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.
orpheus10

Maybe my first encounter with Jazz. 

 I was away at college, my first night away from home, in the band dorm, and some hot shot trumpet players from Memphis, played this tune all night, or so it seemed, on their record player.  We became great friends.

I have loved / hated it every since.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKNZqM0d-xo  

Cheers

frogman, Here is the Duane Allman article about KOB


Author, critic, and musician Robert Palmer, wrote these liner notes in one of the many re-issues of the Miles Davis classic Kind Of Blue:


Blues fans probably know Palmer best as the author of the fine book, "Deep Blues." But he was a broader music critic and writer and a musician himself. He told a little story in his liner notes for a "Kind of Blue" reissue that I thought said a great deal about music, about blues and about great musicians.


Here's what Palmer said Duane Allman told him about the album:

Playing gigs at the Fillmore East during the sixties made it easier for you to get in and catch other bands, even if tickets were sold out. As a young saxophonist in a rock band, I played there several times and attended numerous concerts; the one group I never missed (unless I had to be on the road) was the Allman Brothers Band. More specifically, I went to see their guitarist, Duane Allman, the only "rock" guitarist I had heard up to that point who could solo on a one-chord vamp for as long as half an hour or more, and not only avoid boring you but keep you absolutely riveted. Duane was a rare melodist and a dedicated student of music who was never evasive about the sources of his inspiration. "You know," he told me one night after soaring for hours on wings of lyrical song, "that kind of playing comes from Miles and Coltrane, and particularly Kind Of Blue. I've listened to that album so many times that for the past couple of years, I haven't hardly listened to anything else."



Don't be sorry Inna, I was just testing your "jazz tolerance". Yusef Lateef and "Sister Mamie" has been one of my favorites for ages. According to me, if that's your opinion of that tune, which incorporates some of the Eastern rhythms you like, jazz is just not your thing, but I'm only one individual.

Would any other Aficionados like to weigh in on this debate; how do you rate this tune;


        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE65pr0JoHA
Yes, this is me 30000 years ago too.
Cheers

PS In any case, Steve Roach is excellent with synthesizers, as always

*****It's a caveman's song. This is you, this is you 30000 years ago.******


No, this is y'all 30000 years ago.   My line leads to the Engineers.

However, I did listen to the whole thing.  I wonder why.

Cheers

Rok, I must be psychic - I had no idea of your connections to Tucson.
Interesting, isn't it ? Pure coincidence, right ?
You just seemingly didn't get it. It's a caveman's song. This is you, this is you 30000 years ago.
**** How did we get from this, to ’Stellar Regions’. ****

Along with “influence”, another concept that you will teach in your Jazz Appreciation 101 course (in English, of course)...”evolution”.

Inna:

When I see something like that I always wonder what their
rehearsals are like, and, do you have to pay to see the 'performance'.

To add insult to injury, they did this in Tucson, my old stomping grounds.  Some nice Jazz clubs there.

Cheers

Today's Listen:

John Coltrane -- COLTRANE PLAYS THE BLUES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcexSplg1vs 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6etY5OdCK9Q 

How did we get from this, to 'Stellar Regions'. 

McCoy Tyner never gets the credit he deserved.

Cheers


Influence:

1. If I say I was Influenced by Coltrane, maybe they will say I sound / play like Coltrane.

2. saying I was influenced by Miles, just means I wish I could play like Miles.

3. Saying I was influenced by a Jazz great means they say my name in the same sentence with that great.

Cheers

Mary Jo:

*****From your previous statement I guess that you equal the ideas of communism with the regime of Stalin in Soviet Union. Communism in it’s true definition (moneyless, stateless, classless) never existed. What was in former SSSR was the abuse of communism ideas. *****

Not at all. Never mentioned Stalin. I equate communism with the teachings and philosophy of Marx and Engels. Their ideas are bad enough as it is, Stalin’s attempt to implement them just shows how evil they are.

You are right, in saying, it all goes against human nature. We in this country are still fighting back. Hence The Donald.

Free men aren’t equal, and equal men aren’t free.

Cheers

pjw, your link to Coltrane/Byrds didn't work.

I remember a McGuinn interview on some PBS program where he talked about the influence of Coltrane but I couldn't find that.  Here it is at least mentioned in the notes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yanXhomzFd8

There has been a fair bit of jazz influence on rock, Joni Mitchell, Jeff Beck, even Brian Wilson (The Four Freshmen influenced his love for harmony singing) are just a few examples.
Love the Woody Shaw! "Stepping Sones " should be in every Jazz fans collection.

Mary Jo, all forms of government work as long as the government is benevolent to the people. All forms of government fail because we as a species are selfish. 

This should be interesting. A little blues to start the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku3ZQoRHwL0
pjw, I figured out why your recording (I have the original lp) doesn’t include “You’ve Changed”.  At first I thought that the clip you posted may have been a bootleg and the reason it wasn’t on the record.  The answer is that I made an error in thinking it was from the Vanguard date that I attended and was recorded for the Columbia, “Homecoming” lp.  As the info for your clip shows, it was from a Village Gate date a few weeks earlier.  My bad.  I had completely forgotten about that record from the Village Gate date.  The Village Gate has been gone for a long time; out of sight, out of mind I guess.  Great and legendary place, though.  The last time I was there was to catch Nat Adderly’s group shortly before it shut down.

Btw, Woody Shaw and Freddie Hubbard recorded two albums together.  “The Eternal Triangle” and “Double Take”.  The clip I posted (”The Moontrane”) is from the lp “The Eternal Triangle”.  The album cover pic with my clip is of the rerelease of the two as a double album.

The original “The Eternal Triangle” with original cover art:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WTpho8u0_Gc&list=PLyHn3f7-9IUJ6s13cKFFG-5BdBOZXJmYi&t=0s&i...

The original “The Moontrane”, title tune on Shaw’s earlier solo lp.  In some ways I like it even better than the version with Freddie; slightly slower and relaxed:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tgjTnRcxOJA

One of my favorite versions of the great tune from one of the greatest little known records.  “Unity”, Larry Young, Elvin Jones, Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson.  NOT the original cover art:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IwOIVQVVhwg

Another from that same record with correct cover art:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GYQNsuzMXiQ

Btw, I agree with the reviewer re Tal Wilkenfeld.  I know her from her work with Jeff Beck and I don’t get the appeal.  Even her time keeping is just ok.  And, in the company of a tone master like Beck, even her tone is bland.  As you say, he champions young players and I’m sure she’ll continue to grow.


frogman,

Good morning and thanks for that Freddie/Woody link. I was unaware they recorded an album. Just bought it on discogs!

That show with Dexter Gordon that you were at was recorded. I have the CD. I don’t know how many nights they played but the double disc I have does not include You’ve Changed. Its a great album just wish that song was on it.

Bringing up "influence" again I read somewhere that Duane Allman wore out his copy of KOB and was heavily influenced by Miles.

And John Coltrane also influenced many musicians of another genre.

I am not a musician so I do not understand "musician talk" A minor, B, Scales, chord progressions, chromatics ect. is alien to me and I love music so much sometimes I wish I could relate to all that. Here are 2 examples. Both taken from YouTube reviews and the reviewers must have some musical background. The first is a comparative analysis of John Coltrane and The Byrds. The second is a poor review of Tal Wilkenfeld. I have the Jeff Beck bluray Live at Ronnie Scotts with Tal on the bass and to me she sounds ok. In this link she is playing with Herbie Hancock.

Like many rock & roll fans and musicologists I purchase this on vinyl eons ago as part of my exploration of the music of the Byrds. McGuinn and Crosby mentioned, and continue to mention, John Coltrane in so many interviews it was impossible to not become curious. Three would have been no modal McGuinn legendary 12-string Rickenbacker solo on Eight Miles High without Coltrane...….

Coltrane/Byrds Complete review here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006A9XRYG/?coliid=I25MRF8KHHBYIN&colid=2MJEFFF7AFXNS&psc=0

Herbie and Tal review:

Noope, Herbie is not following her. She is decent but way overrated, nowhere in the class of these musicians. She’s playing a lot of chromatics which are easy and you can get away with in a tune like this. No multiple key changes. Herbie as well as Jeff Beck are wonderful human beings as well as great musicians and they love giving younger budding musicians like her a good start. How far some of these younger players get is on them if they study and work hard. She has a good feel and groove; that’s what matters here. She’s ok but don’t act like she’s the best thing since the wheel and in a class like Jaco, Clarke, and many others...…………

Here is the video with the complete review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7qra_nlWEs

Here is Tal soloing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TaNayM_BRQ








mary-jo, in America, pronounced "Merica", the vast majority of people are total morons when it comes to politics, and they bandy about words like "Socialism", and "Communism" without a clue as to the actual definition of the words. We "Mericans" have been taught those are bad words, by the people in Washington, and we always believe what the people in Washington DC tell us. That's why they can rob us and loot the treasury; by the way, they punish snitches like me; maybe that's why the citizens choose to stay dumb.
Rok, you gotta be kidding me man...From your previous statement I guess that you equal the ideas of communism with the regime of Stalin in Soviet Union. Communism in it's true definition (moneyless, stateless, classless) never existed. What was in former SSSR was the abuse of communism ideas. Of course, the capitalism benefited from such scenario. People think that they would live like in North Korea with no possibility for individual freedom if they would embrace communism. Actually, the ideas of moneyless, stateless and classless society will never happen. It's just not in human nature. In human nature is: exploit, abuse, conquer, destroy, enslave. So no worries.

Let's get back to jazz...

....great clips pjw and that Moontrane is my kind of jazz...

Stan Getz - Lullaby of Birdland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng4Ggwkr5gk&app=desktop

Today's Listen:

Mary Lou Williams -- LIVE AT THE COOKERY

Includes a Jazz tune titled 'Praise The Lord', don't get no better than that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=titcI_y8LVw 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rez4rZ-Dnxc  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB8d8SlpYAc 

This woman goes back a ways.   Check the boogie woogie.

I apologize for the obvious Iranian and Mongolian 'influences'.

Cheers

Great clips!  Thanks.  And what a blast from the past!  I was there for that date at the Vanguard!  I’m showing my age.  Had just moved to Fla to go to college and was back in NY for a family wedding and a HS buddy took me to hear Dexter on his big return from Europe.  Fantastic night.  

One of my very favorite trumpet players with a very distinctive style that always struck me as “saxophonic”.  Almost Coltranish in the way he used a lot of wide intervals in his phrases; less linear than most other trumpet players.  I posted this a while back; Kenny Garrett sounds wonderful:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QNLLFmGL6y0

On the Blakey big band clip (great!), besides the featured players I recognized:
Trumpets:  Randy Brecker, Mike Mossman
Bones: Robin Eubanks, Slide Hampton 
Saxophones: Bobby Watson, Billy Pierce, George Adams, Jimmy Heath (?)



frogman, Thanks for the Bireli Lagrene posts. Great musicianship and yes, I hear Django in there, especially the second post doing his Django’s Tiger.

I like the follow up Super Minor Swing too.

***** this thread’s inception is how its possible for an individual to go year after year alienating others that he interacts with and never appear to contemplate the possibility that maybe, just maybe, there is a problem at his end; either with his views, his social interaction skills, or both.*****


Well, we started, back in 2013, with 0-10, The Frogman, Acman3, Rok2id, and Learsfool.   All except Learsfool are still present and accounted for.  Who did I alienate?

Cheers

******It’s alright, Rok; straight ahead.  I have no illusions about your willingness to recognize that your “truth(fullness”) is just that...yours, and yours only.  I could offer other references in further rebuttal, but it would be pointless.  What has been striking for me since this thread’s inception is how its possible for an individual to go year after year alienating others that he interacts with and never appear to contemplate the possibility that maybe, just maybe, there is a problem at his end; either with his views, his social interaction skills, or both.  Anyway, as I said, straight ahead.  Peace.*********

Thanks frogman, I couldn't have said it any better myself

*****English is fine, as long as you do not teach History since you do not know the difference between nazism and communism.*****


Enlighten me.


I think I need to Watch the Acman3 clip again.

Cheers

English is fine, as long as you do not teach History since you do not know the difference between nazism and communism. 

Acman, that hit the spot.   That's just how it is, when trying to communicate on this thread.

What will I be teaching in English?   Jazz appreciation 101.

Cheers

I

Maybe my greatest contribution to this thread would be to start giving classes in English.

Cheers

True. Amazing how much Django could say with just two fingers. On the other hand (pun) one can say a great deal with just one. I think Django still had the use of that one 😉

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ308aOOX04


frog, great stuff, particularly "Django's Tiger".  The only problem for a comparison was he utilized too many fingers to fret! ;^)
Tap dancing, anyone?

I don’t have a problem with your reaction eventhough I don’t agree with it in the least, but what is the point of making a comparison to Mr. DATA if it is not applicable to Lagrene?

I was speaking of Mr. DATA.   I said both HE and his Audience felt something was missing.  It's part of the ongoing plot of the show. Maybe you are not a fan of the show.  Mr DATA's goal in his existence is to become more 'human'.


I am sure Mr. Lagrene's fans just love him to death.

Cheers



I understand that something is missing by what you are looking for, but how in the world can you say his audience knows something is missing? 

Please read the comments and you will find out what his audience thinks of his playing. 90 unsolicited fans, making comments like best ever and next level. 

The reason in the past we have used quotes from Jazz musicians to  verify our stance is they are from musicians who were actually playing with the musicians we are discussing . These people who were there should be better witnesses than us speculating 70 years later. 





Bireli Lagrene:

The guy is a virtuoso.  He can really play the guitar.

Didn't see too much emotion from him, and didn't hear too much in the music.   But it was good.

On the TV series 'Star Trek: Next Generation'  there is character called DATA.  He is an Android.   He plays the violin.  He can play perfectly any music ever written on his violin.   He can even play in the style of any of the  great violinist in history.  Imitate them perfectly. 

But, he, and his  audiences, know that something is missing.

Cheers