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.
“There are two kinds of music; good music and the other kind” - Duke Ellington (maybe) 😎.
Ben Webster? Without a doubt; although Hamilton sounds a little bit more modern. Similar feel and similar breathy tone and way of starting each note. As jazz tenor sound evolved it would have a little less air in the tone, and vibrato that is not as exaggerated; but it also lost that hard to describe singing quality in the high register. Webster had a distinctive quality in the way he would slide into a note; almost like putting a little smile on it. Broadly speaking, I hear Hamilton’s tone as being a decade or two in the direction of what most today would call a “modern” tenor sound and I would bet he also listened to players like Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. Nice clips. I like Scott Hamilton a lot; very classy and swinging player. There are very few tenor players paying like that today.
Excellent report on this evening's PBS News hour on the New John Coltrane release. Filmed in the beautiful van Gelder recording studio. Includes short interviews with Ravi and McCoy, and clips of the great man himself playing.
Nice to see a national program give so much time to Jazz.
Guess I will have to get it now. The hype always gets me,.
I am lucky as I live on Long Island about 30 minutes from John Coltrane's last residence which I often go and stroll around the yard and peer into the windows. They are in the process of repairing the interior of the house allowing the public inside. https://www.pbs.org/video/look-inside-coltrane-home-long-island-unxyca/
rok, I caught that last evening. I agree, nice to see such coverage on a national network. And the advantage with PBS was it ran longer than 30 seconds!! For those who missed it, watch here -
Thanks for that link frog. Here's another link to Webster, this time with Gerry Mulligan, another major favorite of mine. I just happened to play this album recently.
Interesting that there was so much disagreement about the sax intro on the Mingus Big Band album. I have a couple of those Mingus tribute band albums but not that specific one so can't reference the line up if Handy played on that one or not?
It was in the Winter of 59; although the temperature was around 0, I had a hot date by my side to keep me warm.
We went to a small intimate club where they had a jazzy jukebox; "Speak Low" and "Sonny's Crib" were our favorite jams, and we punched them repeatedly.
At that time I only knew the titles of the records and that the music was fantastic; fast forward to today; Sonny's Crib is one of the best albums in my collection, but there is a very good reason for that; this album was recorded in 1957 at Rudy Van Gelder's studio on the Blue Note Label, and the most fantastic aspect of this recording is the cast of players; this may have been the only time they were ever even in the same room together; Donald Byrd, on trumpet; Curtis Fuller, trombone; John Coltrane, tenor; Sonny Clark, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Art Taylor, drums; with that lineup the music had to be stellar.
pjw81563, thanks for that Coltrane link; "My Favorite Things" will always remind me of when I saw him live, only a few feet from the bandstand in the Winter of 63 when it was new and fresh.
pryso, your instincts are correct. I just listened to Alex’s “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” clip. No way that’s John Handy. John Handy was a very good player, but with a style from a different era. This player is a much more contemporary player with a definite post-Coltrane style. I’m tempted to say it’s Alex Foster who often plays with the current Mingus big band run by Sue Mingus, but I don’t think so. Foster doesn’t have as much of a Brecker influence as this player has.
Great Webster/Mulligan clip. One of my favorite Billy Strayhorn tunes. Thanks.
orpheus10 At least you saw him live. I was but 4 years old when he passed. I hope you are feeling good today. One day at a time. You are in my prayers as are everyone I know stricken with that insidious disease.
When you saw "Trane" you saw two shows, the first was for the casual fans, it displayed what was on his most current album, while the second was for the Trane devotees; they came to hear "Trane jazz", that's when he blew what was on his inner mind; it seemed the devotees were mostly musicians who came to hear where he was going next.
Even in the beginning Trane was "way out", he just displayed it at live shows.
frogman Yes I agree with your choice of Zoot Sims a player I have listened to a lot and have posted recently. Not too familiar with Al Cohn would have to listen to some of his recordings. I also really like Scott Hamilton a lot. Kudos to him for developing and bringing forward that style of swing playing. Many years ago I had several Hamilton recordings but did not play them much . I dismissed him for not having a bebop style or avant garde leanings. I have come full circle and do appreciate his stylistic approach and devotion to swing.Yes maybe a little less air in the tone but still there in abundance. I also like Ken Peplowski I think he has a similar style.
Thanks for the Coltrane link. Coincidentally I live about 30 minutes east of his home on Long Island. I took the address from the link and intend to visit in future.
frogman Thx for the clips . Yes Scott Hamilton was probably influenced by Cohn also more so from the phrasing aspect than the tone. I was searching you tube and found Frank Strozier , a bebop guy who's name I knew but not much else.
Nice clips, nsp. Two alto players deserving of more attention here. Frank Strozier is one of the unsung heros of the alto saxophone with an interesting personal story. I first heard him years ago on this record (gotta love YouTube; I was surprised that this has been posted). Check out Strozier’s solo!!! (The tenor solo is by none other than Tom Scott who I love in a fusion/pop setting with his very unusual (weird) tenor sound; but less so in a jazz setting like this:
I did a double take (no pun) with that Jon Gordon Quartet “What’s New”. After the first couple of notes I thought: “that’s Phil Woods! Well, a little sleuthing showed that it is! Both Gordon and Phil Woods play on that. They trade off on the melody and solos. Gordon is an excellent player and clearly shows the influence of his idol Woods. Thanks for that.
frogman Good call! That is absolutely Phil Woods. No one sounds like him. I did not do that on purpose. Just bought that Gordon cd and wanted to post something. I knew Woods was on the cd but in my haste to post did not listen after transcribing it to you tube. Actually I take back the statement that no one sounds like Woods. This guy does at least in his tone. He was a child jazz prodigy and sounded just like Woods when he was younger but with maturity he has found his own voice IMO. But the tone remains close .
