American jazz music is, in many ways, rooted in its “traditional” repertoire – the American “Songbook” of “standards”. There are, however musicians who emphasise the importance of a fresh approach:<\/p>\n
\nIf jazz has a future, musicians like Matt Mayhall could help it get there. A lanky, bespectacled Reno native and graduate of Cal Arts, where he studied with free-jazz pioneer Charlie Haden, Mayhall leads a jazz trio from behind the drum kit. He also plays in a number of rock bands, including the slowcore group Spain, helmed by Haden\u2019s son Josh. He\u2019d like to see the music survive, but he\u2019s worried, too, that it\u2019s stuck in its past.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the most important thing we can do is write our own music,\u201d says Mayhall. His generation \u2014 he\u2019s 34 \u2014 is not interested in standards. When his trio plays, they only perform music they\u2019ve written themselves. \u201cIt\u2019s never \u2018By Bye Blackbird,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s not that I hate that music \u2014 I love that stuff. I just don\u2019t think the world needs any more recordings or performances of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Musicians need to make a statement, he says. \u201cIt\u2019s like, \u2018Who are we and what do we have to say?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n