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"West Coast" jazz is a sub genre of "Cool Jazz", and so far has not been clearly defined. Although this is unimportant in the big scheme of things, it's important to me, because I was a fan of this genre. Since the records in my collection are "gone with the wind", I certainly can't find anything there. I recall Chico Hamilton as being my favorite artist who consistently played west coast jazz at that time. I believe his "Blue Sands" is a good example of that genre. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW9ZvqdLlUEEnjoy the music. |
Rok, your answers were even more interesting than my questions. Abbey Lincoln hit the tune "Softly As In a Morning Sunrise" out of the park; however, Lorez's understated version came in a close second, the operative word is "Softly". The MJQ did it for both of us. On "The End Of a Love Affair", "Lady In Satin" was the Billie CD I sold; I wanted to hear her sing, but instead I heard her pain. If you have ever personally known one Billie (someone who was going through what she was going through at that time) you've known one too many, and that's all I'm going to say about that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_in_SatinI couldn't find the instrumental version of that tune I wanted. Lorez's version was perfect for me. We're talking about someone who's trying to escape the emotions of "The End Of A Love Affair"; they drink too much, smoke too much, and talk too loud; they even play loud music to drown out the pain in their heart. Such a person would be going from club to club, and their external appearance would be loud and boisterous in order to conceal their internal pain. Although we didn't agree on Billie, we certainly agreed about her pain. Enjoy the music. |
Rok, I didn't know there were so many foxes in the whole state of Mississippi, plus a female Lester Young.
After reading their history, and listening to the music, I don't see how they overcame so many obstacles, while still looking good and playing fantastic music. There must have been something special in the Piney Woods drinking water.
I thought their music sounded very good, outstanding even, and that's without the qualifier "For a girls band". Their music took me back to that time when it was happening during the WW II years. So many good things would have happened for them "If", and I'm not about to go into the "If's".
Enjoy the music.
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"Cold Duck"; in case you don't remember was a very popular wine at that time. It don't git no better than that, lots of good memories. I had the weirdest dream after listening to the complete CD "Deep Breakfast". I was standing in line near the ticket window of a movie theater, when a guy walked up to me and say's "You buy the tickets, and I'll buy the refreshments". Since refreshments cost more than a ticket, I said "OK". He didn't tell me he had nine kids. After he buys the refreshments, we leave the refreshment stand and go into the theater. Once we leave the stand, I discover the theater has no roof. (music from "Deep Breakfast" is playing throughout the dream) After getting seated, the movie begins with these short squat Hobbit looking dudes on the screen, I don't know what they're doing, but they're moving to the music of "Celestial Soda Pop". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPojjUgZy7IMaybe this music exudes it's own snake dust? Enjoy the music. |
And the winner is "Nina Simone". |
Donald Byrd was a man of many phases. While I liked them all, here are two tunes from this phase of his development that have stuck with me over the years. How many LP's you've worn out of one particular album or another speaks volumes in regard to the high esteem you held that particular LP. For me, this one ranks up there with KOB, and "Somethin Else"; the title is "Out of This World", it introduced Herby Hancock, and now Herby needs no introduction. This tune is clean "Out of this world". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmW_iRcs3D0This next tune is titled "Curro's"; although I have no idea of where the title came from, I picture myself in a real hip club like "Gino's", which is where I saw Trane, and company live about the time of "My Favorite Things". This tune is so hip, that "Curro's" is even hipper than "Gino's". (I have no idea what that truck represents, but you can't have everything) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzwgbtT2x98Enjoy the music. |
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Rok, while we always compare new vocalists to past greats, I prefer not to focus on those differences, and just appreciate what present vocalists have to offer. Karrin Allyson is a vocalists who sings the classics the way they're supposed to be sung; she always projects the essence of the tune. While that sounds simple and easy, it's not. First, the artist must know what that "essence" is in order to project it. One of the greatest of the greats was asked to sing a song without knowing the "essence" behind it. Things didn't go right, and she, being an honest person, admitted it. When you hear Bobby Timmons, the pianist who wrote "Moanin", play it, the essence of that tune smacks you upside the head. Karyn Allyson prejects that essence as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK5UYkENgDU"Everything Must Change" touches upon one of the sad facts of life; I don't think I want to know what that "Super fox" I met over 40 years ago, looks like today. Karrin Allyson projects the essence of "Everything Must Change". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-q6TiiyTZIEnjoy the music. |
