A blowing session????


I’m a pretty big jazz fan.I truly enjoy Bop and jazz from this era. Question, and perhaps this is not truly accurate/appropriate, is ----how much of this stuff is simply a ’blowin’ session from the artists who are playing the brass instruments, particularly the sax??

IOW, if you have heard one great blowing session, maybe you have heard them all?

 

Listening to ’Trane, Miles, Parlan, Vick,et al, what are your thoughts?

128x128daveyf

@immatthewj  Yes, technically the sax is in the woodwind family. Although this classification is simply because it uses a wood reed, but when was the last time anyone saw a wooden sax?? Almost all of the ones I know of are made of brass.Which is exactly why I referred to it as a brass instrument, not referencing the family it belongs to. 

@daveyf 

but when was the last time anyone saw a wooden sax?? Almost all of the ones I know of are made of brass

Exactly!

I'm in jazz venues pretty often and they're definitely made of brass. As you note it is a "reed" instrument.

Charles

I think of a "blowing session" as a recording session, perhaps driven by the label, with a nominal leader and a team of sideman who are typically also on the label. It features standards and blues tunes, so everyone knows the changes and can roll with it. As stated above, some are great, many run of the mill, but as I find with just about any jazz album, there is often one brilliant tune (or sometimes just a solo) on an album that you are so glad you stumbled across. In some cases, one of the sideman has just discovered his voice and elevates the entire recording, making that the reason to listen to it. This is a such a fascinating genre...

Great post and true... Welcome here ... i underlined my favorite part  and the most important for me ...

 

I think of a "blowing session" as a recording session, perhaps driven by the label, with a nominal leader and a team of sideman who are typically also on the label. It features standards and blues tunes, so everyone knows the changes and can roll with it. As stated above, some are great, many run of the mill, but as I find with just about any jazz album, there is often one brilliant tune (or sometimes just a solo) on an album that you are so glad you stumbled across. In some cases, one of the sideman has just discovered his voice and elevates the entire recording, making that the reason to listen to it. This is a such a fascinating genre..