Jazz Now: What’s it Like Today?

This week, NPR Jazz is asking bloggers like me to list five albums I’d use to introduce someone to today’s jazz. This is incredible because (a) I love today’s jazz, and (b) this is justification that I’m not crazy for running a blog about jazz — there’s more like me out there!

Even though I’m not in the age range of many of these bloggers (20+), being a sixteen-year-old jazz musician in high school gives me a personal look at what today’s kids are into, jazz or not. And surprisingly, jazz hasn’t perished, even in my generation. This actually reminds me of an article I just read in the October issue of Downbeat called “Why Jazz Endures,” with four takes on why jazz hasn’t died yet from Dan Morgenstern, David Baker, Steven Bernstein, and Branford Marsalis. (Check out Downbeat here — you can get it digitally, too!) Baker brought up a good point — there’s four reasons why jazz is still alive: it’s timeless, it brings people together despite their differences, it’s personal and spontaneous, and it’s “synonymous with freedom” (think about what improvisation really is).

So although I’m allowed to go all the way back to thirty years ago, I’m going to stick to the players who are playing now — the players that are living, breathing, and playing at this very moment. The albums I’m representing them with aren’t necessarily bestselling or the most popular albums — rather, they’re albums that I think embody modern jazz.

1. HIROMI UEHARA (& SONICBLOOM)/Time Control

I remember being a bit reluctant to introduce Hiromi to our high school jazz instructor because Googling Hiromi will result in one of three things: (1) something back-to-basics, (2) something classical, or (3) something that the average listener would mistake for techno music. Even though she says that one of her biggest inspirations was and is Oscar Peterson, Hiromi and her trendy 3-piece rhythm guys kind of depart from traditional tapping-your-foot-on-beats-2-and-4 jazz in this album. But then what is it? It’s still got a form — it’s not all over the place like free jazz sounds like sometimes. For now, I’ll refer to it as techno jazz (although you will get tiny bits of traditional jazz and classical mixed into it). Whether you’re into techno, classical, or traditional jazz, Hiromi’ll give you all three of them.

As a plus, if you want to impress your non-jazz-listening friends, Hiromi always has these crazy fast look-what-I-can-do licks on hand.

2. BRAD MEHLDAU/Largo

Some musicians start out with classical training (I know I did) — others jump right into jazz. But what I’ve seen in pianists like Bill Evans and Cedar Walton is that jazz pianists tend to have a base of classical training. And today’s Brad Mehldau, like these pianists, has the same background. Basically, Mehldau is great if you’re currently listening to (a) classical music or (b) something along the lines of Coldplay. Because what classical music, Mehldau, and Coldplay have in common is that you can hear the classical bits in action. Because like any kind of music, jazz is this creole of a million different musical ideas — so if you’re looking for something along the lines of classical + Coldplay + jazz, you’ve got Meldhau.

Meldhau’s one of those pianists that give me goosebumps — the good kind — at the end of each chord he plays. They’re rich and smooth and bold — even behind his often unusual melodies, they’re always there. Unlike Time Control, you can definitely switch on some Meldhau before you go to sleep.

3. ROD PIAZZA & THE MIGHTY FLYERS/Live at B.B. King’s Blues Club

For some reason, upbeat blues tunes seem to always the most popular among my non-jazz listener friends — it’s something about the swing and the pushing, upbeat tempo. Plus, Rod Piazza on the harp is one of those things you just can’t hate on. There’s no way. But my favorite part of this band is its female pianist (I have and always will have a soft spot for female jazz pianists), Honey Piazza. I had a friend who went to a Mighty Flyers concert that told me she was playing the keys with her toes at some point. To hear more of what I’m talking about, listen to The Stinger in this album. It’s a bit more traditional blues, but the Mighty Flyers definitely do their part in bringing back the appreciation for great basic blues to today’s listeners.

4. VIJAY IYER/Tragicomic

I first heard Iyer in his NPR Jazz at Newport live webcast a couple months ago. To be honest, it was a bit awkward to listen to at first — Iyer uses not-so-traditional chord voicings and meter changes that initially sound super strange. If you’re thinking about what albums to show your friends when you’re introducing them to modern jazz, this probably shouldn’t be the first album you reach for.

But like how Hiromi’s classical background comes up in her playing, Iyer’s background does the same — he’s got a B.S. in Mathematics and Physics from Yale & a Masters in Physics and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Technology and the Arts from UC Berkeley. If there’s any way to make jazz sound math-y, Iyer’s done it. And that’s what modern jazz is all about: blending the jazz from the past and the jazz in you — and for Iyer, the jazz in him is somewhat technical and irregular; maybe even revolutionary. So take a deep breath and abandon all of your jazz stereotypes before you listen to Vijay Iyer — he won’t be playing your traditional seventh chords and your average straightforward melody, but he will be playing  modern jazz, Vijay style.

Oh, and to add even more to his modern character, he’s got an active Twitter account. Go send a tweet about thejazzpost @vijayiyer.

5. GORDON GOODWIN’S BIG PHAT BAND/Act Your Age

Gordon Goodwin and his Big Phat Band have stuck with me since I first started playing jazz — he’s active in the LA area and he’s very well-connected with some of the schools in the area as well (we’ve even commissioned a song from him that we’ll be be playing October 22); in fact, I met him in person when I heard the band live for the first time when the Jazz Bakery was still around. And like everyone says, nothing’s better than live jazz music. Goodwin’s compositions bring the energy back into big band tunes (check out Act Your Age and Backrow Politics from this album) with a bit of a comic twist (for example, the trumpets featured in Backrow Politics are contrasted with a flute soli towards the end of the tune — in the live concert, the trumpets were mocking them from behind; it was absolutely hilarious). This band goes back to the jazz basics without losing its fun, entertaining feel.

Be sure to check out other “top 5 albums of today’s jazz” blog posts at NPR Jazz’s A Blog Supreme. (Remember Coltrane’s tune, A Love Supreme?)

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Bill Evans/Little Lulu/Compact Jazz

Tagged as: A Blog Supreme, Act Your Age, Brad Mehldau, Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, hiromi, Largo, Live at B.B. King's Blues Club, Mighty Flyers, modern jazz, npr jazz, Rod Piazza, Time Control, Tragicomic, Vijay Iyer