Is Jazz is the Number 1 Music Today in America?
You may have heard "JAZZ is DEAD" and people have said "there's no more JAZZ on the RADIO" since the SMOOTH format has been pulled off many stations around 2006 and the jazz music of Ellington, Goodman, Armstrong, Sinatra, and even Miles Davis was relegated to public radio.
"Jazz is EVERYTHING. Everything is jazz; the ability to come up with something out of nothing - that's jazz. Just like Hip-Hop is everything. They are comparable cultures to each other." -- Chuck D, Public Enemy
What happened to jazz? There have always been jazz styles - let's take a whirlwind tour and think of where JAZZ came from and what JAZZ is, today, and you will realize how I came up with the conclusion that JAZZ is STILL the GREATEST MUSIC of ALL TIME, and is STILL the greatest music being made and sold today.
Early roots:
(1865-1917) Ragtime - early pioneers included Ernest Hogan, Ben Harney, and Scott Joplin.
(1865 - 1917) Boogie-Woogie - Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm, "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie music. You'll also hear piano players from both genres known as "STRIDE" piano players.
(1910 - 1927) New Orleans Jazz - considered by many TRAD (traditional) JAZZ. This style of music is still popular, and a large Trad Jazz circuit that developed in the 1960's (perhaps emerging in part from Preservation Hall in New Orleans, LA) continues to this day. Locally, Pismo Jazz's Basin Street Regulars are maintaining the Trad Jazz tradition with monthly Trad Jazz concerts and an annual Jubilee By The Sea. Some of the biggest Trad Jazz musicians were Joe "King" Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, W.C. Handy, and many others. It swept the country and spread from New Orleans to Chicago and New York City (partly because musicians like King Oliver and Louis Arstrong moved to Chicago). Trad Jazz became, for a brief period, the most dominant form of popular music in America, even surpassing classical music.
1927 - 1942 - Swing Jazz - Swing Jazz became dominated by Big Bands, with early founders Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and more all emphasizing improvising within a Big Band format (often comprised of four to five reed men who might play sax but also double on clarinet or flute, several trombones, four trumpeters, and a rhythm section of bass, piano, drums, and guitar). Swing emphasized the off-beat and featured singers, as well, such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.
The wikipedia description continues: "As jazz spread around the world, it drew on different national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to many distinctive styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass-band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. In the 1930s, heavily arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz, a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisational style and Gypsy jazz (a style that emphasized musette waltzes) were the prominent styles.
1942 - 1950 - Bebop emerged in the 1940s, shifting jazz from danceable popular music toward a more challenging "musician's music" which was played at faster tempos and used more chord-based improvisation. Cool jazz developed near the end of the 1940s, introducing calmer, smoother sounds and long, linear melodic lines.
The 1950s saw the emergence of free jazz, which explored playing without regular meter, beat and formal structures, and in the mid-1950s, hard bop emerged, which introduced influences from rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano playing.
Modal jazz developed in the late 1950s, using the mode, or musical scale, as the basis of musical structure and improvisation.
Jazz-rock fusion appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s, combining jazz improvisation with rock music's rhythms, electric instruments, and highly amplified stage sound. In the early 1980s, a commercial form of jazz fusion called smooth jazz became successful, garnering significant radio airplay.
Other styles and genres abound in the 2000s, such as Latin and Afro-Cuban jazz."
And THAT, my friends, is where WIKIPEDIA's description of JAZZ, ends.
Sure, there is debate as to the roods fo the WORD Jazz. But according to those in the know, the original word was "JASS" and if you know what it meant, you woudn't mention it in the presence of ladies (implying it was a sexually-charged or dirty word!). In any event, how can the music that represents the WORD of the CENTURY from the 20th Century according to the American Dialect Society, have evolved where the genre category now called JAZZ is less than 2% of the total music sold, today? Is that right?
