I Miss 90's Jazz! 

This is awesome, Peter! Thank you for this.

I love that you guys always make a point to show how modern jazz still is despite public opinion. So much good music was made in the 90's but most people only talk about the 50's or 60's without giving proper due to the modern masters.

I find it bafflingly comical that there are quite a few commenters that missed the obvious fact that the whole idea of "best decade" was tongue in cheek. Kudos to you Pete, you have more than enough reason to be chuffed about having been part of this

I started listening to jazz in 92. For me, the decade was about CHick Corea, Joe Henderson, Scofield, Medeski Martin + Wood, some Mehldau, some Metheny. A great decade if people can remember it so fondly for different scenes and sounds

No way this is crazy to see Peter break one of my favorite RU-vid videos down! The comping Peter plays after Johnny’s first phrase is so killing and he just glossed over it 😂

1990s japanese Jazz fusion is one of my favourite periods so I guess we came to the same decade but different region

Not even a mention of the 30s or the 20s, SMH.

I loved this time period. I was in college and just getting exposed to this stuff. Had the privilege to see/hear Roy’s group a few times with this lineup. Roy’s first album Diamond in the Rough is great too!

The CharlieParker video was from 1952 and Miles davis video was 1959.

I absolutely would love to see more videos in this format. Just watching some great performances and getting input. 👌

Sheeiiitt, can y'all breakdown that Buckshot LeFonque?? Because of my mother's connection to Alvin Batiste, I grew up around Delfeayo and Branford and I LOVE that era of Branford's career.

Peter, you broke the record for number of stank faces within an 18 minute stretch. Dayum!!!

man, this brings back memories of jamming all damn night with the fellas when we were kids, coming up with the sickest phrases and talking about it after the gig over steak and eggs. the best times.

The jazz futures was a cd I played over and over again. Roy, Nicholas, Josh, and Benny blew my mind. And Roy’s cd tenors of our time just blew me away.

Domnt worry about the jacket Peter! It was the 90`s! Wonderful tune and so many of my heroes on stage is awesome!

I love love love so much jazz from the 90s. On the other hand the 80s/90s were the time in which jazz started to become 'period' music (like classical music). Since its inception black american music was about pushing the art form forward aesthetically. It was about people being present in the moment, and assimilating their lived human experiences into improvised art. Bird, trane, miles didn't really to emulate players from 50+ years before their time on stage - they were trying to just sound like themselves. You hear a lot of players these days trying to sound like other people instead of themselves. I love 90s jazz but I'm conflicted because that's when it became more about preserving the style/idioms of the art form over the mentality/philosophy that led to the emergence of the music.

What a treat, and what a killing band! And a reminder of how much Roy is missed.

Contemporary Jazz radio was huge in the 1990s. I wonder what happend?

Look, you're a great musician and I like your videos but I really find the idea that the nineties were better than the sixties just... crazy onestly. Even for those with conservative taste that don't appreciate Ornette and Ayler and Sun Ra and Sanders, there were still progressive musicians like Andrew Hill, Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Max Roach, Booker Little, Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Denny Zeitlin, Bill Evans, Tony Williams Bobby Hutcherson and so on... and the old guard was still making amazing music (Ellington and Strayhorn, Horace Silver, Sonny Rollins, Monk, Art Blakey, Mary Lou Williams, Cannonball, Stan Getz etc). Even the lesser known guys like Hasaan Ibn Ali or Kenny Cox were amazing

This video is awesome Peter! Thank you or posting it and breaking down some key components. Yes, you were so blessed to be a part of this group on that unforgettable day. Watching your face melt while listening to your analysis was an extra treat in itself. I'm sure I'll be watching this video over and over.

There's no old music. This Jazz is Awesome. I really love it. Thanks so much. Very refreshing.

Peter, this is a great example of why you are correct about the 90s being the greatest decade in jazz! You and these cats are using all of the resources available to keep essentially a one chord blues from getting even slightly boring! Multigenerational players, amazing swing! It's got it all! Rodney's at Michigan State and launched the career of young drummer named Michael Reed whom I'm proud to have taught in high school!

