**** I know at least one of us will never think the same ****
That’s for sure.
Good comments re Welk, Rok; on point.
That’s for sure.
Good comments re Welk, Rok; on point.
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.
31,744 responses Add your response
Lawrence Welk: My Mom never missed his show, and since we only had one TV, that meant I never missed his show. Good musicians of course, but, they should leave Royal Garden Blues to Pops. But Welk is a good history / sociology exhibit. His type of program would not even be considered for TV today. He even spoke with an accent. That would not be allowed these days. Back then, even Southerners spoke Southern. Now everyone sounds the same. Next step, we all think the same. Nice clip, but not Jazz. Maybe a caricature of Jazz. Cheers |
I didn’t expect you would; on both counts. No surprise there. Fine playing by fine musicians; that’s all. No claim to it being definitive. Just giving fine musicians their due. I hope we can all agree that is a good thing. “Too white” is an expression sometimes used by musicians (including white ones) to describe music that is perceived as being too “square” or not “hip” enough. Ah, those were the days; when one didn’t have to worry so much about being politically correct. Still used, btw. |
Talk about strange segues! Easy to make fun of for being "too white" and not hip (speaking of "agendas"), but Lawrence Welk’s band was a very good band made up of the best studio players in LA. Clarinetist Henry Cuesta was one of the very best. https://youtu.be/-FVKRR5sRCA |
A reminder. Today is the last day of WKCR’s incredible eight day Bird marathon. In some ways today’s all day broadcast promises to be the most interesting by looking at the music of Jazz artists who were influenced by Charlie Parker. Check it out. https://www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/wkcr/story/charlie-parker-centennial-festival |
One of my favorite Monk tunes. Written for his friend Bud Powell: https://youtu.be/FuHjgKQDofs https://youtu.be/Xi2QtibSSJ4 https://youtu.be/BIdz11_E-vQ https://youtu.be/gnGLy1l1A8I (aloe!) |
Bud Powell and Fats Navarrow made sweet music together. From the notes by Bob Blumenthal: "Yet when The Scene Changes was recorded in 1958, Powell could no longer channel what Max Harrison once described as his "admittedly delirious emotions" with the relentless eloquence that suffuses his playing on the 1949 Modernists recordings that feature Fats Navarro and Sonny Rollins, or the 1951 Trio date with Curly Russell and Max Roach that produced three different dazzling takes of "Un Poco Loco"..... Who appoints these clowns Jazz critics? Nice clips Cheers Btw, OP, are your ears burning? Mine are. |
Bud Powell and Fats Navarrow made sweet music together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO6EOLIDVus&list=PLTepgFkW8zCAMrH8s9xPM75-kA7S6l-j8&index=3 |
Mary-jo, I think of those words so often now; I wish I had taken them more seriously many years ago. At this time I have decided That I would rather be in another time; consequently, I think I'll "warp" back to when Stan Kenton came out with "Kenton with Voices". It was one of those albums that refused to get old, I played it a lot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4A2ieV-5g4&list=PLBIiojdRsFPCa3fBiEbxRkPpUtaZYRzJ8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkBOXMRIud4 That music still sounds good; It's timeless. All the cuts on those two albums are fantastic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4A2ieV-5g4&list=PLBIiojdRsFPCa3fBiEbxRkPpUtaZYRzJ8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9QC0CXGwLk&list=PLBIiojdRsFPCa3fBiEbxRkPpUtaZYRzJ8&index=11 |
Today’s Listen: Bud Powell -- THE SCENE CHANGES with / Bud Powell(piano), Paul Chambers(bass), Art Taylor(drums) Nice foldout with Notes by Leonard Feather(original), and Bob Blumenthal(reissue). Feather: "He has never ceded his position as the most vital of the original bop pianists; yet there is not a single sentence about him, for instance, in ’hear me talkin’ to ya’, while in the Andre Hodeir book there is a brief dismissal with these words: "circumstances that we won’t dwell on here have prevented Bud Powell from achieving a full realization of his immense possibilities." "Hear me Talkin’ to Ya" is a book on Jazz written by Nat Shapiro and Nate Hentoff. Andre Hodeir was / is a French Violinist who wrote books on Jazz. Perfect examples of why you should always read books or articles on Jazz and Jazz players, with the upmost skepticism. Some don’t know what they are talking about, but all have agendas. comin’ up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgelnipWFoU crossin’ the channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAwDGiI97tA the scene changes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MSI2YRmBm8 down with it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYrRxyOsCg0 borderick -- written for his son. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XTPL1fG9Vo Cheers Very good album, but, I sort of missed the horns. Without horns, ’sameness’ can creep in. Unless you're Oscar Peterson. :) |
