Jazz-funk

Related Topics:
Jazz_Funk

Jazz-funk is a musical genre, a style of mostly American jazz music, popular on the club-circuit in England during the mid 1970s, and in the USA throughout the 1970s and the early 1980s. Other names for this genre are: soul jazz, although Jazz-funk and soul jazz do not entirely overlap. It is sometimes also referred to as Jazz Fusion but it does not entirely overlap either.

The genre's spectrum is indeed quite wide and ranges from strong jazz improvisation to soul, funk or disco with jazz arrangements, jazz riffs, and jazz solos, and sometimes soul vocals.http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=77:202

Musical approach

At the jazz end of the spectrum, Jazz-funk characteristics include a departure from ternary rhythm (near-triplet), i.e the "swing", (see Swing Rhythm) to the more dance-able and new-at-the-time Binary rhythm, known as the "groove". It is therefore no surprise that this type of jazz saw its name associated with the term funk, music which created this groove rhythm - a style spearheaded by James Brown's drummers Clyde Stubblefield and John "Jabo" Starks, is influenced by traditional African music and Jamaican Reggae.

A second characteristic of Jazz-funk music was the use of electric instruments, particularly in Jazz Fusion or Electro-Jazz, and the first use of analogic electronic instruments notably by Herbie Hancock whose Jazz-funk period saw him surrounded on stage or in the studio by several Moog synthesizers. ARP Odyssey and strings ensemble also became popular at the time.

A third is the shift of proportions between composition and improvisation. Arrangements, melody and overall writing were heavily emphasized. Not only a controversial creative choice for music in itself, this also helped the dancing.

Ambivalence of the genre

The Jazz-funk genre was at its creation sometimes looked down on by jazz hard-liners as a sell-out, jazz for the dancehalls, therefore presumed not intellelectual enough, or that attracted non-elite; as it was making jazz much more popular. That led to controversy about the music crossing over. Yet binary rhythm http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=7953 has technically nothing to envy to ternary. And most electric guitars or electronic keyboards are widely accepted as jazz instruments. Hard liners of straight ahead jazz are indeed sometimes known to dismiss the biggest. See some of their reactions to John Coltrane (see downbeat mag article "John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy Answer The Jazz Critics" 04/12/62, avail on downbeat.com) Or their reactions to Miles Davis or Herbie Hancock. Donald Byrd was similarly heavily criticised when he released Blackbyrd on the Blue Note label. This LP became the best-selling album ever of Blue Note for that era.

The Jazz-funk community (and a large proportion of the jazz community) was in effect absorbing the street sound of the funk rhythm, this meant it could be danced to and influenced by the electronic from fusion. The 1970s saw many musical creations and Jazz-funk was representative of this.

The ambivalence towards the Jazz-funk genre while, from a jazz perspective, commercially very succesful, was too jazzy and therefore too complex (Journal of American Culture, Art vs. the Audience: The Paradox of Modern Jazz, by R Francesconi, winter 1981, also see article "Films from the Young-Man-with-a-Horn Genre" form the journal of macro marketing by Coulumbia uni' MN Holbrook)), especially because of arrangements or instrumental tracks, for the pop or R&B charts which historically sells much more than jazz as it requires less initiation, and generally a "front" singer the audience can relate to, helped by his lyrics. Jazz-funk, focusing on notes and music writing, seldomly offered this.

Disdained by the jazz academy and not topping the pop charts, the danceable jazz had a long and hard time to establish itself. By the mid 1990s through the long and hard work of passion of rare groove crate diggers - djs keen to look back into the past and re-discover old tunes - such as Norman Jay, and Gilles Peterson, have both the jazz community and the pop professionals started to understand the immense value of the genre. Today Eddie Henderson, Donald Byrd, or Herbie Hancock are seldom challenged indeed. And the Mizell Brothers are receiving official accolade from the industry, (from which they had disappeared) and are being listened to widely, let alone the many samples of their work present in today's music. The genre is widely imitated or sampled all over R&B and hip-hop with countless Mizell Brothers loops in both styles of music, for example Erika Badhu) and many house music tracks from the likes of French dj DJ Dimitri.

It is also worth noting that the more famous Acid Jazz movement is often seen as a rediscovery of 1970s Jazz-funk, interpreted or produced by contemporary artists of the 1990s. One of the most blatent example is the band US3, who sere signed to the Acid Jazz label foundedby Peterson and Eddie Piller. US3 covered Cantaloupe island, originally recorded by Herbie Hancock, and re-issue of rare grooves from the era, led by dj Peterson and Patrick Forge in the UK. Contemporary jazz artist have also contributed to its rediscovery including Nathan Haines and Coutney Pine.

Good examples of artists that explored Jazz-funk or Soul-jazz or jazz-fusion are Roy Ayers, Eddie Henderson, Charles Earland, and Mass Production, plus trumpeter Donald Byrd, Lonnie Liston Smith, Funkanova, Miroslav Vitous, Herbie Hancock, Deodato, Azymuth, Ronnie Laws, Ned Doherty, Francine McGee, Billy Cobham, Bobbi Humphrey, Gary Bartz, George Duke, George Benson, Jaco pastorius, Joe sample, Johnny Hammond, Patrice Rushen, Bill summers, Pleasure, Gene Harris, Harvey Mason, Leon Ware, Roger Glenn, Tom Browne, and Dexter Wansel.

