@mahgister Great post, thank you! I hadn't heard of Klezmer music before this very moment. More to learn. Also, your last 4 sentences hit home.
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.
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Now here is some really good music that you can definitely describe as jazz. The band is called "Steps Ahead". From Wiki The group arose out of spontaneous sessions at Seventh Avenue South, a jazz club in New York City owned by saxophonist Michael Brecker and trumpeter brother Randy Brecker.[2] The first three albums were released under the name Steps, later changed to Steps Ahead, on Nippon Columbia in Japan, starting with the debut live album Smokin' in the Pit (1980), followed by Step By Step (1981) and Paradox (1982). I listened to the live album "Smokin' in the Pit" in its entirety last night and it is what I would call "a keeper". Check out the personnel! Michael Brecker (arguably the best tenor player alive 1975 - 2007), and Steve Gadd, often placed on the list of "best drummers" on drums, Michael Mainiary on vibes, Eddie Gomez on bass, and Don Grolnick on piano. The last 3 musicians are all excellent as well. All of them are superlative as soloists and there is great cohesiveness and "feel" among the band when playing as a whole. I will be listening to them a lot more! |
Any recommendation is an invitation not an obligation... We are all different... I discovered great jazz here and it is why i also sometimes post my suggestion... If one suggestion hit the target and make only one people happy as i was with few discoveries others here recommended i will be happy... Each time i recommend an album i try also to explain why in few words... 😊 |
Here a more classical style post bebop album of Jamie Saft quartet ... A great musician ...Some of his albums are not free jazz...😊 Then i like this one as much as the Book of angels vol.1 Astaroth with his trio.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yR8HOh9qVY
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Speaking of the Brecker brothers... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc2x_WEUUKo&list=PL3TNkr0VCexwBIVEzh6T6Aj6_7GM5gcXs
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Another score for Jamie Saft with i dont know whom sound engineer name but all his albums are well recorded... Saft creativity after my 4th albums is astonishing... How to sound like nobody else in trio with piano or hammond ?
Jamie Saft, Steve Swallow, Bobby Previte - 8. Blue Shuffle (The New Standard, 2014https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZwxVQI5F6Y The name of the mixer genius or sound engineer is here i think : Here the translation of an anonymus german customer opinion on Amazon with whom i concur : «
The rare event for me 😁 is that among these 4 different albums i have no idea which one is the best and which one i prefer at all... Amazing musician Jamie Saft... |
I had not slept well and i listen music soon this morning .. 😁 Incredibly i just begun my fifth album of the genius Jamie Saft... I did not even bother to finish my listening to say that he score a fifth home run on all factors , sound recording is top notch another time , including a sax genius i did not know with him ...
Hidden Corners album ... Sorry i dont have any youtube for it... https://www.amazon.ca/Hidden-Corners-Jamie-Saft-Quartet/dp/B07S8GFFNF Finishing the album right now with one track to come i can confirm my opinion... 😊
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I will stop here for Jamie Saft i already said enough... He is no less creative than Zorn... My 5 th albums is stellar also, a tribute to Bob Dylan ( a folk singer i like ) ...And Saft must pick the best audio engineer there is for each album because the sound quality is over average way much...... ( i prefer jazz albums with no singers by the way and i made exceptions only for Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald voices or Chet Baker or Billie Holiday...In this album of Saft "Trouble" there few songs part where the singers are very good but even very good i prefer music and no voice in my jazz, i dont know why because i like classical singer or Indian and Persian and sufi singers etc then for this only reason this 5th album is not my best but the singers are top notch , it is not a critic of the singers at all only a reflection about my own lack or limitations or obsession i dont know ) By the way Saft is a pianist but often take the Hammond organ to new creative level... In my next life i dont come here if i am not born musician ( a gifted one ) 😁 When i was young i was envious of gifted mathematicians, now i am envious of musicians... 😊 I am less egotistical... And anyway i begin to understand that music encompass mathematic not the reverse which idea surprize me a lot because i tought the reverse all my life...
«Music is mathematic with a moving body and a free will »Anonymus poet |
Are you referring to the Brecker Brothers Band or Steps Ahead? Breckers "debut" album was released more then a decade after his studio and live collaborations with "Steps" , his brother Randy and others. It was a great "debut" with backing musicians Pat Metheny, Kenny Kirkland, Charlie Haden, and Jack DeJohnette. |
I found all but 2 of the total of 32 "Book of Angels" sessions on Spotify. I found all of the Masada live sessions as well. I dont love all things Zorn. Far from it. But I plan on listening to all of it and selecting individual songs to keep. |
I can relate; there are many Jazz vocalists but like you, there are only a few that really move me. |
I am like you... Zorn is not all for my taste but it is a creative mind... I did exactly what you plan to do and the few albums i love a lot pay me well for my search... When i will be done with Jamie Saft exploration i must go with the Breckers brothers... 😊
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@acman3 Been listening extensively to this playlist for over a week now. Michael Brecker’s brilliance on the tenor is on another level. Steps Ahead - playlist by Paul Irishman | Spotify Vibraphonist Mike Mainieri’s rhythm laying down extended grooves is something that I have never heard on this level before from Hutcherson, Jackson, Lionel Hampton or Gary Burton. (to be fair they played in a different context). Mainieri broke in with Buddy Rich in the late 50s and I plan on listening to his earlier sessions. Here is a couple With Rich Mainieri’s debut album. At age 25, after making his bones with Rich, he already had his own unique style on the vibes. Bassist Eddie Gomez is also outstanding on the acoustic bass. On this Gomez album, Gomez’ Steps Ahead partners, drummer Steve Gadd and Michael Brecker back him, resulting in some excellent music. Eddie Gomez,Michael Brecker,Steve Gadd,Masahiko Satoh play Puccini’s Walk from Mezgo 1985 - YouTube Btw, fwiw Steps Ahead has only made one album without Brecker. They are joined by the WDR Big Band on this 2016 album titled "Steppin' Out"
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Another pairing of Grolnick and both Breckers -- Don Grolnick's "Weaver of Dreams" re-released as a 2 cd set with Grolnick's "Night Town" -- both excellent, showcasing Grolnick's distinctive writing executed by two killer bands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDSgV3F8WyI
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Thanks for the Grolnick recommendations. I had already contemplated creating a Don Grolnick playlist on Spotify and after listening to your suggestions and "Smokin' in the Pit" by Steps Ahead (I believe Grolnick's only date with Steps) I have done so. Spotify did not have "Weaver of Dreams" but the complete album is on You Tube. Grolnick was definitely a gifted musician and yet another struck down by cancer at a young age. I have been listening to Steps Ahead and vibrophonist Mike Mainieri along with Michael Brecker exclusively but Grolnick will join that list as well. Its interesting comparing the first 2 drummers in "Steps Ahead", Steve Gadd and Peter Erskine. Both are consensus picks on any list of "best drummers" but their styles/influences are different. Both ventured into other genres but were rooted the jazz tradition of drums (masterful use of the ride symbol in keeping time). Listening to "The Complete London Concert" Grolnick album now |
Gadd and Erskine are both great drummers. Different styles as you say, pjw. Personally, I find Erskine’s playing more to my liking with Steps. Just enough feel-good looseness and not so relentlessly metronomic as Gadd. Good example: https://youtu.be/dLE_IBg9abk?si=x9QnCxAiBFxDF7E Don Gronick: |
Thanks for "checking in". I always appreciate your contributions. I know how much you like Michael Brecker, and I believe you once posted here on JFA that he is your favorite tenor post Coltrane/Rollins/Henderson. I have been listening to Brecker so much lately and I am beginning to understand why you hold him in such high regard. |
RE: drummers, it may well be a misapprehension, based on the limited examples I’ve heard but my impression has been that Gadd is a bit "flashier". I wonder if anyone in the audience at that L. Ronstadt show had any clue whatsoever re: what sort of player Grolnick was. Can you recommend some M. Brecker recordings that are in an all-acoustic, mainstream Jazz vein? |
