Two Types of Jazz
Writing yesterday about Ramsey Lewis and his morning show on WNUA here in Chicago got me thinking about the two major types of jazz that most people probably know. Of course, like most genres of music, the various types of jazz just show what a wide and diverse and exciting genre it is.
Of course, Chip and other purists will be quick to point out there are a lot more than two types of jazz. I know that. There’s Latin jazz and other forms of jazz from around the world. New Orleans jazz is just a little different than Chicago jazz and on and on it goes.
For me, the two types of jazz are classic jazz and the new Smooth Jazz that you hear on most commercial jazz radio stations like WNUA.
I am a fan of classic jazz. For me, this includes all of the forms of jazz I mentioned before in that list of jazz genres. Any jazz that has horns and sounds like something you would hear from Gillespie, Davis or Parker is classic jazz as far as I am concerned.
WNUA plays mostly Smooth Jazz. For me, there is nothing very musical or enjoyable about this type of music. It is bland. It is electronic. It lacks all of the soul and passion of a Miles Davis riff or a Charles Mingus’ “Haitian Fight Song.” It sounds, to me, like the kind of stuff that plays in the background while the dentist grinds your teeth or the stuff that plays in the background, slowly melting your brain, while you read old and outdated magazines in your doctor’s office.
Still, even I have drifted. My own CD and music collection, in addition to the Miles Davis and John Coltrane, also has Tom Scott, David Sandborn and a group called Flim and the BBs. So, even I can slip up.
I am not embarassed by that, though. I celebrate the fact that this country and this genre is so diverse that it makes room for Wynton Marsalis and Kenny G. I prefer to listen to Wynton, but if Kenny manages to crank out a good tune (it has yet to happen, as far as I know) I would give it a listen and maybe even download it.
So, for those of you wanting to listen to cool jazz sounds in Chicago, you can listen to two radio stations online. The first is WDCB and the second is WNUA. If you Google them you’ll find how to listen to them online.
Celebrate diversity.
Tags: classic-Jazz, humor, jazz, music, musicians, opinion, smooth-jazz
1 opinion for Two Types of Jazz
Chip Boaz
Nov 21, 2007 at 3:47 am
Flim & The BBs? I haven’t heard them since the 1990s! Is that a recent album? I’d be curious to know what they are up to.
I agree that the diversity of jazz is really one of its strengths. In fact, I’m not sure if I could really give a definitive definition of jazz - to me, Louis Armstrong is just as much jazz as Ornette Coleman as Pat Methany. The music has splintered in so many different directions that a concrete definition is hard to nail down. That might be an interesting direction for a series of posts though . . .
As far as the general public, I’m not sure that many people would even make the distinction between classic jazz and smooth jazz. I think to most people instrumental music with a rhythm section and solos is jazz. So 1950s Miles Davis is just as “jazzy” as say . . . Steve Vai. I don’t mean to be pessimistic - my experience as a music educator and performer has really shown me that this is a misunderstood music. And you can see why - it’s hard to understand when you’re deep in it; if you are just a bystander, it’s totally confusing.
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