Acid/Nu Jazz

Hello again! If you're wondering where I've been all this time... well, I've been trying to puzzle that one out myself! To kick off what I'm hoping will be a blitzkrieg of blogs (blogs-krieg?), I'd like to start off by taking a look at the somewhat confusing (but deliciously fresh and funky) sub-genres of "acid" and "nu jazz."

First things first, let's have a track!

 

Acid jazz, to me, is like a trip through the musical buffet of the 1980's and 90's. Continuing in the traditions of fusion and jazz-funk, acid jazz tracks tend to blend musical elements from a wide array of genres; funk, hip-hop, jazz, disco, soul, and house music are some of the major contributors. While this extreme diversity can make it difficult to identify a track as being from this genre, it also offers a lot of creative flexibility to its artists.

Although it seems that many of the leading acid jazz groups are now US-based, the genre got its start in the nightclubs of Great Britain. The "rare groove" scene (a resurgence in interest in older jazz and funk albums) paved the way for disc jockeys such as Gilles Peterson and Norman Jay, who began to experiment with these sorts of albums in their mixes. By varying the speed on certain tracks or looping sections of a song, artists were able to entertain dancers and to put a new "spin" (if you'll pardon the pun) on tracks that were often overlooked at the time of their release. However, as Peterson once pointed out, acid jazz was still more of a gimmick or an inside joke than a real art form.

The Brand New Heavies, performing live.

The genre really came into its own with Gilles Peterson's establishment of two influential recording labels: Acid Jazz records and Talkin' Loud records, which drew new musicians such as the Brand New Heavies and Galliano; later these artists were followed by groups such as the Groove Collective in the US. Somewhere around this time, acid jazz saw a return to the virtuosity and musicianship of its jazz roots, with an emphasis on live bands performing and improvising instead of DJs sampling older tracks to create new music.

So, what does acid jazz actually sound like? As we've already discovered, the wide variety of possible influences on a given track make it difficult to pin down; however, I've noticed a few commonalities. Most acid jazz tracks draw on the funk tradition of a heavily present rhythm section, with drums, electric bass, and the  occasional rhythmic, understated presence of an electric guitar hitting chords in the upper register. Electric piano also features heavily in most acid jazz tracks, sometimes taking on a soft texture to play backing chords, while on other songs it may be set to a more commanding sound resembling that of a Hammond B-3.

It seems logical that anything claiming to be an offshoot of jazz would retain at least a few of the characteristic instruments, such as the saxophone, trumpet, or vibraphone. While many acid jazz tracks DO incorporate these sounds, consider this track by Galliano:

Here, we hear this very prominent rhythm section, as well as other important aspects of many acid jazz songs: looped beats and sampling. The drum section, in this case, is simply a drum break looped across the length of the entire track, bringing a syncopated and constant sort of rhythm; this, coupled with the regular appearance of the phrase "Listen here!" and the rap-style vocals demonstrate the influence of hip-hop on the genre.

However, "Totally Together" is hardly your "typical" acid jazz track (if there is such a thing). I'd like to end this entry with a track from Norman Jay, a prominent DJ on the scene. Be sure to listen for the heavy influence of house music on this one!