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The State of Jazz

I was recently listening to "The Best of Diana Krall" LP. It is an amazing album. But later, I reflected on the fact that she sang almost entirely 'standards,' which means the songs are all at least 50 years old. Then, I thought, why hasn't the Jazz Community produced any more recent songs that have become standards. Then I thought: it is most likely, that the same standards (i.e., basin street blues; willow weep for me, etc.) will be sung for the next 50 years--and I wondered, are we producing any songs today that will become standards. I don't think so. Bu, why not?
elegal
isochronism
2,893 posts
 
Ptm, As a young child I feel in love with Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" and always said that it could not be done badly. Then there was Rod Stewart....
"Hot Leggs"??? Is anything Sacred??? A sign of the Apocalypse to me!!!
acman3
4,275 posts
 
Onhwy61 is correct. Also look up Tin Pan Alley.

Another reason is that with the birth of bebop, people were throwing out there backs trying to dance. Jazz became a spectator sport.
elegal OP
70 posts
 
Czarivey: I do not think standards are the enemy of Jazz. Round Midnight is a great song that become a standard, and is not inimical to jazz, IMHO
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,475 posts
 
Don't even ask how many cover versions of Round Midnight I
have in my collection. I'm guessing a few dozen. And each
has something unique to offer and enjoy.

Vocal jazz and of covers in particular get a lot of airtime
in my system. I often queue up 2, 3 or more different
covers of a song on my music server just to be able to soak
something in from multiple perspectives in rapid sequence,
compare and contrast, etc. The variety of interpretation
extends the utility of the composition further each time,
making the whole greater than the sum of the parts.
tostadosunidos's avatar
tostadosunidos
1,197 posts
 
"Jazz is not dead--it just smells funny."--Frank Zappa
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