at the moment i have mucho love for the difficult-to-quantify musical category known as acid jazz.

it's like this sick fusion of standard jazz, incidental movie music, jam band goofiness, and general musical indulgence, generally with people who are SICK players. modulation tends to be frowned on, mad improvisational longevity tends to be smiled upon, and it tends to be difficult to stay in your seat while listening.

some classic practitioners include jamiroquai (the band who did that tune in "napoleon dynamite"), greyboy allstars, james taylor quartet, groove collective, some might include phish, and my two all-time favorite acid jazz bands of all time...

the megaobscure but perfect london band corduroy, they just ooze joy from every pore.

http://www.ready-steady-go.org.uk/corduroy.jpg

and medeski martin and wood. they're everything corduroy's not. the cord was all about goofy fun and mmw is all seriousness, huge rock show art music perfection.

http://static.flickr.com/50/182655806_4a822b69e8.jpg

i find you need a little of both.

just thought i'd share.

One of my favourite Acid Jazz type artists is Massive Attack.  Jamiroquai are also good .. their song "Little L" is fabulous!

One of my favourite Acid Jazz type artists is Massive Attack.  Jamiroquai are also good .. their song "Little L" is fabulous!
i knew there was a reason i liked my canadian brothers.

ha! there's all sorts of new MMW albums. i just went on a spending spree on amazon. i haven't been keeping up. i'm such a crappy fan, kim'll tell ya.

medeski martin and wood

LOVE THEM

and i have to do some internet research and find a name for you.
brb

it's like this sick fusion of standard jazz, incidental movie music, jam band goofiness, and general musical indulgence, generally with people who are SICK players. modulation tends to be frowned on, mad improvisational longevity tends to be smiled upon, and it tends to be difficult to stay in your seat while listening.



You just described a Grateful Dead concert, complete with Acid.  :D


Just thought I'd share.

You just described a Grateful Dead concert, complete with Acid.  :D


Just thought I'd share.
yeah, except these guys are usually better players than jerry. not to take anything away from him but he couldn't unleash the rage like john medeski.

In a world where acid jazz is frowned upon and is supposedly reserved for poser "hipsters"... I have no problem saying that I like this stuff a lot!

Yes. I said it. But Seriously, there's not much difference between this and Steely Dan... Aside from the production quality and lack of vocals. :P

OK, I'll be the one that spoils this thread I'm sure...so, what is or what has been the definition of "Acid Jazz"?.
I ask 'cause I've noticed mention of Martin, Mediski & Wood, and Massive Attack.

There are some that wouldn't classify MM&W as acid jazz and others that would definitely call Massive Attack "Trip-Hop" or Downbeat.

I was (and still am) fans of this and other types of music that grew from the Acid Jazz moniker. I'm not one that wants to put a label on music but
there were so many ways the gene was evolving to, it all became confusing....

Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead - Trip-hop, Downbeat.
Morphine, Martin, Mediski & Wood, Nightmares On Wax - Jazz, Acid Jazz,
Funky Porcini, DJ Cam, DJ Shadow - Turntableism?, Breakbeat.

It goes on and on...I remember a series from MoWax and Shadow and some others called "This is Acid Jazz" and to my surprise each one of the series not having any one of the tracks sharing a similar theme that would classify them as "Acid Jazz".

I guess what I'm trying to say is "Acid Jazz" is way too broad a term to cover the expanse of different types of music and bands emerging.

How do you make a distinction of what is Acid Jazz?

that specific question might be less interesting than the question of what's happening with the mega-precise parsing out of different musical genres in general. look what's happened to metal -- there's doom metal, black metal, speed metal, gloom metal, grindcore, it goes on and on and on. and much of it i'd be at a loss to distinguish.

i'd say some of the bands are obviously acid jazz, like corduroy and greyboy allstars and galactic, some are, i'd say, acid jazz plus, like MMW -- sometimes they're acid jazzy, when they're doing catchy organ riffs, sometimes they're closer to traditional jazz, sometimes they get off into hip hop, like with combustication, or fusion, like with that fancy guitar player guy with the unrememberable polish name...

i wouldnt have thought of portishead as acid jazz.

that specific question might be less interesting than the question of what's happening with the mega-precise parsing out of different musical genres in general. look what's happened to metal -- there's doom metal, black metal, speed metal, gloom metal, grindcore, it goes on and on and on. and much of it i'd be at a loss to distinguish.

i'd say some of the bands are obviously acid jazz, like corduroy and greyboy allstars and galactic, some are, i'd say, acid jazz plus, like MMW -- sometimes they're acid jazzy, when they're doing catchy organ riffs, sometimes they're closer to traditional jazz, sometimes they get off into hip hop, like with combustication, or fusion, like with that fancy guitar player guy with the unrememberable polish name...

i wouldnt have thought of portishead as acid jazz.

