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.
So many people say "African Music"; there is no such thing. You have so many countries on the continent of "Africa" and they are all unique. Before slavery, there were many villages with their own rhythms. Big powerful countries like Nigeria captured and sold them to the "Americas"; consequently those rhythms no longer exist in Africa but over here.
Slavery in the USA beat the African out of the slaves; consequently, I don't hear anything from that continent. They had to re-invent themselves, ergo jazz and blues.
If you have keen ears, you will hear African rhythms that exist in Brazil, but not in Africa. Brazilian artists have incorporated them into their music.
Hear that beat, that rhythm, it's African, but you won't hear it in African music from that continent; the people who like and display that rhythm were brought to Brazil. It's unique to the slaves who fled to a Brazilian high plateau and named it "Palmare"
The Haitian music is primarily from "Dahomey"; since Dahomey was involved in the slave trade, not many slaves from Dahomey; only those sentenced to slavery for crimes; but it was a port of exit, and also the primary exponent of "Voodoo".
There is very little authentic recorded Haitian "Voodoo music"; you have to go there to hear it. The music is so incorporated into Haitian Society, that kids can play it with a rock in each hand, beating out rhythms on a steel shovel that has been abandoned by the side of a roadway in progress. Some beat out the rhythms while others dance as though their bodies have no bones; it's truly hypnotic; nothing can stop children from enjoying life; what a blessing.
Orpheus10, Cielo e Terra is one of my favorite albums. Mesmerizing mindscapes. Wanted to find some Caribbean music but instead found this. My apologies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhs4sJWOc0Y
inna, thanks for the clips; very nice. McLaughlin’s playing on “Mila Repa” is about as restrained as I’ve ever heard from him. I liked it. I also liked “Django”, a lot. But the clips don’t change my mind about him nor how I feel about him vs Beck. For me, “Django” is a great example of what I tried to say in my response to pjw. As you pointed out, Beck plays the first solo. But Beck also plays the melody of the tune in the opening. Two notes and I could tell it was Beck. Had it been McLaughlin (without my knowing who the players were) I would not had been able to tell. That is one of the things that for me separates Beck from a lot of other players; so much personality. We all listen for different things in players and you obviously like the speed and intensity in McLaughlin’s playing. However, his solo sounds fragmented to me without enough musically logical connection between the melodic bursts that he plays. Beck’s solo has more musical coherence; more melodic connection from beginning to end. Still, neither plays over the changes of the tune with the kind of control of the harmony, nor melodic development that a great jazz player does. That may seem overly critical; but, as always, different players have different strengths,
pryso, your link didn’t work for me so I am reposting in case anyone else has the same issue. Great recording and very important recording. Several years ago I had the pleasure of playing a new composition for large ensemble that Ornette composed for a performance by a dance troupe. He oversaw the production and I was thrilled to get the chance to have a couple of conversations with him. I will never forget some of the interesting (some would say “off the wall”) things that he spoke of re his and music in general. My favorite comment of his was his indication to the ensemble to play one particular passage “ahead and behind the beat...at the same time”. Very unusual and brilliant musician.
Frogman, I also like the complexity and ability to play silence as he did in Mila Repa. Reincarnation is another track from the same album worth listening, different enough. In Django composition I think, it is my guess, John intentionally stayed somewhat in the background, letting Jeff play his best. In fact, everyone played his best with McLaughlin. I only know one more musician with the same talent - Miles Davis. Even Paco de Lucia played his best with John, with some exceptions. I used to like Joe Pass, I said it, he is good. Returning to McLaughlin, for me there was no album after 1992, Que Alegria, that I like. There were performances from time to time, that's all.
Orpheus10, I didn't really explored modern Sub-Saharan African music, but you may be right that most of it moved to the New World. Slavery, loss of habitat and strange new lands are obvious. But there is at least one more factor that surely contributed - daily interactions with white people. Not all slave owners were bad or mostly bad, but interaction even with bad can give a lot. Black music in Americas developed in a situation of unusual environment. Let's give credit to everyone who often unknowingly contributed.
I was thinking..there are almost 1.5 million views of this thread. The contributors did a lot to 'spread the word of gospel'. This is the most important thread on Audiogon.
Inna, everyone who listens to Brazilian, Cuban, or Afro Cuban jazz explores Sub Saharan rhythms.
Music is not a zebra, or an elephant; it has no habitat, it exists in the minds of people.
