Here you go, a little Joe Henderson to get you back in the groove.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0ZZpg2B36k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0ZZpg2B36k
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.
31,740 responses Add your response
pjw I listened to the 1st live cut (Baker , Frisell , Haden) and really liked it. Baker & Frisell stand out I had a hard time hearing Haden in the mix. Baker & Frisell seem like they have played together quite a while their styles mesh. Baker showed his jazz chops playing brushes when Haden solos . Will follow up when I listen to the other live cuts. I can't think of many jazz drummers who played double bass drum was wondering who you had in mind to compare to Baker? Louis Bellson comes to mind and I think Tony Williams may have played double bass drum for part of his career. |
pjw &acman3 As acman3 stated the vol. 1 Shelly Manne Live At The Blackhawk has a different soundstage. I listened to vol. 4 (which has the same soundstage as vol.s 2&3) and vol.1 . The difference in vol . 1's soundstage is: the drums are now positioned center stage and to the rear of the speakers giving the music the center fill . The bass is positioned just right of the left speaker and the sax , piano and trumpet are in the same positions as described for vol. 2 &3. |
frogman thanks for your candid opinion on Ginger Baker. To my ears he sounds pretty good in that jazz trio and his other jazz ensembles. Charlie Watts?!?..... THE Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones?... I thankyou for that I never knew! http://www.rollingstones.com/artist/charlie-watts/ I will get back to everyone when I have time busy work week ahead! |
I saw the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the fall of 73 at an out door concert. They shared billing with J Geils and Framptons Camel. Another great drummer Mike Shrieve, not sure fusion is considered jazz on this thread. Some might remember him from the Woodstock documentary, no I wasn't there, with his solo when he played with Santana. |
o10, that's one of my favorite Mingus numbers. You may remember many years ago the opening was used behind a (Ford?) TV commercial. An older gentleman was getting dressed up in what may have been a retirement home. A young guy, likely his son, came and picked him up and they drove off. Haitian Fight Song played a perfect accompaniment. It was a rare commercial I enjoyed watching. I read this is the version used for the commercial but couldn't find a link for that so the whole number will have to do! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0E1XTqUlCc Also, for your love of Adams try this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIu87qCZnJ4 |
"We should be posting more Cuban Jazz." One of my favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6FA5to0BKI Also check out the following Kenny Dorham sessions. They are 2 of my "go to" discs. The sound is kind of like hard bop invades Cuba! https://www.amazon.com/Afro-Cuban-Kenny-Dorham/dp/B000UO8BAM/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=... https://www.amazon.com/Una-Mas-Kenny-Dorham/dp/B00000K4GP/ref=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=153... |
I thought I would share my memory of a train trip to Detroit, and some impressions of a great American city. My father drove me to the station, and carried my bags to the train where he knew the conductor from back in their "hay days". This was the last train with a dining car to Detroit; we ate good food and drank good whiskey all the way there. It was late April, little yellow flowers sprinkled wide expanses of green grass in the parks of St. Louis, while the ground began to turn white the closer we got to Detroit, and snow white upon our arrival to "Motown" The year was 65, and my fiancee picked me up in a new Electra 225, (Duece and a Quarter). She was accompanied by a couple who were friends of hers. The four of us went to the 20 Grand, which was the fanciest club I had ever been to. It had valet parking plus coat and hat check girls. A young 22 year old Aretha Franklin was the feature attraction, if you think she sang as she aged, you should have heard her live then; unforgettable. My fiancee lived in Pontiac Michigan, where Pontiac Motors was. We visited some of her friends there who lived in lovely homes with "play rooms" complete with well stocked bar. Detroit and surrounding area was a place where working people were the most affluent in the country. (Automobile manufacturers paid the highest wages) They were the best dressed, drove more new cars than anywhere else, including LA; although you would have thought they had a two for one sale on Mercedes in LA. One of the top "Motown" acts was appearing in Flint, so we decided to pack a stack of 45’s for entertainment and drive to Flint. (There was a 45 RPM record player in the huge glove compartment, it let out a pleasant echo sounding "ping" when you hit a bump, but on a stretch of flat highway, sounded as good as any high end TT) I enjoyed the music so much on the trip to Flint and back, that I honestly don’t remember what Motown act we saw; good company, riding in a "glide mobile", with boss music, played on a high end 45 TT, made traveling to wherever you were going such a pleasant experience, that as soon as we got out of the car, I wanted to get back in; that lets you know how good auto audio could be in 65. That’s when America was great. |
