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.
John Coltrane and Yusef Lateef were two jazz musicians who I revered my entire jazz collecting life, although I can't grasp mathematical concepts in music, I can absorb from a spiritual perspective.
Both Coltrane, and Lateef generated music that resonated in the deeper reaches of the soul, that is to say one felt their music more than one heard it. As I've stated before "A Love Supreme" is almost like a religious mantra. Many have spoken of the spirituality of Trane's music.
The sound of "Juba Juba" projects a slave struggling with an extremely long and heavy bag of cotton, and with each step he can taste the freedom of never having to endure this struggle again.
"Like it is" continues on that same theme in such a dramatic way that you can feel all the emotions of the oppressed. How this all relates to mathematics, I don't have a clue, but since both Trane's, and Lateef's music generate such powerful emotions, it must somehow relate to the mathematical theory.
"Into the misty mid region of Weir"; here is where this music takes you if you listen from beginning to end.
BY EDGAR ALLAN POE The skies they were ashen and sober; The leaves they were crispéd and sere— The leaves they were withering and sere; It was night in the lonesome October Of my most immemorial year; It was hard by the dim lake of Auber, In the misty mid region of Weir— It was down by the dank tarn of Auber, In the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.
@orpheus10 Ah Blue Train--I have played this recording too many times to count. Trust me, my family tells me so. The whole album is wonderful and the title song itself never grows old to me. From the original liner notes: "The title number, Blue Train, is a moving, eerie blues. Trane rides swiftly down a lonesome track with Lee (Morgan) and Curtis (Fuller) shoveling extra coal into the boiler near the end of his solo....What is the most striking attribute (among many) about this LP is its free, but not disorganized, blowing mood that has everyone in exceptional from both individually and collectively"--Robert Levin Levin got it right in describing the whole of this record. I too think the song Blue Train, recorded here, is close to jazz perfection. I must say that Rudy Van Gelder listened to some of the best music ever made in real time--right there in front him.
RVG was the man alright, I used to just buy an album on his name alone . But more i listen a lot of his work is too "in your face" for my current taste .
I understand what you mean about RVG’s sound. It’s excellence is undeniable, but it definitely had a signature. I suppose the ultimate goal for a recording engineer recording acoustic instruments is for the music to not sound "recorded". The "in your face" quality you refer to is there; the mic is very (too?) close to the horn. Still, his technique managed to capture the soul of the performance. If I may take a small liberty here, I would say that the reason that you don’t like that kind of sound may be due to your frequent attendance at classical music performances. In general, classical music performance values and recording techniques tend to give the listener a more distant perspective than other genres. This is very important since ensemble playing benefits from a certain distance to the listener. Musical interplay, tonal and rhythmic, by the players requires that distance for the harmonic envelopes of each instrument to fully develop on their way to the listener’s ears. This gives more meaning to things like ensemble blend and interplay. When things are recorded up close some of that information gets lost, in jazz as well as classical.
Btw, no yacht on Lake George here. My idea of chillin is to dig in the dirt at my upstate NY little piece of heaven where I can be around more "unknowns, and as it should be" (like someone very wise wrote in some other thread) than in the city.
I never thought of that but I think you are right frogman. The reason I listen to Jazz is I grew up listening to swing, and start of bop, all day, every day on the radio . Still pissed from when rock came along and murdered it . And as is well known , when one gets close to departing this vale of tears one is comforted by things from your childhood . Few seem to realize how great the composers of the best "standards" were, to include word-smiths like the Great Johnny Mercer . I didn’t know great they were myself till I heard a first class Symphony Orch., Berlin R.I.A.S., play "Stardust", Sleeply Time Girl" and many others few times a week. In Classical I listen like a hawk for all elements which is uplifting but not relaxing . Listening to Jazz 88.5 station here, I don’t know about the audience side of things , but on student and young player side , there is an tsunami of great young jazz talent out there . Few days ago I heard some cuts from North Texas State Lab Band 1, they reminded me of Artie Shaw or Charlie Barnett at their best, swinging and having a ball ! P.S . I don’t say Upstate NY is most beautiful place in the world because I was born in Syracuse, but because it is just the plain truth .
I first heard "Blue Trane" in the Winter of 59 on a jukebox in a bar. It was selected often, that gave the music a certain amount of "validity".
Today is 05/30/2017, that was 58 years ago when I first heard it, the fact that we are still talking about this tune is not a coincident, it's a "testament"; a testament to the quality of the music, and the musicians, a testament to the quality of the aficionados who selected it for discussion.
