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
Frogman, I'd certainly consider Wayne Krantz to be one of the 'hipper' players, so maybe he lives in Soho but I don't consider him as un-deserving of his popularity. Yes, popularity doesn't account for musicianship, artistry or technique but it doesn't refute a musicians capabilities either. 'Money can't produce good poetry'. I suppose fame could erode integrity but ultimately an artist has a choice. The sad reality with all of the arts in this country is that it is underfunded and seen as insignificant unless it's able to sustain itself financially. The niche players will often maintain a higher level of artistic integrity but they're also more susceptible to burdening financial woes.
Rok, in NYC (and I am sure, in every major city) there are different scenes within the larger jazz scene and community of musicians. You have the be-boppers, the fusion guys, the "out" guys and, believe it or not, a vibrant retro swing scene; with guys like Peplowski and Vignola who specialize in the traditional swing repertoire. Of course, some of the players "cross-over" with various levels of success. FYI, Vignola is considered THE swing guitarist on the scene right now. He has his niche (as does Peplowski) and is most certainly a jazz player who is hugely respected by his peers.

I think one of the tricky issues with these discussions is that we tend to judge a player's ability, at least in part, by the player's visibility to the general music-loving public. Of course, a genre (swing) that is not the most popular at any given time reduces greatly that visibility of these players. That unfortunate reality does not, in any way, diminish their clout as players. Many of these guys are extremely dedicated to a particular style of jazz, no matter how unpopular or superseded by other styles it may be; and their command and understanding of the style and it's musical vocabulary is far superior than it often is to higher-profile players who may be considered "hipper" by the general public. Of special note is the fact that it is these "hip (per?)" musicians themselves who most respect and sometimes revere the niche players.

Rok, the west coast jazz by Chico was flat, and I'm not an extreme audiophile. At the beginning, I stated there was a CD I wouldn't review, and it had some of the very best jazz in my collection, but the CD was lacking "nuance", that was essential to this music, plus the record is no longer available; consequently there was no point in even mentioning this music.

I won't buy any of the music you're ordering until I get your report.

Enjoy the music.
Frogman:
Frank Vignola is a guitar virtusos!! The guy is like the Maurice Andre of the guitar. I looked him up on Wikipedia to see his background. It ain't Jazz. As I suspected, he is a great master of the instrument and apparently teaches and publishes how to books on guitar playing. He is good enough to do that.

I listened to more of his youtube stuff to sort of get a context in which to put him. He has clips playing, Scheherezade, Beethoven's Fifth, and several Jazz Standards. Almost as if he is an exhibitionist. He is shown with some other guitarist at something called the Long Beach Jazz Fest. Not very impressive.

The bottom line is this, IMO, he is, as I said a virtuoso. He can play anything. Is he a Jazz guitartist? He has the skills for sure, the question is, does he have an affinity for the music?

Sweet Georgia Brown (SGB)
Could you subconsciously be under the influence of Django and people of his ilk. For instance, When I hear SGB, I think, Stephane and Django. I don't know why. After all, no one does it, or can do it, like Ella. It's that 'bounce' of the guitar. Makes me think that's the way SGB is 'supposed' to sound. Le Hot Club? But that's not correct. It can sound anyway the artist wants it to sound. I liked his solo and I liked the Quintet just as much.

Tiger Rag:

His playing on Tiger Rag was good. I listened to it again and appreciate it more now. I still think a duo of guitar and clarinet does not have the 'weight' to do Jazz justice. His solo on SGB was better due to the backing of Carlos Henriquez on bass.

The most I see him doing in Jazz is having a nice career in Europe or carve a niche for himself here in the USA as a player / teacher. Sort of like Grappelli.

As always, IMO.

Cheers
Rok, thank you for the reasoned response. To be clear, I am not saying that the Marsalis cut is not jazz, how could I? Only that in the context of that particular idiom and what should be appropriate vocabulary for a tune in that style, I think the Peplowski is more convincing. For instance, all is pretty good until the drums, and later, trumpet and sax come in. The feel is appropriate and "bouncy" (why so many of the tunes from that era had the word "Bounce" in the title); then, when the drums come in, things jump forward a couple of decades (an eternity in the evolution of jazz) with decidedly much more modern swing feel. The horn soloists, likewise, can't resist not staying strictly "inside" the harmony and jump even further ahead with their use of extended harmony (outside the traditional harmony). An over-analysis to be sure, and I am not saying that it is bad at all, or that it is not appropriate to play any tune in any style (Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" !!!), only that the ingredients in that recipe, for me, don't come together as well as in the other one.
Frogman:

I think this exchange is very important, at least to me it is. I now have a 'concrete example' to play over and over again. And your reasoning to read over and over again. I think after this, I will understand your concept of Jazz.

