What is viral jazz?

Plus, three musicians receive MacArthur Fellowships

View this email online Oct. 15, 2022 by Marissa Lorusso This week, we’re sharing Nate Chinen’s exploration of a new cohort of young jazz artists; plus, the last few performances in Latinx Heritage Month series at the Tiny Desk. NPR Lately, critic and director of editorial content at WRTI Nate Chinen has been noticing a cohort of young jazz artists who are making what he’s taken to calling “viral jazz.” It’s one of those know-it-when-you-see-it things, he says — hard to define but definitely recognizable. These artists, like Louis Cole, DOMi & JD Beck and MonoNeon all share a few things, Nate writes, like “jaw-dropping technical ability, jazz-inflected genre fluidity and an irreverent yet allusive savvy regarding image and platform.”  This week, Nate shared an in-depth exploration of this corner of the jazz world: the YouTube videos racking up views, the impressive new albums and the cohort’s surprising allegiance to jazz tradition. “Jazz is a musical form practically overrun with pieties,” Nate says — but that makes the insouciance of these young artists feel refreshing, rather than like a threat. “At this disorienting moment in our age of digital exchange,” he says, these artists “can sometimes seem like the only ones who've gleefully cracked the code.” If you’ve got time for one more weekend longread, make it this one: Ann Powers’ take on the latest record from The 1975, Being Funny in a Foreign Language, and how lead singer Matty Healy became the bad boy we love to roll our eyes at. "For all the leading man tendencies he exhibits, Healy remains a trickster,” Ann writes. “He can’t give up his wicked insights, his distancing jests, his assertions of independence.” He’s the latest in a long line of pop-culture dirtbags whose alternative expression of masculinity and self-serving introspection represent “opposition to power from within,” as Ann writes, “an opting out that becomes a new path instead of a challenge from beyond patriarchy's borders.” Newsletter continues after sponsor message New Music The latest album from the New York-based rock band Wild Pink was made in the midst of singer John Ross’ cancer diagnosis. Confronted with life's fragility, Ross wrote a beautiful set of songs that function like a work of slow cinema, asking the listener to lean in, pay attention and find providence in small details. Twenty years ago, Bob Boilen was working as the director of All Things Considered when Sigur Rós released its album ( ). Bob often played tracks from that album between news segments; he says it felt like “the perfect antidote to the daily news.” The album has recently been remastered, and Bob played "Untitled #7 (Jacobs Studio Sessions),” from that new version, on All Songs Considered this week, along with new music from Samia, Okaidja Afroso and more. Singer-songwriters Katie Crutchfield — who writes and performs as Waxahatchee — and Jess Williamson have released a new duo album as Plains. On it, the two songwriters combine the wry wisdom of their solo songwriting with a classic country sound they’ve both long wanted to explore. Featuring The recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship receive unrestricted grants of $800,000 for their "exceptional creativity" and "promise." This year, three musicians received the award: electronic musician Ikue Mori; jazz cellist Tomeka Reid and Martha Gonzalez, a scholar and the lead singer of Quetzal. This week on the NPR Classical playlist, a dozen young pianists you should know: mercurial Katia Buniatishvili and Lucas Debargue; brainy Igor Levit and Víkingur Ólafsson; powerhouse Daniil Trifonov and lyrical Beatrice Rana.  This week, our friends at KUTX in Austin shared a pop-up performance by Lido Pimienta, backstage at ACL Fest, and Jazz Night in America shared a live concert capture of a performance by BADBADNOTGOOD. Tiny Desk NPR The final week of our Latinx Heritage Month celebration at the Tiny Desk included some powerful performances. Dominican rapper Tokischa reworked her songs in a melange of Latin American and Caribbean genres, foregrounding her celebration of unfiltered expression. And Puerto Rican rapper Farruko adapted his signature flow for a far more intimate setting — plus, he sat down with Alt.Latino to talk about how a religious transformation led him to retire his partying persona. One More Thing 🎵 Well, I guess this is grown up 🎵 Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WMFE (edit station). Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to NPR Music emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy