Time to move on?

I'm about to betray my generation, but I have to say I'm growing tired of the music of my youth. This is something that many of my fellow baby boomers apparently haven't felt ... yet.

While I still dearly love listening to -- and regularly do -- the music I grew up with, from the Beatles to George Benson, and Deep Purple to Return to Forever, I am forever hunting down new music to enjoy.

In recent years, I've found some recordings that I think will hold up over the years, just the way "Sgt. Pepper's" or "Kind of Blue" has, and I've mentioned them in other posts.

But I find the inability of many people to hear and fully enjoy such new music to be completely mystifying -- how can you find satisfaction in a steady diet of 50 or 60 year old music?

Dare I say it? Those recordings and musicians were great, but were not perfect. And you can be assured the last thing Miles Davis would have wanted is for his fans to stop hearing new music.

Thanks to sources like Napster, emusic and CD Baby, it's possible to consume a huge amount of new music, releases from musicians you've never heard of, from all around the globe.

Many are uninteresting or dully conceived; many are dazzling and brilliant. Are they as ground-breaking as "Giant Steps" was? No ... but how often can you listen to that and still feel it's originality?

I don't know if Ray Barretto's "Time is, time was" will be a classic, but I know I love to hear it as much as I love hearing Weather Report's "Black Market."

I don't know if critics and listeners will treasure Stefon Harris and Blackout's "Urbanus" as much as they treasure Charles Mingus' "Ah um," but I know it gives me the same pleasure as the first times I heard Mingus.

Some musicians attain greatness through ideas that flash like brilliant meteors; others are great through the brilliance of solid and steady performance. It's not always easy to tell which is which, when all we see is the brilliance, but you'll never know if you've closed your eyes.

Need proof? Check out the documentary "Jazz in the Present Tense," by directors Lars Larson, Peter J. Vogt and Michael Rivoira. It's not available widely yet, but here's a review by AllAboutJazz.com editor John Kelman that details the film's highlights.

Thanksgiving blessings for jazz fans

The Union County Arts Center will be holding the “J5” summit – something like the “G-20” summit but with more swinging than last year’s stock market.
The Jazz Summit at UCAC will feature five great groups Saturday night -- Emilio Valdes and Cubafunk, Stefon Harris and Blackout, the Lionel Loueke Trio, “50 Years of Giant Steps” with Cedar Walton, and Randy Weston’s “African Rhythms Solo Piano.”
Whew! The concerts start at 6 p.m. and tickets are just $40 …unless you want to help the center’s fundraising and can kick in $100 for a chance to join the pre-performance reception at 4 p.m.

And if that's not enough, look at all the great shows lined up in Central Jersey this week:

Thursday, Nov. 19
Gordon James and Jose Loo return to Scampi’s in Somerville tonight, offering up renditions of jazz standards, R&B favorites and soul classics. There’s no cover charge, but plan on sampling the restaurant’s fine food (they specialize in seafood).

The Eric Mintel Quartet will be at Princeton’s Mediterra, on Hulfish Street, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Vinnie Rome entertains at Limelight, 812 N. Easton Road in Doylestown, this weekend, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. nightly.

John Henry Goldman and his friends are at Looking Glass Studio, 800 Alexander Road in Princeton. Come and listen at 6:45 p.m., 7:45 p.m. or 8:45 p.m. The suggested donation of $5 helps defray some of the expenses at the studio. Send John a note if you need more info: johnhenrygoldman@straightjazz.com, or call 609-610-1655. If Thursday nights aren’t good for you, check out his Saturday night gig.

Rio Clemente is at the Bernards Inn tonight from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 20
The Eric Mintel Quartet will bring its version of “cool jazz” to Crossing Vineyards and Winery, 1853 Wrightstown Road in Washington Crossing, Pa., from 8 to 10 p.m. Nov. 20, the second program in the winery’s new fall offering – “All That Jazz.” The Quartet - Mintel on piano, Nelson Hill on alto and soprano sax and flute, Dave Antonow on electric bass, and Dave Mohn on drums - will perform at the winery. Cost of the evening is $20; wine and cheese will be available for purchase. Tickets may be purchased online at www.crossingvineyards.com or by calling 215-493-6500, ext. 19.

Laura Hull has a gig at Hibiscus Restaurant in the Morristown Inn, playing from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Hibiscus’ Web site says she’s performing with Rio Clemente, but Trumpets Jazz Club is expecting him there. Either way, you’d better get reservations: call 973-350-0200.

Guitarist Dick Gratton will perform at the Chambers Walk Café, 2667 Main St., in Lawrenceville, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Cecil’s Jazz Club in West Orange got Dave Stryker to stop by for shows at 9 p.m. tonight and tomorrow night. Click here to get tickets.

