Jazz for aficionados
Digging the last 25-30 posts. Love, love love Byrd, Roy Hargrove and James Brown. Just finished ripping almost 2000 cd's and finally have time to listen. James is funky. Seriously so. I've heard him live twice and his band starts the gig like they've been playing for a couple of hours locked up hard in the groove. This is a new one for me. A serious groove, a serious cover by Nina Simone. The bass player is, (for me) the epitome of cool. Have a great night. Bob https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yWOVrwe1Zw |
Willis Jackson: Jackson, Charles Earland, Pat Martino, Idris Muhammad; what could possibly go wrong? Soulful, funky; and that tenor sound! Martino has always liked to play with organ players; he is a monster player. Muhammad was one of Dexter Gordon's last drummers; great player. Earland "The Mighty Burner". Great lineup. In his review on Allmusic, Scott Yanow states "This is a particularly exciting release... The chord changes might be fairly basic but Willis Jackson plays with such enthusiasm and exuberance that it almost sounds as if he had discovered the joy of playing music". |
Hargrove "Soppin The Biscuit". Nice! Probably my favorite Hargrove so far. Notice how he left space in his solo and didn't cram every beat with notes; much more coherent solo as a result. Turrentine; what a sound! Knew it was him after a few notes. Loved this one; then again, it's with another one of my favorite tenor players: https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLLhORrvwD4q8PiN2bIn5cbuaHiomigktt¶ms=OAFIAVgF&v=nC0zxx... Who can name the tune that Joe Henderson quotes at the very start of his solo at :45? Hint: Cuba I may have to get check out Hargrove again. Thanks for the clip. |
psag, welcome to thread! Rok beat me to the punch with his comment. I think it's hard to make a case for ****In the 60's the hotseat for jazz creativity moved to Europe, **** when, for starters, you had the work of, among others, Miles and Trane during that period. Please don't let the challenge discourage you from posting. You will find very passionate opinions about jazz and its history here; but, different and interesting points of view are always welcomed. Looking forward to your comments and contributions. |
O-10, oh geez....do I have to do this? Frogman 10-04-2014 **** I do think that Blakey sounds, as usual, a little lazy and sloppy. That’s his style but not my cup of tea. He is obviously a great drummer.**** Orpheus10 10-04-2014 ****As I sit here trying to respond to your post, I get more and more "discombobulated"; Art Blakey a "sloppy drummer".....**** In keeping with what I wrote; I would say. Nonetheless, if you insist on feeling that I think that "everything you utter is directed at me" and that "I lay claim to things that I didn’t say about Blakey’s drumming", by all means, knock yourself out; the facts are the facts. In the meantime, how about a meaningful comment about music instead of bs? You are, after all, "the one and only Orpheus". Oh, and a minor detail: The comment that you were referring to, we now learn, was FROM A DIFFERENT THREAD and posted TWO YEARS BEFORE THIS THREAD WAS EVEN STARTED! Why on earth would anyone think that you were NOT referring to a comment made by someone ON THIS THREAD. Are you serious? Btw, I know you are a fan, sorry to report Gato Barbieri passed yesterday. RIP, Gato. This one's for you O-10. Not exactly my cup of tea, but the guy definitely had a sound and played from the heart. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IX5pfCFjmVo |
orpheus10 OP 2,724 posts 04-02-2016 8:40pm A long time ago, someone not even on this thread, mentioned that Blakey played behind the beat, and I mentioned it with no thought of Frogman. The real question is why does Frogman always make mountains out of mole hills and think everything I utter pertains to him personally, and why did Frogman go on and on; he does that each and every opportunity he can find. He wrote three long paragraphs about "Behind the beat or in front of the beat". Not only that but he totally misinterpreted what was about nothing, without even a thought of him in mind. shadorne 5,291 posts 08-17-2011 10:53pm Art plays in front of the beat. He gives it an energetic sound but I can understand Foster_9's view. Many find that the pocket lies slightly behind the beat. In contrast, playing behind the beat gives a more relaxed feel. Some drummers can play both styles with ease and move around in order to create tension and release in the music. Think Elvin Jones. Now that the two posts are juxtaposed, there can be no misinterpretation, although it was Foster_9 who stated that Blakey played behind the beat, and that's what made me think "Behind the beat or in front of the beat, I still like Art Blakey". Enjoy the music. |
frogman: Here's another for you. Me'Shell Ndegeocello singing "Make Me Wanna Holler." A very powerful tune. Bob https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHEZPzsEnDA |
I didn't know anyone here dug Me'Shell NdegeOcello; check this one; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnJ8jXFzmJQ Enjoy the music. |
