Jazz for aficionados
Hi Orpheus - one of your recent posts reminded me of the Previn conversation, and that fact that I never did listen to that. So I just did. Previn's general reputation, both in the classical and jazz worlds, is that though he was quite talented, he was not very consistent. At his best he was very good indeed, but he was not often at his best. For me, the particular clip you posted is blah. The orchestra members are clearly bored out of their minds, and his own performance is perfunctory as well. Definitely not Previn at anywhere near his best. I don't remember if the date was listed on that clip, but I would guess it was towards the end of his tenure as their music director. If it was near the beginning, that must have felt like a long tenure, indeed..... You also asked for comments on what you call a "controversy." Though I am much busier these days than I used to be, I have visited this site every few days and have kept up with all the posts (though not all the music posted, unfortunately). My personal opinion is that this "controversy," as you call it, is mostly in your own head. I think it is pretty clear to everyone else reading this thread that Frogman does not have a "mission" against you. One thing you said in that post is very telling for me - "since Frogman is a musician, and you value a musicians input over a sincere and honest evaluation of the music..." huh?? First of all - this implies that Frogman is not sincere and is not giving an honest evaluation, which I think is ridiculous, and I think everyone else that reads this thread would agree. Second - While I think you are sincere about what you like, and honest about it too, I would say that what you are being honest and sincere about is not really the music itself - it is your own emotional reaction to it, which is NOT the same thing at all. You have repeatedly proclaimed your ignorance of music and that you are proud of it and will never study it. You simply do not speak the language, and don't care. This is precisely why this is not a "controversy" to anyone but you, and also why there can be no actual debate or even meaningful dialogue with you about music. You can't really tell us WHY you like one performance over another, or one version of a tune better than another, because you don't speak the language. But you do get mad if someone says they don't agree with you, especially when they have good reasons. All I can say is that this is the price you must pay for maintaining your ignorance. |
Ellington/Gonsalves: what is there to say? No realer (?) "real deal" than this. Gonsalves was brilliant; as was, of course, The Duke. Classic stuff from an era when this kind of music was, miraculously, a much more important part of the social consciousness. Can you imagine hearing a band like that live? Check this version out: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbjzfZSmQMM Observation: check out who (mostly) in the audience were really digging the music? Answer: the kids. This was probably around 1957-9 and we know what was happening in pop music around then; and how R&R used a lot of these rhythmic grooves. Not sure what I’m saying (no coffe yet); but, just sayin. |
