Afraid I can't give you any answers, but I think there are some extra
*questions* you might need to be asking. Basically, like all categories,
acid jazz doesn't have fixed boundaries, instead, as you are finding, the
boundaries are very fuzzy. So why do categories appear in the first place
if this is the case? One important reason might have something to do with
the *market* in music ... to sell music, it is easier if it can be
labelled so that people can work out what kinda stuff they like, and buy
it. And in the search for new markets, new categories (like acid jazz) are
very useful. This aint all bad ... categories like acid jazz can still be
useful for other reasons, say for people like the people on this list,
because they can help in organising some meaningful discussion. Even if an
exact definition of acid jazz is hard to pin down for any of us, and we all
might disagree, there is *something* about that category that means the
music discussed here is not so diverse as to make it the "any kind of music
list" instead of the "acid jazz list".
You might also want to check the archives of this list ... the debates over
the last couple of years on this subject (which keep happening!!) might be
interesting, and it would also be interesting to see how they've changed!
Good luck with the project, would love you to maybe tell the list when
you're done so we can see what you come up with!
Peace,
Kboy
>I know that defining acid jazz is of secondary interest to many people, but
>I am doing a project on acid jazz for a jazz course in graduate school here
>at Yale, and I am trying to get a better idea of how I should explain acid
>jazz during my presentation. I can't say "jazz that's danceable" or "dance
>music with jazz influence" or "jazz-rap" I don't think, although all of
>these things could be acid jazz. Does AJ's birth as jazz sampling combined
>with dance beats and/or rapping have anything to do with what AJ is today?
> I'm interested in getting people's opinions on why the following are or
>are not AJ: Elements of Life, KG and Halloran, Jamiroquai, Us3, Buckshot
>LeFonque, Simon Bartholomew, James Taylor Qt., Quiet Boys, Emperor's New
>Clothes.... I'm particularly interested in why James Taylor Quartet is AJ
>and not just 70's big band.
> Maybe a better route would be to ask: what danceable jazz is NOT
>acid jazz?