Hey guys,
Having never seen a small, live jazz band, I have a question. When you go to an indoor, live concert of a trio, quartet, quintet, how loud is the volume?
Thanks.
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.
30,874 responses Add your response
This album with Smulyan is a gem ; Three sax baritone for the price of one ,one is Ronnie Cuber 😁: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bbMSg3I1pg&list=OLAK5uy_kJmFAkgu-pIdwZ1TExMeuoUbSPhYaPDc0
My soundfield was never so good ...I cannot stop listening music... Save for my embeddings control efficiency i dont understand why , because my self active speakers are not top speakers as My Tannoy were ... But i was knowing nothing for the 45 years i owned them and i never listened to them at their top in an acoustic room as i know how to do now with my low cost speakers whyich i optimized a lot for sure ... I cannot stop music .... |
This one is one of my best too ..😊 And this one is no less good : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh6JpSt9Yko&list=PLBJenJIJrq0zaurEPd-ssmOXR43HyQx6J Smulyan is very gifted ...
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I also heard him with Holland. He plays on the live Holland Octet’s "Pathways" which I personally prefer to the Holland Big Band recordings. My favorite Smulyan recording is this trio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDBa-33F7Ko Another bari release I like very much: |
Thanks for this one it seems interesting... I dont know why i like baritone so much ... I like bass human voices and contralto feminine voice also ....😁
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@curiousjim Thanks for your input! I'll probably post my dilemma in the analog forum after reviewing your links. Charles Davis is another good baritone saxophonist. You can hear him on this album: https://youtu.be/3JIlzhYs5iI?si=wSpYaZ6TJ7LG-jhC I had the good fortune to hear Gary Smulyan live with the Dave Holland big band a few years ago. He had maybe 4 solos during the show, all well done.
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While I know absolutely nothing about Phono Stages, maybe this will help. https://www.youtube.com/live/FN7VP-xezRs?si=Er7uPsx76obgOsfL |
Thanks frogman for the musical precisions ... You are our living jazz master and teacher here...😊 I will go for Pepper Adams too ... I swim in an ocean of trombone , sax, and baritone now ....many albums to discover are coming in the next months ... The trumpet and piano and guitars i love so much has now many instruments rivals in my heart... I begin to appreciate bass too because of the clarity of my actual headphone and speakers system with bass ... My respect and appreciation for your help ... ...
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@mahgister , you’ve mentioned two of the greatest baritone players. I am particularly a fan of Ronnie Cuber, who is sadly no longer with us. Monster baritone prayer, While Smulyan is a great post-bebopper through and through, Ronnie Cuber was more akin to Micheal Brecker in the sense that he did a lot of work in the R&B and Latin music scenes as well as straight ahead Jazz. As expected all that was reflected in his playing.. I love his playing. https://youtu.be/zWw-3kJwge0?si=aUM0y5nnd36K8GwQ Some favorite earlier work of his: https://youtu.be/d89efDn97qs?si=47ffeSAiCgDUwcVf https://youtu.be/5bypNuFs9oc?si=n61GImad0Cg1lcI6 No conversation on baritone players should overlook the greatest of all, Pepper Adams. A close listen to Smulyan’s sound and approach shows how he is a musical descendant of the great Pepper Adams, whom he replaced in the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra saxophone section, https://youtu.be/fjm52JRscpA?si=eGEv2PwrSV_nUF2v https://youtu.be/4lKTp8u6YSg?si=VknTidVRFxsb30Zs As an interesting aside. At some point before recording the following, Pepper Adams had to replace his saxophone mouthpiece. The difference in tone is obvious. Still great and still Pepper Adams, but with more edge: https://youtu.be/tOCZddFI1tU?si=mGp726OzBq32xJEV https://youtu.be/lg7Hm5aE8mI?si=Yy-zKUNf7AjXMqwi
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Been out of pocket, here's a track I really like by Charles Lloyd quartet: https://open.spotify.com/track/40ZvTRrjQZ1JQiJnl3MkKR?si=b6a83562137d40d0 Any of you folks have a phono stage that you'd recommend? The Manley Chinook is intriguing to me, but runs $3,200. I'd like to find one a tad cheaper if possible. I'm in the market for a cartridge too, but that's a complicated story. |
I was in love with baritone sax and my love grow by day ... Gary Smulyan "the real deal" album : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3fG3m9UxmA&list=OLAK5uy_k0O3lv1qAy2-NqQT0DbuP028aV57PE87I
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What I’ve read consistently is that the H390 is warmer. This would disincline me from moving up but perhaps you’d find the 590 more appealing. Jay from Jay’s Inagi recently reviewed the H600 and described its tonality as midway between the 390 and 590. Whether or nor I utilize all the power on tap from the 390, its warmth (greater then both the 590 and those below it in the line) is not something I’d be willing to give up.I’d actually welcome warming up the system a bit more. I can’t afford to do this now but perhaps will be able to do so in the future. Thanks for your comments!