The presence of Pat Metheny on electric guitar on Michael Brecker’s “Tales From The Hudson” may be a deal breaker as far as not being “all acoustic”, but it is certainly modern mainstream. Fantastic record with an amazing cast of McCoy Tyner, Joey Calderazzo, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, Pat Matheny. A must hear. As a sideman in an all acoustic setting: Chick Corea “Three Quartets”. One of my favorite records. Mel Lewis, “Mel Lewis and Friends”. Hal Galper, “Reach Out”
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https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l85qqhvqGAA36q_ctKF3ZoE3cqpktgknc&si=pRQjmjpXtf7qM9s0 https://youtu.be/cc2x_WEUUKo?si=pfNQGh673HdGOL7E https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMD9X0rJLX6asW3xLgbPH69mSoF1_HKO8&si=amzwck6sMX8DrIJN
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How could I (almost) forget McCoy Tyler’s “Infinity” Featuring Michael Brecker?Outstanding! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0071F7B5F1DB1ED1&si=RUlYjstJr2IfI8ZN |
Stop it already! We are all posting music, as are you, that some of us never listened to. I listen to all of your suggestions. Like this Jamie Saft Quartet - Blue Dream (Full Album) - YouTube
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You’re welcome both. It was said that one of the reasons that Brecker practiced so much was that so many other tenor players copied his style that he felt that he needed to stay one step ahead (😉). One more. This one featuring both Grolnick and Erskine. And if one great tenor isn’t enough, Bob Mintzer/Michael Brecker “Twin Tenors”: https://youtu.be/c1lbJw-JVZI?si=AM8SzrxinT8VKoxq BTW, on the tunes with only one tenor it is Mintzer playing.
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Hey @frogman Michael Brecker is one of my favorites and a couple albums are on my regular playlist. Out of curiosity, what’s your favorite album of his? |
I had said that meaning that even if we dont favor a genre or style a lot there exist anyway many exceptions... I dont favor fusion as such but i own dozen and dozen of more than just good fusion music...😉 I dont like klezmer but Zorn has created some interesting music inspired by it ... I listen musicians more than genres or styles....😊 There is no music, only musicians... 😁 |
curiousjim, impossible question to answer. As a leader, Tales From The Hudson is up there with Time is of the Essence and, of course, his last album Pilgrimage. Pilgrimage is fantastic and I love it in part for sentimental reasons….if you know what he was going through battling the disease that ultimately killed him. A very sad event in the music scene. Then there is the question of favorite solos. So many , on so many different album s including the Fusion and even the Pop stuff. His work with Joni Mitchell is incredible. James Taylor, Michael Franks, Paul Simon, on and on. Then there is the issue of favorite tone. His tone evolved over the years. Always great, but definitely different over time. I have a soft spot for his early sound. This is the first recording of his that I ever heard. In High School, I’ll never forget when my band director brought this in for the class to listen to: https://youtu.be/l-b_h8i9eWU?si=MVWU47ryewSCAUih
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I am amazed by the sheer potential numbers of really great jazz albums i never heard of... I come here for information and it is successful for me... Thanks to all ....😊 But it is very hard to cope with all amazing propositions in the same month ! we must choose... 😂 I choose Brecker brothers for this month after Jamie Saft last few weeks... ....I must say frogman recommendation help a lot to pick the right one... I am a classical and world music amateur but also of jazz... I dont understand why jazz was so low and so less loved in the music charts... Most people received no musical education then a bit too sophisticated line is put aside... We dont appreciate enough what a treasure music could be way more than leisure... Especially now... We are lucky....
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The same could be said regarding poetry, dance or abstract art. This is not a culture that prioritizes the arts, unless it’s the "art of the deal". Fortunately for me, my parents appreciated art and music and did their best to nature such appreciation in their kids. But it’s best not to disclose such information, unless you want to risk being labelled an "elitist". Oh, and I don't understand it, either.
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