AI Explodes!
AI image generated by author
Thinking about jazz and AI makes my head explode. Just about every time I consider AI, I run down some twisty rabbit hole with no end or resolution in sight. Ouch!
Some of it does appear simple. It’s wrong to rip off living or deceased jazz artists by using AI to create and possibly sell music using their names. And it’s being done. Jazz writer Ted Gioia wrote on Substack about this. The list of victims includes such names as Nat Adderley, Benny Green, Jazzmeia Horn, Abbey Lincoln, and Billy Strayhorn.
But what about when folks are somewhat more upfront about it?
Gioria had a June post on Red Note Jazz. Red Note has put together a complete jazz label with musicians, albums, a catalog, live streams, and more. But it’s all AI: made-up musicians and made-up albums, with familiar-sounding artist names and album art. Care to hear the Miles Hays Quartet? This is your chance.
Red Note does say on their website, “Red Note Records is an ongoing artistic project devoted to the exploration of jazz, visual design, and imagined musical history. Inspired by the independent jazz labels of the 1950s and early 1960s, Red Note brings together original album artwork, fictional artist biographies, historical worldbuilding, and newly created recordings into a unified creative universe.”
Okay, Red Note built it. Will anybody come?
And then there are jazz generators. Any search turns them up. Forbes magazine has reported that the big dog in the room, Suno, has been under fire for scraping up artists’ music. This is then used to fuel the generator. A number of arts groups, such as the Music Artist Coalition and the Songwriter Alliance, have started a “Say No to Suno” campaign.
And at the same time, some labels are working with AI companies, signing deals to allow AI to use an artist’s music for “training purposes” and in return receiving royalties. But as often as not, the artists feel that their labels are cutting them out of the deal. The LA Times has reported that a coalition of artists say that the labels are not giving them a choice—that allowing AI rights is a default they are being forced into.
AI and music are ever-changing. Actions happen, lawsuits are filed, settlements are made. New products come out on seemingly a daily basis. It’s very hard to be completely up to date.
As I said, it makes my head explode.
Where does this leave us?
It seems evident that no one should be pretending to be a jazz artist to profit on a name. So if you see jazz (or any music) on a streaming service that sounds dubious, look into it. If you believe that’s the case, contact the steaming service and reach out to the artist.
You make the choice to listen to AI jazz. Demand a label, notice, or anything that lets you know how the music was created. A number of organizations, such as the Grammys, have proposed a labeling program to tell the listener whether AI was involved in the music’s creation and to what degree.
Keep things in perspective. Remember that AI can also be used for good. It allows an artist to turn his or her idea into sound and hear it. This is not a bad thing. But let people know.
See as much live jazz as you can. You can’t really fake that. And while you’re listening to this uplifting, exciting, joyous music, think about what it means to be human. It might take you to some interesting places.
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A late note: Just as I was finishing this up, Brad Mehldau posted a Substack where he looks at AI from the artist perspective. Read “How do you make music that cannot be subsumed by AI?” here. Mehldau performed in Boise in 2023.
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Cerys Davies. “Industry Letter Claims Musicians Are Being Forced into AI Deals.” Los Angeles Times, June 23, 2026. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2026-06-23/industry-letter-claims-musicians-are-being-forced-into-ai-deals.
Conor Murray. “AI Music Platform Suno Reaches 2 Million Subscribers—As Industry Backlash Grows.” Forbes, February 26, 2026. https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2026/02/26/ai-music-platform-suno-reaches-2-million-subscribers-as-industry-backlash-grows/?.