Jazz for aficionados

Great clips of Julie and Christy; thanks O-10 and Pryso.  Aside from the pure enjoyment, two things “jumped out” at me when I listened  to those great clips of those two beautiful singers.  First, like the influence that Charlie Parker had on practically every player that followed is the sometimes subtle but clear influence that Billie Holliday had on singers of that era on phrasing and vocal shadings  The other is bewilderment, once again, over the attention and adulation that a singer like Diana Krall receives today when there are so many practically forgotten singers who were on an entirely different artistic level.  Here’s another from a gem of a record that I have:

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

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yiW0ANvFpKA

Rok, amazing Wes Montgomery clip. Swinging like mad and lots of heat. Loved it! Thanks for that. Wes Montgomery is brilliant as always and Johnny Griffin sounds amazing.

I love the way great players “communicate” during a great performance and send musical cues to each other that then influence the way the other player plays; players are glued to each other musically and taking in everything that each other does. There’s a great example of this in that clip. Listen to what Montgomery does in his solo at 1:39, he plays a phrase by sliding from note to note in a way that is actually very “guitaristic”, but stands out in the context of the entire solo. Now, listen to what Johnny Griffin does at 4:45 in his solo. Griffin is one my favorite tenor players and I have many recordings of him as leader, as sideman and I heard him live twice (Village Vanguard, 90’s); I have never heard him do what he did at 4:45. He mimicked what Wes did at 1:39. If one listens really closely, in the background one can hear who I would bet is Wes Montgomery saying “Yeah!” after the first time Griffin makes those note slides, as if to say “You owe me a beer”.  Love that stuff! That’s a record to buy.

btw, what is that voice at 2:40. Some strange Satanic message? 😳

My favorite version of "Early Autumn";


        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EL4cqfFjN0

I just love it when The Frogman points out the finer details of the music.   It makes it all the more enjoyable and appreciated.

The voice on the Montgomery clip may have been Miles' Mama.   O-10 said she had special 'powers'.

Cheers

frog, the first time I saw the great flick, "Jazz on a Summer's Day" I became an instant fan of Anita.  For me that remains possibly the best jazz vocal performance I've heard.  Too bad it was so brief.  She truly was a jazz singer, unlike Julie in my opinion as mentioned previously.  Still, like chocolate and vanilla, there are reasons to enjoy both. ;^)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcMmVGrzpy8

Also I agree about Krall.  She is OK, but not nearly worth the popularity she seems to have obtained.  I can only attribute that to so many younger people not having been exposed to the many great jazz vocalists we've been discussing here.  Of course it doesn't hurt that she is easy on the eyes -- if that is not too politically incorrect to state.