Acman, thank you for "Detroit"; it's a city where so many great jazz musicians came from, Gerald Wilson graduated from Cass Technical High School (one of his classmates was saxophonist Wardell Gray). His composition was elegant and beautiful, like so many of the people in Detroit when I visited the city. |
The vast majority of African Americans were descendants of slaves who were not permitted to even learn how to read and write; the Japanese, the Chinese, the Jews, and most of the Europeans came to this country with education, and Entrepreneurial Skills; while African Americans only knew how to earn a living by the sweat of their brows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyBZnLuNJ7k When this country pulled the plug for jobs in this country, African Americans were stranded wherever they were, and if Detroit was that place, that's the way it was. Thank God for America, it throws people in a hole in the ground, (over a period of 100 years), and tells them to pull them selves up by their boot straps. |
frogman I agreed with your observations on the East Coast/West Coast discussion but have a question concerning your example of Art Pepper as a poor sight reader. Having read his autobiography ,and numerous articles over the years I never saw anything alluding to this fact. Since he performed in Kenton's BB and also Buddy Rich's band in the 60's I would think he would have to be a good sight reader, Just wondering where you read this. I am listening to versions of "Everything Happens To Me" and will get back to you with observations. |
nsp, I agree about Art Pepper, By the way I’m also a completist when it comes to Art Pepper recordings and exchanged emails with his widow Laurie about 6-7 years ago when she started the "Unreleased Art" project to get out as much of his post heroin addiction years in the mid to late 70’s and early 80’s. I have read "Straight Life" myself and it is a wonderful book. Stan Getz was not only a wonderful reader of sheet music but also had a photographic memory. I read his autobiography many years ago and IIRC Jack Teagarden took him out on the road when he was 16 or 17, much to the chagrin of his school truancy officer who paid a visit to his family. After Jack auditioned him, He liked his command of the tenor sax and his ability to read music. Stan played a few of the regulars Jack was playing during his concerts and the first show Stan played when the songbook was put in front of him he flipped it aside!! |
o10, I'll guess not everyone here enjoyed your "Detroit" tale as much as I did. I grew up in MI but didn't visit Motor City often until I was in college. Then the love of jazz drew me in. I don't remember the 20 Grand, but Detroit had a number of small bars/clubs which we called organ bars. That was because so many of them had something like the Hammond B3 in residence and there were enough local musicians to play them, in addition to occasional name jazz musicians. Baker's Keyboard Lounge is the only one I now remember. But my favorite was the Minor Key. The name was a double entendre with the reference to music as well as not having a liquor license. They consistently brought in major stars and I heard Miles, Coltrane, Cannonball, Silver, The Jazz Messengers, Getz, etc. there. One advantage was it was a small club so no seat was far from the stage. The Minor Key was located in the heart of black Detroit (as I recall, Dexter & Burlingame near where the riots broke out in 1967 which destroyed the club). The first set would begin around 9 PM and up to half of the audience would be white students from area colleges. The second set would see that reduced to about 20-25% white. By the third set, usually after midnight, we would be the only non-blacks in the audience. There was never any problem. I guess we were accepted because we obviously cared about the music to be there at that time. In fact, because of the small size of the room patrons often ended up sharing tables. The club only offered soft drinks or "set ups" and a little food. Many times our table companions would offer to share their flask, something they all seemed to bring. Being underage that was fine with us. The Detroit of today is far different. But I have friends there and also reading articles I've learned there is a resurgence movement, at least in the central area. How much of that continues the great jazz heritage of the city I can't say. BTW, she lived in Pontiac but drove a Buick? ;^) |
