O-10, I was surprised too. They could be easily from fro or pjw. I bet too that they are very happy chickens since they surely play them jazz.
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.
31,717 responses Add your response
Here is a really great piece on Art Blakey and in particular the Blue Note album "The Freedom Rider". The contents are to appear as the liner notes for a new reissue of that great album. https://magazine.vinylmeplease.com/magazine/art-blakey-liners/ |
Pjw, thank you very much for that information; I don't know why I don't already have that album. The story told is just the tip of the iceberg; Black people who lived in Mississippi and took no part in the civil rights movement caught hell just for being Black while the movement was going on. Which reminds me; "You might as well die for a cause, cause you gonna die anyway". |
Re Brooklyn and chickens: Know all about it; I live in Brooklyn. I am in no way suggesting that I know for a fact that there is a connection, but I am well aware of two factors that in my experience living here since 1983 may have contributed to the chicken phenomenon. Brooklyn has become very gentrified over the last four decades or so. Its proximity to Manhattan has made it a very desirable place to live. The current joke is that people are moving back to Manhattan from Brooklyn since Brooklyn, because of gentrification, has become more expensive to live in than Manhattan. The large Latino and Caribbean population in Brooklyn meant that there was a not insignificant demand for live chickens; for traditional cooking and for Santeria rituals. There was also, until recently, a sizable underground cock fighting scene. All ethnic traditions of the Latino/Caribbean population. Live chickens featured mildly prominent in Brooklyn life. My neighbor two houses over, successful corporate woman, has two pet chickens. Surprisingly beautiful birds. However, what this woman finds as far as companionship or anything else that pets typically offer is a mystery to me. A pet capable of minimal interaction with humans and which crap when and wherever that feel like it is not my idea of pet. She walks them on a leash. Kid you not. |
The digital age has brought the evil of alienation with it . Good read on it is "Bowling Alone" . Anyone who has heard the "Star Wars" music had heard this composers music . He also wrote an excellent Christmas Carol which is sung by a fine Cleveland Church Choir practicing community . https://youtu.be/SE0aIQp9V4s About 1:03 in back row a Asian male chorister has a lovely choir solo . |
frogman, When I was in the Philippines I stayed in Cebu. There was a big cock fighting arena right on one of the main roads in a densely populated area. I was curious so my wife's brother in law took me one night to this arena. They tie razor blades to one claw on each foot of the roosters. The matches typically last less then a minute. There was at least 200 screaming gamblers and about 3 dozen bet takers with pad and pencil. Roosters are everywhere in Cebu. Any street you walk down many of the houses have roosters tied to stakes in the ground by a wire to one of its legs just above the claws. When I visited Puerto Rico in 1993 my Puerto Rican friend also took me to an arena in San Juan. Believe it or not, in PR, there is a yearly "rooster derby" lasting a few days and the winner receives 500,000 USD. |
Would be a crime , no a felony , to not play what is one of the greatest African -American musical gifts played this time of year and only the way the Queen could sing it . . https://youtu.be/zo9UskUAaIk?t=3 |
When I visited Puerto Rico in 1993 my Puerto Rican friend also took me to an arena in San Juan. Believe it or not, in PR, there is a yearly "rooster derby" lasting a few days and the winner receives 500,000 USD. I am packing my bags... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1ezoHD_FynQ Aie, aie, aie... Fro, that’s insane...I nearly fell of my chair, laughing... |
Schubert, Aretha Franklin brings back memories of some of my best times, and I need all of the good memories I can muster. I traveled from St. Louis to Detroit by train, not just any train, but one with a Dining car. Meals on a train with a dining car were as good as any luxury restaurant, they were among the best I ever had, and the way they served them to you, made you feel "ritzy". This was before people traveled looking like "hobo's", and of course I wore a good suit and tie, so I looked the part of a distinguished traveler, that is, if you could call a young man of 23 "distinguished". Meals were presented under a big silver dome, and they tasted as good as they looked. This was the second time I had enjoyed the luxury of train travel. The first time was to San Antonio, that was overnight with a "roomette" convertible sleeper, on a train with a dome car, diner, and a lounge. The only thing that topped that kind of train travel was a cruise ship. When I arrived in Detroit, my hosts took me to the night club where Aretha was appearing. She was a lovely young lady of 22 with a mature "Divas" voice; that was an unforgettable memory that warms my heart when I recall it. I now have many of her albums on new vinyl. |
