Calhoun at a cafe in New York in January. (AP Photo/Hiroko Masuike)
Calhoun plays a set. (AP Photo/Hiroko Masuike)
Calhoun talks with fan Charlotte Wu, right, 30, of Taiwan, after his perfomance at the Blue Note. (AP Photo/Hiroko Masuike)
Calhoun plays the wave drum. (AP Photo/Hiroko Masuike)
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"Nefertiti" from "Native Lands."

When it comes to his music, Will Calhoun isn't afraid to mix it up. That means anything from putting Mos Def on the piano to jamming with Mick Jagger. Calhoun's new album, "Native Lands," exploits not only his roots in jazz but his love for all music and his experiences traveling around the world.

But jazz? Is that as relevant as it used to be? Calhoun, a drummer and New York native who has been defying traditional jazz standards for years, isn't ready to turn his back on the genre just yet.

Calhoun's crowd at Blue Note on a recent evening was sprinkled with young professional types. Among them were Michael Betrix and Anouk Werder, visiting from Switzerland. The couple frequent clubs such as Blue Note or jazz establishment Village Vanguard for the cultivated rhythms -- and say they find a stark absence of twentysmethings and thirtysomethings.

"I think it's something for people 25 years or older," Betrix says. "It's too calm for some people; they would rather be sweating at a club."

Before the show, Calhoun offered some pointed thoughts on the music industry and what can be done to reinvigorate his genre.

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You have married many kinds of music -- rock, jazz, R&B, hip-hop -- what do you like about jazz? As a musician, why do you think young people should like it?

Calhoun: Not enough young people are involved with it. What I like about jazz is freedom, the art of improvisation. You being able to put your personality into music. Unfortunately, I feel like personally, in the last 25 years maybe, the industry has alienated the music so not enough young people are exposed to jazz."

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When you were growing up, do you think it was more accessible?

Calhoun: Absolutely.

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Was jazz the cool genre of music to play?

Calhoun: I was always a foreigner as a child, and in all of my circles. But I wouldn't necessarily say it was cool. But my generation, most of my friends, we had older brothers and sisters that were older than us, and uncles that saw Woodstock, saw Hendrix play, saw Coltrane play, saw Miles. There was all of this energy that they brought to us. The industry has changed a lot in that way. Hip-hop is cool, but with rock and roll and jazz it's become a little bit of separatism. ... From my standards and my neighborhood and my background it was normal to be into jazz or to be into rock and roll. You had institutions like the jazz cultural theater, that was open till 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning and you could go and jam and play music. So there were a lot of chances to get your feet wet into jazz. Not half as many now.

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What about your background specifically?

Calhoun: Not only jazz, ballet. We went to the ballet; my mom had season tickets. The Metropolitan Opera, we had season tickets. I was attracted to jazz because I thought jazz musicians were cool, and they are. They were these men and women who weren't wealthy, but that were very knowledgeable about music and very original about presenting. So they had a cool look, and a cool image, and a cool intelligence so it was attractive to me. Whereas you would go see a rock performance and it's based a little bit more on the lighting and staging and a lot of the cosmetics.

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Is it hard to keep reinventing yourself?

Calhoun: I don't necessarily think I'm reinventing myself. I just think it's where the spirit takes you. Maybe you never liked chocolate cake until you had it for the first time when you were 25, now you're in love with it. It was that kind of experience.

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Who did you listen to growing up?

Calhoun: I tried to listen to everything. There wasn't a music I didn't like. I grew up in the Bronx. I watched hip-hop start ... The best rappers were not only rappers but incredible singers. And the musicians were incredible musicians.

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What do you think about the current trends in music as compared to when you started?

Calhoun: What I like about the industry now is artists have more control over their products. With iTunes, like it or not, you can download music, they have technology now where you can (record at home). If you're an artist and interested in getting your product out and not making tons of bread, you can take your guitar in the station wagon, and you can book yourself in bars, and sell your CDs at night, you can make more of your own path.

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Who are some of your favorite artists to record with?

Calhoun: Mick Jagger for sure. Pharoah Sanders, probably No. 1 on that list. Mos Def. they're all different. Carly Simon was a very educational experience. Run DMC, we talked more about politics, we didn't even talk about the music. Playing music was kind of secondary. One of the most enlightening sessions was having Little Richard guest on a Living Color album."

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Do you think there will be a revival of jazz among young people?

Calhoun: I'll say this: It's very possible. What needs to happen is, and I talk about it all the time, both communities need to meet halfway.

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asap contributor Tracee Herbaugh works on the AP's International Desk.

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