This is what I consider to be "definitive" Cuban music;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2JnyCuAQMg&list=RDQMWdfZkdzg_yY&start_radio=1
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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Frogman, when I spoke of Cuban music, this is what I was talking about "Buena Vista Social Club - Dos Gardenias"; this music takes me to places I've always wanted to go but never been. Someone asked about the lyrics to "Bantu"; that music is lyric enough, it is the same language that is spoken in Rio, Salvador, (previously known as Bahia) and Dahomey Africa; if you feel the language, you understand it. "Cubanismo" is red hot; it makes me wish I could dance like the Cubans. I appreciate all the posts of so much good music that I will have to add to my collection. |
When I was very young, and forming my opinions of music from the movies, there was a movie set in Brazil with Glen Ford, that had music I really liked, and for all these years, I thought the music was from Brazil. I didn't know until Frogman told me, that the music was from Cuba. Also, there were these movies set in Mexico with really beautiful music, and naturally I thought the music was Mexican, but it wasn't, the music was Cuban. If those movie makers used Cuban music, I feel they could have mentioned it somewhere. I want everyone to know that enjoying their contributions really makes my day. |
Thanks, pjw. I did watch the documentary. I’ve been well aware of Dafnis for a long time. I worked with him shortly after his arrival from Cuba. He is a monster drummer and a heck of a nice guy. You may enjoy this; I have posted this here a couple of times previously. Much more than meets the eye; his sense and control of time is unbelievable: https://youtu.be/YXpxsXC4Tdw |
Good Cuban music from all. Thanks 010 for the kickstart. My favorite is Dafnis Prieto. Thanks acman for posting it. I am familiar with Poncho Sanchez but was not aware of Dafnis Prieto. I am really impressed with this drummer/arranger/educator. Needless to say I have listened to acman's selections and searched the web and found many more that blew me away. Dafnis Prieto's is a wizard on the drums and I would put him in the company of many of the best jazz drummers of today and the past. Have already ordered a couple of both Dafnis Prieto small ensemble and big band. frogman great sampling of Cuban "genres". When you have the time listen to the short documentary of Dafnis Prieto the acman posted above. It was filmed after Dafnis Prieto returned to Cuba in 2019 after 20 years away from his native land. His thoughts on genre's is very interesting. Watching the doc and listening to his opinions made me like him that much more. |
Cuba- Guajira (best known guajira as it was meant to sound. Iglesias’ version is to Cuban music as Smooth Jazz is to Hard Bop): https://youtu.be/gdYIpvnzoW8 Mambo (by the legendary Cachao, the Cuban Charles Mingus): https://youtu.be/mHWzfbBxuZA Bolero (no, the bolero was not created by Maurice Ravel): https://youtu.be/fugRvM6s5fc Cha Cha Cha: https://youtu.be/CqBL_IFfOC4 Rumba: https://youtu.be/OkHVS-o-2-w Son: https://youtu.be/kYLwPTW0NcI Charanga (flute is fixture in much Cuban music. Jose Fajardo was the Bird of Latin flute): https://youtu.be/r49cFcNdw4w Add American Jazz and American pop to the mix from about the late ‘40s forward: Salsa: https://youtu.be/AjKVxdtHVvk Timba (.....even a little hip hop): https://youtu.be/BOVFKXMSMqA O-10’s, Acman’s and grey9hound’s great Dafnis Prieto and Poncho Sanchez’ clips do a good job of bringing things to the present. |
How about some Dafnis Prieto? Just getting better and better. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx50SyT4pk8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWm1s3ze8d4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upy-BXlkXTU |
Did someone say Cuba! Thanks for the Poncho Sanchez. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAVzAi3GBP0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gToKBkpdb4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRRsltoDMYc |
O-10 My uncle had so many LP's back then, which he kept in my father's house and one of the stars of his massive collection was Julio Iglesias. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful continental European singer in the world and one of the top record sellers in music history, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide in 14 languages.~source Wiki Iglesias and Guantanamera: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ge7zwMkD5Bs https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamera I was quite familiar with the music from late 70s and late 80s and obviously knew nothing at that time about the music in which Alex introduce me to, many years later. I was raised as disco child. It is probably a curse that I have to discover now in my age the music I had to be familiar with, years ago. But in a (twisted) way it could be also seen as privilege. I can be happy as a child when I hear something new which is actually very, very old to you. |
Regarding Getz-Baker tour in Sweden... reading notes from cd booklet....words from pianist Jim McNeely... ’What aggravated the G.-B. relationship was what might be described as conflict of addictions. G.at the time was drinking heavily and B.was using heroin’....’Stan had a attitude about Chet’s using drugs.Perhaps if they had been doing the same substance they might have got along better together’...’everybody liked him (Chet) and enyojed his music, but because of Stan’s inflexible attitude, there wasn’t the kind of interplay that I had hopped for when I first heard about the tour. The two of them were in different zones and there was no real empathy’....’about halfway the tour Getz told to organisers ’either he goes or I go’....etc. Interesting read, but also somehow sad. Aldo Getz was drug user himself, by looking at him at the beginning of that video, he does not seem to have the looks or the moves of someone doing heroin (at the time), so I guess the story is pretty much true...and Zoot Simms might have been closer to truth than we think...he (Getz) probbably was ’great bunch of guys... |
