Eurojazzist Randomizer #2: The Reference Trap
Different Ears, Different Truths
Eurojazzist Randomizer is a loose-format column — a space for listening notes, side thoughts, new music, and jazz across Europe.
Once upon a time, I wrote a review of a European jazz album that I genuinely liked. I had been in contact with the musician, who had sent me the CD by mail. After listening to the album, I had a strong impression that, both in terms of playing and concept, it was inspired by the music of Steven Bernstein — more precisely, his band Sex Mob. In my mind, I even clearly connected it to the album Sex Mob Does Bond, with its interpretations of music from the James Bond films. I more or less wrote this in the review, and also added a reference to John Lurie and The Lounge Lizards (whose last active lineup included Bernstein).
After the text was published online, I sent the link to the musician by email. He thanked me and ended his message with: Believe it or not, I’ve never listened to either Sex Mob or Lounge Lizards… maybe I should, just to see the parallels.
Fourteen years later, I can’t quite remember how I reacted, or what exactly I concluded from that exchange. I’m not even sure why I was reminded of it just now. But like all jazz critics, I often rely on references in my writing. In theory, they serve to give the reader a clearer idea of the music we are recommending (or criticizing). If we compare a lesser-known artist to a more established one, we create a more concrete image of what that music might sound like. References should also help clarify the artistic worldview of the musician we are writing about — the stylistic frameworks within which they move and shape their expression (unless, of course, you end up with a misfire like the one in my example above). Finally, references can work in the opposite direction as well: not only to illuminate the artist at hand, but also to highlight other musicians who resemble them, who deserve attention, or who together form a certain scene or aesthetic current.
But let’s return to the central question: who exactly are “well-known musicians”? How much compromise should we make with our imagined reader? Do we really have a clear idea of which reference points are meaningful to our audience? No matter how much we assume that a particular website or author attracts a specific, profiled readership, the audience is never monolithic. There’s simply no way that everyone arrives at a text with the same education and listening background.
Let me share another story in that spirit. I won’t mention names, since this comes from private conversations, but the essence is this: after a guitarist extensively used humming and moaning during his concert, someone in my circle compared him to Keith Jarrett in a post-concert conversation. This was not a critic or journalist, but an “ordinary” jazz listener — someone who attends concerts and listens to jazz at home, according to their own time and taste. The musician was not particularly pleased and responded along the lines of: Why is it always a comparison with Jarrett? (clearly, it was not the first time he had heard that). He then went on to name several other musicians who use that technique, some more well-known than others.
Of course, there are countless other examples where, in conversations before or after jazz concerts, I have heard comparisons and references that never occurred to me — or that struck me as somehow off the mark. Musicians hear one thing, critics another, and the random audience something else entirely. Often these listening experiences overlap; sometimes they diverge so much that it feels as if we hadn’t attended the same concert or listened to the same album at all.
From these examples, I cannot extract any kind of manual for writing jazz reviews — nor is that my intention. Perhaps the only conclusion I can draw is that conversations about jazz — whether live, or through chats and correspondence — are always a welcome and natural continuation of a written text. What is written is not an unquestionable truth, but merely one possible view of the music, shaped by an intensely personal listening experience and background. It is neither more nor less valuable than the experience of others who love jazz, even if they do not write about it in the public sphere.
Eurojazzist First Days: A Short Recap
At this point, I want to publish three posts a week and keep their rhythm predictable: Tuesday–Thursday–Saturday. I’m not sure if it will always go exactly as planned, since life has its own rhythms and agendas. For now, we’re on schedule!
Three reviews have been published:
One concert/livestream report:
There are also two Eurojazzist Randomizers, designed as a slightly more relaxed format, though not necessarily with purely lighthearted topics. Besides the one you’re currently reading, here’s a reminder of the first:
New Listens
The British band Mammal Hands has been on my radar for a while, and I’ve recently started listening more closely to their previous album Gift from the Trees. Their career so far has been mostly tied to Gondwana Records, where their blend of contemporary jazz and modern piano composition fits perfectly; now, for the first time, they’re releasing an album Circadia with ACT Music, coming out at the end of the month. I’m fortunate and privileged to have received the album for early listening, courtesy of the label.
Angelika Niescier is a saxophonist whose work I’ve been following for a long time, and this time she has a new album Chicago Tapes for Intakt Records featuring some of my favorite Chicago musicians (Jason Adasiewicz, Dave Rempis, Nicole Mitchell, Mike Reed, Luke Stewart). At first listen – very furious and explosive!
The Danish guitarist Jakob Bro’s label Loveland Music is also becoming increasingly interesting. After a series of excellent albums for ECM, he began releasing his own and his collaborators’ work on Loveland, the latest being trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg’s Light – very minimalistic with an intriguing mix of ambient and avant-garde.
From the always-fun We Jazz label, there’s the album Close-up On The Outside by Booker Stardrum, known to the audience from the increasingly popular group SML.
Jazz Across Europe
Jazzfestival Saalfelden has become very dear to me, even though I’ve only attended twice, about 15 years ago – after that, the timing always conflicted with other professional commitments. In the meantime (2024), I also visited 3 Tages Jazz, organized every January in Saalfelden by the same crew. I always trust their curatorial team and really like their mix of contemporary and avant-garde jazz in the program.
The first names for this year’s Jazzfestival Saalfelden (20-23. 8.) have already been announced: saxophonist Yvonne Moriel, whom I wrote about recently, Chicago Underground Duo, and a special treat – Yeah NO, featuring Chris Speed, Jim Black, Skúli Sverrisson, and Cuong Vu. Absolute recommendation.
I'm glad to encounter your Substack. It's always good to find serious reporting on jazz outside the American mainstream!
As a long-time, non-musician listener who writes a personal Substack on jazz, I try to be alert in my own writing to the cynicism musicians often feel about layperson "critics." My main guardrails are:
1) Do not use technical terms that I'm not certain I understand (and this leaves very few); impressionistic descriptive writing is not a problem.
2) Check each assertion to see if it might be wrong; insert qualifying language as needed to indicate what is an assumption, speculation, or personal impression (in your example, I would write "reminds me of Sex Mob" rather than "is influenced by Sex Mob").
3) Stay humble and charitable. If I really dislike an artist's music altogether, I'd rather simply not write about it than sit in haughty judgment.