Silence is the Question - Page 2

"Should jazz today be for the purists, or should it go seeking new arms to embrace it?" Is there an answer? Probably not. Jazz may be an experimental genre, but the purists don't want that experimentation to change or grow. The Bad Plus are assuredly a jazz group - where else would something like this fit? - but there is certainly an element within jazz fans who will question their credibility because they choose to be bold instead of subtle, or because they choose covers with which to simply have fun, instead of using them just to explore their inner nuances. I understand the jazz purist's concerns, but I always come back to the same answer - that stuff's already been done before and there is an enormous catalog of fascinating and beautiful music that does just that. Jazz must grow - and if it grows away from what has traditionally been called jazz, how can anyone complain? It is too easy to replicate the past when it has become the institution that jazz has become. To break free and incorporate new elements, or even to simplify . . . that is the heart of jazz. If jazz is about being experimental, is it really jazz anymore when you don't?

Article Author: Tom Johnson

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