Nu Jazz

[TheH]

I happen to be more and more affected by stuff like this.
Any love for Nu Jazz here?

Brilliant



The weirdest


Groovy

[Harbottle]

I love the Jaga Jazzist album... Been listening to it a lot over the last week.

[spellbound]

I never knew there was something called Nu Jazz, but then I'm often out of the loop when people categorize music by name (There is a current thread on Nu Metal, and I had to look that up to find out what it was). I was already a fan of Jaga Jazzist, and I appreciate the video you posted as my first opportunity to hear something from their new album, which has yet to be released in the US. The other two bands whose videos you posted I was unfamiliar with. But I am playing the videos and enjoying the music. Always good to be turned onto something new.

[mogrooves]

[walt]

[NogbadTheBad]

According to RYM

Like the terms electronica and jazz, nu jazz is a loosely defined umbrella musical style. It ranges from combining live instrumentation with beats of jazz house (exemplified by the French St-Germain, the German Jazzanova and Fila Brazillia from the UK) to more band-based improvised jazz with electronic elements (such as that of the The Cinematic Orchestra from the UK, the Belgian PhusionCulture, Mexican duo Kobol, nu jazz improvisation collective, the Norwegian "future jazz" style pioneered by Bugge Wesseltoft, Jaga Jazzist, Nils Petter Molvær, and others.)

Apparently I like it as they include Jaga Jazzist, Kilimanjaro DarkJazz & Hidden Orchestra who are all bands I like.

[LongFrog]

A lot of love here for any musical genre that is about creativity, improvisation & (very importantly) natural flow of music; knew Jaga Jazzist and Kilimanjaro and a couple others, but obviously many more out there. Easy to confuse with avant-garde smooth jazz, though

[jkelman]

I'd not call Jaga Jazzist Nu Jazz. Nu Jazz, in its ascendency, was more Nils Petter Molvaer (NP3, ER, etc), Bugge Wesseltoft's New Conception of Jazz, Erik Truffaz' Bending New Corners, that kind of thing.


Jaga is pretty hard to categorize, more by what they aren't than what they are. That said, while I'd not call 'em Nu Jazz, I do love 'em. Here's some coverage you might enjoy:

Album Reviews:
One-Armed Bandit
Bananfleur Overalt (Vinyl-only EP, with free download key)
The just-released Live with Britten Sinfonia

Live reviews:
2011 Montreal Jazz Festival
2010 Kongsberg Jazz Festival - an extensive piece, including set-up/soundcheck
2009 Molde Jazz Festival (my first and very exciting encounter!)

Enjoy!

[NogbadTheBad]

That new Jaga release looks great

[FrippWire]

I'm unfamiliar with the term Nu-Jazz but I must be a fan of it because I've been listening to Jaga Jazzist, Matthew Shipp, Nils Petter Molvaer, Eric Truffaz and Skalpel for years. I assume Portico Quartet is Nu-Jazz. I really like them and have begun buying their CDs.

[N_Singh]

Ha, I always thought the term Nu-Jazz was a synonym for M-Base. Ooops. Doh!

[FrippWire]

I'm unfamiliar with the term Nu-Jazz but I must be a fan of it because I've been listening to Jaga Jazzist, Matthew Shipp, Nils Petter Molvaer, Eric Truffaz and Skalpel for years. I assume Portico Quartet is Nu-Jazz. I really like them and have begun buying their CDs.

[TheH]

Thanks everybody for introducing me to new bands to explore!

Sorry if I started confussion about a genre name, it was just what the bands I started with where asociated with in reviews I read.

I actually hate jazz itself. It's like a spice I can't stand. But mixed with other "new" ingridients it enhances the flavour and I totally dig it.

[Trane]

I'm unfamiliar with the term Nu-Jazz but I must be a fan of it because I've been listening to Jaga Jazzist, Matthew Shipp, Nils Petter Molvaer, Eric Truffaz and Skalpel for years. I assume Portico Quartet is Nu-Jazz. I really like them and have begun buying their CDs.

Not exactly sure what Nu-Jazz encompases either... but I take it it engulfs Acid-jazz into its sphere
I always thought that Jaga and Truffaz were more a form of Acid-jazz... and I'd put Shipp and Skalpel in that same pigeonhole

BTW: heard Skalpel from the jazz discussion thread, it's mega boring

[nosebone]

That Skalpel vid was great.

I don't here what's so "nu" about it.

It sounds like late 60s modal spiritual jazz.

[walt]

That Skalpel vid was great.

I don't here what's so "nu" about it.

It sounds like late 60s modal spiritual jazz.

As per what I've read about Skalpel,the 2 dudes use samples of Polish jazz from the 60s /70s with hip-hop breaks,beats,drop ins and other electronic manipulations,i guess that's what's"nu" about it.Or something like that.

[mogrooves]

Sorry if I started confussion about a genre name.

I don't follow it all that closely, but my understanding is that "nu-jazz" typically incorporates contemporary electronics and dance club beats. I've also heard it called "jazztronica".....

[nosebone]

I don't follow it all that closely, but my understanding is that "nu-jazz" typically incorporates contemporary electronics and dance club beats. I've also heard it called "jazztronica".....

that makes sense.

[Trane]

Originally Posted by nosebone
That Skalpel vid was great.

I don't here what's so "nu" about it.

It sounds like late 60s modal spiritual jazz.

As per what I've read about Skalpel,the 2 dudes use samples of Polish jazz from the 60s /70s with hip-hop breaks,beats,drop ins and other electronic manipulations,i guess that's what's"nu" about it.Or something like that.

Yeah, I've got no probs pigeonholing Skalpel in Acid or Nu jazz (the former seems more apt)

[LongFrog]

Lovely music, but what makes it "nu"? Sounds like the modal jazz from the pre-Beatles epoch.

[walt]

Lovely music, but what makes it "nu"? Sounds like the modal jazz from the pre-Beatles epoch.

I assume that the "nu" nomenclature refers to the sampling of Polish jazz,interspersed with electronic manipulations,breaks, beats etc that muddy the border between the acoustic and electronic elements.

"Nu-jazz" seems to be a rather large tent that covers a variety of musicians/groups doing things with(to) jazz and electronics.I've done only a cursory amount of reading on this subject.

It's the music that attracts(attracted) me to Skalpel,whatever the origin and however it was constructed/conceived or what "bag" it's in.

[adewolf]

[Trane]

Lovely music, but what makes it "nu"? Sounds like the modal jazz from the pre-Beatles epoch.

May I suggest you clean your ears??

Just the presence of electric piano almost prohibits the pre-beatles era... Even Trane's (I mean Coltrane, not me ) most advanced modal jazz of the early or mid 60's is still light years away from Skalpel.

As for Nu-Jazz Sessions (just above), this is tuypically something quite close to the acid-jazz days of Marc Moulin or St Germain... However, that 'McCoy Tyner Removed' mention on the sleeve sparkles my curiosity!! what's that???

[aith01]

So I'm new to all this "nu-jazz" stuff, but after listening to several songs by Jaga Jazzist, I am bowled over. This is incredibly cool stuff!

I've already purchased their albums One Armed Bandit (on vinyl) and The Stix. It is intriguing. Thank you for bringing them to my attention.

Are there other bands doing similar things? I imagine I should start checking out Skalpel next, but idk.

[Dave (in MA)]

I'm still not sure that I know what Nu Jazz is, but I got into Molvaer around the time of his ECM albums, and then I moved on and picked up everything I could find by Eivind Aarset, although now he's got another album out on ECM that I don't have yet.

That Skalpel clip reminds me of late-60s Miles/early Weather Report; that sort of thing.