Jazz for aficionados

What upset me was that you seem to say that Billie's rough life helped her as a singer. Like being a prostitute at age 14, and being a drug addict, gives you 'soul' and 'passion' in your music. All BS, of course.

Rok, who made the statement that upset you? Certainly wasn't me or Mary_jo.

We only made statements regarding your statement about her voice crackling.

Society at large or whoever put her in jail, said she was a Black Ho who needed to be in jail. But we never said anything like that.

Just as "Muddy Waters" and "Albert King's" suffering with injustice in Mississippi comes through in their songs. Her pain came through as well; she didn't have to dredge up the pain, because it was part of her, the same as her skin.

The invisible giant in the room is "racism".

3/4 of the Wayne Shorter Quartet. This is fun stuff!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO5zPbf0SJw

Alex, you are to be commended for continuing to post excellent forgotten or little known players.  Of all the ones that you have posted here Don Sleet is possibly my favorite so far.  Very nice player.  Reminds me a little of Blue Mitchell.  And what a lineup on those recordings!  Great rhythm section.  One of the most interesting things about those clips, aside from Sleet’s fine playing is the shades of Coltrane in Jimmy Heath’s playing; particularly on “Secret Love”.  That was recorded in 1961, probably at the peak of Coltrane’s notoriety so not terribly surprising from that standpoint; but I had never heard so much Trane in any of Jimmy Heath’s recordings before.  Thanks for the clips.  Very nice!

I think I should have been more silent...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQKt7DTKyJU

rok, I’ve written down ’this is not a lecture from me to you...’ precisely because I don’t want you to see me as someone who knows so little in jazz but gives you a preach about Bille. But somehow even this upsets you again...what a man...

Anyway, thank you for the link, I have read it, long time ago...

acman3, thank you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Oh-Dl-KbF0

**** I think I should have been more silent... ****

No!!! Not at all.

mary_jo, as you are finding folks here are very passionate about music and it’s history and sometimes stubborn with our opinions. It is one of the beauties of great art that it inspires such strong feelings. Combine that fact with the imperfection in the written word’s ability to accurately express our thoughts and opinions (also an art) and it is easy to see how and why heated arguments can ensue; something that we thread veterans know much about. Sometimes only through heated debate can the road from opinion to fact become a little clearer....sometimes. At the very least there can be a bit of humor in it all.

So, don’t hold back. This recent bit of friction is very mild....trust me. I like your style and appreciate that you have a feeling for “continuity” in your posts. That kind of mental process is, after all, the way that a good jazz player creates a great jazz solo. I will say, however, that either by design or by innocence your choice of music to suggest “silence” is a particularly controversial (appropriate?) one due to, once again, the all-important “context”. If that last sentence is too cryptic, I have no doubt that your friend and veteran Alex can explain 😉

Very nice Blue Mitchell; thanks! And, very nice continuity.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JTEFKFiXSx4