NO MORE LATIN JAZZ CATEGORY FOR THE GRAMMY'S!!!..

[OLSONGO]

Totally agrre with Leedy, todays youth here in the states does not have the same level of sophistication as earlier years, they have lost touch with mother earth, most of their crap is full of electronic , out of space robotic music...ideal for their druged out minds. The grammys is only concerned with main stream America and mai stream America listens to dumbed down music. But as I said America, but in other countries you still hear good music on the air and because many can't afford those high priced electronic instruments , they create music with their organic natural materials instrument and it swings better than that seudo electronic BS on American radio. Personally I stream for my music through out the whole world .
Peace
Olsongo

[JohnnyConga]

I AM DOING WHAT I CAN!..what are you gonna do?...and you guys are right!..things are changing....today on CNN HISPANICS are now the LARGEST minority in the US...we need to appeal to the masses!...or will u just throw your hands up and just talk...??? Not me I have already put steps in motion and Im ready to fight!...and there are many others with me!...and you can still hear GREAT Latin music online..which has replaced the radio.......and you can listen to my show right now for 2 hours and the week before that for another 2 hours of music...so u cant say there is no 'latin radio shows"..there are literally hundreds now online and from all over the world...so take ur pick!...

[OLSONGO]

NOOOOO ! totally Johnny I also don't give up I still do my Latin Jazz thing and because you don't hear it on main stream radio , it doesn't mean that a good percentage of people don't like it. I put together a swinging kick ass show and the people love it, dance their ass off ...and then come running , asking for the CD. I just want a piece of the action , not the whole pie anyway. But please educate this kids to know the difference between good music and bad music.

Peace
Olsongo

[Chupacabra]

Olsongo,

I wouldn't be as critical of today's youth as you stated, but I can understand why you feel that way. Today's youth have a very uncertain future ahead of them and the present isn't that great either. I'm sure you read the news or watch it every day.

In the 1960's, 70's and 80's we had a new found sense of freedom and rebellion. And hope. Music was very creative and old boundaries were being broken open on a weekly basis, and there were also a lot of converging musical and political influences from around the world and domestically that made the ground ripe for music artists to flourish and express their thoughts on anything from the American Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam, fighting the establishment (only to become the establishment years later), Cuba, the fall of Apartheid, the fall of Communist Russia, drugs... need I go on? And there were so many opportunities for entrepreneurs available! The music was a product of the world we lived in at the time.

There are still all those things going on in the world now. Violation of basic civil rights at home and abroad, war, fighting the establishment, Cuba, disasters. And yes, drugs - way too much drugs and way too powerful. However, there is one important thing that is missing with today's youth, in my opinion, and that is hope. There seems to be no hope for the future anymore from what I see. Good jobs are extremely hard to come by and bad jobs aren't even easy to find in many places. If you want to get a good education and you are poor, you can do it but it is way more difficult than it used to be even 15 or 20 years ago and grads are coming out of university $75,000 + dollars in debt before they even get hired at their $40,000 salary job for the next 4 or 5 years, at least. This is the reality that kids don't want to deal with but are forced to, or they are simply dropping out and giving up, being recruited by gangs, selling drugs, young women being turned out, it's really grim times now for youth.

Getting into the music industry? If a kid has it in his heart to become a musician there is almost no chance of getting a break unless he or she is part of an aristocracy or is willing to sell their souls to the Industry. And as for inspiration for youth to learn what real music is, well, that my friend is the failure of our generation, not theirs. The big names of days gone by, who are still alive, have been elevated to God-like status and are rarely even approachable. Do they teach? Do they even give out autographs? Who is left to pass the torch, so to speak?

To begin to learn the different styles of latin music and their origins is not an easy study either. We all know this. And it can't be taught on a computer! It comes with a study of it's history, and a complete relearning of the established musical principles that are hammered out by the schools and mainstream music. The Latino, Cuban, Caribbean, South American and peoples of the African diaspora who have been playing since their youth and were probably even bouncing and swaying to the clave in their mother's womb are still around but are they sharing this gift? Not very often. I have been very fortunate to have had a very small exposure to learning the practical fundamentals of Latin music by attending a few short and heavily attended workshops put on by Yoruba Andabo, and Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, a few hours in Johnny Conga's studio back in '06 . These experiences I will remember for the rest of my life. I'll have to because they are probably once in a lifetime opportunities! One observation that I have always noted when attending classes such as this is that the majority of attendees are aged in their mid twenties to 30-something, almost always noticeably more females than males and most definitely Caucasian of European origin. I should note that the cost of quality instruction doesn't come cheap either, and nor should it. The few teachers that are competent and skilled need to be rewarded for their sacrifice and effort and if the student isn't prepared to make a financial commitment then they usually won't take the studying too seriously either. And it gets back to money not being easy to come by.

The genres of music that are big sellers now for youth, who are the largest segment of the market, and the artists that produce it seem to be polarized between the concepts of absolute anarchy, apocalypse and mayhem and rage (gangsta rap, death metal, etc.) and sheer superficiality (techno, pop, club music). It's the low fruit on the tree and people aren't willing to climb that tree like they used to. There's no promise of sweeter fruit when you get to the high branches and it's probably been sprayed with chemicals anyway! Why are youth attracted to these styles of music? It's the times they live in now. Will it change eventually? Will there be some new-found inspiration that will reignite that flame? We can only hope!

Please do try not to be overly critical of youth culture, especially in these dark days, because when it comes to the bottom line, they are the product of our generation and the ones who do take up the challenge will have a massive amount of work to do fixing the mess our generation is leaving behind!

[tamboricua]

Congaplace,

I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:

"Request NARAS to reinstate the Latin Jazz category at the Grammy's"

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/lati ... hegrammys/

I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It's free and takes just a few seconds of your time.

Thanks!

JG

[Derbeno]

Latin musicians sue over Grammy changes---3 August 2011

Percussionist Bobby Sanabria is one of the musicians suing the academy over the changes

Four Latin jazz musicians are suing the organisers of the Grammy Awards over axing their genre as an award category.

Grammy nominees Bobby Sanabria and Mark Levine are among those accusing the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of devaluing their music.

The legal claim calls for the best Latin jazz album category to be reinstated at the annual ceremony.

In a statement, the academy said it "believes this frivolous lawsuit is without merit".

"They shouldn't have done this," said Roger Maldonado, a lawyer representing the musicians which also includes Ben Lapidus and Eugene Marlow.

"Not only does it devalue the category of music and the work these musicians do, it makes it much harder for them to gain recognition."

It was announced in April that the number of award categories was being cut from 109 to 78.

'Enormous value'

The changes included eliminating the male and female divisions in the pop vocal category to one field, as well as reducing categories like best Latin jazz album and best classical crossover album.

Instead, artists who would have competed in those categories will now be part of a broader pool competing in a general field.

"The concern is by lumping several categories together, it makes it much easier for larger record labels and those artists who have already gained recognition to dominate," Mr Maldonado said.

Legal papers claim the changes will have a detrimental effect on the musicians' careers by taking away the Latin jazz category.

"Even being nominated for the award has enormous value for these musicians," Maldonado added.

Other musicians have also criticised the award changes.

Carlos Santana and Herbie Hancock delivered a letter of protest to the academy in May, arguing the changes had made without consulting academy members.

They said the reductions unfairly target ethnic music and called for the categories to be reinstated.

But academy president Neil Portnow said a members' committee had been consulted about the changes.