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.
O-10, thanks for your response. Like I said before, and it’s even more obvious now, we listen for different things in music and in sound. I don’t want this to become a pi$$ing contest, but hopefully just an explanation of those differences. Re the violin:
I think it’s great that you use a reference to judge the sound of your system, but I would reconsider your choice of recorded reference. The violin is not only not "simple" it is a very complex instrument that produces a very harmonically complex sound which is extremely difficult to record, perhaps the most difficult. No one should ever suggest that someone else’s preferred tonal balance (or other audiophillic considerations) is not right for anyone except himself. However, the fact still remains that there is, in fact, a true reference as concerns "accuracy" (or, at least, the quest for it) in reproduced music; and as suggested by pryso and Schubert the live music standard is it. Some may argue this or that, but imo it always comes back to that. Moreover, exposure to the live standard is the only way to be a good judge of this. Again, absolutely nothing "wrong" with any other preferred kind of sound for any given listener if that is what they want or like; but, if only as a subject of discussion, it should be pointed out that there is a lot of sonic beauty that sometimes gets missed. For what it is worth, both of those clips deviate quite a bit from what is possible with "violin sound". The second one especially is pretty heavily processed; not to mention that they use electric violins (!); deal breaker right off the bat. I can’t find in YouTube the exact recordigns that I might use as a violin reference, but these are in the ballpark. They (especially the first) may not impress at first because of the absence of hyped up and digitized violin sound that I hear in your clips, but if one gives up those expectations and recalibrates the ears there is so much more beauty, nuance and complexity in this other kind of sound. The music is some of the greatest ever written:
I enjoyed the Oscar Pettiford clip, thanks. He was undeniably a great player and very important in the history of jazz bass playing. Jazz is a relatively new art form and the truth is that some instruments (trombone another) have traditionally lagged behind other instruments as far as reaching what is technically possible on the instrument in that music. Putting issues of stylistic preferences on the part of the listener aside, the truth is that Pedersen plays the bass at a much higher level of proficiency than Pettiford did. Go back in time and compare bass players that preceded Pettiford and what he was doing and you can say the same thing. They got better and better as far a clean technique, intonation, facility etc. Now, that may or not mean its great music making, but that is another story. In Pedersen’s case I think it certainly does. Regards.
Holy sh?t, Acman3! Wow is right. Sonny in his absolute prime! One of the best things I've ever seen on YouTube. There is a reason Pedersen was the go to guy when American jazz stars went to Europe. Thanks for that!
o10, and others interested in acoustic bass. I find Brian Bromberg’s playing to be quite good and this is a particularly well recorded album. At least through my speakers if not my iMac. ;^)
Frogman, why do you insist on treating jazz music as though there is some kind of mathematical absolute, and you always have it?
Time, time, and time again, others have posted that when it comes to choices in music, in regard to your selection, or my selection, yours is way behind; this has been a pissing contest for some time, and I always piss farther than you.
The violin is not only not "simple" it is a very complex instrument that produces a very harmonically complex sound which is extremely difficult to record, perhaps the most difficult.
I couldn't care less how difficult it is to play; the fact that it's harmonically complex, makes it absolutely perfect for tuning my mid-range, which I have spent many years to get it precisely as I think it should be.
It came out as a two way, and although I liked the tweeter, the whole speaker was not to my satisfaction because of the mid-range; it was not "Mello as a Cello".
Not until I talked to a crossover engineer, and he informed me that we could build one as "Mello as a Cello" and still keep the "AMT".
These speakers have evolved over many years, and the mid-range is mello as a cello, and they reproduce the complex harmonics of the violin splendidly.
Putting issues of stylistic preferences on the part of the listener aside, the truth is that Pedersen plays the bass at a much higher level of proficiency than Pettiford did.
Regardless to what proficicency he plays the bass, he is no OP and he can not "Jamm" like OP; this is "jazz" not classical.