First, you could argue that many jazz musicians are selling their CD out of a box at shows, so many of the CD sales aren't even going on record. Second, many artists who are performing jazz, such as Trombone Shorty or Robert Glasper, are not classifying their album as a "jazz" album, instead classifying it as "R&B/Hip-Hop" which when I first read caused me to stop and ponder... wait, if Trombone Shorty is R&B/Hip-Hop, then is it true that Hip-Hop IS therefore JAZZ?
Stop and think about that for a minute.
There are many definitions of jazz. Perhaps critic Travis Jackson said it best when he said, "it is music that includes qualities such as swing, improvising, group interaction, developing an 'individual voice', and being open to different musical possibilities"
According to Wikipedia, Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States,[1] in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in blues and ragtime.[2] Jazz is seen by many as 'America's classical music'.[3] Since the 1920s Jazz Age, jazz has become recognized as a major form of musical expression. It then emerged in the form of independent traditional and popular musical styles, all linked by the common bonds of African-American and European-American musical parentage with a performance orientation.[4] Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in West African cultural and musical expression, and in African-American music traditions including blues and ragtime, as well as European military band music.[5] Although the foundation of jazz is deeply rooted within the black experience of the United States, different cultures have contributed their own experience and styles to the art form as well. Intellectuals around the world have hailed jazz as "one of America's original art forms".[6] (source: Wikipedia)
What I find interesting in this description is the similarity, culturally, for Hip hop and Jazz:
"Hip hop as both a musical genre and a culture was formed during the 1970s when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among African-American youth residing in the Bronx. However hip-hop music did not get officially recorded for the radio or television to play until 1979, largely due to poverty during hip-hop's birth and lack of acceptance outside ghetto neighborhoods. [15] At block parties DJs played percussive breaks of popular songs using two turntables and a DJ mixer to be able to play breaks from two copies of the same record, alternating from one to the other and extending the "break".[16] Hip hop's early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum machines became widely available and affordable" (source: Wikipedia)
Both Hip Hop and Jazz from from African communities. Both have roots in the blues, rhythms, and utilize other forms of music to build upon their own unique interpertations. So, both are definitely inter-related, if not quite similar.
Today, some of the most popular artists, such as Robert Glasper, recently went on record saying "JAZZ is the MOTHER of Hip-Hop" and others say they are closely aligned. I'll go a step further and say this: HIP HOP IS NOW JAZZ MUSIC. At least, much of it is.
This statement might be considered sacrilege to some jazz fans. Let's face it, Public Enemy is a long ways from The Jazz Messengers, Charlie Parker, or Miles Davis of the 50's and 60's - with the landmark album Kind of Blue by Miles long considered the bellweather for what "Jazz Is" amongst the jazz police. But, to be honest, I've never been a big fan of trying to confine jazz like that. For example, why did so many jazz purists turn their back on Miles when he went electric? Wasn't he doing what jazz musicians always do: take new technology and styles and implement it in the music? In addition, while some jazz fans reluctantly agreed that "Smooth Jazz" was, indeed, jazz, they often turned their back on RAP. Why? Didn't the jazz music come from the ghetto or brothels turn into the "classy jazz" they loved? Why wouldn't RAP or HIP-HOP be the same? And isn't Rap and Hip-Hop using technology the same way that Miles Davis did in 1968-1971 with Bitches Brew? If there's technology to improve the music, they're taking it and using it. And, that's jazz.
Did you know that Miles Davis, himself, produced a HIP-HOP album? Yes, that's right. It was called Doo Wop, and it was the last album Miles made before he died. So, if Miles was making hip hop, how is that not jazz?
What is rap? It's spoken word, chanted, in a rhythmic sense over the rhythm - often a jazz or funk-oriented rhythm. The absence of melody is often the culprit for jazz die-hards when it comes to rap. Without melody, there's so much missing in the richness of what JAZZ IS. But, recently, something has happened in music that revolutionized music once again: the pitch corrector.