A little more info on the THE WONDERFUL SOUND OF THREE BLIND MICE - GS CD004A "24 Karat Gold". CD also has R-270340 and "made in japan" printed on disc. Based on the story in the booklet these "Mice" CD's were produced with a great deal of care and precision to produce a special sound. I bought my CD back in 1995 and recently I was thinking I should buy another one ( just in case) as it must be somewhat rare. I found one on Ebay for $310 dollars!! |
I have great respect for Puerto Ricons , In "68 I was fighting with draftees which is not a really good idea. No matter what you see in the movies . The best I had were them and they just tried harder to do their best. In college I researched what % of people were drafted from every state . I believe it was New York, but am sure I saw a footnote that Puerto Rico sent more than Any State per capita . https://youtu.be/1ly6M_E1P-0 Viva la Borinquen ! |
mary_jo, I'll add my thanks for the Beth Hart introduction. I'd not heard of her. Even before reading any of the comments in that link I thought of Janis. I certainly would not consider her (either one of them, although I'm much more familiar with Joplin) "soft", for me "vulnerable" would be much more appropriate. Both ladies went through a lot and now I can only hope Beth is past all that. |
o10, from your story of riding the train to Detroit to hear Aretha I estimate that was around 1964. When visiting there did you ever go to the Minor Key? I believe I mentioned it when I first began posting here. It was a great jazz club that was able to bring in top names. I heard Miles, Cannonball, Coltrane, Silver, Blakey and others there between 1960 and '62, after which I dropped out of school and went in to the Navy. The name had double meaning -- obviously in the musical sense, but also because they didn't have a liquor license minors could get in. Friends and I would drive nearly 2 hours to catch the first set around 9 PM. Without an age limit it was popular with undergraduate college students in and around Detroit. For that first set the audience would be maybe 50/50 black and white. The second set around 11 seldom had more than a 20% white audience. By the third set we were often the only whites there. It always impressed me that we never had any problems and seemed to be accepted by the other fans. In fact many times someone at the next table would offer to top off out set ups from their flasks -- as I said, no liquor license. Those nights were some of my greatest jazz experiences. Unfortunately after getting out of the Navy and returning to finish school in '66, riots in Detroit the next year destroyed the club so I could never go back. |
When I was a kid, at Christmas time, my first stop would be the big display windows downtown where they had toy electric trains running all over the place. I always prayed that Santa would leave me one under the tree, but he never did. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O4kcWrScik https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeR0S0jUucU |
I loved trains when I was a little girl. I never dared to wish for them, thought they were for sure unreachable for me, living somewhere far away in their shiny and steamy choo choo land. When I got old enough to travel with my family for more, I would of course, always vote for the train. Enjoyed in their huge windows where I could lost myself in an outside view as if I were truly there in each fast moving picture. My eyes were hungry for the new horizons. Mother was afraid of trains and had a fear that it will somehow and surely run off its rails. Tried to help her getting rid of that silly fear and I just wish I tried for more. If somebody could give me that train whistle again... https://youtu.be/WtYvGJaIRn0 Merry Christmas boys! |
Thank you Mary-Jo for your descriptive view of looking out of that huge window watching the world pass by while in your comfortable seat on a train. We are both fortunate to have experienced something grand that most people will never experience, and again, I thank you for sharing your experience with me. Today is Christmas Eve, it's the biggest day of anticipation for the little one's; they're all excited in the belief that Santa will leave their favorite toy under the tree tonight. I hope that Santa will grant all our wishes. Merry Christmas! |
OK, tonight is Christmas Eve and the subject is trains. What could be more appropriate on a jazz site? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zTkpME1ATQ&list=PLkLimRXN6NKwsvKxuIhwm85jYXKKhILzv&index=10 Peace on Earth and goodwill toward mankind! |
It's so good to listen to people who can observe, think, and then articulate those thoughts. Like a fresh breeze on a hot Texas day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQXHc-tJMXM Cheers |
