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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
orpheus10 OP
5,988 posts
 

Learsfool, we're talking about "hard bop" where you improvise from beginning to end, as in a "Jam Session"; like the one's Miles, Bird, and Diz engaged in, not just improvising in a standard piece of music.

I am not even hinting that you are not the most competent of competent musicians; what I am saying is that you would not be able to engage in a "hard bop" jam session.



Enjoy the music.
orpheus10 OP
5,988 posts
 

Acman, you do have an ear for new music, new to me anyway. I listen on a regular basis to one of your recommendations; the controversial one.

Renee Rosnes is very pretty; unfortunately I wont be seeing her beauty in my listening room, but since she also plays beautiful music, that will suffice.

I'm looking over her discography in order to select a purchase. Thanks for the heads up.




Enjoy the music.
orpheus10 OP
5,988 posts
 

"Aficionados", I seem to write a lot about big time musicians I've seen live, and I was wandering; what have I written about Art Blakey?

My memory is not as good as it once was, and I don't like to repeat myself; I was hoping that you might help me out before I attempt to gather my thoughts about the time I saw Art Blakey.



Enjoy the music.
frogman
4,637 posts
 
Acman3, excellent Renee Rosnes clip; up there with Bill Charlap (her husband) as one of my very favorite of the new crop of piano players.

There is a truism in music, applicable to any genre, that a musician plays the way that he/she is as a person.  Rosnes is a wonderful player with a clear Bill Evans influence who plays in a way that is, dare I say it?, feminine in the approach to the keyboard and to rhythm.  Lest I upset those with a pc sensibility, I mean that only as a compliment based on my sensibilities and I am obviously generalizing; I appreciate the differences between the feminine and masculine approach to things.  There is a gentle and "sexy" approach to rhythm in her playing that I love.  She is the opposite of percussive on the keyboard and her rhythmic feel has a wonderful light touch that draws you in and doesn't hit you over the head. Beautiful player.

With her husband Bill Charlap on the Joe Henderson classic:
 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dsiDkEuxM1c

Would love to know the inside scoop of the reason for the choice of this tune on their album together:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xgya62mb1NU

Also, thanks for the Lage and Frisell clips; great stuff.  Lage has such a distinctive tone; and Frisell is, of course, brilliant as always. 




frogman
4,637 posts
 
O-10, I mean no disrespect and I certainly don't want to "violate" any unwritten set of rules that you may have envisioned for this thread as a thread of recommendations of recordings and nothing more.  I am well aware of the fact that you don't want to and didn't intend this thread to be about "learning music".  First of all, I don't see how it's possible to have any kind of substantive discussion of anything or any artist by simply keeping the thread's posts to "I like" or "I don't like", personal anecdotes and nothing more.  Personally, I think it would be a pretty boring thread.  But, let's assume that we agree to those "rules".  I think that the reason we seem to be going around in circles about this is that, first of all, you yourself keep bringing up technical aspects of the music and that there is a basic misunderstanding about some....basics; and the misuse of certain key terms.  The only alternative would be to let those misstatements slide and continue a discussion based on a mistaken premise; not a reasonable proposition I think.  Take this recent issue of improvisation:

Even in hard-bop there is no such thing as "improvising beginning to end" as you wrote.  Moreover, the issues around this disagreement about improvisation applies to ANY style of jazz, not just hard bop. I think that a good place to start clearing up this confusion is by recognizing the mistaken notion that because there are no sheets of music in front of them that the musicians are necessarily "improvising".  This is not the case.  There is, first of all,  the "tune" or melody in a hard bop performance which is not "improvised", and then there are various formulas which are used as the FRAMEWORK for improvisation.  I'll stop there unless you want to know more.  Regards.
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