I was speaking specifically of the rhythms that came from Africa, primarily the drum rhythms. African American musicians had to go to Africa to discover them. I did not say back to Africa because they had never been to Africa in the first place; they were descendants of slaves who had been brought to America involuntarily in slave ships.
While they brought the drum rhythms with them, they were forbidden drums because the slavers said they used them to communicate, and I can't give any examples of Sub Saharan drums in early African American music, but they exist in Cuban, Brazilian, Haitian, and other South American music; there must be a reason.
"Daily interactions with white people. Not all slave owners were bad or mostly bad, but interaction even with bad can give a lot."
Slaves lived on plantations in Mississippi and other Southern States, what daily interactions with white people, the one's with the whips.
I'm sure you can give plenty examples of "good slave owners'".
Inna, what you found is downright erotic and sensual, although the music is not as good as it could be; after all, you and I are "audiophiles" and more critical in regard to such things; this music is what we live.
If I don’t respond to someone like Sonny Rollins, it’s because I’ve been listening to him for all of my adult life, and still listen to him intently; what is there to say?
Look around you and you will see that quite a number of people are in slavish relations, some throughout their lives, at times this brings out art in them, including music. But this is not a very good place to talk about these things. As for that sensual piece, I think music is adequate. There can always be something better.
Inna, maybe it was the recording quality; since I upgraded the analog, I have gotten quite picky; one must listen intently to what one has paid for, whether one can afford it or not.
Brazilian music of all kinds definitely has African roots. The city of Salvador, in the province of Bahia, was the original capital of Brazil as it was here that the first coastal trading hub into the interior of Brazil was constructed after Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered the continent of South America and claimed it for Portugal. Although no longer the capital of Brazil, Salvador Bahia (that is the proper way to say it - the city then the province), is still an important city there and my favorite to visit.
I have been to Brazil a dozen times. Rio 3 times and Savador, Bahia 10. Rio and Salvador Bahia is like comparing apples to oranges. In Salvador Bahia the population is a 50/50 mix of black people and white/mixed. Since slaves were bought and sold in Salvador Bahia they settled there after slavery was abolished. The many cultures of Africa still exist in the city and province from food to music. A favorite dish of mine, called Moquecca, is available in just about every restaurant. Its made with Dende (palm leaf) oil. There is also a unique religion that exists there that's kind of a mix with Christian and African orgins.
frogman,
You are right about easily recognizing Jeff Beck with just a few notes. I mentioned that upthread. I can also recognize Jimi with the same quickness. McLaughlin, as you said, is not so easily discernable.
Alex, believe it or not, where that photograph was tken was probably one of the safest places in Chicago to observe the skyline and discuss the meaning of life with a friend over a bottle of wine.
"Misty night" The King Flemming Trio, is a must have but very little is available. I will look into an LP for $29.
pjw, Salvador Bahia is a city I've often wanted to visit, it has the most fascinating culture in Brazil, plus "Bahia" is my favorite song.
I notice the state of Salvador is next to the state of Alagoas, where Palmares was located; that was where escaped slaves established a colony that lasted for 90 years.
I guess you could listen to samples,see if you like it, I have it, but overall I would say it its an average album. Some good stuff, but nothing exceptional...
Thanks for sharing the link to that movie. I had heard of the runaway slave towns but never that particular person.
And you are correct, the culture in Salvador Bahia is so unique/diverse. I will tell you this, and your might wonder how, but there is absolutely no racism in Salvador Bahia. Percentage wise, I would say its 35% African Brazilians, 35% Portuguese Brazilians, and 30% mix of the first 2, called mulattos.
There exists no racism from either of the 2 dominant races towards each other, The African Brazilians seem to have no lingering bitterness from the slavery era and the Portuguese Brazilians get along with them fine. Hence the high percentage of mulattos. Their are many Mulatta woman who can, IMHO, take there place as some of the most beautiful in the world.
The only prejudice that exists is between the Native European Portuguese whos still live in Portugal and consider all Brazilians "below" them. Of course the Portuguese dialect differs.
Did you know that the main language spoken in the state of Angola in Africa is Portuguese. That came about because of the Portuguese "slave hub port" on the coast of Angola where the Portuguese would pay coastal natives to go inland and capture inland native people.
First, the instrumental playing is infinitely superior on the Plisetskaya. With the Proms it gets off to a rocky start from the very beginning. The solo flute players’s rhythm sucks; it’s all over the place. The bassoon sounds very weak and like some of the notes are in danger of not coming out. It doesn’t get much better all the way to the end. On the Plisetskaya the playing is first rate (I suspect it is the Bolshoi Ballet Orchestra). I’m sure there will be disagreement about which choreography better suits the music; but for me, in spite of the attempt by the Proms to Spanishize it, the Plisetskaya is the one.
