Jazz for aficionados
Santa came early this year! New Mingus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgkhazlOt9Q https://www.npr.org/2018/11/09/666123401/mingus-jazz-in-detroit-catches-a-giant-at-a-moment-full-of-... |
Found this little gem today. Harry Allen seems to come directly out of the Coleman Hawkins line skipping Coltrane. Smulyan is always good! And then there is Eric Alexander. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAXl51nm62w |
The reason he caught the A Train - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dkZzlbv_gA Then the reason he got off the train - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_PTpcVgdSM |
acman, the musician from your story got it all wrong. The restaurant guests are just trying to be fit. Have you heard of the “Crunch Effect”? The Effect means that you are likely to eat less if you are more aware of the sound that your food makes while you are eating. When you are listening loud music and eating at the same time, you will not be able to hear the food sound and you’ll probably eat more than originally planned. Especially if you focus yourself on the good music - huh, bam (!), there you go, in one evening +2 kg. |
There was a musician who got a week long gig in a restaurant playing guitar for the people eating. Night after night he played marvelous music and nobody ever acknowledged him. On his last night he decided he was going to be so awesome someone had to notice. He started playing great music all that last night and as closing time neared he began to play better than he ever had before in his life. As he finished his last song he heard clapping way back in the back of the restaurant. He looked up and searched the room for the person clapping. The person who had finally noticed his playing . He then saw it was a fat man hitting a catsup bottle, trying to get catsup out of the bottle. |
I can't resist posting here today about two things (I have always been "lurking" here every so often catching up on the thread). First, RIP Roy Hargrove. The trumpet world and the jazz world have lost another one way too early. Got to hear him live a few different times. Second, there are some good book recommendations here lately. I wanted to add my standard recommendation to anyone who wants to appreciate the music they listen to more, no matter what style/genre it is. This is the composer Aaron Copland's famous book, What To Listen For In Music. The examples are mostly from the classical world, but it applies to any and all types of music. It would be a good starting place or at least supplement to the good books mentioned here specifically about jazz. |
wolf_garcia & alex ...what’s the difference between a rock musician and a jazz musician? The rock musician plays 3 chords for 1000 people, the jazz musician plays 1000 chords for 3 people. And that’s the way it is. As for the complete change in social behaviour. It’s for worst, probably. Other people might disagree. One more song from Billy... Lush Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7bGtR_ETJE |
My hometown has roughly about 200 000 people and has 2 shopping malls, with cinemas and evrything that comes with it. In the same time, the town cinemas has all closed but one one, not counting the small ’boutique’ cinema that plays ’serious’ movies. So, the other day, went to the cinema in a town (I prefer not to go to the malls) and was the only person that bought the ticket for 9pm.projection. Offered to come next day, so that staff does not need to wait for me, but the guy that rips the tickets said that he will gladly watch the movie too. Funny, even the open sport courts are not filled with children, but with older guys plaing soccer or basketball while younger generations are too busy with their smartphones, I guess... So, it might not be only the lack of interest for culture, jazz or sport, or education in general, it just might be the complete shift in social behaviour...for better or worst, I guess we cant judge... |
I love jazz, have for years...unlike seemingly 90% of everybody else including nearly everybody I know except fellow musicians who at least claim to like "some of it." Oh well...example: I was at a guitar talk-concert thing at a famous Lexington MA guitar store, and asked a few attendees if they’d seen a recent concert at a nearby (in Lexington) concert venue the previous Tuesday...at some sort of Scottish Right Masonic Temple and Museum (!) I’d not known about until the concert. Nice concert hall by the way. In any case, none of the people I talked to at the guitar shop thing had even heard about the show (maybe if I’d asked more people)...a world class mind blowing dual piano show with Vijay Iyer and Dr. Lewis Porter. Cost 20 bucks...maybe one of the top 3 acoustic piano shows I’ve seen, or the best ever maybe...I think Vijay is possibly one of the greatest musicians who’s ever lived, period. (Porter is also real, real good) Maybe 75 people at the show? Man...there should have been 10 thousand...I’m still dazed from the show, or from cough medicine maybe, but hey...that’s the way it is. |
WKCR (NYC) will be featuring Roy’s music all day long today. https://streema.com/radios/WKCR_Columbia_University |
To resume the short series of jokes involving jazz musicians, I just thought of this one, one of my favorites. It was from a comic strip panel of a Viking war ship. The leader announces to the rowers, "I have good news and bad news." "The good news is we're going to the Bahamas." The rowers cheers. "The bad news is Buddy Rich will be our drummer!" |
Duke and John together, this remindes me of Billy Strayhorn; Duke’s friend and right arm, left arm and all the eyes in the back of his head... I sincerely admire Billy for having the strength, back in the 1940s (!) to be openly gay. Man, even today that is hell of a thing, one can do. I can only imagine what he was going through. People should be able to love whoever they want. Besides, two men together is quite a pretty sight. I love this song very much. Billy as the composer, Duke, John (again) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J0ZpJMQjDo |
To continue with a bit of silliness regarding John, here’s one from my early recollections as a music lover. ;^) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8WdGneKY5g |
Here is another recording with a guy named John. Apparently made just after 'Money jungle'.... https://youtu.be/sCQfTNOC5aE |
Here's another Ellington recording with less than his usual orchestra. It just happens to include a guy named Armstrong! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXheyeQZTgY |
frogmanI have always enjoyed the playing of Booker Ervin, especially with Charles Mingus. I can understand you saying you didn't like his playing initially. He has a very strong tone which to me can border on being harsh to the ear. Somewhat similar to my perception of Jackie McLean on alto, whose tone is strong and I used to perceive as harsh. But both of these players tones make their music very distinctive and they are instantly recognizable. The two albums you posted also show Ervin's great ability t o tell a story, especially on the songs "Cry Me Not, "A Day To Mourn"& " uranus", and also a sensitivity in his playing despite the strong tone. |
Classic, indeed. Awesome record and one of the first three jazz records I ever bought. While in High School I had just been introduced to Jazz by a young teacher with Billy Cobham’s jazz/fusion “Spectrum”. I went to the local Sam Goody’s (I’m showing my age) and bought that record, Maynard Ferguson’s “McArthur Park” and Duke’s “Money Jungle”. Truth is it took me another couple of years to understand and appreciate “Money Jungle” which was serious jazz and neither Rock/Jazz Fusion nor “commercial” Big Band jazz. Some interesting reading about that record: https://www.allaboutjazz.com/deconstructing-money-jungle-duke-ellington-by-graham-e-peterson.php?wid... |
Schubert, I would be interested in learning who the Quartets were should you learn their identity, thanks. Saxophone quartet is fairly common as you know and a great sound; fantastic playing Bach transcriptions. Clarinet quartet much less well known, but a surprising amount of literature for it. Don’t know this group, but they sound pretty good. One of the most popular works written for clarinet quartet. Not the usual 2 sopranos, alto and bass, but three sopranos and bass instead: https://youtu.be/z2FiupE-xYU |
A very interesting and sometimes brilliant Mingus title which is overlooked. He kicks some members of the band offstage when they are not up to his standards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjCR3jVjsH4 |
Motown-lI can't compare Charles Mingus music to Beethoven as I am not a classical fan and don't have any experience listening to that genre. I do most certainly agree with Mingus desribed as an immense talent who wrote unique multi-layered compositions whose music did not fit the usual descriptions of jazz at that time ( bop,hard bop,cool, soul jazz,etc.). His music defied category yet ,as you say , was acessiblle and also commanded your attention to listen on a deeper level.Mingus also demanded the most from his musicians and pushed & prodded them to higher levels. |
