Date:	06-May-1998 00:20:00
From:	Bernardo Bosisio (milanez@.com.br)
	For me Bird,Coltrane,Miles Davis and Ornet are big names of we can call advancing jazz,because they influenced a hole jazz generation ,changing the jazz forever,ofcourse I could name many others giantes even some of todays but this few ones are jazz advanced for shure.Thank you

 

Date:	06-May-1998 14:39:40
From:	wynton marsalis (jazz01@webtv.com)
	no other composer/musician besides ellington, jellyroll morton, miles, coltrane, parker, and of course pops; explored all the different avenues of jazz music like mardalis has. not only does he play with soul but he invests his talent in younger musicians like no other person

 

Date:	06-May-1998 21:05:01
From:	Walter Price (lw627329@aol.com)
	I will tell you who isn't. Wynton Marsalis, one of our greatest jazz trumpet players always bringing down anybody who plays "plugged in." Does this guy ever play with one electric instrument-even an organ. Wynton take your elitist, Miles hating, Stanley Crouch loving, New Orleans retro, Lincoln Center dictatorship, electric programmed hating, perfect trumpet playing, musically safe self back in time so you can play with pops himself!!!!!!

 

Date:	09-May-1998 02:07:05
From:	Paul Abella (Pabella3@aol.com)
	You want to know who is advancing jazz? John Scofield, hopefully. The new "A Go Go" album may not swing, and it may not have AABA structures, but it has two major factors: 1) the attention of the youth of America. That album, in the three weeks it's been around has turned more people onto jazz than anything else outside of MMW themselves, who play on this album anyways. Without some young blood on a major scale, Jazz is gonna dry up and become repertoiry (sp) music really damn fast. If you don't want cats playing Confirmation note for note in 20 years, be glad for cats like Scofield. 2) Accesibility: Let people get into Giant Steps and Milestones later, give 'em something they can sink their teeth into now. "A Go Go" matches that description beautifully. If advancement is strictly an artistic thing, then the jazz world in general needs to pull its thumb out of its ass and learn to just dig the music. As long as we try to shove it down people's throats as art, you're gonna scare people off. I don't know about y'all, but I like seeing fresh faces at my shows. that doesn't happen when I'm trying to be an artist instead of just playing from the gut and the heart. On the other hand, if advancement is based on bringing the music to an audience, then we all owe a standing ovation to Mr. Scofield for getting his groove on. if anyone wants to argue this point with me, e-mail me and I'm sure it will be a lively discussion. Keep Your Ears Open, Paul

 

Date:	11-May-1998 00:06:55
From:	rob (rcrave@webtv.net)
	how is jazz supposed to advance? i don't understand the question. do you mean reach a broader audience? evolve? progress? jazz, just like anything else is a very individualized thing. for me, trane, miles,and monk are the holy trinity. what i hear of contemperary jazz, you can have it. but thats cool. i have a hard time finding anything current to listen to. i just don't like synths or drum machines. i geuss what i really like is good ol' acoustic music. i can't even get into miles' stuff after 1964 or so. i would love to have some new music to look forward to. maybe someone who loves the trinity, and has found new music to listen to could turn me on. i like ravi coltrane's new album, but i can't depend on future generations of the coltranes to fill a current void. in the meantime, for me no one is evolving. when trane took the music to a further place, people freaked. maybe marsalis has the right idea!

 

Date:	12-May-1998 11:35:40
From:	chris s (cslawec9@idt.net)
	That's an interesting point -- I would interpret "advance" in terms of the music, not the promotion thereof. Problem is, who's doing it? "A-Go-Go" sounds nice and everything, but is playing be-bop guitar chops atop the jazz equivalent of The Grateful Dead really advancing anything? I am inclined to go more toward (gulp, setting myself up for criticism) bands like Groove Collective or the Solsonics, who are merging jazz with non-jazz stuff like trip-hop, r'n'b, and world musics. Anybody ever catch the Solsonics' reggae take on Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay"? That's advancing the music.

 

Date:	13-May-1998 15:43:38
From:	Jazz Guitar
	Maybe I'm missing something but here's a point to ponder: I've always thought of jazz as a musician's music; where the solo artists can show their stuff. Jazz is and will continue to evolve as new blood is introduced. New players are influenced by established players and vice-versa. A version of Satin Doll today could sound quite a bit defferent than the original version the duke had penned. Is that bad? Depends on what was "done to it" by the player. Did it sound good? If so, cool! If not, well, don't buy it. As was already said once here, good music is felt as well as played. It's an expression of feeling. Just keep the Wynton's and these "Smooth Jazz" people off of the list of jazz players. Most of that stuff sound like elevator music sent through the computerized Muzak machine. It all sounds alike! Listen to a song played by one of the greats and you can usually recognize the playing style before you recognize the song! Miles, Duke, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, George Shearing, et al. Who's advancing jazz? I don't know. I'm still discovering the sounds of the masters. The players will always notice what's selling. Create the market for what you want to hear. Keep hitting the jazz shelves where you buy your music. If you can't find new players with a sound you like, look for more of the masters that you haven't bought yet.

 

Date:	14-May-1998 00:36:41
From:	Paul Abella (again) (Pabella3@aol.com)
	Fellow Jazz listeners-- As a musician and a listener, I take severe offense with the thought that Jazz is musicians' music. That sort of thought allows for the massive wanking and general bad taste of Mike Stern and the Brecker Brothers. You want to show off your chops on stage? Do it over the course of the night. Blaze through a chorus of Oleo. Show off your sensitive side with a beautiful playing on Lush Life. Get bluesy on Pfrancing. But for God's sake, don't wank. Realize that Jazz is MUSIC. Not jerk off material. Not snobbery material. It is music that resides in the pocket of the groove. It is music that swings. It is the music of the gutters (see Charlie Parker) the whorehouse (see Billie Holiday) and the infatiguable spirit (see Roland Kirk). Remember that, and Jazz will progress. It's not about the songs that are played and it's not about hitting the hardest note to play on your instrument. It's about time some of the blander than shit players and educators got hip to that fact. John Scofield did, and now he's playing with MMW. Gregory Tardy did, and he's playing Maxwell tunes. Joshua Redman did, and he's getting more attention than the rest of the jazz world combined. If we MUST live in the past and tell ourselves that we're progressing, we're gonna need more guys that can do it all, like the late, great Eddie Harris, like Jacky Terrasson, and like Charlie Hunter. Until we can learn from the past, but play for the future, Jazz won't progress. Keep Your Ears Open, Paul

 

Date:	21-May-1998 17:53:29
From:	Kristian Niemann (kristian.niemann@swipnet.se)
	In my opinion, the only guy who has something unique and cliche-free to say these days is french soprano saxophonist/ clarinetist Louis Sclavis. Check out his trio recording "Le Querrec"!!!

 

Date:	25-May-1998 21:07:31
From:	Karen Angela Moore (MOORETUNES@aol.com)
	WOW! I love this! Really! Even the negative comments breath life into the jazz we each know and love. Bobby Watson (a fave) is advancing jazz through the Monk Institute, being a part of the NEA, helping with jazz grant, speaking at jazz seminars and raising the awareness! Arturo Sandoval for his generous visit to my hometown high school (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin) and others as well, has touched so many kids that they're burning with desire! Whether anyone likes Wynton's attitudes or comments is beside the point that his time spent educating kids to some level of understanding of jazz is a wonderful thing. By the way - Sun Prairie High School was in New York City this month as a part of a national contest of high school bands performing Essential Ellington at Lincoln Center! They got free scores and tapes to work from...it was a GREAT thing. I personally have had alot of luck getting airplay on College Radio. It's the last unprogrammed frontier. All those stations deserve a round of applause.