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My best friends brother played piano, they had a baby grand, and he went to Juilliard. The next door neighbor would come over and listen to him play and practice. After watching for a few minutes, the neighbor could play anything he played. While he grew up to teach music and never record, the neighbor became an entertainer who could jam, he could set the house on fire; I watched him do it many a night. I don't have a clue as to what it takes to be a "jazz musician". While I had a friend who was a professional "jazz musician" live with me for an entire summer, who never practiced, (since I didn't have an organ or piano, he couldn't even if he wanted to). We never talked music (if Einstein was your friend, I doubt you would be discussing his "Theory of Relativity", especially if you didn't know squat about it) The mesmerized look on my face every time I watched him play, certainly told him what I thought about his music; there was certainly no need to discuss that. We talked about his life as a professional jazz musician, he never got tired of talking about it, and I never got tired of listening to him talk about it. Although I have every record he ever made, the music he played that summer was far advanced from those records; that pains me because he died before any of that music was recorded; now it's just a memory I can't prove. These thoughts came to me after looking and listening to the "Lennie Tristano" interview; that's a very important in depth interview about being a "jazz musician". Lennie said, "You could make your fingers reproduce your deepest feelings", and he added "All you do is hear music in your head and reproduce it". [11-07-14] Some got it, and some no got it. Shiela Jordan studied with Lennie, and she's a great jazz musician, here she is; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZHteISQ-bw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r8XF9YkyeMEnjoy the music. |
Rok, comparing Sheila Jordan and Trane was apples and oranges; the tune originated with the play "The Sound of Music", this is the original "My Favorite Things". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33o32C0ogVMWhile Trane's version was killer jazz, it's a long way from the original, and that's why Sheila tops Trane; her version convey's the "essence" of the tune. In the case of Oscar Brown Jr., you were referring to "Dat Dere", when your post read for "My Favorite Thing". Since he wrote the Lyrics to "Dat Dere" I would hope that he captured the essence of that tune better than anyone else. Here's Herby Hancock "Maiden Voyage", done by Herby; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwmRQ0PBtXUAgain, here's "Lenny Andrede"; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B2WicKm0dcI spent a lot of time cruising in the "Duece", while at the same time going on Herby Hancock's "Maiden Voyage"; Lenny Andrede takes me back to that time; what Tony Bennet said is irrelevant. Enjoy the music. |
That Johnny Mathis "Sleigh Ride", and video hit it out of the park; I especially liked the video, it reminds me of "Art Hill" in Forest Park where this happens every year; as for the rest...............
Enjoy the music.
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Rok, I selected my records the same way you did, some turned out good, others didn't; I'm looking at a stack that didn't, they'll go to Goodwill, or the dumpster.
Lee Morgan was the ultimate jazz musician, you can bet none of his records are going to the dumpster, while other very well known musicians are leaving here.
Lennie Tristano said "You can make your fingers reproduce your deepest feelings"; Red Garland's fingers reproduced his deepest feelings, I could hear that song better than any vocalist could sing it; his fingers confirmed what Lennie Tristano said.
Enjoy the music.
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"As for the rest"; Bing Crosby is "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas". To a certain extent, our minds are computers that have been programmed; this is especially true in regard to our subconscious; everyone knows exactly what Jesus, Joseph, and Mary looked like. While we can over ride our subconscious, I choose to "go with the flow" on Christmas music.
In regard to "Hello Dolly", all of the above have been more programmed than the original; consequentially, all of the above sound better than the original. If my posts seem contradictory, so are many of the facts of life, just "Go with the flow".
Enjoy the music.
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Rok, now you're getting the hang of things; a musician, is a musician, is a musician whether he's in Kathmandu or New York, they're a special breed. No matter what instrument I pick up it begins to make noise the instant I touch it. Those guys were born with something special. Remember my best friends brother, and the next door neighbor; brother taught school until he retired, while the neighbor became a musician who made music for the people. I never even heard brother play; it seems he was more fond of traveling, skiing, sailing, and doing all the things his education and teaching salary enabled him to do, than he was of making music. There was some boss improvisation going on there. Let's keep things in this same groove for awhile. How about a little blues from the east; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI2PvbAGNBc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPVlWIwSqYIThis one has beautiful photos to go with the music; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlmpMnHEstMI have beautiful photos of the lady who plays koto with Hiroshima from when they were in St. Louis. Enjoy the music. |
I said it once and I'll say it again, "There was a jazz explosion in the late 50's, early 60's"; every time I think I've got all the killers from that time, somebody comes up with a killer I don't have. This "After Hours" ranks with the best I've ever heard; except for the one "Satin Doll", a stripper, used to open her act, but maybe the scenery had a lot to do with that version, "Play it again Sam".
Enjoy the music.
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You can't win em all; although Bags and Trane is a killer, I must have bought it when it came out, and you finally came up with a Mingus I could live without, but that goes for almost all of our favorite artists.
You going in one direction, and me going in another is working out just fine for me; I'm adding old killers that I thought I had, while at the same time we're both discovering new music, which is what it's all about.
HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING !
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Rok, what's most amazing about these "old killers" are the new things I'm discovering from them. When I bought them ages ago, I simply listened, enjoyed the music without going into the "sidemen" who made it happen. Now that I'm more aware of how important they are in making the music, I can appreciate each contribution, which means I appreciate the music even more now than I did before. Keep em coming!
Enjoy the music.
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Frogman, your post came in right on time, I was in the mood for some "cool jazz" when I heard Thad Jones and Mel Lewis; yes, all you musicians and the music you make is worthy of thanks, and I appreciate it every day.
Enjoy the music.
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Rok, "Stereo Review" is much better when it comes to jazz. They recommended Flip Phillips's "Try a Little Tenderness" album; he's an artist we'll have to peruse. I'll get back to you after I've gone through the magazines I can find. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6e3-L8-qrQEnjoy the music. |
Alex, that jazz blues fusion was one of a kind, what a "hodge podge"; it certainly evokes mixed emotions. T- Bone Walker was as much a showman, as he was a blues artist. There no doubt about "Little Walter" being the king of the blues harpist; here he is on "My Babe" which was one of his biggest hits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3cKJ42HAd0Enjoy the music. |
Rok, each day I'm being made aware of how many killers I don't have. Besides being prolific, Mingus is one of the most unusual composers. Frogman's opinion would carry the most weight in regard to the question of whether or not Ellington is the most important composer; that's because my opinion is purely subjective, while he views it from a historical, as well as a musicians point of view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB6GkA54n_QThis is about as original as you can get. Enjoy the music. |
I don't know if I've told this story on this thread before, I don't like to repeat, so let me know if I have.
I was in a funereal limousine on the way to the cemetery, in Miles hometown, and there had been a long silence until somebody mentioned "Miles Davis". That was when a lively conversation about his music ensued.
Out of the clear blue, the grieved widow piped in, "I remember Miles, he was that little dark skinned kid who was always trying to blow the trumpet".
After that, total silence all the way to the cemetery.
Enjoy the music.
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Frogman, they were so complete there was nothing to debate or dispute. I appreciate your efforts in getting us such a thorough disposition on the subject. Although I'm subjectively in the "Mingus camp", a question of this magnitude requires the objectivity and historical perspective you gave it, and since Mingus agreed with you, we can call that case closed.
Enjoy the music.
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Rok, Juilliard is giving a concert titled "Lightning, Thunder and Fire" in honor of our impeccable taste on this thread. The Juilliard Jazz Ensembles explore the music of Clifford Brown, Max Roach and Art Blakey. It is hard to overestimate the importance of drummers Art Blakey and Max Roach in the mid-’50s expansion of the jazz idiom. Of the components that are central to jazz, rhythmic acuity ranks as highly as the ability to improvise, and both Roach and Blakey were ace timekeepers who expanded jazz rhythms by introducing myriad subtleties—some melodic—into the timekeeper’s art. Both were also bandleaders at a time when it was still a novelty for drummers to be calling the shots. The seminal ensembles they assembled in the ’50s, both of which advanced jazz’s stature on the world stage, are the subject of Lightning, Thunder and Fire: The Sophistication of the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. This concert by the Juilliard Jazz Ensembles takes place on December 9 in Paul Hall under the direction of guitarist and faculty member Rodney Jones and guest coach Valery Ponomarev. Moscow-born trumpeter Ponomarev played with Blakey for many years, as did Wynton Marsalis (’81, trumpet), the director of Juilliard Jazz, who joined the Jazz Messengers at the age of 19.
Juilliard Jazz Ensembles
Tuesday, December 9, 8:00pm
Lightning, Thunder and Fire: The Sophistication of the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers with guest coach Valery Ponomarev
What made both groups so groundbreaking will be evident in the evening’s repertoire, which gets at the development of jazz as a composer’s music. The idiom’s modernist movement, called bebop, was still in full swing when both groups were making their first recordings in 1954-55, but where the modern jazzers of the late ’40s were often building on the harmonies of earlier popular songs by songsmiths like Cole Porter or Jerome Kern, Roach and Blakey were part of a wave that encouraged the composition of burnished tunes that were jazz-specific both rhythmically and harmonically. As a result, the term bebop was soon supplanted by the seemingly unyielding title hard bop, a nickname that suggested an entire scene of likeminded individuals doubling down on bluesy grooves. In the December 9 concert, jazz’s maverick streak is revisited during the Roach half of the evening, as the ensemble plots the distance between the Brown-Roach Quintet’s historic re-evaluation of Porter’s “I Get A Kick Out Of You”—a 1934 pop tune the fivesome stretched to the breaking point—and its introduction of “Joy Spring,” a lilting piece composed by the group’s co-bandleader, the trumpeter Clifford Brown.
