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.
Showing 50 responses by frogman
Two seldom mentioned live Mingus recordings worth checking out: “Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy: Cornell, 1964”. A two disc set recorded live before the same sextet would tour Europe with subsequent recordings. Fantastic performances and a plus is pretty good sound for a live a recording. Dolphy and Byard in particular sound amazing. Another example of a “lost” tape, it wasn’t released until Sue Mingus found it about ten years ago. No Mingus collection would be complete without a recording of “Epitaph”. Considered by many to be his greatest composition it is a two + hour long work that wasn’t recorded in its entirety until after his death. Parts of it appear on “The Complete Town Hall Concert” (1962); but for a recording of the complete work there is “Epitaph”, a live recording of the entire work from a 1989 concert with orchestra conducted by Gunter Schuller. Amazing musical mind. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S86WzxIbolw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ngCE9Jk-hMA (I sincerely hope no one is “insulted” by the above info 😇) |
**** which sideman you think contributed the most to this great record. **** It’s a shame that one should have to preface comments this way. This is strictly a personal opinion and perspective; certainly not intended to insult anyone since it is obvious we all listen to music differently and listen for different things in music and even listen for different reasons. That question is, TO ME, like the question: which is the “best” trumpet player?....among many great trumpet players. There is no answer and is ultimately a meaningless question. The reason that this is, as the questioner states, a “great record” (and it is) is that every sideman contributes to it’s greatness and has an equally important musical role. Imagine the record without saxophone to fill out the harmony of the melodies, or without the drums and only bass and piano, or without the piano and the resulting absence of harmonic underpinning, etc. Or, imagine different players in any one of those “chairs”; wouldn’t be the same record. Might still be great...might not be. Classic Jazz quintet; five different and very specific roles. Musicians commonly say “an ensemble is only as good as its weakest link”. This was a great ensemble; no weak links and all equally strong links in their respective roles. |
Any player, especially rhythm section players, will tell you that to a great extent their own playing on any performance is inextricably linked to, and even determined by, the playing of the other two; basic rule of ensemble playing. No smoke and mirrors, just fact. You chose Cranshaw as “contributing the most” (in a single situation no different than saying “the best”). You liked Cranshaw. Great! But, I guarantee you that Cranshaw would point to the other two as being one of the main reasons he played the way he did on that tune. There’s a lot more to “contribution” than meets the eye. One perspective. Btw, Ben Cranshaw is a pro golfer 😊 |
Sorry you feel that way, O-10; I really am. I made it very clear, it is MY perspective. A perspective pertinent to the way I (!) would answer the question that you asked of everyone here. Why does it bother you so? You certainly have your own perspective and I’m sure there are others who share it. If you or anyone else finds no value in mine, that’s fine. No end game and the last thing I want is for anyone here to “choose” me, whatever that means; although the notion explains a thing or two. Now, I could point out the inconsistency and contradiction between your above “blue sky” analogy and the premise of your sideman question, but it would clearly not be fuitful now. So, what do you say? Truce? I’m game. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=epRXoS_P0lk Try a little Parmesan on that popcorn, mary_jo 😋 |
Moving away from piano players re O-10’s interesting question, there is one musician that has to be very near the top of the list of all time great sidemen. The quality of his playing needs no commentary. His discography as a sideman is mind boggling; not only for sheer volume, but for the fact that so many of the records he was on are the most highly regarded in all of jazz. And to think that he only lived until age 33: Paul Chambers With Pepper Adams
With Cannonball Adderley
With Nat Adderley
With Toshiko Akiyoshi
With Lorez Alexandria
With Gene Ammons With Chet Baker
With Walter Benton
With Bob Brookmeyer
With Tina Brooks
With Kenny Burrell
With Jaki Byard
With Donald Byrd
With Sonny Clark
With Kenny Clarke
With Jimmy Cleveland
With King Curtis
With John Coltrane
With Sonny Criss
With Miles Davis
With Kenny Dorham
With Kenny Drew
With Teddy Edwards
With Bill Evans
With Gil Evans
With Curtis Fuller
With Red Garland
With Dexter Gordon
With Benny Golson
With Bennie Green
With Grant Green
With Johnny Griffin
With Herbie Hancock
With Barry Harris
With Hampton Hawes
With Jimmy Heath
With Joe Henderson
With Ernie Henry
With Elmo Hope
With Freddie Hubbard
With Milt Jackson
With John Jenkins
With J. J. Johnson
With Elvin Jones
With Hank Jones
With Philly Joe Jones
With Thad Jones
With Clifford Jordan
With Wynton Kelly
With Abbey Lincoln
With Warne Marsh
With Les McCann
With Hal McKusick
With Jackie McLean
With Blue Mitchell
With Hank Mobley
With Thelonious Monk
With Lee Morgan
With Wes Montgomery
With Oliver Nelson
With Phineas Newborn Jr.
