Tone's Ten Top Of Ten - Part 2

And now for the second chapter of this ten-headed beast, in which things get a bit more jazzy. Hence the title...

Part 2: New Jazz Hustlers




I know, I know... I complain here all the time how new Jazz is mostly shit... but that's not completely true, of course. But here's the thing... I listen to a lot of K-JAZZ quite a lot in the car (it's Mrs. Tonegent's favorite) and instead of playing the new good stuff, they play a whole hell of a lot of new stuff that wouldn't sound out of place at your local Howard Johnson's lounge on a Friday night. I don't know how else to say it, so I'll just say it. The shit is so damn WHITE! And then you get a bunch of pasty Europeans like Nostalgia 77 and Portico Quartet and lots of other names you'll hear on Gilles Peterson's show making amazing Soul Jazz that harks back to the good old days and cutting edge black artists of the '70s. What gives? But hey, there's at least one American Jazz artist getting it right and that is trumpet genius Christian Scott, who as a bonus is actually black himself. I saw him perform without previously knowing about him a few years ago and have been following him ever since as he gets better and better. His 2010 record, Yesterday You Said Tomorrow, is fantastic, full of really vibrant original compositions... so of course I give you the Thom Yorke cover, because I am a Radiohead WHORE...

Christian Scott - The Eraser (ysi)

But DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED about the vocal Jazz one hears on the radio now. The shit makes Manhattan Transfer seem gangsta, it's so cliched, cheesy and other derogatory adjectives beginning with "C". But again, another young American (albeit with some help from across the pond) is here to save the day, and that would be Brooklyn's own Jose James, who should be familiar to you if you come around here often... and really, you should come around here often. Jose released not one but two genius albums this year. For All We Know was a straight-ahead, all standards vocal and piano duo with Belgian ivory-plinker Jef Neve, released on the legendary Impulse! label... but I will, of course, go with his more beats-oriented record Blackmagic on Brownswood, because I am a Gilles Peterson WHORE as well...

Jose James - Detroit Loveletter (ysi)

That one was produced by the one and only Moodymann, by the way, so the Detroit propas are SOLID, yo!

I have the feeling both of these young cats are gonna be around for a very long time, so get to know 'em now. Coming next... I'm not sure, but it will certainly be Part 3...