Jazz for aficionados

"On the real side, in regard to the music we are about, when we reach a serious consensus, that's when it's time to study all the details carefully; by that, I mean to search for albums created by the artists who created that one; without the star artist on that one."

O - that's right on the money for me.  Towner's "Solstice" was THAT recording for me.  An EAR opener.  Had never heard anything like it before.  Found it by chance at the local public library.  Went on to explore other music by Towner but also pursued others on that album...Eberhard Weber and Jan Garabarek, mainly.  

It’s not the Music itself that is the best, it’s the end use to which it is put and the level of that end .
Bach said the purpose of music is to glorify God and wrote "To the Glory of God ". And he meant it . Much of Classical music is religious music and
most of the greatest composers made efforts toward that goal, the praise of God , a sung and played prayer.

I see Jazz as a conversation between peers to bring music at its best to the human level, a love thy neighbor as thy self exercise at it’s best , which is a noble effort in and of itself . And at the end of the day a tribute to God, as we humans can’t think of God all the time any more than a student can study all the time .

I see pop/rock as simple melodies for those who want to live life the easy way, melody without rhythm. I believe the cults that form around this band and that are a way to live your life without ever creating one for yourself.
Much like those who make a sports team the center of their existence , hard to call it a life in either case .

Folk music, real folk music , is special in that it is a living binder of community, a crucial element for all humans that is woefully absent in our time .
Also once you get past, say the beat in Celtic music for instance, there is a whole lot of music going on , much like "blue notes " in jazz with the music of centuries being improvised much like jazz is , still room on those old charts .No accident that some of the greatest modern composers , masters of composition like
Bartok, Janacek and Vaughn-Williams dove deep into this endless well .

Interesting comments, Schubert.  Well said.

Haha, O.  Hadn't listened to Waves in a good long while.  Track 1? Per Ulv

Ghosthouse, Your post in regard to our slight (narrow range of disagreement) in regard to Chick Corea, is "right on".

We began to form our taste in music when we were toddlers, shaking our little boody's to what ever turned us on. From that time till now has been an ongoing process; consequently, we can't be expected to agree 100% of the time, but we came close on Chick Corea.

I think we're going to strike gold with the ECM comparisons.

Astewart, your very accurate post on "Blue Train" was another confirmation of the greatness of that tune and the musicians who created it.


Enjoy the music.