As far as bass players who preceded OP, you can go back to sax players who preceded "Bird"; I'm sure you can find some, and I'm sure you will tell me they are more proficient, like that makes a difference in the jazz world.
Let us go to "Wikipedia" and compare Pedersen to OP.
Not sure what Frim Fram sauce actually is (although there is a recipe for it on the web) but it is the title of a nonsensical song who's lyrics were written in 1945 by Redd Evans with music written by Joe Ricardel and made famous by Nat King Cole, although performed by various artists over the years since. Yes, this is plagiarized from Wikipedia ;)
I also enjoy "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo". I saw Bela Fleck, Victor Wooten, and the other Flecktones in a small nightclub in Charlotte many years ago. It was one to remember.
Brian Bromberg's "Wood" is an excellent listen also. I recall that it was once recommended by REL to set their subwoofers' crossover and gain adjustments if I am not mistaken.
I hear you re: Diana, but this was her first album and, as often is the case, her best IMO. More style and personality to the vocals and great accompaniment. More than just drab covers...
I do a lot of streaming from Tidal these days and it would seem to be perfect for you guys here to quickly (and relatively inexpensively) screen through a vast collection of jazz recommendations and perhaps even stumble on a few great ones that you have not yet experienced. Easy peezy. I do just that (often with the titles recommended on this thread) and then buy pre-screened select hi-rez downloads of the best titles from HDtracks when available.
I’m afraid that the size of my CD collection will remain as it is. Still love my player though, so the CD/SACDs I have get heard too.
Pryso, again, you win the grand prize; this is precisely what I was looking for and talking about, a standout bass that would make your woofers pop. These notes will make them do the "woofer boogy".
It's late and I can't test now, but I will give the results after testing.
Bill Evans always had great bass players. Starting with the trio that included Scott LaFaro he would redefine the sound of the piano trio with the bass taking on a much more active role than was usual previously and with "conversational" musical interaction between piano and bass.
Dave, I don't regret not buying new speakers, but I do regret not completing room treatment. I ran out of funds before the finish line; now I have the left volume control sky high, and the right volume control about in the middle, sounds perfect.
Huh...album of the month. No wonder Amazon has been recommending it. Great album cover art but the title track is a tough opening act...leastways was for me.
O - I can’t give you a rating this soon. Takes a few listens to this "style" to find out if it draws me in or not. But definitely, a tough listen to start. Track 2 not so challenging. Very talented musicians. Sonics playing it from Tidal are superb. Interesting song choices...some Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Hendrix, The Band.
I’m guessing you are not agreeing with that 4.5 star rating unless they meant 4.5 stars out of 100 :-)
By the way, dropped in to leave the link below. The more I listen to this album the greater my appreciation of it. A gem, I think. Bought it. Now this one, I’d give an 8 out of 10. Here’s another great track from it (hopefully a different one than that posted previously). Check it out. Help you get some of that Hudson discord out of your mind.
I completely agree with ghosthouse on that one, o. The loud distortion artifacts intentionally added to the first track is a complete non-starter for me. What were they thinking?
I rate this music as "fusion", as opposed to straight ahead jazz. I'm sure the sonics are just fine since it's a current recording, but not good enough to be a buy.
Ghosthouse, the first track on Bill Connors Return, sounds like something I could get into late at night; I like that guitar and the piano to; oh well, the whole set.
Music that allows me to slip back to another time is always appealing; like maybe a late night rendezvous, and that's not a fantasy but the lifestyle of a man who could see the hand writing on the wall and wanted to rack up as many beautiful memories as he could.
I think I'll get this one exclusively for late night memories, and have a glass of wine in celebration of each one. (have you noticed more people thinking of yesterdays)
Dave, I went back to check that distortion you mentioned on the "Hudson"; if you recall, it was difficult to tell distortion from strange sound effects from another galaxy on fusion.