With Art Pepper
With Houston Person
With Bud Powell
With The Prestige All Stars
With Ike Quebec
With Paul Quinichette
With Sonny Red
With Freddie Redd
With Dizzy Reece
With Sonny Rollins
With A. K. Salim
With Sahib Shihab
With Woody Shaw
With Wayne Shorter
With Louis Smith
With Sonny Stitt
With Frank Strozier
With Art Taylor
With Clark Terry
With Stanley Turrentine
With Julius Watkins and Charlie Rouse
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C’mon, O-10, talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Oh, shi#, are we allowed to say that in this day and age?! Anyway, you can’t possibly mean it; I know you must be joking. Is there someone else who is a real meany posting here without you knowing it? That must be it. Anyway, truce, right? Re Wyands and sidemen: Ah! That’s different. Once again, MY perspective. If you’re talking about a sideman that consistently makes a great contribution to many other artists’ projects, that’s an interesting question because some good players are more consistent than others. I’ll use Rok’s earlier choice of Be, I mean, Bob Cranshaw as an example. He sounds wonderful on that Morgan record, but, to my ears, not so great playing electric bass on some other recordings, even some of Sonny Rollins’. So, I would not choose him as an example of outstanding sideman. I think Wyands is a fine choice. I would add Bill Evans to the list. Incredibly sensitive sideman and accompanyist who was obviously also a leader many times over. To be able to be both is more rare than may seem. Another is Kenny Barron. Both players with the ability to keep their very strong musical personalities (ahem!) under wraps when necessary. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k036P1jsdq4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e-vzGxp8388 Truce, right? |
Great clips, pjw! An interesting factoid about Paul Chambers’ legacy as a bass player is that he was one of the very first jazz bass players to become really proficient playing and soloing “arco” or bowed bass. This is from the same live Trane/Getz performance that you and nsp posted recently: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dfcgp3d6A8I |
Nice Kenny Burrell clip, O-10; thanks. I liked that clip; very nice and “groovy” feel and the playing is great. I liked it a lot eventhough I am usually not a big fan of that “sound”. That sound is very “70’s”; and as you correctly point out, very different from a typical 50’s/60’s “sound”. That sound is very similar to the classic CTI sound of the same era and shows the tremendous influence that producer Creed Taylor, for better or worse, had on shaping a certain 70’s sonic aesthetic. Wyands sounds great and, as you say, the focus is on him, but also the sound of the Fender Rhodes electric piano which he is playing and recorded very up close and with generous use of reverb. The sound of that instrument became almost ubiquitous in the 70’s, not only on many CTI recordings but also those of Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and others. Nice clip. |
Rahsaan was one of the great geniuses of jazz. Great clip and great record; one of my favorites. Thanks! Check the credits, though; on that clip it is Hank Jones on piano, not Wyands. Wyands plays on this cut: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d2yQAfOqTf4 |
O-10, re Nina Simone: Imo, Nina Simone is a perfect example of Aristotle’s famous quote “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Before anyone thinks that this comment is faint praise, it is not. Nina Simone was a great artist and I love her artistry. Her artistry was a result of a combination of the ability to convey an incredible sense of emotion and commitment to the message of her songs, individuality, tremendous attitude in her delivery and excellent piano skills; not to mention that her songs, many of which had social consciousness themes, added to the overall impact of her artistry. In this context my following opinion doesn’t really matter, but I point it out because you make an interesting comment re her piano playing specifically: “ I’m not sure she maintained her piano skills to the end”. Imo, none of her many skills were, individually, quite on a par with the very greatest artists that we have discussed here. Her vocal skills (not her delivery) were limited; as was her piano playing. They were very good, but she certainly didn’t have the vocal skills of a Sarah Vaughn (not even close), nor the piano skills of Evans, Kelly, Barron, Wyands, or many other great piano players. To be honest you probably made a valid observation that I never did. You may very well be right that her piano playing was not maintained at the same level. I just never really paid much attention to her piano playing per se because it never struck me as outstanding. Don’t get me wrong, as I said, it was very good, but what always made an impact with me was the commitment and power in the overall delivery of the songs; the sum of the parts. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-sEP0-8VAow Btw, much has been written about how she was denied admission to the Curtis Institute and her feeling that it was due to racial bias. I don’t question nor doubt that bias may have played a role. However, in fairness, I would have to point out that being aware of the unbelievable caliber of pianists that attend that conservatory with the hope of having careers as concert pianists, I personally have not heard enough in her recorded piano playing that made me think she could have been a contender. IMO. |
