By Nils Jacobson

Take a good look at the jazz around you. The big marketing push from major labels helps ensure that their artists receive the lion's share of attention in the mainstream press. The Grammy Awards, essentially an industry-sponsored event, rewards players on the big labels. When did you last see an Okka Disk artist nominated for a Grammy? How often does your local commercial jazz station play music by Derek Bailey? It's time for a time out.

Take stock of where jazz is today, and consider where it was in the mid-'60s. Assuming the big labels' viewpoint, we've done a lot of refining--but essentially there's nothing fundamentally new. The self-appointed Head Spokesperson of Jazz, Wynton Marsalis, endlessly mines the same sounds that improvisers introduced decades ago.

To be fair, fusion has attracted its share of listeners since the '70s, mainly because of crossover interest from rock. Groove artists like John Scofield, Charlie Hunter, or Medeski, Martin, and Wood have exploited audiences' fondness for the hip body-shakin' sounds of funk. (Note: the primary commercial interest here--as in most cases where major jazz labels sign crossover artists--comes from the fact that audiences already have basic familiarity with the material that fuels the music.)

Occasional examples buck the trend. Saxophonist David S. Ware, who signed to Columbia a couple of years ago, continues to make iconoclastic music. Likewise, free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman mysteriously managed to release several great records recently on Verve. But in order to appreciate the depth of the last forty years of jazz innovation, you have to move beyond the few artists who've bridged the gap. You have to accept the fact that you aren't going to hear about it from the forces that control the industry.

When was the last time visionary pianist Cecil Taylor had a major label release? (Ironically, the German label FMP has somehow managed to take up most of the slack.) When did you last hear a Ken Vandermark disc playing in your local chain store? When did guitarist Joe Morris last make it into the Billboard Top 10? These three American musicians have been forced to release their work on tiny indie record labels, often relying upon European labels to promote their work. American saxophonist Ellery Eskelin invented a whole new style of jump-cut music mixing the sounds of R&B, off-kilter swinging jazz, and free improvisation. Did you hear about him from a major label? No--in fact, Eskelin has documented his work primarily through a series of outstanding records on Canadian, Italian, and Swiss record labels.

What is the moral of this story? Boycott jazz? No way!

Despite the array of commercial interests throwing their weight behind mainstream jazz, an underground community of innovative improvising musicians has taken root--continuing to redefine jazz music. They get their word out via alternative publications, college radio, and word of mouth. Some artists have started up their own labels: Tim Berne's Screwgun, John Zorn's Tzadik, or Anthony Braxton's Braxton House label, to name three examples run by landmark American improvisers.

Support your local alternative radio stations--and college radio is a great place to start. Make a point of reading independent publications like Cadence, The Wire, Signal To Noise, or any of the recent crop of alternative internet jazz 'zines. Frequent your local independently-owned record store instead of the chains (whether they be physical or virtual). Seek out records on small independent record labels like Songlines, Justin Time, Soul Note, HatArt, Atavistic, FMP, and AUM Fidelity. Go to local clubs and sponsor the development of young talent.

The only way to get beyond being a tool of the corporate jazz machine is to make a conscious effort to find your own music. Join the jazz underground and support the musicians who refuse to conform to the standards of the past. Your support is the only way improvised music will be able to move forward into the next milennium.

Most people agree America was the birthplace of jazz. But ironically, creative improvising musicians from this country often find the only way to survive today is to tour Europe--where public sponsorship makes performance worthwhile. So raise your voice, speak with your wallet, and commit personal effort to inform yourself about the music of tomorrow. Individual voices in jazz need individual support, and that means you.