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Phenomenon of Smooth Jazz
- Thread starter ElectroVibe
- Start date
I like his music as well as Pat Matheny, but their toxic opinionated airings of their thoughts are not doing anything to help them.
Yeah, I read a few posts referencing similar. What did he all say?
He comes off pretty eloquent in his books. Solid in his opinions, certainly, but I took no offense as I'm certainly no jazz expert.
I think it's more that year they and Suzie hopped into the back seat of Dad's Buick, but what you said also applies....
Help me understand how "Smooth Jazz" isn't also music of the past.
It's interesting about the 80s production seen as a problem, but to me analog synthesizers can sound dated also. Even if they sound cool.
Analog synths sound very dated to me, particularly in music from the era they were ubiquitous in. I won't use those sounds in the music I write and produce unless I'm going for something specific, and there is music I used to enjoy that I won't listen to because I don't care for those sounds anymore.
I think in the case of 80's production it's more a kind of studio slickness and sheen that creates a sameness to all that music, and it's a fine line. Some of it can come from serious compression. I don't see it as tied to instrumentation.
It's not so much the synths but the gates on the "drums" and the programing of the rhythm sections, it made them sound stiff.
I think it reminds me of the late 1980s and early 90s when I used to hear dedicated radio stations. I was surprised that I couldn't differentiate the newer from the older recordings.
I also feel sad for people who live in the past, whenever their favorite traditional jazz was recorded. They kind of remind me of Woody Allen who always had old time music in his movies.
I actually like the video that you posted after this response. In my mind, that's not "Smooth Jazz" though. Maybe I'm wrong?
ahh...Talkbass...where "jazz has never evolved past 1976" and "nobody would play the bass if it wasn't for Paul McCartney"
This is exactly what happened, they all gave up on taking it further after that concert and decided to regress to smooth jazz :
On a bit more serious note :
So this is the "jazz is dead" of "rock is dead" thread?
Everyone who actually knows anything about those two genres would know that neither is true, in fact they are both probably more alive than just about ever before (maybe with the exception of the 60's and 70's), just not all that obviously visible/easily accessible (though one could argue that they are also in fact more easily accessible than ever, at least if you know how to use the internet, point being you have to do a little work yourself to find it).
On a bit more serious note :
So this is the "jazz is dead" of "rock is dead" thread?
Everyone who actually knows anything about those two genres would know that neither is true, in fact they are both probably more alive than just about ever before (maybe with the exception of the 60's and 70's), just not all that obviously visible/easily accessible (though one could argue that they are also in fact more easily accessible than ever, at least if you know how to use the internet, point being you have to do a little work yourself to find it).
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Beware of the trap of thinking we are on the righteous path. There is no particular "real" music. It's all music. Some of it you don't like and that's cool. Criticising a style is pointless. Is it done well or not? That, we can criticise from a viewpoint of knowledge and experience.
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