This Teenager Has Got It

[mjzee]

For more than 60 years, I've seen recurring obituaries of jazz. The threnodies are being prepared again—in the National Endowment for the Arts' latest survey on public participation in the arts and with such questions as "Can Jazz Be Saved?" in which widely respected music critic Terry Teachout wrote regretfully in this paper last summer, "I don't know how to get young people to listen to jazz again."

Both the survey and Mr. Teachout's column attracted rebuttals in print and on the Internet, of course. But the most exhilarating one I've heard is musical— "Confeddie," the debut CD of 19-year-old alto saxophonist Hailey Niswanger, and a work with the joyous feeling of the first day of spring. More remarkable, Ms. Niswanger is still a student, at Boston's Berklee College of Music. It's an institution that continues to have many active jazz professionals among its alumni. She wrote all the arrangements for "Confeddie" in collaboration with three impressive Berklee students: Michael Palmer, Greg Chaplin and Mark Whitfield Jr.

More here:

WSJ

[Alexander]

Just checked her out on YouTube. Damn. The girl is KILLIN'! I'll have to check out her CD...

I can tell you right now that there are some guys over at AllAboutJazz who aren't going to like this one bit...

[AllenLowe]

hmmmm.... this is the kind of stuff that depresses me a bit about jazz; she's fine but not really all that interesting.

sorry, but, to me, as horn playing, this is only competent stuff.

this kind of jazz isn't dead, it's just run out of ideas -

Edited November 14, 2009 by AllenLowe

[Larry Kart]

Don't know what Nat is smoking these days, but to tout such mediocrity is ridiculous. A little comparative judgment, please! E.g. (though I'm not crazy about all of this) check out what altoist Grace Kelly sounded like with Phil Woods at age 14:

I couldn't begin to count the number of players I heard when they were 19 or younger who were far beyond any place that Hailey Niswanger will ever get to -- again IMO.

[Chuck Nessa]

She's probably "got it", lots of teens do. It can be fixed with cheap meds.

[AllenLowe]

Larry's point is well taken - think of Bud at 17-18, Bird at 20-21, Al Haig at 21; Sonny Rollins at 20;

Kenny G. at 8.

[JSngry]

Alto... hey - alto.

Life is cheap.