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A lot of companies have a signature sound and Hegel definitely has one. It’s not the amount of watts as what the whole chain of electronics that makes them. I bet you haven’t used 100 watts since you bought your H390, unless you’ve really cranked up. BTW, I have the H390 as well and am extremely happy with it. Having said that, with the H590 for sale at half price, I wonder what the used ones go for. |
That video confused me. In my experience, moving from a 150 watts @ 8 ohm Wells Majestic integrated to a 250 watts @ 8 ohm Hegel H390 impacted more than the system’s ability to play loud. In fact, when I first hooked up the Hegel, I was shocked, because my speakers sounded so much better. Unless one is restricting one’s choices to amps of varying power within the same product line of a single manufacturer, there will be differences between 10 amps of different brands with equal power ratings besides how loud/clean they play. Perhaps I’m simply too ignorant re: the physics involved to grasp the value of the experiment in the video in terms of real world application.
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Another fine album that I got just recently...
Joe Newman Quintet at Count Basie’s (1961) https://youtu.be/z2DMW815Vg0?feature=shared https://youtu.be/4vc8-TM3wQo?feature=shared
’Joe Newman at Count Basie’s is the first record the underappreciated trumpeter cut after leaving the Basie Band for the second time. The 1961 session was cut live at his former employer’s club in front of a noisy, appreciative audience and features Newman and his young band (Oliver Nelson on tenor, Art Davis on bass, Lloyd Mayers on piano and Ed Shaughnessy on drums) cutting loose on a mix of standards and Newman originals. While this record may have seemed like the beginning of a great solo career for Joe Newman, in fact it was his final session for a major label as a leader.’ |
I’ve seen that video before and it makes me smile. Not that it’s comedic, but because when I started my audio journey, I had twenty watt Singer(?) amps. By the eighties, you had to hundreds of watts per channel and now if you look at some of the uber high end amps, they put out over a thousand watts a side! And here I am with 90 dbs speakers that rarely go over 90 db and an amp that puts out 250 watts a side. |
Waiting from other Brecker surprizes i listen to Gary Smulyan a third magnificent album here all about sax but dominated by the baritone of Smulyan : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-8xu14NDjc&list=PLdFOkuVvI1ywgWOCpfKADglkPlrfY3gWy
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There is something soothing and relaxing in the Baritone sax voice, and Gary Smulyan is very good at it, and we need relaxation these days 😁 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja6Yep7lf3g&list=PLdFOkuVvI1yx6OYh8TSEx19zPDRQn9vAX&index=2 |
@curiousjim Try this one ....one of his that I Ilike very much.... Teddy Edwards 'Good Gravy' from 1961. https://youtu.be/Klrq7BLVqTE?feature=shared
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Thanks i will check for sure...😉 I am in love with trombone and sax baritone ...😊
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@mahgister Here is a couple more with multiple baritones |
Between two Michael Brecker exploration ...😊 I discovered this album and an interesting trio of European jazz : Rein De Graaff piano trio This De Graaf plays a lot with sax players ...baritone sax here by Ronnie Cuber is outstanding ... I will search other De Graaff albums ...And Ronnie Cuber too ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6sPN93jf5Q&list=OLAK5uy_kVeaGHKfd6e4ggi9GKlGlNKLK111hIqXg |
Thanks @acman3 it’s been a long trip, since January! |
I'm happy that KEF fixed both of your speakers or gave you two brand new speakers (I'm still confused). Enjoy your new speakers. I have never had the pleasure of listening to the KEF UNI Q tweeter/midrange driver but a couple guys over at the Audio Science Review forum (ASR) have pairs of the KEF LS50 bookshelf UNI-Q mid woofer/tweeter on speaker stands with a subwoofer and rave about this setup. You have the towers so no sub needed. Enjoy! |