I was born in the 90’s and fell in love with jazz in 94 when I first heard cyrus chestnut’s revelation album. The pocket is so deep in the 90’s

5:57 - Rodney (in video): Looks over and shakes his head. Peter (commenting): “Rodney looking at all those horn players lined up. He knows he’s going to be playing for a while.”😳 Has Rodney seen this video? I’ll send it over just in case, I think he’s enjoy your commentary of this excerpt.

goddamn imagine seeing the Flecktones followed by Skatalites. it was a better time!!!

your passion for jazz is highly contagious! 🎶

I agree with your general point that current jazz does not need to be totally different to be original or "true art". It's always great when an entirely new "thing or sound" happens in jazz, but those are rare and seem to be accomplished by only a handful of artists per generation. Many new things/sounds disappear a generation later. Anyhow, it'd be interesting for you to contrast this recording to a blues recording from the 40s, 50s, 60s, etc. What is unique? What is the same?

In my personal opinion, the 1980s were the best ever jazz decade, thanks to Chet Baker and the superb musicians he played with, like Philip Catherine to name just one.

# MeToo! Jokes aside, Despite the fact that we now arguably live in the golden age of prodigious young instrumentalists, the 1990s has arguably some of the greatest modern Jazz records of all time, some of them by veterans too, here some of my picks, no order: 1995's 'Infinity' by the McCoy Tyner Trio featuring Michael Brecker, Brecker's own 1996 'Tales From the Hudson', Kenny Garrett's 1997 release 'Songbook', John Scofield and Pat Metherny' s 1994 collaboration 'I Can See Your House From Here', Gary Thomas criminally underrated 1993 masterpiece ' 'Till We Have Faces', Joe Henderson's exquisite 1993 Miles Davis Tribute record, 'So Near, So Far'...plus all there reasons you guys listed, the old masters were mostly still alive, the young lions were following suit and the younger kids on the block like Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman and Brian Blade were already making an impression.

Excellent! I miss it too!. I also miss Jazz on the radio. Now i get it on Sirris /XM but there was more exposure in the 90s.

I used to have this mindset that jazz was something of the past, and itll never be how it was when the greats were around. I'm glad to say that two incredible experiences have taught me that the opposite is true; Jazz has never been more alive and well than today. the first experience was visiting Tokyo. Seeing people come from all over the world to play in a tiny little jazz club in shinjuku really showed me that the spirit of jazz extends globally. People who cant even communicate with words are playing music with eachother and laughing as they play off of eachother. the second experience was watching the incredible musicians playing over at Emmet Cohen's place, it showed me that the quality of the music hasn't diminished but is instead reaching incredible heights i didnt know was possible. Who knows what the future holds.

What is your name on piano ?

great video, love how you comment on this tune, and guess what: I was there in 1994 :) together with my dad! Unfortunately not at this concert... wish I were! not sure if the 90s is the best decade, but after your video im almost convinced :)

This is an excellent video. I love how you point out all the juicy little nuggets in their playing.

Sure miss Roy!

Roy was at his peak when he formed his famous Crisol. You can't beat Horacio at the drums.

Found this in my home page, awesome video! The insight is insane, I wish we had more jazz players giving deep details to their live performances like this, especially from rhythym section players who get to feel it all!

When Johnny gets cookin, he channels Coltrane!

This is an unsual way to talk about jazz analyzing a performance, I like it. What a great performance. The 90"s was definitely a great decade for jazz. Roy Hagrove was one of the finest trumpet players ever and a wonderful composer.

Check out St. Thomas with Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau!

Great example of how the stank face is actually a compliment in the musical word...

Man, there is a 90's live recording on YT of Herbie Hancock with Path Methany in a quartet playing Cantaloupe Woman, and it is killer, killer 90's funky jazz goodness. Everybody looked 90's , and Pat has this crazy custom guitar with something long and rectangular embedded in the lower front bout, I swear to god it looks like a small tray with filled with lottery tickets.