O-10, I suspect you’re right; she probably would have been another boring classical piano player...to those who know Classical music. That’s the point ‘though, the ones who are exceptional and have the potential to not be boring classical pianists are the ones who get the scholarships. **** She would have to be exclusively a pianist to make the comparison you made because there is so little where she focused exclusively on the piano. **** I think I said the same thing if I understand your comment correctly. Perhaps if she had focused entirely on the piano she would have achieved the level of those others. What I have heard from her where she only plays piano did not reach that level, imo. Or are you saying that she was as good a piano player as those others but she just didn’t record very much as just a piano player? |
O-10, unfortunately (for you), “snobbery” only scratches the surface. It took you a few tries, but at least you were able to come up with something remotely resembling an apology (not!). As I’ve said before it’s all pretty obvious; including why it is that your ”snobbery” is more times than not directed only at me. Don’t worry, it will be overlooked...again, and again, and again. Which all leads me to what ties the answer to the above question and the subject of mary_jo’s very interesting comments. I will offer some thoughts a little later, mary_jo. |
O-10, I should have added this to my earlier post, but was rushed; I like clarity. The reason I even mentioned “apology” in that post was not that I care one iota about receiving one from you; history has shown that you are not capable of that kind of sincerity. Nor do I care one bit about fitting your definition of “connoisseur”. I mentioned it because, to my way of thinking, you owe all on this thread an apology for, once again, stirring the pot of discontent and controversy with your absurd and provocative personal comments even when that same history has shown that whenever you do it, it serves no purpose other than to derail what could be interesting discussion of the music. I care about and respect this music. You care more about what it does for you and your identity. So, go ahead with your proclamations about being top “connoisseur”, “top aficionado”, whatever. You need that; I don’t. I couldn’t care less and frankly find the need to appropriate or use those titles to be incredibly lame, sophomoric and an indication of lack of depth. I don’t think that to describe your condition as “snobbery” is apt; I think delusion is far more appropriate. So, let’s revisit just one of the more recent and superlative offerings from the “top aficionado” and “connoisseur”, shall we?: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jHeIASIwBp0 In case you couldn’t tell, your bs gets old. |
Alex, it has gotten out of hand. More than once; as you well know. Great post and I couldn’t agree more. I have been calling for focusing on civilized discussion here for literally years. From my perspective, I am confident in the fact that I put a lot of effort in trying to provide my point of view and perspective without personalizing it nor insulting anyone. If someone, as was recently suggested, considers it an “insult” when I or anyone else offers a reasoned and confident viewpoint backed by well established and accepted ideas and standards about music which happen to be different or contradict that someone’s viewpoint, there is not a whole lot that I can do about that. It is unfortunate. As I have suggested many times, we should all be big boys and girls and accept that there will be differences of opinion. Now, I don’t nor would I ever claim to be an angel when these disputes get out of hand. That I am not is obvious. However, as was recently pointed out by one of our participants, if a stone is hurled unjustifiably there is justification in hurling one back. If enough stones get hurled I may hurl an even bigger one back; or two, or three. That is normally not my first choice; but, there is a limit to everything. The recent dispute is a fine example: A poster makes a comment about Nina Simone and, in a rare stroke of magnanimity, suggests that I would be the only one who can make a determination or explain why he might be correct or not. Now, I don’t necessarily agree nor put stock in the idea that I am the only one who could address his concern about Nina Simone, a favorite artist of his. I then wait to see if anyone else responds. No one does. I then offer a reasoned and detailed opinion (OPINION....MINE ONLY), in which I praise Simone as a great artist and explain what I (!) think it is that makes her a great artist. Ah! But I make the mistake to write that I don’t think her piano playing in general is outstanding and explain the reasons why I think that is so. Oh, no; we can’t have that! Because the poster thinks that she was one of the great pianists (she was not, imo) all hell breaks loose and responds with the “you are not a connoisseur” bull sh!