Raves and Jazz (thanks to Ken Burns)

Hey folks!

We've been making a lot of progress! The first story submissions have started to come in, and we've got interest from prospective storytellers across the globe. I'm really proud of this, but that's not what this post is about. Actually, it's about a subject that might not immediately be associated with rave music: jazz.

Ever since the late '90s, I've always felt that the rave scene and the early jazz age of the 1920s and '30s shared a startling number of similarities, as far as experiences and themes go. This was thanks largely to Ken Burns' JAZZ,,his ten-episode epic that aired on PBS during the height of the Second Wave of the rave scene (coincidence?). If you choose to invest in Burns' 10-DVD set--a wise choice--I think you'll see what I mean pretty quickly. Both jazz and rave started out as underground music, both became hugely popular largely through word of mouth and media outside of the mainstream, and both were based on dancing. And as it turns out, both had the amazing means to transform lives.

As we've mentioned on this site, every raver has a story. Well, similarly every jazz fan has a story, and some of those stories will no doubt sound startlingly familiar to ravers, for jazz and rave deliver many sublime moments that have been experienced by both generations. As an example, I present to you one of my very favorite moments from JAZZ: the story of a young girl's first time in Harlem's legendary Savoy Ballroom, as told by professional Lindy-Hopper Norma Miller:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr8MLXDThug

If you're a fan of music and that doesn't tug at your heart-strings, I don't know what will. This is exactly the kind of story that we want for THE RAVER STORIES PROJECT. Please feel free to use Norma's most excellent story as a guideline for your own. Don't be afraid to hold back. What was true in Norma's time is just as true today, as far as musical inspiration and joy are concerned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr8MLXDThug