Miles Davis: Kind of Blue, and Sketches of Spain. MfSD.

She has become the mainstay in my cd player. That haunting lilt she has to her voice reminds me of the old Lena Horne style. A true gem

xoxo
L

music"

By Alan Lawrence

What is jazz? Those three words form one of the toughest questions in music. Ask a hundred people and you are likely to get as many different answers.

Few things have given me more pleasure in life than listening to the music we call jazz. Even after hearing several thousand recordings in over 15 years and seeing countless live shows, I cannot offer a definitive definition of the word "jazz."

The challenge may lie in the term "jazz" itself. Can a living music, one that may well be the most colorful and varied art form in the world, be defined by a single word? After pondering that question for this feature, I'd have to say no. The music that falls into the jazz idiom takes on infinite faces and influences including swing, bebop, cool, fusion, smooth and avant-garde. As jazz spread across the globe, the music took on more and more sounds.

Let's go back to our fictional survey of 100 people. What kind of responses would we get? Some may call anything with saxophone or trumpet jazz. Others may base their definition on the feel of the music. Does it swing? Still others base their views of what defines jazz on the reputation of the musicians. Some say there must be improvisation for it to be jazz.

There is little argument that two key elements of jazz are improvisation and swing. Let's briefly look at each:

Unquestionably, most jazz involves a degree of improvisation. In most jazz settings, someone is usually improvising. But, not all improvised music can be called jazz. The Grateful Dead rarely played what was written, but they certainly are not considered a jazz band. Conversely, not all music found in the jazz bins is improvised. Consider some of Duke Ellington's tightly arranged suites. While improvisation is without a doubt an integral part of jazz music, it is not an absolute.

Swing is even harder to define. What is swing? It is a feeling more than a concrete concept. Swing is that element that makes you move your body or want to dance. It is a buoyancy that lives in much of what we call jazz...the propulsive beat and forward momentum. But, does jazz always swing? Absolutely not. Anyone familiar with the works of Cecil Taylor or Anthony Braxton knows that their music is the antithesis of swing, yet most would define their music as jazz.

So, that brings us back to the main topic, "What is jazz?" In his book "Jazz Styles," Mark Gridley offers that music need only to be associated with the jazz tradition to be called jazz. Instead of a strict definition, we use the word "jazz" to describe a character of the music. The lines have been blurred. Is Bitches Brew jazz or rock? I'd file it under jazz. My father would call it rock.

What you call jazz, I might not consider jazz at all. I can't tell you how many times I mention my love of jazz, only to hear "Oh, I love Kenny G." To me, Kenny G and the rest of his so-called smooth jazz cronies, do not play jazz. It certainly neither swings nor contains much, if any, improvisation. To them, Cecil Taylor or Sun Ra is the furthest thing from jazz. They might think it is noise.

Bottom line: If it feels like jazz to you ---- It is jazz. That's the beauty of this music!

By Jason West

What is jazz? According Wynton Marsalis jazz is music that swings. According to Pat Metheny jazz is not the music of Kenny G. According to Webster's jazz is characterized by propulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, and often deliberate distortions of pitch and timbre. Personally, I prefer the definition found in the old musician's joke about jazz being "better than sex, and it lasts longer."

Certainly, the question is a highly subjective one. Ask 100 different people "What is jazz?" and you're likely to get 100 different answers. The debate becomes even more confusing given the fact that the history of jazz is relatively well documented.

It's no secret that jazz music started in the black ghettos of New Orleans at the end of the 19th century. In the 1920s jazz moved up river to Chicago and New York as African Americans migrated north in search of a better life. The 1930s saw the evolution of swing bands like those lead by Duke Ellington and Count Basie. At the same time great soloists emerged, virtuosi like Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. In the 1940s be bop hit, personified in the music of Charlie Parker. The Mozart of his day, Bird took all of the melodic and harmonic information available and crystallized it into bebop. But, even in 1955, at the time of Bird's death, most people could answer with confidence when asked, "What is jazz?"

Why then, less than half a century later, can't we agree on a working definition? Part of the reason is because jazz has always been and remains today a living art form, ever changing and ever growing. Subsequently, after Bird took bebop to its logical conclusion, musicians like Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman invented new forms like modal playing and "free" jazz. In the 1960s musicians began incorporating R&B, rock and new electric instruments into their jazz. John Coltrane gave us "sheets of sound." The Modern Jazz Quartet mixed jazz and classical music. Everything exploded and suddenly jazz was all over the place.

In their effort to market these musical voyages, major record companies have added to the mystification, bombarding us with labels to ponder: Contemporary jazz, mainstream jazz, smooth jazz, alternative jazz, avant-garde jazz, Latin jazz, fusion, etc. At present, it seems that there are almost as many names for jazz as there are jazz groups. Still puzzled? Me too.

But not worried. Once again, each one of us is left with our own purely subjective views on jazz. My guess is that, if asked, even musicians - the men and women who are currently dedicating their life to creating this music - would likely disagree on the meaning of jazz.

So perhaps a better question is: What do you like? From Jelly Roll Morton to Lee Morgan, from James P. Johnson to John Zorn, the answer is out there, preserved on record for our learning and listening pleasure. Yes, experiencing all the different styles of jazz is a daunting task, but the rewards are great; and the more you listen, the more you'll find similarities within the styles. What's more, jazz elements can be heard outside of its own genre - in rock, R&B, Latin music, African music - the list is endless.

Yet, one thing is sure: Jazz remains America's only original living art form. Today, its influence envelops the globe. It's expressive. It's enriching. Call it what you like - jazz is here to stay.

Big John Patton - Let The Good Times Roll
Dexter Gordon - Go
Miles Davis - In a Silent Way
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Grant Green - I Am Blue
Grant Green - Idle Moments
Medeski, Martin & Wood - Combustication
Charlie Hunter -Duo
Stanton Moore - All Kooked Out
John Scofield - A Go Go
Jimmy Smith - Sermon
Charles Lloyd - Hyperion with Higgins
Art Blakey - Moanin'
Art Blakey - A Night in Tunisia
Getz/Gilberto
Dave Brubeck - Time Out

How many albums can you burn on one music cd? What brand cd is the best for burning CD's and the longest for holding multiple cd's?

I've got about 400 jazz discs, mostly from what I consider the "golden era" of about 1956-1961.  There's enough good music from that period that you'd be "dumb" not to experience it.  The Free Jazz period that followed got a little crazy for most people, and for some odd reason, it seems to be what most casual observers associate with jazz.  But in the process they overlook all the great work that preceded and followed it.

I'd love to post a couple hundred "must have" great discs for any collection, but I'm just too busy right now.  There are other audio sites that have these sort of lists in the discussion threads if you search a bit.  Even Amazon's list feature is a good place to start.

It's so refreshing having your comments on this board and I for one, love to read them. I'm a fan of modern jazz such as Grover, Bob James, Jeff Lorber, etc.

Cheers!

You know what is amazing?  Not one mention of Dizzie G. or Charlie Parker (Bird) in any of the threads?  

I disagree with your assessment that Coltrane is hard to listen to. I found him quite easy to listen to. It is interesting that he and Miles Davis seem to be the two that everyone mentions repeadly. More amazing when you consider that Coltrane has been dead for almost 40 years and was only 42 when he died.

For the more modern easy listening types.. what about Joe Sample, or Earl Klugh?

What about Stanley Clarke?? I love Stanley Clarke.

Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool
Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior
Weather Report - Heavy Weather
Marcus Robert Trio - In Honor of Duke
Wynton Marsalis - Anything by....Including Blood on the Fields

My desert Isle jazz CDs