Both have that cool, mellow vibe and are kinda like an alternative to traditional RnB.

Acid Jazz is sort of traditional, unless you're talking about Fats Domino/Joe Turner era R&B. To me, the Acid Jazz music is kinda based on 1970's stuff like Roy Ayers, The Blackbyrds, The Crusaders, Bob James, Grover Washington Jr. and the acts on Creed Taylor's label. You could say Rufus & Chaka Khan, War, James Brown/JB's, and Mandrill have some songs that could be considered Acid Jazz, and maybe some of Chicago's early songs. Some of the Acid Jazz groups even dressed in early 1970s style clothes. I don't know anything about neo-soul because I don't listen to it, but from the songs I've heard it doesn't seem to have anything to do with Acid Jazz, which was mainly a British thing. The neo-soul music sounds slow or mid-tempo to me, when Acid Jazz can be uptempo & dancable. To me, neo-soul seems to have more in common with Adult Contemporary R&B like Rene & Angela and Anita Baker, more ballad/slow jam based. The people that I usually see listening to neo-soul are buppie types who go to see poetry slams.

Maybe Erykah Badu? I don't know enough about acid jazz though but she seems like would fit that description.

Hell no! And besides, acid jazz is an off-shoot of jazz fusion & house.

MickyDolenz said:

Acid Jazz is sort of traditional, unless you're talking about Fats Domino/Joe Turner era R&B. To me, the Acid Jazz music is kinda based on 1970's stuff like Roy Ayers, The Blackbyrds, The Crusaders, Bob James, Grover Washington Jr. and the acts on Creed Taylor's label. You could say Rufus & Chaka Khan, War, James Brown/JB's, and Mandrill have some songs that could be considered Acid Jazz, and maybe some of Chicago's early songs. Some of the Acid Jazz groups even dressed in early 1970s style clothes. I don't know anything about neo-soul because I don't listen to it, but from the songs I've heard it doesn't seem to have anything to do with Acid Jazz, which was mainly a British thing. The neo-soul music sounds slow or mid-tempo to me, when Acid Jazz can be uptempo & dancable. To me, neo-soul seems to have more in common with Adult Contemporary R&B like Rene & Angela and Anita Baker, more ballad/slow jam based. The people that I usually see listening to neo-soul are buppie types who go to see poetry slams.

I generally agree with this; MD's on point. I do hear some electronica and hip-hop influences in later "neo soul" releases, but acid jazz and neo soul share many of the same influences as well.

namepeace said:

MickyDolenz said:

Acid Jazz is sort of traditional, unless you're talking about Fats Domino/Joe Turner era R&B. To me, the Acid Jazz music is kinda based on 1970's stuff like Roy Ayers, The Blackbyrds, The Crusaders, Bob James, Grover Washington Jr. and the acts on Creed Taylor's label. You could say Rufus & Chaka Khan, War, James Brown/JB's, and Mandrill have some songs that could be considered Acid Jazz, and maybe some of Chicago's early songs. Some of the Acid Jazz groups even dressed in early 1970s style clothes. I don't know anything about neo-soul because I don't listen to it, but from the songs I've heard it doesn't seem to have anything to do with Acid Jazz, which was mainly a British thing. The neo-soul music sounds slow or mid-tempo to me, when Acid Jazz can be uptempo & dancable. To me, neo-soul seems to have more in common with Adult Contemporary R&B like Rene & Angela and Anita Baker, more ballad/slow jam based. The people that I usually see listening to neo-soul are buppie types who go to see poetry slams.

I generally agree with this; MD's on point. I do hear some electronica and hip-hop influences in later "neo soul" releases, but acid jazz and neo soul share many of the same influences as well.

Channel Orange album by Frank Ocean is regarded as one of the best neo soul efforts lately, and it has so much hip hop formulas in it, plus, Adorn by Miguel is Electro R&B.... I know it's often incoherent but myself I like it when artists mix things and create a hybrid of music genres.

I think neo-soul also has a semi-afrocentric vibe, which is not really in acid jazz, which seems to be more hippy like (peace and love).

Shawy89 said:

Channel Orange album by Frank Ocean is regarded as one of the best neo soul efforts lately, and it has so much hip hop formulas in it, plus, Adorn by Miguel is Electro R&B.... I know it's often incoherent but myself I like it when artists mix things and create a hybrid of music genres.

I agree.

The premise of Neo Soul was to strip "black music" back down to its instrument-based, groovy roots, with a dash of new school/hip-hop for good measure. But the best artsts moved forward in later years with efforts fused with electronica, hip-hop, the Minneapolis Sound, etc. With good results for music if not for sales.

The recent efforts from Van Hunt, Bilal, and Badu are probably my favorite albums along those lines, but I think Channel Orange and recent efforts from newer artists have moved the ball forward.

On a somewhat related note . . . can "Neo Soul," arguably entering its 20th year, be considered "Neo" at all?

[Edited 6/4/14 11:46am]

namepeace said:

On a somewhat related note . . . can "Neo Soul," arguably entering its 20th year, be considered "Neo" at all?

'New wave' started in the late 1970s and it's still called that. And how about New Kids On The Block? They're not new or kids and there's New Power Generation, who weren't the "new generation" even in 1991. I've always wondered about "alternative music". Alternative to what and what does it sound like?

Yes, and the link between acid jazz and neo soul is Omar. Many call him the British D'angelo, but IMO it should be the other way around. At least Erykah Badu, Angie Stone and Bilal have mentioned him as an influence. This what his music sounded like in 1994: