Jazz Standards have been on my brain this past week. Maybe blame Jacob Mann, who's currently crushing the wedding/bar mitzvah game with his Jazz Standers Trio.
I have friends who tell me "jazz is dead". Whether it's magical thinking or confirmation bias born of spending 6 years of my life and a consequential sum of money on my "jazz education", I'm not ready to say that by a long shot.
Nor am I fully on-board with the thesis that Kneebody and Snarky Puppy are the "jazz" now. Those are two of my favorite musical acts, but I don't think even they'd say they were "jazz" - definitely "jazz influenced", but not "jazz" per se.
Nor am I ready to say the only "jazz" is completely repertory. Rehashing the 1950s like zero time has passed. I think we've come too far since 1990 to go back.
The "sweet spot" - one some friends insist is so small as to be inconsequential (and obviously I disagree) - is jazz that isn't fusion, but isn't repertory either. And I assert there are *plenty* of records in that vein.
Which begs the question: why aren't any of those tunes in real books?
Seamus Blake's Badlands.
Terence Blanchard's Wandering Wonder.
Zhivago by Kurt, f@#$ sakes.
This week's lesson simultaneously catalogues ten records I think we should add to the real book, and my climate-fueled retreat to the west coast for a few days.
Hope you enjoy.