For two decades, Wynton Marsalis complemented his extraordinary gifts

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 92, Date : 18-MAR-2019
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For two decades, Wynton Marsalis complemented his extraordinary gifts as a jazz trumpeter with persuasive advocacy of the importance of jazz history and jazz masters. At his peak, Marsalis ruled the jazz universe, enjoying virtually unqualified admiration as a musician and unsurpassed influence as the music's leading promoter and definer. But after drawing increasing fire from critics and fellow musicians alike for his neotraditionalism, the biggest name in jazz faces an uncertain future, as does jazz itself.

In 1999, to mark the end of the century, Marsalis issued a total of fifteen new CDs. In the following two years he did not release a single collection of new music. In fact, after two decades with Columbia Records—the prestigious label historically associated with Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis—Marsalis has no record contract with any company. Over the past few years Columbia has drastically reduced its roster of active jazz musicians, shifting its emphasis to reissues of old recordings. Atlantic Records folded its jazz catalog into the operations of its parent company, Warner Music, and essentially gave up on developing new artists.

For this grim state of affairs in jazz, Marsalis, the public face of the music and the evident master of its destiny, has been accused of being at least partly culpable. Critics charge that, by leading jazz into the realm of unbending classicism and by sanctifying a canon of their own choosing, Marsalis and his adherents have codified the music into a stifling orthodoxy and inhibited the innovative impulses that have always advanced jazz. As a former executive with Columbia noted, "For many people, Marsalis has come to embody some  retro ideology  that is not really of the moment—it's more museumlike in nature, a look back."

Indeed, in seeking to elevate the public perception of jazz and to encourage young practitioners to pay attention to the music's traditions, Marsalis put great emphasis on its past masters. Still, he never advocated mere revivalism, and he has demonstrated in his compositions how traditional elements can be alluded to, recombined, and reinvented in the name of individualistic expression, taking the nature of that tradition and trying to push it forward. However, record executives came away with a different message: if the artists of the past are so great and enduring, why continue investing so much in young talent? So they shifted their attention to repackaging their catalogs of vintage recordings.

Where the young talent saw role models and their critics saw idolatry, the record companies saw brand names—the ultimate prize of marketing. For long-established record companies with vast archives of historic recordings, the economics were irresistible: it is far more profitable to wrap new covers around albums paid for generations ago than it is to find, record, and promote new artists.   1 
 D 
 1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

(A) Although he was once heralded as the leading promoter and definer of jazz, Wynton Marsalis's recent turn toward traditional elements in his music has made record companies reluctant to contract with him.
(B) Contrary to critics who accuse him of narrow neotraditionalism that stifles the evolution of jazz, Wynton Marsalis plays jazz that is new and innovative and his emphasis on past masters has widened the audience for jazz.
(C) Though Wynton Marsalis enjoyed great success for two decades, the shift in focus by record companies to re-releasing traditional recordings has caused him to move away from the traditionalism that initially fueled his success.
(D) By emphasizing appreciation of traditional jazz, Wynton Marsalis has unintentionally led major record companies to shun developing new talent in favor of re-releasing vintage jazz recordings.
(E) Despite widespread acknowledgement of his musical gifts, Wynton Marsalis has come under increasing criticism for what many regard as excessive traditionalism.

2 
 C 
 2. By stating that many people consider Marsalis to embody a "retro ideology," ( Highlighted ) the former executive quoted at the end of the third paragraph most likely means that they believe that Marsalis

(A) revived a discredited set of ideas
(B) merely recombined other people's ideas
(C) overemphasized strict adherence to tradition
(D) reinvented and reinterpreted traditional forms
(E) seized on a set of inauthentic musical ideas

3 
 D 
 3. The author would most likely be less negative about the state of affairs in jazz if

(A) critics were to soften their outspoken indictment of what they view as Marsalis's neotraditionalism
(B) Marsalis were to continue focusing on releasing new music that was informed by traditional jazz
(C) Marsalis were to speak out against those who describe his adherence to tradition as unbending
(D) record companies were to emphasize developing new artists while reissuing old recordings
(E) young jazz musicians were to favor a respect for tradition over impulsive innovation

4 
 B 
 4. Which one of the following describes a situation most analogous to the situation facing Marsalis, as described in the passage?

