Reading the comments of mainstream music press once again I notice that we live in a world of tamed shrews. Andre 3000 cannot play piano to save his live. This uncoordinated dribble! Thank you for your great articles backed with a world of knowledge.
I agree with Ethan as far as this new André 3000 "album" being indulgent and careless. Hitting record while haphazardly mimicking Monk, Brubeck, and Guaraldi is disrespectful to them and to jazz as a whole, not to mention to André's own audience.
I disagree with the offhanded dismissal of André's bass flute album as "appropriate for getting high or doing yoga." It makes me wonder whether Ethan would disparage -- or just not be open enough to get -- the music of figures like Jon Hassell, Arve Henriksen, Nicolás Jaar, most of the ECM catalog, or any of the wealth of releases that fall under the "spiritual"/ambient-jazz umbrella. (I'd have to look up his old posts to see how much he gives that type of music a fair shake. If he does, I stand corrected.)
Here, Ethan's assessment really underscores his blind spot, which is the focus on the procedural rigor of jazz composition over the emotion people can convey with sound -- precisely what made him such a poor fit to be out there trotting out FM radio rock hits with The Bad Plus.
If we were to apply Ethan's harsh critical tone toward The Bad Plus, we could say their appropriation of rock was just as ham-fisted as André's intrusion into piano jazz. Sure, they actually made an effort to learn the songs, re-arrange them, and perform them with care in the studio -- unlike André, who basically farted piano notes into his iPhone on a lazy afternoon -- but no amount of lipstick can conceal the fact that The Bad Plus squeezed every last drop out of a contrived angle for years on end.
Let's not forget that they were savaged by the jazz media establishment when These Are The Vistas began to generate hype in '03. As I remember it (and correct me if I'm wrong), all that noise and furor that spilling over into the mainstream, when it caught the attention of the rock-crit cognoscenti, is what helped fuel the band's rise to fame. If we want to knock André for his attention-seeking Met Gala antics -- and we should -- then that sword cuts both ways: The Bad Plus benefitted mightily from the very ignorance of jazz that Ethan has spent his career decrying.
I should note that I interviewed Ethan around that time and found him delightful, sharp, and thought-provoking. I also saw The Bad Plus last year and was enthralled by the show -- not because Ethan wasn't there, but because they finally dropped the faux "populism" schtick and just played their own music in a format that comes naturally to them. (And, much to my delight, Dave King didn't just bash the shit out of his drums.)
My point is that this criticism from Ethan, though spot-on in so many ways, is a little rich considering that his main claim to fame is that he was able to carpet-bag rock tunes that real fans of rock music were sick of hearing. And that The Bad Plus were just as much of a self-conscious meta-exercise as what André is doing now, even if they, technically speaking, could actually play the music they were attempting.
I'm all for challenging our relationships with the so-called attention economy, but a little self-awareness goes a long way.
Elsewhere in this comment thread, Tom Hudak laments the "tragedy" of newspaper journalists being laid off, resulting in a dearth of cultural reporting. The implication, of course, is that society suffers when music critics aren't there to serve as gatekeepers -- a galactic-scale delusion if I've ever seen one. I will always marvel at critics' myopic ability to insert themselves in the creative process as somehow being vital to it.
There's a chasm of difference between curation (necessary, beneficial, wonderful) and a self-appointed class of high clerics acting as music-seminar teachers with red pens in their hands (low-vibrational, absurdly unnecessary, parasitic). I say this as someone who's been a music journalist for over 20 years, and as someone who's been friends since high school with the late Ira Gitler's son.
The post-Lester Bangs boom that provided rich soil for non-creatives to sustain themselves off the fat of creative people's accomplishments is over*. Stop crying, adapt, and find something else to do. (*Well, not exactly: there's plenty of space for you on Substack and YouTube. Knock yourselves out.)
Lastly, the parallels between Trump's celebrity-fueled administration and André dropping a barely half-assed piano recording is completely gratuitous. I hear your bigger point about the state of culture and society that people can simply bluster their way through anything as long as they're generating attention, but it's unfair to point your crosshairs at André on that basis. Moreover, it lacks context.
If you read André's statement about the 7 Piano Sketches release (linked below), it's clear that he's struggling with a kind of debilitating ambivalence towards rapping, which is where his musical gifts are most abundant. For him, the recording is simply a snapshot of a moment where he felt free of the weight of expectations. I would have advised him against releasing the fuckin' thing, and I find the piano-on-my-back posturing rather hollow, but there's more going on here than someone just arrogantly manhandling a musical tradition they don't have the proper respect for.
If André had actually made it a point to do, say, 2-3 days' worth of focused piano improvisations and put care into editing them and adding post-production touches with the aid of a real producer, then released these sketches as a kind of after-dinner mint as a postcard from his personal life to his fans, then we'd see this new release in a whole new light -- that is, if we stopped to pay attention, which is what André himself didn't do this time.