 

Date:	25-May-1998 22:57:11
From:	me
	To me, the persons responsible for advancing jazz music are, of course, some of the originals; Buddy Rich, Gene Kruppa (can you tell I'm a percussion fan?) etc. etc. But before I discovered these great artists, I found Squirrel Nut Zippers, Big Bad Voodoo Daddies, and Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Some of you may be wondring, what is this seventeen-year-old punk talking about? Well a new wave of jazz is hitting the scene- and it sounds a whole lot like the original wave! If you haven't checked these bands out, I strongly suggest it- it might give you new hope for the young cats of modern society. Another factor advancing jazz that I couldn't pass mentionong is today's music education. I am in high school marching band (percussion- only female) and we are fortunate to have a wonderful band instructor intelligent enough to introduce us to the originators of the main-stream music of today (THANX ED!!!!!!). I definately feel all of these factors are responsible for furthering the jazz movement!

 

Date:	04-Jun-1998 10:59:00
From:	Jazz Guitar
	Just to clarify my previous post (Paula): My reference to jazz being a musician's music in no way meant to imply that only a musician would appreciate it. Other genres of music have many "players" but not as many musicians. In jazz, however, there are musicians. Maybe it's a personal bias, but nothing moves me like a beautiful solo.

 

Date:	28-Jun-1998 16:21:43
From:	jratner (muckybucky@email.msn.com)
	musicians advancing jazz today are the ones out in the community that perform and teach because they love to do it, not because they're worrying about the next guy taking his gig or playing one more "oh, baby" lick that everyone for the last sixty years knows will get a response. In L.A., luckily Billy Higgins place, the World Stage, provides some of that. and it's really the only place in L.A. where you don't need ten thousand dollars and perfect pitch to earn a spot. this weekend, Barry Harris spent all day teaching a packed room full of young and old, beginning and advanced musicians. they asked for a ten dollar donation. imagine for that, you got to take a turn on the stage with barry harris on piano, and billy higgins on drums, and get some good, constructive feedback. now that to me is advancing the music. leave your egos at home.

 

Date:	08-Jul-1998 07:36:40
From:	Mats Äleklint (aleklint@hotmail.com)
	I think that all good jazz have been played already, i mean Miles started playing with electrical instruments. I think the only way to go is to play free form.

 

Date:	15-Jul-1998 00:57:33
From:	Josh Multack (ofomc@aol.com)
	All I Have to say is JOSHUA REDMAN. For about two years all I would listen to was Bird, Trane, Miles, and Cannonball. I tried this cat named Dave Ellis that everyone was raving about, but he sounded like that shit layed on the soft-jazz stations. Then I picked up Joshua Redman double cd from the Vanguard, I was impressed. He really has a grasp on balladry, and he can blow the shit out of the horn, real tight and concise lyricism. I recommend listening to this cat if you get a chance, and wish that Sonny Rollins new Cd wan't so damn flaky.

 

Date:	19-Jul-1998 13:17:40
From:	Nujazz (Ed Lovell) (nujazz@bellsouth.net)
	It's funny, to see that the previous statements have failed to take into consideration that the musician's of today cannot recapture the essence of what happened back when Billie Holiday, Parker, Strayhorn and the others were feeling. Remember, jazz music is art - tapestry, canvas or pottery fomulated by the musician for the ears. It depicts what a particular artist is dealing with at that time; that being social prejudice, financial woes, insufficient respect for what they are trying to accomplish, etc. These individualized circumstances had a direct impact on what & how these artist were feeling and was thusly disseminated by way of their instruments to the ear of the listener. Jazz comes from the soul, not from a book, or a vial of dope or a musician's ability to effectively "copy" another cats style. I'm inspired by cats like Terrence Blanchard, Josh Redmon, Brad Mheldau,The Swing Association,Roy Hargrove and other "young lions" who are stepping on the scene SERIOUS about their swing, paying homage to the masters, educating others, and undaunted by a society to busy to stop & smell the "Jazz seasoned" roses. who

 

Date:	23-Jul-1998 03:34:35
From:	reid (rtt5@gte.net)
	Paul, I've never really heard Michael Brecker's playing referred to as "wanking." What do you mean by that anyway? Whatever it is, I've really enjoyed the stuff I've heard Brecker on. -------------- I think it's very difficult to say who or what is advancing jazz, if your listening experience is limited (which means me). Having said that, I'll offer some names anyway, knowing that I could be dead wrong, as I accumulate more listening experience. I've never heard stuff that Bill Frisell has done with his guitar and compositions. He really has skillfully and seemlessly blended different styles of music into something original. His album, This Land, is a good example of this I think.

 

Date:	09-Aug-1998 02:43:39
From:	matt buchanan (jazzcat49@aol.com)
	The word advance is a very loose term. The advance of jazz can not be put on just a few musicians ( that's not fair to them) the people who advance jazz are the teachers. These people hold the key to the future of jazz. These people keep this music alive. I'm a seventeen year old who play around the detriot area and when I play, I play to not a person under 45. At this ratein 20 years this great music will be reduced to music you hear when you get put on hold. Any one who has taught another this great music has my vote for who advances this music.

 

Date:	05-Oct-1998 18:59:03
From:	Paul Abella (Pabella3@aol.com)
	to the person needing a clarification from me about Brecker's playing: Brecker sounds like nothing to me. He sounds like a guy who blows his chops with no respect for melody or mood. That is not advancement. It was in 1968. It is not and cannot be in 1998. Jazz is starting to come back in some small form (More people are playing it checking it out and not making the immediate "Jazz must be smooth jazz" connection. If anyone is advancing it, it would be the people who are de-evolving the music a little bit instead of trying to prove just how many notes they can play and how fast they can play them. Hats off to Josh Redman and Brad Mehldau for their new albums. THEY are advancing jazz. Keep Your Ears Open, Paul

 

Date:	06-Oct-1998 03:05:58
From:	Reid (rtt5@gte.net)
	A guy playing a strong melody and in the appropriate mood and advancing the music are two different things. I respectfully disagree with your opinion about Brecker's playing. His soloing on the live Steps recording, Smokin At the Pitt shows he knows how to play with feeling and create a melodic solo. As far as advancing the music, I think his self-titled album was a pivotal one because it mixed elements of contemporary fusion with more mainstream post-bop playing. Brecker has some good solos on that too, and his interplay with DeJohnette is up there with anyone.