Do you see how all these things; "Blue Trane", the musicians who made it, the Aficionados who are discussing it, the 58 years that have past since it's creation, are a testament as being of the highest order in the jazz world?
Orpheus - certainly agree with your "appreciation" of Blue Train, as you have written here and elsewhere on A’gon. That title track alone packs an album’s worth of musical intensity into less than 11 minutes. In some ways it strikes me as, "everything you need to know about John Coltrane" - though the variety of his life long output puts the lie to that.
If I might digress a little (noting that Quartet 2 Part 2 is dedicated to JC and a very Coltran-esqe run by Michael Brecker in Quartet 1)...
Just received Three Quartets by Chick Corea. Purchased it in vinyl and CD from "importcds" on Amazon". I don’t normally buy at one time a recording in two formats - and little new vinyl these days. At any rate, the vinyl (a 2016 re-issue on Stretch Records: SLP9002) is very nice. Flat and quiet with good sonics; full sounding with plenty of bass info; good detail and separation around all the instruments. The SHM CD is a July 2012 Japan mftd. import (Stretch Records Collector Series distributed by Universal Music Co. UCCU-6220). It’s also sounding very good. If you are looking to "refresh" your current copy, vinyl or CD, these are worth considering.
A quick PS - Neither of the Corea recording/formats have the air or depth of the RVG edition CD remaster of Blue Train that’s playing right now.
Ghosthouse, I posted "Per Ulv" by Terje Rypdal as a comparison to some of the things you posted, in an effort to get closer anyway, to what might be your groove.
Chic Corea mentions something dedicated to JC, but misses. While Chic's music may sound ever so good on it's own, he's just not a hardbop kind of guy, and when he tries to incorporate this in his sound, he misses. If there is such a thing as a current up to date sound, it misses with me.
That is not to say all current music misses with me. Someone could record something right today, and I would think it was cooking, but I just haven't heard it. When You submit something, I'm asking myself the question "Will I buy it to add to my collection"; not, does it sound good?
Right now I'm listening to Chick Corea; Michael Brecker is blowing, and although he's blowing in a hardbop kind of way that sounds good, and I like it, I would not pay to add it to my collection.
Terje Rypdal recorded with some of the artists you liked, post your favorite.
I have learned more about music since this thread has been up, than I have in the rest of my entire life.
First, there are an infinite number of factors that determine what music we like best. Whatever music we like best, is the best music. The "Aristocracy", as always, claims the music they like is best, and when you combine what is said by everybody about all genres of music, "Classical" is the best; can you guess why? Because the aristocracy says it's best, that's why.
On the real side, in regard to the music we are about, when we reach a serious consensus, that's when it's time to study all the details carefully; by that, I mean to search for albums created by the artists who created that one; without the star artist on that one.
This is an interesting album, and this is the first time I heard it; but I selected it based on my new found theory; which I bet you guessed by now.
Ghosthouse, we will apply my theory to your searches; that's why I'm looking into this ECM thing, a lot of us collected those records; that's where all the unique records (another word for "strange") records in my collection came from. Man can not live by hard bop alone, he must have a few unique records to balance things out when he wants a change.
What do you guys think of that album I selected based on my new theory.
Thanks for the Terje Rypdal/Per Ulv recommendation, Orpheus. I’ll have to check it out. Did not see a recent link to it. The title sounds familiar like I might have heard it at some point. I do have a couple of TR recordings..."Waves" in vinyl from the ECM label and a 1978 recording (also on ECM but a CD reissue) by the trio of Rypdal, Miroslav Vitous and Jack DeJohnette. Rypdal is not an artist I’ve spent a lot of time with so hard to think of musicians he has worked with that are favorites. On Waves I note the drummer is Jon Christiansen. Christiansen has a gentle touch. I admire his playing on Towner’s Solstice. If I have to generalize about my "groove" (my tastes are pretty eclectic) I do find myself often enjoying Scandinavian jazz...think early Jan Garbarek, or more recently Lars Danielsson, Magnus Ostrom and E.S.T. Sparse, moody, atmospheric. Your Terje Rypdal suggestion is apt.
About Corea’s Three Quartets. I think we are going to have to agree to disagree about it. For me to say "he misses" I’d have to have an idea what he was aiming at to begin with. What I first heard (when I finally did HEAR it...if you get my meaning) struck me as almost classical in structure but written for jazz. This was my impression before reading others’ notes on Corea’s goal for the compositions. I’m hearing complex compositions, virtuosic playing and music that bears repeated listening. I went on about it a good bit (probably ad nauseum) in an earlier post.