The sound effects are distortion to me, o. Just not for me, that one or any of similar ilk with such sound effects. I have heard quite a few of those recently and completely fail to understand the appeal.
Nothing wrong with wanting the music we choose to listen to to appeal to our particular ears and sensibilities right away. On the other hand, it is a fact that for many listeners being open to letting the music challenge those sensibities can yield big rewards; or, at least, make for one-time interesting listening. Consider this: "Hudson" was created by musicians who are giants in modern music; especially DeJohnette who has musical cred about as good as anyone. Personally, I would be inclined to first say to myself something like: "I don’t quite get it yet, but these are artists with a tremendous amount of musical integrity so let me try and find out what I might be missing". Doesn’t work all the time and certainly not for everyone.
I find "Hudson" to be highly original and very interesting. As has been pointed out some of it is not easy listening. The musical concept may not appeal to some, but I don’t see how the superb quality of the playing can be denied. DeJohnette is always amazing and I love the practically melodic quality of his playing. I have always been a fan of Scofield and he sounds inspired on this record always surprising with where he takes he solos. The record shouldn’t be judged only from the posted clip with its shades of Miles’ "Bitches Brew". In fact I think that cut serves as a good "intro" to the rest of the record which contains some fascinating and unusual takes on these Woodstock-generation anthems. For instance:
Dave, I revisited "Stepping Out". Revisited because I actually have that record and to give you an idea of how much I like Diana Krall, I had forgotten the title of it and almost that I had it at all. It wasn’t until you later mentioned that it was her first that I realized that it was the one Krall record that I have. I think you’re right...this is probably her best. Still... I wasn’t going to respond further so as not to get into "Krall bashing", but heard this on WBGO today and it made me think about the Krall record again; and, to ask myself, again, why anyone would want to listen to Krall when one can listen to something like this:
Frogman, thank you for putting everything into a new and fresh perspective. I'll listen to "Hudson" again and write a new post after I've put on another hat, the one I wore when "Fusion" was popular.
Thanks for the post; especially Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan; my collection is loaded with those artists.
F-man, I agree with you yet again...at least your comments about the quality of the musicians who recorded Hudson and the (advisability?) of "assuming merit". I’ll likely go back and give that one another go. ON THE OTHER HAND...the influence of John Medeski lies heavily on this work. While I greatly admire his talents and have listened to a good few of his other recordings (in MMW) and own Shack Man and Combustication, more often than not, as I’ve tried to follow him in other albums of his/theirs I just don’t enjoy going where he takes the music. A bit of dissonance can be a useful thing...kinda like a strong spice in a recipe. But at some point, you just gotta call "ugly" for what it is. Well, I do, anyway. I always appreciate your analysis and the insights you provide. Your comments about Hudson no exception. Time is short (and getting shorter!), though. There’s many others I’d rather spend it with (e.g., Bill Connors...interesting career path)....though I do find myself going back from time to time and knocking on that Medeski door to see if anything has changed.
Hey O - So long as you are vertical, there’s always time to "get right". It’ll give you hope for the future.
Perhaps I hastily judged the title in question. I did listen to the rest of it and found some tracks to be very good (the tracks without the sonic pyrotechnics). Sound quality is excellent overall.
However, I notice that many "modern" jazz titles of late are using electronic grunge far too prevalently (for me), some of which are nearly devoid of what I know as music. Bill Frisell is about as far in that direction as I can bear.
After completing listening to the Hudson album, I retreated to "Soul Brothers" and once again marveled at its understated beauty, soul and mind-soothing magic, and sound quality. That seems to be where I live.
Admittedly, my sophistication, knowledge, and transcendence in the "Hudson-type" segment of jazz pales in comparison to some on this thread. ;)
Dave, you always seem to say the magic words for me "Soul Brothers", Ray Charles and Milt Jackson; 2 LP's without a loose cut on either of them. I'll just use your paragraph:
After completing listening to the Hudson album, I retreated to "Soul Brothers" and once again marveled at its understated beauty, soul and mind-soothing magic, and sound quality. That seems to be where I live.