 

Date:	20-Oct-1998 22:04:32
From:	Rocky Gprdon (bmps@earthnet.net)
	In order to advance jazz, one must be able to re-define what we believe jazz is. If we believe that jazz is the improvisation of music, than I understand why Miles was so pissed off at the word "jazz" as it was related to by "John Q. Public." We must understand that to improvise, jazz is not defined by rhythm, but the concept of improvising over a song arrangement/structure. So to Miles, Jimi Hendrix was a new form of jazz. Yes, Hendrix was on to something that Miles would have liked to have heard in a more harmonically advanced form, eventually. but Miles had admiration for those who were attempting to improvise out of the norm. After all, didn't he? So the fusion of jazz improvisation and rock rhythms are just another road in jazz evolution. And now you have many artists recording latin, rock, swing, reggae, and any other rhythm they can find so they can incorporate those concepts to that magic word, improvisation. Throw in modern electric sounds, and you have the vision Miles kept exploring. So isn't it fair to say that in order to advance jazz, we must keep exploring new sounds, new rhythms, and new tunes to accommodate the genre. Why can't every jazz group come out and play a swing tune, then a funk tune, a brazilian tune, etc? Why must we have so many bands that are identified catagorically? Why can't we have a jazz tenor saxophonist who can play like Coltrane over a beautiful pop song. After all, didn't Miles play Surrey With a Fringe On Top and Someday My Prince Will Come? I would like to hear a guy like Kirk Whalum Take a blistering solo over a Celine Deon hit instead of the smooth jazz versions of "playing it safe." And it's not that Whalum wouldn't be capable, because on his own CDs you get that sense of character. I realize that in order to sell records one must survive by compromise in order to survive as a musician, especially if you're looking around to see if there are any middleclass players in your neighborhood. However, these are some ideas to think about IN MY OPINION is jazz is ever going to advance in to the next millenium.

 

Date:	23-Nov-1998 10:46:14
From:	Michael
	Here in Vermont the "Bethany's Children Foundation" is advancing jazz music: Below is why and the flip-side... The foundation just orchestrated a once-in-a-lifetime (at least in Vermont) gig at the Flynn Theater, "The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra" w/ Wynton Marsalis on Dec 1. ALL proceeds go to provide access and involvement in the Arts to all public school kids in Vermont! A S-U-P-E-R way to advance something is to extend it to those young up-n-comin' wippersnappin' ankle-biters. They've got more life span ahead of 'em than I. Oh yeah, me... well, I'm no kiddie... and I don't make a heap-o-money either. The cheap seat $55 and the better seat $77 ticket price for this is outta my league. I can try to win a free ticket via local radio stations but I live 'out in the sticks' which can't compete with those faster in-town phone lines. I get MY jazz advancement though the much cheaper or 'no cover' nightclubs and bars which I frequently attend. 3 CHEERS TO THE LOCAL BARS AND NIGHTCLUBS! Their jazz covers a wide spectrum and includes my fav acid-jazz, great independent bands as well as national acts. Yep, no straight shirt jazz purist here! I like it ALL. Recently attended 'Stir Fried' w/ Vassar Clements (awesome fiddle), 'Jazz is Dead', Boston's 'Babaloo' (mambo, african, latino, caribean) , locals 'viperHouse'...

 

Date:	22-Apr-1999 14:09:47
From:	Mike C. (funkifized@aol.com)
	I can't agree with criticisms on Mike Brecker or on Mike Stern. These are two incredibly talented, incredibly inspired, incredibly creative musicians out there today. Because they can and often do get into the more avante garde doesn't mean that they are "wankers." I don't think you're going to find anyone with a better melodic sense than Brecker. I do believe that the one guy who is continually advancing in jazz is John McLaughlin.

 

Date:	08-May-1999 10:11:15
From:	Walter Whistle
	Let's face it, the most creative jazz is coming out of Europe. As the United States stagnates in its tepid retro focus people like Lee Konitz, the World Saxophone Quartet, Julius Hemphill, Marty Ehrlich, Steve Lacy, Kenny Drew, Warne Marsh, Lucky Thompson, Cecil Taylor, Don Friedman, Dave Holland, Paul Bley, Chick Corea,, Kenny Wheeler, Max Roach, Anthony Braxton etc. etc. are/did record in Europe. This country has been conservative and risk aversive when it comes to jazz, so the best have to go elsewhere. As the music business becomes more and more international, the United States' relation to jazz becomes less and less exclusive. In Europe classical music is far more woven into the fabric of the arts and the greater general public. Twentieth century classical music might as well be on another planet as far as most americans are concerned. Ask your sophisticated jazz friends how many Pierre Boulez or Eliot Carter or Donald Martino or even Aaron Copland CDs they have. I suspect there will be a further exodus of american jazz artists from this country as the art world, the media, and the general population becomes even duller. Take a look at Lee Konitz's discography and how much is recorded in Europe? Take a look at the labels Hat Hut Switzerland), ENJA (Germany), Soul Note (Italy), ECM (Germany),and Black Saint(Italy), and you will be stunned at how much recording of major american artists is being done in Europe (and these aren't reissues.) So that's where all those guys went - it is sobering. It's difficult not to come to the conclusion that the United States really doesn't deserve the best of jazz, and it certainly isn't recording it.

 

Date:	09-May-1999 20:56:16
From:	Victor L. Williams
	Don't forget: Steeplechase Records(Denmark) Storyville Records(Denmark) Challenge Records (Netherlands) Sackville Records(Canada) Candid (England) All serious jazz labels releasing interesting music. The United States is becoming like the AAA leagues, with some obvious exceptions.

 

Date:	11-May-1999 18:23:26
From:	George W.
	I read an interview with Stephen King. He said that he only makes salami but he makes good salami. Most of the world is medicore; perhaps our (the US's) role in world jazz is to be the Kingdom of Mediocrity. Is that so bad? I remember that one senator or congressman(maybe from Ohio) said that there's a lot of medicore people out there and he'd be proud to represent them being so medicore himself. Maybe we've shot our wad, as the saying goes. You know, it was glorious while it lasted.

 

Date:	11-May-1999 18:24:20
From:	George W.
	I read an interview with Stephen King. He said that he only makes salami but he makes good salami. Most of the world is medicore; perhaps our (the US's) role in world jazz is to be the Kingdom of Mediocrity. Is that so bad? I remember that one senator or congressman(maybe from Ohio) said that there's a lot of medicore people out there and he'd be proud to represent them being so medicore himself. Maybe we've shot our wad, as the saying goes. You know, it was glorious while it lasted.

 

Date:	11-May-1999 19:16:53
From:	Arthur
	George W: Do you mean we're becoming the Midwest of jazz? Surely it's not that grim!!

 

Date:	14-May-1999 23:17:42
From:	Eileen Levandoski (votejazz@mediasoft.net)
	What was the question again? Who is advancing jazz? My answer to that question is arts administrators... people taking jazz into the concert venue, into our schools for young people to hear, giving it easy access to senior citizens who grew up with jazz and still enjoy it today. Clubs are closing, jazz radio stations are being bought out by owners switching formats away from jazz. What's left for this wonderful artform, so American, so varied, so misunderstood. Embrace arts administrators, ye' jazz artist. Sure jazz as the art form is different... playing for an attendive audience as opposed to a distracted club audience. It takes more out of you, I understand. But, throw it into the arts (i.e. non-profit) world and perhaps new life can come. We, the clever arts administrators, can bring new audiences, take risks (presenting new works and emerging artists), emortalize legendary artists. Artists sing the blues about no venues for jazz. The concert hall is the answer. You just have to work with us. This is new to us just as it is new to you.

