The album’s title combines “straight-ahead” jazz with the familiar “808” bass sound made famous by the Roland TR-808 drum machine. Rather than employing a traditional acoustic or electric bassist, Barsh developed a collection of customized 808-inspired sounds that provide the low-end foundation for the music while allowing the trio to move freely between jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and electronic influences.

Four Hours, Eleven Tracks

Straight08 came together quickly. On August 22, 2023, the trio entered Skylight Studios in Long Beach and recorded the entire album during a four-hour session.

The approach was straightforward: bring in a handful of original compositions, include a few nods to the jazz tradition, and leave plenty of room for improvisation. Six of the album’s eleven tracks were created entirely in the moment. A seventh unfolds through collective improvisation before Harrold briefly references the melody of Thelonious Monk’s “Green Chimneys” near the conclusion.

The trio has been clear that, despite its modern sonic palette, Straight08 is firmly rooted in jazz. That connection is evident both in the group’s interpretation of Freddie Hubbard’s “Little Sunflower” and in the joyful, completely improvised “The Earl of Essex County.”

Choosing a jazz standard as part of the project feels intentional. While the album incorporates 808-inspired bass sounds and contemporary influences, the foundation remains improvisation, interaction, and a respect for the jazz tradition. Rather than distancing themselves from that heritage, Barsh, Harrold, and Guiliana use it as a launching point for new ideas.

Chemistry Years in the Making

While the recording session itself was brief, the musical relationship between these three artists stretches back much further. Barsh and Guiliana first played together while attending William Paterson University in a groove-oriented group called The Corrugation. Harrold later joined them for a guest appearance at a New Jersey performance.

Since then, all three musicians have built impressive careers, appearing on hundreds of recordings and contributing to projects by artists including Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, and Kanye West. Their reunion on Straight08 brings those varied experiences together in a setting that values interaction, spontaneity, and listening as much as technical skill.

When all three found themselves living in Los Angeles after the pandemic, Barsh booked the group as a chordless, bassless trio during his regular Tuesday residency at Shoo Shoo Baby in downtown Los Angeles. With little advance notice and no rehearsal, the chemistry was immediate.

“From the first note we played, the vibe was undeniable; it felt like non-verbal communication of the highest order.”

— Sam Barsh

As I listened to Straight08, I enjoyed how lively and energized the music feels. There is a sense of discovery throughout the album, as if Barsh, Harrold, and Guiliana are exploring the possibilities of the concept in real time rather than simply executing a plan.

That spirit is especially evident on “The Corrugation.” About halfway through the track, the trio launches into a spirited jam that showcases the chemistry and interaction at the heart of this project. Guiliana’s drumming is particularly impressive throughout the album, providing both momentum and texture, but one of the strengths of Straight08 is that all three musicians have moments to shine.

More than anything, Straight08 reminded me that the spirit of contemporary jazz remains vibrant. The sounds may be different, but the desire to explore and create something new remains the same.

That’s what contemporary jazz has always meant to me. Respect the tradition, but don’t be afraid to see where it can go next. Straight08 is a reminder that jazz has infinite room for new ideas.

Straight08 arrives June 19 via La Reserve Records.

The post Straight08 Review: Sam Barsh, Keyon Harrold & Mark Guiliana Reimagine Contemporary Jazz appeared first on ContemporaryJazz.com.

A few months ago, user WD-40Drinker posed this on the r/Jazz subreddit:

“I’m not too far into the jazz world, in my freshman year of college right now, but I keep noticing that people really just despise Kenny G for some reason. I know people say his music “isn’t jazz” or “all his songs sound the same” when HE chose to take a different path in life. I don’t think it makes that much sense to hate on someone just because of the genre they decided to go into. For example, she probably could, but we don’t make fun of Taylor Swift for not singing opera, so why does it magically apply to Kenny G? My assumption is that too many jazz people are jazz snarks that love to gatekeep their music.”

This, of course, drummed up a good discussion. If you want to spark a passionate conversation about jazz, you don’t bring up politics or religion. You bring up Kenny G. On one hand, he is the undisputed juggernaut of instrumental music: over 75 million records sold globally, making him the best-selling instrumentalist of our time. On the other hand, he has spent decades serving as the ultimate lightning rod for critical disdain and elitist fury.

Why the hate? I’m trying to figure this out. I won’t talk about musicianship as I’m not a professional musician so that’s not my lane.

The comments in the thread were wide-ranging and mostly thoughtful. There was a lot of disdain for his poor and ill-advised “duet” with the deceased Louis Armstrong on “What a Wonderful World.” I can understand that. Pat Metheny has a few thoughts on it, famously calling the overdub “musical necrophilia” and accusing Kenny G of violating the integrity of Louis Armstrong’s original performance.

