https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jul/08/is-jazz-entering-a-new-golden-age
I’ve been off the board for a while, but came back and found this post with no replies. @StacJip posts always deserve a reply, so I figured I’d offer my two cents.
I’m of two minds about the article (and articles like it). On the one hand, I’m always happy to see jazz getting a higher profile and hitting the mainstream media. And if a wider audience can be introduced to jazz through collaborations with other genres of music that have more widespread popularity, that’s great too.
On the other hand, I think the idea that jazz is entering a new “golden age” by virtue of its incorporation into and collaboration with other genres of music is misguided. I do think there’s a real prospect of a new “golden age” of jazz, but it’s not because of its interaction with pop and rap genres (or even classical genres). It’s because there are so many great young jazz musicians and so many new high school and college jazz programs sparking greater interest among the next generation.
I don’t know that jazz will ever reach the level of popularity it had in its heyday, but there does seem to be a growing audience and an increase in the number of venues, particularly in the large cities, where you can go to see a great jazz show. My son says that when he talks with older jazz musicians (in their 70s and 80s), they are often pessimistic about the state of jazz as a business and the viability of making a living today as a jazz musician. But having just graduated, my son is finding a steady stream of gigs and other opportunities to make money with his music. I’m just hoping the trend continues.
Jazzpianodad,
First thanks for the complement and the response. Funny story about the cynicism of older Jazz musicians. We were in London and happened to be there when one of my son’s professors from NEC (who is actually quite young and part of the new Jazz that this article talks about) was performing at Southwark Cathedral. We went and had an amazing time. It was exciting to hear crowds be so enthusiastic about Jazz. Afterwards we went up and talked to our son’s professor and told him how exciting it was to hear so much enthusiasm for something he trained our son to do. His response was, “Well you have to find your audience.” I then joked with him saying how our son says how he wants this musician’s life". And the musician responded, “He can have it.” OUCH…But then I think he quickly realized he said that to parents and said he didn’t really mean it. But later when I told my son about his comment my son reminded me that this professor (who is relatively young) has twin 3 year old boys back home and is probably pretty tired traveling and performing and then going home to all that energy.
FYI this event we went to was part of an evening of free events throughout the city. Several of the events, including this one were ticketed and this particular event sold out immediately, which speaks to the popularity of Jazz among the young people who were mostly the one’s attending these late night performances.
I agree, talking about a new golden age of jazz has to be quantitied. I don’t think Jazz will ever have a mass audience as it did when it was the backbone of the pop music of its day, while like with classical music I don’t think it is going to disappear, not as long as there are people willing to listen to it and of course play it. There is a parallel to the colloboration or the use of jazz in other things, classical music has gained exposure in many ways by its use in things like movie music, or back in the day in Cartoons, and pop music has used classical music in many ways, from Procul Harem basically stealing Bach’s “air on a G string” for “a lighter shade of Pale”, to pop songs using themes from famous classical works, to groups playing rock instruments to classical themes (ELP, King Crimson, Renaissance, all in different ways), or the other progressive groups who sought to meld classical with rock.
There are a lot of great young jazz musicians out there playing, playing clubs, playing gigs like the Rose theater at Lincoln Center, programs at Universities, you name it, and there already have been hybrids, like acid Jazz, that seem to come and go. I think Golden age is a relative term, in terms of creativity and musicians eager to make it, very likely, if it means everyone is going to be listening to Jazz because a hip hop artist sampled it, or it is used in a pop song, I doubt it.
My son and I had a conversation along these lines the other night. I was noting that our little town’s local jazz scene has had a mini-explosion recently. I’d originally attributed it to our excitement about having Benny Green in our midst but I’m now thinking it’s bigger than that. We now have an audience that’s ready to support a significant jazz series year-round, and not just big names that everyone recognizes. Most importantly, a younger audience that follow new artists. The buzz is over Kamasi Washington and Snarky Puppy coming in the spring.
My son’s take, as a 17 year-old, is that we’re finally getting past the definition of “Jazz” (with a capital J) meaning classic or mainstream jazz that us 50+ year-olds recognize. He doesn’t really see as “collaborating” with other genres; he sees jazz (with a small j) as not just a style of music but also the musicianship that goes with it. You can’t separate the two. I think what’s becoming more appreciated and popular is the musical skill set that comes with a jazz musician training. They make for working musicians who are able to play “anything”. I watched the documentary “Wrecking Crew” about the studio musicians of the 60’s who largely had jazz backgrounds, and I understand what he’s trying to say.
Unlike classical music, almost all jazz musicians make their mark with their own songs. Yes, they do adapt well-known tunes but they make it theirs. No one gets famous for playing Coltrane transcriptions. Even in high school and college where you do play a lot of transcriptions as part of your studies, “jazz” still involves writing your own solos, songs. That makes constant evolution inevitable.
@StacJip, I can understand how a “musician’s life” can be somewhat daunting when you have a young family and are traveling frequently to perform. But it does seem that there are many possible paths today that are available to make a living as a jazz musician. Particularly with the proliferation of college and high school jazz programs, you can have a home base that offers a reasonable living and decide how much touring to add on top of that. I was interested in the thread on the Yale jazz initiative - one of the musicians mentioned is someone my son has played with who does a lot of touring. I think the opportunity to have a home base at Yale must have been very attractive to him (not to mention very nice for Yale). @ScreenName48105, I would guess that similar factors drew Benny Green, who also has a very active touring schedule, to establish a home base at Michigan.
For my son’s friends, having just graduated from music schools and colleges, the touring is fun and exciting. It also reinforces the sense that there is demand for jazz around the country and around the world. Living in the NYC area, and my son having gone to college in NYC, I wasn’t sure whether my sense of a jazz renaissance was just a product of the vibrant NYC jazz scene. But since graduating, my son has had the freedom to travel and play in other cities and areas of the country, and it does seem like there’s a good audience for jazz in many places. I also look for jazz clubs when I travel and I’m happy to see some great jazz musicians performing almost everywhere I go, both in the U.S. and Europe, and good audiences coming out to see them. My son has also played with some excellent Japanese jazz musicians who say there’s good demand for jazz in Asia as well.
I think one has to be pretty flexible to make a career in music, and certainly it’s not the easiest life. But I can already see there are a wide variety of paths to make it work. I think the challenge is to find a way to make it work that also maintains the passion and sense of wonder for the music that drew them to the path in the first place.