Tuesdays with Media: The American't

Because any musical genre has certain qualities that make it that genre, you can't go too far outside the establishment before you become a new genre.  This has the unfortunate effect of making a lot of songs sound the same, at least within a particular genre.  That's why when a song clearly adheres to the parameters of a genre and yet sounds like nothing you've heard before, you take notice.  That's how I experienced the first song I ever heard by Christian Scott, "The American't."

Like Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island" or Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," "The American't" grabs your attention with an amazing rhythm section that doesn't vary much throughout -- not that you'd want it to.  I must admit, I only kind of hear Scott playing his trumpet in this song: the guitar, piano, bass, and drums are so captivating, they're almost hypnotic.

Scott has some other great songs with surprising names, like "Jihad Joe," which has more amazing rhythm guitar, and "The Eraser," which is a more traditional jazz song.  While I haven't explored all of Scott's discography, I have yet to be disappointed by what I've heard from him.  If you're in the mood for some jazz that's different from the rest of the genre, check out Christian Scott.

(Weird thing: Scott is exactly one day younger than me.  It has no bearing on my opinion of him, but it does stand out.)

"The American't" is off of Christian Scott's album, Yesterday You Said Tomorrow, which is distributed by Concord Music Group.