"The hip-hop artists have been able to get into that lane because of the enhancement of Pro Tools [a popular production program] and Auto-Tune," says Tricky Stewart, a songwriter/producer (Rihanna, Beyoncé) who has worked in A&R at both Def Jam and Epic Records. The increasing dominance of hip-hop during the course of the 2000s affected all of R&B. "The emergence of rap guys who could do melody simpler and a lot more digestible moved those of us who really like to sing out of the way," Tank, an R&B artist who over 18 years of R&B hits, says. (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/how-hip-hop-edged-grittier-rb-singers-out-of-the-mainstream-w504678) So, according to this definition, these new tools or technology enabled rap artists to bring melody back into the music. I would argue that then, if the melody and either vocal or instrumental sections are improvised, to whatever extent, then THIS music that is so popular today is, in part, JAZZ MUSIC. It's just filed under a different name. Is this revolutionary to you?
In 2017, something huge happened in the music industry: HIP-HOP/R&B sales surpassed sales of Rock/Pop for the first time ever. And this is news? YES! 24.5% of all record sales comprise the HIP-HOP/R&B genres of music. R&B/hip-hop music was the year's biggest genre, accounting for 24.5 percent of all music consumed. These are the type of statistical reports that cause radio stations to switch formats, my friends. Wasn't it one large station in 2006 in NYC that decided, all at once, to pull the plug on Smooth Jazz, and many in the top markets followed in the years to follow to the point where now even Smooth Jazz is almost impossible to find on the radio (outside Sirius).
But is Hip-Hop artists are improvising lyrics, and if the words are used much like SCAT, then isn't HIP-HOP merely an EXTENSION of JAZZ?
After much internal debate and discussion with others, I propose Hip-Hop IS merely an EXTENSION of JAZZ. Or... HIP HOP IS JAZZ MUSIC! Which, if you add the genre 1.2% Nielsen reported for jazz, that makes JAZZ 25.7% combined with HIP HOP to be the largest category over Rock/Pop and all other genres of music in America.
So, if you use that context for your genre and category, JAZZ is, in fact, still to this day the #1 most popular form of music in America. How does that grab you? We believe jazz is more alive than ever. Why? Well, many young musicians are getting "hip" to jazz. They're playing the older styles in new more modern bands. Even Swing has had numerous revivals, most recently in the mid-90's with Brian Setzer Orchestra, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, the Cherry-Poppin' Daddies, and Squirrel Nut Zippers. And you can see the wild expression on faces and the iPhone and Android phones come out when people experience a 2nd Line parade in New Orleans. There's really nothing else like it!
It won't suprise us when jazz, the full, multi-genred world of it, makes its way full spectrum back into the limelight, and JAZZ MUSICIANS, once treated as outcasts in America, are the cultural and musical HEROES they ought to be, once again. I foresee a renaissance of jazz music, in all forms, and I see it in bands like Trombone Shorty, Bonerama, and also with music produced by Drake, Bruno Mars, and Pharrell Williams. I can certainly tell you there is no shortage of gigging opportunities for my local band, Black Market Trio (www.BlackMarketTrio), who is being invited to perform in festivals, street fairs, weddings, clubs, VIP events, and you-name-it special occasion. Jazz IS alive and well.
What is JAZZ? Jazz is music, perhaps that swings a bit or has funky syncopation, with improvisation happening. Great jazz will take you on a musical journey. Jazz music heals. It will spur you to new ways of thinking. It will inspire you. It may make you dance. Many jazz artists developed a way of improvising that was repeatable in live settings. As, often, a song would require anywhere from seven to forty takes to nail in a recording session. Once the recording was created, the musician can always go back and reference the solo on record as the solo to play when performing live.... or not. And, isn't that the joy of jazz?
So, the next time you hear someone say "Jazz is DEAD," stop them in their tracks and let them know "NO WAY - Jazz is #1 in America - and only getting BIGGER!" Let's change our perception, re-set the dial, and see if the world of jazz doesn't swing back into popularity the way we already know it is through Hip Hop. Join me in this culture shift of how you think about jazz and hip hop - they're really a lot more closely aligned than we realized. It's already happening with our youth. JAZZ is #1 in America.