#. This after asking for my thoughts. All this on the heels of unwarranted comments about how I “am not able to hear jazz”, or “don’t have a feel for the music”. “I don’t post as much good jazz as he does”, and on, and on. This sort of childish nonsense has happened so often that when I read that “stroke of magnanimity”, I knew exactly what was around the corner. I was correct. My only regret is that I can’t always have the wherewithal to take the high road and simply ignore the bs. As I said, throw enough stones at me and I will throw them back; perhaps along with some bile. My reaction is usually about the manipulative aspect of the way that this is done and the obstacle that it creates in being able to have a meaningful discussion to the detriment of this thread; not because there is disagreement. The bs is simply too much to take sometimes and it is never “fun” for me. I don’t need the validation of a self-proclaimed “connoisseur”. I know very well why the reaction to my comments often is what it is. Not a whole lot I can do about that other than to continue to ignore it and try and take the high road as often as I can. Obviously, I fall short sometimes; probably too many times. But, again, sometimes the bs is simply too much to take. Nice post. As always, hoping for better communication here. |
On the subject of piano playing female singers. Another favorite; if very different from Simone: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ydcb22nNrXM https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7OtpZe_HSNg https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-nb-qqXOqnc |
Thanks for the link, pjw. Very interesting period in the career of one of the most important figures in the history of jazz. In the tenor saxophone world, up there alongside players like Lester Young and Coltrane in the handful of most influential. It’s interesting to me that these recordings are some of Rollins’ first after his infamous hiatus and that he would also choose the unorthodox Don Cherry for his front line; clearly a time to explore new ground on the part of Rollins. I’ve had some of these performances on this record: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7pbu76U43yY ... and a cassette (!!!) tape of a bootleg recording that a friend gave me years ago. I just ordered the set for the cuts that I don’t have and to have it all on cd. Thanks! |
mary_jo, you raised some very interesting questions in your last post. **** can musicians devote themselves equally to the voice and to the instrument when playing and singing at the same time? And all that in their perfection? Will at some point the performance of the instrument "suffer" when the delivery gets stronger through their voice or vice versa? **** First, let’s establish a baseline. We are only talking about singers who accompany themselves; while most singers play, at least, a little bit of piano (or guitar), some don’t at all. I don’t think there is any one answer for all perfomers that accompany themselves since each performer has a different level of ability at each skill and a different level of ability to keep the “distraction” of one from affecting the other which is what I think your question is asking. I have no doubt that for some the answer is yes and for others it is no. However, while an interesting question in absolute terms this is not what determines the level of excellence of the self-accompanying performer’s final product. This is what I meant when I described Nina Simone’s artistry in terms of “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. For Simone and other performers who accompany themselves and who are at that high a level of artistry the goal is for the two skills to work together for a potentially greater whole. Technical “perfection” in any one area is not the goal. They may actually NOT WANT to fully exploit their pianistic skills in the technical sense because doing so may actually lessen the artistic impact of the whole; it may be a distraction from the singing and vise versa. I love to make pancakes for Sunday family breakfast; I make great pancakes 😋. My family’s favorite are beer batter pancakes; beer instead of milk. However, if I use really great beer which has a lot of personality the pancakes will be awful. One has to use very average beer for just the right balance. **** For instance, should a singer like Nina, let somebody else accompanied her on the piano in order to get the perfection out of the both performances? **** I don’t think so. The end result would be very different. Again, depends on the performer and the strength and flexibility of each skill. While I don’t think Simone is one of these, some lesser performers may actually need to accompany themselves since their instrument can be seen as a crutch or musical security