Though Blakey and Roach enjoyed long, prolific careers, the half of the concert devoted to Blakey’s work reveals a key difference between the two icons. The Brown-Roach Quintet met an abrupt end in 1956 with the tragic car accident that killed Clifford Brown and pianist Richie Powell, but Blakey (one of whose nicknames was Thunder—hence the title of the concert) turned the Jazz Messengers into one of the most enduring small-group concepts in jazz, energized by the steady stream of young talent he handpicked until his own death in 1990. The ensemble functioned as a jazz finishing school before there were jazz education programs, which explains why the tunes selected for the December 9 concert (among them saxist Benny Golson’s “Along Came Betty,” trumpeter Lee Morgan’s “Kofo’s Waltz,” and Wayne Shorter’s “Sincerely Diana”) are among the first classics written by a veritable who’s who of musicians who penned them as Jazz Messengers; all of them would later become icons in their own right. Nurtured by one of the greatest talent enablers in jazz history, they came by their sophistication in a way that many would agree no longer exists.
Enjoy the music.
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Rok, both of those questions are deferred to Frogman, because I thought the guy was a gal, and I never heard of a coach at a concert; this ain't basketball, that let's you know how much I know.
Enjoy the music.
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Rok, you seem to have a very faulty memory when it comes to race and the south in the 50's. Do you remember what happened to Emmett Till for "Reckless eyeballing" in Money, MS when he was 14? While you're learning about Mingus's music, you have very little knowledge about Mingus the person; he held his tongue for no one, and if he had gone south, everyone knew that he would have come back in a pinebox.
Enjoy the music.
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Zephyr, maybe it's time for some "political truth" on this forum. While I've done my best to sidestep controversy, when it gets totally out of alignment, somebody has to straighten it out; carry on.
Enjoy the music.
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Alex, I want to thank you for imparting some "political truth" to this forum; jazz musicians couldn't make a living without Europe, and Japan; I was told this by "Frank Gant", a jazz drummer.
Enjoy the music.
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Rok, you rushed to judgment on "Love Bug"; while Reuben Wilson's organ imparts "soul jazz", Grant Green, and Lee Morgan impart nothing less than their best, which as always is good jazz; they did more than lend their names. This album is most certainly worthy of my collection.
Enjoy the music.
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Rok, I understand where you're coming from in regard to "soul jazz", and while it may not be worthy of you're collection, it's still good music. Although I may or may not decide it's worthy of my collection at this stage, I'll refrain from criticism. This is the holiday season, and I think we should lighten up on the "jest".
BTW, "Carol of the Bells" hit my "holiday sweet spot".
Enjoy the music.
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BTW Rok, my last post was not intended as personal criticism toward you, but as a general statement for us all as we're entering the holiday season.
Enjoy the music.
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Acman, I'm sorry about Mr. Wilson. After your post with "Lighthouse Blues", I realized his kind of "Pacific Jazz" is just what I'm looking for to fill that void of what we called "West Coast Jazz". I've also discovered, his arrangements with young new musicians is also acceptable with me, for example; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-sAl1m5cHAWhile the trumpet player is not "Fats Navaro", or Diz, he's getting there, and Gerald Wilson's music makes him all right with me. Enjoy the music. |
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Frogman, although it's possible Dave Burns is on some of my albums, I don't recall the name. Here's a real nice clip by Dave that indicates how good he was; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmeKhae2SKIEnjoy the music. |
When it comes to Christmas Music, I'm pretty conservative; this album by Kenny Burrel appeases both my conservative and jazz sides. I would imagine every aficionado who celebrates Christmas has this one in his collection; it cooks and projects the spirit of Christmas at the same time. Right now I'm trying to decide which is my favorite cut; so far it's between "My Favorite Things" and "Little Drummer Boy". Give it a listen and tell us your favorite cuts on this album, and share with us your most special Christmas Music of whatever orientation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7PfDn0KhtI https://www.youtube.com/user/edawworldEnjoy the music. |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei1O04PlDHM |
Rok, that's got to be the the best "Jazz Messenger" group ever; Lee Morgan and Benny Golson were at the top of their game along with the rest of the group, I had to look and play that one twice.
Enjoy the music.
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Rok, this country has gone downhill all over; I lived in St. Louis city for over 30 years and I loved it. Now it's an insane asylum without walls, and I don't blame the inmates; they're doing whatever it takes to survive. Now I live in the burbs, but I got next to nothing for the house I enjoyed for over 30 years when I sold it. Unfortunately I know the reasons for this decline, and that makes it even worse; but don't blame us, they (Washington DC) run it while we run around in it.
Enjoy the music.
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