Someone commented 1955-1965…I’d expand that to two decades , 1945-65 … Roy’s playing great but here he sounds like an amalgam of Blue Mitchell, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard.. It’s not a question of “decade” but the greatest time in jazz was when this language was being INVENTED and this is NOT this time! Horace Silver helped usher in this “Church Jazz” feeling …Oscar Peterson also of course. .. Johnny Griffin was a jazz giant but he blended blues and a lot of Charlie Parker ideas.What I’m hearing now is stuff that is VERY derivative, not original and played VERY well with tons of feeling …… That’s it.

Amazing! Swinging" Bluesing! Grooving! Teamwork! thank you so much! I'm becoming kind of obsessed by the tune briefly quoted by Ron Blake at 15:57 I only know that I know it from many years ago, but can't recall more, only that is a kind of catchy vamp over chords similar to some of the bridge, I VIIb VIb VIIb. I've searched my old cd's, no luck. I thougth it could be a Chick' or a Herbie' one, but not sure at all, no clue. Blakey?... I have the melody mind worm everyday, anyone please? 🙏😅

Please do more of these!!!❤️💯❤️💯

Best content on yt

Back when NJF was still about Jazz and in The Hague. I was too young for the first one, but haven't missed one since the second. Best concerts of my life. For me it was that time when Steps Ahead was still Steps.

The Young Lions were great, mainly because Jazz was going through a dry period with many cats playing Urban Contemporary or Disco. But it is crazy to think that the 90's we're better than 50's or 60's and we're just talking Blue Note. But do love these youngsters. I worked at The New Orleans Jazz Restaurant in Seattle and we had many of the Young Lions at our club. Thanks for the video.

Isn't this a case of "I miss the good ol times"? It's a very common phenomenon where people just seem to see the past better than it actually was

This version of Greens is absolutely crazy !!!

The 1920s are just smokin'

All I could say was huh, huh, mhm, mhmm, WOW... every three seconds. That was killing

This is amazing to watch and I have to admit that I teared up while watching this video even though you made me laugh sometimes with your commentary! When I saw that best decade question, I just knew you were going to end up saying it was the 50s (which was my choice) since you started the question with the 40s and then skipped over it to the 60s and beyond so I was surprised to hear the 90s...until I viewed that footage. I can see why you chose it. If I had a time machine, I'd still choose the 1950s but you presented a strong case. I had no idea the 90s were like that with jazz because I was in a different music solar system during that decade and missed out on what was going on with it. And besides being entertaining, your commentary is insightful, especially for musicians. Btw, I know it probably goes without saying but you're an amazing talent yourself. And you should win an award for what you are doing for jazz with Open Studio!

What a great video to start the day out right! Heading into the shed after this encouragement. Thanks Peter, for YOUR comraderie!

Thank you so much for making this video ❤️

The best decade of jazz is now.

That was great to hear a wonderful piece of music with all of commentaries with a look from inside! Please, keep it up! I would love to watch and hear more of that!

That was a ton of fun! Thanks for sharing!

60's without a doubt

I was 90s jazz student. It was, IMO, a significant era. I love the players you mentioned, but I was also an ECM geek. Frisell, Scofield, Marc Johnson, Metheny... I feel like the 90s opened up improvisation in a more universal way. Ex: Frisell Trio. Edit: Man, that's great jacket. Don't sweat it.

I didn’t know how you could make a video that’s simultaneously so wrong (90s?!) and so much fun to watch. Thank you.

This is such a killing video. Really great to see one of the actual players react, years-later, to this amazing performance.

Dude, "The Tao Of Mad Phat" by Steve Coleman is DEFO one of THE albums from the 90s to checkout.

I just don't like the glossy varnish on most the 90s jazz that I've heard (in terms of studio recordings). I also associate it with a certain style of doubling that, for whatever reason, my ears don't love...but there are no doubt some absolutely amazing musicians from the 90s and later.

This was one of my fav episodes! Thank you for sharing!

