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After the “smooth jazz” of various artists at 94.7
The Wave’s L.A. concert, which took place last weekend at
UCLA’s Tennis Center, it’s easy to be numbed into
believing that their Muzak stylings are the future of jazz. Kenny G
and others may certainly have skill but lack the emotional
intensity you might find at a badly-lit nightclub.
For real jazz (read “bebop”), go back to composer
and pianist Thelonius Monk and saxophonist John Coltrane on their
collaborative album. For the summer of ’57, these icons did
recordings of the whimsical “Trinkle, Tinkle” and the
mournful “Ruby, My Dear” among others. Without the
glitz of doing pseudo-funk covers, Monk and Coltrane represent the
darker, more personal side of jazz.