What is acid jazz

From: JSFact@aol.com
Date: Wed Feb 21 2001 - 23:24:57 CET

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    In a message dated 2/20/01 2:02:25 AM Eastern Standard Time,
    owner-aj@hci.uu.se writes:

    > Can anyone give me a broad definition of what Acid Jazz is?

    I am new to the list, and perhaps this question has been discussed to death
    -- but I just wanted to put my two cents in on the subject. I don't really
    know anyone else who is into the music I'm into -- so I never get to discuss
    it. I shall now. ;-)

    Personally, I see "acid jazz" as an eclectic musical conglomeration
    incorporating a wide assortment of genres spanning over 100 years.  

    I didn't like the term "acid jazz" for quite a long time -- it sounds too
    harsh, heavy and negative to identify music so positive, free, and funky.  I
    finally embraced it as a "label" of sorts a little over a year ago -- because
    there were just too many labels and terms floating around to describe the
    music I have been listening to for 30 years.  

    I even lump a lot of "rock" and funk into the acid jazz category. When the
    music isn't really rock, as rock is typically played, and it also isn't your
    standard pop -- but it also isn't really jazz, soul or R & B. . .what is it?  
    Heck if I know. . .let's call it acid jazz.         

    I finally decided to start using the term "acid jazz" because I found the
    current music I liked rather hard to find.  I discovered groups like the
    Brand New Heavies, Brooklyn Funk Essentials, Groove Collective, Incognito,
    and other assorted break beat and groove records filed under rock, hip hop,
    club, jazz, import, Latin, soul, funk, alternative, r& b, punk, sca,
    international, world music, trip hop, electronica, cine-fi, ambient, dance,
    and even classical in numerous CD stores.  I thought it would be much easier
    if there was a title which could incorporate them all.  Most so-called acid
    jazz artists don't get much radio play either (except on college stations),
    because no one can figure out which format they should be in.   This is why I
    finally started using the term "acid jazz" -- it's just an easy way to
    describe a hodge podge of interesting grooves which cross over contemporary
    musical boundaries.  

    At one time, R&B would have served to categorize much of what is now acid
    jazz . . . but R&B has changed its style so much over the years that it seems
    to have lost its roots. A lot of acid jazz also adds new soundscapes and
    electronic textures that were not in original R & B music. Anyway, that
    which once was R&B (as well as soul, funk, and even disco. . .at it's best)
    is now considered acid jazz.    

    Contemporary genres of most "popular" music have a shelf life of five years
    or so. Even rock itself only goes back about 45 years. . .but jazz has an
    entire century to reflect on -- currently taking the best of what developed
    in all the other genres over the years. . .and leaving the chaff behind.

    There are a few musical “touchstones” of the 20th century which are an
    influential factors in all the music that followed – Jelly Roll Morton,
    George Gershwin, WC Handy, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bichet, Duke Ellington,
    Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Coltrane, Monk, Django Rheinhart, Wes
    Montgomery, Quincy Jones, James Brown, George Clinton, George Duke, Sly
    Stone, Donnie Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Return to Forever (Chick Corea,
    Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Al Dimeola), The Brothers Johnson, The Brecker
    Brothers, Earth, Wind and Fire, and even Prince.  I must also include a great
    deal of Latin music in this mix -- particularly salsa, bossa nova, and afro
    cuban. . .although I must admit ignorance in who the founding father's were.
     Also, with the introduction of the Internet, cultural boundaries are melding
    together with folk music from around the World.   
    Put all these influences together, make it groove, and you've got this “new”
    genre of acid jazz.  

    I like the fact that "acid jazz" is somewhat of an oxymoron -- just like the
    music itself.   It makes people stop and say, "what the heck is that?"  So,
    what exactly is  acid jazz?   Well, there are two areas of primary importance
    -- syncopation and counterpoint.   I feel that acid jazz takes these two
    aspects to a higher level.   The syncopation is layered through the use of
    various instruments -- percussive and otherwise -- and the counterpoint is
    created through the layering of melodic grooves.   Melody -- in and of itself
    -- has never been of primary importance when it comes to jazz. . .it's the
    way each instrument plays solo variations through it, and around it -- and
    how they react off of each other in the process. It's an expressive montage
    of dialogue rather than a single narrative.   

    A melody is like a story; expositions are rather dull, but things get more
    interesting when dialogue develops.  The dialogue intensifies with the
    addition of each individual response.   I'd much rather hear a saxophone,
    trumpet, trombone, and piano discuss a melody than hear Celine Dion sing it
    as a solo narration.    The one common element I've found in acid jazz
    (besides innovative syncopation and counterpoint) is the focus on a musical
    soundscape.  Tones seem to be just as important as melody lines, and the
    texture of the tones are sometimes more important than the note itself.   At
    times the notes are more percussive than melodic, or the melody itself is
    comprised of percussive tone textures.  The layering of tones and textures,
    juxtaposed against rhythm and melodies, create some very interesting grooves.
     

    So anyway. . .jazz is a mix of music which spans the 20th century.  It arose
    from the soil and essence of that which America set out to be.  It is the
    only artistic form that is truly American -- formed in the belly of the
    melting pot, remembering forgotten dreams, celebrating hope, expressing the
    human condition. . .and rising above it.  It is music formed in the heart,
    mind and soul of the people.  This is jazz.  What makes it acid?  When you
    throw everything else American and World culture has musically expressed over
    the last 30 years into the mix. . .and make it groove.  

    Anyway, that is my little dissertation on acid jazz.  Forgive me for being
    self indulgent, but music is my hobby and passion. I'm moving more into
    promoting and marketing music, so it's also becoming my work.

    Peace,
    J. Scott Fugate    
    JSFact@aol.com



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