Nu-Jazz
 

I've always been a bit hesitant of genres that are prefixed with "nu", because last time nu was popular, Fred Durst was one of the biggest minds behind it.

But nu jazz, future jazz, whatever you want to call it, is actually pretty neat. I've been listening to Norway's Jaga Jazzist for a few years now but was unaware of the relative widespread nature of this "nu jazz" scene they're apparently under. Once I did more digging in this I got more exposure to artists like The Cinematic Orchestra, Erik Truffaz, and Nils Petter Molvær. I understand that nu jazz artists have been kinda mainstream for awhile, with guys like BADBADNOTGOOD and Flying Lotus dabbling in it.

Most recently I discovered Dinosaur (not to be confused with the hundred other bands named Dinosaur) from Greater London a few weeks ago. They came out with an album called Wonder Trail back in May and I've kinda taken a liking to it. Like electronica-infused jazz-funk.

Anyone got any other recommendations for bands that fall under this title?

Favourite from my late teens:

My man, this is the exact kind of stuff I was looking for. Sports, Not Heavy Crime is one of the best album openers I've heard in awhile.

Another band I'll add to this is Flanger. I like their first record Templates from '99. Uses a lot of experimental glitch elements which I always found endearing in Jaga, even though Flanger use it a bit more liberally than them.

Recently discovered the wonderful Tied & Tickled Trio and their album Observing Systems.

I’ve just over 3,800 nu jazz / future jazz / acid jazz tracks in my library but I tend to gravitate toward a specific set of Ninja Tune artists and their contemporaries.

The Verve Remixed series was my introduction, and I quickly latched onto Skalpel, Bonobo, Mr. Scruff, Cinematic Orchestra, Hidden Orchestra, Jaga Jazzist, St Germain (so sad he canceled his show in my city!), and stronger works from The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation / Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble’s discography.

I picked up the Future Sounds of Jazz series but haven’t given it much attention. The same goes for the catalog of Jazzanova, or much beyond the mainstays of the genre I’ve mentioned above. I have a few DJ Food LPs and 57 of his albums but I always spin the same five or six of his releases so I should really dive into his Jazz Breaks and Solid Steel sets.

Definitely following this thread for further recommendations.

One of the gems of the Youtube recommendation system. I remember seeing this around when it was uploaded.

We were on the same wave mate.

I've seen Moon Hooch and Too Many Zooz tagged as nu jazz and they're pretty dope.

Tiny Desk Concerts rarely disappoint. I remember seeing a webm or something of them playing in the subway years ago but I never knew their name.

Honestly trying to one-up Xploding Plastix but I have yet to find an artist that tops them. That album is just fantastic and everything I want to hear in a nu jazz release. In the meantime though here's some more recent stuff coming out of Kyoto. They've got a bit of a post-rock vibe to them.

I agree, first listen and this album is absolutely fantastic. Funnybones and Lazzylegs is another really excellent track.

This one has more of an urban vibe than the ones posted thus far. Their French origin leaks in with a bit of house influence, along with a some trip-hop here and there.

This isn’t really nu-jazz but it’s stuff I’d put on a playlist with nu-jazz and I like it a lot:

I don't think I'd call it nu-jazz either, but I dig it! It's like tropical Jack Stauber in some parts.

An alright reworking of the AEC classic, but Jaga Jazzist and Motorpsycho did it better:

I get a bit bummed about Plastix sorta ditching their style with their second album, but even though they weren't as jazzy they're still entertaining as all hell.

These guys' new album (which I believe is superior to this) came out back in May. But seeing as there's no full album upload of it on YouTube this album'll do just fine.

Another fabled group I'm only just now discovering. Thank you, Internet.

BBNG released a collaborative single with Little Dragon today. Not a huge fan of Yukimi Nagano's voice, but the song's ok.

https://badbadnotgoodil.bandcamp.com/album/tried

Thanks Blaro.

Related to my previous post, here's some stuff from Sam Wilkes' new solo album Wilkes which was released last week:

I've yet to heard anything "nu" from any "nu" genre that's any good.

Trust me, this **** is great.

Think about nu jazz as what would have happened if jazz fusion was jazz fused with electronic, ambient, minimalist, and hip hop instead of the prog wankery it eventually turned out to be.

There are a lot of amazing nu jazz artists.

Perusing RYM's new nu jazz albums and came across this. NJ mixed with jazz-funk. It's pretty good and I think I'll give the whole album a listen sometime this week.

Makaya McCraven - Universal Beings

This one's actually one of the better nu-jazz releases this year. A little bit of trip hop here, a bit of avant-garde jazz there; it really makes up for the Mansur Brown and Szun Waves albums.

Tommy Guerrero - Road to Knowhere

An interesting fusion of instrumental, Latin-tinged jazz rock and nu-jazz electronics. Takes a lot of influence from Guerrero's more recent downtempo works as well, making for a pretty groovy yet laidback album.

Sungazer - Sungazer Vol. 2

The second EP from nu jazz duo Sungazer, which consists of YouTubers Shawn Crowder (probably best known for his "Learning Japanese in a Year" series) and Adam Neely. I can't say I'm a fan of Neely's videos but this is a fairly cool release. Very heavy on the glitchy, syncopated dubstep-ish percussion and conventional fusion elements. It's super technical in a really unique way. 'Drunk' is a banger.

https://i.postimg.cc/tR8xfDnz/a4138537978-10.jpg

BYTY - 1EP

Interesting little debut EP from Polish act BYTY. Lackadaisical and hypnotic with splashes of trip-hop. '30.10' could have been trimmed down a minute or two imo but other than that pretty solid.

This actually comes from Warsaw-based netlabel Przesada, who've been releasing some pretty cool and interesting stuff since around May of last year. Check 'em out.

This was super enjoyable! My first experience with Neely, though I've heard his name thrown around a lot. I look forward to listening to more of their stuff.

The thing most memorable for me by Neely is when he talked about not liking Whiplash because it was a work of dramatic fiction and not a pinpoint accurate documentary on the type of music schools that he went to.

I watched that video and one of his points is that Buddy Rich can't be an idol of a college aged jazz drummer because he knows a college professor who says that he hears jazz majors talking about newer artists. Adam Neely treats trends and guidelines as law which leads him to a lot of really stupid conclusions.

You're like the K addict of this thread lol. Like this a lot ^

Well at least I post in the appropriate thread and add some content to my posts. I also encourage any discussion of the genre cause I love talking about it.

I thought the McCraven album was good but its main problem was its length.