Nu jazz
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Nu jazz is an umbrella term coined in the late 1990s to refer to music styles that blend jazz textures and sometimes jazz instrumentation, funk, electronic dance music, and free improvisation[1]. Also written nu-jazz or NuJazz, it is sometimes called electronic jazz, electro-jazz, e-jazz, jazztronica, jazz house, phusion, or future jazz.
- " Nu Jazz is to (traditional) Jazz what punk or grunge was to Rock. [...] The songs are the focus, not the individual prowess of the musicians. Nu Jazz instrumentation ranges from the traditional to the experimental, the melodies are fresh, and the rhythms new and alive. It makes Jazz fun again. " -- Tony Brewer, at All About Jazz
Nu jazz is a fusion/layering of traditional jazz rhythms with modern beats. The traditional jazz rhythm will be clear, but the nu jazz melody will be energized by a deeper bassline (frequently trip hop or Bossa Nova) together with modern orchestration and percussions. The nu jazz melody will have it's own flow.
It’s something old invigorated by adding something new with a dash of soul and a bit of swing - that’s that nu jazz thing. Walter Bond - NYC.
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[edit] Overview
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 nu jazz improvisation collective, and the Norwegian "future jazz" style pioneered by Bugge Wesseltoft, Jaga Jazzist, Nils Petter Molvær, and others). It is a term sometimes ascribed to Squarepusher's music.
Nu jazz typically ventures farther into the electronic territory than does its close cousin, acid jazz (or groove jazz), which is generally closer to earthier funk, soul, and rhythm and blues, although releases from noted groove jazz artists such as the Groove Collective blur the distinction between the styles.
[edit] See also
- Broken beat
- Gamm (record label) (a label which has released many nu-jazz records)
- Rinneradio
- Groovera
- Japanese jazz
[edit] Sources
- "The Birth of Nu Jazz", short article by Tony Brewer, January 2002, at All About Jazz
- "Genre: Nu-Jazz", historical overview of nu jazz (in lieu of a PhusionCulture biography)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Electronica |
|---|
| Big beat • Bitpop • Chip • Downtempo • Folktronica • Glitch • Indietronica • IDM • Leftfield • Nu jazz • Post-rock • Trip hop • Uptempo |
| Other electronic music genres |
| Ambient | Breakbeat | Drum and bass | Electronica | Electronic Art Music | Hard Dance | Hardcore | House | Industrial | Synthpop | Techno | Trance |
Acid jazz - Asian American jazz - Avant-garde jazz - Bebop - Dixieland - Calypso jazz - Chamber jazz - Cool jazz - Free jazz - Gypsy jazz - Hard bop - Jazz blues - Jazz-funk - Jazz fusion - Jazz rap - Latin jazz - Mini-jazz - Modal jazz - M-Base - Nu jazz - Smooth jazz - Soul jazz - Swing - Trad jazz - West coast jazz
Other topics
Musicians - Jazz standard - Jazz royalty - Jazz band - Big band - Origin of the word jazz