Without doubt, my ear and jazz sensibilities are not as highly developed as yours. The upside of which is I’m not burdened making the sort of comparison you make. I’m certainly not equipped to argue whether Three Quartets is a miss relative to any hard bop aspirations. It sounds solely like great music to me. I take "misses" to mean it "fails" for you on some level. Perhaps a valid verdict for you but kind of irrelevant for me. I think Three Quartets stands on its own and is excellent whatever influences are there. To be clear, my introductory comment was mainly an attempt to find a graceful segue given your preceding Blue Train comments. I wasn’t saying Brecker was channeling Coltrane all through it or that Coltrane was the inspiration for it. (I will, however, stand by what I said about the Coltrane-sounding figure in Quartet 1).
By the way, just tonight saw your Egberto Gismonti - Sol do Meio Dia link. Missed it when you first put it up. I enjoy EG’s music very much and have acquired on old vinyl all of his recordings I can find. Favorites are Magico and Folk Songs w/Haden and Garbarek.
Later. Ciao.
PS - O, I was typing at the same time as you. Just saw your link to Five Spot. Will check it out after Per Ulv!
"On the real side, in regard to the music we are about, when we reach a serious consensus, that's when it's time to study all the details carefully; by that, I mean to search for albums created by the artists who created that one; without the star artist on that one."
O - that's right on the money for me. Towner's "Solstice" was THAT recording for me. An EAR opener. Had never heard anything like it before. Found it by chance at the local public library. Went on to explore other music by Towner but also pursued others on that album...Eberhard Weber and Jan Garabarek, mainly.
It’s not the Music itself that is the best, it’s the end use to which it is put and the level of that end . Bach said the purpose of music is to glorify God and wrote "To the Glory of God ". And he meant it . Much of Classical music is religious music and most of the greatest composers made efforts toward that goal, the praise of God , a sung and played prayer.
I see Jazz as a conversation between peers to bring music at its best to the human level, a love thy neighbor as thy self exercise at it’s best , which is a noble effort in and of itself . And at the end of the day a tribute to God, as we humans can’t think of God all the time any more than a student can study all the time .
I see pop/rock as simple melodies for those who want to live life the easy way, melody without rhythm. I believe the cults that form around this band and that are a way to live your life without ever creating one for yourself. Much like those who make a sports team the center of their existence , hard to call it a life in either case .
Folk music, real folk music , is special in that it is a living binder of community, a crucial element for all humans that is woefully absent in our time . Also once you get past, say the beat in Celtic music for instance, there is a whole lot of music going on , much like "blue notes " in jazz with the music of centuries being improvised much like jazz is , still room on those old charts .No accident that some of the greatest modern composers , masters of composition like Bartok, Janacek and Vaughn-Williams dove deep into this endless well .
Ghosthouse, Your post in regard to our slight (narrow range of disagreement) in regard to Chick Corea, is "right on".
We began to form our taste in music when we were toddlers, shaking our little boody's to what ever turned us on. From that time till now has been an ongoing process; consequently, we can't be expected to agree 100% of the time, but we came close on Chick Corea.
I think we're going to strike gold with the ECM comparisons.
As everyone knows by now, I listen to music played on reel, or computer play list; consequently I don't know who the artist is a lot of the time. It's not the same as picking up a record or a CD. Today I did not recognize one of my favorite female vocalists; I'll post 3 cuts by her, and you tell me what you think.
It’s not the Music itself that is the best, it’s the end use to which it is put and the level of that end . Bach said the purpose of music is to glorify God and wrote "To the Glory of God ". And he meant it . Much of Classical music is religious music and most of the greatest composers made efforts toward that goal, the praise of God...I see Jazz as a conversation between peers to bring music at its best to the human level, a love thy neighbor as thy self exercise at it’s best , which is a noble effort in and of itself . And at the end of the day a tribute to God, as we humans can’t think of God all the time any more than a student can study all the time...I see pop/rock as simple melodies for those who want to live life the easy way, melody without rhythm. I believe the cults that form around this band and that are a way to live your life without ever creating one for yourself. Much like those who make a sports team the center of their existence , hard to call it a life in either case..."
