Future Jazz
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
For his latest book, Future Jazz, critic Howard Mandel compiled essays from years of writing for mags such as Downbeat, Jazziz, and The Village Voice. A poetic, eclectic scribe, Mandel sees the big picture behind such commercial labels as classic, free, and smooth jazz, and he knows they're all a crock. His book contrasts uptown (Lincoln Center and Wynton Marsalis) with downtown (Tonic, Dave Douglas), and Duke Ellington with John Zorn. The CD Future Jazz attempts the same thing. "Breakthrough tracks from Blue Note and Knitting Factory Records," proclaims the cover art, next to a hipster blasting on a trumpet. As breakthrough as some of these tracks are, they are also very listenable, a veritable overview of potent, left-of-center jazz from the '80s and '90s that you may not have heard. Eric Dolphy's "Hat and Beard" from 1964's Out to Lunch is one of the first offerings, a rip-roaring snort of a track that sets the stage for what follows. Mandel's choices dart from free and frothy to cultured and melodically romantic, but each track has the same vibrant spirit of adventure that marks the best jazz, regardless of style. Pianist Don Pullen offers a zesty ensemble doing the samba, while flutist James Newton adapts a more traditional ensemble to his arrangement of Ellington's "Black and Tan Fantasy." Guitarists get their due, too: John Scofield gets appropriately funky on "Kool"; Pat Metheny and Derek Bailey offer a tortured noise feast on "The Rule of Three"; and Messrs. Vernon Reid, Elliot Sharp, and David Torn concoct a squirming, atmospheric beat haze on "Xenomorph." Future Jazz is full of cracks, which Mandel fills with untidy free jazz by saxophonists Charles Gayle and Joe Lovano, pianist Marilyn Crispell, and flutist Thomas Chapin. More fragrant though is an absolutely lovely performance by Cassandra Wilson ("Find Him") and a downright wacky version of "If I Were a Bell" by the Jazz Passengers. Is Future Jazz about the jazz future or jazz past? Throw this in a time capsule and check back in the year 2525. Jazz this potent is always good to go, no matter what the era. --Ken Micallef
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