Jazz for aficionados

On the other hand,   A lot going on, out there,  and still Jazz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=donDOIiuWc0

Cheers

Hey Rok!

Some years ago I kind of got into Roy Hargrove.  I found his music to be solid, melodic and diverse.  Here's one where they are simply blowing the doors off the hinges.  Check out the piano solo, you can thank me later.

I love this sh*t.

Bob

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9SLugelvxw&feature=related

Another from Roy Hargrove.  A ballad.  He shows incredible restraint here, playing only the notes that need to be played and nothing more.  Grab your lover, put this on, hold hands and enjoy the music.

Bob

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWwW6OK7lzQ&feature=player_embedded#!

Roy Hargrove:

Excellent Clip.  Good result at capturing the ambiance of a live club performance.  The drummer deserves extra pay.

I have several CDs by Hargrove, including the SuperBlue and Jazz Futures discs.   Do you think he had a career commensurate with his talent?

I have always been partial to the Flugelhorn.   Always felt Trumpet players should play it more often.   Wonderful tone. The master of course being Hugh Masekela.

Cheers

I hope everyone is having a happy and musical Holiday Season.  Some thoughts on recent topics:

Acman3, "First Song" is a beautiful tune.  Time, as is always the case, will determine whether it becomes a standard or not.  I think it deserves to be so, but probably too early to tell.

Rok, I haven't forgotten your question re rehearsals.

The topic of the unsung hero is a recurring one here, and while there has been disagreement sometimes about the relative merits of these unsung players I am with Alexatpos this time.  I, too, have never thought of Chet Baker as an "unknown"; quite the contrary.  Certainly not with the very highest profile (Miles) for the casual music lover, but definitely on the list of the very top players; and certainly as a unique voice and stylist known to most jazz buffs.  One of those players that could create a mood with one note; aka, true artistry.  Loved the clip "Almost Blue"; thanks, jzzmusician.

Lou Mecca I had heard only by name but never by music.  I disagree with Rok on his assessment of this player.  First of all, to me, the idea that somehow the absence of reeds or piano makes it more difficult to play credible jazz doesn't quite hold water.  I've known players who can make great music with a set of trash cans and a whistle; this ability is genre-blind.  In fact, by that line of thought one could make the case that by playing a more "conventional" instrument the reed player or band with piano has an automatic leg up in the quality department; a silly proposition.  BTW, the piano-less trio has been discussed here as a particular challenge for players, but the challenge is not the absence of piano per se, but the absence of a harmony instrument; in Mecca's case the guitar takes on the role of the piano, as do the vibes.  Lou Mecca is a great player with a bit of a "cool" sensibility and an interesting harmonic sense.  Of all the "unknowns" posted so far he's probably my favorite.  Thanks, Alex for the introduction.

On the other hand, Roy Hargrove is clearly a good player, but to answer Rok's question, I think his career recognition is exactly where it deserves to be.  He is good, but in the scheme of top players past and present he is no Kenny Dorham (nice Dorham clip btw).  Nice flugelhorn playing.  Beautiful tone and as jzzmusician says, he shows lots of restraint; a good thing.  However, for perspective's sake (my perspective, anyway) I consider Lou Mecca (to have been) a better jazz player.  He demonstrates a better ability to handle the changes in a logical way that creates lines that have a melodic direction with little needless repetition.  On the first clip Hargrove has lots of energy and excitement in a "in your face" kind of way that to me rings hollow with pauses in the solo that are not silences as part of a phrase, but pauses to figure out what he's going to play next.  Same with the rest of his band (in that clip).  Listen to the alto player: lots of speed and lots of notes; but, jeez!, how many times is he going to start each phrase the same way, with the same lick? I find the overall vibe over the top and bombastic; almost angry.  Sure, the drummer deserves extra pay for working so hard; but, that is precisely the problem, he's working too hard and not a particularly good Latin feel at that.  Liked the piano player 'though.  

Jazz is different things to different folks.  Some like lots of energy.  Sometimes that is a good thing; but, as always, the feel and the logic of the improvisation are paramount.  I know that "feel" and "logic" may seem like contradictions, but they're not.  The best players had/have a certain logic in their improvisations: taking a motif (musical nugget) and developing it within the context of the harmony of a tune in a way that gives it direction and meaning; a sense that it is going somewhere.  That is the reason why it is sometimes referred to as spontaneous composition.  That is what separates the men from the boys.  

Great posts, thanks all.