While Jazz is everyone's favorite Genre of music, occasionally, I like to investigate other Genres. Today I'm visiting "Cuba". The Cuban musicians seem to have borrowed from the best of everyone else's music; Spanish, African, and who knows what else. They also know how to add just the right amount of others music to make the Cuban music even better. I love Cuba, even though I've never been to Cuba; they are poor, but they take care of the poorest, you don't see homeless people laying out on the sidewalks, and from what I've read they don't have a lot of crime. I'm beginning with a little of what Cuba looks like today; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78JruPYsd-4 Now for the music; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42gme-imxo0 I don't want to dominate this, and I hope everyone else joins in with some Cuban music they like. |
All good selections. pjw, just by listening the music you posted, I can feel the atmosphere that is absolutely alluring: Colorful summer sunset, the scent of the beach, cocktail that keeps you more warm than usual and music that calls. I’ve just checked, flight from Zagreb to Rio De Janeiro, both ways, a week in a 4-star hotel and pocket money, all together would cost like camera that makes lovely bokeh, with extremely high ISO that allows you to shoot in almost dark surrounding, so I will naturally pass on Ipanema as well. :--) O-10 and me are I guess, practical. I wonder if that comes with maturity too. |
By many accounts the Getz/Baker animosity was fueled by, what else, substance abuse; and Getz’ huge ego. There are accounts of Getz overdosing while on tour with Baker. Baker, in spite spite of his own issues with heroin, showed disdain for drug users including Getz. At the same time, Getz, who was already a star while Baker was gaining popularity did not like sharing the spotlight. Not a good combination all the way around. Interesting choice of material: https://youtu.be/8bltfzZgZv0 Nice clip, Alex. Thanks. Btw, you may have read the “bunch of guys” quote here a couple of years ago 😀. Here’s another one: On one of the occasions when Getz overdosed, after finding him on his bathroom floor not breathing and with a needle stuck to his arm, Baker and another band mate worked at reviving him with CPR. When Getz came to he uttered ”You guys messed up my high”. |
o10 I have been to Ipanema many times. I hope one day both you and mary_jo get there. Ipanema lies just south of Copacabana beach. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-YnyZG8fNU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-vlX8uRLMQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ca1ctUkU3Q |
Great pick alec. Although they did not get along Getz and Baker played many recording sessions together both studio and live and I found the music, for the most part, very good. Here is one in my collection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29ZK6XUxHek&list=PL1vTNGM5zLFdpEOwfU3g60HiQOdgLCESa |
mary_jo I have that Getz/Evans album in my collection. And the song you posted is just one out of all the beautiful music recorded on those dates 5 - 6 May 1964. I was 9 months old. Here is some earlier Getz recorded for the Roost record label between 1950 and 1954. Getz, in his mid 20’s at that time had already arrived at his full, rich tone and was able to improvise with skill and grace. I have the "Complete Roost Sessions" 3 CD set. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI9hnD0YIz0&list=OLAK5uy_lGNrj25Tk3BD0x1Hf_fkhiyAhdEB4ORr8 |
I've read somewhere that Zoot Simms once said, when he was asked about Stan Getz, that 'he is a great bunch of guys'.... ...and Stan was not fan of Chet Baker.... together on concert tour in Sweden, that was cut short due to their mutual animosity... https://youtu.be/OqQWVrfjatA |
pjw To me, Stan is Bill Evans on the piano. When you listen them you just feel they fit together. Double tenderness in the shape of But beautiful: https://youtu.be/fl6aEZ47AVs Speaking of "on the edge", Stan on his addiction "I’m a recovered alcoholic. I don’t do anything anymore, but those things, those things take away ... You’re a different personality completely when you take those. For those who are really chemically dependent on anything, it’s not you." Desafinado caught my eye few days ago. A sailing cat, a 47 footer had a name all over it and it was "Desafinado". I had to make some photos of the boat, due to my work and I was wondering why the owner gave the boat such "Out of tune" name. |
mary_jo especially for you, the typical Roadrunner cartoon where poor Wile E Coyote struck by everything except lightning and falls thousands of meters with the "poof" sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCJwcNmGxRc |
mary_jo I have about 3 dozen Stan Getz CD’s and have also read a great biography of Getz. His Tenor playing on "Desafinado" is so warm and lyrical and exemplifies why he was called "The Sound" I read somewhere that John Coltrane once commented that everyone would sound like Getz if they only could. The way he plays the tenor is the opposite of his personal life which was "on edge" to put it lightly. His ballad’s are a thing of beauty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLMIU1CN_GA Stan Getz live with RTF members Stanley Clarke bass, Chick Corea keyboards and Toney Williams on drums. Along with Stan Getz this was considered a "Jazz Super Group" as all 4 of them were considered, and still are, the crème de la crème on their respective instruments. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7oo8EopEJ0 P.S. I did like "The Skatalites" as well. Interesting jazz Jamaican style. |
"In the beginning was ska and Jah saw that it was good and gave us the Skatalites." Rupert Thompson (You Tube comments 6 years ago) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ28stet7-E https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skatalites |
alec Wile E Coyote is not supposed to catch the Roadrunner. But we all always felt sorry for Wile E. Even the laws of physics are on the side of Roadrunner. Don't skip part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kP2piN-03k |