(A) A town council's successful plan to slow the pace of housing development on its remaining rural lands has the unintended consequence of forcing housing prices to rise significantly faster than in neighboring towns.
(B) A well-known seed research firm aggressively markets new hybrid tomatoes designed to taste like older traditional varieties, but as a result, sales of traditional varieties skyrocket while hybrid sales decline.
(C) A producer of wool fabrics finds that business has increased substantially since synthetic-fabric producers have begun marketing fabrics that most consumers find less attractive than wool fabric.
(D) A firm that has been selling and promoting herbal medicines for several decades finds that sales are slumping because of increasing competition from upstart herbal products companies.
(E) A campaign to save an endangered fish species in a chain of lakes backfires when a ban on fishing in those lakes allows a predatory fish species to thrive and diminish stocks of the endangered species.

5 
 E 
 5. According to the passage, Marsalis encouraged young jazz musicians to

(A) restrain their revolutionary, innovative impulses
(B) learn to compose as well as perform jazz
(C) play sessions with older musicians
(D) ignore the prevailing public perceptions of jazz
(E) stay in touch with the traditions of jazz

6 
 A 
 6. The author would be most likely to agree with which one of the following?

(A) Ironically, record companies have embraced a kind of classicism that is more rigid than that attributed to Marsalis by critics.
(B) Contrary to what critics charged, Marsalis energetically promoted new artists.
(C) Understandably, Marsalis's fellow musicians have been more vocal in their displeasure with his views than have music critics.
(D) Surprisingly, most of today's young artists take issue with critics' increasingly negative views of Marsalis's neotraditionalism.
(E) In saturating the market with fifteen new collections of music in 1999, Marsalis made himself especially vulnerable to criticism.

7 
 E 
 7. The passage provides information sufficient to answer which one of the following questions?

(A) In the two years after 1999, did Marsalis compose any new music?
(B) Are Marsalis's fans drawn mainly from younger or from older jazz lovers?
(C) Has Marsalis ever released a CD consisting of only jazz standards?
(D) Why did Marsalis have no recording contract at the time the passage was written?
(E) What is a factor that contributed to the shift by record companies toward reissuing vintage jazz recordings?

Source:   LSAT Official PrepTest 81   ( Jun-2017 ) 
 Difficulty Level:   600

auradediligodo · Accepted Answer

Hi everyone,
Took 13:30 minutes and got 6/7 correct, including 4:30 minutes to read, write down paragraphs summaries and main point.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

P1

Paragraphs one merely describes Wynton Marsalis as one of the greatest jazz musician of his time and contrasts the success with a prediction of future doom for him and for the jazz.
Brief summary: WM and an unfavorable prediction

P2

Paragraph 2 talks about two facts.
#1 Wynton Marsalis released 15 cds in 1999 and did not release anything else shortly afterwards.
#2 2 records companies started abandoning the idea of promoting new jazz talents
Brief summary: after a big release no more promotion of young talents

P3

Paragraph 3 tells us that Marsalis took most of the blame for this declining trend in the jazz world.
The accusations are that Marsalis focused too much on the past and limited the innovative impulses of Jazz.
Hence Jazz now is some museum like music.
Brief summary: Critics view

P4

Paragraph 4 tells us the actual intention of Wynton Marsalis and how record executives misrepresented it.
Brief summary: WM's intentions and RE' view

P5

This paragraph shows the point of view of record labels. Even tough jazz artists looked back at jazz masters as role models, record labels saw some sort of repetition and hence preferred to market old records since for them it was more convenient.
Brief summary: RE' driver: profit

Main point

The main point is to explain how Jazz came to become an old genre

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

Pre-thinking

Main point question

Refer to main point above

(A) Although he was once heralded as the leading promoter and definer of jazz, Wynton Marsalis's recent turn toward traditional elements in his music has made record companies reluctant to contract with him.
 Not in line with pre-thinking.

(B) Contrary to critics who accuse him of narrow neotraditionalism that stifles the evolution of jazz, Wynton Marsalis plays jazz that is new and innovative and his emphasis on past masters has widened the audience for jazz.
 Not in line with pre-thinking.

(C) Though Wynton Marsalis enjoyed great success for two decades, the shift in focus by record companies to re-releasing traditional recordings has caused him to move away from the traditionalism that initially fueled his success.
 Not in line with pre-thinking.

(D)   By emphasizing appreciation of traditional jazz, Wynton Marsalis has unintentionally led major record companies to shun developing new talent in favor of re-releasing vintage jazz recordings.
 In line with pre-thinking.