Today's Listen: The World Saxophone Quartet: RHYTHM & BLUES https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRCvCTHL5uw PLAYS DUKE ELLINGTON https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QSLtG9xtKY Interesting and likable, but it reminded me of a CD I have of a Brass Ensemble Playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons. But, in spite of all that, I must confess I like these guys. Cheers |
Have not played these in a while. Ben Webster -- SOULVILLE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=valDuyzY-V4 we have over looked this guy for too long! Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges -- PLAY THE BLUES https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niHX5F6ZbpQ (that's Harry 'sweets' Edison on trumpet) Cheewrs |
This is what I posted before the manure really hit the fan. Let me repeat, "I still appreciate your musical wisdom, for those like Rok, and Acman who benefit from it". We all know that you do not want to know anything about anything. What we don't know is why you are so ADAMANT about telling us this at every opportunity. We get it. "Are you sure you get it"!? Enjoy the music. |
jzzmusician, thanks for the clip. Wasn't familiar with MeShell and always good to make musical acquaintances. Her music seems to be in a kind of neo-soul bag and definitely creates a mood. Is that her playing bass on that cut; I understand she's a pretty good electric bass player. Of course, we always have: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p_PxgSQ9Vf4 When I first listened to your clip for some reason (probably the Rhodes piano) it made me think of: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=knbmKDUYDXc |
If everyone is sure we got it, whatever it is, then maybe I can continue doing what I was doing before my trolley jumped the tracks. With everyone's permission, I would like to investigate Horace Silver's music, the same as I did with Donald Byrd; but I can't proceed until we are all in sync. Enjoy the music. |
Rok, man!, you sure covered a lot of saxophone ground with those two posts; Webster/Hodges to World Saxophone Qt,! Love the WSQ! But, then, I love saxophone quartets. For guys known for their avantgarde playing this is some of the most "inside" stuff they've done; but it works and I love it. Very difficult to play without a rhythm section and still create that kind of groove. And, of course, the sonority of a saxophone quartet is somethin special. At at the opposite end of the saxophone sonority scale you can have the kind of refinement that is not heard too often from the saxophone. Nothing like Bach played by a good classical saxophone qt.; closest thing to the sound of an organ that I know of: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=31fXCKg1KNg |
****Who can name the tune that Joe Henderson quotes at the very start of his solo at :45? Hint: Cuba**** https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLLhORrvwD4q8PiN2bIn5cbuaHiomigktt¶ms=OAFIAVgF&v=nC0zxx... Since there were no takers, the answer is: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0oWhz0G4-Tg The melody starts at :11. "Siboney" is, along with "Guantanamera", one of the tunes most associated with Cuban music. It’s title refers to the name of the island’s native Indiians. Beautiful melody. What would give a great jazz player like Joe Henderson the idea to quote a tune so seemingly removed from the jazz lexicon? The answer shows the vastness of the musical reservoir and intellect of the great jazz players; and gives great insight into the creative process involved in the creation of a cogent jazz solo. Why this tune? For anyone interested in this sort of thing (you can stop reading now O-10 😉): Hargrove’s tune starts with a simple minor chord in the key of C; three notes, C, E flat, G. The first three notes of the "Siboney" melody are precisely those three notes, C, Eb, G. Henderson then uses that little musical kernel to develop his entire solo. He takes that little musical idea and uses its basic shape and goes off in many different directions, but comes back to it in an obvious way at various points in the solo to sort of "ground" it to the original idea. He does this at 1:22. This time, he morphs that musical kernel into a quote of a tune with a similar shape, Ellington’s "I Don’t Mean A Thing....." (gotta love it!). He goes off again and makes one final obvious reference to it at 2:02 and ends the solo. All this may sound to some like a lot of intellectual gobbly-goop. It should serve, at least, to show just how much is going on in the minds of the jazz greats; they are artistic and intellectual giants. Importantly, wether we are able to recognize what is going on or not, this is one of the reasons that some players hold our attention and some don’t; why we like some and not others. Those we don’t like as much tend to be the ones who, even with impressive technical skill, don’t have the ability to apply this kind of logic to their improvisation and just play a lot of unrelated licks. Like the old timers like to say: "They ain’t sayin shit". |
Today's Listen: Another one of the promising 'young Lions' I am sure he "quotes" something at 1:37. James Carter -- JC ON THE SET https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlJFnmpfppw Maybe they all fulfilled their promise and I am just beginning to realize it. This guy can play. Cheers |