But to actively hate Kenny G? It all has to do with the label “jazz.”

When veteran jazz journalist Ted Panken sat down with him for a candid interview, he asked Kenny G directly if he considers himself a jazz musician. Kenny didn’t shy away from the label; instead, he redefined it on his own terms:

“Well, personally, I do think of myself as a jazz musician. But I grew up with the word “jazz”…to me, it meant instrumental and it meant improvisation. It really doesn’t matter the style. I don’t play the traditional Charlie Parker songs. But I do improvise and I do create with my instrument, and that to me is jazz. But there are people who use the word ‘jazz’ only in a traditional sense, and they would be offended by that, and that’s fine.”

So, to him,  it’s a matter of how you define “jazz.”

The most upvoted comment on the thread dismantled the Taylor Swift example with this analogy: “Imagine if Taylor Swift sang about a ‘spicy meatball’ in an Italian accent and then the world decided it was opera.”

Another user expanded on this, pointing out that Taylor Swift fans don’t claim she’s a great opera singer, and the general public doesn’t look at her as the definition of opera. But with Kenny G, the casual public does look at him as the face of jazz.

“Kenny G” became a gateway that accidentally locked people out. Because record labels and the media stamped “Jazz” all over his smooth instrumental pop, a lot of casual listeners decided, “Well, if Kenny G is jazz, and I find this boring, then I must hate all jazz.” The community resents that his dominance actively turned potential fans away from exploring the broader genre.

But Kenny G isn’t himself to blame for this gateway. As pointed out, it’s the record labels and media who labeled the music. In the 2021 HBO Music Box documentary, Listening to Kenny G, it reveals the term “Smooth Jazz” was birthed out of radio industry focus groups in the late 1980s. Record labels and programmers needed a marketable bucket to package artists like Kenny G, Sade, and George Benson to advertisers.

In the thread, a few voices popped up to say that by all accounts from people who have met him, Kenny G is a genuinely nice guy and an incredible scratch golfer. It’s just the industry branding that turned him into a villain.

The hate doesn’t seem to be directed at the artist himself (except for agreeing to that Louis Armstrong overdub). It’s more toward his music and what many jazz fans feel it came to represent.

Personally, I don’t like his music. I like his playing. I respect that he often writes his own songs. I don’t buy his records. And, to be very honest, I’m more than a little resentful that he got the success when there are many other musicians who play the same “smooth jazz” style that I feel are better at what he does.

That’s not his fault, though. He happened to be in the right place at the right time and had the right promotion with “Songbird.” I can’t begrudge him for that. That breakthrough found him a huge audience and helped launch one of the most successful careers in instrumental music history.

You can dislike his music. Don’t belittle or begrudge those who do. There’s too many people yucking others’ yum as it is.

Branford Marsalis once told Jazziz: “When all these jazz guys get in a tizzy over Kenny G, they need to leave Kenny alone. He’s not stealing jazz. It’s not like some guy says, ‘You know, I used to listen to Miles, Trane and Ornette. And then I heard Kenny G, and I never put on another Miles record.’ It’s a completely different audience.”

Branford is right. The audience that made Kenny G a superstar isn’t necessarily the same audience debating jazz history and tradition. I don’t hate Kenny G. I don’t bash him. I just don’t particularly enjoy his music and when I’m asked about the genre, I point them in a different direction. No harm.

The post Kenny G at 70: Why Is He Still So Controversial? appeared first on ContemporaryJazz.com.

It’s just music they didn’t like. 

Jazz bullying.

There was this belief that jazz was academic. That you had to understand jazz. I have always fought the notion that jazz should be on a pedestal. Jazz should be where everyone can access it. It is such a deterrent when something seems as sweet as music seems inaccessible. I believe this notion is part of the reason jazz continued to  slip in popularity. Why would people want to listen to something that they thought they had to do homework for?

Thankfully, I don’t hear about this anymore. I am encouraged and inspired to see jazz continue to move in a forward direction. Younger generations are making the music their own. I love it. Jazz is alive. It’s not in some dusty prison of time that the jazz police want it, never to break free.

I want to go back and experience the time when jazz was dance music. Even better, I want to go forward in the future and experience this. If everything is cyclical, isn’t this overdue?

Do you need to define jazz in order to enjoy it? Nope. I wish I could have shut off that judgemental noise when I first got into the music. It didn’t stop me from enjoying it but it did affect me, as evidenced that I’m writing about it decades later. 

Don’t deny yourself joy. Listen to the music you want and revel in it. 

The post Beyond Jazz Bullying appeared first on ContemporaryJazz.com.