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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
frogman
4,637 posts
 
Maybe a little 😊 That Sarah “Something” just doesn’t work for me.  
pryso
1,501 posts
 
acman, you had me with the Zimmy reference.  Never heard him called that before.  After going back, I think I heard what you suggested.  But it was in a couple of her word pronunciations, not in the tone of her voice.

But I have to say, while I liked the original version of "Something", I didn't care for either of those covers.

frog and I discussed songs written by non-jazz artists becoming standards.  Of course many songs have been covered by jazz musicians but not always with much success.  Great as Sarah was, her attempt fell into that last group for me.  So it's not the talent, but either something about the song itself, or likely the arrangement.  I'm sure frog could expound on that. ;^) 
acman3
2,267 posts
 
I was making that point, when I got sidetracked.
Post removed 
frogman
4,637 posts
 
Well, I probably would not buy a recording of Zimmy singing “Something”, but I actually liked the way he sang the song. It’s a rock ballad and that is a lot closer to home for Dylan than for Vaughn. Just as John Lennon would probably not be able to pull off “Lush Life”, Sarah is out of her stylistic comfort zone. The song works best with a certain feel that is decidedly not “jazzy”. It almost makes one cringe to hear Sarah swing some of the phrases. Sometimes we think that someone as great as Sarah would be able to sing anything. It’s not so. Listeners can always benefit by being more genre neutral, imo. Same thing for singers/players. Not all can hide their musical “accent”. Like an American actor speaking with a British accent, but it’s obvious that it is not his native accent.  Some artists cultivate and use that kind of flexibility in their style while others don’t or can’t.
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