[Dixielandjazz] But is it Jazz?

[Stephen G Barbone]

Excerpt from a NY Times article about musician Robert Glasper


There’s plenty of improvising in these shows, by Mr. Glasper, on  
Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano, and by each of his dangerously  
proficient band mates: Casey Benjamin on saxophone, keyboards and  
vocoder; Derrick Hodge on electric bass; and Chris Dave on drums. And  
yet it’s worth posing the question at the top of this post, especially  
in light of an album with clear crossover designs. So: is it jazz?

Mr. Glasper would answer that question a few different ways. “My whole  
thing is just getting a new audience to the music,” he said during the  
first part of our recent interview, in his Brooklyn apartment. “My  
purpose is not to get everybody to like Charlie Parker. Because the  
realistic thing is, everybody’s not going to. Everybody’s not going to  
like jazz, let’s just be honest about it. Everybody doesn’t like  
everything. There’s a disconnect in generations and some people just  
aren’t going to feel that music. But there is a modern take on certain  
things you can do that, to me, is still jazz.”



What are they talking about? Jazz? To get a feel for their music go to  
the below link. Note especially some of the comments below the You  
Tube before you condemn it.<grin> They do have an audience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKlcyeWmSTc

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband