Jazz for aficionados
The Frogman Lives!!!! We were speaking of Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan and Lyle Levett etc......being on a Jazz CD by the country's premier Jazz band. Especially with the word 'Swing' in the title. Never heard Bird playing with Hank Snow. Just saying. And of course you are looking for controversy. It's ok. This thread strives on controversy. Cheers |
Sahib Shihab was indeed an excellent composer, acman3. That clip you posted of his composition “Companionship” is a rather strange, but great tune. It also shows he was more than a baritone player; he plays nice flute on it. He was also a fine alto player. Here he is playing lead alto on a record by another name and composer/arranger (and piano player) that deserves attention here, Tadd Dameron. Tadd Dameron penned tunes like “If You Could See Me Now” and “Hot House” which were recorded by countless jazz players; and his arranging skills were greatly sought after. Interesting record with a great lineup playing Dameron’s beautiful arrangements in an octet setting; sometimes thought of as a “small big band”. Aling with Shihab, Kenny Dorham is featured: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4ypuAMic-GjImEulJZVZfqmEy_Kji6ne |
No, Rok; my comment was extremely clear and there was no need for controversy. The comment I was addressing referred to “the Lincoln Center” and I even agreed with your premise. You just made it a controversy. Why not just clarify amicably and move on? Would be much nicer, no? Big boys and girls, remember? |
Has anyone ever heard of "The Piano Choir"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handscapes Is this music heavenly or what? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUAYUrV-mas |
Recent purchase. This guy can sing like they used to sing back in the day. He is from Europe, so I am not sure if he has the intangible thingy. The right touch. He was part of the Playing for Change project. Check it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcsqhnpIByU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B09FBA5bxo Cheers |
It is not written that we all like the same music all the time. There are a multiplicity of reasons why we like some music, and not other music; it might even have something to do with DNA, I've never studied it. "I noticed your (meaning Rok) jazz queen of Croatia didn't comment on Mary Lou, but that wasn't surprising; taking all things into consideration she couldn't be expected to appreciate the blues." Somehow, that got totally misinterpreted to mean this; "Besides, I do not have to like all the music that you post, do I? Some of the postings are more and some are less my cup of tea. Only maybe if Alex posts a telephone book claiming that it is good jazz, I will probably like it or will catch myself thinkin’ do I like it, but that’s another thing. Don’t say this to Alex. However, I do appreciate all the contributors here. Do I really have to say it out loud to make it real?" Please believe me, if I have ever uttered anything that mildly indicates anyone should like the music I like, please delete it as of this moment. We all are "unique", and our tastes in music indicate that fact. On this thread, we post music that we like, in hopes that someone else will share our appreciation for that same music; however, "It ain't necessarily so". |
I just stumbled across some music that I like and intend to buy; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUmNtpJpm9o Should I expect you to like it just because I like it? I think not. |
Today's Mary Lou: Mary Lou Williams -- SOLO RECITAL MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL 1978 I could not find the complete album on you-tube but I am sure these cuts are from that album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktmyulf11sQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r37m0ptgbXc notes by Hentoff skimpy and no photos cheers |
*****Should I expect you to like it just because I like it? I think not.***** You think right. Everything and everyone is judged by what and who went before them. Going back in time, suppose you had tickets to a concert featuring Miles, or Morgan etc..., and Trane or Henderson etc...., and when you got there you heard and saw what was on that clip. |
Mary Lou Williams music is magic to me, and I don't quite no why. Since I can't explain it, not even to myself, I just chalk it up to another one of the mysteries in my life. How many times have I heard "The Man I Love"? More times and versions than I can count have I heard this tune. Why is Mary Lou's version the most special for me? I don't know. I'm just happy that I discovered music by an artist that I had written off as not being "modern", because she was not of the generation of Bird, Miles, Monk, and etc. |
Why would Nubya Garcia be playing at a Coltrane, or Miles concert? If Miles or Coltrane were 25 today, and had the influence of the past 50 years, they might sound like Nubya, or Kamasi, And I hear both Coltrane and Miles in there playing, plus many more influences Coltrane and Miles never considered. |
Today's Listen: Kenny Barron Trio -- BOOK OF INTUITION https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYwxQ1RsDYQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpxqmHImTTI I think he likes Monk. Like Oscar Peterson and Gene Harris, this man does not make bad recordings. Cheers |
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Some great playing on this album by Jeep and Wild Bill Davis on the organ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUe650EIK78 Les Spann: guitar and flute! Sam Jones: bass Louis Hayes: drums I have all of the Johnny Hodges/Wild Bill Davis recordings and the newer remastered discs sound great. Grant Green and Kenny Burrell play guitar on 2 of the discs |
A song that used to belong to Billie Holiday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3C9L6VzOdY Been posted before, but you really can't get too much of this. Cheers |
Today's Mary Lou: Mary Lou Williams -- ZODIAC SUITE Recorded in 1945. Sound quality awesome. The notes give a short synopsis of the Zodiac signs, and the person she had in mind when she wrote each piece for that sign. Examples: Gemini -- Paul Robeson, Libra -- Art Tatum, Scorpio -- Imogene Coco Taurus -- Duke Ellington & Joe Louis etc..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXveXHcVsrI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDqngdGw7Dk Interesting Concept. Cheers |
Every Time We Say Goodbye.... Chet Baker & Paul Bley duo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP02sgYrHsw Chet Baker & Caterina Valente duo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knPLl_tVgRY |
Rok, I've listened to all of Mary Lou's music that you have posted, and I found it to resonate with me in a fashion I don't quite understand; it's like a childhood memory that I can't quite recall, but it makes me feel good to try and think about it. Even her versions of the most common tunes, like "My Blue Heaven", are so uniquely different, that they become brand new. Mary Lou Williams has added much to my musical enjoyment. |
*****I don't expect Mary Lou Williams music to affect everyone else, the same as it affects me.***** It might not, nor should it. Music is private. I just finished 'conducting' 'Bolero' and '1812'. At volume. I hope no one was watching. Glad you enjoyed Mary Lou. Her history is almost as compelling as her music. Gives "Against all odds" new meaning. Cheers |
Beautiful “Every Time We Say Goodbye”, pjw. Incredibly tender playing from Chet. You know, as I think about it, it’s really not at all surprising that Chet Baker was also a singer. It has long been recognized that many of the great instrumentalist ballad players (some are better ballad players than others) listen and pay close attention to the phrasing of the great vocalists. When I hear Chet play a ballad this way I feel as if he’s singing. There is less of a disconnect between the horn and his physical being compared to other players who sometimes pay more attention to the mechanics of playing the horn. Simple, direct and with vocal like inflections and timing. Quite beautiful. Thanks for that. This is one of my very favorite vocal renditions of that beautiful song from one of my desert island recordings: https://youtu.be/qkXYqUB-9NM |
Caterina Valente's music reminds me of the beautiful "Victoria Gomez". I sat behind Victoria in the 6th grade, and her long silky braids fell across my desk. Have you ever seen a puppy look at another dogs tail, and unable to control his fascination, he had to play with it? I don't mean to compare Victoria's braids to a dogs tail, but there they were, laying across my desk; I could not control myself, I had to play with them. She turned around and gave me a look that would curdle your blood. When you're in love, any look is better than no look at all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jsw1R-TNUc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxcjwdC1HlE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twoagPvLILY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iWO0b6PTxQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnpGtOhgc1o |
Betty Carter has such a beautiful voice, I love her and that song with Ray Charles. The best version, or our favorite version of a song does not necessarily have anything to do with artistic merit, but when that song affected us personally, and who first expressed that emotion in the song. Carley Simon did it for me on her album "Film Noir"; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtlyEE9QCUI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQZmCJUSC6g&list=RDmQZmCJUSC6g&start_radio=1&t=71 |
**** The best version, or our favorite version of a song does not necessarily have anything to do with artistic merit, but when that song affected us personally, and who first expressed that emotion in the song.**** A very personal call, obviously; and I wouldn’t assume that those criteria apply to everyone. Personally, I couldn’t say “does not necessarily have anything to do with artistic merit”. For me, for any version to be a favorite it has to meet a certain standard of artistic merit. That’s not to say that “most” artistic merit will make it my favorite; but a version lacking artistic merit is unlikely to be a favorite no matter the memories it may conjure up. Just me. |
Speaking of good ballad players and singers. One of the great ballads players and one who had a penchant for reciting some of the lyrics of a song before playing it: https://youtu.be/CrvWtdBOQW8 |
An added plus is that it’s a great sounding record. Unfortunately, Ray’s records are not always that great sonically in my experience. Not that it matters all that much since the music is always so strong. https://youtu.be/wB-KN4Ojjbk https://youtu.be/-xBm5GRofeQ With the great David “Fathead” Newman on tenor: https://youtu.be/OLHKTZnfTbU |
There never has been, nor will there ever be, anyone to compare to "Nina Simone"; she is in a category of "One". In the beginning, I heard her artistic merit, and her virtuoso on piano; in the end, she conquered with raw power; her voice grabbed, and held you in it's vice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow6fQbpUli4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PMriloy62o A song has a life of it's own, the same as any human being; that is, if you can hear into the song and really know what it's about; this song is about; "It ain't over until I say it's over, cause I put a spell on you" This is three different versions of the same song, and I can hear the essence of the song on all three different versions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1AE_bCoPSI In that second version by Nina, the guy on guitar nails the spirit of the song. Since it's "Screaming Jay Hawkins" song, he can do whatever he wants to. |
"Dr John memorably described James Booker as "the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced." Why did so many jazz genius's have to be junkies; it didn't help them to play better, no junkie would ever tell you that lie, but it's common knowledge according to the public. Even if they were not musicians, they would have still been junkies, but that's another conversation. |
I'm going to compare Nina Simone to the most beautiful and best jazz diva's of our time, and I want you to give your opinion. I have a point to make, but not until after your evaluation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5Y11hwjMNs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPovfFpX56k I'm not going to make any comparison, I'll leave that to you. I just posted two versions of feeling good, for you to compare. Try to pick two versions of the same song; one by Nina, and the other by your favorite diva. I have a surprise valid point to be made after you have made comparisons and evaluations. Nina was going downhill toward the end, so picking something at a bad time is a clear foul and wont count. Lets give ourselves plenty of time for this; tomorrow afternoon sounds like a good time to conclude. |
Orpheus, I like the first link of a younger Nina Simone. Her vocals are ok on that one. Her piano playing was always good.. The second link she is older and it shows. You can hear it in her singing. Piano is still the same. Throughout her entire career Simone's vocals never really did much for me. Just never grabbed me deep in my gut like Sarah Vaughn or Julie London. I found her voice to be a little to much on the rough side. I'm not sure why but her voice does not make me feel subdued and mystified. Simone is always listed in the top 10 or 5 on any top 50 female jazz vocalists you can google online and that says a lot about her prowess as a singer. That being said, everybody hears things differently and on my list she would be higher up. It’s a voice we’re supposed to hate. Gloomy, uninviting, and hoarse. Overpowering and booming in the low register, rocky and rasping when high. It’s often unstable, fluctuating within both pitch and timbre. Yet it’s these imperfections that make a voice so beautifully Nina Simone....Prescilla Bajomo. Entire text here:http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/30957/1/nina-simone-s-complex-voice |
Two of my favorite divas are Ella and Dee Dee. It's hard to find the same song from Nina and other folks. A lot of her songs were 'message' or protest songs. Dee Dee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sOygJsLDc4 Nina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCuu5fOEB3Y Ella: Nina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5q9YGj3hNw Cheers |
