Scott McDowell

Hey, what’s going on with jazz? New piece for Aquarium Drunkard. https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2024/02/28/jazz-ragas-for-restless-times/

“At this year’s NYC Winter Jazzfest, the dominant forms veered into New Age & ambient territory: abstract, pretty, burbling along in loose conglomerations of synths and ‘organic’ instrumentation.”

Jazz Ragas For Restless Times : Aquarium Drunkard

At this year's NYC Winter Jazzfest, the dominant forms veered into New Age and ambient territory: abstract, pretty, burbling along in loose conglomerations of synths and “organic” instrumentation. And maybe jazz comingling with New Age sensibilities is exactly the antidote we need for today's troubling times.

Aquarium Drunkard
Feb 28, 2024 at 11:18pmWeb
Show threadMr. CompletelyFeb 28, 2024

@longrally two thoughts - one, it's telling that Shabaka's current project moves in this same ethereal direction, with his internally focused and very gentle flute-driven departure from his muscular, energetic past projects.

Two, aside from Shabaka I don't really hear a similar pattern in the UK jazz scene, which I find a lot more interesting & engaging than the US scene as a whole

great little piece, thanks for posting it. I think you're on point calling out NIS as a forerunner btw

Show threadMr. CompletelyFeb 28, 2024
@longrally BTW I have an audience recording of one of the recent West Coast Shabaka flute lineup shows with Esperanza & a bunch of other new to me heavies, I'll share it here tonight or tomorrow, I might touch it up a bit first
Show threadjesse jarnowFeb 28, 2024
@mrcompletely @longrally i caught a flute set (with nino etc) during jazzfest & couldn't connect with it in the slightest, probably mostly due to being a saturday night in a really packed standing-room club filled with chompers. maybe i'll enjoy his thing more on tape. it felt like whispering in a wind storm.
Show threadMr. CompletelyFeb 28, 2024
@bourgwick @longrally I posted a short review of the Portland show. Our audience was exquisitely attuned; PDX only gets a handful of top tier jazz shows a year and there's zero tolerance for nonsense when one is happening. And that's a requirement for this music, which is *very* quiet and absolutely refuses to make any large or dramatic gestures at all to engage the standoffish. I loved parts of it, and appreciated all of it, but I can't say it's my favorite project of his, even in the last year
Show threadMr. CompletelyFeb 28, 2024
@bourgwick @longrally as you know I'm a huge Shabaka fan; for me, in this generation of jazz he stands head and shoulders above everyone else in terms of engaging my interest. And I support him moving away from the powerful, energetic feel of his earlier projects towards this more internal, gentle sound. But this project feels transitional, liminal, not quite fully formed. It's a little flat dynamically. But it's beautiful, which Kemet/Comet/Ancestors rarely were. So I like it as a phase change
Show threadMr. CompletelyFeb 28, 2024

@bourgwick @longrally but I'd like a Kofi Flexxx tour a lot more, and London Brew even more than that, even if he played flutes and bass clarinet for the whole thing

But I'm in it for the long haul with this guy so I am interested in every step along the way

Show threadjesse jarnowFeb 28, 2024
@mrcompletely @longrally oddly (or not) it's the quieter vein that usually catches me most. "muscular" is a good description of the earlier projects but also specifically why i never could get into them.
Show threadMr. CompletelyFeb 29, 2024
@bourgwick @longrally between some comments at the show and at least one interview it seems evident that this musical change is connected to a change he's trying to create in himself. It seems to have to do with shifting from a focus on projecting energy outwards through music to a cyclical, internally oriented mode that invites listening but doesn't push outwards. It's remarkable/unusual for an artist to go so sharply against their own prior tendencies and established strengths.
Show threadjesse jarnowFeb 28, 2024
@mrcompletely @longrally there are many fine jazz spaces in NYC that cultivate that vibe, but kind of a separate sphere from jazzfest, which i didn't really find to be a conducive atmosphere for close listening (at that gig or others, unless i worked my way up front), more like an advertisement for future close listening. lotta way fun sets though. this was the vibe for the shabaka set...
Show threadMr. CompletelyFeb 28, 2024
@bourgwick @longrally I forget who it was on here, but someone called way in advance that that gig would be chomper hell. Bummer. This material needs one of those Zorn style environments were you get stabbed the third time you cough
Show threadNoir LoverFeb 29, 2024
@bourgwick @mrcompletely @longrally yep. Was there. Music was great. Vibe was crowded and showcase-y.
Show threadScott McDowellFeb 29, 2024
@noirlover @bourgwick @mrcompletely yo, could not agree more about chompers/venue selection but I really don’t wanna bite the hand that feeds. 😬 Happy to see packed LPR for some pretty out there sounds. An invitation, indeed.
Show threadScott McDowellFeb 29, 2024
@mrcompletely thanks for reading! I may have included Shabaka here if I had seen any of the various shows he performed, but this year seemed to turn a page. I didn’t mention Floating Points which is 🇬🇧 and another forerunner I’d say.