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In Reply to: RE: So what is the state of jazz these days in America? posted by free.ranger on April 17, 2016 at 20:00:45
Are there some folks trying to play something in the traditions of Monk and Mingus, to name my favorites?
I enjoyed jazz until the fusion craze and it seemed all of the fellows who should have known better took leave of their senses and jumped on the bandwagon.
I cannot remember the last time I bought a contemporaneous jazz record.
I think the jazz audience was a fragile one and when the electricity took over they quit buying records.
I do not consider Miles Davis's early electrical records fusion but eventually his records contained all of the most annoying aspects of the sub-genre.
If there is anyone on the current scene who has a comparable genius to Monk or Mingus I would love to be told about them.
Follow Ups:
This is laughable. Jazz is not dead by a long shot. There is more music produced and released by a wider variety of artist than probably anytime in the last 50 years. You just have not been looking. Check out Danilo Perez Panamonk and the Mingus Dynasty releases if you want a simple answer to your post. Jazz is worldwide now, in case you missed it.
None of them treat it with the respect due it.
ET
The American artform is more popular elsewhere.
ET
In the beginning there was Marching. Marching eventually gave way to Swinging. Swinging eventually gave way to Rocking. The one prerequisite for the continuum was that the music could be used in a dance hall or party of some kind.(As an aside, there is also the phenomena of Bopping to consider. But Bop rhythms had the tendency to tie themselves into cerebral energies; not danceable enough.)
"Rocking", for many, is one of the most *infectious* forms of musical entertainment. It clearly ties itself directly to the human nervous system and some of our most primary body rhythms and functions.Breathing, heartbeats, walking, running, repetitious labor, etc... These things rock within us, perhaps much more than they bop or swing or march or even glide within us.
Syncopation seems to have made it's way into the American consciousness via the traditions of African laborers that were at one time imported into this country in droves. African work rhythms eventually became intertwined with European marching rhythms. And so the story goes...
Once Rocking gained a foothold in music became it became difficult to moderate or control. Coincidentally - and perhaps ironically as well - the new sound in music blended in extremely well with the new sounds produced by the automated machines proliferating in industrialized societies. Rocking, Beating, Thumping, Whining, Whirring, Swishing. New Instincts, for a New Millenium.
Once people started rocking they found it hard to stop or to go backwards to Swinging and/or Marching, much less Bopping. Although Gliding was/is not completely out of the question.
Edits: 04/20/16 04/20/16
Fusion was a turn away from straight ahead just as Bebop was a turn away from Swing. The music is always changing. Serious Jazz musicians took up fusion for the new instrumentation and sounds that came from those instruments. There are lot of remarkable fusion albums and groups. In a Silent Way is one of my favorite fusion albums. Weather Report, and Hancock's Headhunters are groups that were truly popular at the time and their contributions are still standards today. The Jazz Crusaders made the jump from straight ahead Jazz. They applied their Jazz roots and morphed into the Crusaders playing fusion to a huge audiences based on rock and roll rhythms. Fusion expanded the Jazz base at the time when the baby boomers were experimenting with sound and other forms of sensory augmentation.
With the advent of Disco there just wasn't a lot to improvise upon. This led to Smooth. The musicians took to noodling on top of the dance rhythms. The music execs quickly comprehended how little overhead was required to produce Smooth. Drawn by the thirst for profits Smooth was pushed. Unlike fusion and the other Jazz forms before Smooth, the straight ahead improvised solos disappeared. The one thing that Smooth had going for it was it did not require the listener to focus or concentrate. Smooth was just static on the line.
There were and are a number of Jazz musicians that fought the good fight and survived the dark years of "Smooth." These musicians for the most part played to smaller and smaller audiences, because what they played required the listener's involvement. Smooth worked well for background noise and profits.
Fortunately, Smooth has died (is dying) off. A number of the sentinels of Jazz have survived and a great number of young Jazz musicians who didn't drink the Kool-Aid of the dark period have emerged. Jazz is still alive it just has to find new means of delivery. The challenge for Jazz is the evolution of the short attention span of perspective audiences. However, just as most basic human experiences are still cherished: sex, taste, and smell. Music and and particularly Jazz will endure to those that are willing to take the time and listen.
So far sythethizers and computer music have been just novelties and real performances by real human beings are still the baseline for music.
DaveT
Sounds like you're suffering from you can never go back home again issues. Fusion annoyed you enough that you couldn't see the great straight ahead that you like that was still there.I guess you consider DeJohnettes stuff with Lester Bowie, Eddie Gomez and Abercrombie fusion. To me its in the middle. Third Plane, all acoustic trio of Tony Williams, Ron Carter and Herbie Hancock is one of a gazillion things that fit your definition of jazz and they never stopped happening. They were in the record stores and on real jazz radio which has always been rare. Especially out west.
Early Miles electric from Bitches Brew forward was quite electric and fusion. In a Silent Way to me was still jazz even with electric piano and guitar.
No old jazz guys started playing fusion only younger guys did fusion or 95% of it was young guys anyway. Those older guys didn't stop doing there thing. Something changed in you. Jazz became of many sub genres as did rock later. The stuff you liked was still there. Sadly Monk, Mingus, Coltrane and others died. They were one of a kind or a generation if you will. These types are not replaced. There were many still carrying their torch.
ET
Edits: 04/19/16 04/19/16
Nah, it was smooth jazz. Fusion killed disco, and we're all grateful.
There's nobody comparable to Monk or Mingus but Joshua Redman is very impressive. I heard him in Minneapolis on a visit a few years ago.
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