pryso, "I'll guess not everyone here enjoyed your "Detroit" tale as much as I did." I enjoyed it very much. Was getting around to posting on it. 1965 was a good year for a lot of things. It was the first year Chevrolet put a big block motor in a Corvette. Yep, 396 cubic inches putting out 425 H.P. James Carter recorded a session at Bakers where he plays a great interpretation of Oscar Pettiford's Tricotism. More up-tempo!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0pxYD45NB8 A young JC at blowing the roof off the joint at Jazz Baltica with a soprano, He gets sounds out of that thing that only John Coltrane could have!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5QFkdrWHpI And here is an older (and heavier) James Carter paying homage to John Coltrane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDDTA97Yf9o Listen to the music and read the first handful of replies on all 3 links and you'll know why he is my favorite modern sax player still playing. I am not the only one who feels this way |
By the way I have posted some good jazz stories before about my times at the NYC jazz clubs and got zero replies. I will repost my latest one and see if that changes : ) I see Gary Bartz in the Isle of Wight festival link acman3 posted and it brought back a great memory I have of meeting him. I was at a Lou Donaldson gig about 7 years ago at the Iridium NYC and when I left after the first show I saw Lou at the burger joint upstairs out on Broadway (Iridium is on the corner of 59th and Broadway). So I walk in and sit down at his table and we just start talking. Mostly about boxing, baseball (Lou is a big fan of both as am I), and music. The time flew by and then one of the employees from the club sticks her head in the doorway and shouts "Mr. Lou your second set starts in a minute." Lou asks me am I watching the second set and I say no don’t have a reservation so he invites me down to sit on the side of the stage right up on the left side just out of view of the audience. People were packed in like sardines in a can in that joint so my leg hit one of them small (and quite wobbly) tables on the way up there and spilled everybody’s drinks. Mr. Lou said don’t worry bout that crap! I watched the show then afterwards Sweet Papa Lou (as he is known as) takes me into the band and staff room. I talked for another half hour or so with Lou and the band and a few other people that were back there. When I left I shook hands with everyone and I asked one guy I didn’t recognize his name. He says "Gary Bartz pleasure meeting you." Well needless to say he was much older and did not look the same but I still felt like an ass for not recognizing him. |
Ok nobody likes my story about Lou Donaldson. What about his music? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Liy9tw03p1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO5SKRN0-hI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRRIVwuKeYY Last one is live with the Doctor. Lou also played many live gigs that I attended with Big John Patton before he passed. |
nsp, good question re Art Pepper since, as you say, he played in Kenton’s band. I didn’t read that factoid about his reading skills anywhere. I heard about it from an old friend, Joel Kaye who played saxophone in Kenton’s band in the early 60’s and was himself a great arranger and disciple of Johnny Richards who arranged for Kenton. The road (and other 😉) stories about Kenton were many and apparently there were a couple of players in the band including Pepper who struggled with the reading of the charts. There are readers who need to slowly learn what’s on the page, players who are decent readers and then there are players who are phenomenal readers who can read anything perfectly the first time through. I believe my comment about Pepper was in the context of the studio scene in the West Coast. Studio players can and are expected to be crack readers who can play just about anything the first time through. Pepper as wonderful as he was was not that kind of reader. |
pjw, enjoyed the story re Lou Donalson. And like his playing a lot. Nice clip with the little talked about Tommy Turrentine, brother of Stanley. I like the other alto player you met that night also: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nq73hVJ3Rfs https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-iQiHUrb-a4 |
pjw, I liked your story about Lou Donaldson, he was my first favorite jazz artist, and I have been following him every since; he also likes to play with some of my other favorite artists; like Baby Face Willette and Grant Green. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KGfRMmyPMA This was my first exposure to his music. |