[JPL] "Nu-Jazz" from All About Jazz & Wikipedia

Thu Jul 19 12:30:57 EDT 2007

"The melodies are fresh, and the rhythms new and alive. It makes Jazz fun again. " 

  Hmmmm......well, I wasn't going to respond more about this but that statement got to me. So here goes the purist in me...... I will have to say this is a big pot of doodoo. You don't think what Joshua and his trio with Harland are doing is fun?  Or what Virgil or Vinnie are doing? Contrary to what some may think there is plenty of "fresh" in jazz and fusion being brought to the table. There in nothing in so called "Nu-Jazz" that I've heard that comes close to that level of musical application or anything I recognize as jazz or fusion. Nothing. Fun for who is the question...... and much of the folk that listen to this stuff don't like jazz. Period. The music is just too different so how is that building an audience for jazz? It's building an audience for Nu-Jazz. Sorry folks I'm just sick and tired of this dumbing down of this music. 

  I've talked with some of these musicians that play in this style. There are exceptions of course but not many. In terms of rhythm I asked some if they ever heard Max do the Drum Waltz (and how long ago that was) or Tony with "Emergency" or Billy on "Inner Mounting Flame" or quite frankly much of jazz before 1970 and many of them haven't. So how in the world can someone say these rhythms are "new and alive?" 

  That's part of the problem....many don't know the history and what preceded them and then they proclaim to be doing something new in jazz and worse yet...have some in media buy into it. This is how much of this nonsense is perpetuated. One day hopefully more will realize that this actually hurts jazz music or any artists trying to play creative music and limit the options for those wanting to embrace it....simply because it has "jazz" attached to it. When you ask why is the jazz audience getting smaller.....this is why. It's part of a bigger picture. That quote actually implies that jazz is some sort of bad un-cool thing. Oh, it's not fun anymore so now we have something fresh again...NU-JAZZ!!!! I'll say it again....this does nothing but work against keeping jazz music vital and historically significant.  

  And speaking of fusion........highly recommended....Alex Argento's "Ego." He's a keyboardist from Sicily. Burnin. Nothing Nu-Jazz here.

  Not directed at you David but the writer. 

  Jae Sinnett  

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here are a couple of attempts at defining Nu-Jazz.
-david

" Nu Jazz is to (traditional) Jazz what punk or grunge was to Rock. [...] 
The songs are the focus, not the individual prowess of the musicians. Nu Jazz 
instrumentation ranges from the traditional to the experimental, the melodies 
are fresh, and the rhythms new and alive. It makes Jazz fun again. " -- Tony 
Brewer, at All About Jazz 

>From the Wikipedia:
Nu jazz is an _umbrella term_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella_term) 
coined in the late 1990s to refer to music styles that blend jazz textures and 
sometimes jazz instrumentation, _funk_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk) , 
_electronic dance music_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_dance_music) , and free _improvisation_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvisation) 
_[1]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nu_jazz#_note-0) . Also written nu-jazz or 
NuJazz, it is sometimes called electronic jazz, electro-jazz, e-jazz, 
jazztronica, jazz house, phusion, or future jazz.

Like the terms _electronica_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronica) and 
_jazz_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz) , nu jazz is a loosely defined 
umbrella _musical style_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_genre) . It ranges 
from combining live instrumentation with beats of jazz _house_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_music) (exemplified by the _French_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France) _St Germain_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Germain_(musician)) , the _German_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany) 
_Jazzanova_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazzanova) and _Fila Brazillia_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fila_Brazillia) from the UK) to more band-based improvised 
jazz with electronic elements (such as that of the _The Cinematic 
Orchestra_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cinematic_Orchestra) from the UK, the 
Belgian _PhusionCulture_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title
=PhusionCulture&action=edit) nu jazz improvisation collective, and the _Norwegian_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway) "future jazz" style pioneered by _Bugge 
Wesseltoft_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugge_Wesseltoft) , _Jaga Jazzist_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaga_Jazzist) , _Nils Petter Molvær_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nils_Petter_Molvær) , and others). It is a term sometimes 
ascribed to _Squarepusher_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squarepusher) 's music. 
Nu jazz typically ventures farther into the electronic territory than does 
its close cousin, _acid jazz_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_jazz) (or 
groove jazz), which is generally closer to earthier _funk_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk) , _soul_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_music) , and 
_rhythm and blues_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_and_blues) , although re
leases from noted groove jazz artists such as the _Groove Collective_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Groove_Collective&action=edit) and _Chris 
Hale_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chris_Hale&action=edit) blur 
the distinction between the styles.

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