(E) Despite widespread acknowledgement of his musical gifts, Wynton Marsalis has come under increasing criticism for what many regard as excessive traditionalism.
 Not in line with pre-thinking.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. By stating that many people consider Marsalis to embody a "retro ideology," (Highlighted) the former executive quoted at the end of the third paragraph most likely means that they believe that Marsalis

Pre-thinking

Inference question

They think that Marsalis was too traditional and suppressed all the innovative elements of jazz
 
(A) revived a discredited set of ideas
 Not in line with pre-thinking.

(B) merely recombined other people's ideas
 Not in line with pre-thinking.

(C)   overemphasized strict adherence to tradition
 In line with pre-thinking

(D) reinvented and reinterpreted traditional forms
 Not in line with pre-thinking.

(E) seized on a set of inauthentic musical ideas
 Not in line with pre-thinking.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. The author would most likely be less negative about the state of affairs in jazz if

Pre-thinking

Inference question

The author is negative because labels do not promote anymore new talents and because jazz is seen as an old genre. Any statement indicating the contrary will be our answer
 
(A) critics were to soften their outspoken indictment of what they view as Marsalis's neotraditionalism
 Critics are irrelevant

(B) Marsalis were to continue focusing on releasing new music that was informed by traditional jazz
 This would not affect the argument

(C) Marsalis were to speak out against those who describe his adherence to tradition as unbending
 we don't know how this could affect the current state of affairs

(D)  record companies were to emphasize developing new artists while reissuing old recordings
 In this case the author would not be so negative. In line with pre-tinking

(E) young jazz musicians were to favor a respect for tradition over impulsive innovation
 probably opposite

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Which one of the following describes a situation most analogous to the situation facing Marsalis, as described in the passage?

Pre-thinking

Analogous question

The scenario is the following: a famous exponent of SOMETHING unwillingly brings down that SOMETHING
 
(A) A town council's successful plan to slow the pace of housing development on its remaining rural lands has the unintended consequence of forcing housing prices to rise significantly faster than in neighboring towns.
 the problem here is that rural development is not affected

(B)   A well-known seed research firm aggressively markets new hybrid tomatoes designed to taste like older traditional varieties, but as a result, sales of traditional varieties skyrocket while hybrid sales decline.
 In line with pre-thinking

(C) A producer of wool fabrics finds that business has increased substantially since synthetic-fabric producers have begun marketing fabrics that most consumers find less attractive than wool fabric.
 Not in line with pre-thinking

(D) A firm that has been selling and promoting herbal medicines for several decades finds that sales are slumping because of increasing competition from upstart herbal products companies.
 Not in line with pre-thinking

(E) A campaign to save an endangered fish species in a chain of lakes backfires when a ban on fishing in those lakes allows a predatory fish species to thrive and diminish stocks of the endangered species.
 Not in line with pre-thinking

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. According to the passage, Marsalis encouraged young jazz musicians to

Pre-thinking

Detail question

"Indeed, in seeking to elevate the public perception of jazz and to encourage young practitioners to pay attention to the music's traditions"

(A) restrain their revolutionary, innovative impulses
 Not in line with pre-thinking

(B) learn to compose as well as perform jazz
 Not in line with pre-thinking

(C) play sessions with older musicians
 Not in line with pre-thinking

(D) ignore the prevailing public perceptions of jazz
 Not in line with pre-thinking

(E)  stay in touch with the traditions of jazz
 Correct

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. The author would be most likely to agree with which one of the following?

Pre-thinking

Inference question

Let's evaluate the answer choices
 
 (A)  Ironically, record companies have embraced a kind of classicism that is more rigid than that attributed to Marsalis by critics.
 in the second last paragraph Marsalis is described as not at all traditional or extremely rigid. So probably the classicism promoted by record executives is more rigid than Marsalis'

(B) Contrary to what critics charged, Marsalis energetically promoted new artists.
 Never mentioned

(C) Understandably, Marsalis's fellow musicians have been more vocal in their displeasure with his views than have music critics.
 Never mentioned

(D) Surprisingly, most of today's young artists take issue with critics' increasingly negative views of Marsalis's neotraditionalism.
 Never mentioned

(E) In saturating the market with fifteen new collections of music in 1999, Marsalis made himself especially vulnerable to criticism.
 Never mentioned

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7. The passage provides information sufficient to answer which one of the following questions?