This is a very narrow, prejudiced, selfrighteous view that borders nearly on hate speech it is the notion that the author is somehow nearer to God than thee by virtue of his listening to music that is nearer to God than thine. It overlooks such basic essential indisputable facts such as that there is good and bad classical music just as there is good and bad pop music and that there may be more bad music in pop than there is in classical does not disprove the point at all. To dismiss some as living life the easy way because they listen to pop is to overlook that it is also easy to live life by simply following the literal words contained in some Big Book that is itself in conflict with some other's Big Book and this sort of ignorant my belief is right mentality is exactly what is the cause of many of the troubles in our world today and this argument is made by this author simply by ascribing superiority to one kind of music because of nothing but style. I am sure Mr. Shubert sleeps comfortably at night in his conviction that he has found a special path to salvation that is paved with the music he has deemed is righteous and truthful and Godly.
If you look for something wrong , you will find it !
I see nothing wrong with Schubert's statement of opinion, although I don't know if I agree with it.
Hate Speech? The only hate speech here is one member trying to shame another into silence. I have done it myself , but thankfully I was called out on it.
"This is a very narrow, prejudiced, selfrighteous view that borders nearly on hate speech...." .
Hate speech? Are you KIDDING me?!
clearthink - Get a grip.
I have no problem at all with you taking issue with Schubert’s O-pinion about the virtue of certain musical forms. You raise some valid points. On the other hand saying it "borders nearly on hate speech" is over the top. Unless, of course, you got appointed the A’gon PC policeman, which event I missed. So sorry.
PC is the enemy of free speech and I loathe it (PC, that is).
(Must have been writing this just as Acman was writing his own response.)
Sfoth, would you mind to further elaborate? What would be a musical elitist, in your opinion? Do you consider all music to be of 'equal worth'? Do you believe that perhaps music can not be called as 'good' or 'bad' ? I do not argue that anybody can prefer what ever he likes, but liking or relativization that follows it can not be set as principle of 'worth'. Would you agree?
@orpheus10 Okay - I am playing your Dakota Staton tracks. Think you got a duplicate in there. 2 of Green Dolphin Street. Recorded NYC 1960... Woulda been 8 years old. Every morning up for school, my pop getting ready to leave for work. Old gray plastic AM radio tuned to WOR’s Rambling with Gambling (Pack Up Your Troubles was his theme song). Probably played something like this on that station at that time. Music from another era for me. I know less about female vocalists from back then than I do about jazz (which already ain’t a lot!).
Dakota has a powerful voice but it has a bit of an edge to my ear. I do like Dakota’s phrasing and expressiveness in Cry Me a River. (Not to get ridiculous but the beginning of that Cry Me a River sure sounds like Bond movie theme music. Wonder who borrowed from whom?)
Sorry can’t offer any greater insight on your Ms. Staton. Post the 3rd link you intended. I will check that out.
I heard something in a popular context a long time ago. Sarah Vaughn doing the honors. Made an impression (hang with it to 1:10)
I just listened to that 3 times in a row. Not sure you can get much closer to perfection.
But like I already said, I know next to nothin’ ’bout these women singers.
PS - I enjoyed the Curtis Fuller "Five Spot After Dark". Seems an odd little piece. Not sure why. Nobody plays over the top. Gives it a restrained kind of late autumn feel to me. I seem to always like Tommy Flanagan’s piano.
PPS - part 2 on the Curtis Fuller, O. Found the entire Blues-ette on Tidal. TF plays a really nice solo starting at 0:50 and running to about 2:13 on Undecided. You can learn all the technical chops in the world. Not sure anybody can teach "good taste and elegance". Do think Tommy has more than his fair share of those. Another great piano solo right at 3:21 on Minor Vamp.
The Tidal write up is very complimentary about this recording and seems on the mark from what I’m hearing. This recording is a little gem. Might have to put it on the "buy" list. See first how often I come back to it on Tidal. Good recommendation. Thanks.
