New Age Music Jazz Origins?

Question

I'm rediscovering some of my ECM recordings and have found many to be reclassified as New Age (iTunes, etc....) when the original recording was classified as Jazz.

Do you think New Age music has its origins in Inspirational Jazz? In a more accessible / mainstream form?

The ultimate being John Coltrane's, A Love Supreme, some from his First Meditations, Ornette Coleman's songbook.

What do you think? Comments?

Answer 1

It's a real shame that the entertainment industry has to label things a certain way.

I am very familiar with ECM, having listened to that label for decades and enjoying Pat Metheny, Ralph Towner, Jan Garbarek, Eberhard Weber, Keith Jarrett and a host of other 'modern' jazz musicians who emerged in the 1970s. It is a European label (German I believe) and they were a really 'cutting edge' sound back in the 70s. If you were to listen to Ralph Towner's Winter Solstice LP from the mid-70s, you would hear a lot of what may have influenced a New Wave movement.

New Age also began in the 1970s (on a parallel track) with recordings by Oregon, Mannheim Steamroller, George Winston (and the rest of the Wyndham Hill catalog). New Age then evolved and split into: (1) a minimalist movement, with lots of solo instrument recordings such as Alex deGrassi's guitar and George Winston's piano works, and (2) A more jazz and fusion sound with bands like Shadowfax, Acoustic Alchemy and others.

Eventually, New Age became so benign and mindless, it was labeled as 'Elevator Music' and pretty much dismissed by most serious musicians and listeners. However, there were some really great moments in some of Mannheim Steamroller's works before they became so mindless and 'cutesy'.

I do not agree that what you cited as 'inspirational' jazz is the basis for New Age. Coltrane's A Love Supreme is one of the greatest jazz compositions of all time and any New Age music totally pales in comparison - not even in the same ballpark.

Answer 2

No, I don't think New Age music comes from jazz or from ECM. I used to listen to ECM artists all the time. They are being reclassified as New Age as a sales technique.
I remember when "New Age" came about, around the time the Windham Hill label came into being. I call it New Age Elevator Music and it wasn't even close to the ECM artists. I think New Age or New Age Jazz was more influenced by the Avant Garde artists such as Terry Riley and Steve Reich. They introduced the concept of "drone", and I can't even give you a good definition of that, but its like a meditative repititive melodic or harmonic pattern influenced by East Indian music. The original Windham Hill artists took the ideas of the Avant Garde artists, stripped them of their complexity, watered them down to the lowest common denominator and used them in their music, taking those ideas from the complex to the over-simplistic. A lot of musicians in the 60's and 70's were influenced by the repetitive meditative patterns of East Indian music and I think this is where Coltrane was coming from.

Answer 3

Let Me ,spill my poison............

what is Jazz??
Jazz is a conversation among the several musician using Their instruments.
playing music, improvising ,within the music theory.

Monologist: soloist or solo playing( in a group or out a group)

many words and names ,has "comes up " ,since this conversation has started.
some musician was playing his instrument in slow motion and the band leader said outloud "SWING IT" (rise the tempo)
and that created the "swing era."... and so on and on....yari, yara.

new age jazz....is a guy coping the music of the "jazzers"(musicians that played that music or tune from improvisation and at the first instance ).....sample.of the new age .....Kenny G.

redundancing,....every time several musician get together and do play together with out any written music They are Jazzing ..(just play what ever)
the audience and the critics has comes-up with quote and the question.

THAT TUNE WAS BEAUTIFULL!!!!!..............CAN YOU PLAY IT AGAIN???.......(no way jose!!,unless there was a video or any recording machine to copy the music and help to
write the music sheat).
learning from experience......turn the camcorder onn.

Answer 4

Another inspiration I think was fusion, which began with Miles Davis' *****'s Brew. A relatively early New Age band (early 80's) that I really liked was Shadowfax.

Answer 5

Jazz become at one element going to be jass, a shortening of jackass music, possibly by way of improper view that there is a huge form of braying in touch! solid jazz music comes from the middle and is intuitive and ingenious.

Answer 6

I don't think New Age has anything to do with Inspirational Jazz. Two separate entities!

Answer 7

I think Miles's album was called Bitches Brew, not *****'s Brew.

Answer 8

YES JAZZ IS VERY INSPIRATIONAL