 

Date:	15-May-1999 01:15:59
From:	Walter
	If the clever arts administrators can succeed in creating a lively menu for jazz that would be wonderful. I'm sure many jazz musicians would be very supportive. There have been some very successful concert hall presentations - I've attended many myself. There are difficulties to anticipate. The arts administrators for classical music have focused so much on the old war horses - Mozart, Brahms, Beethoven etc. - that it's difficult to believe that we're actually entering the 21st century when 20th century classical music has had such a superficial life in the concert halls. Administrators are business people and that tends to drag the music down to the lowest common denominator - bucks. Of course, there are always innovative/creative administrators and club owners and record labels that have somehow been able to combine good taste, quality music, and some level of financial success. I think this requires are certain combination of practical genius and a spiritual connection to the music/art. Don't get me wrong - I realize that marketplace-values are essentially the primary religious values of this country. I think the reason why Europe is more attractive is that in Europe there is a larger variety of healthy influences in the cultures. All of the unions and professions have not been totally corrupted, undercut or destroyed and European children are not so persistently preyed upon, from birth, by commerical values that glorify the most horrendous things. In short, the hegemony of the corporations in this country is culturally unhealthy. Do any clever administrators have any spiritual connection to the music/arts? To jazz? And if some do will they and the better musicians be put in a position to make the decisions? These are the central questions, since Europe is already an attractive alternative to the United States.

 

Date:	15-May-1999 16:12:56
From:	Zimbo
	In my telephone book yellow pages all the churches in my city are listed under: Business. I'd bet so are yours.

 

Date:	19-May-1999 11:55:32
From:	William Westmoreland
	Hey, it took Rome centuries to completely unravel. So, we do have time to enjoy the music! we'll all be dead by the time this ship goes under!! The deck is still way above water . . . Lets boogie!! Who's advancing jazz? The great musicians. The great CD labels, the great live jazz venues, and great jazz audiences. Support what you love! and check your life jackets!

 

Date:	23-May-1999 11:36:38
From:	Carl
	I have three people to nominate: Michael Cuscuna Orrin Keepnews Phil Schaap I think our time is typified by many high quality reissues and compilations. I look at how many of my favorite CDs have one or two of these names on the back and I am amazed. If I see one of these three names are on a CD I'll take a gamble because these guys have consistently operated with integrity, intelligence, and great musical sense/taste. You guys are the champs!!! I would be interested in seeing these guys put together compilations that highlight unknown/underated players and Euro/World jazz.

 

Date:	23-May-1999 14:46:02
From:	Ignatz T.
	I have an unusual nomination: DONALD MARTINO Check out his "A Jazz Set" (New World Records). He's a heavy duty contemporary classical composer who began as a jazz clarinet player. On one of his CDs the liner notes say that he was friends with the pianist Bill Evans; they played together regularly in a small group. On this CD (Koch 3-7245-2 H1) one section of a larger piece, a suite, is entitled "Ballad for Blue Bill." The notes also say that he recorded with Evans & Elvin Jones!! Apparently the recording is floating around out there or not with us anymore. It would be interesting if it ever surfaces. I pulled up a Donald Martino web site and it said that he has been practicing and beginning to see himself as a player again and not only a composer. How about a Martino/Brad Mehldau collaboration? Anyway, if you want to listen to an excellent CD which is a good intro into Martino and to contemporaty classical music then think about "A Jazz Set" (New World 80518-2). It's small groups, quartet, trio, solo chamber music. Great players (CORE Ensemble), and an excellent recording.

 

Date:	25-May-1999 10:48:51
From:	Clark Wilton
	I say Bill Holman. Check out his THE BILL HOLMAN BAND:THE MUSIC OF THELONIOUS MONK. This is big band music taken to another level - what players, what a band!! The arrangements are among the best I've ever heard. This is a landmark jazz record!! It seems as though Monk's music was orignally written for a big band - you have to hear it to believe it. Exciting stuff, and I never really was a big Monk fan.

 

Date:	26-May-1999 09:02:13
From:	Wilson T.
	I say Marty Ehrlich's Dark Woods Ensemble. This in new Third Stream at its best. The two I've got are: "Emergency Peace" with the great Abdul Wadud on cello, Lindsey Horner on bass, and amazing Muhal Richard Abrams on piano (2 cuts). The other is "Just Before The Dawn" This one has Vincent Chauncy on French horn, Erik Friedlander on cello, Mark Helias on bass, and the great Don Alias on percussion. Marty Ehrlich plays all the saxophones, clarinets, and flutes. Not since Dolphy has there been such a virtuoso. The music is lyrical and intense without being cacophonic. Great stuff. I know they've fairly recently put out a 2CD "Live Wood" out with Ehrlich, Friedlander, and Helias. I haven't heard it yet. Has anyone out there? What do you think?

 

Date:	30-May-1999 14:01:06
From:	Sandra
	Who's advancing jazz. All the labels that are reissueing George Russell's CDs. Jazz has yet to catch up with this great composser. People like Bill Evans, Paul Bley, Art Farmer, Hal McCusick, Eric Dolphy and Steve Swallow were on to something!! Nobody sounds like Russell. My favorites are: GEORGE RUSSELL:THE JAZZ WORKSHOP - (Evans, McCusick, Art Farmer, Milt Hinton etc - small group/sextet sound) JAZZ IN THE SPACE AGE (featuring Bill Evans & Paul Bley) big band, almost concertos for piano, wonderful compositions & bands) EZZ-THETICS (George Russell Sextet) - Don Ellis, Dave Baker, Eric Dolphy, George Russell, Steve Swallow, and Joe Hunt!!!) Big band sound, incredible band & solos.

 

Date:	03-Jun-1999 11:07:31
From:	Michael (mxmulvihill@students.wisc.edu)
	In the last few years a couple of significant CDs have been issued related to jazz/classical cross influences. THE BIRTH OF THE THIRD STREAM (Columbia) is a reissue of two albums involving Gunther Schuller's as a catalyst for more sophisticated jazz conceptions concerning form. This CD has early John Lewis, George Russell, JJ Johnson, Jimmy Giuffre, and Mingus compositions (1957). You can hear the beginnings of these composers development toward larger/more written out forms. Also, some great playing and the appearance of a young unknown - Bill Evans. And many greats like Miles Davis as a soloist (thinking about Gil Evans possibilities?). Hal McKusick who later recorded with Evans etc. etc. Art Farmer, Jimmy Knepper. This is like the "Birth of the Cool" - in retrospect, a lot of history in the making is evident. In addition, there is a Schuller "Symphony For Brass And Percussion" and another shorter Schuller piece. Lots of great music (73+ minutes). The other CD is called VINTAGE DOLPHY (GM Recordings) which has a selection of Schuller chamber/small group compositions which feature the likes of Dolphy, Golson, Costa, Knepper, Persip, Richard Davis, Chuck Israels, Don Ellis, Phil Woods, and some players who eventually became members of the Composers String Quartet (also the great violist Samuel Rhodes). There are 4 Schuller compositions, 1 Dolphy, 1 Byard, and 1 Parker (Donna Lee). This is a very interesting CD with some spectacular playing. Considering Schuller's great books on jazz, and these innovative CDs (that are from the 50's & 60's!!) it's got to get one thinking that Schuller's contributions to jazz are truly immense! I think his influence and outlook has been quietly pervasive among jazz composers. I don't think he is fully appreciated by the larger jazz audience.

