Last night I attended Made in Chicago, a concert in Bailey Hall featuring prominent performers in the jazz world. Much to everyone’s surprise, the music was what would be considered “avant-garde jazz” instead of the mainstream variety. At least in my opinion, this was a great disappointment. It’s typically good to try new things, but in this case, the experience was less than enjoyable. Avant-garde jazz consists of long stretches of monotonous sounds punctured by frenzied noise in a blur of overpowering instrumentals. It also uses an experimental approach in creatively applying traditional instruments to make sounds that sound not-so-melodic. There were only brief moments when the band, comprised of a pianist, drummer, cellist, saxophonist, flute player, and others, resembled the upbeat tunes of a band that one could envision Swing dancing to. Perhaps avant-garde jazz, with its strange combination of tediousness and chaos, is an acquired taste, but it seems highly unlikely that I’ll ever catch on.

Here’s a sample:

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