If Ethan wants to decry how hype blinds us to gimmicks, that's good and fine but the same metric of hype-to-substance must apply to The Bad Plus too.
And I'm sure there will be Grammy buzz too. I remember when Beyonce came out with Cowboy Carter snd it was called genre busting and a revelation. I was thinking...."didn't anyone ever hear Ray Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music"?????
Actor/comedian H. Jon Benjamin has put out a couple of albums as his Jazz Daredevil character the I enjoy. Benjamin is even less skilled on the piano than Andre 3000, but he's in on the joke, which makes a huge difference.
Bobby, We really disagree on this. January 6 was an assault on the principles and fundamentals of our community. Unarmed? The weapons were primitive, but they were weapons. Trump lost the election, couldn’t take his lesson, and incited a riot with intended violence against our elected representatives. It was and is abhorrent to me. Trump is a disgrace, an embarrassment, increasingly so. I believe he is also a criminal because of January 6, the grifting, and the things he is already convicted of.
This time he won the election. There was no riot, the transition was orderly, and the only person who couldn’t handle that with class is, of course, Trump. You can be an apologist for him, as that is your right and privilege, but I will be dealing with my anger and dismay until he is gone.
Let’s move on and listen to some good jazz. Perhaps Kurt Weill’s “Moritat”” played by Sonny Rollins or sung by Ella Fitzgerald, both great Americans.
You are a far braver person than am. I don’t think I could have gotten through minute 2, and then, beyond that joyride, taken the time to write about it!
I agree with some of the sentiment, but I think theres something missing here. First, its important to note Andre 3000's incredible stature as an artist. He's not just any famous person, he's universally considered to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. He's just as great an artist as all the other bronze idols we worship – Thelonious, Coltrane, Miles, etc – but of course, this skill does not automatically translate to instrumental performance. New Blue Sun was mediocre and this is just bad. That being said, I think it's a little disingenuous to pick out the positive critic responses without discussing the overall negative response from his fans (like myself). If you asked a typical rap fan what they thought of this, or new blue sun, they would be just as negative as you were.
But something that's important to remember is that this is a response to the pressure musicians have to release exactly what the music industry wants from them, especially with black artists. Just like basketball players are told to "shut up and dribble," Andre has been told for years to "shut up and rap." His record contract actually requires that he make a new rap album at some point. Of course, the music he would make if he were to rap again would genuinely be much better, but this is besides the point. America always wants to tell black musicians what they can and can't do. This is why I think it's important to defend Miles' late work, even if a lot of it is, well, bad. It was his right to make cheesy pop fusion, and even if we don't like it, the music should be defended.
The record might be a cash grab in part, but no one will remember it a few months from now. On the other hand, if he were to make a rap album again (either solo or a new kast album), it would make far more money and generate far more buzz. But if his heart wasn't in it, THAT would be the real cash grab. It could be the best album of the year, but it still would be wrong. You definitely wouldn't be lambasting it, and you might even be praising it, despite the more harmful message it would support (that the artist is beholden to the desires of corporations or the public).
All in all, I just think he deserves some grace for this stupid record. Non-coverage is more constructive than negative coverage in this situation.
There is no greater legacy in all of human history than black musicians playing the piano. If race is part of this conversation, this comment must be part of it.
I applaud you Mr. Iverson for having the guts to write this. You had me laughing immediately. About an hour after I read your, I received an email from Pitchfork and they had a review of the release. They rated it 7 out of 10. My co-worker turned on the "bluffing in the snow" song and we were dumbfounded. I'm a big jazz fan and he's not, but he knew right away something was amiss. This release doesn't even sound like something an artist would add to the end of a Deluxe Anniversary Edition. It appears very far from being a finished release, not even a demo. To me, this is a brainstorming session, perhaps thought of while getting high or during yoga. Pitchfork said, " But there’s an intimate thrill in eavesdropping on that real-time creative decision." I'd suggest we allow him his privacy. Keep up your great work!
The talent in your head can't take all the credit. You have to show your work. None of this, if you think it's bad, you just don't get it nonsense. If this is experimental music, fine, then you are saying to your fans, I'm not making this for 99% of you, and that's your right. But if this an attempt at satire about the zeitgeist or some such, as I'm reading in many comments, you still have to make an effort. I'm not saying you have to make Team America, but you can't wipe your ass and call it art.
What a way to piss off pianists! My god, he's horrible! He's worse than I am and I've been playing piano for a couple of years only.
Reading the comments of mainstream music press once again I notice that we live in a world of tamed shrews. Andre 3000 cannot play piano to save his live. This uncoordinated dribble! Thank you for your great articles backed with a world of knowledge.
Well, he's still a G.