 

Date:	07-Jun-1999 17:11:30
From:	Mark Rapp (Ology5@aol.com)
	QUINTOLOGY is advancing Jazz music both musically and promotionally. Quintology is exploring groove based compositions, burn-out swing, rhymic and harmonic adventures, arrangments of standards, keyboard samples, etc. Quintology is making stickers, t-shirts, CDs, refrigerator magnets, etc available,,,checking out the use of the internet to local radio and print media. QUINTOLOGY is a New Orleans based all original modern jazz quintet with liner notes by NICHOLAS PAYTON. Anyone questioning the advancement of Jazz music will find their answer in QUINTOLOGY.

 

Date:	10-Jun-1999 19:48:58
From:	Ignatz
	Having been a Thelonious Monk fan for a long time, I've recently discovered three extraordinary CDs. The first is Steve Lacy's austere but fascinating "More Monk" in which he plays solo sax - lean, taut Monk, wonderfully quirky and funny/sad. The other I bought is Anthony Braxton's "Six Monk's Compositions" with Mal Waldron on piano, and Buell Neidlinger on bass, and Bill Osborne on drums. This is truly an incredible band. Braxton plays a be-boppish Monk with a virtuousity that's stunning. Mal Waldron is a great lyrical foil, and the Neidlinger & Osborne duo form a constantly shifting, creative foundation. This was the first Braxton CD I ever bought and it is an ear opener. The third CD is also extraordinary. I'm talking about Bill Holman's "The Music Of Thelonious Monk" this is big band music at its very best. An odd mix of traditional and very innovative approaches to the music - wow!! Great players a very big sound! If you are a Monk fan these three very different CDs will each be a treat.

 

Date:	22-Jun-1999 17:49:51
From:	Bob O'Hara
	The companies/labels that record interesting jazz music - who take risks on good young players/composers and keep the interesting older players/composers busy. These labels are what keeps jazz alive and in circulation!!

 

Date:	28-Jun-1999 18:33:26
From:	Sylivia P.
	WILSON T - LIVE WOOD is a trio recording with Ehrlich on winds, Erik Friedlander on cello, and Mark Helias on bass. So, it's a smaller unit than the other Dark Woods Ensemble recordings. The performances are superb, the recording is excellent, and some of the music will be familiar to you (and Friedlander & Helias) if you have the other two CDs or some of Ehrlich's recordings. I like LIVE WOOD a lot.

 

Date:	29-Jun-1999 17:07:44
From:	Sylvia P.
	I meant to say that some of the music and the players will be familiar to you if you've heard the earlier Dark Woods Ensemble recordings. Brain glitch - sorry.

 

Date:	30-Jun-1999 17:34:05
From:	Kevin (kleese@rwd.com)
	I have a few comments to make on some of the main themes that have emerged from this thread. 1) Many have remarked that no great jazz has been made since the heyday of Bird, Miles, Monk, Trane, etc. Although these were all brilliant musicians and deserve all the accolades they've been given, there have been some musicians in the last decade or two who have done an excellent job of picking up where these giants left off (Zorn, Frisell, Billy Bang, Marty Ehrlich, Jane Ira Bloom, Dave Douglas, Don Byron, etc.) 2) We live in an exciting, fast-paced age in which a musical style that was considered stale and outdated two months ago will be the retro fad next weekend. Combine this with the fact that we have access to recordings and performances of musicians from all over the globe and you begin to see limitless possibilities for all kinds of fusion. Unfortunately, this has also led to a kind of balkanization of jazz. There are straight-ahead jazz fans, avant-garde jazz fans, klezmer-jazz fusion fans, but very few all around jazz fans. This is why it APPEARS that there are no more titans like Trane and Monk. But look hard enough and you'll find them out there, they're just appealing to a smaller audience than they would have in the 60's or before. 3) Folks, we only have the present. Jazz is THE great American musical idiom and it is evolving as it always has done. A music based so deeply in the African-American experience (and now in the experience of all Americans) and in improvisation cannot stand still. We are all advancing jazz: educators, listeners, dancers and musicians.

 

Date:	30-Jun-1999 21:11:48
From:	Edie
	KEVIN - I like your comments and generally agree with the drift but I think there is more variety in this web than you give it credit for - and there's a good deal of commentary about post 60's jazz (not limited to Miles,Monk,Coltrane as you typify it). Credit where credit's due! Your comments about the smaller audiences and the bewildering diversity are especially apt. Thanks.

 

Date:	30-Jun-1999 23:46:24
From:	Edie
	I meant - variety in this thread - not web - oops!

 

Date:	01-Jul-1999 12:50:13
From:	Kevin (kleese@rwd.com)
	Edie, you're right that there are many more comments on post 60's jazz in this thread than I indicated. My mistake in overlooking this! In fact, I second a lot of those comments (Paul's on Sco and MMW, Chris' on Solsonics and Groove Collective, Wilson and Sylvia's on Ehrlich and Ignatz on Lacy and Braxton). I'd like to hear people's opinions on the point brought up by Walter Whistle in his entry from 8 May 1999. Does everyone agree that there has in fact been an exodus of great American jazz musicians? Or has this been restricted to the avant-garde musicians like Zorn, Lacy, Braxton etc? Are Europe and Japan really exporting our culture to us? I am so often challenged by music on the labels that Walter mentioned. Labels like Black Saint, DIW, Silkheart and hat hut are doing a great job of allowing the music to evolve but who in America is listening? Is America more culturally conservative than Europe and Japan? Can anyone enlighten me as to why Japanese audiences are more accepting of avant-garde jazz than American audiences? And not just "avant-garde" (whatever that term means these days), but any new and different approach to jazz. On a slightly different note, I'm very interested in Masada's habit of interweaving horn solos. Zorn and Douglas often improvise simultaneously, but the music is far from "free". Can anyone recommend other groups who do a similar thing, but who do it in a more structured way than most free jazz would allow?

 

Date:	01-Jul-1999 15:27:18
From:	Robert Farrell
	I have friends in the Netherlands and they say that jazz and classical music is always on the radio in a much more prominent way than in this country. So, people have been listening to a much more sophisticated level of music simply by growing up/living in the culture. In addition, Europe is far more accepting and nurturing of modern classical music in addition to more traditional classical music. In this country it's rare when 20th century classical music is treated as an equal to let's say 19th century (or 18th, 17th etc.) so the 20th century classical harmonies/rhythms/concepts etc. that have been routinely incorporated into "avant-garde/progressive jazz" are no big deal to ears that have been there already. Let's face it - in this country playing somebody like Schoenberg or Webern is considered progressive - these guys have been dead for nearly 50 years!! We are a big backwater of modern music - let's face it there are more culturally sophisticated places on earth. We are shortly moving into the 21st century and this country has barely begun to deal with 20th century classical music!!

 

Date:	01-Jul-1999 19:37:12
From:	Sam
	KEVIN - I don't think Europe is exporting our culture to us. I think jazz is no longer "our culture" - if it ever was. It is becoming more and more an international language/music. Europe just happens to be more interested in the more complex/progressive jazz - so many of the best players are simply migrating there - why not? This country values little except money.