The role of producers

Many mainstream artists in jazz used the talents of a few producers who were specialists in the genre and generated great commercial success. While Herbie Hancock was always his own producer, he teamed up with Mike Clark and Paul Jackson and formed the "Headhunters". The Mizell Brothers - Larry and Fonce - http://www.bluenote.com/detail.asp?SelectionID=10465 were responsible for a lot of the Jazz-funk wave as they single-handedly produced many of the major Jazz-funk artists (D. Byrd, J Hammond, Bobi Humphrey, Gary Bartz, and more). Other Producers included Dexter Wansel, Bob James, Dave Grusin, generally acclaimed musicians (especially arrangers) themselves who tried their hand at sound-engineer, arranger, or composer (the Mizzell bros produced most of Byrd's and Hammond' jazz-funk) other artists. It was typically during this era, - the mid 1970s - that the producers gained their arms and paved the way for others later, such as super R&B producers Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards from Chic in the early 80's.

Focus on the UK

Jazz-funk in the UK is more biased towards soul, funk and disco than the US production of Soul-jazz or Jazz-fusion, which is more Jazz oriented.

Several British Jazz-funk artists and bands emerged in the late 1970's and early 1980's http://web.ukonline.co.uk/soulies/jazz_fusion.htm who broke away from the disco and commercial scene, encouraged by club DJs like Chris Hill, Norman Jay, Robbie Vincent (then on BBC Radio London), and Greg Edwards who had a Saturday evening show on London's first ever commercial radio station Capital Radio.

Chris Hill and Robbie Vincent were instrumental in starting the Caister Weekender on the east coast of England in the late 1970s. It ran for several years until the mid 1980s http://www.weekenders.co.uk/caister/index.html?cintro.html~mainFrame, but a reunion in 1992 at a holiday camp on the south coast was to spark a revival in the event, and it returned to Great Yarmouth on the east coast, to the Vauxhall Holiday park in 1996. The weekender continues to attract thousands of soul, jazz, and jazz-funk fans to the camp, three times a year in May, October and on New Year's Eve. It is called the Caister Soul Weekender and focuses heavily on this genre, but with two or three venues running simultaneousely throughout the events other styles including Jazz-funk, latin jazz, Northern soul and Nu-jazz now featuring heavily.

Chris Hill signed many artists to his Ensign record label http://www.discogs.com/label/Ensign+Records. Some of the best known UK Jazz-funk acts include Beggar and Co who reformed twice, first as Light of the World and then asIncognito. The prime mover in all three bands was J-P Bluey Maunick. Although Light of the World continue to perform in its own right without Bluey. Incognito is the leading UK Jazz-Funk band, heavily influenced by Herbie Hancock's Chameleon, dixit its leader JP Maunick. Incognito has moved towards R&B and house music rather than playing pure Jazz-funk.

Other British jazz-funk bands include: Central Line, Level 42, Freeeze, Heatwave, The Real Thing, Atmosfear, FBI, and Gonzalez. The 2003 album British Hustle: the Sound of British Jazz Funk 1974 to 1982, compiles tracks by some of the above artists. It's recorded on the Soul Jazz label, ASIN: B0000C84NU, Catalogue Number: SJRCD82.

The album has extensive sleeve notes charting the history of Jazz-funk in the UK, and provides a good sample of British Jazz-funk. In 2006, it was still available on CD and 12" vinyl.

Many national and regional Djs including Gilles Peterson, Norman Jay and Tony Blackburn have, and continue to play Jazz-funk tracks on their shows and at club nights.

The music has over the years featured heavily in the magazine Blues & Soul - it also has an online version of the magazine http://www.bluesandsoul.com/.

American Jazz-Funk, soul-jazz, or jazz-fusion artists and producers from the 1970s and 80s are now widely recognised as pioneers in jazz, and their music quality has stood the test of time, has gained their peers' recognition, and the most recognised artists in straight ahead Jazz have, for a large majority, adopted it in one or more of their tracks. They have now become academic themselves and often hold key influential roles in the music industry (see Patrice Rushen, Herbie Hancock, Dave Grusin, Bob James)

Current state and future of the Jazz-funk/Soul-Jazz/Fusion genre

Some heavy producers (Jazzanova or Kaidi Tatham, also known as Agent K from Bugz in the Attic), some of whom are trained in classical music and Jazz, are taking the elements of Jazz-funk and using them in the full-electronic and computer assisted era. These movements are called Nu jazz, and Brokenbeat and are heavily dominated by non musicians, but rather by Djs.

Yet some (including those quoted) are outstanding achieved arrangers and producers, heavily influenced by Jazz-funk) and therefore full musicians taking the Jazz-funk Genre into the 21st Century. The hard-liners will without a doubt complain again about the movement which often does not use session musicians, but uses computers too create music. The more open to change liners will call this notes, rythms, arrangements, impro, harmony, production, melodies, themes, and therefore composition, writing and Jazz just the same. The UK (K. Tatham), Germany (Jazzanova), and Japan (Kyoto Jazz Massive) strongly dominate the production of Brokenbeat which is however starting to take-off in the USA.

Notable musicians and albums

In alphabetical order by last name or first non-article.

Musicians/Ensembles

Albums

Black Talk! by Charles Earland
City Beat by Bobbi Humphrey
Flood by Herbie Hancock
Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock
School Days by Stanley Clarke
Think! by Lonnie Smith

References

External links

=Example artists

Jazz genres | Jazzfunk | Jazz-funk

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