I will listen to 'Tiger Rag' many times, and try and hear what you hear. And also listen for the 'clutter' in Sweet Georgia Brown.

Thanks for the post.

Cheers
Rok, we all have different tastes; that is stating the obvious. Having said that, I couldn't disagree with you more concerning your comparison of the Peplowski and Marsalis cuts. Like I said, we all have different tastes and I am not about to try to change your mind, but will explain why I think the Peplowski cut, as a representation of that style of jazz, is infinitely superior.

You missed the whole point of my choice. First of all it was tied to featuring the clarinet along with the Buddy DeFranco cut.You are correct, there is something missing in the Peplowski cut: clutter. That is precisely the point. The way that guitar and clarinet only can generate that much drive and swing WITHOUT drums and bass and other horns is the point. Call it chamber jazz, if you will. Lastly and most importantly, in the Marsalis cut, while Vignola excels again, the other soloists are not on the same level as Peplowski. O'connor's solo is stiff, Marsalis is his usual impressive but "not quite right" brand of swing; and Blanding, while delivering the best solo (besides Vignola) is, like Marsalis, simply not idiomatic and not entirely convincing, with deviations into inappropriate and much more contemporary musical vocabulary. IMO.

Regards.
Rok, "The Three Sounds". Chico Hamiltons West Coast CD's were lacking in the sonic department, they weren't as good as the "You tube's". That's why I asked.
Frogman et al.

I listened to the Buddy DeFranco youtube. It was what I expected. Good stuff. Buddy is a big time player. No surprises.

The Frank Viguola youtube was very interesting. As I listened to it, I was impressed with his skill on guitar. But, I felt something was missing. I thought it needed a different instrumentation. A rhythm section and horns?? A guitar and clarinet just didn't seem enough to do that type music justice. I thought to myself that this is happy music, up there, or down there,If you ask O-10, with Sweet Georgia Brown.

As it happened, my eyes wander over to the right side of the screen and there was a clip of Viguola playing Sweet Georgia Brown with the Wynton Marsalis quiintet. I played it.

If you ever want a demostration of my argument, these two youtubes are it!! Great musicians on both tapes. Music of the same degree of difficulty. DAY & NIGHT in overall effect!! Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELXtZmFpvPk

Cheers

O-10: I didn't get what music you were speaking of: The Three Sounds or the Lee Morgan set? The one you will buy if the sound is good.
Anyone who thinks jazz is dead just needs to get out more often. Listen to these guys swing their a&%#s off. Heard here is Scott Robinson, a genius of this music. Sessions like these are commonplace in small clubs around NYC.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=716XrlpuSbM
Joseph Beuys?? No kidding!

Those Germans go from one extreme to the other. No half-way measures with them!

Cheers
Certainly, and If I were to say that I appreciated everything in the classical raisonne, I'd either be an idiot or a liar. One thing that I do sympathize with is opposition to this notion that anything can be great, or creative or easily labeled and then placed in a drawer with something else. I had professors who would make comments like 'everyone is an artist' because that is what Joseph Beuys said and I have always considered that claim to be at the top of my B.S. list. You know, we don't want to come off as being elitists or insensitive in any way. Creating incomparable comparisons like 'is King Oliver in the same class as Bud Powel'; might amount to doing something to pass the time, like memorizing baseball statistics, but it really won't address art, music or aesthetics.
"but I listen to jazz because there is some of it that I find interesting or entertaining and that's about the only reason".

Well, that's about the only reason for listening to any music. I can't think of any genre in which I like it all. As Duke Ellington once said, there is good music, and there is bad music.

I have no problem cherry picking any genre for the good stuff. Sort of like listening to just the 'good parts' of an Opera. I guess that's why they make 'highlights' discs. Some of it just has to be seen to be appreciated. Or the 'warhorses' of the classical repertoire.

Cheers
I found Eric Alexander years ago and the band All for One. If you like what you hear,goto CrissCross record's website and give a listen. From what I've read so far a lot of you guys will like what Criss Cross has to offer. You will have heard of a lot of the artist there, and the ones you don't know... there good as well. Also check out Whirlwind Recordings ltd. What there doing in Europe with jazz will keep you listening for a while. I have a lot of the old recordings mentioned here and my turntable still gets a real workout. But these new cats are putting something down, and worth a listen.
Rok2id, there's still a lot of great music being made but there needs to be a willingness and an open mindedness in order to invest in it. Jazz is more of an art form than most other popular styles of music and so it takes a little work but it's well worth the trouble. I still plan to buy a 78 turntable however so that I can listen to a friends donated Charlie Parker recordings. Personally, I have more trouble with listening to music that is outside of the realm of legitimate or what we call in the vernacular, 'classical' but I listen to jazz because there is some of it that I find interesting or entertaining and that's about the only reason.
Acman3
I took the Lee Morgan thingy the way you meant it.