Great stuff Peter, MERCI !!! And I liked your "stank" face here and there, for a best purpose, the 90's, HELL YEAH !!! No stoopid internet, people really connecting with humanity, making calls or writing letters (I still send letter, I'm a real hero for that among my friends receiving my post card), and still a lot of money in the music industry in any genre. My favorite cats were aka "Doctone", the late GREAT Kenny Kirkland, anything with "Tain", da REAL Kenny G., "Steep" and "Skain", Terrence Blanchard, the Spike Lee's movies, you know what I mean... PS : the hang at North Sea Jazz Festival was one of the best in the world, every musicians in the same bloody hotel, jam sessions and shit, I mean come on, this is the way festivals should be, put the cats together, always !!!

"that's pretty high for the tenor saxophone isn't it"

Love the music and your enthusiasm!

1959

Yes Sir!!!!! Thanks Peter! I’m two weeks late, but this made my morning! Whew! That had some STANK on it!!

That entire project is so underrated. Go purchase "With the Tenors of Our Time!" You will thank yourselves!!!!!

In my opinion the greatest Jazz decade is the sixties because it was like jazz experimenting meets 60s culture. It really got kicked off in the late 50s so it's really from 1957-1969. I understand it wasn't the most popular time for jazz because of what rock music was doing in the 60s but it was the most creative and almost mistic time in Jazz history imo.

I'd been a Jazz fan since I was a kid but I didn't get into Jazz hardcore till I was old enough to watch live Jazz in venues. First concert I went to was Roy Hargrove's group when they played the Bermuda Onion club in Toronto. It was a magical night, excellent music and an enthralled crowd. The 90's was the last decade where one could still see many of the giants of Jazz which I was fortunate to do.

Nice! I think Josh wore that same vest in Philly when I saw him at the Mellon Jazz Fest which was dedicated to McBride who was around 20 at the time. All of NYC seemed to be on stage that day and Chris' dad, the great bassist Lee Smith, introduced me to my hero Ray Brown too.

I miss 90's everything.

Saw Johnny play at Graham Chapel at Washington University, 1979. Talk about time! Thanks for sharing this!

I was a teen in these times.....I loved this jazz era......I think the current era has potential.....all the recordings of talent on Bandcamp and labels like Whirlwind plus more clubs live casting give me much for the new young lions; such as Samara Joy, Sarah Hanahan, Matt Slocum, and Nicole Glover to name a few.

RIP Roy. So good.

Thanks, Pete, that was great!

Nice video. I disagree, and you'll get a lot of that. For me, it was the 20s. I saw an article in The Instrumentalist after Miles Davis died. The author said Jazz was born when Louis recorded with his Hot Five and ended when Miles died in 1991. The experienced are entitled to have their opinions!

Love you guys' content! Wow, man! Did you play with him at the Glasgow Jazz Festival in Glasgow, Scotland?

Wow, love this kind of videos, throwback to those special people in those good times. Thanks for this one!

This video was awesome and as a GenX whose the same age, and grew up listening to Roy, Christian, and other great jazz lions of the 90s, this is Priceless! ❤❤❤

Nice,Peter!!!! Thanks a lot!!!!

👏👏👏👍

hahahaha

This was a great episode!

Great playing !!

I came across this performance a couple months ago and have checked it out a couple times since. Everyone is killin it! Love Peter's solo. Thanks for the play by play, good stuff!

~ ~

RIP roy

This video brought me incredible joy. Thank you! 😁🫶

yes, Yes, YES!

Awesome.

Haven't watched yet, but I feel its the 60s

I was at that gig.

Thanks!

It just occurred to me that we're living in the 20's.

Great story, great video. My take is thus: the 1920's is the best period for overall timeless songs, harmony, and phrasing that still form the foundation of Jazz. Something like half of all standards are from 1920-1930. Gotta throw in 1930 so you can get I Get Rhythm and Body and Soul in there:) I mean, how do you beat a decade where a stride piano song, The Charleston, is the biggest hit in the country: and then Louis Armstrong changes everything, and a Duke becomes the king?

i love the 90s jazz something like futur meet past so much real good music for real