Has jazz run its course?

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Well, I was listening late to a Canadian jazz radio station a few nights ago and they played a Chris Potter/Douglas track that spun me around and that doesn't often happen when you're 92. Wonderful playing from Potter.

If ony there was a Canadian jazz station in Britain.
Or a waffle shop.

BN:

[Serial_Apologist]

Reasons to be cheerful:-

Piano ~ Keith Jarrett, Paul Bley, Bob Stenson, Vijay Iyer, Jason Moran, John Escreet, John Medeski, Herbie Hancock, Danilo Perez, Eri Yamamoto, Craig Taborn, etc


Bass ~ William Parker, Dave Holland, Jason Roebke, John Pattitucci, Tarus Mateen,

Drums ~ Eric Harland, Jack DeJohnette, Nasheet Waits, Frank Rosaly, Clarence Penn, Hamid Drake, Peter Erskine, Jaimeo Brown, etc

Trumpet / cornet ~ Ambrose Akinmusire, Dave Douglas, Roy Hargrove, Peter Evans, Tomasz Stanko, Josh Berman, etc

Tenor ~ Chris Potter, Joe Lovano, Branford Marsalis, Keefe Jackson, David Murray, Ken Vandermark, Ari Brown, J D Allen, David Sanchez,

Alto - Kenny Garrett, David Binney, Rob Brown, Matana Roberts, Miguel Zenon, Sonny Simmons, Tim Berne, etc

Trombone ~ Jeb Bishop, Ray Anderson, Alan Ferner, Robin Eubanks, etc, etc

It's amazing how anyone can suggest that jazz is dead!

Yes but all Americans presumably???, (except for Holland, and he's an honorary) - I'd never have guessed!

[charles t]

Well, I was listening late to a Canadian jazz radio station a few nights ago and they played a Chris Potter/Douglas track that spun me around and that doesn't often happen when you're 92. Wonderful playing from Potter.

If ony there was a Canadian jazz station in Britain.
Or a waffle shop.

BN:

Bluesie: Thanks for that fine response to my fav (living, that is) tenorist - Chris Potter.

Heard him with Dave Holland and that - 'sealed the deal'.

Also this year with Pat Metheny Unity Group and this tune was transfixing (Chris solos at 2:18):

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Bluesie: Thanks for that fine response to my fav (living, that is) tenorist - Chris Potter.

Heard him with Dave Holland and that - 'sealed the deal'.

Also this year with Pat Metheny Unity Group and this tune was transfixing (Chris solos at 2:18):

Yes CT, I heard him with Dave Holland but had forgotten just how good he is. At my jaded age/mid 60s it takes a lot to enthuse but he certainly did on that broadcast. Wonderful.


BN.

[Ian Thumwood]

Yes but all Americans presumably???, (except for Holland, and he's an honorary) - I'd never have guessed!

SA

Have a read through my list again as there are at least six non-Americans in my list excluding Holland. You mght also want to add someone like David Virelles as well. Plenty of good stuff in European too (but also plenty of very over-rated artists as well.) My list isn't exhaustive - just a sample of musicians whose work I think matters. Rather than pick on nationalities, I've tried to cover various styles, my point being that there is a wide range of stuff to listen to if you are prepared to hunt it down.

[Ian Thumwood]

It's funny how some records don't thrill on first listen and it is only a long while afterwards when they are rescued from the back of my cupboard that you can hear something fresh about the record. One of the records I picked up very cheaply last year was Kate McGarry's "If less is more" which had the added bonus of a backing band that included the organ of Gary Versace and Donny McCaslin's tenor, all under-pinned by the brilliant drummer Clarence Penn.

With regard to jazz singers, there is always a degree of pigeon-holing with particular singers always being labelled as influenced by Billie, Ella, Betty Carter, etc or, even worse, labelled as not being a jazz artist. The situation is complicated insofar that so many younger singers seem to take their cures from earlier styles of jazz so that they don't seem contemporary or appear to make older styles of jazz sound commercial / pop or you have a situation where someone like Gretchen Parlato will do something by the likes of "Simply Red" and also include Shorter and Hancock tunes on their albums at the same time so that the message is mixed where the audience may be coming from a more progressive jazz background. I quite like Cassandra Wilson's approach which, for me, seems deeply rooted in the black musical heritage but with the Coltrane like propensity to re-style the "whitest" of material like 1960's musical theatre.