The Marriott in Trenton, 1 West Lafayette, will have live jazz from 5:30
p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 21
Cliff Adams is the next guest at Trenton’s Jazz Disciples, meeting at 3 p.m. in the Candlelight Lounge, 24 Passaic St.

Darla Tarpinian returns to the Hopewell Inn’s Starlight Lounge, with accompaniment by husband Rich (vocals/guitar), Jim May (guitar), Joe Bezek (alto sax) and David Stier (drums).

Karen Rodriguez returns to the Salt Creek Grille, at 1 Rockingham Row, Forrestal Village, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Concerts at the Crossing will present a 35th anniversary celebration of Joni Mitchell's “Court & Spark,” featuring Maura Kennedy, Sloan Wainwright, Kelly Flint, LisaBeth Weber and Maggi Marshall. It begins at 8 p.m. at the Unitarian Church at Washington Crossing, Titusville. Call 609-510-6278 for more information. “Court and Spark” is a great melding of jazz and pop music — Joni Mitchell brought in Jim Hughart, Larry Carlton and Tom Scott, among others, to help.

The John Bianculli Jazz Trio performs at 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays nights at Makeda Ethiopian Restaurant, 338 George St., New Brunswick.

Sunday, Nov. 22
It’s Jazz Month at the Monmouth County Library's Livingstone Auditorium in Manalapan, and what a month it is! This week, bassist Harvie S brings friends Joe Lovano and James Weidman for a free show at 2 p.m. Promoters promise lots of seating and lots of parking – if this week’s card doesn’t test that, then maybe next week’s will, when Claudio Roditi and his Latin Orchestra come to town. For more information, call 732-431-7220.

Pam Purvis will be at Langosta, 1000 Ocean Ave. in Asbury Park, from noon to 4 p.m., for the brunch offered there.

Jack Wilkins is a fine guitarist, and knew Les Paul well. He’s offering a tribute to the late Mr. Paul from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Shanghai Jazz Club.

The Somerset Jazz Consortium jam session at PJ's Coffee on Raritan Avenue in Highland Park is a great place to meet musicians – or join the band. They play from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. every Sunday.

Monday, Nov. 23
Jim Jasion and His Jazz (the Somerset Jazz Consortium Horn Squad) will be at Home Town Buffet, 561 US Highway 1, Edison, beginning at 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 24
The Somerset Jazz Consortium jam session lead by Jim Jasion has moved to the Subterranean Recording Studios in Edison. Call Jim if you’re interested in joining -- 732-325-7464.

Wednesday, Nov. 25
Singer-songwriter Patty Cronheim returns to Mediterra 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight.

The Somerset Jazz Consortium Second Generation Band will be at Home Town Buffet on Route 1 in Edison, beginning at 6 p.m.

Vocalist Margie Notte lights up Libretti’s Restaurant, 554 Orange St. in Orange, at 7 p.m. Wednesdays.

Who's setting the mood?

One of the most salient features of the best music is its ability to stike a mood, to capture a sound that reflects its time. Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" encapsulates the late 1950s cool and sets such a definitive mood, just as John Coltrane's Impulse! releases hit the mark for the 60s. Can you hear George Benson's "Breezin'" without being transported to the late 1970s?
While there's a lot of terrific music recorded today, one has to wonder if anyone is really, really nailing the sounds that will become associated with this decade in such a way.
That's the first step towards becoming a classic ...
While I don't know if they've hit the right mood yet, several new releases have powerful moods that strike me as being potential classics -- though only time will tell.
Stefon Harris and Blackout's outstanding "Urbanus" has such an amazing range of sounds that I think it may be among the most memorable for a long time. Blackout's phenomenal rhythm section -- Ben Williams and Terreon Gully -- keep a groove going that is subtle but brilliant. If you can get your ears off the melodies and solos, you'll find a rich tapestry in the background.
But that's a big "if" -- Harris has combined and balanced a potent mix of the familiar and not-familiar. Several tracks lay a Vocoder-synthesized melody over the rhythm section, with Harris and others soloing, an effect that was entrancing. Sounding at once unhuman yet warm, it's a delicious treat -- especially on Stevie Wonder's "They Won't Go."
Madeleine Peyreaux's new "Bare Bones" captures a unique mood. It's a mystical brew made with blues-based stock, with all sorts of funky flavors added. The opening track -- "Instead" -- opens with a spot-on imitation of George Harrison's slinky guitar playing (that is, the sounds he favored later, not while with the Beatles). then adds Peyreaux's melancholy and smoky voice.
It's a powerful dose which may not suit everyone, but much of it was entrancing.
Check them out and let me know what you think -- what captures your ears, or sets a mood for you?