frogman, mahgister, stuartk, I want to probe a bit and see if we can define the boundaries of jazz. So, I'm going to start with a performer who might or might not be a "jazz" performer: Frank Sinatra. What do you think?
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.
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I don’t feel competent to make any definitive declarations in this regard. For one thing, I haven’t heard much Sinatra. What I have heard has not displayed what I consider to be fundamental to the genre: improvisation on his part. There are of course, plenty of examples of vocalists fronting bands playing "jazzy" arrangements of standards that do not feature improvisation by the singer. To my mind, this does necessarily make it Jazz. Perhaps it’s a matter of degree... Let’s wait and see what @frogman has to say on this topic.
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It is evident for me that Sinatra is a great singer... But i had no real interest for him... If i hear him i know he is more than average to say the least... But i cannot say i appreciate many singers.... The singer i like the most is a persian singer with many Indian singers... To stay in Jazz each time i hear Louis Armstrong playing or singing i felt him in my gut....it is not that i love him, he is like a sun irradiating...
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curiousjim, glad I could get your toes tapping! stuartk, the reason I mentioned Sinatra was because many musicians and singers have called him a genius. He lost his voice early on in his career, I think when he was in his twenties. Early Sinatra sounds much like Bing Crosby. Sinatra made up for the problems with his voice by inventing new phrasing, and it is this phrasing that other musicians refer to as his genius. I wondered if that phrasing would give him a place in the jazz world along with Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Every New Years I am absolutely blown away that New York is still playing Sinatra's "New York, New York." He was born 110 years ago and died 27 years ago and I still hear him everywhere, as I do with Ella Fitzgerald. I grew up listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, and I don't know who else remembers Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Jazz was all around but I didn't think of it as jazz. It was just the music my parents were playing. And, of course, Sinatra was all around. |
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