Yeah, “stars galore” usually means over the top. Somebody should have told Tania Maria to not chew gum when on camera. And what’s up with Benson and those facelifts? I wonder what Herbie was really thinking?
This is one of the few times that I concur with the Frogman almost 100%. As you already know Rok, I detest stylists who do vocal gymnastics when they are totally uncalled for, and on the wrong song.
While Frogman chose the right artist, as she stated, she had a cold; this version would have been better;
That version is so beautiful that it takes me back in time to when it was recorded, and I bought it; plus I had this dream where that was playing all the way through the dream, while I was entertaining the girl of my dreams. I woke up and tried to go back to sleep in order to pick up where the dream left off. (didn't work like that)
I recall, a long time ago, talking to my co-worker, a young handsome gent, who told me he met a lady from New Orleans at a party, and fell instantly in love. He was about to get married when the spell wore off, and he discovered she was uglier than "home made sin" as he put it.
p.s. orpheus ///As you already know Rok, I detest stylists who do vocal gymnastics when they are totally uncalled for, and on the wrong song.///
Hate to say that I agree. I rarely judge any pro-musician since all of them did certain amount of effort just to perform (and usually they can do much more than it seems) and I appreciate that but in this case, the vocal decoration is over-sufficient. For my taste.
Well, O-10, no sense breaking the streak; since you want to keep track. The live Sarah/“Misty” wins hands down in my book. Don’t get me wrong, she can practically do no wrong in my book, but those two renditions are practically apples/oranges. The live one is jazz trio only, and far more relaxed and evocative; much more in the spirit of jazz. The studio version...just that. Studio produced; faster, with A LOT of “sweetening”, less intimate. A bit Muzak(ish); what some refer to as elevator music. Different performance environments and as always, she knows the tape is rolling. But, who can argue with Sassy?
Frogman, you could have saved that post; although it makes it quite evident as to why aficionados have preferred my musical submissions to yours over the years.
O-10, there is a long history here of that kind of double standard on your part. Most times I’m in the mood to let it go by and simply say “There goes O-10 again”; sometimes I’m not. No need to escalate matters now, just as there was no need to start them. If you need to feel the way that the latter part of your comment states, I’m fine with that and would never make a similar comment; if anything, for the sake of civility. Let’s just say that the assertion is news to me now just as it was every previous time that you have felt the need to make that comment; and, in keeping with your initial premise I could not disagree more.
However, I’m always for escalating matters as concerns the discussion of the music and its details. So, just what about what I wrote re those two “Misty’s” is incorrect in your opinion and why? I welcome your thoughts, and peace.
Sometimes it goes like this - there is peace to be found on the other side of war. I hope it's not the case, at least not fully. Anyway, the best posts of music are mine.
Frogman, you seem to have a problem with "nuance" and feel; that is something I can not put into words. The public, the people who buy records decided on the "Misty" I presented a long time ago; that's the standard by which other vocal versions are judged.
Conducted by Quincy Jones and His Orchestra with Zoot Sims on Saxaphone, "Misty" is a jazz standard written in 1954 by the pianist Erroll Garner. Originally composed as an instrumental following the traditional 32-bar format, the tune later had lyrics by Johnny Burke and became the signature song of Johnny Mathis. This song is from the album "Vaughan and Violins".
Sarah's accompanied Quincy Jones & His Orchestra: Marcel Hrasko (alto saxophone), Jo Hrasko &William Boucaya (baritone saxophone), Richard Davis (bass), Kenny Clark (drums), Ronnel Bright (piano), Zoot Sims (tenor saxophone), and Michel Hausser (vibraphone). Recorded in Paris, France July 7, 1958. (Mercury Records)
Look at me I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree And I feel like I'm clinging to a cloud I can't understand I get misty just holding your hand
Walk my way And a thousand violins begin to play Or it might be the sound of your hello That music I hear I get misty the moment you're near
You can say that you're leading me on But it's just what I want you to do Don't you notice how hopelessly I'm lost That's why I'm following you
On my own Would I wander through this wonderland alone Never knowing my right foot from my left My hat from my glove I'm too misty and too much in love I'm just too misty and too much in love
It's absolutely impossible for a trio to compete with that musical lineup.
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