Celebrating Dave Brubeck by posting his greatest hits; NO, "Take Five" was not the only one, Dave had a very long and illustrious career.
Near the end of his career, I was fortunate enough to see Dave at a free outdoor concert; it was blessed by a most beautiful, golden Fall day at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows outside of Belleville, IL. I recall seeing a limousine driving up the winding road to the amphitheater where Dave would perform. His long hair was completely white, and he looked far too dignified for a jazz musician.
I followed his entourage to the top of the hill where there was a lone piano in the center of a stage. Many of my old friends that I hadn't seen for 20 years or longer were in the crowd to welcome Dave on what was to be his last performance. Although we saw and recognized one another, this was Dave's day, not an old friends day, and we wanted to spend it with him, alone in a crowd; we politely failed to acknowledge one another.
The awe and admiration this crowd felt for Dave was palpable; we found it was hard to believe we were seeing someone who had long outlived his peers; we were teenagers when we first saw him, and now we had our own teenagers alongside us to witness this event.
There was no fanfare; Dave went directly to the piano and began playing music suitable for the modern dancers in gauzy pastel dresses who would perform. Everyone was spellbound from the first notes, it was more about who was playing than it was for the music, which was for the choreography of the dancers.
While Dave Brubeck was a giant among giants when compared to his peers, the thing that sat him apart was his long and exemplary life as a person; when comparing great jazz musicians, that's about as rare as "chicken lips".
That was my most unforgettable day that I spent with Dave Brubeck; now to his music;
Many thanks o10 for bringing this great artist up again. When I began listening to jazz on my own in high school (separate from the Sachmo and others I'd heard my dad playing), the Dave Brubeck Quartet was an early favorite. Their first album I bought was "Gone With The Wind", not "Take Five" which was the introduction for so many folks (both released in 1959). And today while "Take Five" continues to lead in popularity, aided by numerous reissues, that is not the album I'd recommend to anyone looking for an introduction to Brubeck's music. In stead, I'd suggest "The Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall". My choice is for two reasons -- it includes more of his popular numbers, including those from "Take Five", plus it offers that special energy that sometimes comes from a live performance. Both the musicians and the audience were into it that evening. My suggestion comes from someone owning nearly 20 Brubeck albums.
Now for a story I've shared online, but possibly not here. Many years ago one of my friends from our audio club said Brubeck was coming to perform with our local symphony orchestra. Knowing I was a jazz fan he ask if I wanted to order tickets to attend? At that point Brubeck was in his 80s and I'd had the good fortune to see him live a few time prior to that. So I declined, saying I didn't want to be disappointed by one of my musical heros who could no longer stand up to his established standard of performance due to age. Well, my mistake! I did have friends who attended, and their reports as well local media reviews all raved about the performance. Apparently DB still had it so long as he toured.
*****While Dave Brubeck was a giant among giants when compared to his peers, the thing that sat him apart was his long and exemplary life as a person; when comparing great jazz musicians, that's about as rare as "chicken lips".*****
Are you back on the sauce again? What a load of BS.
Rok, while I understand your side of this story, the fact that he lived more like a school teacher than a jazz musician, and lived so much longer than most other jazz musicians speaks volumes in regard to why so many admired him; not to mention the fact that he made decades of top flight jazz.
While there are those who will argue; "No soul, no jazz", but soul or not, it was called "Jazz" and reached multitudes for decades, which is so much longer than other giants of jazz lived.
Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I will acknowledge what your eyes behold.
Pryso, I lost more Dave Brubeck albums than I now presently own, going all the way back to "Jazz Goes To College" so I'm well aware of his career before "Take Five".
I saw his last performance, and the man had not lost a step; that was a big mistake, but you still have his records.
Acman, Dave's hair was snow white and long when I saw him, but as we saw in that link, he still had a lot of glide in his stride, nor had he lost a step when I saw him.
I must admit, that Billy Taylor link definitely raised me one; I liked it.
Since we left Rok out of the last conversation, I'm going to try and include him along with the rest of us in this one. It's got Nawlins funk and jazz; "Dr. John, Duke Elegant";
My sentiments exactly. I love Dr. John, but that “It Don’t Mean...” sounds like a parody of the tune. Curious choice to do a tune about swinging with a straight up and down beat. And, too S....L....O.....W!
This is not meant as a criticism of Brubeck’s music in any way. I like Brubeck’s music a lot (in great part for the usual presence of Paul Desmond) and appreciate his legacy; but, in many ways this piano playing style strikes me as the antithesis of Brubeck’s:
As a fan of Brubeck for several decades, I'm well aware of the criticism he received. But "No soul, no jazz"? I just don't understand that. I've heard plenty of emotion, drive, and thus soul in many of his recordings.
This may be an oversimplification but I believe much of that criticism came from two factors. One, much of his playing was melodic enough (especially when joined by Desmond) that it could be appreciated by a broader audience than just those favoring straight ahead jazz. Thus he was more commercially successful and so possibly resented by those who hadn't reached that level of popularity. Second, I suspect many musicians and critics couldn't accept the fact that he seemed to have come from a music conservatory rather than up from the streets earning his trade in bars and road houses. The latter included those claiming no soul in his playing.
To my ear he was talented as a player, composer, and explorer of new boundaries. He could swing, play ballads, honor tradition with stride references, verge into avant-garde, and how many other musicians devoted as much creative energy into new directions as Brubeck did with time signatures?
I don't seem to be pleasing anybody today; I think I'm going to do what the little fellow who wandered into a New Orleans house of ill repute did when asked who you gonna please?
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
