Jazz and music are thriving, and there is much to be done chronicling the recent history of the music.
For starters, here’s Nate Chinen’s beautiful article about John Scofield’s concert on October 15th at Ardmore Music Hall, near Philadelphia. Wonderful that Chinen highlighted drummer Bill Stewart’s essential contribution to Scofield’s world, and Vicente Archer’s always-memorable bass solos. For more on the Archer-Stewart connection, check out Vicente’s lovely Short Stories, a great trio date featuring Bill and pianist Gerald Clayton.
(Personal aside: Scofield and Bill Stewart are important, and I made notes for an essay overview of their records together. I should write that piece. Let’s celebrate them now, while they’re both still so active.)
Trumpeter Roy Hargrove, whose influence and contribution are still being digested, was continuing his Afro-Cuban studies with Grande-Terre (Verve), released last week but recorded in 1998, which Tom Moon wrote about on Echo Locator. Grande-Terre is exciting, vital, and fun, with a spirit of outreach and big-tent optimism. Who wouldn’t like this music?
Howard Mandel and the Jazz Journalists Association have just released The Jazz Omnibus: 21st-Century Photos and Writings by Members of the Jazz Journalists Association. Mandel is a veteran music journalist who’s currently doing important work on his Substack. (Personal aside #2— Mandel’s Future Jazz (Oxford Press, 2000) is a big influence on Chronicles.)
Phil Freeman, whose Cecil Taylor book knocked me out, always good-naturedly pushes the conversation; he has a sense of humor and a bone-deep commitment to music. In a model of low-key, civil discourse on everythingjazz.com, Freeman and Ethan Iverson disagree on the merits of Bill Charlap’s new album. A healthy musical ecosystem will support all the viewpoints, all the sounds, all the people, will have room, in other words, for Charlap, Iverson, Freeman, and Cecil Taylor. As I said, we are thriving.
The Charlap album, incidentally, features a stand-out performance from drummer Kenny Washington, one of our most important voices— check out the cymbal solo on “In Your Own Sweet Way”.
The music industry is part of the wider media industry, both in a state of constant change.
Here’s Ted Gioia on his predictions for the future of the music business. Gioia, in addition to being a tireless crusader and advocate for the power of music, is also a Stanford-trained businessman who was an early dot-com entrepreneur; his predictions carry the weight of experience.
Freddie DeBoer, with his characteristic force and candor, sees both the possibilities and limits within a de-centralized, independent system. I’m sure many of his points are debatable, but DeBoer’s certainly on to something.
If we’re going to be independent, we should be, above all, brave, challenging, true to ourselves, and in service of something greater than our careers.
Harmony Holiday is a brilliant artist and a model of true independence. Holiday’s powerful essay on the alleged crimes of Sean Combs is a recent favorite, a combination of memoir and criticism, with thematically-developed motifs in full-blast, lyrical sentences that never fail to surprise and provoke.
This is what 21st century internet-based writing can be— truth, beauty, and service. Onward!
Re: "A healthy musical ecosystem will support all the viewpoints, all the sounds, all the people, will have room, in other words, for Charlap, Iverson, Freeman, and Cecil Taylor...." To the extent that modern music criticism tends to be based on a small group of performers, there's a lot of work that needs to be done, going forward. Down Beat quoted $200 for a "review" of one of my recordings. Any payment from me to an alleged journalist taints the entire process. Critical press, conflated with paid advertising. Cash flow, in the wrong direction. Keep practicing. JA
I don't think Phil Freeman has a sense of humor at all, nor does he advance the conversation. His original comment was neither funny nor insightful and he followed it up with one to the effect that musicians playing standards should "play for tips at the Holiday Inn.' I guess that's supposed to funny, but it seems disrespectful and hurtful to a whole bunch of musicians. Especially Bill Charlap.