If that's where you live, you'll just have to scoot over and make room for me; time is so irrelevant to that music, it's just as good today as when it was made.
I think the important thing is whether music is "difficult", "dissonant" or even "ugly" and music that is "bullsh?t" (as defined by absence of skill or sincerity). No apologies necessary if any music doesn’t touch anyone of us.
There is room for "ugly" in art. Early jazz was deemed ugly by the society crowd. Swing players deemed bebop ugly. Cotrane’s "sheets of sound" were deemed ugly and on and on. Will I be listening to "Hudson" much or even buy it? Probably not, but that’s not the point. It puts the work of these artists and the state of modern music in better context/perspective for me; and it is certainly not bs. As much as I like the Connors recording it is lighter and without nearly as much grit as "Hudson" which falls more to the Rock side of the "fusion" idea in attitude. I like ghosthouse’s spice analogy. I love going to my local Indian restaurant and marvel at the way that Indian diners at other tables wolf down dishes that to me taste strange and unbearably spicy. Do they taste "bad"?
Great record, "Soul Brothers", btw. Couldn't Iive on soul food only, 'though.
To be honest folks, when I was into this kind of music (fusion), there were guys smoking skinny cigarettes with a peculiar aroma to my left and right, plus across the room even, and a lot of it wafted in my direction. After breathing such fumes, I could visualize the 7th Galaxy and beyond when I listened to this music.
I saw many purple sunsets on the planet Orion. As I reminisce, this music from the "Hudson" is sounding better with each note; just set a new course for "Geidi Prime". That first cut, the one I'm listening to now, just got upgraded.
O-10 If I could do it I would do it . I'm old and sick with the proverbial one foot in the grave and one on a banana peel . Having 4 mini strokes makes learning many small things impossible .
Richard Galliano is famous and probably would have gazillion tube videos with various musicians and he's great -- just as great or better than Frank Marocco or Art Van Damme.
I enjoy accordion jazz would certainly add young and less known Ludovic Beier
Here is an album I find quite soothing; "Sol Do Meio Dia" by Egberto Gismonti, I think I like side 2 best, but I like the rest as well; you find which side you like best.
It seems that you have to be in a relaxed, receptive state of mind to enjoy this; like sitting in the middle of a beautiful botanical garden in your mind, but enjoying the prime spot in your acoustically treated listening room in reality.
chromatic button accordion can combine both even and odd harmonics from the fundamental to the 6th .A one man band , which is why so often used in folk-music. Damn Lawrence Welk gave it a bad name .
I second your Sol Do Meio Dia Egberto Gismonti recommendation, Orpheus. A great musician lineup too as you point out. In the unlikely event you are not familiar with them, check out his work with Haden and Garbarek...namely Magico & Folk Songs. Dancas das Cabecas is also worth your (anyone’s) time.
Ghosthouse, soprano saxophone is a very unusual instrument; "Trane" sounds a lot different from Garbarek on this instrument; it doesn't even sound like the same horn.
Sometimes it sounds like I'm repeating myself, which to an extent is true, but at the same time I'm refining my statements. Every time I hear "Trane" and Tyner, I get a clearer picture of both of them; like their sound is joined at the hip, you can't have one without the other.
While that's not quite true, it seems the Trane Tyner sound is one unto itself; but we can't leave out Elvin Jones, can we.
What I'm trying to say is that when you put those three together, you come up with a unique concoction that's worthy of a name unto itself, what a blend.
Good call on the soprano sax there O. After reading your post about Sol Do Meio Dia, I dug it out and put it on the turntable (I think I prefer Side 2 as well. Side 1 seems a little disjointed). I hadn't even recognized that as being soprano sax! Have said before I (usually) don't like soprano sax but I sure do like Garbarek's sound with it. Very full and sweet.
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