Quite intrigued by this opinion piece article which is fascinating as it features so many female instrumentalists and also talent from the UK. I have to say that I don't think this is at all surprising.
I was quite shocked by how many of these names are totally unfamiliar to me although the British names largely appear to be musicians who have been prominent over here for a number of years now. Shabaka Hutchings is probably enjoying the greatest amount of truck with American critics of any British saxophonist and seldom seems to be out of the American press whenever the British scene is concerned. I am not surprised by Nubya Garcia's selection either although I was by Yazz Ahmed's inclusion which seems surprising on the strength of a couple of albums. (Nice to see her getting some attention even if I was taken aback that the more "outside" trumpeter Jaimie Branch seems to have been over-looked by whoever compiled this list. ) I have never heard of Yussef Dayes although I have seen his boss Tom Misch perform at Vienne last year. Maybe SA is aware of him?
There are a handful of players I am familiar with. For me, Tomeka Reid is the standout name. She has been probably the most exciting jazz musician for the last few years , her name being a byword for music which wholly respects the tradition whilst continuing to push forward the AACM pursuit of creativity. Her quartet with Mary Halvorson is one of the best jazz groups around at the moment. However, if anyone has been paying attention, she has been a standout name for quite a while now. As a fan of her last two quartet albums, I feel that she has already cemented her reputation. She is one of my current favourites.
Not surprised to see Christian Sands' name in the mix too. I have seen him live an her is an exceptionally exciting pianist and has a sense of swing which is of the same kind of scale of someone like Hampton Hawes. Some here might consider him to be conservative but when the music sounds this good, it is of not importance. Like Tomeka Reid, I feel this is a good call.
Vibes player Joel Ross is a name I have heard although I cannot recall hearing his music. He is a new name to the Blue Note roster and someone I had made a note to check out. I also keep reading singer Veronica Swift's name on websites as well and was similarly unaware of her until a few months back.
The big surprise for me is the inclusion of Chilean singer / guitarist Camila Meza whose album was enjoying a lot of publicity last year and to such a degree that I bought the album. I have got to say that her guitar playing sounds like Metheny and the writing for the chamber string ensemble accompanying the jazz group was impressive. The whole concept should be applauded for it's ambition and the way the strings are accommodated in the context of a jazz quartet. Less pleasing was her singing which suffers from some seriously bad intonation. I did not feel her singing was as agreeable as her guitar playing
The selection of 25 musicians seems to suggest a lack of awareness of what is happening in Europe whereas the styles of jazz represented broadly seem "contemporary" with no representation for jazz by large ensembles and the avant garde being under-represented.
Wondered if anyone was familiar with some of the musicians named on this list ? Are there some more obvious names missing ? It makes an interesting if subjective read. Always nice to be given suggestions of other musicians worthwhile exploring.
I was quite shocked by how many of these names are totally unfamiliar to me although the British names largely appear to be musicians who have been prominent over here for a number of years now. Shabaka Hutchings is probably enjoying the greatest amount of truck with American critics of any British saxophonist and seldom seems to be out of the American press whenever the British scene is concerned. I am not surprised by Nubya Garcia's selection either although I was by Yazz Ahmed's inclusion which seems surprising on the strength of a couple of albums. (Nice to see her getting some attention even if I was taken aback that the more "outside" trumpeter Jaimie Branch seems to have been over-looked by whoever compiled this list. ) I have never heard of Yussef Dayes although I have seen his boss Tom Misch perform at Vienne last year. Maybe SA is aware of him?
There are a handful of players I am familiar with. For me, Tomeka Reid is the standout name. She has been probably the most exciting jazz musician for the last few years , her name being a byword for music which wholly respects the tradition whilst continuing to push forward the AACM pursuit of creativity. Her quartet with Mary Halvorson is one of the best jazz groups around at the moment. However, if anyone has been paying attention, she has been a standout name for quite a while now. As a fan of her last two quartet albums, I feel that she has already cemented her reputation. She is one of my current favourites.
Not surprised to see Christian Sands' name in the mix too. I have seen him live an her is an exceptionally exciting pianist and has a sense of swing which is of the same kind of scale of someone like Hampton Hawes. Some here might consider him to be conservative but when the music sounds this good, it is of not importance. Like Tomeka Reid, I feel this is a good call.
Vibes player Joel Ross is a name I have heard although I cannot recall hearing his music. He is a new name to the Blue Note roster and someone I had made a note to check out. I also keep reading singer Veronica Swift's name on websites as well and was similarly unaware of her until a few months back.
The big surprise for me is the inclusion of Chilean singer / guitarist Camila Meza whose album was enjoying a lot of publicity last year and to such a degree that I bought the album. I have got to say that her guitar playing sounds like Metheny and the writing for the chamber string ensemble accompanying the jazz group was impressive. The whole concept should be applauded for it's ambition and the way the strings are accommodated in the context of a jazz quartet. Less pleasing was her singing which suffers from some seriously bad intonation. I did not feel her singing was as agreeable as her guitar playing
The selection of 25 musicians seems to suggest a lack of awareness of what is happening in Europe whereas the styles of jazz represented broadly seem "contemporary" with no representation for jazz by large ensembles and the avant garde being under-represented.
Wondered if anyone was familiar with some of the musicians named on this list ? Are there some more obvious names missing ? It makes an interesting if subjective read. Always nice to be given suggestions of other musicians worthwhile exploring.