Modern Jazz is No Fun

[Wasnex]

I'd clarify this point by saying that Cherry Poppin Daddies (Zoot Suit Riot) and the other bands of the swing revival scene in the late 90s were an absolute flash in the pan. Everyone was obsessed with that sound in 1998, and everyone had all but forgotten about it before 2000. By comparison Uptown Funk was released five years ago, is still remarkably popular and its two key artists, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars both have had a string of hits since then with no signs of slowing down. I can appreciate that you didn't dig Uptown Funk, but it's a very different thing in terms of longevity than Zoot Suit Riot.


Same here. I recently stumbled onto Jukka Eskola from Finland who does this wonderfully Scandinavian take on Latin jazz that I really enjoy. His tune 1974 is fantastic.

No worries and no offense intended. All of this is IMHO so YMMV.

IMHO the short late 90's swing revival scene put it's own twist on the style and was played with a bit of soul. I can't say the same for Uptown Funk. IMHO, Uptown Funk comes across as trite and sterile if you were a connoisseur of the music that it is derivative from. It's played well, but it just seems to lack soul. To me there is a difference between derivative and inspired by, and unfortunately Uptown funk sounds entirely derivative. Trust me, I thirst for this style of music and really wanted to like this tune, but it makes me want to or .

That doesn't mean that I think all Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars songs suck, in fact I really enjoy many of Bruno's tunes. Here's one of my favorites.


Apparently I am not the only who think Uptown Funk is overly derivative. There have been a lot of law suits, including a winning suit brought by the Gap Band that takes 17% of the songs earnings. Mark Ronson accused of ripping off another song for ‘Uptown Funk’ yet again

Oddly it probably reminds me most of The Time


or the Bar Kays


I think it's entirely acceptable for millions of people who had a different life experience than mine to absolutely love Uptown Funk. So have a nice day.

As a gesture of good will, here's a Jukka Eskola video you may find interesting .

 

[Samatza]

Perhaps the teaching is too rigid. You can be expected to play a particular arrangement, if a teacher is giving students the same curriculum then they will pretty much end up sounding similar.

When I was about 10 years old I had a piano teacher who would give me a tune to learn, I'd go home and learn it as written and play it to him. He used to nod his head and say "good, now go home and re-harmonise it three different ways and we'll see what you have next week".
The first time I took this lesson home I scratched my head and didn't really know what to do but I eventually realised he was saying "make it your own".

Fast forward 40 years, a close friend used to record all our shows and after a couple of months he asked me why my bass lines keep changing. My answer was simple; that's how the music evolves, if its someones show with written parts I'll play that but outside of that I'll play what I feel and what I feel changes from gig to gig.

Thank you Sykes for teaching me to be myself.

 

[Carl Hillman]

Donald Byrd was always someone who nurtured younger musicians. I wasn't aware of any substance abuse issues with him. Great player!

You are correct. Donald Byrd was never a heroin addict.

I suspect the poster you are responding to meant "Miles, Bird, and Evans" instead of "Miles, Byrd, and Evens".

Too bad there's no Jazz Autocorrect.

 

[SactoBass]

I feel the same way about modern rock and pop music. Very little creativity. Mostly copycat artists.

Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig +1

 

[king_biscuit]

That doesn't mean that I think all Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars songs suck, in fact I really enjoy many of Bruno's tunes. Here's one of my favorites.

Apparently I am not the only who think Uptown Funk is overly derivative.

I like this version of Uptown Funk better than the Mars version:

 

[StatesideRambler]

So much music (art, in general) is “me too” with an abject lack of imagination. OTOH innovative music often leaves its audience puzzled, bewildered, even. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I listen to a lot of unappealing stuff but when I find a gem the journey is worth it.

 

[eJake]

Uhm... Okay?

You knock contemporary jazz, but you think there's good stuff out there, but you don't want to check it out?

I suggest you open Pandora, create an "Esperanza Spalding" channel, and let it ride.

I am familiar with Esperanza and have seen her live twice. Great artist, again maybe with Kamasi as an exception in my scope of view.

I have ZERO interest in making a jazz Pandora playlist. That's what this post is about kind of. The genre doesn't inspire me at all. See wasnex first post.

 

[thetaxmiser]

I like Snarky Puppy, but it's not improvisational enough to fit my definition of jazz. It's very good music but it's something else. Very composition-driven and arranged. It's almost like classical music with jazz instrumentation and and active rhythm section. Or maybe it's some kind of neo big-band music.

Whatever it is is good, but it's not a direct descendant of Coltrane in the way that Chris Potter (for instance) is.

Wouldn't the Mingus Big Band fit into your description? It doesn't have to be purely improvisational to be jazz (IMHO).

 

[Wasnex]

I like this version of Uptown Funk better than the Mars version:

That's even jazzy in a few places .

 

[Altitude]

Wouldn't the Mingus Big Band fit into your description? It doesn't have to be purely improvisational to be jazz (IMHO).

Yep, I agree big bands are less improvisational by nature. Maybe that’s what Snarky Puppy is.

 

[pbass888]

usa
butcher brown
christian scott
takuya kuroda
jose james

london
jo armon jones
nubya garcia
yussel kamaal
kamaal williams
vels trio

canada
badbadnotgood

iceland
ADHD

euro
erik truffaz
ibrahim malouf

Great list markjazzzbassist!