"Jazz is EVERYTHING. Everything is jazz; the ability to come up with something out of nothing - that's jazz. Just like Hip-Hop is everything. They are comparable cultures to each other." -- Chuck D, Public Enemy
What happened to jazz? There have always been jazz styles - let's take a whirlwind tour and think of where JAZZ came from and what JAZZ is, today, and you will realize how I came up with the conclusion that JAZZ is STILL the GREATEST MUSIC of ALL TIME, and is STILL the greatest music being made and sold today.
Early roots:
(1865-1917) Ragtime - early pioneers included Ernest Hogan, Ben Harney, and Scott Joplin.
(1865 - 1917) Boogie-Woogie - Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm, "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie music. You'll also hear piano players from both genres known as "STRIDE" piano players.
(1910 - 1927) New Orleans Jazz - considered by many TRAD (traditional) JAZZ. This style of music is still popular, and a large Trad Jazz circuit that developed in the 1960's (perhaps emerging in part from Preservation Hall in New Orleans, LA) continues to this day. Locally, Pismo Jazz's Basin Street Regulars are maintaining the Trad Jazz tradition with monthly Trad Jazz concerts and an annual Jubilee By The Sea. Some of the biggest Trad Jazz musicians were Joe "King" Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, W.C. Handy, and many others. It swept the country and spread from New Orleans to Chicago and New York City (partly because musicians like King Oliver and Louis Arstrong moved to Chicago). Trad Jazz became, for a brief period, the most dominant form of popular music in America, even surpassing classical music.
1927 - 1942 - Swing Jazz - Swing Jazz became dominated by Big Bands, with early founders Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and more all emphasizing improvising within a Big Band format (often comprised of four to five reed men who might play sax but also double on clarinet or flute, several trombones, four trumpeters, and a rhythm section of bass, piano, drums, and guitar). Swing emphasized the off-beat and featured singers, as well, such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.
The wikipedia description continues: "As jazz spread around the world, it drew on different national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to many distinctive styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass-band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. In the 1930s, heavily arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz, a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisational style and Gypsy jazz (a style that emphasized musette waltzes) were the prominent styles.
1942 - 1950 - Bebop emerged in the 1940s, shifting jazz from danceable popular music toward a more challenging "musician's music" which was played at faster tempos and used more chord-based improvisation. Cool jazz developed near the end of the 1940s, introducing calmer, smoother sounds and long, linear melodic lines.
The 1950s saw the emergence of free jazz, which explored playing without regular meter, beat and formal structures, and in the mid-1950s, hard bop emerged, which introduced influences from rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano playing.
Modal jazz developed in the late 1950s, using the mode, or musical scale, as the basis of musical structure and improvisation.
Jazz-rock fusion appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s, combining jazz improvisation with rock music's rhythms, electric instruments, and highly amplified stage sound. In the early 1980s, a commercial form of jazz fusion called smooth jazz became successful, garnering significant radio airplay.
Other styles and genres abound in the 2000s, such as Latin and Afro-Cuban jazz."
And THAT, my friends, is where WIKIPEDIA's description of JAZZ, ends.
Sure, there is debate as to the roods fo the WORD Jazz. But according to those in the know, the original word was "JASS" and if you know what it meant, you woudn't mention it in the presence of ladies (implying it was a sexually-charged or dirty word!). In any event, how can the music that represents the WORD of the CENTURY from the 20th Century according to the American Dialect Society, have evolved where the genre category now called JAZZ is less than 2% of the total music sold, today? Is that right?
First, you could argue that many jazz musicians are selling their CD out of a box at shows, so many of the CD sales aren't even going on record. Second, many artists who are performing jazz, such as Trombone Shorty or Robert Glasper, are not classifying their album as a "jazz" album, instead classifying it as "R&B/Hip-Hop" which when I first read caused me to stop and ponder... wait, if Trombone Shorty is R&B/Hip-Hop, then is it true that Hip-Hop IS therefore JAZZ?
