It’s a Great Age for Jazz, but Don’t Call It Golden

Re:It’s a Great Age for Jazz, but Don’t Call It Golden by bevinahally on Thursday December 27, 2018 @03:34PM (#18772405)

This was addressed perfectly by Robert Glasper at a workshop that I attended. To paraphrase, he was talking about current day jazz school students talking about jazz like it's a work of Mozart or Beethoven, to be reproduced perfectly. "Hip-hop musicians are more jazz than jazz musicians today"

I wouldn't write off modern jazz though. I truly think that we're experiencing something phenomenal these days. I highly recommend anything by Snarky Puppy. Case in point - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_XJ_s5IsQc

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Re:It’s a Great Age for Jazz, but Don’t Call It Golden by i_am_proteus on Thursday December 27, 2018 @04:02PM (#18772604)

This.

Jazz is difficult to play, and what makes it interesting is that it requires musicians with the talent and dedication to master their instruments, but also open-mindedness to play new things.

There are forces at work (i.e. Wynton Marsalis) trying to canonize a certain era of jazz as an essentially classical art form while expelling other musicians from the genre. These influences are present in jazz education-- teaching musicians what is jazz and what is not jazz.

Fortunately for all of us, the likes of Snarky Puppy, Kamasi Washington, Esperanza Spalding, John Medeski, and Robert Glasper are still making new music.

Ignore the critics. Listen to something you haven't tried before. You just might like it.

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Re:It’s a Great Age for Jazz, but Don’t Call It Golden by Touche on Thursday December 27, 2018 @04:29PM (#18772790)

Thanks for the recommendations. I'm someone who loves the golden age of jazz but never got into modern jazz. I'd be happy to have my mind changed.

After a small sampling I think Snarky Puppy is definitely not for me. It's a little bit busy for me, I'm much more of a passive listener so anything that requires intense concentration I don't like. Kamasi Washington is much closer to being something I like. So of the songs I've listened to are also a little busy as well, though. Is this just a characteristic of all modern jazz?

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Re:It’s a Great Age for Jazz, but Don’t Call It Golden by bevinahally on Thursday December 27, 2018 @05:40PM (#18773282)

I'd say that busyness is a pretty strong characteristic of modern jazz, but there's still a lot out there that you could listen to passively.

Brad Mehldau - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omF16-qbmeM Bill Laurance - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEXiixI6a2o Harold Lopez-Nussa - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B2R1TmutBA

I really enjoy the golden age of jazz. At the same time there's so much good music around these days and I can't help but appreciate the richness around us today. I'd love to chat about music (my email's on my profile).

Any GroundUp folks reading this, I'll see you in Miami in a few weeks :)

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Re:It’s a Great Age for Jazz, but Don’t Call It Golden by Touche on Friday December 28, 2018 @04:43PM (#18779689)

I'd love to chat about jazz! You're email is not in your profile though..

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Re:It’s a Great Age for Jazz, but Don’t Call It Golden by jdietrich on Thursday December 27, 2018 @05:45PM (#18773317)

>Is this just a characteristic of all modern jazz?

There is certainly a strong post-Dilla trend towards rhythmic complexity, but a lot of contemporary artists are also producing work with a gentle and meditative quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4irB-qy8NY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS2Y_CkaXP0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siFD3ZJsYpM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_HrSD-zCF0

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Re:It’s a Great Age for Jazz, but Don’t Call It Golden by lastflowers on Thursday December 27, 2018 @09:24PM (#18774419)

Thanks for the video. (Alongside the rest of the comments here with links).

As someone who played Jazz for a Youth Ensemble at UofH while still in High School but never progressed once I left HS, I've been sort of at a loss finding some of the newer artists worth exploring. What.CD helped a lot in this respect while it was up, and I ended up buying a lot of Robert Glasper and Kamasai Washington after discovering who Flying Lotus was sampling and liking.

Got some tickets to see them Snarky in Seattle, gonna be a blast. Now I've got some a new Spotify Playlist for the next few months!

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Re:It’s a Great Age for Jazz, but Don’t Call It Golden by jacquesm on Thursday December 27, 2018 @06:13PM (#18773502)

Funny, that's the second time within the space of an hour someone mentions Snarky Puppy. Very nice stuff.

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