McGarry is really interesting as there is almost an Irish folk feel in here voice which reminds me a bit of Christine Tobin whilst also have something of Anita O' Day's ability to play around with the tune. The harmonic liberties taken with a lot of the repertoire also recalls Norma Winstone even if McGarry doesn't sound anything like the legendary English jazz singer. The point is that McGarry is performing jazz and not a parody of jazz. "Let's face the music and dance" is re-invented as something almost mournful whereas "You're my thrill" is positively sly and jivey - probably the defining version I have heard of this tune for which Versace's minimal organ interjections and the wonderful bass line are instrumental in making this arrangement a success. There seems to be quite a bit of "singer / songwriter" material tucked away on the disc too which I had totally under-estimated. The writing is really good and even the old Bob Dylan classic "the times are a-changing" sounds like it was always a jazz standard.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

a highly pertinent article

[Quarky]

a highly pertinent article

The issue I have with the "Jazz has run its course" group, is that they are 50 years out of date. Their arguments seem to relate to the development of Free Jazz in the '60s, and 'Trane's contributions, in particular, when they lost sympathy with Jazz music. But what about all the jazz music that has been played, performed, recorded and broadcast in the interim? This does not appear to have made the slightest difference to their views.

I may be wrong, but I tend to regard Trane as an historical Jazz figure, in much the same way as Benny Goodman, Charley Christian, Bird, Dizzy, etc. Of course he was a founder of the free Jazz movement, but so much has happened in the last 50 years, that listening to his recordings takes me back in time, but is not "where it's at" in the present day. Ian gave us a list of current performers on the Jazz scene. I can't think of many contemporary UK musicians that I would directly link to Coltrane. Django Bates for example goes back to Bird for inspiration.

A good article, well argued, but I don't think release of a Trane recording is going to make a significant difference to issues under discussion.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

Ah but Oddball he goes on to cover several releases on the same theme ...... not just The Offering but MOPDTK Blue, Bill Frissel, STeve Colemna's McArthur prize and Jamie Cullum!

jazz never smells funny

[Ian Thumwood]

I was really shocked by the MOPDTK version of "Kind of blue" as Peter Evans and Jon Irabagon are musicians I always felt are capable of making really salient contributions to jazz whereas this effort seems totally pointless. It's just a musical argument like Cage's "4 mins, 33 seconds" where we can concur that their is musical logic in the argument for total silence (notate it how you wish and is whatever key or time signature you wish!) but it does seem "anti-jazz."

I'm always struck by articles in magazine such as the one in the link. A handful of current records are randomly selected without relay presenting any of the chosen artist's better work nor making recognisance that there have been a wealth of much better albums released by other musicians this year. However, it does illustrate what a broad church jazz is and that it is capable of producing the goods by being totally contained within the tradition as demonstrated by a wealth of artists ( such as a wonderful label like Criss Cross) through to other albums that might take a cue from pop music, classical, rock , country or anything else. Performing Coltrane licks no longer cuts the mustard in 2014 as it might have done in 1984 but jazz is no so diverse and generally consistent that I would concur that the state of the music is amazingly good. This doesn't detract from the brilliance of the jazz of the past although I feel that the music has never been so varied in content.

[charles t]

a highly pertinent article

Calum: I feel that the article by Will Layman, presents a basic study, via well-chosen metaphors, re: the intensity of the latter stage of Trane's career.

As the Offering recording encaptures Trane's improvisational-composing mind - constantly in overdrive mode.

Coltrane who was known to continue playing/composing at the end of a set in a club. while walking into the kitchen of same, horn-to-mouth.

I had to smirk at the many references to (writer) Geoff Dyer. When he appeared at the L.A. Times Festival of Books here at the Univ of So. Calif., I had brought my copy of But Beautiful for a signing...but I really wanted to confront him about placing a scene therein, of a fictional Art Pepper, monitoring the activities of a Pacific Ocean beach - from his prison cell!!!!!

But I forgot to, as I had just had a spirited argument with the guy in front of me, after I made a flippant commentary as to the presence of Chinese transfer-students, assisting in keeping the signing-line going, etc.

U.S.C. now has over 2,000 students from China in attendance - 1/5th of the total enrollment. From a nation that is determined to bury us back to the days of the building of the Great Wall of China...at least doing it principally economically for the moment. (Cybercrime another matter.)

If they ever decide to force our government (sic) to come-across with all those borrowed trillions, our social-security $$$$$$'s will dry-up and I better pick my place to live in ME - HE - CO (enclm mark assumed)

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

i wouldnt worry chas, a usa default probably keeps the central cttee awake at night ....

i have a spare bedroom - you are welcome

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Hey yeah CT, UKIP are opening a US branch soon!

Not like the States ever dictated policy by force, terror and worse to anyone is it?

"encui si ren bang" : Smash the Gang of Four!

As we say in Wales.

BN.

[Serial_Apologist]

Hey yeah CT, UKIP are opening a US branch soon!

Not like the States ever dictated policy by force, terror and worse to anyone is it?

"encui si ren bang" : Smash the Gang of Four!

As we say in Wales.

BN.

People have ended up down the Abergavenny salt mines for saying less.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

I have been waterboarded by the Welsh Waterboard. I no longer have any fear.

I have seen the future and its Charlotte Church singing the Internationale on the roof of the Welsh Assembly...."Avante Comrade Charleeee!"

BN