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A Thread for New Jazz

this is not 'new' jazz, just old jazz. But it might as well be, given what a lot of hyped new jazz is today :p. < quickly hides under chair>
 
this is not 'new' jazz, just old jazz. But it might as well be, given what a lot of hyped new jazz is today :p. < quickly hides under chair>

This was from Tom Hull reflecting in compiling the Jazz Critics in the end of year poll:

"This brings me to the biggest reservation I have about polls: their tendency to measure access and not just quality. [...] After 20 years of watching how publicity works I can illustrate this with dozens of examples. It’s no accident that Blue Note managed to place five albums in the top 25 — they do that nearly every year (yet almost never land an album on my A-list) — or that Pi punches way above its weight (four of the six albums they released in the top 32; two on my A-list, so one of the PR tricks they don’t miss is putting out strikingly good records).

You might object that the last three Polls have been won by less established, even tinier labels. [...] labels have gone beyond “self-released” status, building on networks of compatible musicians, but they’re also helped significantly by independent publicists (Matt Merewitz for TAO Forms, and Ann Braithwaite for Pyroclastic).
"

The full piece is here
Behind the 2021 Jazz Critics Poll - A Tool for the Times - The Arts Fuse

After reading this I reflected on why I hear what I hear and buy what I buy. Pfm has obviously been an influence but I then wondered how forum members have heard about the records we share - it seems to be in part linked to what we hear about through publicity and hype - or e mail updates we've signed up to. I also wondered if there something a bit "little England" and parochial about the excitement we share around new British releases ( or reissues) which in the wider scheme of things are sometimes possibly just a tad ordinary.

No different to how its always been I suppose - just the modern equivalent of companies visiting radio stations or DJs to get their records played.
 
No different to how its always been I suppose - just the modern equivalent of companies visiting radio stations or DJs to get their records played.

What's the point of music if nobody listens to it and talks about it? It would just remain, like it is for many of us, playing for personal enjoyment.
 
What's the point of music if nobody listens to it and talks about it? It would just remain, like it is for many of us, playing for personal enjoyment.

Totally agree, but wonder if we always get to heat the best stuff if it depends on publicity. Do we hear the best music or the music with the best publicists?

I need to track down a jazz John Peel! The end of year polls, especially the Jazz Critics one, are the nearest I get to that.
 
Totally agree, but wonder if we always get to heat the best stuff if it depends on publicity. Do we hear the best music or the music with the best publicists?

I need to track down a jazz John Peel!

David Hepworth talks about a male / female split where the men always want to assess what's cool from their mates before they'll admit to liking something!
 
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Food for thought indeed.

My sources are myriad - forum recs, media write ups, youtube, comments from musicians, etc. I try to keep an open ear to everything but it's impossible to hear everything that's suggested.

However, I am seldom convinced by what is usually hyped by the media and critics (including the usual year's best lists). I happen to agree with the points about Blue Note current offerings and the London jazz scene. Most of the time I fail to understand the excitement behind the hyped albums.

This was from Tom Hull reflecting in compiling the Jazz Critics in the end of year poll:

"This brings me to the biggest reservation I have about polls: their tendency to measure access and not just quality. [...] After 20 years of watching how publicity works I can illustrate this with dozens of examples. It’s no accident that Blue Note managed to place five albums in the top 25 — they do that nearly every year (yet almost never land an album on my A-list) — or that Pi punches way above its weight (four of the six albums they released in the top 32; two on my A-list, so one of the PR tricks they don’t miss is putting out strikingly good records).

You might object that the last three Polls have been won by less established, even tinier labels. [...] labels have gone beyond “self-released” status, building on networks of compatible musicians, but they’re also helped significantly by independent publicists (Matt Merewitz for TAO Forms, and Ann Braithwaite for Pyroclastic).
"

The full piece is here
Behind the 2021 Jazz Critics Poll - A Tool for the Times - The Arts Fuse

After reading this I reflected on why I hear what I hear and buy what I buy. Pfm has obviously been an influence but I then wondered how forum members have heard about the records we share - it seems to be in part linked to what we hear about through publicity and hype - or e mail updates we've signed up to. I also wondered if there something a bit "little England" and parochial about the excitement we share around new British releases ( or reissues) which in the wider scheme of things are sometimes possibly just a tad ordinary.

No different to how its always been I suppose - just the modern equivalent of companies visiting radio stations or DJs to get their records played.
 
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Reactions: kjb
Try Gilles Peterson on Radio 6. Often listen to him on Saturday afternoons. Really interesting and loads of great new music. He is Mr Brownswood.

Great call on Gilles Peterson. He's been championing new (and old) British jazz for well over 20 years. You can catch past episodes of his show on BBC Sounds, which gives you the option of fast forwarding the bits you're not interested in.
 
Try Gilles Peterson on Radio 6. Often listen to him on Saturday afternoons. Really interesting and loads of great new music. He is Mr Brownswood.

J to Z on Radio 3 at 5pm Saturday can be worth a listen too. I miss Jazz On Three but at least they're still broadcasting some concert recordings on this show.
 
but wonder if we always get to hear the best stuff if it depends on publicity. Do we hear the best music or the music with the best publicists?


Right from the get go from when I was a teenager I have always been interested in what the musician’s I like and interest me are listening to. It quickly became a complex and divers web that has taken me places I’d never have discovered by following media hype or end of year polls. In the past it often required quite a bit of work, seeking out alternative press or musician run record labels and record shops etc, but worth the effort. Informed personal recommendation has always been key. In many ways it’s easier post internet, but perhaps we now have too much choice and not enough filters - too much noise, too much self promotion and not enough genuine dedication.
 
Peterson veers a little too far towards soul jazz for me. I tend to follow some of the innovative labels Pi, AUM Fidelity and International Anthem. That invariably leads to interesting artists. Bandcamp is a great thing too.
 
Peterson veers a little too far towards soul jazz for me. I tend to follow some of the innovative labels Pi, AUM Fidelity and International Anthem. That invariably leads to interesting artists. Bandcamp is a great thing too.

I’d agree. An example would be comparing his Sun Ra compilation to Marshal Allen’s - cosmic groove and chants versus diversity and experimentation.
 
I was in a record shop in Sète in South of France last year and the owner hearing my voice told me Giles Peterson shops in here. Later found out Peterson hosts a really rather tremendous festival there each summer
 
J to Z on Radio 3 at 5pm Saturday can be worth a listen too. I miss Jazz On Three but at least they're still broadcasting some concert recordings on this show.

I still miss Jazz on 3 with Jez Nelson, every week you'd discover something new and there'd be a great live gig recorded by the BBC which always sounded like you were there, made Saturday mornings a pleasure.
Glad we've still go Giles Peterson holding the torch, in Giles we trust! I will have a listen to J to Z and Freeness.
 
GP tends to the funkier, more soul oriented end of jazz but then he's playing to an audience and it's part of his dance club background. He does have very deep knowledge of music especially jazz, funk and soul though, so I'd be happy to follow his stead. His Sun Ra comp is an equally valid representation of a particular side of Ra's music in comparison to Marshal Allen's. I am glad to enjoy both. Truth be told, I find some of Ra's music to be too weird. I am still trying to figure out vol 1 of Sun Ra at la Fondation Maeght where he plays a solo Moog synthesizer for both sides of the record!
 


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