Nate Chinen's "Playing Changes: Jazz For The New Century"

[Rabshakeh]

25 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Still waiting for a reason to.

Hmm.

It's the sort of book that gets put on first year university reading lists, or which mainstream non-jazz fan music critics read and refer to so that they feel they are keeping current.  

I'm not sure that's a reason, either. But I'm reading it anyway. It is very zippy. It is okay. Okay, a lot of the music that Chinen is so enthusiastic about and considers to represent an "explosion of creativity", or whatever, makes me want to chew off my own leg to escape, but I can get through that.

Edited March 24, 2021 by Rabshakeh

[JSngry]

Once you get your leg chewed off, of course.

 

 

[Rabshakeh]

Hopping along.

[Dub Modal]

4 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

a lot of the music that Chinen is so enthusiastic about and considers to represent an "explosion of creativity"

Is this referencing the Mehldau & Iverson stuff? 

[Rabshakeh]

41 minutes ago, Dub Modal said:

Is this referencing the Mehldau & Iverson stuff? 

Most of it. Kamasi Washington too. I listen to and love a lot of recent jazz music, but I honestly find it hard to get excited over some of the stuff Chinen is pushing as being the cream of the crop. 

[Dub Modal]

Man, really? Just seems so shallow a pool to relegate oneself into. Wade on out toward the deeper waters big fella...

[JSngry]

fwiw....I kinda recall Chinen breaking into, I think it was Jazz Times (yeah, THAT long ago) with an introductory flairstatement along the lines of hey, I'm a young guy, this old stuff was before my time, so don't expect me to have either expertise or reverence towards that kind of jazz, I'm young, dammit, YOUNG!

Not those words, but that attitude.

and I was like, ok, that's legit, good, break some molds here, move some thinkings ahead, that's useful, so...get busy.

and then, nothing happened. Dude wrote a lot of stuff about a lot of stuff that really didn't land (the music or the writing). so, like I said...not feeling a reason to read a whole book of that.

Plenty of good/great music being made today, just nothing/nothing much that he seems to be excited about. Maybe he's the Leonard Feather for the kids today, I duno. but I'm no kid, nor am I ancient either, just old enough to not waste my energy on dead-ends that go nowhere and back again.

I wouldn't mind a good Neo-Soul overview though, as I've had a sincere liking but small exposure to that genre for a few years now. But can I trust him on that if I don't trust him on jazz? Because for me, there is definitely an affinity between them.

[clifford_thornton]

He's a really good guy but yeah, I never got much of a necessity feeling about the artists/topics he covered.

there's a lot of fantastic new music in the "jazz" realm too, but it isn't and wasn't in Chinen's purview.

[JSngry]

25 minutes ago, clifford_thornton said:

He's a really good guy

Sincerely glad to hear this. It means he's NOT Leonard Feather for the kids today, or any other number of "important critics" who were not at all nice people.

[Rabshakeh]

35 minutes ago, Dub Modal said:

Man, really? Just seems so shallow a pool to relegate oneself into. Wade on out toward the deeper waters big fella...

Exactly. The temperature is great and there have been hardly any shark attacks this year.

[Chuck Nessa]

DKWIM but when introduced to him, a couple years ago at Big Ears, he said "Oh yeah, Snurdy McGurdy".

[Dub Modal]

1 hour ago, Rabshakeh said:

Exactly. The temperature is great and there have been hardly any shark attacks this year.

 That's right- hardly any!

7 minutes ago, Chuck Nessa said:

DKWIM but when introduced to him, a couple years ago at Big Ears, he said "Oh yeah, Snurdy McGurdy".

Maybe he was referencing Roscoe Mitchell's album from your label? 

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

I wouldn't mind a good Neo-Soul overview though,

Some recent discoveries: Stephanie Santiago from London

Miir from Gary, IN

Tawiah from London

KeiyaA from Chicago

And Jamila Woods also from Chicago

Far from a Neo Soul overview, but just some leads on what I think are some talented singers. 

 

[JSngry]

46 minutes ago, Chuck Nessa said:

DKWIM but when introduced to him, a couple years ago at Big Ears, he said "Oh yeah, Snurdy McGurdy".

It means that you're in the next-gen canon!

[Chuck Nessa]

49 minutes ago, JSngry said:

It means that you're in the next-gen canon!

I just found it strange that is what he said - beyond "nice to meet you". End of exchange.

[JSngry]

He name-checked. He's hip. He writes for the New York Times and has a book out that apparently is good to the kids.

What have you done for him lately?

[Chuck Nessa]

3 minutes ago, JSngry said:

He name-checked. He's hip. He writes for the New York Times and has a book out that apparently is good to the kids.

What have you done for him lately?

So far I seem to be good with kids.

[Larry Kart]

34 minutes ago, Chuck Nessa said:

I just found it strange that is what he said - beyond "nice to meet you". End of exchange.

 

34 minutes ago, Chuck Nessa said:

I just found it strange that is what he said - beyond "nice to meet you". End of exchange.

Exaggerating a bit, it's like if he met Alfred Lion and said, "Blue Note, right?"

[JSngry]

Well, that might be harsh, maybe that was all he knew to say to a distinguished elder. But maybe not?

Here we go again with jazz-as-career-path...I give up trying to give a damn about that. It's just getting too damn weird for me. 

[Dan Gould]

Chuck's story reminds me of the early Seinfeld episode, where Jerry, George and Elaine are at a party out in the suburbs and George gets hit on by a co-worker and Jerry and Elaine end up stranded.  Jerry gets summarily dismissed by another party goer with "yeah I think I saw you once. You talk about a lot of every-day things." (turns away)

Larry's summary is spot-on, and if Chinen had met Alfred, I suspect that's all he could have said to him.

Whatever, Chinen brings nothing to the table as a writer or critic/thinker as far as I am concerned.