They can be hit or miss but the good stuff is really good. Any jazz fan should listen to 10 or so of their records and they’ll probably find a couple players that stand out that they can explore more of. Which is the cool thing too is that there’s a whole roster of the same players in different combinations.
Highly recommend anything with David Kikoski on piano
Good modern jazz records with the ugliest covers ever so yeah, what everyone said ITT already
I don’t have any saved but there used to be a bunch of alternate album covers that I would see posted in share threads and stuff. Some of them were like parodies of blue note covers
criss cross and Steeplechase are modern equivalents of prime Blue Note, I check out every new release and enjoy the majority of them. That Sipiagin record is my AOTY so far
?si=AV7m4jni8nBAXV4X
I used to think that aping old covers was commonplace in contemporary jazz in 2014 when I discovered /jazz/, took me a year to discover they were fan made
Off the top of my head here are some that I relisten to often
Alex Sipiagin Equilibrium
Adam Rogers Allegory
Orrin Evans Easy Now
Tim Warfield Eye Of The Beholder
Ralph Peterson Art Of War
Conrad Herwig Unseen Universe
David Binney Lifted Land
Seamus Blake Bellwether
JD Allen Pharoah’s Children
I sampled all 4 of those albums on yt, never having heard of any of the artists or the label (which is obviously modeling itself after Blue Note). They are all pleasant listens.
But the thing I found most interesting was how all of them seem so intentionally frozen in the early/mid 60s, playing the exact same style of chill, bluesy post-bop. Is the current paradigm in 2020s jazz for white guys in their fifties to try and recreate Miles Smiles?
This is 100% accurate. Modern academics have latched on to Miles’ second quintet (the one from the 60s with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter) as the archetype of everything they’re trying to preserve from jazz. The guys who record these Criss Cross albums are all faculty members at posh jazz schools in NYC. They carry enough influence within their institutions to maintain these time capsules where they continue to freeze 1962 indefinitely and live there as long as the schools keep raking in the money.
On one hand it’s based and 1962 was way better musically than current year, but on the other hand it’s definitely denial and retreat from reality.
Yeah you’re right. I totally wish these amazing musicians would dumb down their music in favor a cringey aesthetic just so they can be “relevant” to a bunch of zoomers who will move on to the next thing in a month
I used to not get the Criss Cross hype at all. Came back to it after a few years of steady listening to jazz and now I get it a lot more. The musicality is incredible. Occasionally there are some really fresh ideas in the compositions or in the improv styles. Dave Binney, Craig Taborn, Adam Rogers, Edward Simon, Alex Sipiagin. The 60s post bop influence is undeniable but a lot of those guys definitely go beyond.
>2023
>jazz
nah I'm kidding, I'll check it out
They can be hit or miss but the good stuff is really good. Any jazz fan should listen to 10 or so of their records and they’ll probably find a couple players that stand out that they can explore more of. Which is the cool thing too is that there’s a whole roster of the same players in different combinations.
Highly recommend anything with David Kikoski on piano
Overally great quality modern jazz, I love that it filters tourists.
>modern jazz
kind of a misnomer when you're just retreating 60s postbop over and over again
what 60s postbop album sounds like this?
?si=1wzzaHYxMNuKKNp3
nice, lage lund is one of my favorites along with alex sipiagin and dave binney. I had a short criss cross phase but I enjoyed these guys a ton
any dave brubeck album
brubeck didn't play post-bop, retard tourist trying too hard to fit in
Name one specific Brubeck track that sounds like the track posted there
The bland cover art is perfect for filtering plebs
I don’t have any saved but there used to be a bunch of alternate album covers that I would see posted in share threads and stuff. Some of them were like parodies of blue note covers
I do remember those threads, they were kinda cool, this one for example
https://desuarchive.org/mu/thread/98188511
Oh sweet. Most of the links are dead but I guess these are all on YouTube and Spotify anyway. Some of these are kinda cool.
criss cross and Steeplechase are modern equivalents of prime Blue Note, I check out every new release and enjoy the majority of them. That Sipiagin record is my AOTY so far
?si=AV7m4jni8nBAXV4X
I used to think that aping old covers was commonplace in contemporary jazz in 2014 when I discovered /jazz/, took me a year to discover they were fan made
>NOOO MASTERPIECE ALBUMS MUST HAVE LE AESTHETIC COVER NOOOOOOOOOOOO
Good modern jazz records with the ugliest covers ever so yeah, what everyone said ITT already
Corny college boy shit for band kids.
never heard of them, someone give me the best recs
Off the top of my head here are some that I relisten to often
Alex Sipiagin Equilibrium
Adam Rogers Allegory
Orrin Evans Easy Now
Tim Warfield Eye Of The Beholder
Ralph Peterson Art Of War
Conrad Herwig Unseen Universe
David Binney Lifted Land
Seamus Blake Bellwether
JD Allen Pharoah’s Children
based, thanks
I've only heard one album from the label but it was excellent.
Typical conservatory-core. Technically proficient, musicologically experienced, but lacking any sense of identity or individuality.
>lacking any sense of identity or individuality
Then how is it that I can recognize many of my favorite players just by hearing them?
I sampled all 4 of those albums on yt, never having heard of any of the artists or the label (which is obviously modeling itself after Blue Note). They are all pleasant listens.
But the thing I found most interesting was how all of them seem so intentionally frozen in the early/mid 60s, playing the exact same style of chill, bluesy post-bop. Is the current paradigm in 2020s jazz for white guys in their fifties to try and recreate Miles Smiles?
yes, jazz peaked with post bop
60s post bop is the most experimental that the gatekeepers of jazz education are willing to lead their pupils.
This is 100% accurate. Modern academics have latched on to Miles’ second quintet (the one from the 60s with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter) as the archetype of everything they’re trying to preserve from jazz. The guys who record these Criss Cross albums are all faculty members at posh jazz schools in NYC. They carry enough influence within their institutions to maintain these time capsules where they continue to freeze 1962 indefinitely and live there as long as the schools keep raking in the money.
On one hand it’s based and 1962 was way better musically than current year, but on the other hand it’s definitely denial and retreat from reality.
that's way better than latching onto free jazz or wynton marsalis's approach tbh. good middle ground.
Beats the alternatives in the current jazz landscape like Boomshakalaka and The Ancestors
There’s a lot of jazz trying too hard to be cool to young people. It’s usually p cringe
And jazzfags wonder why their music isn't relevant anymore
not really, jazz nerds are well aware that normieslop is the dominant model of the day, there's nothing to wonder about at all
Yeah you’re right. I totally wish these amazing musicians would dumb down their music in favor a cringey aesthetic just so they can be “relevant” to a bunch of zoomers who will move on to the next thing in a month
>BRO
>BORING DANCE EDM CLUB MUSIC FOR MOLLY
>BUT PLAYED ON ALTO SAX LMAO
they have the worst covers ever made. i miss when jazz was stylish in every aspect.
jazz has no pizzash
I used to not get the Criss Cross hype at all. Came back to it after a few years of steady listening to jazz and now I get it a lot more. The musicality is incredible. Occasionally there are some really fresh ideas in the compositions or in the improv styles. Dave Binney, Craig Taborn, Adam Rogers, Edward Simon, Alex Sipiagin. The 60s post bop influence is undeniable but a lot of those guys definitely go beyond.
I do get why it doesn’t appeal to everybody