Pre-thinking

Detail question

Let's analyze the answer choices
 
(A) In the two years after 1999, did Marsalis  compose  any new music?
 Per the passage  release

(B) Are Marsalis's fans drawn mainly from younger or from older jazz lovers?
 Not mentioned

(C) Has Marsalis ever released a CD consisting of only jazz standards?
 Not mentioned

(D) Why did Marsalis have no recording contract at the time the passage was written?
 Not mentioned

(E)   What is a factor that contributed to the shift by record companies toward reissuing vintage jazz recordings?
 Mentioned all over the passage

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is a good day to be alive, cheers!

Raj30 · Answer

please explain Q6
How did we infer A?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

6. The author would be most likely to agree with which one of the following?

Explanation

A) Para 4 validates that Marsalis was not 100% rigid and all traditional; he did encourage some innovations. However, logically, if a firm only focuses on the vintages then it is not innovating at all. Correct Answer

B)  Energetically may be a bit too strong . But the main reason is that critics against Marsalis focused more so on Marsalis focus on tradition and not Marsalis not promoting new artists. Cross it.

C)  This is a wrong comparison trap where a comparison is made for a comparison that was never mentioned in the passage. Cross it

D)  Today's young artists' views were not mentioned in the passage. Word  Most  is also strong. So it is incorrect

(E)  There's nothing that sounds accusatory in way that  "saturating the market"  does. And there's nothing in the form of causally connecting " fifteen new collections " and  "vulnerable to criticism" . So it is out

Answer: A

Hope it Helps

Skywalker18 · Answer

All correct in 13 mins,including 4 mins 40 seconds to read.

Para 1- Wynton Marsalis- the biggest name in jazz faces an uncertain future, as does jazz itself
Para 2- change after 1999; Columbia has drastically reduced its roster of active jazz musicians, shifting its emphasis to reissues of old recordings
Para 3- WM is partly culpable for current grim state of Jazz by codifying the music into a stifling orthodoxy and inhibiting innovation
Para 4- WM never advocated mere revivalism, but record executives came away with a different message
Para 5- Economics of long-established record companies with vast archives of historic recordings-- Recycle the old stuff

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?
(D) By emphasizing appreciation of traditional jazz, Wynton Marsalis has unintentionally led major record companies to shun developing new talent in favor of re-releasing vintage jazz recordings.- Correct

Still, he never advocated mere revivalism, and he has demonstrated in his compositions how traditional elements can be alluded to, recombined, and reinvented in the name of individualistic expression, taking the nature of that tradition and trying to push it forward. However, record executives came away with a different message: if the artists of the past are so great and enduring, why continue investing so much in young talent? So they shifted their attention to repackaging their catalogs of vintage recordings.

2. By stating that many people consider Marsalis to embody a "retro ideology," (Highlighted) the former executive quoted at the end of the third paragraph most likely means that they believe that Marsalis
(C) overemphasized strict adherence to tradition- Correct

Marsalis and his adherents have codified the music into a stifling orthodoxy and inhibited the innovative impulses that have always advanced jazz.

3.The author would most likely be less negative about the state of affairs in jazz if
(D) record companies were to emphasize developing new artists while reissuing old recordings- Correct

However, record executives came away with a different message: if the artists of the past are so great and enduring, why continue investing so much in young talent? So they shifted their attention to repackaging their catalogs of vintage recordings.

4. Which one of the following describes a situation most analogous to the situation facing Marsalis, as described in the passage?
(B) A well-known seed research firm aggressively markets new hybrid tomatoes designed to taste like older traditional varieties, but as a result, sales of traditional varieties skyrocket while hybrid sales decline.

In this scenario, new hybrid tomatoes are analogous to Jazz created by WM and older traditional varieties are analogous to the historic jazz

5. According to the passage, Marsalis encouraged young jazz musicians to
(E) stay in touch with the traditions of jazz

Still, he never advocated mere revivalism, and he has demonstrated in his compositions how traditional elements can be alluded to, recombined, and reinvented in the name of individualistic expression, taking the nature of that tradition and trying to push it forward.

6. The author would be most likely to agree with which one of the following?
(A) Ironically, record companies have embraced a kind of classicism that is more rigid than that attributed to Marsalis by critics.- Correct

Marsalis put great emphasis on its past masters. Still, he never advocated mere revivalism, and he has demonstrated in his compositions how traditional elements can be alluded to, recombined, and reinvented in the name of individualistic expression, taking the nature of that tradition and trying to push it forward. However, record executives came away with a different message

7. The passage provides information sufficient to answer which one of the following questions?
(E) What is a factor that contributed to the shift by record companies toward reissuing vintage jazz recordings?