As a listener and player of the genre mentioned by the OP , I hope my jazz is modern, relevant and even perhaps at times original.

As I understood it from some great individuals who have “tried “ to teach me (Joe Solomon,Jeff Andrews,Ron Mclure, Bob Cranshaw),jazz has many times shunned its modern versions for some time, until that modern version develops superstars.

I do know that every city I go to(including s.e. Asia this summer),I hear great players who are well versed in modern and traditional forms and play their butts off enough to satisfy me.

 

[Wasnex]

usa
butcher brown
christian scott
takuya kuroda
jose james

london
jo armon jones
nubya garcia
yussel kamaal
kamaal williams
vels trio

canada
badbadnotgood

iceland
ADHD

euro
erik truffaz
ibrahim malouf

Great list markjazzzbassist!


As a listener and player of the genre mentioned by the OP , I hope my jazz is modern, relevant and even perhaps at times original.

As I understood it from some great individuals who have “tried “ to teach me (Joe Solomon,Jeff Andrews,Ron Mclure, Bob Cranshaw),jazz has many times shunned its modern versions for some time, until that modern version develops superstars.

I do know that every city I go to(including s.e. Asia this summer),I hear great players who are well versed in modern and traditional forms and play their butts off enough to satisfy me.

There are definitely small enclaves of awesome jazz musicians sprinkled around the world. I frequently came across them when I had the privileged to perform in some of the larger metros in Europe for a few years. They were often excited to meet and play jazz with Americans, and invited us to sit in at after hours establishments. To be honest, most of them could play me under the table, but they were always gracious, and I didn't mind the camaraderie and a free beer every now and then.

 

[Michedelic]

No worries and no offense intended. All of this is IMHO so YMMV.

IMHO the short late 90's swing revival scene put it's own twist on the style and was played with a bit of soul. I can't say the same for Uptown Funk. IMHO, Uptown Funk comes across as trite and sterile if you were a connoisseur of the music that it is derivative from. It's played well, but it just seems to lack soul. To me there is a difference between derivative and inspired by, and unfortunately Uptown funk sounds entirely derivative. Trust me, I thirst for this style of music and really wanted to like this tune, but it makes me want to or .

That doesn't mean that I think all Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars songs suck, in fact I really enjoy many of Bruno's tunes. Here's one of my favorites.


Apparently I am not the only who think Uptown Funk is overly derivative. There have been a lot of law suits, including a winning suit brought by the Gap Band that takes 17% of the songs earnings. Mark Ronson accused of ripping off another song for ‘Uptown Funk’ yet again

Oddly it probably reminds me most of The Time


or the Bar Kays


I think it's entirely acceptable for millions of people who had a different life experience than mine to absolutely love Uptown Funk. So have a nice day.

As a gesture of good will, here's a Jukka Eskola video you may find interesting .

Just out of curiosity(no agenda here, not implying anything)where are you with Sharon Jones/Dap Kings, Black Joe Lewis, JJ Grey, Leon Bridges, and the like?

 

[Wasnex]

Just out of curiosity(no agenda here, not implying anything)where are you with Sharon Jones/Dap Kings, Black Joe Lewis, JJ Grey, Leon Bridges, and the like?

I am sure my response will show you how incredibly out of touch I am...never heard of any of them.

I did a quick sampling of what they had to offer on Youtube and much of what I heard seemed somewhat tied to old blues and/or Motown, but authentic and inspired; rather than some slick, soulless, formulaic BS. I would have to live with their music for an extended time before I could really say more than that.

Often I find that I have to ease into the music that I wind up loving the most. It doesn't have to be overly technical or complicated, but it needs to have a certain depth, so that when I start to tire of listening to one element, something else catches my ear. Then again, I tend to love fairly technical music with a good groove/danceable beat.

 

[Wasnex]

Just out of curiosity(no agenda here, not implying anything)where are you with Sharon Jones/Dap Kings, Black Joe Lewis, JJ Grey, Leon Bridges, and the like?

Some of them sort of seem to be in the same vein as CeeLo Green's F'You, which I think is a fabulous tune inspired by old Motown style.

 

[Son of Wobble]

Some of them sort of seem to be in the same vein as CeeLo Green's F'You, which I think is a fabulous tune inspired by old Motown style.

There's a great live TV version of that song to be found on Youtube where CeeLoo hits the vocal out of the park while wearing a pink suit. Fantastic performance. I'd find and link but for the chorus profanity.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Seriously? Unless you are literally starving and eating whatever you can scrounge for sustenance, you are going to be selective based on flavor. Hopefully you're also selective based on nutrition and other factors, but you're not going to eat that horrible tasting food that's good for you if you have any other choice.

My point is,it's based on many factors.
But not just one.

Unless you eat all of what you want.
And none of what you should.(Metaphor)

 

[Mark Ambler]

Bill Evans isn’t modern jazz? Really?

 

[nilorius]

If you devide the current music types, it is absolutely that modern jazz is one of the most unpoppular, but still there was and will be peaople having FUN to create and listen to it.

 

[Mark Ambler]

For clarification, this thread mentions ‘modern jazz’, which may well mean very different things to many people, so what would you define as ‘modern jazz’? I would image not the MJQ