I love today's recording artists in the jazz world. Not only are they playing some incredible new compositions, they are also revisiting a lot of the standards.

Today’s musicians have listened to a lot of musical influences, and that contributes to their take on the music. Any jazz artist from the “Elvis era” on has heard rock in all its transitions, disco (heaven forbid), the changing face of pop, rap, hip-hop, Latin music and everything else that's come down the pike.

Having all of those different influences has brought a certain magic to today’s jazz. Perhaps it’s a better understanding of all music, and how the jazz groove fits into all. When the standards are rerecorded, not only are musicians soulfully connected to them, as they laid the foundation for all of our jazz, but adding their modern era influences seems to refine, and sometimes redefine the standards we all respect.

This keeps our standards alive for jazz listeners in this new century, and the standards, of course, will continue to inspire the creation of new music. It’s a wonderful world of jazz, and I for one am glad to be a small part of it all!

Happy Listening!
Suzanne