What I don't understand about stuff like this is why music has to be political to not be "dead." There are plenty of musicians pushing the free-form improvisational style that defines the ethereal borders of "jazz."
Wali, what it seems to me like you might be falling into the same trap that most music lovers do. They want their music to be fresh and relevant, but still sound "like it used to." The honest truth is that in order to be fresh and relevant, the music has to change. Most of the stuff I listen to is happening to the younger crowd, exites them intellectually(though it does not promote any political action) and is usually dismissed by the old-school jazz standards crowd as not being true jazz.
One thing I seem to notice though, albums in a specific genre can only be groundbreaking for so long before a foundation is so solidly set that people can no longer accept further evolution of the medium and simply label the new offerings as "different." Traditional Jazz hit that stage a good 30+ years ago. Looking for more of the same, but somehow revolutionary better, just isn't possible. Instead we now look to phenominal artists and how well they can do with what we all know.
Just as an easy example:
Traditional Jazz:
Michael Brecker - Technical Monstermind sax player, nothing new otherwise
Afro-Smooth Jazz:
Michael Brecker(again) - He and his brother helped turn off nearly every teenage kid by pioneering the sub-genre that most people considered to be "jazz"
Wali, what it seems to me like you might be falling into the same trap that most music lovers do. They want their music to be fresh and relevant, but still sound "like it used to." The honest truth is that in order to be fresh and relevant, the music has to change. Most of the stuff I listen to is happening to the younger crowd, exites them intellectually(though it does not promote any political action) and is usually dismissed by the old-school jazz standards crowd as not being true jazz.
One thing I seem to notice though, albums in a specific genre can only be groundbreaking for so long before a foundation is so solidly set that people can no longer accept further evolution of the medium and simply label the new offerings as "different." Traditional Jazz hit that stage a good 30+ years ago. Looking for more of the same, but somehow revolutionary better, just isn't possible. Instead we now look to phenominal artists and how well they can do with what we all know.
Just as an easy example:
Traditional Jazz:
Michael Brecker - Technical Monstermind sax player, nothing new otherwise
Afro-Smooth Jazz:
Michael Brecker(again) - He and his brother helped turn off nearly every teenage kid by pioneering the sub-genre that most people considered to be "jazz"
)