The tragedy that has befallen Jazz, is not limited to Jazz. You can substitute Jazz, with Rock & Roll or R&B or POP or Country or folk / protest or Gospel.

They have all suffered. The problem is, no one sees or hears the decline, except the people who are familiar with and / or grew up with the previous stuff. This is true of most things in society.

Think about it, Lee Morgan died over 41 years ago!!. I find myself waiting for his next Cd. We just said he was 19 a few posts ago, didn't we?

Jazz has the added problem or being an improvised music. That creates major problems.

How does a current player, play the great Jazz music? A current classical player can play Mozart today because it's written down on paper. How do you play Charlie Parker?

The next big problem is that because it is not a written down on paper music, and it is improvised, ANYONE, can play ANYTHING, and call it Jazz. And, I guess it is. Today.

So, the soloution is this. As a fan, or aficionado, You pick your stop on the railroad and get off. Just like the classical people did. you say, when this era,(fill in the blank) ended, that was the end of MY Jazz. The same goes for all the other genres. I will henceforth, live off compilations, reissues and remasters. And the odd surprise or discovery.

So there should not be any argument. Music does change. The public changes. Just pick the stuff you like and live with it. Just like the people that watch Verdi and Mozart operas year after year after year.

The Jazz stuff that I like most, was coming to an end, almost before I became aware of it's existence. Wow!!

Cheers
Pnmyer, I listened to some Roy Hargrove recordings a few years back. He had a bright future , but had IMHO not matured as a musician at that time. I will certainly check him out. I will also check out Eric Alexander as I have, not to my knowledge, actually heard him play.

Charles Lloyd has turned into one of my favorites. His music with BoBo Stenson was magical. If you like Enrico Rava you might like Tomas Stanko. Both are very good.

Thanks,
As with most, not so well thought out rants, the point gets lost on the side issues.

Rok, the usage of Lee Morgan's " Live at the Lighthouse" was only used as an example of how he and his music had changed, not a recommendation for the music. Also, I only have a double album, and not the CD which has more music added as usual, so YMMV.

Orpheus10, I have mainly commented in the past through a lens of what you were trying to say/learn on this thread. I lost that perspective on my last post, which was written only to say Jazz is in good hands, although different. I agree with your wise earlier statement that once we start arguing ''What is Jazz',' the thread will disintegrate into chaos and I don't want any part of that.

I do not feel qualified to lead any comment on newer jazz styles, as I like most of you, listen mostly to older music, especially since going mostly vinyl about 5 years back. Some of my newer Jazz favorites are now 10 years old, and the musician's are not young anymore. Also for the same reason you have chosen not to identify your mystery musician friend, I will respectfully have to keep some good, but controversial musicians off any list. It is easy to tear down.

I listen while I travel around town to the local college station KNTU, and hear great straight ahead music all day. Some new, some old. I will get some names for you if I think they have possibilities.

Ken Schaphorst- anything, but "Over the Rainbow " is an overlooked GEM.

William Parker- A virtuoso bass player known more for his group interplay and writing than his bass playing. ( sound like any one you know) Some of his music is harder to get, but most is surprisingly accessible. Never boring.

Earl Harvin- "Live at the Gypsy Tea Room" has been a regular on my system since around 2000. Earl plays a lot of styles and plays in Jazz to Funk to Rock bands. A monster on the drums. UNT professor Fred Hamilton on bass and guitar, and Dave Palmer on electric piano.

Benny Green
Kurt Elling
Kurt Rosenwinkle
Marchel Ivery
Dennis Gonzalez- Great trumpet player, getting a little more Avant-garde, but worth hearing.

What about John Abercrombie? I have left off about 1,000.
Music has to change, art has to change. It wouldn't make any sense for someone today to write like Haydn or maybe less so, like Art Tatum. Uri Caine seems interesting to me now. It's rewarding to listen to musicians playing Stan Kenton, Mozart, Billie Holiday but these are old ideas in terms of composition.

I'm not suggesting that musicians like Sonny Rollins write in the way that Cecil Taylor might. We should savor and respect what these musician/composers naturally developed into within the span of their careers, but all artists need to grow. Most accomplished jazz musicians write their own pieces. Musicians who make a living playing the music of Monk, Ellington, etc... are a different matter, as they can choose to invest in the works of their contemporaries or limit their repertoire to music of the past.

Composers, with exceptions being in rare cases, will try to avoid repeating what another composer has already written and since the rules of harmony have been stretched beyond all boundaries, the possibilities are endless. Since everyone is wired differently, every composer will create differently. Nevertheless Picasso said 'good artists borrow from other artists but great artists steal from other artists'.
Yesterday I received The Three Sounds, 'Eight Classic Albums'.