blanket; they might feel naked without it. The quality of the end result depends on having complete control of both. Listen to how perfectly in sinc the “dialogue” between the voice and piano is in Simone’s case. It is akin to a conversation between identical twins or old married couples; they can finish sentences for each other. This is not say that I think she is a fantastic piano player in absolute terms. I don’t; as evidenced in part by the fact that we don’t find recordings (any?) by other artists with Simone on piano. She was the perfect piano player FOR HER music. Conversely, many great jazz piano players are not necessarily great accompanists to singers. It is a specific skill. On the other hand there are, in fact, some singers who accompany themselves who could definitely benefit from a great accompanist who is better at it than they are themselves. Luckily, achieving a very high level of skill in any one discipline usually means that the performer has the ability to know when it is better to let someone else do the other and we don’t see this happen too often. Most really good singers actually play at least a little bit of piano; most know better than to try and accompany themselves when performing. Perhaps my thoughts will be of some value to you in answering your questions. In your questions there are many parallels to many of the issues that all musicians deal with when perfecting their craft, regardless of genre, style and whether self-accompanying or not; there are many layers to the development of the craft. |
Excellent comments re this Rollins set. Those three cuts that nsp refers to were released in an RCA compilation album of unrelated sessions titled “3 in Jazz” featuring various artists. On the three Rollins cuts, Bob Cranshaw was replaced by a different bassist whose name I don’t recall right now. Need to dig that album up and will get back to you. |
Rules for Aficionados 😇: - The alex rule: Like grandma always said, if you don’t have something positive to say, unless specifically asked, say nothing. - The pryso rule: There is no “best”. - The acman rule: Write as few words as possible, but post as much music as possible. - The mary_jo rule: Remember, sometimes “newbies” have the most insightfulness; less clutter to complicate matters. - ????? |
pryso, great example of piano player/singer. No question about Nat Cole’s piano playing cred. Very highly regarded among other piano players and considered influential. And what a beautiful velvety voice! Whenever I hear his singing I can’t help remembering this story. Apologies if I’ve told this story before: As any big city resident knows, street musicians are a fixture on the subway trains as well as streets of NYC. Some are pretty good. I frequent this one particular subway line and one of the “regulars” on this line is this crusty and very colorful older alto saxophone player who goes from subway car to subway car and plays the same tune every time: “Nature Boy”, recorded and made popular by Nat Cole in the 40’s. I had heard him play the tune at least half a dozen times and had noticed that he was changing one of the notes in the melody: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq0XJCJ1Srw **** There was a boy A very strange enchanted boy They say he wandered very far, very far... **** Each time the lyric says “far”, the corresponding note in the melody has a very distinctive sound in the harmony of the tune. It is one of the defining notes of this rather exotic sounding melody. For anyone who cares, that note is a major seventh in a minor chord; pretty unusual and is what gives the melody that interesting exotic melodic twist. Well, this guy would play that note a semitone lower; a minor seventh to give the melody a kind of bluesy sound. So, every time he would walk by while playing I would compliment his playing (wasn’t too bad) and would slip him five or ten bucks and he would go on his way. After about six or seven times of this, I had to ask. “Hey, man, sounds great, but did you know, that one note you’re playing....”. Before I had a chance to finish my sentence he says in his very gravelly voice: “Yeah, man, I know, it should be a half step higher; but I make more money when I play it that way”. Hysterical! |
Excellent, Alex! Of course, the thought crossed my mind as I compiled the list; which is why the last “rule” was...... - ????? .....IOW, an open invitation for anyone to make additions to the list and have an opportunity to participate. As I already said, all in good fun, of course. So, feel free to translate your very funny clips to “rules” and amend the list in order for it to be more inclusive .....don’t stir too much 😉. I will start the amendment process with this: The actual real life saxophonist who recorded “Zoot”’s playing for Sesame Street is an old friend and studio woodwind player who was fond of using this expression and said it with a particularly colorful accent. I will appropriate it as “The frogman rule”: - Check your boolsheeht at the doh! **** Since nobody has a reason to doubt my good intentions, I will post couple of ’descriptions’ as well... **** I have no doubt. I look forward to your “translations”, while I take cover 😊. OK to play it safe, of course. |