Dave Brubeck Quartet "Take The A Train" live and what a terrific rendition. Is it just me or is Joe Morello one of the best at "keeping time" ever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVwkRU-iYg4 Morello was the recipient of many awards, including Playboy magazine’s best drummer award for seven years in a row, and Downbeat magazine’s best drummer award five years in a row. As a subject for discussion, did Morello win all of those prestigious awards for truly being the "best drummer" or was his being a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet part of the equation? Dave Brubeck’s band looked like a bunch of ordinary joes with a touch of "cool" and the music as well as the band leader was easily accessible and liked by the masses all over the world. I have the live Carnegie Hall disc and the audience is LOUD to say the least. The audience in the above video is just as LOUD. Take Five is, after all, the greatest selling jazz single of all time. The Bossa Nova hit sensation "The Girl From Ipanema" , while selling more singles worldwide was in different categories including pop and adult contemporary. As far as "pure jazz" Take Five is still the most known song worldwide. Merry Christmas to all! |
Acman, when I was preschool, my Grandmother lived so close to the railroad tracks, that big steam locomotives pulling a mile of freight cars, shook the house when they passed. I recall playing on the floor with my little toys, when I heard this loud rumbling noise, and the whole house began to shake. That's when my child mind wandered WTF, I thought the world was coming to an end. Sorry that your only experience on a train was bad, but I been there and done that, so I know how bad that experience was. On the way back to St. Louis from San Antonio, although the Air Force gave me enough money to get a "roomette", I decided to ride like you rode, and pocket the difference; that ranks among the worst decisions I've ever made. |
When I was child we would visit relatives that lived in the country (we live by the sea), sometimes with train and very often during winter holidays. First, the snow is always great sensation for kids that are not used to it and coming into snow covered parts of the country was always exciting and sort of romantic. Remeber looking at the mountins and small villages that had no street lights, with so many snow covering everything that only the yellow light shined thru windovs. ’Lonesome traveller’ Ray Bryant https://youtu.be/d0zN0mkhgjY Edward Hopper ’compartment c’ https://www.edwardhopper.net/images/paintings/compartment-c-car.jpg Edward Hopper ’railroad sunset’ https://uploads8.wikiart.org/images/edward-hopper/railroad-sunset.jpg S.Leone 'once upon time in the west' https://youtu.be/8XkHsinz7oU Merry Christmas to all |
I went to a Jazz on the Lawn, at a museum once, and Sonny Fortune was there that night. From the moment he started playing, a guy up front yelled Blue Rondo Al A Turk, over and over, until Sonny said, " I think you may have me confused with someone else. We don’t play that song". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB1PH9mLswA |
pjw, there is no “best” drummer. Awards of that kind are nice and all, but can’t possibly be a definitive statement of “best” anything. An obviously subjective, not to mention, narrow call. Obviously a great drummer, and I would say he was probably the “best” drummer for Brubeck’s quartet. Could Joe Morello have been as effective as Elvin Jones in Trane’s quartet? No way. Just as Elvin Jones’ style would have sounded completely wrong playing “Take Five” WITH BRUBECK’S QUARTET. The success of Brubeck’s best known records owes a lot to the great combination of players with similar musical sensibilities. I can’t imagine some of Brubeck’s best known music without the drumming style of Morello nor Desmond’s alto sound. I would say Brubeck owes a good amount of his deserved popularity to his sidemen and would probably have been the first to say it. When Brubeck made it on the cover of TIME Duke Ellington himself knocked on Brubeck’s hotel room door to congratulate him. Brubeck said “It should have been you”. |
Frogman, I was about to post this before you posted, now I'm going to post it anyway. Pjw, no body is a bigger fan of Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, and Joe Morello than I am, but to compare drummers, you'll have to make some distinctions. We would have to consult Frogman in order to determine how to classify different drummers, but comparing Joe Morello, Max Roach, and Chico Hamilton would seem to me like comparing different horses of different colors; or other quite different animals; I don't know how you do it, maybe Frogman has some ideas. |
frogman and orpheus10, I did not contend that Joe Morello was the best drummer. It was Playboy magazine and Downbeat magazine. My question was not "is there a best drummer" or "so and so was the best drummer" My question, which you both failed to address, was do you think it was Morello being a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet that was influential in his receiving these accolades from 2 of the best selling magazines at the time. |
Today's Listen: Allen Toussaint -- THE BRIGHT MISSISSIPPI Don Byron-Clarinet, Nicholas Payton-Trumpet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMnXZ8mQWZQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwKLPqZzmmI check 2:57 says a lot, while holding the same note. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcPsgMa74Lk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCHddHp8OAw Cheers |