Excellent! Good catch. He quotes Gerswhin’s "Rhapsody In Blue"; the passage that follows the end of the opening clarinet solo: @ :40 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KPL19IgsEHc James Carter is a monster saxophone player; a real virtuoso with amazing technical command of the instrument. Very exuberant player. What I like most about his playing is that he can play in a modern bag with a tone that harkens back to the traditional, big fat, robust tenor sound of the old players; especially the Texas tenors. Great clip. |
I have that CD of Gershwin / Levine. My favorite. Lets visit James Brown one more time. This is what could have been a great clip, ruined by the Carl weathers character prancing all over the place in that stupid outfit. Had me cheering for the Russian. My question concerns the babes in the blue and white outfits on either side of Brown. They seem to be dancing and moving to a different beat than is Brown and the Band. I think it's awesome, but is it true? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5BL4RNFr58 Thanks Cheers |
In fairness to the ladies, while these "Funkettes" (meant to represent the Radio City "Rockettes"; an American institution) aren’t exactly "in the pocket", the video track is not in sync with the audio track. It is a little ahead of the audio track so the whole thing looks a little off. It’s also not a live performance. The music was recorded in a studio. Then, James, the band and the dancers were put on a stage for the filming of the "concert" scenes and they "performed" to their own studio performace trying to replicate, as close as possible, the movements of what they did in the studio. Look closely (especially the saxophone and guitar players), they aren’t really playing what you hear on the track. @:22, James sings, but his lips aren’t moving. The video producer oughta be shot. The audio production is excellent ’though and James and the band kill it, as usual. |
****"Funkettes"*** Nah, I made that up 🙃. Re their dancing: it brings up an interesting point. The video and audio tracks are not in sync (technical problem) so no matter what, the dancing won't look as tight as it would if the tracks were in sync; even if they were great dancers. They're probably pretty good dancers but not exactly funky "street" dancers like you might see in a hip-hop video. James and the band move so well to that kind of music that if things are off a little bit it still looks pretty good (although not quite as good as it would otherwise). The "Funkettes" don't move as well to that kind of music to begin with, so there's no "margin of error" to the viewer's eye, so they look obviously off the beat of the music. |
Wanted to post the last Jazz album I purchased on LP. It was back in the early 80's in El Paso, Texas. Could not find Arthur Blythe's 'elaboration', but did find this. Love it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V027YTD1qOg you-tube continued to run and this came up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuIos1mRwyo Cheers |
Arthur Blythe, without a doubt one of the most unique alto sounds with that fast vibrato. He was one of the first pre-"young lions". Caused quite a stir when he came on the scene and I lost track of him and his work. Interesting player. I like him in limited doses. "Hackensack": one of my very favorite clips on all of YouTube. I posted this here twice before; must have slipped through the cracks. Two fabulous tenor players who could hardly be more different stylistically. The other clip from the same performance: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8egSzCBCie0 |
I like to look at, errrr I mean, I like to listen listen to this CD from time to time. Fantastic tune lineup. JALC should do something like this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSqHZy3JbH4 Nice solo by Michael Brecker. Cheers |
"segue": to transition smoothly from one topic to another. In music: to proceed without pause from one theme to another. In the "Groves Dictionary Of Music" one can find "segue" right before "Señor Blues" which can be found right before Silver (Horace). Nicely done, Rok 😊 O-10, you're up! Nice clip, btw. |
The earliest Silver I could find. (1953) Sadly, I don't have this one. Horace Silver Trio & Art Blakey + Sabu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8Nbw2h3KXk The earliest Silver I have (1954): Horace Silver -- HORACE SILVER AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu4o65SwUIw He wrote some great tunes. How did he stand among his peers as a player? Cheers |
