Why Doesn't Contemporary Jazz Get Any Respect?


I am a huge fan of Peter White,Kirk Whalum,Dave Koz,Warren Hill,etc.I have never understood why this flavor of music gets no respect.Not only is it musically appealing,but in most cases its very well recorded.Any comparisons to old jazz(Miles Davis etc.) are ludicrous.Its like comparing apples and oranges.Can anyone shed some light on this?Any contemporary(smooth)Jazz out there?I would love to hear from you. Thanks John
krelldog

Showing 3 responses by jameswei

Historically significant albums to contrast classical (bebop) jazz with contemporary (smooth) jazz. Bebop: Time Out by Dave Brubeck, Blue Trane by John Coltrane, Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, Sunday at the Vanguard by Bill Evans, and Straight, No Chaser by Thelonius Monk. Smooth jazz: Breezin by George Benson, Duotones by Kenny G, The In Crowd by Ramsey Lewis, A Day in the Life by Wes Montgomery, and Mister Magic by Grover Washington, Jr.
In recent years (since this thread was started more than 10 years ago!), I have become a big fan of Chris Botti. I have attended a number of his performances (at McCarter Theatre in Princeton as well as the Blue Note after Christmas), and I have the Blu-rays of his LA and Boston performances. I especially like his treatments of "The Look of Love," one of my favorite songs. (My favorite -- with Lisa Fisher, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU0wvr9-o-I)

I acknowledge that purists may regard Kenny G and Chris Botti as more pop than jazz, but I do enjoy their performances. I know they are different from the bebop style, but to me this is just semantics.