This film takes a wide-ranging look at the modern jazz scene, interviewing many musicians and providing some very nice concert footage from a variety of venues. Subtitled "jazz in the present tense," it is something of a rebuttal to the lengthy PBS series Jazz
that aired several years ago and was criticized for presenting the music as a static museum piece rather than a vibrant art form. This film really makes clear the diversity of today's music: male and female, black and white, American and European, it is one of the great triumphs of the music that it can cross all of these perceived boundaries and remain such an inspiration to so many musicians. It is interesting to see how the different approaches to the music are presented in the film: Wynton Marsalis defends the well funded and tradition heavy Jazz at Lincoln Center model, juxtaposed against interview segments where pianists Robert Glasper and Matthew Shipp passionately offer a profanity laden "kill-your-idols" approach to music creation. Critic Paul de Barros sides with Marsails, opining that JALC's historical bent offers a cultural context that audiences can relate with, while guitarist Bill Frisell speaks broadly about the freedom and beauty of improvisation that draws on many different sources, while trusting the audience to understand this freedom as a core value of jazz. Saxophonist Donald Harrison speaks at length about education and rigorous training, while John Medeski and Marco Benevento speak passionately about taking the music to the people directly as part of the jam-band scene. What stuck me as most successful about this film is that it didn't take any sides in the debate. Wisely withholding editorial comment, the filmmakers allow the musicians to speak for themselves, presenting their goals and ideas for the music. Sure to spark debate, this is an important and well done film that sheds much needed light on the musicians who are creating in the moment. Icons Among Us - amazon.com
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After working on a surprising hip-hop experiment called 
and a 
by Dan Auerbach, The Black Keys return with their first proper album since 2008's attack and release. Guitarist and vocalist Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney continue their development as a group, working with guests and producers to flesh out their core sound and add different textures to their music. While straight up garage rock still remains their focus of the group's sound, there is a strong tinge of soulful R&B on this record. Mixing in deep soul with world weary R&B helps the band expand their range, and makes for a powerfully expressive record. Appropriately recorded for the most part in the Muscle Shoals, AL studio that gave birth to so many great soul albums in the 1960's, the lead-off track "Everlasting Light" sets the stage nicely with a gently chugging groove and vocals in a light and airy falsetto. The guys still remember how to go down in the alley with stinging guitars and ominous singing underpinning "Next Girl" and "Ten Cent Pistol." The track "Sinister Kid" pulls all of these influences together with lean guitars and a thick beat laying the foundation for deep strong singing. While this album may lack the visceral impact of their stark, hard rocking earlier album, the music has become deeper and more thoughtful, pulling together all of their diverse influences and interests and weaving them into a unique and diverse whole.
The White Stripes have been relatively inactive during the past few years due to the debilitating anxiety problems suffered by drummer Meg White and guitarist and singer Jack White's directing his energy to other bands, notably The 
and 
of the same name, chronicling their tour in 2007 Canadian tour. The duo has always been a powerful life act, and the music on this album bears that out. Jack White's powerful guitar and near hysterical vocals and Meg White's potent yet primitive drums drive the music ever forward, with Jack adding some huge slabs of keyboards and organ to change up the texture on "The Union Forever" and "Ball and Biscuit." But apart from that, they wisely stick to their bread and butter, scalding garage rock honed to a very tight edge. Piledrivers like the singles "Blue Orchid" and "Icky Thump" play off nicely against the potent yearning of the dynamic yearning of "Jolene" and lighter pop fare like "We are Going to Be Friends." It's a very solid live album and both the soundtrack and the DVD provide ample evidence for the bands continued success.
