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Here& #39;s a late night hot-take: Kamasi Washington& #39;s "Harmony of Difference" isn& #39;t even a top-20 jazz record this year. Probably not even top 50. His association with Kendrick is the only reason he& #39;s so highly regarded to begin with.
I love the fact that a ton of people who weren& #39;t previously fans of jazz are now interested in the music, but it& #39;s so fucking funny how his shit& #39;s appearing on "album of the year" lists as the lone representation of the genre.
Like pitchfork couldn& #39;t step out and maybe incorporate another jazz record in their list? It& #39;s all hype, press, and ripping Coltrane, who& #39;s been continually copied for 50 years, but because he has some association with a mega-star, everyone cares now.
I remember Fader did a Christian Scott cover story a few years back, great article, and I was super pumped. Like this is where we see jazz branch out. But what have they done since? Nothing. Not even a single mention of anything related to the genre in their year end coverage.
It& #39;s there, people like what new, young, interesting jazz musicians are creating today - as evidenced by how quickly people hopped on the Kamasi hype. But these outlets that praise these of-the-moment guys rarely follow through furthering their coverage of other musicians.
Jazz as an art form isn& #39;t struggling. There are plenty of incredible musicians still making ridiculously good records, playing shows like crazy, furthering the music. It& #39;s the taste-makers who have no fucking clue what they& #39;re doing. Well they do actually, they just don& #39;t care.
They want the views, and connected musicians, (and/or those who have the image) offer a nice "alternative" to the sorry state of what used to be indie music. But keep it going! Go further!
There& #39;s so much there, and God knows the jazz sites and magazines have even less of a clue of how to connect with younger, newer fans who want to go further. /End rant