It could be argued that Horace Silver did not have the blazing technique of some other pianists; but, in his case, this was irrelevant. He was, without a doubt, one of the most individualistic pianists and was very respected by other musicians. In jazz, as we know, it's all about whether the player is "sayin something" in his playing; Silver always said a lot and his ranking among his peers is right at the top. His playing was more obviously rooted in the blues than most and one could say that he played the piano with a drummer's perspective. First of all, it was all about the rhythm with Silver and he often played percussively (like a drummer) and if you listen closely you will notice much use of "call and response" between his left hand and right hand; the left hand, unlike with many other players, is given as much attention as the right hand. Call and respinse, as we know, is a hallmark of the blues. Great player, great composer! |
*****First of all, it was all about the rhythm with Silver and he often played percussively (like a drummer) ***** Would this be a good example of playing like a drummer? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmO2pM20MrU&ebc=ANyPxKqDoThFhgXFewH86jUyuHYMAgrpGA18ilQaZsfTJEq3... Cheers |
All his playing has that quality, but I would say that this is an even better example: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dUAu_3R0VPI |
Man, I love this thread! Rok, Herbie Hancock's Butterfly--- First heard this tune live at the Paramount Theater in Seattle. I was completely knocked out. I'd never heard anything so wonderful and to this day it is one of my favorite songs. Check out Gretchen Parlato (spelling?) version. Nice. What I remember most about that concert was Bill Summers' solo on the chekere. Never heard of or seen the instrument. Killer. All the recent names; Arthur Blythe (great player, unique sound), Horace Silver, James Carter; you guys seem to be intimately familiar with the holy grail of jazz greats. Thank you. Anybody here like Dave Holland? bob |
Anybody ever listen to the M.O.B. Trio? I can't find anything on YouTube but here is a link to some samples. I've got a couple of their cds and like them very much. A bit out there, but very accessible. http://www.allmusic.com/album/loose-mw0000620315 Bob |
Dave Holland: Not that much into Bass players, but I do have a few with Holland as co-leader and sideman. He has appeared on some big time recordings. I am sure he is on more stuff I own. I like them all, except 'Bitches Brew', of course. Hank Jones / Dave Holland / Billy Higgins -- THE ORACLE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC7eqvznA8o Kenny Barron & Dave Holland -- THE ART OF CONVERSATION https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3JJdIBDCo0&list=RDt3JJdIBDCo0 And this is really a conversation!! Highly recommended. He appears on Miles' Bitches Brew https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbCt-iXIXlQ also on Joe Henderson's So Near So Far https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6nlf32EAuM&list=PL6XPOs3AHiJ-Md8kSqTfyj_jsCbmwV8_v Cheers |
Herbie Hancock's BUTTERFLY: A host of 'young lions'. I enjoyed it. Hancock saved the set. Why he felt the need to involve that electronic gizmo is beyond me. It didn't add anything. The guy is brilliant on piano. I was about to post Marcus Miller yesterday until I realize he played Bass guitar. Still find it hard to get used to those in Jazz. Still have not recovered from hearing 'Bitches Brew" for the first time. I see they had Lynn Carrington on drums.. It's good to see her get work. Another shooting star. Nice Clip. Thanks |
Sorry, forgot to post the clip. Herbie Hancock -- BUTTERFLY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALJgkdPWqxg Cheers |
rok, The first time I heard Bitches Brew I was about 19 and still living at home. I had a high end system even then. Pioneer speakers, Radio Shack amplifier and an AR turntable. I put the record on, was suitably stunned. I left before the first cut was finished and went to Radio Shack to buy a set of headphones. I was basically "gone" for a couple of days. Thanks for the memory. Bob |
Horace Taveres Silver had so many great compositions that some of them got little exposure; "The Outlaw" on the LP "Further Explorations" is almost unknown; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx4h_IXm5Pc This was so vivid that you could visualize "Billy the Kid" riding hard across the South western Bad lands, just two steps in front of the posse that was in hot pursuit. My favorite version of "Senor Blues" is a live one also. Here it is; he expands this tune on this date, like nowhere else, and I could listen to it all night. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8jFGFwOm7k This tune is my favorite by Silver; it was written in honor of Pannonica de Koenigswarter, who was a patron of many jazz artists at that time. She had more tunes written in her honor than anyone else I can think of. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDrxzKYdwsA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lju13U1zEE Since I couldn't decide which one of these I liked best, I pasted both of them, and now you can decide for me. Enjoy the music. |
