Jazzrook
Wondered if you had read this review today?
When I was getting in to contemporary jazz musicians like John Carter and Horace Tapscott totally by-passed my attention. The HatArt / HatHut label always seemed to be associated with the avant garde and musicians who never seemed to get much attention or airplay at the time. It was really niche. It is interesting to discover these musicians now that my taste had broadened and find that the jazz they produced still seems fresh and original. Until the late 1990's, I had heard nothing by Tapscott and his music is far more approachable than I had anticipated. It is very strange to listen to records like "The Dark Tree" and try to envisage this kind of jazz being produced today. There was another review I read this morning which stood in stark contrast and dealt with Brad Mehldau's latest disc which offers a mixture of vocal music with electronica which came with the comment that the pianist needed to look beyond jazz to keep an audience.
Comparing and contrasting Tapscott and Mehldau is actually a pretty interesting thing to do simply because their approach to music is so radically different on so many levels and I think offers a window into the status of the music. It is shocking that the likes of Tapscott, Blythe and Carter have now passed on and maybe they would have found a lot of what passes for jazz as unrecognisable or lacking in integrity. Composers like Tapscott just seem to fully embody what jazz is about in it's more narrow definition whereas someone like Mehldau probably has far greater technique and a much broader embrace of all types of music. I would have probably come down more in favour of Mehldau twenty years ago whereas now I just think the absence of the kind of jazz performed by musicians such as Blythe, Tapscott and Blythe is precisely what is missing in the contemporary scene. I am a bit reluctant to be too negative about Mehldau as there have been moments when I have very much enjoyed his offerings yet by prostituting his music with elements from contemporary pop music is precisely what is robbing it of the honesty prevalent within this music performed by the likes of Tapacott. As for John Carter. I have to say that is lack of recognition is criminal.
Wondered if you had read this review today?
When I was getting in to contemporary jazz musicians like John Carter and Horace Tapscott totally by-passed my attention. The HatArt / HatHut label always seemed to be associated with the avant garde and musicians who never seemed to get much attention or airplay at the time. It was really niche. It is interesting to discover these musicians now that my taste had broadened and find that the jazz they produced still seems fresh and original. Until the late 1990's, I had heard nothing by Tapscott and his music is far more approachable than I had anticipated. It is very strange to listen to records like "The Dark Tree" and try to envisage this kind of jazz being produced today. There was another review I read this morning which stood in stark contrast and dealt with Brad Mehldau's latest disc which offers a mixture of vocal music with electronica which came with the comment that the pianist needed to look beyond jazz to keep an audience.
Comparing and contrasting Tapscott and Mehldau is actually a pretty interesting thing to do simply because their approach to music is so radically different on so many levels and I think offers a window into the status of the music. It is shocking that the likes of Tapscott, Blythe and Carter have now passed on and maybe they would have found a lot of what passes for jazz as unrecognisable or lacking in integrity. Composers like Tapscott just seem to fully embody what jazz is about in it's more narrow definition whereas someone like Mehldau probably has far greater technique and a much broader embrace of all types of music. I would have probably come down more in favour of Mehldau twenty years ago whereas now I just think the absence of the kind of jazz performed by musicians such as Blythe, Tapscott and Blythe is precisely what is missing in the contemporary scene. I am a bit reluctant to be too negative about Mehldau as there have been moments when I have very much enjoyed his offerings yet by prostituting his music with elements from contemporary pop music is precisely what is robbing it of the honesty prevalent within this music performed by the likes of Tapacott. As for John Carter. I have to say that is lack of recognition is criminal.
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