I enjoy reading reviews while listening. On the off chance you are similarly disposed, copied this from Tidal:
"Sessions in any genre of music are all too often described as "sublime," but seldom has that description been better deserved than with this relaxed hard bop classic. One looks to other catchalls such as "effortless" and "loose," but even those slight this amazing date by implying a lack of intensity -- and intensity comes in all forms. For all intents and purposes, this is the first recorded meeting of what would become the famous Benny Golson/Art FarmerJazztet (albeit without Farmer), a group most commonly associated with its 1960 Chess session, Meet the Jazztet. Curtis Fuller’s next date, The Curtis Fuller Jazztet, and his appearance on the Chess date, only compound this point. Like perhaps Jimmy Smith’s flagship, The Sermon, Blues-ette’s brilliance manifests itself not only within the individual solos but also in the way the group functions as a collective. One gets the impression that these tunes could have continued for hours in the studio without the slightest lack of interest on anyone’s part. This might be because many of the themes presented here are so basic and seemingly obvious that they don’t seem like anything to write home about upon first listen. A day or so later, when you’re walking down the street to the tempo of the title track, you may begin to think otherwise. These are some exceptionally catchy heads and many have since become standards. As far as individual performances are concerned, you’re not likely to find better solos by any of the members of this quintet than you will here, though they all have extensive and very high-quality catalogs themselves. Picking highlights is a moot point. Blues-ette is best experienced as an entire LP. It would have surely made a greater impact upon its initial release had it been on a more high-profile label, such as Columbia or Blue Note, but there’s no sense worrying about that now. Any serious jazz collection is incomplete without this record. Period." ~ Brandon Burke
Ghosthouse, glad you appreciated the brilliance in Chick Corea’s "Three Quartets"; state of the art post-bop by four virtuoso players. In many respects it is Eddie Gomez sets the bar with some amazing bass playing.
This was Michael Brecker’s last recording before his passing after a long struggle with illness. Many thought he would never record again and the news of the project was welcomed as a sign of his recovering health. Sadly, he passed just a couple of months later. Probably the greatest of the post-Coltrane tenor players who built on Trane’s vocabulary he was also a very interesting composer. One of my favorite records and one which I would put in the same general category as "Three Quartets":
Stofth, if you follow this thread, I guess you could see by now that here, despite all 'arguing' there is no such attitude towards other people (who are perhaps listening to some 'different', meaning other than jazz, kind of music. Except that we cant agree among self, which music from wich time can be called 'jazz', but that is internal, ongoing joke. Anyway, more or less, everything you said was right, just let me add one more thing about hypocrisy. We all have prejudices, that are based on different aspects of our ego. Can you honestly claim that you do not have them? (no matter are the 'based' on music or some other thing)
Ghosthouse - Yeah Three Quartets just worked for me. I read Corea had set out to use (17/18th century?) string quartets as the model/template/pattern...what's the right word?? for the music he would compose. I think there's a certain discipline or order to the proceedings that does remind me of classical music. I'm not necessarily properly stating what I think is there...curious if you have a clue what I mean. I do appreciate Eddie Gomez's contribution to the quartets. I had noted and enjoyed it.
As a humorous aside, my bro-in-law is not a fan of bass solos. He likes Keith Jarrett a lot and has seen him perform with his trio numerous times. I believe that means KJ with Jack DeJohnette and Gary Peacock. He does not look forward to the obligatory bass solo, however. He commented about (upright) bass solos: "They're like listening to a fly trapped behind a window shade." Don't necessarily agree but thought that was pretty funny.
Gosh - if Quartets was Brecker's last recording, I'd say he went out in fine style. Hard to imagine him in better form.
Thank you for the Pilgrimage suggestion. It's playing now. I will listen to it on the main system later today.
Ghosthouse, Dakota Staton was hot in the very late 50's, and early 60's. "The Late Late Show" was her biggest hit. Her music is taking me back in time when me and my gang, (guys and gals) would set aside Sunday, when we were all off, to listen to music. I've selected some more Dakota.
I agree on "somewhere Over The Rainbow"; I have so many good memories associated with that song I get a good feeling whenever I hear it; hers might be the best.
Curtis Fuller's "Five Spot after Dark" has a "West Coast" feel to it. Alex has, and likes a lot of West Coast jazz. Did you want to go into West Coast? Sometime it's too laid back, but "Five Spot After Dark" hits the right spot, and groove.
O - I liked best of all that 3rd video w/Dakota Staton scatting. If you want to put up a good example of West Coast jazz, I will check it out. I recall some discussion about that going back a good few months (or more). Did not follow it then.
Frogman - I misunderstood about Brecker's last recording. Not sure Orsted Pedersen's playing - as good as it is - is going to change my b in l's mind about double bass solos. He doesn't have anything against them as part of a rhythm section...just doesn't appreciate paying to hear Jarrett or the like and then being subjected to an extended double bass solo. I think he doesn't view the instrument as a suitable vehicle for conveying melodic content. What they do try to convey, he ain't buyin'. :-)
Thanks. Doubt we’ll make a convert but that is some amazing work by McBride. As noted before, these guys have to have like martial arts quality fingers. Would not want to get poked in the eye by one of ’em.