Sorry if I didn’t make myself clear. In January I lost a tweeter. KEF made me send them the whole speaker (on my nickel!). They replaced the Uniq driver and they sent it back (on their nickel). There was a crack in the finish when the speaker came back and some weird discoloration at the bottom also.when all was said and done, the remade both speakers and I got them yesterday, after over 10 months of back and forth…There’s a bunch more to the story, but now I have new speakers to break in and enjoy. |
Here is the complete Miles Davis Quintet set at the 1956 Pasadena Civic Auditorium CA. Miles Davis- February 18, 1956 Civic Auditorium, Pasadena - YouTube |
The Miles Davis Quintet's first album for Columbia Records, Round About Midnight, sold more copies then all of his Prestige sessions combined! The Sony 2001 24 bit remaster of Round About Midnight has really good sonics. I also have the 2005 Legacy Edition with bonus live tracks. The sonics on the live tracks are as good as could be expected from live recordings in the 50s. Included is 1 track from the sensational 1955 Newport Jazz Concert, Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight" and 6 tracks from the 1956 Pasadena Civic Auditorium including "It Never Entered My Mind" Again, Red Garland's piano intro is as beautiful live as it is in the studio. All of the Prestige studio sessions Miles recorded have a "live sound" as the majority of them were recorded in 1 take which demonstrates the telepathy between the musicians. It Never Entered My Mind (Live at Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, CA - February 1956) - YouTube
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Excellent Miles Davis article about his terrific "comeback" performance at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival. After the show, George Avakian, of Columbia Records, signed Davis to a huge contract. Avakian had to sit down with Bob Weinstock, of Prestige Records, who had already signed Davis to a recording contract. Davis still owed Weinstock and Prestige more recordings for the monetary advances they gave him. In just 6 months, from May through October 1956 Miles and his first great quintet recorded enough material to complete his contractual obligations with Weinstock and Prestige. The material recorded was enough for 4 albums Cookin', Relaxin', Steamin', and workin'. From 1951 through 1954 Miles was addicted to heroin and tried many times to quit before he was finally able to and then appeared at Newport. His muted trumpet playing, using less notes with more space in between notes, a style and tone he had already been using with great success for a decade, rewarded him with the lucrative Columbia contract. The article also has a You Tube clip of the Newport concert. Miles Davis, Newport 1955: the day of a sensational comeback | Jazz | The Guardian IMHO, Davis' rendition of the Rodgers (composer/arranger) and Hart's (song writer) is the best instrumental recording of the piece. Miles' hauntingly, seductive, beautiful ballad playing is on full display and Red Garland's piano intro is simply beautiful... Miles Davis Quintet - It Never Entered My Mind - YouTube From 1956 onward, Miles' career and legacy, steadily grew into the "Legend of Miles Davis"
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@curiousjim Those KEF R5 look like great speakers. I noticed they have 2 rear firing ports. Did they come with foam inserts to close one or both ports as/if needed. How far away from the wall do they sound best? Just asking because rear firing ports sound better when not right against the wall. |
@pjw81563 , Paul, have not heard that album. In fact, very few of Weather Report or Zawinul I listened at all, since very early I recognised the ’fusion sound’ as something that does not suit me. Of course I went to see that concert that I have posted as I appreciate the ’craftmanship’ even with things that I am not fond of (and they were playing in my hometown) But, if I may say, that music makes me nervous. On the other hand, I really like Desmond, his sound or his music is just beautiful... Couple of albums where he plays that I have posted recently, perhaps not often mentioned... Desmond and Brubeck ’Duets’ from 1975 https://youtu.be/5QK5Nm6Xjys?feature=shared Paul Desmond Quartet live in Canada 1975. https://youtu.be/ftkFUNpmrIc?feature=shared I guess I am more into lyricsm...it must be because of my gentle soul,ha,ha...
@curiousjim As I remeber reading somewhere, you had some big Kef’s? Something new or differnet you have ordered? |
Allso saw and was wowed by Brecker Brothrrs. “Live from Brooklyn Bowl” by The Headhunters is s nice jaxz funk one from today. Donald Harrison Jr! |