Jazz in the 21st century: Playing outside the box
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Jazz in the 21st century: Playing outside the box
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Re: Jazz in the 21st century: Playing outside the box
#2Teaching Jazz is the way to go for most people who want to make a living from Jazz. I know several successful musicians who started as Jazz musicians but make a good living in rock and pop music. Getting to be known as the best of the best on your instrument via your Jazz chops can open doors in other genres to be invited to work with very successful, established artists. To make a living directly from Jazz you really want to go into education. If you have some hustle and you live in a medium to large sized city, no matter where you are there are likely enough kids interested in learning to play Jazz that you could develop a viable income as a private Jazz instructor on your instrument. From there you're taking part in building the scene of the future.
Re: Jazz in the 21st century: Playing outside the box
#3Playing outside the box office, too...
Re: Jazz in the 21st century: Playing outside the box
#4“If you don’t want jazz to change, you are putting a pillow over its face, and it’s going to die."
Truer words have never been said. Jazz wasn't meant to live in the shadows of Coltrane, Ellington, Monk, Bird, or even Miles Davis forever. Sure the history is important, and technique and the theoretical rigor will always be a necessary ingredient, but the moment Jazz stops innovating and expanding is the moment it dies.
Re: Jazz in the 21st century: Playing outside the box
#5I clearly know nothing about music, but why does it even have to be called 'Jazz'? Given those market numbers cited, it seems like it would be a very bad brand to be associated with your music.
Having a son who's 12, and having recently had a bunch of pre-teens running around my house all going through the timeless ritual of identity crafting, I have gotten to listen to their music, watch their media, and hear their thoughts. When I talk with them about music, it doesn't surprise me that they view the music of my day (80s / 90s) with as much boredom as I had viewed big band music in my day. To them, rock and jazz are Baroque. Guitars and Drums? I might as well play them a harpsichord.
On the other hand, I know several highly skilled, expert musical technicians in their 20s and 30s. They have spent the majority of their lives training to master the practice and theory of music. They know so much about their instruments and their technique, it frankly astounds me. In comparison to dedicated musicians of my day, they seem like masters. Yet, for some reason, they spend their time playing Jazz derivatives and covers or as studio musicians. Interestingly, they're all playing Jazz - which to me is so puzzling. It's akin to being a master visual artist and being absorbed in re-creating Pollack or Rothko or Kadinsky.
Jazz had a moment, and it was a beautiful moment. It can be admired and relished as such, and the music can help transport one to that moment in time. But, does Jazz even make any sense in the modern world? I love listening to some of it - Coltrane and Davis, of course. But, if I went to a music venue today, and the band was playing Jazz, I'd be bored out of my mind.
Re: Jazz in the 21st century: Playing outside the box
#6I clearly know nothing about music, but why does it even have to be called 'Jazz'? Given those market numbers cited, it seems like it would be a very bad brand to be associated with your music. Having a son who's 12, and having recently had a bunch of pre-teens running around my house all going through the timeless ritual of identity crafting, I have gotten to listen to their music, watch their media, and hear their…
technique + theory != creativity
There's nothing inherently creative about artistic technique. At best it gives you a way to express creativity. At worst it's a dead thing you keep repeating over and over because you can't think of anything interesting to say.
Theories of art are a really good way to kill creativity. Music theory can become a huge set of if...thens... and unfortunately even talented people don't always get past that.
The skills you need to be a brilliantly competent session musician or a successful teacher are only distantly related to the skills you need to be an interesting and original music creator.
Re: Jazz in the 21st century: Playing outside the box
#7I clearly know nothing about music, but why does it even have to be called 'Jazz'? Given those market numbers cited, it seems like it would be a very bad brand to be associated with your music. Having a son who's 12, and having recently had a bunch of pre-teens running around my house all going through the timeless ritual of identity crafting, I have gotten to listen to their music, watch their media, and hear their…
one of the identifying features of jazz is that the music isn't just the product, but its directly used as material by others.
jazz is a loaded term. i like ahmad jamal's term for what people usually mean when they talk about jazz, "american classical music". when i think of jazz i'm thinking about a certain kind of attitude toward music where the performer is putting life into the music the way you might think of an actor putting life into a script. makes a lot of sense in the modern world, i think, where selling recordings makes less and less sense but live performances are still relevant.
Re: Jazz in the 21st century: Playing outside the box
#8I clearly know nothing about music, but why does it even have to be called 'Jazz'? Given those market numbers cited, it seems like it would be a very bad brand to be associated with your music. Having a son who's 12, and having recently had a bunch of pre-teens running around my house all going through the timeless ritual of identity crafting, I have gotten to listen to their music, watch their media, and hear their…
The reason why people learn to play jazz is because of how it compels you to improvise. Even though the standards are the same, every performance is different. It is technically very challenging to play something off the cuff that not only sounds good, but does not sound derivative, expresses your individuality within a collective rhythmic and harmonic and melodic setting, and is also commercially viable. No other modern music exercises this creative muscle so rigorously, and it's a skill that carries to other genres.
Re: Jazz in the 21st century: Playing outside the box
#9I clearly know nothing about music, but why does it even have to be called 'Jazz'? Given those market numbers cited, it seems like it would be a very bad brand to be associated with your music. Having a son who's 12, and having recently had a bunch of pre-teens running around my house all going through the timeless ritual of identity crafting, I have gotten to listen to their music, watch their media, and hear their…
> why does it even have to be called 'Jazz'?
* http://www.apassion4jazz.net/etymology.html
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_(word)#Etymology
> But, if I went to a music venue today, and the band was playing Jazz, I'd be bored out of my mind.
Jazz has many flavours that have long walked hand-in-hand with social dancing. Maybe spend a bit more time exploring its depth? Here's a modern rendition of a timeless classic:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhxSrF0HYnY
Here's a jazzed-up version of "All About That Bass," also easily danced to:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLnZ1NQm2uk
Another classic, "Blue Skies," with some social dancing:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xziwtk1i3A
And one more, showcasing some rather skilled Lindy Hop dancers, a fancy aerial at 1:20, and a modern take on Ellington's "Diga Diga Doo":
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9xxeWRxSbA
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3aJ_9IAIjQ (Ellington)
Here's a remake of "When I Get Low, I Get High":
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acb-js00c40
> But, does Jazz even make any sense in the modern world?
Yes. Try some different jazz venues and find a style that speaks to you.
Re: Jazz in the 21st century: Playing outside the box
#10I clearly know nothing about music, but why does it even have to be called 'Jazz'? Given those market numbers cited, it seems like it would be a very bad brand to be associated with your music. Having a son who's 12, and having recently had a bunch of pre-teens running around my house all going through the timeless ritual of identity crafting, I have gotten to listen to their music, watch their media, and hear their…
> why does it even have to be called 'Jazz'? * http://www.apassion4jazz.net/etymology.html * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_(word)#Etymology > But, if I went to a music venue today, and the band was playing Jazz, I'd be bored out of my mind. Jazz has many flavours that have long walked hand-in-hand with social dancing. Maybe spend a bit more time exploring its depth? Here's a modern rendition of a timeless classi…