For long-established record companies with vast archives of historic recordings, the economics were irresistible: it is far more profitable to wrap new covers around albums paid for generations ago than it is to find, record, and promote new artists.

ishita27 · Answer

I don't see how the OA to Question 6 is A. By POE I would rather chose B.

Ironically, 
 record companies  have embraced a kind of classicism that is more rigid than that attributed to Marsalis  by critics 
Here, the comparison is made between record companies action, which is more rigid to critic's opinion of Marsalis. I don't think it is true. Since critics said that, and record companies I see both these ideas are parallel here. If the option choice would not have mentioned "critics", this would have been correct.

In B it says, 
 This makes more sense, at least the passage mentions that Marsalis encouraged young talents

Please help me understand how is A the OA ? What is wrong with my pre-thinking ?  GMATNinja   SajjadAhmad   generis

Sajjad1994 · Answer

A is CORRECT.   Last two paragraph  support this. There, the author shows that Marsalis encouraged the creation of new music, as long as it incorporated some tradition. Instead, it is the record labels who have decided that it is most profitable only to republish classic jazz records.

B  goes too far. Mainly, Marsalis encouraged people to pay attention to jazz’s past masters. Nowhere in the passage does it say that Marsalis greatly promoted young artists. This answer is probably based on a misread of lines in the start of  second last paragraph , which say Marsalis  “encouraged young artists to pay attention to the music’s traditions” .

Thank you

ishita27 · Answer

SajjadAhmad  You correctly stated that "the author" shows that Marsalis encouraged the creation of new music. But you see, in option A it says "attributed by critics" not what author thinks. You see the change in language ? The answer choice does not talk about what author thinks about Marsalis, whereas what critics thought about Marsalis.

I agree B is a little extreme, but A is not true either.

Arushita · Answer

sir please explain why answer for q1 is not e, i though the main idea was speaking more about WM and revolved around his downfall in jazz due to criticisms , and the music companies were a part of the main idea but not the overall image.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Take a closer look  E  only covers  paragraph 1 . Main point questions have to cover the whole passage’s main point. This answer should have had something about record labels: they were a major focus of the passage.

Thank you

deveshj21 · Answer

Sajjad1994 
I had a hard time eliminating option E of Q4, Can you please throw some light on this question.

Devesh

Sajjad1994 · Answer

See the first half of 4th paragraph:

Indeed, in seeking to elevate the public perception of jazz and to encourage young practitioners to pay attention to the music's traditions, Marsalis put great emphasis on its past masters. Still, he never advocated mere revivalism, and he has demonstrated in his compositions how traditional elements can be alluded to, recombined, and reinvented in the name of individualistic expression, taking the nature of that tradition and trying to push it forward.

These lines are important for this question. Now look for a situation where someone tries to do good, is criticized for wrong reasons, but actually did cause a problem for different reasons.

B  matches because Hybrid = Marsalis’ new music influenced by tradition (lines above). Traditional varieties = classic jazz sold by record labels.

E  is wrong because the endangered species is the  “old”  species, so the analogue in the passage would be classic jazz. But, classic jazz did extremely well, whereas here the endangered fish is in even more trouble.

B is correct.

Good Luck

KittyDoodles · Answer

Hi Experts,

Why is option D wrong in QS 7.

Thanks

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Here's the information provided by the passage:

In fact, after two decades with Columbia Records ... Marsalis has no record contract with any company. Over the past few years Columbia has drastically reduced its roster of active jazz musicians, shifting its emphasis to reissues of old recordings. Atlantic Records folded its jazz catalog into the operations of its parent company, Warner Music, and essentially gave up on developing new artists.

Here's (D):

(D) Why did Marsalis have no recording contract at the time the passage was written?

What we need to notice is that the information in the passage is not really sufficient for answering (D). The passage says that "Marsalis has no record contract" and then states a few facts about record companies, but it does not clearly connect those facts to Marsalis's having no contract. For instance, it says that Columbia has reduced its roster of active jazz musicians, but it doesn't say that Marsalis has no contract because of that reduction.

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For two decades, Wynton Marsalis complemented his extraordinary gifts

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For two decades, Wynton Marsalis complemented his extraordinary gifts

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