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.
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Happy new year mary_jo The right cut-off is just before 21 of June for ladies ... Then you are spot on in my book ...
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@wharfy I see that’s on Steeplechase. I have yet to hear a bad Steeplechase album! I am slowly trying to collect most of them. It’s not cheap since I refuse to buy albums in less than NM unless they’re just so rare that I can't justify it. |
@mary_jo According to Larry David you're already 8 days past the appropriate cutoff date! 😂 |
@jdougs -Thanks for the recommendation. Doing some research I saw Kenny Drew is accompanied by Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson on bass and Albert 'Tootie' Heath on drums. I have a terrific CD by Tete Montoliou, Tete-A-Tete, with NHOP and Tootie.
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@jdougs I have the day off been on the road with my tractor trailer since Tuesday got back this morning at 5am and started listening to my music. I never stop listening because when I'm on the interstates I'm playing for hours. Was listening to a lot of Arturo O'Farrill last night. Solo, trio, quartet, sextet, and his Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. A couple tunes Arturo solo trio
O'Farrill sounds to me like he was influenced by this guy
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@pjw81563 Playing it way too loud at my desk at work right now hoping the phone doesn't ring! haha |
@wharfy If I had to settle on a single Kenny Drew album (and thank goodness I don't) it would probably be Dark Beauty. It's easy to find to stream. |
@jdougs Thanks for the recommendation. Listening to the album now. Here is a song and check out this cool audio set up
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@wharfy I’ve heard they are due to being pressed on virgin vinyl. How true that is I can’t say. I do know I have been very happy with them. Some of the absolute best sounding records I own are from Three Blind Mice which are Japanese. YMMV |
@pjw81563 Definitely a couple of good ones there. One that I don't see mentioned often and doesn't seem to get the love I think it deserves is Fantasia.
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Kenny Drew is a favorite pianist of mine as well. His songs have been posted quite a lot here on JFA for the last few months and rightly so. Every time the KD posts start up I always nominate KDs album "Undercurrent" Not only is Undercurrent my favorite KD album it is also one of my favorite jazz albums and near the top of my desert island recordings. Undercurrent (again)😊
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@curiousjim , indeed you've hit the bullseye! |
Thanks i will listen to it... I liked DeFrancesco recomendation a lot... It seems different , it is not my liking normally but we must listen before judging...It is called nu jazz ...
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Yeah, today was also a Kenny Drew day, with Come Sunrise on the box now. As @jdougs says, “You can never get enough Kenny Drew”. |
@acman3 Thanks! I can never get enough of Kenny Drew. |
The Kenny Drew Trio – Introducing The Kenny Drew Trio (1989, CD) - Discogs You may have as New Faces New Sounds. |
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@curiousjim Hands down my favorite pianist! Is that an Amazon exclusive, I'm not familiar with it and nothing comes up on Discogs? |
I was not aware @alexatpos that you switched over to SS gear until now. The "warmth" and "organic" adjectives are two of the most common "audio reproductive descriptions" used by tube gear lovers. These descriptions imply that the audio reproduction takes on a certain characteristic of what the particular tube gear being used is known for. I have listened to tube gear and my ears recognized some of these characteristics. I think that most tube gear lovers enjoy these characteristics and there is nothing wrong with that. I also am aware of the hybrid tube amps (I would love to demo the newest Mcintosh pre amp/amp SS/tube hybrid). I think with tubes you have to spend a lot of money to get that ultra low noise floor with a neutral sound but I could be wrong. Front Cover Jul19.indd (mcintoshlabs.com) To me an amplifier should do just that- "amplify" leaving no "sound signature". I also like to have a physical audio collection and I will always be old school like that. That is why in 2017 I purchased the best disc player in the world at its price point - the Oppo UDP 205. This player was used to test the Mcintosh tube gear in the above link. I collect SACDs, DVD Audio, Blu ray audio, Blu ray and 4k UHD Blu ray movies. And like you I love to read. And I have a very large physical library in my house. I save the books even after reading them. I think you and I have been off topic a bit but nobody else was posting recently anyway (last 48 hours) except us two. Back on topic. I am going to see the Charles Mingus Big Band tonight at Drom music venue on the lower east side of Manhattan. "Let My Children Hear Music"!! Mingus Big Band Residency @ DROM — CHARLES MINGUS My man Jeremy Pelt will lead the trumpet section and Alex Terrier is in the saxophone section.