No, I wouldn't think of Portishead as acid jazz either, but at the begging of the '90s they and others like them and M,M&W (United Future Organization (UFO) for example) were all kind of lumped together as acid jazz.
Reason being, I think it would be difficult to call Massive Attack "acid jazz" and not recognize the similarities between them, Portishead, and recognize how their sound was in fluended by M.A and others like them...
Somewhere after '93 a few artits started putting a harder hip-hop like beat behind the basic jazz groove, and then suddenly, from Bristol, England we have "trip-hop".

Now call it what you will, it was still in many venues called acid jazz.

I have no problem with the labels, I like it all.
I'm a bit surprised that there are others that are into this type of music, often times acid jazz, trip-hop, downbeat, etc doesn't get much airplay on radio (in the US anyway)...a large part of the publics eyes seem to glaze over when I mention some of these artists...

I often find fusion and acid jazz are almost the same...

Acid jazz is almost like... jazzy easy listening. It's... atmospheric jazz? Polished jazz. "Boring" jazz.

I often find fusion and acid jazz are almost the same...

Acid jazz is almost like... jazzy easy listening. It's... atmospheric jazz? Polished jazz. "Boring" jazz.
dag, you're listening to the wrong stuff then.

dag, you're listening to the wrong stuff then.


Of course... The boring part I don't agree with.

Of course... The boring part I don't agree with.
well, who are you listening to? what bands?

well, who are you listening to? what bands?


XD I have no idea. I just go to the smooth jazz station. They play some..

XD I have no idea. I just go to the smooth jazz station. They play some..
no! no! smooth jazz is totally different!

i sent you some corduroy bro. keep the faith. don't berate me like that simon whatshisface guy! ;D

no! no! smooth jazz is totally different!

i sent you some corduroy bro. keep the faith. don't berate me like that simon whatshisface guy! ;D


=P Well.. I did like the Corduroy a lot.

There seem to be some confusion about the origin of the Acid Jazz term and what the genre actually is all about. Here's what I know:

The term "acid Jazz" was more or less invented by british DJ/producer Gilles Peterson in around 1988 and it was heavily inspired by the "rare groove" seen very big in the UK at the time.
Musically, the artists within the acid jazz movement tried to reinvent the jazz-funk of the 70s (like Lonnie Liston Smith, The Crusaders and Roy Ayers) but in an updated setting that often included R&B style vocals and elements from electronic music as well.
In the early days this was pretty much an underground phenomenon, but the style soon crossed over thanks to artists like, Incognito, Brand New Heavies and Jamiroquai. Lesser known artists include Galliano, Mondo Grosso (who was actually from Japan) and Exodus Quartet.

UK label Instinct Records issued a series of acid jazz compilations in the 90s, all offering a great view of the style. They're all very good starting points for anyone interested in this kind of music.

you have two choices.

you can admit you love this. or you can admit you have no soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOiNLqD6njU

you have two choices.

you can admit you love this. or you can admit you have no soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOiNLqD6njU


Okay, I'll go with what's behind door #1 (I love it).

Call it Acid Jazz, Smooth Jazz, or just good early '90s music, it all works for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4wDvrwZTxk
Connected - Stereo MC`s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOMqV2-1rhg
After Hours -  Ronny Jordan

you have two choices.

you can admit you love this. or you can admit you have no soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOiNLqD6njU


Funky Cool Jazz Fusion?

See, that's too long. That's why they just said acid.

Okay, I'll go with what's behind door #1 (I love it).

Call it Acid Jazz, Smooth Jazz, or just good early '90s music, it all works for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4wDvrwZTxk
Connected - Stereo MC`s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOMqV2-1rhg
After Hours -  Ronny Jordan



I couldn't get the first one to play, but my smooth jazz station out of Detroit plays Ronny Jordan---I love After Hours as much as Mystic Voyage.

This is a blast from the past.  Mike hooked me up with Corderoy in '07  - time flies!!!!!!

Still a fan.  it's worth the listening time.

:) :) :) :) :)