Jazz for aficionados

Acman, I have a hard time listening to his voice. He died in 99 and only recently can I listen to him. Since knee high; when he sings song for my father, every word is gospel truth, and I can feel it; of course I knew his father.


Enjoy the music.

Here's a beautiful tune by John Handy that I could listen to all night.


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IZb8AJQ7ac


Here's another tune from that same LP.



    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q-vKschzos





Enjoy the music.

Rok, I wonder If I could borrow Gregory Porter's head gear? It's real cold and snowing where I am. I can hear why he's so popular, although it's been said before, I'm going to say it again "The guy got a whole lot of soul".

That piano player is boss and the band is a tight as a band can get. I'm not a big band fan, but that could change.

The music behind Cecile is "Nawlins" all the way; it's so "retro", that it takes us back to another era; "Pops" is looking down smiling.

As you pointed out many times, looking makes a lot of difference than just listening. It wouldn't be as good alone in my listening room without seeing, but since I'm doing both, I'm really enjoying it.



Enjoy the music.

Jafant, this is one of the cuts on "Jewel Of Thought"


            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4LwpPQQskM&index=4&list=PLF82BA5D373C56866

The LCJB is held in the highest esteem by the NYC music community; as well they should be. They sound great and are considered to meet artistic standards, differences in genres aside, that have nothing to apologize for in comparison to the standard-setting LC institutions, Met Opera, NY Phil and NYC Ballet.

Re body language:

Totally sincere. Players in a band that work together often and for a long time develop a kind of brotherhood and they are each other’s biggest supporters. They can also be each other’s worst critics. But when a player is "in the zone" as Wes Anderson is when he plays his solo in the Porter clip, other players may not only smile in approval, but actually say or shout things to encourage the player. When players improvise they are speaking each other’s language. It is a language that only they understand at that level. They understand the nuances of what the player is "saying" in a very personal or intimate way and are privy to things like, for instance, little musical "jokes" or musical quotes that relate to anything from a verbal conversation to a previous performance; all things that may not be obvious to a non-player. A performance by a band may be full of these kinds of dynamics. Of course, there are times when any two players simply don’t get along or don’t like each other and you won’t have much of this kind of rapport between them. Thankfully, simple professionalism then usually kicks in and gunplay is kept to a minimum 😉

Porter sounds fantastic. There’s a wonderful straightforward and "up" quality about his singing; not to mention great vocal chops. The band sounds fantastic. Something special happens during that performance; they are clearly interacting and lift each other up. The sum becomes even greater than the parts.

I have said it before and this is a PERSONAL opinion: Salvant just doesn’t do it for me. She’s clearly good, but the "affectations" in her singing simply don’t ring true for me. There’s a little bit of Sassy, a little bit of Billy, a LOT of Betty Carter; where’s Cecile? To me there’s a "forced" quality about her style. Imo, and partly as a result, the performance doesn’t have the energy that the Porter does and doesn’t feel as good; the band does not play quite at the same level.

Great stuff both, however. Thanks for the clips.