I'll let others advise you on contemporary pop/rock/blues/jazz, but just a couple of thoughts that your post gave me:
I don't see contemporary and 'musically sophisticated' as equivalent. Old school blues & jazz was certainly sophisticated and required just as much ability and knowledge to sound good, and not sound crude, as anything contemporary. So I'm a bit confused about that part of your post. If you're talking about the blues, I think you have to look back to the jump blues era of the late '40s/early '50s to find the basis of a 'sophisticated' urban-style blues. Jazz hasn't gotten more harmonically sophisticated or complex since the '60s, although it has branched out in some different directions. But that's just my opinion. As to pop and rock, I don't hear anything contemporary that I'd want to play so I can't help you there.
In general, the better you can play your instrument, the better you'll sound. But of course you also have to learn the stylistic elements of whatever genre you want to play. I think the way to do that part is to listen to & play along to (transcribe) the music you want to play.
I don't see contemporary and 'musically sophisticated' as equivalent. Old school blues & jazz was certainly sophisticated and required just as much ability and knowledge to sound good, and not sound crude, as anything contemporary. So I'm a bit confused about that part of your post. If you're talking about the blues, I think you have to look back to the jump blues era of the late '40s/early '50s to find the basis of a 'sophisticated' urban-style blues. Jazz hasn't gotten more harmonically sophisticated or complex since the '60s, although it has branched out in some different directions. But that's just my opinion. As to pop and rock, I don't hear anything contemporary that I'd want to play so I can't help you there.
In general, the better you can play your instrument, the better you'll sound. But of course you also have to learn the stylistic elements of whatever genre you want to play. I think the way to do that part is to listen to & play along to (transcribe) the music you want to play.
