Jazz for aficionados

**** Art Blakey must be rolling over in his grave! ****

I kinda doubt it. Most musicians don’t think that way. Does the music project sincerity and show a high level of musicianship? Many of the great jazz players are known to have objected to strict genre classification. Some have even objected to the name "jazz" itself. There has always been musical fluff; every era has had it. A lot of "smooth jazz" is musical fluff. Personally, I can’t stand most of it; but some of it isn’t fluff and has some redeeming qualities. Moreover, the lines get blurred with some music that falls into the "fusion" category; and there’s certainly a lot of interesting stuff in that category.

Personally, I don’t feel anything is being "bastardized" by appropriating the term "jazz" for the name "smooth jazz". Truth is "smooth jazz" or whatever one wants to call it is characterized by having many of the elements of jazz (by any definition): harmonic changes more complex than most rock or pop tunes, incorporates improvisation that is decidedly an offshoot or extension of the vocabulary of classic jazz and often features a horn, usually saxophone which is practically emblematic of jazz. The idea that Classic Jazz was somehow hurt by modern jazz, fusion, smooth jazz or whatever is mistaken imo. As tablejockey wrote, the decline in interest in "straight ahead" jazz came first. What we know as Classic Jazz is the product of an era and reflects that time. As great as it was, and still is on record, that music is simply and sadly not as relevant in the context of the overall culture as it once was. Good news is that, as always, there is great new jazz being performed and recorded at a very high level of musicianship and creativity. Whether a particular listener likes it or not is a different matter.

My favorite "pre-fluff" George Benson album (1967):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3c6yArVkXgI

Bruce Katz Band- Transformation

O-that was a tasty serving..thank you sir!

I agree with  frogmans assesment. If anyone is a Wes Montgomery fan, even his later albums are covers of "songwriter" and pop tunes with guitar doing the vocal lines.

I've read that because of the declining interest, this was the only way to generate a paycheck, other than performing.

Weather Report or Return to Forever are examples of fusion that came out of the 70's. All those guys have a "Jazz" pedigree, but had a vision to evolve.

There is however, plenty of processed "fluff."How about those awful remixes/interpretations of classics?

Has anyone heard  "Take Five?" OUCH!

You are quite welcome Tablejockey.

Since we are discussing two guitarists, let me throw in another "jazz guitarist" to put what I know into perspective. Before Grant Green went to "Blue Note", he was on the St. Louis local scene. The place where he performed on the weekend, was also the place where we (me and my buddy's) hung out.

Grant would come through on a quite night (Wednesday), and somebody would turn the jukebox off, and he would play; not for us, but for himself, and leave with very little conversation. This gave me an inside track on Grant Green's most intimate guitar; that was when he was playing for Grant Green and nobody else.

I am one of Wes Montgomery's biggest fans; I'm talking about "Nap Town Wes". That was when he played some of the coolest guitar you ever heard. After he became the famous "Wes Montgomery", I was still a fan, but I understood the difference. No matter what a person does for a living, paying the rent takes on a high priority.

If Wes had lived longer, we would have heard a lot more of "Nap Town Wes", because that's when he would have been able to shift his priority to what pleased Wes.

Down through the years, I'm not certain what my priorities were, but now I'm certain it's collecting the very best jazz available.


Enjoy the music.