Diz has a number of versions of this tune and I like them all but I think this is my favorite; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkvZ4k2AGS8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY79siaQkCw Better than any of "Bird's Bop", and better than any of "Diz's Bop" is Bird and Diz's Bop; it's killer, and ages ago I had every record they made together. I don't think you can find all of them now, but get what you can. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzzE73QK_Kk&list=PLLHYIb60T4djef4fEOOv_sguVbAk5PBpN |
And who would ever have thought that baby girl would grow up to be a big girl like this; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO-Q_O2vb14 |
When I was little kid, during hot summer days, I remember my folks had to get up early in the morning to be able to do some work at the field before it gets too hot. A life of a peasant. The same everywhere in the world. I was half asleep when they would put me in the basket that was attached to one side of the saddle of the little donkey, making the balance to the other side, where the basket with the food for lunch was jauntily hanging. At the field, still in the basket, I would wait for the sun to come out. That was the first movie theater I knew about. Mother played the big role by calling the sun to rise. The just risen sun would shone softly on the fields giving bright color to the trees. I was amazed with the picture of the light filling with brightness every shadow on it’s way. My legs, hands, would gradually become golden. Softly As in a Morning Sunrise https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAdb7mPAQCM ... I would need today, those eyes of a kid, chasing the morning dew and smiling to the rising sun... A different morning, the way young Bonnie Dobson sees it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgl0YfJiz80 |
Hi all You can stream WKCR here: https://www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/wkcr/story/online-streaming-and-running# |
nrthomas2, Phil Schaap is a national treasure. Outstanding resource for anyone wanting to learn about the history of this great music. Here is that piece: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/05/19/bird-watcher/amp |
**** you hit the spot by knowing exactly what I need. This will be my fuel for today. And not just for today. **** https://youtu.be/95SYdjRVCR0 You kids want to borrow the car? ☺️ I totally agree re Etta James. Only other performance I’ve heard that fills my tank (almost; but lower octane) is this one. Jeff Beck is brilliant as always; most to say with fewest notes. (Don’t let Barack’s bad rhythm bother you too much. Case of WMRD 😳). https://youtu.be/fALdOkf_eCM |
By Royal Command of, Queen Mary Jo, the 39th. if I didn't care https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAinKGJZ8YE rather be blind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZt1xKtPbUQ what's love got to do with it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smGG7L_JjSM you gotta be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmpQReqZfd0 how about us https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBUqDr14DEw freeway of love https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip_pjb5_fgA the op's idea of paradise, partying and making Buicks don't wanna fight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoNXsne8exg simply irresistible a.k.a. 'royal images' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrGw_cOgwa8 Cheers |
Today’s Listen: Dee Dee Bridgewater -- DEAR ELLA with / Duet, Trio, Combo, Big Band, Orchestra. Dee Dee’s tribute to her Idol. Excellent Booklet, that includes a picture of Dee Dee and Ella sitting together at an reception at the American Embassy in Paris, where Ella had received an award from the French State. ...."there I found an exhausted Ella Fitzgerald, sitting all alone on a couch. All the perfunctory salutations had been made, and everyone had gone off to bask in the glory of being the privileged elite invited to the embassy, where Ella was the pretext for being seen. We spoke at length about the solitude of being on the road, the hardships of absentee motherhood, the woes of keeping ones voice, the problems of remembering lyrics, due to fatigue and the constant changing of countries, hotels, venues. I remember being angered by the superficiality of the invited guest. At least that’s how they seemed to me." I like this woman. a-tisket, a-tasket https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igEkzTh_F6M mack the knife https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t40OSTPU6y8 how high the moon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvYq1Vh4PB4 my heart belongs to daddy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGcMv34fNk8 if you can’t sing it, you’ll have to swing it (mr paganini) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDb7upj-uBI Cheers Btw, Outstanding playing by the backing groups, of all sizes. |
