If this has been posted before, please tell me. If it has been posted before, and I don't remember; that's simply a sign that I'm getting younger.
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.
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.
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- 15551 posts total
Although Milt Jackson is the undisputed king of the jazz vibraphone, Bobby Hutcherson holds his own. The fact that he was born in 1941, while Milt Jackson was born in 1923 helps a lot. Bobby's style is more modern than Milt's, which means he sounds "different"; that means the two of them are not so closely compared; I'll show you what I mean. The differences in the coast's they were born closest to, Milt; East Coast, and Bobby, West Coast; also attributed to a difference in styles and selection of music. When you hear the links I'm going to post, you'll hear how superb both musicians sound, and you may even want to challenge the fact as I have stated, that Milt Jackson is the undisputed king of the jazz vibraphone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUPBJPR4XJA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhgUUe5czxc This time, you get to be the judge. Enjoy the music. |
"Undisputed"? Says who? By what criteria? As you point out, they have totally different styles. It’s like comparing Charlie Parker to John Coltrane. Two undiputed giants from entirely different evolutionary periods in the music. Who is better, Bird or Trane? Has no answer and is kind of a pointless question. Just as Bird would have sounded a little absurd trying to play "Giant Steps", Milt Jackson, as wonderful as he was, would sound out of place in a musical setting like that which was home for Hutcherson. Much more extended harmonic vocabulary and a move away from the very "swingy" feeling in the music. However, playing a slow blues, Milt Jackson couldn’t be touched, imo. So..... There’s a problem with the comparison clips. The Jackson clip is beautiful musically and sonically. The Hutcherson clip, to me, sounds a bit like a mess. Harold Land should have stuck to the saxophone; imo, his flute sounds terrible. I like his tenor playing, but he sounds like he picked up the flute a couple of weeks previously. Considering how often the flute plays, it practically ruins the entire performance. And it’s not as simple or isolated as the flute player being horribly out of tune. In a recording situation all the players are reacting to the "performance problem". It becomes a major problem in being able to relax and focus on the music, instead of having to deal with the tension and distraction of compensating for the problem. The end result is usually an inferior performance. This, imo, is a better showcase of Hutcherson’s strengths (and he was an infinitely better compiser than Jackson): https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLE4B0BF2407AEE1F5¶ms=OAFIAVgD&v=vbWiIf-kk98&mode=N... The alto player is someone who deserves more attention here, James Spaulding. |
Joe Locke is one of the current vibraphonists taking the instrument to places it’s never been before (notice the four mallet technique): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DSIvUrVWKAQ For something really unusual and unexpected: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dVa49WwXzr8 (Btw, in my previous post re Hutcherson, it should have read "composer" not compiser; sorry.) |
- 15551 posts total