Stop and think about that for a minute.
There are many definitions of jazz. Perhaps critic Travis Jackson said it best when he said, "it is music that includes qualities such as swing, improvising, group interaction, developing an 'individual voice', and being open to different musical possibilities"
According to Wikipedia, Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States,[1] in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in blues and ragtime.[2] Jazz is seen by many as 'America's classical music'.[3] Since the 1920s Jazz Age, jazz has become recognized as a major form of musical expression. It then emerged in the form of independent traditional and popular musical styles, all linked by the common bonds of African-American and European-American musical parentage with a performance orientation.[4] Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in West African cultural and musical expression, and in African-American music traditions including blues and ragtime, as well as European military band music.[5] Although the foundation of jazz is deeply rooted within the black experience of the United States, different cultures have contributed their own experience and styles to the art form as well. Intellectuals around the world have hailed jazz as "one of America's original art forms".[6] (source: Wikipedia)
What I find interesting in this description is the similarity, culturally, for Hip hop and Jazz:
"Hip hop as both a musical genre and a culture was formed during the 1970s when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among African-American youth residing in the Bronx. However hip-hop music did not get officially recorded for the radio or television to play until 1979, largely due to poverty during hip-hop's birth and lack of acceptance outside ghetto neighborhoods. [15] At block parties DJs played percussive breaks of popular songs using two turntables and a DJ mixer to be able to play breaks from two copies of the same record, alternating from one to the other and extending the "break".[16] Hip hop's early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum machines became widely available and affordable" (source: Wikipedia)
Both Hip Hop and Jazz from from African communities. Both have roots in the blues, rhythms, and utilize other forms of music to build upon their own unique interpertations. So, both are definitely inter-related, if not quite similar.
Today, some of the most popular artists, such as Robert Glasper, recently went on record saying "JAZZ is the MOTHER of Hip-Hop" and others say they are closely aligned. I'll go a step further and say this: HIP HOP IS NOW JAZZ MUSIC. At least, much of it is.
This statement might be considered sacrilege to some jazz fans. Let's face it, Public Enemy is a long ways from The Jazz Messengers, Charlie Parker, or Miles Davis of the 50's and 60's - with the landmark album Kind of Blue by Miles long considered the bellweather for what "Jazz Is" amongst the jazz police. But, to be honest, I've never been a big fan of trying to confine jazz like that. For example, why did so many jazz purists turn their back on Miles when he went electric? Wasn't he doing what jazz musicians always do: take new technology and styles and implement it in the music? In addition, while some jazz fans reluctantly agreed that "Smooth Jazz" was, indeed, jazz, they often turned their back on RAP. Why? Didn't the jazz music come from the ghetto or brothels turn into the "classy jazz" they loved? Why wouldn't RAP or HIP-HOP be the same? And isn't Rap and Hip-Hop using technology the same way that Miles Davis did in 1968-1971 with Bitches Brew? If there's technology to improve the music, they're taking it and using it. And, that's jazz.
Did you know that Miles Davis, himself, produced a HIP-HOP album? Yes, that's right. It was called Doo Wop, and it was the last album Miles made before he died. So, if Miles was making hip hop, how is that not jazz?
What is rap? It's spoken word, chanted, in a rhythmic sense over the rhythm - often a jazz or funk-oriented rhythm. The absence of melody is often the culprit for jazz die-hards when it comes to rap. Without melody, there's so much missing in the richness of what JAZZ IS. But, recently, something has happened in music that revolutionized music once again: the pitch corrector.
