has reproduced with as much conviction.