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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
rok2id's avatar
rok2id
4,494 posts
 
@orpheus10 

I have the 'Soul Sauce' CD.  Your clips sounded a lot better than I remember my CD sounding.  I always felt as if something was missing from this music, which is supposed to 'Latin Jazz'.   Sounded sort of watered down, compared to other Latino Jazz players.  

Now I find out, there are no Latinos in the band.  I always assumed Tjader was Latino.  Now it turns out he's Swedish.   And your home boy at that.

Same with Charlie Byrd, bought some of his stuff back in the day.  Being an LP of music from Brazil, I expected fireworks.  Maybe I watch too many movies.   I think I need to revisit them both.


The clips were enjoyable.  However no one can get the sound that Milt got playing  vibes. :)  I can't help it man, I'm stuck in the past, waiting on a light bulb to go off.    You think maybe the bulb is burned out? :)

Thanks for sharing

Cheers
rok2id's avatar
rok2id
4,494 posts
 
@frogman,

Well, no one can say, I didn't try.

Cheers

BTW, if you have a few minutes of free time, maybe you could tell us all, why Armstrong was great.   I am sure you can 'articulate' it better than the millions of his fans around the world.   Maybe the most well known Jazz player of all time.   And to think, none of the millions of his adoring fans have a clue, as to why they like him.

Cheers
orpheus10 OP
5,988 posts
 

Rok, Milt Jackson and Cal Tjader are Apples and Oranges; Milt Jackson is to vibes what Bird was to alto sax; it's futile to compare them to anyone else.

Cal Tjader runs Hot and cool, it depends on your mood what you want at the time; "Cubano Chant" is hot, while "Laura" by him is cool.

Rok, I think you need to forget about the light bulb; just look through your collection and find out what floats your boat at that time. As far as acquiring new music, you got "you tube", and this thread, so you know what you're getting before you get it;  I believe your problems are solved.




Enjoy the music.
schubert
4,867 posts
 
All music is written by humans and all humans are creatures of their
time . When you study those who are labled "ahead of their time" you see that what they were/are is fully in their time ,aka the present.

The greatest of the great are shaped by the social conditions of their time, their mother tongue and historical events .The universality of art
is that it intensifies human experience but this is always effected by the circumstances around its creation .

I make a point of listening to and trying to understand the music of living composers with varying results ,not for fun I would
rather just listen to Bach, Brahms, Schubert and Moz,art and be done with it , I listen to classical music, of MY time because if I do not I may be walking and talking but truth be known I would just be another among the walking dead .
orpheus10 OP
5,988 posts
 

Rok, most new jazz is "smooth jazz", and that's not Frogman's favorite genre, and he found the two examples I gave; let's let him speak, "I find those two examples to not be very good examples of the genre. As much grief as smooth jazz gets from some, the fact is that some smooth jazz artists are terrific musicians and in most ways stick to the spirit of jazz in having a strong sense of spontaneity, improvisation and instrumental ability; not those guys, sorry. I find those two examples to be extremely formulaic and the music sounds as if they stick strictly to a written out or pre-determined template. I would bet you that if you heard them play those tunes live they would sound EXACTLY the same as they do on those clips; not the case with some other musicians in the genre.

Those are Frogman's exact words, now what do you have to say to that? You know what Rok, I agree with Frogman, "cool jazz" is, in his words "formulaic" and the jams sound as though they had a cookie cutter for music, and they rolled em off an assembly line or "pre-determined template" as he put it.

Maybe he can show us how one "cool jazz" differs from another; I'm looking forward to that.
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