Jazz Now (And Later)

Jazz Now, a worthy initiative taken up by Patrick Jarenwattananon of NPR's A Blog Supreme, is an idea that immediately caught my attention and interest. I appreciate organized challenges like this that ask me to put my occasionally sprawling thoughts and ideas into a certain set of parameters.

So I've watched with great interest as they've rolled in. There certainly seems to be something resembling a strategy that can be defined amongst each of them, and some overarching themes as well.

My basic approach is that you shouldn't try and introduce people to the music by picking anything too easy or comfortable. I think the people who are really going to become fans of jazz are the type who like being challenged a bit in their listening habits. People who are into the outer fringes of indie rock, hip hop, or any other given genre are what I'd describe as the low hanging fruit, the seekers who should be sought. Don't give them the mild sauce, go ahead and singe their already developing palette with the good stuff and see if they want more.

Without any further ado, I'll dive into my list, which I will freely admit was based on a quick browse of my collection and my gut impulse and instinct. Many worthy albums will be left on the cutting room floor as a result.

1) William Parker Quartet - O'Neal's Porch (Aum Fidelity)

Ebullient is a word that immediately comes to mind when describing this album. It's got great melodies and arrangements, it's got the Sly and Robbie of jazz, William Parker and Hamid Drake, manning the rhythm section, and it has kick ass playing by both Rob Brown and Lewis "Flip" Barnes. It has great flow from cover to cover, deep grooves, inspired improvisations; as my grandma was fond of saying, what's not to like?

2) Triptych Myth - The Beautiful (Aum Fidelity)

Cooper-Moore on piano, Tom Abbs on bass, Chad Taylor on drums. Expressive, driving piano trio that gives appropriate nods to the roots of the format while inhabiting the distinct presence of the (recent) now.  It's playful, expressive, interactive, exploratory. There are moments of haunting beauty and introspection, sound experiments, catchy melodies, all clearly expressed through this instrumentation that is in someway native and vital to understanding jazz.

3) Roscoe Mitchell Quintet - Turn (Rogueart)

I don't think I could sleep at night if I wrote this list and didn't include a Roscoe Mitchell album, and one of recent vintage for that matter given the parameters of this exercise. A early live experience with Roscoe Mitchell left me, as a wise man named Mick Jagger once said, in tatters: shadooby shattered. His presence, his intensity, his clarity of vision; it was truly a transformative listening experience for me, one that remains vivid in my memory. I think many people are scared to give a new listener an album like this for any number of reasons. I think we need to give people the benefit of the doubt and the opportunity to listen to music like Roscoe's. If you make them a fan of this music, they'll be a fan for life. One of the reasons I picked "Turn" specifically is that it's made up of 14 tracks, all of them unique and distinct, all presented in bite sized chunks. If someone couldn't get into one track, chances are they'll be interested in the next. Roscoe Mitchell, Corey Wilkes, Craig Taborn, Jaribu Shahid and Tani Tabbal! What's not to like?

4) Jim Black/ALASNOAXIS - Houseplant (Winter & Winter)

I bought this album along with Tortoise - Beacons of Ancestorship, and I had also recently purchased Savath & Savalas - La Llama. As I sometimes do, I made the decision to erase all other music from my iPod and let these three stew for a while. Together they created an interesting juxtaposition, and amongst them all I feel that Houseplant really rose to the top as the cream of the crop. It's still in regular rotation and I think it's a great album to introduce people to jazz to - think of it as kind of an instrumental music bridge, the album on this list that most closely resembles a crossover. There's a unique approach to layering sounds, rhythms, and textures that I think would resonate with a lot of people.

5) Vijay Iyer Trio - Historicity (ACT)

I hesitate to say too much about this one because I have an in depth review that's been in process for a while and soon to be posted. But I'll say this: if the goal of a list like this is to make sure things sound modern and vital, so it's clear that we're presenting music that is alive and well rather than rusty, on its last legs, and looking in the rear-view mirror, then there's perhaps no better album than Historicity to do it. There is no artifice here, it's all substance, and it accomplishes what in my opinion the best jazz does, refracting essences to reveal a spectrum of understanding. More on this one soon.

I was never particularly good at coloring between the lines, so there is some overflow. Here is my honorable mention list, but in truth any of these could have been in the 5 listed above:

Mike Reed's People Places & Things - About Us (482 Music) - In depth review forthcoming, but I will say that this has been stuck in my CD player since I got it. It's not just really good, it's great, and I can't imagine how anyone could not like it.

Jeff Parker - Like Coping (Delmark) - Jeff Parker is one of the great modern voices on the guitar, with an instantly identifiable sound no matter the context. Here we get our full dose in the trio setting.

Electric Kuluntang - Dialects - Is this jazz? Who cares? If it gets someone to delve deeper into Susie Ibarra's music, mission accomplished.

The Misled Children Meet Odean Pope (Porter Records) - For the hip-hop head on your list, deep instrumental grooves featuring Odean Pope.

Craig Taborn - Junk Magic (Thirsty Ear) - I've seen this one pop up on others' lists, and for good reason.

Mary Halvorson - Dragon's Head (Firehouse 12) - This one has popped up a few times already as well which is great to see. Halvorson's approach to the guitar is really exciting, unique, and a joy to listen to.

I could go on but I'll stop myself there. Thanks for reading.