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Show ENTERTAINMENT Rewriting Wednesday, December 31, 2003 d to be covering? Call 257-8742 NEWS TIP HOTLINE— Seeor know of something wenee thejazz songbook Notable shifts in ‘03: Youngartists mix it up, the piano makes some noise, Wayne Shorter checks in andeverybody buys Norah Jones Morah Jones WEEDS t in which he didn’t sing a word and instead focused on the keys @ The neotraditionalists get By STEVE GREENLEL modern. Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton, Christian McBride The Boston Globe Any art’s long-term viability depends on attracting new, younger patrons. It’s why muse ums host singles nights, it’s why symphonies sometimes schedule concerts later in the evening than usual, and it’s why theater companies give discounts to col lege students Ever since fusion fizzled in theearly ‘80s, jazz has struggled with this problem. Even as the mid-’80s ushered in an era of so called young lions guys in their early 20s playing acoustic be bop and post bop jazz has drawn an older younglions all, followers of the Wynton Marsalis school of jazz back in the ’90s, they made their names turning out album after album of music that was techn! cally proficient but ultimately derivative of ‘60s bop. These and several others guys seem to have gotten together and “Enough is enough.” All said. have released albums that mix jazz, R&B, and fusion, to varying degrees of success. But kudos for trying something new @Norah Jones sweeps the Grammys For once, the Grammyvotersgot it right in the Album of the Year” category. Jones’s sweet pop-jazz vocals en crowd Why? [t might audiences, and her Blue Note record sold gazillions do with the fact It was only a few years ago that thing some to that all these In a trar young musi cians were playing their fathers’ jazz The past few years have seen a gradual shift toward a more contemporary jazz. “Contemp orary” here does not mean “smooth.” This newer, more modern jazz may employ synthe sizers, samples, and program mable beats, but it is miles away from the vacant, bland bubblegum churned out bythe likes of Dave Koz and Boney James. Instead we see free-jazz-pianistcum-producer Matthew Shipp inventing a new brand of music that combines avant-garde jazz with electronica. We see tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman casting quartet raptured Let’s not forget that she can play the piano, too @ Matthew Shipp mixesit up. have Nicholas Payton (> off his long-standing in favor of an organ- based groove trio. We see alto Garrett Kenny saxophonist bringing in a teenage hip-hop drummerto electrify his acoustic band. We see New Orleans trumpeter Nicholas Paytonplay ing trance Other musicians have stuck to familiar formats while updating the jazz songbook. The piano trio the Bad Plus played Black Sabbath and Nirvana. B-3 Hammondorganist Dr. Lonnie Smith made an entire jazz album of Beck covers. Several artists used Bjork tunes as the basis for improvisation. This is why the most exciting development of 2003 for jazz was its youth movement. Whetherby design or chance, dozens of im portant jazz artists are produc ing the kind of music that is at tracting people in their teens, 90s, and 30s. Jazz is, after all, America’s melting-pot music, and now more than everit’s blending every type of music Blues, pop, country, rock, hip hop, electronica it’s all here. In fact, the trend toward at tracting younger listeners was A wordof advice before going out this New Year's. Shipp, a wonderfully original pi anist who favors thick, dense chords over melody, threatened to stop recording altogether. Then he found electronica and hip-hop and began releasing a raft of albums under his own name and others. He serves as the artistic director of Thirsty Ear Recordings’ Blue Series, and he has carved out an entire sub genre for himself. This has been his biggest yearyet @Wayne Shorter returns. Last year he came back from a long hiatus with Bring ID. OLAY “Footprints Live.’ This year he gave us “Alegria,” a beautiful allacoustic studio recording his that infirst in three decades cluded (gasp) anew composition. total effects& He also gave Boston a stunning, free-improvised concert at Berklee Performance Center. @ Improvised music finds a new home. Last year Zeitgeist Gallery began hosting concerts of improvised music, and this year it offered music just about every night. In Hyde Park, bass ist Nathan McBride has established a “modern improvised music” series at Artists at Large Gallery, a place that has become a regular stop for saxophonist Ken Vandermark, anoid pal of McBride’s. @ Columbia/Legacy releases “The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions.” Fans of Miles Davis have been waiting for this five CD set for a long time. Said to be Miles’s favorite album, “A Trib ute to Jack Johnson” is seen in a newlight, with four-plus hours of previously unreleased mate rial. Not a second is wasted @ Nina Simone dies. Let’s not forget the greatest jazz figure to pass in 2003. The vocalist bridged jazz, soul, and pop like no one else and set the standard for current stars such as Cassandra Wilson and Nnenna Freelon. sucha pervasive part ofthe jazz scene in 2003 that it figures into several of the other most impor tant developments of the past year: @The Bad Plus rocks jazz Over the years, there have been dozens of excellent piano trios, but never one like this. These three 30-somethings approach jazz with a rock band’sattitude, and it shows. Whenthey played Ryles back in June before a crowd of youngpeople, the at mosphere was electric. Their original tunes are magnificent, but the real drawis the trio’s re workings of pop songs. Their take on the Police’s “Every Breath You Take” climaxed in a storm of dissonant cacophony. In 2003, the Bad Plus did more than anyone else to get young people interested injazz again. @ The piano roars back. OK, the Bad Plus led this effort, but several other artists emerged with new voices. Boston’s own Hiromi released a wonderfully eclectic album, “Another Mind,” just before graduating from Berklee, and she has given terrific concerts around town. Vijay lyer, an avant-garde player with a lot of respect for melody, is making a big name for himself. Norway’s Tord Gustavsen put out a gorgeous album called “Changing Places.” Rising star Peter Cincotti got attention for his singing, but his skills on the piano far exceed his vocals. Harry Connick Jr. did a clubtour a Now is the chance to reward theefforts of your local carriers andlet them know how much you appreciate the job they do. Simply fill out the attached coupon and mailit in with a check for the amount you would like to give. We will pass the gift on to yourlocalcarrier. It’s the perfect wayto say, thank you. Pr ee er ee ae oat Se ee ae ere ot Mail to: Newspaper Agency Corporation Circulation Dept. i ; P.O. Box 45838, Salt LakeCity, Utah 84145 or bring to 143 S. Main St., SLC. , ' The amountenclosedis a tip for my carrier’s good service. ! i i Please enclose a check or money order. | 1 \ tt Amount$ NO ee eee ( iees ee beets Au Ceeee ____Zip_____-__ Telephone i i Your carrier will receive notification of your service bonus (tip) ee t Spee at j t |
