Is Modern Jazz an Oxymoron?

modern jazz is alive and well

one needs an open mind to hear what the younger artists are expressing - often it is worth the patience and journey

i have sat on the board of one of the most successful big city presenters of jazz (still support it through charitable contributions) now with its own lovely performance hall... we have cultivated local young artists through the educational programs and try to bring new talent to the attention of the loyal fans base...

we who have lived a lot of life and heard a lot of music in our younger more impressionable years are burdened by our memories and our sense of how certain music should sound - that can inhibit our enjoying new forms new creations

btw - the ny times just released a nice list of their top 10 jazz albums of 2020... some old and some new artists... worth checking out

i would also say that to me, the greatest joy of music streaming is its enabling our ability to experience new music

1) we should do and listen to what makes us happy, we all have limited time and attention span

2) najee/david sanborn etc has been out there for 30+ years - imo modern jazz should be defined as currently produced in or near the present day, by artists that are emerging in the present day -- to billie holliday and charlie christian, miles davis in the 60’s was modern jazz... but not today in 2020

3) for best of modern jazz, i would recommend a few names as starters -- ibrahim maaloof (40 melodies), anjelique kidjo (celia), artemis (self titled first album), christian mcbride (quartet and big band releases new one dedicated to wes montgomery), joey alexander (any), cecile mclorin salvant (any)

4) here are some recent albums by wonderful, established artists - eliane elias (dance of time), eddie henderson (be cool), chris potter (dreamer is the dream), bill frisell (valentine), eric reed (such a time as this)

happy listening

@jaulbrich 

agree

chris potter and dave holland are true masters, still at the top of their craft

awesome skills and musicality