Disappearing Jazz?

Rock and Roll disappeared? News to me - I keep seeing new bands and hearing new music.

I do like some rap and hip-hop too, and I'm 71 years old.

I suppose a lot of country artists don't realize they morphed into something else, 'cause they still play country, which I've never liked. But old folks think it's musical. 🤣 

But I agree that popular music has changed considerably since the days of Herb Alpert and Kenny G (isn't he still popular among a certain demographic?), thank goodness. 

Rock and Roll disappeared.  Country morphed to something else.  Young musiciand think something called "hip hop" is musical.  

The change has been exacerbated by the demise of AM/FM radio along with records.  I think a lot of the people that would have been buying records casually in the past and supporting good music (you have to like something to pay for it) are now "settling" for what they can find on Pandora and they aren't really listening to what they want as much as what is provided on the station.  Somehow I think the ability for a listener to "vote" has escaped most of the over 30 listeners.  

So I think this results in more of the popular singers towing the line of what the marketing moguls think is popular and less "wow that's a surprisingly engaging song".  Could Kenny G or Herb Alpert become stars today?  (I pick those 2 as examples of instrumentalists who became popular on AM).

Jerry

I have found a lot of the Verve and Blue Note catalogues being re issued and often re mastered at very reasonably prices.  Three examples would be the 5 CD sets by Joe Henderson  and Lee Morgan and Grant Green. Available on Amazon if like me you prefer to own.  Oh, and Stan Getz.  The list goes on.  

bigquery

The Jazz torch continues to burn brighter than ever. As you start collecting, check out WWOZ on-line. This will get you on the right Path.

Happy Listening!

I suggest you start with two books:

"Original Jazz Classics Collector’s guide" (1995)

"All Music Guide to Jazz" 3rd and 4th Editions. (1998 & 2002)

Both paperbacks and only available used.

You will know just about everything recorded by the most important artists, and a very good review of each album.

Don’t be put off by the dates of the books. Remember, a lot of people think that the best year for Jazz was 1959.

Between Amazon, Discogs, Presto and ebay, you should find most of it.

+1 JAZZ FOR AFICIONADOS thread.

Cheers

BTW, If they could be easily replaced, they would not have been considered giants.

@spenav

@tomcy6 

Many thanks for your thoughts.  I'll followup on both suggestions.  That said, I'm still very concerned that the majority of the catalogs of the great jazz artists (some of who I mentioned) will be forgotten because they have never been digitized off of vinyl.  

New AND hundreds of hours?

There are plenty of current artists with requisite catalogs, some recently gone too young like Joey Di.

Gordon Goodwin's large bands for excellence with minimal archival tracks.

Try streaming.

Do you stream Qobuz or Tidal? The problem with recommending jazz is the variety, even if we’re talking about a single musician’s work.

I use roon with Qobuz to explore music. It provides a lot of recommendations based on what I’ve listened to. If that’s not for you, just search the forums for Jazz and you’ll find plenty of threads with recommendations.Here's a good long one:

Audiogon Discussion Forum - Jazz For Aficionados

If you are looking for contemporary jazz artists, look for Wynton Marsalis, Diane Krall, Norah Jones, Duke Jordan, Marcus Schwartz, Manu Katche, Joshua Redman. Really the list is infinite, there is no shortage of good ones. Good luck in your discovery.

@fuzztone - Thanks - new names for me to listen for !