Last night, I went to the Wednesday night jazz concert series at the Sacramento waterfront. I must say that there's nothing so pleasing as a ride down the American River bicycle trail and into Old Sac to see a modern jazz great at a small, open-air venue. Last night, it was the Charlie Hunter trio on hand.
Granted, Charlie Hunter is a phenomenal guitarist of supremely developed skill. However, as I was listening to the music, I noticed something that has nagged at me for some time. That is, I found the music to be rather uninspiring, as if set on cruise control. I kept wondering, as I do often, if someone has imposed a speed limit on jazz? Or for that matter, on a lot of artistic expression of late?
As I listened Charlie Hunter and his gifted drummer and sax player trade off the spotlight, and each wade through a somewhat syrupy display of unemotional playing, I just kept thinking of what it might sound like with Al DiMeola, Sonny Rollins, and Jack DeJohnette up their in place of these three. Not that those jazz legends are even my favorites at their respective instruments. It's just that they always pushed the music.
Am I simply confused because jazz is a misnomer for today's music? Because I see something similar in art, and in language as well. It's as though artistic expression has become an exercise in puzzle assembly, where a palatable end is defined even before the process begins. I mean, 30 years after Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, do we honestly believe that White Stripes--as a reconstitution of both--stands at the front of the current revolution in rock? Or that Joshua Redman and Dave Koz have sparked a new view of the sax in the way that Lance Armstrong has forced other riders to explore new training methods for professional cycling?
I'm not posting this in order to bash anyone. Rather, I just wanted to share my thoughts, and to get some feedback from other members. Perhaps I'm missing something here. Or maybe we're truly seeing the limits of the expansion of the artistic balloon, and are waiting for it to explode once again. For me, it can't come soon enough.
Thank you so much for the suggestion. I will be out of town next Monday, but I'll have to check the Jazz House schedule for future shows. I'm sure that with anything, you just have to dig a bit. So that's what I'll do!
Charlie Hunter reminds me of Stanley Jordan. Phenomenal chops but no soul!! By no means should an opinion of Jazz in general (which certainly has it's problems) be based on this particular artist. BTW, where is Stanley now?
It may have all started in the Clint Eastwood movie The Enforcer. Specifically, when Harry Callahan and his new partner played by Tyne Daly are chasing a bad guy carrying a briefcase containing a bomb through the streets of San Francisco. Quick tempo top hats and rolling rhythms are playing as Tyne is running out of control down a steep hill while her unrestrained boobs are doing the Lombard Street Boogie.
From then on, I've perceived a slowdown in the pace of all newly composed jazz pieces. It could be that seeing their music represented on the big screen by Cagney's[?], Lacey's[?] bra-less dance was too much for them to bare. Heheh.
I suspect that these things go in cycles. Early Romanticism was an age of pyrotechnic-think Liszt and Paganinni. In jazz,the boppers-think Gillespie and Parker, pushed technique.
The speed limit is set by the technical ability of the players and how well rehearsed they are. A jazz ensamble will play standards they know faster than new things they are working on.
Much music is,or derives from,dance music and is related to heart beat speeds.
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