 

Date:	04-Jul-1999 10:10:35
From:	Emily Delgadio
	KEVIN - You list a bunch of interesting musicians (Zorn, Frisell, etc.). Could you go thru your list and reccommend a CD or two (with commentary) as a good intro to each musician? It would be much appreciated! Some of these musicians I've been curious about but hesitant, not knowing what's what. Thanks.

 

Date:	05-Jul-1999 00:04:01
From:	cool b
	Until music that was created by Africans is control by Africans, then Jazz will continue to go to hell.

 

Date:	05-Jul-1999 22:47:26
From:	Thomas
	There's nothing wrong with the music, the best is just shifting locations.

 

Date:	05-Jul-1999 23:00:38
From:	R.P. Sessions
	Africans????? Louis Armstrong was African? Duke Ellington? Lester Young? Art Tatum? Charlie Parker? I have my doubts that anyone of these great musicians would have described themselves as "African."

 

Date:	06-Jul-1999 13:24:07
From:	Kevin (kleese@rwd.com)
	EMILY - Here are some recommendations: John Zorn - His discography is dizzyingly eclectic. A good starting point is any of the Masada discs. Masada exists as a quartet, a string trio and various chamber ensembles, but the quartet is probably the most jazz-oriented. The quartet albums are entitled simply "One" through "Ten". All of these are excellent. They're all Japanese imports (ie. expensive), but this is some of the most passionate jazz being made today. If you ever get the chance experience them live. You will not be disappointed! Bill Frisell - I recommend starting with "This Land". The guitarist often says he is searching for a sound that he knows is out there. On this album I think he's found it. If you hear this album and decide it's not jazzy enough for your tastes then check out his work with Paul Motian, especially the On Broadway albums. Also, if you enjoy quiet, introspective music don't miss "In Line." This album includes a piece called "Throughout" which I think is his best composition. Billy Bang - "The Fire From Within" has unique instrumentation (love that marimba) and a thematic cohesiveness (based on a Castaneda book)that make this album stand out for me. It's introspective and spiritual, but somehow manages to remain funky at the same time. Dave Douglas - If you like jazz with strings (but not orchestration) check out "Parallel Worlds". Right now I'm really into "Moving Portraits" which is a tribute to Joni Mitchell and includes three of her songs. By the way, he's also the trumpeter for Masada (that "downtown scene" is so incestuous!) Don Byron - "Bug Music" is one of the most fun albums you'll ever hear. This album was a great reminder of the pleasure of swing even before the retro swing craze took hold. If you can listen to this album without dancing, tapping your feet and/or laughing at the cartoon references then you must be in a coma! Jane Ira Bloom - Some of her music is too cerebral for me, but I find "Slalom" very enjoyable. In addition to her fine soprano sax playing it includes the wonderful piano of Fred Hersch. I hope that answers your question. If you get a chance to listen to any of these I'd be interested to hear what you think. Enjoy!

 

Date:	12-Jul-1999 22:47:14
From:	Emily
	KEVIN: Much thanks!! Have some shopping and listening to do!!

 

Date:	17-Jul-1999 00:07:15
From:	Sippie
	Muhal Richard Abrams Henry Threadgill John Carter Oliver Nelson These guys are all great - their work is underappreciated, be they alive or not.

 

Date:	28-Jul-1999 22:51:10
From:	Swiggy
	KEVIN: I picked up Don Byron's "Bug Music" and feel compelled to report that I have never before seen my cats stand up on their hind feet and listen to music!! Their little ears scope, and when I dance around the room they sway with the music. Thankyou so much for your suggestion. Such wonderful upbeat music!!

 

Date:	08-Aug-1999 14:39:55
From:	Togo Van Peldo
	Advancing toward what? Is there a preconcieved direction and goal to jazz? The classless state? Heaven on earth? The world of the Jetsons? The omni-knowledge of scientism? How will we know when we have arrived at our destination - that we are supposedly advancing to?? Onward Jazz Soldiers??

 

Date:	15-Aug-1999 11:28:45
From:	Rolf
	You have a point maybe "growing" or "enriching" or "pushing the envelope" would have been better. I think the development is more organic/historical rather than preconceived. I think jazz is growing in many directions, like a tree or a bush which makes it far more interesting and unpredictable.

 

Date:	18-Aug-1999 10:58:53
From:	Steve C (hoon@apk.net)
	Moving the music onward, establishing an influential foundation advance jazz. So to having the courage and conviction to create music on the outside of the 'box', even if ahead of its time (an honorable status proved by many persons we know today helped advance the music,) and seemingly too novel, outrageous, hard (or easy!) for many to grok. *** Listed are five recent recordings I found provocative and, imo, represent the advance of this music. CHICAGO UNDERGROUND TRIO - Possible Cube (Delmark) STEVE LACY +6 - the Cry (Soul Note) NELS CLINE & GREGG BENDIAN - Interstellar Space Revisited (Atavistic) LEROY JENKINS - Solo (Lovely Music) TOM VARNER - The Window Up Above (New World) *** thanks goodness for the small labels and their labels of love! Advancing jazz - the many independent producers and labels Steve

 

Date:	21-Aug-1999 21:10:19
From:	Sal M. B.
	CDs by George Russell, the innovative composer/arranger.

 

Date:	23-Aug-1999 07:20:51
From:	kubos ventor
	in all discussions of jazz i notice that the names given as its true "greats" are all dead. something is wromg with an art form where the developemnt is just down to a handful of people hence the music is advancing to the grave , rigor mortis being immenent probably in the next decade.

 

Date:	25-Aug-1999 14:03:04
From:	Zeek
	What are you talking about - I just scrolled up a half dozen comments and there were lots of "live" bodies. I admit there are some dead ones but so what - their music lives.

 

Date:	26-Aug-1999 10:04:06
From:	Cotter
	Hmmm...I wonder about that. How come everybody I like is dead? It's a worry, really, but without slagging off Mr Marsallis etc. if jazz is only played in a certain style, in other words we copy what's gone before, then it's over dudes! AS Pat Arabella says to sucuntly, its the new kids on the block who are advancing jazz.

 

Date:	26-Aug-1999 18:12:36
From:	Zeek
	Hey, all I was saying is that there always going to be dead musicians - what did they contribute is the question. There are plenty of young jazz musicians contributing to the music who are mentioned on this thread - why are people willfully ignoring that?

 

Date:	04-Sep-1999 17:58:41
From:	Harold Donnell
	I think the labels Soul Note and Black Saint will be remembered as the labels making the most contribution to jazz in the late 20th century.

