On Swing And The Groove

We have posted several new comments about Mel Narunsky's communique concerning what is and is not jazz, including a new one from Mr. Narunsky himself. You will find them here, appended to the original message. We also received a mini-essay from the bandleader, arranger, composer, trombonist, vocalist and libationologist Eric Felten, who has given the matter considerable thought. Here is Mr. Felten's meditation on the groove:

The question of swinging, and whether it can coexist with a post-modern jazz sensibility brings to mind a phenomenon that I have witnessed repeatedly -- a modern unwillingness to let swing time settle into a groove.

Here's what I mean: When jazz musicians take on funk or hip-hop or Latin idioms, they seem to recognize that the repetitive quality of the rhythm is an essential part of the music. In other words, the music has a "groove" (indeed, when some prominent jazz musicians put together hip-hop-influenced ensembles, they call them their "groove bands." For there to be an effective and affecting groove, the rhythm has to lock into some degree of consistency and repetition, whether in funk, hip-hop or Latin styles.

And I would argue that the same is true for the swing idiom. And yet, it is as though a couple of generations of jazz musicians have been brought up to think that there is something lame or uninventive about a consistent, repeated swing groove. It is rare that I hear a modern rhythm section go for more than four bars (well, really, even just two) without in some way "breaking up the time." Subverting the swing groove is now as reflexive a gesture as "playing outside." So much so that I think many players feel uncomfortable in a steady swing groove just as "outside" harmonies have become so ingrained in our ears that they are the new diatonic, if you will.

Let me be clear, by the way, that I am not saying there should be no more breaking up of straight-ahead time. Sadly, so much discussion of jazz falls into false dichotomies and accusations of apostasy. I once wrote an article arguing that melody has been neglected in modern jazz and I was denounced for 1) declaring that jazz was dead (which I never said in the slightest) and 2) declaring that no one should ever do anything other than play the melody (again, which I never even suggested), and 3) saying that there is no one on earth left who knows how to play a melodic solo (again, not what I said).

So, in this case let me emphasize that what I am saying is that there is power in "groove" including the groove known as swing. Groove-Power is easily recognized when jazz players are crossing over into other idioms, but all too often forgotten when they are working in a straight jazz context. I long to get lost in a swing groove as hypnotic as any hip-hop or trance loop. This is not a retro manifesto: I would suggest that there is untapped potential to reassert the power of the jazz groove in a modern context. And I would further suggest that "breaking up the time" would be far more musically interesting if it were used more sparingly -- that is, if some real time were established before the breaking of it begins.

And lastly, I would suggest that jazz musicians wouldn't have to go so far afield in search of the satisfactions of grooving if they were more willing to develop the grooves in their own backyard.

cheers,
Eric

Mr. Felten's right to use "cheers" for his closing is hard-won. His How's Your Drink column appears most Saturdays in The Wall Street Journal. Just think of all that testing and tasting.