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Since we are talking (hope nobody will object, its a hidden corner anyway)...Also I enjoy digital, have many records still, but everything I bought in quite some time is on cd. I could not afford (or find) all that music on lp's, not to mention the jazz collection I've got already. The closest thing that gets me to the turntable is my belt driven cd player,ha Bought some movies on dvd, the ones that were hard to find before everything has become available online. Its perhaps interesting that aldo I like movies as much as music, I prefer to collect music (on physical media) and not films. When I think about it, it makes no sense, but anyway...and aldo I am member of library I am still buying and keeping books. Perhaps it has something to do with habits from upbringing...that I never care to change.( do not think that ever I will own an electric car) As for the home theater, again, it was never my thing because as long I can remember, I liked to go to the cinema, which I frequently did or do still. Even did not like to see some movie, before it was released in cinema. This has somewhat changed, because cinemas are on decline and the movies they play are more often than not aimed to broadest of audience, meaning, lots of movies never come to cinemas. For this reason I have started to watch movies at home, aldo I am not fan of doing so. In the same time, the quality of sound, the effects or the soundtrack are not of big importance when on tv. Just the basics are enough to me, I guess.Maybe the way of life has something to do it as well, as younger and single, never cared to spend much time in front of the tv. Still do not (thats way I have no any tv subscription) Reading this, it almost looks like its written by somebody who is old and grumpy, ha, but its not the case...I hope so,ha, anyway. I have ss gear now, last system that I had was all tubes. Before that there were different combinations, ss, hybrid or ss and tubes together. I do not regard tubes as 'colored' and I do think that with right gear they can provide more vivid reproduction, but maintenance comes with it. The main reason I switched back to ss was the heat, during almost 6 month a year its very hot here and having A class tube amp made listening almost impossible much of the time. There are not many ss gear (imho) that can come close to a very good tube set up and I have picked the one I prefer the most (Burmester) but I am considering the tube preamp of different manufacturer as well.
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Well @alexatpos what can I possibly add to that? I knew you prefer 2 channel stereo or mono when listening to music and also you prefer vinyl/analog over digital but did not know you are not a fan of home theater. I love my digital set up and have around 100 SACDs, DVD Audio, and Hi Res Blue ray music discs. Many are multi channel and getting a lot with atmos now as well. I love my "movie night" and the DSP with audio immersion experience thats on tap with my AVR. I still love 2 channel stereo and mono especially with my jazz music collection. I know its digital but I prefer a neutral and "uncolored" sound experience so tubes are not my thing.
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@alexatpos I have a Bluray of Dianna Krall Live in Rio. When I’m in the right mood I watch it, maybe once or twice a year since I purchased it. My favorite Female vocalist is Sade Adu. I have all of her releases of live concerts either on DVD or Bluray. Sade’s natural vocals live, IMHO, have few equals of other female vocalists with Annie Lenox, of Eurythmics fame, a close second. Sade and Annie both started to gain national attention here in the USA and globally in the early to mid 80s and I have enjoyed both of them for 40 years now. What are your favorite contemporary female vocalists? On the subject of audio set up I have invested in a couple of highly recommended books here and plan on using Dirac Live in the near future now that I have a 7:2:2 set up (recently installed rear wall speakers and front and side height presence). Dirac is receiving a lot of attention with audiophiles. The Art of Digital Audio: Watkinson, John: 9780240515878: Amazon.com: Books
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Some time ago I have posted few links about ECM editions beeing out of phase. I have very few albums of that label, but this one fits the description. When I switched the wires on my speakers I found out that it sounds better (in phase) If you have it, you may check it as well. Keith Jarret trio, live in Paris 1999 (could not find it on ytube) Also, not on ECM, but this, my only, Diana Krall album fits the description
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@mary_jo Hello Marija welcome back and Happy New Year!! I wish you all the best and much happiness in 2024! I have to say your first post in many many months (a year?) is a really great song by a great band (I had the privilege of seeing this exact band live). A suggestion for you is this 2005 Live at Smoke (another of my NYC hangouts) album by Eric Alexander and Vincent Herring And here they are over 15 years after that live recording session playing the same song at Emmet Cohen's NYC Jazz Loft. Eric and Vincent like playing together! And they like playing "Blues Up and Down"
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