 

Date:	27-Nov-1999 05:05:42
From:	Todd Brendan Fahey (fargone@fargonebooks.com)
	Hello, Wanted to weigh in w/ my $.02, say that there's an obscure quintet operating out of Lafayette, LA, by the name of Modern Jazz Movement, who have flat-out dominated the Bayou State w/ their intimate straight-ahead performances over the past 5 years. I had the opportunity of sitting in on their various practice sessions and club/restaurant gigs, mebbe 75 times between 1994-1999, and feel that this group is one of the next major voices in American jazz. Line-up includes a drummer, trumpeter, saxophonist, stand-up bass (who also doubles w/ saxes), and a piano/synthesizer man. They are quickly coming up w/ some wonderful originals, but their innovative interpretations of mainstream classics ("So What?", "Stolen Moments," "Take Five," "Nefertiti") have made them the darlings of de Bayou State. Modern Jazz Movement will tour Korea in April of 2000, w/ dates possible in Amsterdam during the summer. Am not sure of their Web site URL, but you can contact drummer Frank Kincel (who appears as a drummer on a Rounder Records CD), at: frankkincel@yahoo.com All best wishes, Todd Brendan Fahey novelist, _Wisdom's Maw: The Acid Novel_ http://www.fargonebooks.com

 

Date:	16-Mar-2000 16:23:47
From:	Brian (Brian.Rajski@m.cc.utah.edu)
	Has anyone here read anything about Anthony Braxton? I think he has the right idea dividing jazz into stylists, tradionalists, and restructuralists. Although Braxton is very avant-garde (what he would call restructuralist), he admits that music needs some people to perfect old styles (stylists) or bring back old forms (traditionalists). So as much as I don't care for Marsalis, he serves an important role, and it's pointless to criticize his playing (though his theories should be attacked). As for advancing jazz (i.e. restructuralists), I think of John Zorn, but not for the Masada albums. Masada is great, but is it really an advance? Listen to your old Ornette albums and they seem very familiar. I find Zorn's game theory albums (Lacrosse, Cobra) to be one of the few advances since free jazz and Albert Ayler. Also, his film work and Naked City stuff push fusion into punk and other areas that are usually neglected in favor of funk.

 

Date:	01-Apr-2000 19:30:40
From:	Ken Watters (kenwatt@aol.com)
	Chris Potter.

 

Date:	25-Apr-2000 15:40:21
From:	al and ow (alfred86@yahoo.com)
	hello out there jazz dudes. We are just beginning our journey on the road of jazz. We both play the saxophone, al on tenor/alto, owen on bari/alto. We improvise alot with a b flat blues scale. We are in the jazz and concert band and enjoy jazz to the fullest extent. We are trying to locate some cool saxophone music on the web. We would like to find something with multiple parts, but if there's only one sax we can transpose the part. If anyone knows where to get some cool jazz /classic rock for the sax please respond to this by E-mailing me at the E-mail address at the top. Thanx the sax dudes

 

Date:	18-Aug-2000 15:18:22
From:	Broget Fettstoff
	Jazz cannot be advanced. All that can be played within the set boundaries of "jazz" has already been played, and played a thousand times more. Most of it had already been played by 1965. "Jazz" today is either a rehashing of the same, fifty year-old clichés, or desperate "fusion"-experiments with electronics and rappers. I love to listen to Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker, but lack respect for anyone sounding like them today. The "advancing" and "creating" of today is not taking place within "jazz", but in altogether different genres of music.

 

Date:	27-Aug-2000 08:54:52
From:	Arnold
	Brogett: have you never heard The World Saxophone Quartet, The Julius Hemphill Sextet, the David Murray Octet, Steve Lacy, Muhal Richard Abrams, Anthony Braxton - this is all one big rehash???? Nonsense.

 

Date:	18-Sep-2000 18:33:03
From:	Wash (jadle@earthlink.net)
	The rock cartel won't permit jazz to flourish because its fans think for themselves. A few years ago, I heard Bonnie Raitt, on a New Year's Eve program finish by saying, I'm glad to have broadcast from New Orleans, the home of... uh...uh..American music. She couldn't bring herself to say jazz! Jazz needs professional public relations and liasons with friendly elements in the pop community such as, say, Steely Dan or Joni Mitchel. Also, Latin jazz, a vibrant, ever-evolving music should be appreciated and not dismissed as son or salsa. Finally, jazz should reclaim so called R&B from rock which kidnapped it. Yes, real R&B lies within the purview of Jazz.

 

Date:	17-Oct-2000 16:48:14
From:	James (jazzjames@altavista.com)
	Jazz has in the past meant one thing: INNOVATION. When all the greats were playing what did they all have in common? INNOVATION. Miles changed on each album. No one played like Charlie Parker before Parker...No one played like Coltrane before him. To advance Jazz means most of the fans will have to quit looking backwards and spend some time trying to appreciate new sounds BUT KEEP THE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS INTACT. Joshua Redman, BRANFORD MARSALIS (as opposed to the OTHER Marsalis...Don't get me started...), Pat Metheny, Joe Sample, etc. are great examples of musicians moving jazz forward stylistically AND the chops are there. As a professional jazz musician with a Jazz education I find many educators are quick to try to keep young players playing in the traditional Jazz role. I feel that more educators should give the student the tools and let him go from there. The idea that to be a good musician you have to play trumpet like Armstrong or guitar like Montgomery is taught out there and kids are graded on their ability to play the way the teacher was taught to play and things just continue down the same road. Creativity should be encouraged and no idea should be dismissed because it has never existed in the jazz vocabulary. The next generation of jazz greats(INNOVATORS) could be out there right now being shut down not only by an uneducated public but also by closed-minded fans and educators. Just My Take On the Whole Scene...James

 

Date:	01-Nov-2000 19:11:37
From:	SC
	I think that the people that are helping de advancement of jazz are: John Zorn and his "friends": Dave Douglas, Joey Baron, Bill Frisell, Bill Laswell, Marc Ribot, Mark Dresser Uri Caine, Steven Bernstein, Medeski, Martin & Wood. Steve Coleman, Don Byron and James Carter are also very important. European musicians such as Louis Sclavis, Richard Galliano, Buggy Wesseltoft.

 

Date:	03-Nov-2000 14:55:59
From:	Ashley Sargeant
	I think that jazz rocks man The sooner more up and coming Louis Armstrong apear the better

 

Date:	12-Nov-2000 23:31:31
From:	Debbie Lynn Heiliger (harleyeagle59@hotmail.com)
	musiclover-jazzsoul chick,I am so glad that,I can have an opportunity it read each of their update of jazz list. I am hearing imparied,I do wear two hearing aid and I feel so blessed that I can hear to my jazzblues. But, my frustrations part is whenever I listen jazz on the radio and I was having a differculites trying to listen the Name or title of music that I love and I always missed it. It give me chance to able find the list name of the Jazz musician that I can buy my CD. THANK U,SMILE..........:-)

 

Date:	07-Jan-2001 19:35:53
From:	michele
	Although he died several years ago, saxophonist Thomas Chapin definitely advanced jazz during his lifetime. Has anyone else here listened to him?

 

Date:	30-Jan-2001 10:25:25
From:	zelienople
	Hey lobotomized jazz "fans", advancing means pushing forward NOW!! Jazz always stood for innovation, so why aren't "fans" pushing forward to understanding the innovators of jazz today? A few helpful suggestions to get you started: Ken Vandermark, David S. Ware, Peter Brotzman, John Zorn, William Parker, Evan Parker, Chicago Underground Duo, Mats Gustafson, Steve Lacy, Matthew Shipp, The Gold Sparkle Band. Tune into www.wnur.org for some live web-cast every weekday morning from 5am to Noon of exciting NEW jazz.

 

Date:	15-Feb-2001 02:24:56
From:	Jamppa
	Erik Truffaz is.

 

Date:	27-Feb-2001 15:12:36
From:	elvis (motherfucker@shithead.com)
	jazz is bollocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Date:	11-Mar-2001 08:02:30
From:	W. Faulkner
	Well, he is concise.