"Dililah" is one of my favorite jazz tunes, and out of all the charming ladies in the Bible "Delilah" is the one I would have most liked to meet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkFSM9Frx3w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qrfUA1EwqQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6JghaB-4-M |
June Christy sounds so good late at night; she took me back to a time before I was 21, when all dreams were possible and emotions ran high. She made me remember that night I saw "The Midnight Sun"; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoUFb5KP4m4 |
Acman, "Don’t Start Me To Talking’ https://youtu.be/QyCwO18qybk https://youtu.be/PWx4N0FMoXY https://youtu.be/j7oj0U-TOWs Mae Mercer and Sonny B.W. https://youtu.be/Q9m12Wn67uI |
Sunday: I got a robe, you got a robe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjHApDsVM3E go down moses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKZclK8Bfm4 joshua fit de battle of jericho https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1lK4VSPxe8 ezekiel saw de wheel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xzQdN5uoNE rock my soul https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlx9wTxuluw Cheers |
Today's Listen: Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie -- DIZ 'N BIRD AT CARNEGIE HALL I get the impression these guys never thought of posterity during their careers. It was all for the moment. A lot of it was just spur of the moment, right now, and sort of haphazard. Not the music, but the business end of it. Example: From the notes..."A picture of a poster at the entrance to Carnegie Hall reveals that tickets ranged in price from $1.00 to $3.60 and it was standing room only. Ella Fitzgerald's name is clearly displayed, but Parker's in nowhere in sight, so it seems he was a late addition." Notes by Ira Gitler, full of anecdotes about Bird, concerts, and the Jazz scene of that era. Some, to be taken with a pound of salt. 1947. Pretty good sound quality for a Bird record. A supporting cast of thousands! night in tunisia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZQcE1xOrJ4 cubano-be, cubano-bop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAj4OmmWEBo dizzy atmosphere https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IGnn4wNeyU koko https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGg2mBBJjs0 salt peanuts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz1Z4eZqKYI oop-pop-a-da https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ey93hqy1WU currently OWNED by the bey sisters. :) Cheers |
Now that you've posted, I can rest easy Mary_jo. When anyone, including the one I don't always agree with fails to post in a few days, I began to worry; that's because these are very strange times. Some of the most informative posts and best music has recently been submitted, and I'm enjoying them all. |
Classic video clip, Alex; and classic story about Stravinsky. Here is the other of the two surviving video clips. On this one he is syncing to a pre recorded tape. I love this clip just for the mischievous expression that Bird gives Hawkins at the beginning of his solo; presumably because his fingers are not matching what one hears on the tape. Very funny. https://youtu.be/mZ5eGEest0g Per your article: On this classic performance of “Ko-ko”, one can hear the short phrase from one of Igor Stravinsky’s best known works that was often quoted by Bird and became one of his signature licks. It can be heard in several of his recorded solos. Listen at 0:29: https://youtu.be/8wGJpbPKbz8 If the subject of musical quotes used by Bird is of interest to anyone, check this out. Talk about being a dedicated (obsessed!) Bird fan : http://www.chasinthebird.com/quotes_e.html |
O-10, yes, I liked the song. And thank you for asking, I am quite fine, a bit busier than usual, meaning I have to get up very early, and be under the marina’s sun for half of the day, etc...And usually it goes something like this: Somewhere at the mid of the day, when I feel the sudden urge to talk Swahili, I realize that too much sun is hitting me in my head and that I should stop hanging around and should go back home. So as you are probably guessing, "speaking Swahili" is one thing but writing is another. So once I get home, I just skip all the written word that I can. ;--) :--) By the way, love all the music that you guys are posting lately, thank you. |
http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/the-night-when-charlie-parker-played-for-igor-stravinsky-1951.html?fbclid=IwAR20ruh6KnwHZgS-hSLoVWymh1yxC9lddiucCyYtky4h-XKGW75t9iLszCI Historic TV broadcast of the founding fathers of bebop, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, playing together in 1952. It's one of only two known sound films of Parker playing--and the only one of him playing live, rather than synching to a prerecorded track. http://www.openculture.com/2013/03/charlie_parker_plays_with_dizzy_gillespie.html |
Bird at his best; listen to bird, not the bad recording quality; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZASRGepLjc |