Acid Jazz...What Exactly Is It?
Brett Zingle
don't understand everything, and was wondering if anyone would clarify
what acid jazz is exactly?
Rolf Hanson
Acid Jazz is supposed to be a fusion of hip-hop, jazz, and "house" music.
It apparently is much more popular in the UK and Japan than in the US. The
epicenter of the US "acid jazz" movement is in San Fransico, with a little
action in boston and NYC. Some of the representatives of this style are:
Ronny Jordan, DJ Krush, Galliano, and United Future Organization. Other
artists who do not label themselves as "acid jazz artists," but who do
a far better job of it than those that do are: The Guru, Tribe Called Quest,
The Roots, Spearhead, and Boston's New Breed Productions.
I have tried to "get into it," but most of the recordings I have come
across have been extremely bland and uninteresting. The setup usually goes
like this: drum sequencer, with synth loops, and then someone playing live
horns or guitar over that. The result is often a muzak-like dance music that
can only be appreciated under the influence of heavy sedatives. I would
not reccomend ANY recordings that explicitly say "ACID JAZZ" on the cover.
This is not to say that there is nothing good about this genre, though: there
are some "good" cuts to be found. The cd "red hot and cool" is a compilation of
jazz artists working with hip-hop artists, which has some very good cuts IMO.
I would reccomend it as it can be found for pretty cheap and a part of the
proceeds go to AIDS research. The Guru's "jazzmatazz" is also a decent album,
although some of it is kindof wimpy. Ronny Jordan's "the quiet revolution"
has a couple good tracks, but as a whole the album is not worth buying.
The following albums are NOT acid jazz, but I think this is what "acid jazz"
is attempting to create, only failing due to so:
Tribe Called Quest: Midnight Marauders, Low End Theory - these albums combine
lots of jazz samples with intelligent (and smooth sounding) hip-hop lyrics.
very well produced, and fun to listen to.
The Roots: Do You Want More??!?!! - this is a "hip-hop band" which uses live
instrumentation rather than drum machines, turntables and speakers. very
good IMO
De La Soul - Bulhoone Mind State - Maceo Parker! good album
note: all the albums I have mentioned will be found in the "rap/hiphop" section
of your local record shop, not in the "acid jazz" section. I would avoid
anything in the acid jazz section like the plague, except for New Breed's "fat
jazzy grooves" but chances are you will never run across those anyway.
Rolf
Anthony Lamar Rucker
> Acid Jazz is supposed to be a fusion of hip-hop, jazz, and "house" music.
House music? I was thinking that a-j was a fusion of jazz, hip-hop and
70s soul. I have yet to find any American artists that perform decent
acid-jazz.
For anyone who is interested, I'd recommend these artists, in addition to
those already mentioned:
Jhelisa
Carleen Anderson
Brand New Heavies (their first album)
Jamiroquai
anything produced by Smash Hunter
There are a lot of compilations out there, but avoid the Instinct "This
Is Acid Jazz" series at all costs.
Anthony
JonVanhala
also a little plug for Stloen Moments: Red Hot & Cool - a compilation
featuring the Roots, Me'shelle Ndegecello, Carleen Anderson, Branford, etc
Jon
Jon Vanhala (AKA Bonejazz)
GRP Recording Company
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The above opinions or statements made by Jon Vanhala are his and his alone
and do not reflect in any way the official views or statements of the GRP
Recording Company. In other words, I'm up here on my own and paying for
this AOL account!
The GRP Recording Company is comprised of Blue Thumb Records, Impulse!,
GRP Records, Decca Jazz, Chess Jazz, Stretch, and Peak.
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Anthony Lamar Rucker
> What do you think of the Groove Collective?
I like them a lot. They had such massive hype before the record came out
that I was kind of disappointed upon actually hearing them. It grew on
me, though. Not a weak track on there. I thought their remix on Red Hot and
Cool could have been better.
> also a little plug for Stloen Moments: Red Hot & Cool
This was one of the best records I bought last year. All slammin' music
(at least on the first disc) and it goes to a good cause. Two questions,
Bonejazz: what was with that remix of "Creator has a masterplan" and why
does the _Red & Hot on Impulse_ disc contain only edits? Any plans to
reissue Alice Coltrane's work?
anthony
Ronald F. Roberts
Ed Mallillin <ejm...@jove.acs.unt.edu> wrote:
>It's crap, that's what ASS-id jazz is. Crap.
>I'd just as well listen to "smooth jazz" or easy-listening jazz muzak
>like Kenny G.
>
>Acid is to jazz what rap is to rock. Garbage.
Very cogent remarks. You've said a whole lot. Your reasoning is so
perceptive. Can we ask you for more of your words of wisdom?
--
>>>>> Opinions expressed above are my own <<<<<
Ron Roberts "I wish [bebop] had been given a name more
r...@pruxp.pr.att.com in keeping with the seriousness of purpose."
- Earl 'Bud' Powell
Mason E. Boor
In a previous article, ejm...@jove.acs.unt.edu (Ed Mallillin) says:
>It's crap, that's what ASS-id jazz is. Crap.
>I'd just as well listen to "smooth jazz" or easy-listening jazz muzak
>like Kenny G.
>
>Acid is to jazz what rap is to rock. Garbage.
>
This is a very narrow view of what acid jazz is.
It's dance music. It's dance music with jazz samples and
other things thrown in. If you don't like to dance, then
I guess it's not for you. But for those who like to dance,
and like some jazz here and there, it's perfect.
I would rather listen to acid-jazz over crap like Kenny G
ANY DAY.
--
Mason "Jar" Boor -@- me...@po.CWRU.Edu
THE DUB FACTOR, 8-10pm Saturdays, on WRUW-FM 91.1 Cleveland.
including dub reggae, ambient dub, and industrial dub.
jacob...@msdisk.wustl.edu
>It's crap, that's what ASS-id jazz is. Crap.
>I'd just as well listen to "smooth jazz" or easy-listening jazz muzak
>like Kenny G.
>
>Acid is to jazz what rap is to rock. Garbage.
Good thing we brought up Kenny G again, I wasn't sure we'd get to talk
about him today.
Ed, it's too bad you have closed your mind to alternate forms of expression.
And I would not at all agree with your comparisons, as well as your
assessment.
-Nils
LeeGar
just thought i'd let everyone know that the DIW offer re: sending the 3
masada wrappers in is good. recv'd my disk today after about 1 month of
waiting.... yes, good stuff though the disk only clocks in at 18 minutes
and some change w/ 3 songs... a good finale disk for the other 3.
happy today,
Lee Garth
PBrandonM
>I'd just as well listen to "smooth jazz" or easy-listening jazz muzak
>like Kenny G.
>Acid is to jazz what rap is to rock. Garbage.
Well now, you're entitled to your opinion, but I don't believe that there
is any type of music that is totally, 100% crap. Everything has its
redeeming value somewhere. The unfortunate thing is that the stuff that
gets processed, canned and presented to us as representatives of whatever
kind of music usually don't serve as very good examples. What I'm trying
to say is, if all I ever heard was Kenny G., I'd hate jazz. If all I ever
heard was Vanilla Ice, I'd hate rap.
Acid jazz is Jazz with more emphasis on the groove. People are simply
getting back into *groove*. Jazz took a major step away from the groove
when it shifted from swing into the post-war bebop era, and at the same
time it lost a lot of its audience 'cause people like to dance. Now
there's nothing wrong with bop, and there's nothing wrong with losing a
lot of your audience, I dig Bird, Coltrane, & Ornette as much as the next
guy. However, there's nothing wrong with dancing and there's nothing wrong
with a lot of people liking something, too. Think of it as a shift from
more tonal concerns to having more rhythmic concerns. Music needs both,
but I personally prefer rhythm. I think of acid jazz as being a cross
between jazz and funk, but it is neither, really. Just like when Miles
first got on down with Bitches Brew, what he was doing was not jazz, it
was not rock, and it definitely was not crap.
I strongly suggest you check out any album on the Ubiquity label. Real
music, real players, and real funky. Then come on over to SF, spend a
Thursday night in Cafe Du Nord or the Elbo Room, then get online and tell
me if you still think its crap.
Jazzhead
with the previous poster; from the little Acid Jazz that I've heard,
the emphasis is on groove, alot like how the modal pieces from
Shorter and others of the 60's would concentrate on investigating
just one intriguing aspect of the music.
Chris Trent
> Hey,
> just thought i'd let everyone know that the DIW offer re: sending the 3
I just received the fourth CD, too: I'd sent IRCs instead of cash and
was relieved to find that this method did work.
--
Chris Trent
Doug Tygar
Chris Trent <c...@vega.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>I just received the fourth CD, too: I'd sent IRCs instead of cash and
>was relieved to find that this method did work.
If anyone else wants to do this, they should do so ASAP -- the offer
expires on June 30!
Erik Friedlander
I have it on good authority that there are only 500 CD's produced for this
offer, so get those requests in fast.
Erik Friedlander
New York City
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