Hi, Bill. You have a point about your assesment of where arrangers are heading, but, to me, the world would be a really dreary place if the music spectrum included only country, R&B and Rock.

I'm not talking at all about the generational issues. Modern jazz is the synthesis of the best of a whole gamut of well-developed styles.

Of course, as the music gets more sophisticated the audience (and, sometimes, the money) gets smaller.

But what a dull place this would be without
"leading edge", evolved music.

Most of my jobs are jazz. That's my preference. They're fewer and farther between, but they're there if you really want them.

Just takes a listen to some of the leading edge stuff today...almost defying categories. There are beautiful phrases from giants of the past, interspersed with references to rock, hip hop, older fusion and more.

May not be mainstream, but has a place.

It would be a shame if musicians lost track of their roots. And it would be a bigger shame if musical references from the past disappeared from modern compositions.


So, I'd vote for maintaining a wide variety of styles in future arrangers...at least for some of us.


Thanks,


Russ