Jazz for aficionados


Jazz for aficionados

I'm going to review records in my collection, and you'll be able to decide if they're worthy of your collection. These records are what I consider "must haves" for any jazz aficionado, and would be found in their collections. I wont review any record that's not on CD, nor will I review any record if the CD is markedly inferior. Fortunately, I only found 1 case where the CD was markedly inferior to the record.

Our first album is "Moanin" by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. We have Lee Morgan , trumpet; Benney Golson, tenor sax; Bobby Timmons, piano; Jymie merrit, bass; Art Blakey, drums.

The title tune "Moanin" is by Bobby Timmons, it conveys the emotion of the title like no other tune I've ever heard, even better than any words could ever convey. This music pictures a person whose down to his last nickel, and all he can do is "moan".

"Along Came Betty" is a tune by Benny Golson, it reminds me of a Betty I once knew. She was gorgeous with a jazzy personality, and she moved smooth and easy, just like this tune. Somebody find me a time machine! Maybe you knew a Betty.

While the rest of the music is just fine, those are my favorite tunes. Why don't you share your, "must have" jazz albums with us.

Enjoy the music.
orpheus10

The Cooker is an album by the jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, released on the Blue Note label in 1958 as BLP 1578. It was recorded on September 29, 1957, and features a quintet with Morgan, Pepper Adams, Bobby Timmons, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones.

This is the first album to feature his own compositions, and the first without any compositions by Benny Golson.

Some people say this is the best "Night In Tunisia" ever; who am I to argue, for sure it's a contender for the best "Hard Bop" ever. Talking about an "All Star" cast, here it is; I could listen to this every other day and point out something new.


        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cooker


This is sweet sweet music to my ears.

Frogman, you sometime mix apples and oranges and I don't know what you call the finished product. That's what you're doing when you mix classical and jazz.


""Obviously no disrespect intended toward these amazing players; only meant to point out that a classical pianist who understands that language on a higher level than a jazz musician and who perfected that particular discipline can generally do a better of doing justice to the music and touching the listener on an emotional level; just as a jazz player can generally do a better job with a jazz tune than a classical musician can.""


This is what you stated, and it sounds like gospel truth to me. Classical pianists are accustomed to playing written music, and for jazz musicians, when the music is written, that's just the ball park they are supposed to play in.


" But the achievement of jazz musicians in the area of expression or ability to reach the soul of the listener is no greater than that of a great Classical musician and I don’t understand the need to knock one down in order to build up the other; at least that’s how it seems."


I absolutely can not comprehend that; but here again we're speaking of apples and oranges; when some guy played the same identical "Bach Concerto" as another guy the night before, and someone else the night before that, I don't see any latitude for improvisation; and in all cases the music is precisely written down, and must be precisely executed as noted.


I have seen jazz musicians come into a room with no "formal" education in music, but acquired his ability to play his instrument through a lifetime of desire and dedication, and set the crowd on fire.

Now when ever I mention a lack of formal education, you interpret that as though it somehow makes that musician superior to one who has formal training, but it's just a matter of fact nothing more; I'm sure musicians who lacked formal education would have gone to a conservatory if they could have.

I absolutely put this musician on a pedestal higher than the classical musician who went to "Juilliard". The improvising jazz musician begins his night with nothing but his instrument, and an audience who is going to give him the thumbs down if he doesn't produce big time. This musician has to come up with original "hard bop" that's going to be spontaneous and improvisational for the whole night to please his always tough audience.

The classical musician comes into the concert hall to play something he's played many times before, to an audience that knows exactly what to expect; how can he fail?






"Wikipedia"

Theodore "Fats" Navarro (September 24, 1923 – July 6, 1950[1]) was an American jazz trumpet player. He was a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s. He had a strong stylistic influence on many other players, most notably Clifford Brown.


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT9Zb9ykj68


Here he sounds a lot like "Clifford Brown", or if properly stated, Clifford Brown sounds like him.




Ok, O-10, I get it now and it seems to be quite simple: every musician, no matter the genre, that I have ever had any type of contact with or read opinions by and posters here are wrong about this and you are correct.  

*****“Building blocks”. I like it; but doesn’t “nuts and bolts” have more charm? 😉*****


Nein.


Cheers