Disc of the day: 18-06-09

Various: Now’s The Time II (Babel)
There’s been debate recently aired on this site and others concerning the J-word. Some musicians and writers feel jazz is no good to describe what they are doing now.

Well, in the liner notes to this excellent and wonderfully wide-ranging second compilation of some of the things he likes to play most on his BBC London show, Kevin Le Gendre tackles the problem head-on and comes up with a solution that tunes perfectly with my own conclusions.

He writes: “What to call this mosaic of sounds? More to the point, how to sell such diversity? A major problem that jazz has encountered in the last two decades is the lack of sexy marketing slogans to flog it to a new generation.

“There’s no convincing successor to terms like ‘avant-garde’ or ‘fusion’ to pinpoint a contemporary movement. Then again, the artists on this compilation boast a creative richness that transcends glib, fly by night straplines. Best revert to jazz, a word with a long, rich history, a music whose time is now.”

So, what is this jazz whose time is now? It includes the William Parker Quartet, with a lovely, light island calypso called The Watermelon Man (no, not Herbie’s); there’s a funky thing from Lafayette Gilchrist, pianist with David Murray; there’s Ron Blake building a compulsive almost-reggae groove with his sax riding over organ, bass and drums; there’s some of that weirdly, wonderfully strange harmony stuff that the new New Yorkers do – this time from Steve Lehman; there’s a remarkably easy-going piece from guitarist David Gilmore on acoustic with spoken word by Sharrif Simmons; there’s quiet piano and sounds from Julie Sassoon; and there are great, horn lines and a superb vocal from Eska Mtungwazi on Jason Yarde’s Where Will It Take You?

All just lovely – this is music that pushes at the boundaries while still being very radio-friendly, and putting a smile on your face and a spring in your step. I think they call it jazz.