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Is there any subtle difference between a jazz artist and a jazz musician?
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05-30-2026 06:43 AM
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... YES! ... but I can't define it
Originally Posted by kris
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I see Jazz as an Artform, same as painting, sculpture, dance, novelists etc.
So, the terms Jazz artist or Jazz musician is someone who performs the art of playing Jazz.
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Whether or not they get Arts Council funding
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ok...
Is every jazz musician a jazz artist?
Can a young beging jazz musician, for example, be called a jazz artist?
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Whether or not they get unemployment Originally Posted by Christian Miller
(US version)
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Whether or not they are prepared to play Funky Summertime
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i think we are done here Originally Posted by Christian Miller
/thread
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Whethere or not they prepared to Play That Funky Music for a wedding gig... if they lucky Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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It was a commercial break, now back to the programm. Originally Posted by djg
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A jazz artist owns a beret and isn't any good on their instrument.
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Maybe there are great jazz artists and smaller jazz artists...?
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If music is an art, then jazz musicians are both artists and musicians.
Jazz musicians can be performing artists, recording artists or both. Or neither.
My answer to the question posed by this thread is yes.
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My English is pretty acute and I'd say yes, there was a difference between artist and musician. The word artist not only means someone who paints or draws, it can be applied to someone with a developed performance skill in almost any field.
If a bricklayer, for example, consistently laid his bricks to perfection people might say he was a 'real artist', and that would be valid. Or a surgeon who performed his surgery so perfectly and delicately. Or an orator who spoke so engagingly that audiences were entranced by their words, and so on.
But the word's usage in that sense isn't an actual description of a person, it's used figuratively in a metaphorical sense and refers far more to the action involved than the person even though the word artist means a person. Nor would it be used all the time to refer to them or their works, it would be used, if anything, colloquially and probably in passing.
You may be saying that all this precisely describes the way certain musicians play, particularly if you admire them. But I doubt if you would describe, say, John Scofield as an artist as a matter of course. But you can say he is a recording artist, of course. You may, after listening to a particularly impressive rendition of his, say 'What lovely playing, the man's an artist', and that would be valid.
So the word can be used for anyone who performs in the arts from jugglers to sculptors. But there the word is being used in a more formal way, commonly found in show business, for example.
Put it this way, all performing professional jazz players are musicians but not all are artists. But all people who paint pictures or produce other artworks can be called artists because that's what they are, although it doesn't mean they're any good!
Sorry, it's a complicated word with a variety of nuanced meanings. I'd say there has to be a certain quality of beauty involved before the word can used in any way other than literally.
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For me there's no easy answer. How would you answer your question, Kris? What, in your opinion, distinguishes a jazz "artist" from an "ordinary" jazz musician?
Perhaps superior creativity? An ability to fully express him/her self through their playing? The ability to play what they hear rather than what their fingers would automatically play? The ability to "tell a story" when soloing? The ability to make the listener a "transformed person" after their performance? Someone who leaves an important legacy? Perhaps none of the above and something else completely?
I'm afraid if we stard discussing who really is an artist vs who is really not, this thread might grow several hundreds of pages
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Somewhere I heard the sentence;' play in artistic way...'.
This verbal hint was a remark for the jazz musician who was practicing the scales on the guitar.
so....I made it very complicated.
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OK. I'll bite. Is Kenny G an artist? Originally Posted by frabarmus
I'm afraid if we stard discussing who really is an artist vs who is really not, this thread might grow several hundreds of pages
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Kris, use "jazz artist" for top players, and "jazz musician" for less famous ones (even good pros).
Refer to yourself as a "jazz musician" to avoid sounding pretentious.
So, jazz musician more commonly. Jazz artist for Miles, Monk etc
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Or maybe just a jazz artist is the person who enchants the audience through his playing. Originally Posted by frabarmus
For me there's no easy answer. How would you answer your question, Kris? What, in your opinion, distinguishes a jazz "artist" from an "ordinary" jazz musician?
Perhaps superior creativity? An ability to fully express him/her self through their playing? The ability to play what they hear rather than what their fingers would automatically play? The ability to "tell a story" when soloing? The ability to make the listener a "transformed person" after their performance? Someone who leaves an important legacy? Perhaps none of the above and something else completely?
I'm afraid if we stard discussing who really is an artist vs who is really not, this thread might grow several hundreds of pages
Someone who will leave unforgettable impressions after his concert.
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Hmm, I'm not sure... Oh! Did I hear Pat Metheny say Kenny G is a great artist?!? Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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It's interesting.. in so far as how I use the word, not the deeper meaning; Originally Posted by Stringswinger
I would probably refer to Kenny G as a artist or music artist and leave out the "jazz"
Lots of players I would call a "jazz musician" that I have waayyyy more respect for.
So I think I use artist as someone with a Name.
I KNOW IT IS NOT TECHNICALLY CORRECT.
It just may be insight into common parlance
ex "who are your favorite artists"
"who are you favorite musicians to play with"
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Yes.. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
why not?...
He charms his fans with his playing.
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Kenny G(arrett) is an artist, for sure
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Once on TV I heard: 'young jazz artists'.
There wasn't too much jazz there....
Then the old jazz man appeared and then there was jazz at 100%.
He was a true jazz artist.
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Charismatic jazz artist. Originally Posted by frabarmus
Kenny G(arrett) is an artist, for sure
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