Nu jazz (also spelt nü jazz or known as jazztronica, or future jazz) is a genre of
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
and
electronic music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
. The music blends
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
elements with other musical styles, such as
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
,
electronic music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
, and
free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any general rules, instead following the intuition of its performers. The term can refer to both a technique—employed by any musician in any genre—and as a recognizable genre of ...
.
Nu jazz typically ventures further into the electronic territory than does its close cousin,
acid jazz
Acid jazz (also known as club jazz, psychedelic jazz, or groove jazz) is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul music, soul, and hip hop music, hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1 ...
.
Nu jazz can be very experimental in nature and can vary widely in sound and concept.
The sound departs further from its blues roots than acid jazz does, and instead explores electronic sounds and ethereal jazz sensualities.
"The star of Nu jazz is the music itself and not the individual dexterity of the musicians," writes Sunday People.
History
Nu jazz began with the use of electronic instruments in the 1970s, with contributions from artists like
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
,
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...
, and
Ornette Coleman
Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...
. Herbie Hancock's work in the early 1980s, particularly his collaboration with
Bill Laswell
William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, wo ...
on the album
''Future Shock,'' played a pivotal role in defining the genre by incorporating electro and hip-hop rhythms. By the late 1980s, many hip-hop musicians were exploring jazz-rap, including groups like
Gang Starr,
The Roots
The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...
,
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,[Q-Tip< ...](_blank)
, and
Nas
Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones.
Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to:
Aviation
* Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea
* National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia
** Nas Air (S ...
. Concurrently, in the 1980s, numerous house musicians drew inspiration from
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, especially post-bop and jazz-funk.
In the mid-1990s and early 2000s,
downtempo
Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...
artists such as
Jazztronik,
St Germain,
Trüby Trio,
DJ TakemuraPerry Hemus and
Jazzanova
Jazzanova is a German Berlin-based DJ/producer collective consisting of Alexander Barck, Claas Brieler, Jürgen von Knoblauch, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, and Axel Reinemer. Formed in 1995, the group's music is characterized by nu j ...
delved deeper into jazz. During the same period, producers of intelligent dance music, including notable names like
Squarepusher and
Spring Heel Jack, and later
London Elektricity and Landslide, also showed interest in nu jazz. Techno musicians like
Carl Craig
Carl Craig (born May 22, 1969) is an American electronic music producer, DJ, and founder of the record label Planet E Communications. He is known as a leading figure and pioneer in the second wave of Detroit techno artists during the late 1980 ...
and his Innerzone Orchestra project demonstrated interest in the genre. Figures from hardcore and breakcore scenes, such as
Alec Empire
Alec Empire (born Alexander Wilke-Steinhof on 2 May 1972)https://www.alec-empire.com/ae Alec Empire official website biography is a German experimental electronic musician who is best known as a founding member of the band Atari Teenage Riot, a ...
,
Nic Endo, and
Venetian Snares, experimented with a harsher and more noisy variant of nu jazz. A decade later, some dubstep producers, like
Boxcutter, also explored electronic jazz.
While maintaining traditional jazz forms, pianist
Bugge Wesseltoft and trumpeter
Nils Petter Molvær are known for their improvisations in the nu jazz style.
The Cinematic Orchestra is recognized for incorporating traditional jazz elements into their musical productions alongside electronic elements. St Germain, a prominent figure in nu jazz, even sold 1.5 million copies of his album "Tourist."
[Lachaud Martine, « rchive/small> », sur ''lexpress.fr'', ''Archive'', 13 September 2001]
See also
*
Broken beat
*
Groovera New Modern Radio
*
Saint-Germain-des-Prés Café (popular series of nu-jazz compilations)
*
Chillout
References
Sources
"A Flourish of Jazz" Time Magazine article, including mention of the use of electronics in
jazz fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...
.
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Jazz genres
Electronic music genres
Fusion music genres