"The hip-hop artists have been able to get into that lane because of the enhancement of Pro Tools [a popular production program] and Auto-Tune," says Tricky Stewart, a songwriter/producer (Rihanna, Beyoncé) who has worked in A&R at both Def Jam and Epic Records. The increasing dominance of hip-hop during the course of the 2000s affected all of R&B. "The emergence of rap guys who could do melody simpler and a lot more digestible moved those of us who really like to sing out of the way," Tank, an R&B artist who over 18 years of R&B hits, says. (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/how-hip-hop-edged-grittier-rb-singers-out-of-the-mainstream-w504678) So, according to this definition, these new tools or technology enabled rap artists to bring melody back into the music. I would argue that then, if the melody and either vocal or instrumental sections are improvised, to whatever extent, then THIS music that is so popular today is, in part, JAZZ MUSIC. It's just filed under a different name. Is this revolutionary to you?
In 2017, something huge happened in the music industry: HIP-HOP/R&B sales surpassed sales of Rock/Pop for the first time ever. And this is news? YES! 24.5% of all record sales comprise the HIP-HOP/R&B genres of music. R&B/hip-hop music was the year's biggest genre, accounting for 24.5 percent of all music consumed. These are the type of statistical reports that cause radio stations to switch formats, my friends. Wasn't it one large station in 2006 in NYC that decided, all at once, to pull the plug on Smooth Jazz, and many in the top markets followed in the years to follow to the point where now even Smooth Jazz is almost impossible to find on the radio (outside Sirius).
But is Hip-Hop artists are improvising lyrics, and if the words are used much like SCAT, then isn't HIP-HOP merely an EXTENSION of JAZZ?
After much internal debate and discussion with others, I propose Hip-Hop IS merely an EXTENSION of JAZZ. Or... HIP HOP IS JAZZ MUSIC! Which, if you add the genre 1.2% Nielsen reported for jazz, that makes JAZZ 25.7% combined with HIP HOP to be the largest category over Rock/Pop and all other genres of music in America.
So, if you use that context for your genre and category, JAZZ is, in fact, still to this day the #1 most popular form of music in America. How does that grab you? We believe jazz is more alive than ever. Why? Well, many young musicians are getting "hip" to jazz. They're playing the older styles in new more modern bands. Even Swing has had numerous revivals, most recently in the mid-90's with Brian Setzer Orchestra, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, the Cherry-Poppin' Daddies, and Squirrel Nut Zippers. And you can see the wild expression on faces and the iPhone and Android phones come out when people experience a 2nd Line parade in New Orleans. There's really nothing else like it!
It won't suprise us when jazz, the full, multi-genred world of it, makes its way full spectrum back into the limelight, and JAZZ MUSICIANS, once treated as outcasts in America, are the cultural and musical HEROES they ought to be, once again. I foresee a renaissance of jazz music, in all forms, and I see it in bands like Trombone Shorty, Bonerama, and also with music produced by Drake, Bruno Mars, and Pharrell Williams. I can certainly tell you there is no shortage of gigging opportunities for my local band, Black Market Trio (www.BlackMarketTrio), who is being invited to perform in festivals, street fairs, weddings, clubs, VIP events, and you-name-it special occasion. Jazz IS alive and well.
What is JAZZ? Jazz is music, perhaps that swings a bit or has funky syncopation, with improvisation happening. Great jazz will take you on a musical journey. Jazz music heals. It will spur you to new ways of thinking. It will inspire you. It may make you dance. Many jazz artists developed a way of improvising that was repeatable in live settings. As, often, a song would require anywhere from seven to forty takes to nail in a recording session. Once the recording was created, the musician can always go back and reference the solo on record as the solo to play when performing live.... or not. And, isn't that the joy of jazz?
So, the next time you hear someone say "Jazz is DEAD," stop them in their tracks and let them know "NO WAY - Jazz is #1 in America - and only getting BIGGER!" Let's change our perception, re-set the dial, and see if the world of jazz doesn't swing back into popularity the way we already know it is through Hip Hop. Join me in this culture shift of how you think about jazz and hip hop - they're really a lot more closely aligned than we realized. It's already happening with our youth. JAZZ is #1 in America.