That Henning/Pedersen Double bass Steeple Chase recording seems interesting. Don’t know Sam Jones. Without looking him up, guessing he’s playing the guitar. Anyway, thanks for posting.
Going back to that Chick Corea video "Steps". His runs are very impressive but I love the chords he bangs out. Don’t know Kenny Garrett at all but I was struck by that mellow tone he has. Sounds very oboe-like at the start of his soloing at around 7 minutes. That is one crazy over the top solo...especially how he ends it on those ascending intervals of sustained notes. That’s a good one, Acman. Great performance. There is JOY in that video. Roy Haynes - wow. Thanks.
Ghosthouse, I have that CD, and I only play it to discover what it sounds like.
I like Bud Powell, and I like Chick Corea even more because I have him throughout my collection; but I do not like that CD.
Bud Powell did his thing, Chick is still doing his thing, and those things are a very long way apart; trying to associate both things did not work for me.
Orpheus - Okay...I expect you are talking about "Remembering Bud Powell"? That had the same personnel as in Acman's last video (well worth watching, I might add) + a few additions.
If you fell in love with songs as done by Artist A, I can appreciate there's going to be a higher threshold to cross in order for Artist B's version to be enjoyed or, even tougher, loved.
Regardless, don't miss Acman's video of "Steps". Pretty high energy.
Thanks, O. I will listen to those. I already sampled the Getz Focus. My initial reaction to it was not that positive. Strings with jazz sax seems like oil and water to me. I didn't feel like one enhanced the other or that together they generated a whole that was greater than the sum of the parts. Not wanting to be harsh, but that was the initial reaction. I'll check out more of that recording (and the others) later.
O - Comments about Focus. Listened to all the YouTube tracks.
I had written comments about each track while listening the first time. Got distracted; changed the web page and lost all of it.
Found the whole thing on Spotify. Tracks in proper order here. Playing it again as I write though not going to try and recreate comments for each track. The upshot however is:
I like Stan Getz’s tone (a lot). I know his name but never knowingly listened to him. From what I read, that mellow, smooth tone is something of a trademark of his. Even when he’s getting intense (e.g., around the 3 minute mark on "Pan") it doesn’t seem to get harsh. His playing very much fits the mood of Sauter’s compositions.
I like Eddie Sauter’s music and his arrangements. "I Remember When" is gorgeous. There are other moments of real beauty throughout. In fact, the more I listen the more I like. I’ve always been a sucker for strings.
Seemed to me the pairing of jazz sax over string orchestra worked best on pieces that leaned more towards a popular music/film score sound - (cases in point: "I Remember When" and "Her") vs those that seemed more classically inspired.
The idea of Getz playing (improvising?) over a string orchestra seems a nice experiment but I can’t help wondering how this would sound if the solo instrument were played in a straighter/classical style and was something other than sax...English horn? if that were possible to do (transpose?). OR if instead of orchestra, Getz were playing in a traditional jazz quartet (piano, bass, drums, Getz).
Have to say for all my initial reservations and negativity towards string orchestra backing jazz sax...this thing is seductive. I think it’s doing something to my brain.
Haven’t gotten to the other two West Coast jazz tracks but will, though probably not tonight.
Well, I was curious and couldn’t wait. So I listened to both those other tracks...The 1958 Newport Performance by Jimmy Giuffre "The Train and The River" (with valve trombone and guitar). That’s another odd little track. Sounds very modern to me...like something Phillip Glass might have composed. Minimalism is the term, I think. Enjoyed it.
Also enjoyed the Gerry Mulligan, "I’m Gonna Go Fishin’ " I bet seeing that jazz band live would have been fun.
If this is West Coast jazz it definitely has a different feel than a lot of the stuff I’ve heard that seems more related to Miles and Coltrane. These examples of West Coast jazz are great music but seem to be missing something by comparison. Almost a little to sanitized; missing some grit...a little less heart or soul. Definitely doesn’t seem to have the drive of be bop, hard bop, post bop....whatever! You said it was mellow and I guess I can hear that.
There’s a place for all of it, I suppose and the West Coast sound does seem to provide a nice change of pace from the hard charging, non sop breathlessness of "???-bop jazz". Or so I think.
So what else you got, O? :-) And thanks yet again.
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