I agree with Ethan as far as this new André 3000 "album" being indulgent and careless. Hitting record while haphazardly mimicking Monk, Brubeck, and Guaraldi is disrespectful to them and to jazz as a whole, not to mention to André's own audience.
I disagree with the offhanded dismissal of André's bass flute album as "appropriate for getting high or doing yoga." It makes me wonder whether Ethan would disparage -- or just not be open enough to get -- the music of figures like Jon Hassell, Arve Henriksen, Nicolás Jaar, most of the ECM catalog, or any of the wealth of releases that fall under the "spiritual"/ambient-jazz umbrella. (I'd have to look up his old posts to see how much he gives that type of music a fair shake. If he does, I stand corrected.)
Here, Ethan's assessment really underscores his blind spot, which is the focus on the procedural rigor of jazz composition over the emotion people can convey with sound -- precisely what made him such a poor fit to be out there trotting out FM radio rock hits with The Bad Plus.
If we were to apply Ethan's harsh critical tone toward The Bad Plus, we could say their appropriation of rock was just as ham-fisted as André's intrusion into piano jazz. Sure, they actually made an effort to learn the songs, re-arrange them, and perform them with care in the studio -- unlike André, who basically farted piano notes into his iPhone on a lazy afternoon -- but no amount of lipstick can conceal the fact that The Bad Plus squeezed every last drop out of a contrived angle for years on end.
Let's not forget that they were savaged by the jazz media establishment when These Are The Vistas began to generate hype in '03. As I remember it (and correct me if I'm wrong), all that noise and furor that spilling over into the mainstream, when it caught the attention of the rock-crit cognoscenti, is what helped fuel the band's rise to fame. If we want to knock André for his attention-seeking Met Gala antics -- and we should -- then that sword cuts both ways: The Bad Plus benefitted mightily from the very ignorance of jazz that Ethan has spent his career decrying.
I should note that I interviewed Ethan around that time and found him delightful, sharp, and thought-provoking. I also saw The Bad Plus last year and was enthralled by the show -- not because Ethan wasn't there, but because they finally dropped the faux "populism" schtick and just played their own music in a format that comes naturally to them. (And, much to my delight, Dave King didn't just bash the shit out of his drums.)
My point is that this criticism from Ethan, though spot-on in so many ways, is a little rich considering that his main claim to fame is that he was able to carpet-bag rock tunes that real fans of rock music were sick of hearing. And that The Bad Plus were just as much of a self-conscious meta-exercise as what André is doing now, even if they, technically speaking, could actually play the music they were attempting.
I'm all for challenging our relationships with the so-called attention economy, but a little self-awareness goes a long way.
Elsewhere in this comment thread, Tom Hudak laments the "tragedy" of newspaper journalists being laid off, resulting in a dearth of cultural reporting. The implication, of course, is that society suffers when music critics aren't there to serve as gatekeepers -- a galactic-scale delusion if I've ever seen one. I will always marvel at critics' myopic ability to insert themselves in the creative process as somehow being vital to it.
There's a chasm of difference between curation (necessary, beneficial, wonderful) and a self-appointed class of high clerics acting as music-seminar teachers with red pens in their hands (low-vibrational, absurdly unnecessary, parasitic). I say this as someone who's been a music journalist for over 20 years, and as someone who's been friends since high school with the late Ira Gitler's son.
The post-Lester Bangs boom that provided rich soil for non-creatives to sustain themselves off the fat of creative people's accomplishments is over*. Stop crying, adapt, and find something else to do. (*Well, not exactly: there's plenty of space for you on Substack and YouTube. Knock yourselves out.)
Lastly, the parallels between Trump's celebrity-fueled administration and André dropping a barely half-assed piano recording is completely gratuitous. I hear your bigger point about the state of culture and society that people can simply bluster their way through anything as long as they're generating attention, but it's unfair to point your crosshairs at André on that basis. Moreover, it lacks context.
If you read André's statement about the 7 Piano Sketches release (linked below), it's clear that he's struggling with a kind of debilitating ambivalence towards rapping, which is where his musical gifts are most abundant. For him, the recording is simply a snapshot of a moment where he felt free of the weight of expectations. I would have advised him against releasing the fuckin' thing, and I find the piano-on-my-back posturing rather hollow, but there's more going on here than someone just arrogantly manhandling a musical tradition they don't have the proper respect for.
If André had actually made it a point to do, say, 2-3 days' worth of focused piano improvisations and put care into editing them and adding post-production touches with the aid of a real producer, then released these sketches as a kind of after-dinner mint as a postcard from his personal life to his fans, then we'd see this new release in a whole new light -- that is, if we stopped to pay attention, which is what André himself didn't do this time.
If Ethan wants to decry how hype blinds us to gimmicks, that's good and fine but the same metric of hype-to-substance must apply to The Bad Plus too.
André's statement here:
https://shop.andre3000.com/products/7-piano-sketches-digital-album
From my fiancé (classical violinist with a DMA in experimental violin performance):
“Have you ever been to a student recital? ‘I’m 20 and I wrote a piece for piano (which I don’t play) and I’m going to play it myself.’”
Also from her: “Oh, if only Lester Bangs were still alive…”
And I'm sure there will be Grammy buzz too. I remember when Beyonce came out with Cowboy Carter snd it was called genre busting and a revelation. I was thinking...."didn't anyone ever hear Ray Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music"?????
Further evidence that music critics (not you Ethan) know absolutely nothing about music.
Actor/comedian H. Jon Benjamin has put out a couple of albums as his Jazz Daredevil character the I enjoy. Benjamin is even less skilled on the piano than Andre 3000, but he's in on the joke, which makes a huge difference.
Bobby, We really disagree on this. January 6 was an assault on the principles and fundamentals of our community. Unarmed? The weapons were primitive, but they were weapons. Trump lost the election, couldn’t take his lesson, and incited a riot with intended violence against our elected representatives. It was and is abhorrent to me. Trump is a disgrace, an embarrassment, increasingly so. I believe he is also a criminal because of January 6, the grifting, and the things he is already convicted of.
This time he won the election. There was no riot, the transition was orderly, and the only person who couldn’t handle that with class is, of course, Trump. You can be an apologist for him, as that is your right and privilege, but I will be dealing with my anger and dismay until he is gone.
Let’s move on and listen to some good jazz. Perhaps Kurt Weill’s “Moritat”” played by Sonny Rollins or sung by Ella Fitzgerald, both great Americans.
You are a far braver person than am. I don’t think I could have gotten through minute 2, and then, beyond that joyride, taken the time to write about it!
I agree with some of the sentiment, but I think theres something missing here. First, its important to note Andre 3000's incredible stature as an artist. He's not just any famous person, he's universally considered to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. He's just as great an artist as all the other bronze idols we worship – Thelonious, Coltrane, Miles, etc – but of course, this skill does not automatically translate to instrumental performance. New Blue Sun was mediocre and this is just bad. That being said, I think it's a little disingenuous to pick out the positive critic responses without discussing the overall negative response from his fans (like myself). If you asked a typical rap fan what they thought of this, or new blue sun, they would be just as negative as you were.
But something that's important to remember is that this is a response to the pressure musicians have to release exactly what the music industry wants from them, especially with black artists. Just like basketball players are told to "shut up and dribble," Andre has been told for years to "shut up and rap." His record contract actually requires that he make a new rap album at some point. Of course, the music he would make if he were to rap again would genuinely be much better, but this is besides the point. America always wants to tell black musicians what they can and can't do. This is why I think it's important to defend Miles' late work, even if a lot of it is, well, bad. It was his right to make cheesy pop fusion, and even if we don't like it, the music should be defended.
The record might be a cash grab in part, but no one will remember it a few months from now. On the other hand, if he were to make a rap album again (either solo or a new kast album), it would make far more money and generate far more buzz. But if his heart wasn't in it, THAT would be the real cash grab. It could be the best album of the year, but it still would be wrong. You definitely wouldn't be lambasting it, and you might even be praising it, despite the more harmful message it would support (that the artist is beholden to the desires of corporations or the public).
All in all, I just think he deserves some grace for this stupid record. Non-coverage is more constructive than negative coverage in this situation.
There is no greater legacy in all of human history than black musicians playing the piano. If race is part of this conversation, this comment must be part of it.
I applaud you Mr. Iverson for having the guts to write this. You had me laughing immediately. About an hour after I read your, I received an email from Pitchfork and they had a review of the release. They rated it 7 out of 10. My co-worker turned on the "bluffing in the snow" song and we were dumbfounded. I'm a big jazz fan and he's not, but he knew right away something was amiss. This release doesn't even sound like something an artist would add to the end of a Deluxe Anniversary Edition. It appears very far from being a finished release, not even a demo. To me, this is a brainstorming session, perhaps thought of while getting high or during yoga. Pitchfork said, " But there’s an intimate thrill in eavesdropping on that real-time creative decision." I'd suggest we allow him his privacy. Keep up your great work!
The talent in your head can't take all the credit. You have to show your work. None of this, if you think it's bad, you just don't get it nonsense. If this is experimental music, fine, then you are saying to your fans, I'm not making this for 99% of you, and that's your right. But if this an attempt at satire about the zeitgeist or some such, as I'm reading in many comments, you still have to make an effort. I'm not saying you have to make Team America, but you can't wipe your ass and call it art.
We might be witnessing his melodic "Metal Machine Music" period.
This seems like the right time to to link this old key and peele sketch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U9rMkgoGL8
Ah yes it’s exactly like Thelonius Monk,