 

Date:	22-Mar-2001 18:01:53
From:	Bilal M.
	If not us, who? If not now, when? This thing that some of you holier than thou musicians have thinking that jazz belongs soley to you need to pull your heads out of your butts and get with the program. I've seen some pretty short ppl at NBA games.

 

Date:	03-Apr-2001 12:17:48
From:	Andreas
	I just saw Don Byron live this past weekend and I was very impressed. That's the most exciting fresh music I've heard in a while.

 

Date:	27-Apr-2001 04:42:56
From:	Wes Ervine (wesvirg@juno.com)
	Jazz has always been a musicians music. To begin with, not to include the listener! self exspression, to vent ones true feelings and emotions. The listener was invited to come along on the ride, if one could identify with what was being transversed!In short"Ego". The reason we find Jazz today with a greater variety of listeners, is because it's been refined to the point where the listener can identify with whats being played! Probably Rock music, an offshoot of Jazz, has been the main ingredient that has connected both worlds! Miles Davis,in my opinion, has really been that mentor! Tunning in the modern world with Jazz fusion! If that ground had not been transversed, Jazz would still be an old time favorite, but I'm afraid, not of the modern listener!!

 

Date:	04-May-2001 01:57:53
From:	Andreas
	Today the world lost one of the true giants of jazz. I'm refering to Billy Higgins. I was blessed to have seen him play numerous times and each time the group was very much better off because of his contribution. He had an understated kind of genius. He usually played with only the basics of a drum set and never played lound or extravagantly, yet you knew you were in the presence of greatness. Additionally, he had such a warm personality and he truly radiated his love for the music. I've heard him refered to as the most recorded drummer in jazz history. I can't vouch for that, but there is luckily a lot of recorded material with his playing, from Ornette Coleman to Herbie Hancock to Dexter Gordon to Jackie McLean. On many occasions I'd be listening to a new CD and think to myself "what a great drummer", and it seems that more often than not, when I looked at the credits, there was Billy Higgins' name! He will be deeply missed! God bless his soul.

 

Date:	11-May-2001 16:10:30
From:	HhEeRrVvIiNn PpIiNnAa CcOoLlAaDdAa (plAybOytOur.com)
	can't believe you did me wrong stalin! i thought we were in love! i thought we were going on the playboy tour together! whatEVER! sick my duck sweetie... lOve... ALF ALFA...

 

Date:	24-May-2001 11:34:56
From:	Jonas (jonasdia@hotmail.com)
	Interviews +Music mp3

 

Date:	13-Jun-2001 07:55:46
From:	Justin Marston (Justin.Marston@lycos.com)
	What KEVIN did on 06 July 1999 was really, really helpful. I am fairly new to jazz and haven´t got a clue as to which contemporary albums to purchase. Could more people list starting points and reasons as well as artists. Thanking you in advance... - Justin

 

Date:	16-Jun-2001 15:31:05
From:	Tony King (t.king2@durhamschools.org)
	I need some tunes sent to me so i can play the keyboard.

 

Date:	22-Jun-2001 18:58:18
From:	Art of Life Records (info@artofliferecords.com)
	Now available from Art of Life Records!! The highly anticipated CD reissue of: The Gordon Beck Quartet-"Experiments With Pops" featuring John McLaughlin is now available!! Featuring Gordon Beck on piano, John McLaughlin on guitars, Jeff Clyne on bass, and Tony Oxley on drums. To place your order please visit the Art of Life Records web site at: http://www.artofliferecords.com Art of Life Records accepts the following forms of payment: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Personal Checks, Money Orders, and Pay Pal. You can order online via our secure server by going to the following page: http://www.artofliferecords.com/gordonbeck.html You can also order by sending a check or money order to: Art of Life Records PO Box 3701 Reading, Pennsylvania 19606-3701 USA CD's are $15.99 each plus shipping & handling. Shipping & handling costs are as follows: To the USA 1 CD = $2.99 2 CD's = $3.99 3 CD's = $4.50 To Canada & Mexico 1 CD = $3.50 2 CD's = $4.99 3 CD's = $5.99 To all other countries 1 CD = $5.75 2 CD's = $8.50 3 CD's = $11.25 If you have any questions or would like to place an order please email us at: orders@artofliferecords.com Sincerely, Art of Life Records Web Site: http://www.artofliferecords.com Email: info@artofliferecords.com

 

Date:	22-Jun-2001 19:00:19
From:	Art of Life Records (info@artofliferecords.com)
	Art of Life Records is proud to announce its' latest release: Gary Husband-"The Things I See" (Interpretations of the Music of Allan Holdsworth) AL1002-2 The solo piano debut of Gary Husband on Art of Life Records performing the music of Allan Holdsworth!! To place your order please visit the Art of Life Records web site at: http://www.artofliferecords.com Art of Life Records accepts the following forms of payment: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Personal Checks, Money Orders, and Pay Pal (For US customers only). You can place your order online via our secure server by going to the following page: http://www.artofliferecords.com/garyhusband.html You can also order by sending a check or money order to: Art of Life Records PO Box 3701 Reading, Pennsylvania 19606-3701 USA CD's are $15.99 each plus shipping & handling. Shipping & handling costs are as follows: To the USA 1 CD = $2.99 2 CD's = $3.99 3 CD's = $4.50 To Canada & Mexico 1 CD = $3.50 2 CD's = $4.99 3 CD's = $5.99 To all other countries 1 CD = $5.75 2 CD's = $8.50 3 CD's = $11.25 If you have any questions or would like to place an order please email us at: orders@artofliferecords.com Sincerely, Art of Life Records Web Site: http://www.artofliferecords.com Email: info@artofliferecords.com

 

Date:	08-Jul-2001 20:54:54
From:	Lindsay (astro1407@hotmail.com)
	In response to the question of advancment: Nothing is really being "advanced" when the whole past is taken into consderation. I mean, we have the same notes, the same instruments, the same combinations...I think that it is the people who are changing...coming up with new ways to express themselves using these things to help them. I suppose that once you have your own sound, you can advance on that yourself, maybe make it so great that others want to imitate it. It's elaboration-not creation.

 

Date:	09-Aug-2001 09:56:00
From:	Mike
	Some players and composers who are "advancing jazz," mentioned infrequently or not at all on this thread: Anthony Braxton, Paul Smoker, Ken Filiano, Matthew Shipp, Marilyn Crispell, Evan Parker, Ellery Eskelin. I think each of these is making strides in improvisation, composition, and or instrumental techniques.

 

Date:	22-Oct-2001 15:04:00
From:	steve fishwick (fishwick_steve@hotmail.com)
	Miles,bird and trane aren't the only people that made great music in the past.What about musicians like Kenny Dorham,Hank Mobley,Wynton Kelly,Bobby Timmons,Blue Mitchell,the list is endless.These guys are not considered big innovators but they were great individualists. Lack of "innovation" didn't stop them (thank god) from playing great music. The point is, its about individuality not innovation regardless of the style you play or whether its the most modern genre of the moment(most of which SOUNDS like its trying to be the most modern genre of the moment).Lets just concentrate on good music and forget about trying to change the world and maybe then something new will happen naturally (anyone remember how Be-bop started?)