Paving the Way
Contemporary music scenes are fluid, conceptual entities. Jazz has historically been synonymous with shaping modern popular music; bridging the gap between the earliest phases of western popular music in the 1900s (when vaudeville, opera and big band were all the rage) and the exponential explosion of rock and pop. Some decades later, hip-hop became a thing, which, at this point, is the biggest thing in music – by way of revenue and cultural influence.
Pioneering the original fusion genre of jazz-hop is the masterful work of several American East-Coast rap groups from the late 1980s through to the mid 1990s. Groups such as Digable Planets, Gang Starr and Jungle Brothers; musical luminaries operating with smooth sounds in a hip-hop sphere dominated at the time by street/gangster culture and rhetoric, founded the platform for alternative rhymes and rhythms. Grasping the baton of bright beats and bolting towards international acclaim and fame however, were De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. Proficient, prolific and poignant; these two trios embodied the essence of jazzy hip-hop.
In welding traditional African-American music of past decades (jazz and R&B/soul) with a new-found form of contemporary black music, they cultivated a fresh spirit into an all-too macho scene beyond music – in fashion and moral attitudes too.
Paying tribute to and reinvigorating classical jazz sounds whilst expanding the hip-hop horizon is absolutely paramount to the ethos of the movement. While the rhythms of jazz-rap stemmed entirely from hip-hop, the samples and sonic textures are extracted from cool jazz, soul-jazz, and hard bop.
A Soulful Spitter
Without doubt one of my favourite artists from the realm of alternative UK hip-hop is London’s very own Coops. At 27 years old, he’s released two stellar mixtapes and two fiery full-length LPs, each project teaming with self-reflective, intricate bars over sumptuously soulful, low-bpm melodies. His first ever live show happened to be at the O2 in 2013, where he opened the bill for Nas. *Mic drop*. Coops is merely the tip of a seismic iceberg of soulful British hip-hop talent.
In an interview in late 2018 with Pyro Radio’s J-Fresh, Coops summarises his sonic stance. “I find it hard to coin myself as to what type of genre of music it is. I suppose it is hip-hop, it is rap, but it is also UK and it is fresh, its new”.
I was recently fortunate enough to see him perform, accompanied by a four-piece band. And where better to experience his live show than a stone’s throw from his native Tottenham at Camden’s famed Jazz Café? Check out some of his set below!
A Pro’s Perspective
In the pursuit of first-hand knowledge on the ever-emerging new-jazz eruption, I spoke with Ruben Astley, a sound engineer and music producer, whom I met at the Coops gig in November.
What’s your take on the sudden surge in the ‘new-jazz’ sound?“
Well I’m all for it! Ask any musician and they try to avoid labels but there is definitely a jazzy movement at the moment over here, in the States and Europe with a mix of different genres.”
Yeah right! Not that I’m a musician by any stretch, but I understand when I hear artists say that. Just for ease of reference with this feature though, I’m rolling with ‘new-jazz’. Do you see it breaking into mainstream territory?
I think certain artists’ music is already popular with the masses and it’s been that way for a while since streaming became so big. If you mean will it be topping the charts then I don’t think so anytime soon. Pop and commercial hip-hop are by far the most popular genres at the minute.
Who’s getting the most plays from your ‘new-jazz-ish’ playlists?
“Hah. That’s better, the ‘ish’ widens the margins a bit. I’ve been big into instrumental guys like Tom Misch, Yussef Dayes and Alfa Mist for a while now. [there’s] Also June Marieezy, Masego, FKJ and Jordan Rakei… how long have you got?”
Maségo June Marieezy Tom Misch
Of the artists Ruben reeled off to me, all are accomplished multi-instrumentalists, most of them very decent vocalists, too. To make matters finer, they are all closely affiliated collaborators, working in tandem both in studios and on stages.
Aside from stream figures and views on YouTube, would you say there’s a genuine interest in jazz at a grassroots, authentic level? Do people go to shows just to flex and post it on Instagram?“
I’ve engineered lots of gigs and a few studio sessions this year, not all of them were strictly jazz but it feels as though the majority of the crowd are there because they genuinely enjoy themselves. I’ve made loads of friends at shows who either make music themselves or know their stuff. There will always be people recording for whatever reason though.”
That’s a wrap
All in all, instrumental-based music across a plethora of genres and cultures is experiencing a welcome resurgence to the ears of surface-level listeners. The boom in popularity is most certainly in part due to music’s ease of access these days. Fundamentally though, in DJ Gilles Peterson’s words, “people’s tastes have become more sophisticated […] particularly among younger audiences”. Jazz is hallowed by music purists, it exudes ritzy sentiments; people like to feel enriched and sophisticated when listening to it – I know this for a fact because it’s how I feel!
Jazz was always destined to couple up with contemporary components of hip-hop, R&B and electronica, and the resulting mish-mash of new concepts in an ever-demanding musical landscape saturated with lots of crap, is a blessing for music heads.
Image of Ruben and video by Isaac Robinson. All other media from external sources.
Satisfy your ear canals with some boppy, funk-infused and avant-garde neo-jazz projects down below, if you fancy…