Can never get enough Sonny. pjw, Sonny had a penchant for picking show tunes that one would usually not think to be good vehicles for improvisation. “I’m An Old Cowhand” is a favorite; thanks. Here’s another: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n6U7PY89bv8 As in “Cowhand”, on this set Sonny shows why he was one of the few players who could play convincingly in a piano-less setting; amazing command of harmony. He was one of the pioneers of this very challenging format. One of my favorite records by Sonny: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0q2VleZJVEk03oGLxkxjZs-JGjm8fMu4 |
pjw, good catch and thanks for listing the personell. My guess is that “Night I T” opened their sets; hence the introduction. It makes a great opener. The other tunes on the record are probably from further into the various sets. Since the producers already had their preferred “N I T” for the record, we wouldn’t have the name intros from the sets with the other players. |
Thanks for the info, nsp. I love these mysteries. From “Allmusic.com”: **** The recording that resulted documents two shows in the afternoon and evening of November 3, 1957. Rollins employed different bands for the two shows. The afternoon show sported Donald Bailey on bass and Pete (La Roca) Sims on drums and the only contribution to the whole by this band is the opening "Night in Tunisia." The remainder of the recording is all Wilbur Ware on Bass and Elvin Jones on Drums. the recently released rudy Van Gelder Edition is superior to all previous releases of this material. Included here is all of the pre-song banter showing a 27 year old Rollins wowing his crowd. Also, previously edited material is restored and situated in chronologic order **** This from Wiki corroborates the above. Check out the “Track Listing” page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Night_at_the_Village_Vanguard |
Came across some interesting reading (and listening/third link) on a recent topic of discussion: https://mhrrecords.com/articlesandessays/essay07.html https://chuckisraelsjazz.com/blogs/news/the-piano-and-the-art-of-jazz-accompaniment https://www.npr.org/2018/05/29/614517884/at-the-helm-harold-mabern-stalwart-accompanist-at-82 |
Sorry, pjw. pjw, jpw, frogman, manfrog...the bean hadn’t kicked in yet 😊 https://youtu.be/6gp6xb-WJT0 |
nsp, you may very well be correct that there is music from the afternoon sessions that was not released. They were probably tunes that were also played in the evening sets. It is possible that these versions from the afternoon set were felt to be inferior to those from the evening sets and weren’t released. The record does include two “alternate takes”. Neither is one of the two tunes from the afternoon set. Perhaps it was felt that those two (from the evening sets) were felt to be good enough to include as alternate takes. It is unlikely that they would play the same tune twice in the same set. So, it does appear that they did play some of the same tunes in different sets. I suppose it is also possible that there were technical issues with some of the recordings from the afternoon set. What do you think? |
How could I forget this one?! “Joe Henderson Quintet At The Lighthouse” https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hvEBhx0eYZo&index=2&list=PLMD9X0rJLX6bVX8SIMSmPlVv_PAFx3v85&am... I did it again (in my last post). Sorry, nsp. You are definitely NOT a “nap” 🙃. |
Hah! I didn’t know that about it being the first live recording at the VV. Thanks for that very interesting factoid, nap. With that knowledge in mind, I would put even more stock in the possibility that technical issues may have been the reason that not all of the music from the afternoon set was released. Afternoon set: very first time that a recording was attempted vs the evening sets for which they had had a “practice run”. Seems plausible to me. In answer to your question: Good list that I can’t argue with eventhough that, as usual, “best” gets a little complicated. A couple more that come to mind as contenders (favorites, anyway): Stanley Turrentine “Up At Minton’s“ Sarah Vaughn “Live In Japan” Monk/Coltrane “At Carnegie Hall” Eric Dolphy “At The Five Spot” Benny Goodman “Benny In Brussels” |
pjw, that Alvin Lee clip was a big surprise for me. A blast from the past and one of my favorite Rock guitar heroes (Ten Years After) during my HS days. I pretty much stopped following those players night around the time that was recorded and I had no idea that he had been into that kind of playing. I liked it! |
Great choices, Alex. Interesting, I had forgotten how much faster they played “Take Five” at the Carnegie concert. At first I thought it might be a technical speed issue with that particular upload to Youtube and checked my lp; but that is the actual tempo they took it at. Must have been the excitement of and from the live audience. I’m reposting for comparison: https://youtu.be/JVLIcbUL64M The studio version: https://youtu.be/vmDDOFXSgAs |