I had wondered if the Eight Classic Albums sets were a good deal. If this set is any indication, they are a great deal.

I have listened to two, and the sound quality seems to be equal to that, of the one Three Sounds Blue Note CD I have.

Documentation is OK. The overall package looks good. Two albums on each of the 4 CDs.

This is a good way to get a lot of music from an artist you might like, but don't feel you need the individual Cds.

Cheers
Based on someone's recommendation in this thread to consider Jimmy Giuffre,I just got the album "Jimmy Giuffre 3, 1961", 180 gram vinyl reissue by ECM, which combines the "Fusion" and "Thesis" albums both recorded in 1961 on the Verve label. Personnel was Jimmy Giuffre on clarinet, Paul Bley on piano and Steve Swallow on bass. Some of the songs, including Ictus, were composed by Bley's then -wife, Carla Bley. Amazing stuff! I am the first to admit I am not fond of most free verse stuff. However, this is accessible, at times very melodic and very beautiful sounding. A lot of use of space. The recording is first rate. It also is available on CD. Thanks for the recommendation.
Ref: Lee Morgan, 'Live at the Lighthouse'. I don't have it, but I listened to a little online. I have no problem with it.

He evolved or was trying to evolved. It was sort of different, but still good. But, I guess Coltrane gets everyone in the end.

There is a difference from an established Jazz player evolving and someone right out of the gate making strange nosies.

It's now available from 'these sellers' for a few hundred.

Cheers
Acman3, don't be sorry for the rant; put up or shut up. Now that we have "You tube", play like we're from Missouri and show us.

Enjoy the mmusic.
People have been saying Jazz was dead since that delinquent Benny Goodman came along. Then it was really dead when Bird and those crazy boppers started going nuts. Then Coltrane planted jazz six feet under?Jazz is dead in the water? It just mutates to the next phase, but it will not sound the same as it did, until the keepers of tradition try to drag it back to where they want it to stay. Real Jazz.

Look where Lee Morgan had progressed to at the time of his death. He wasn't playing straight ahead soul jazz, but was challenging and stretching in new directions. His music on "Live at the Lighthouse" would be to radical for some on this forum to even be called Jazz. Sound familiar? Jazz will always move forward and challenge the artist and the listener. Btw, some these innovations will flop and some will be wonderful. I hear composers today and I think, that sounds like where Mingus or Monk would be today.

Sorry for the rant, but it strikes a nerve.
One of my favorite jazz recordings is the album "Let My Children Hear Music" by Charles Mingus. It is a musiczal oddysey with compositions that shift moods and take you places that never get tiring. Sheer genius.
Hank Garland, Jazz Winds from a Different Direction. The 1st jazz album (1961) by a Nashville session guitarist (patsy cline, everly bros, etc) recorded in Nashville w/a 17 yr old Gary Burton, Joe Morello & Joe Benjamin. A tragic life story but the incredible music lives on Forever.
Agree we should be listening to our current crop of Jazz artists, not just the greats that have passed on. I'll start by throwing out a few suggestions. I have been listening a lot to Eric Alexander lately. Nice sounding tenor sax player, who has recorded some nice stuff on the Venus label. Roy Hargrove is someone I like a lot. Just got Charles Lloyd's new CD, Hagar's Song. He has a lot of great albums. Enrico Rava has some very interesting stuff.
Why is everyone trying to bury Jazz? Sure a lot of the greats have passed on, but the same can be said of classical. And they have been dead for centuries!

I would suggest that the 'new masters' get a little more creative. They seem to be more intent on changing Jazz than playing it.

The Cds you recommended were great! Outstanding recordings. But, I did not think the music was Jazz or blues. I thought it was all sort of, Baez / Saint Marie- ish. Which is not a bad thing. The problem is, they will not attract the Jazz / Blues crowd.

for example, listen to 'don't let me be misunderstood', then listen to Nina Simone do it.

same with 'the thrill is gone' listen to B.B. King

'I just wanna make love to you' -- try Etta James.

A person would not think the tunes are from the same genre.

Supporting new Jazz artist is important, but they have a responsibility, to us the customers / fans, to play Jazz.

Cheers

Erroll Garners "Concert By the Sea" appeared in more aficionado's collection than any other LP I can recall, maybe the beautiful cover also had something to do with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH_GF4nw3JI&list=AL94UKMTqg-9Bp5HendeturB7B3gAH6W7J

Enjoy the music.
"Jazz is not dead it just smells funny",No!
Let's not forget that Jazz music is still very much alive,and it is not true that it just smells funny.
but to make sure that it stays that way, we do have to keep updating our listening experiences.Let's not forget the old Masters but encourage new Masters as well.
Check out these three audiophile albums on the small dutch label Sound Liaison.
Carmen Gomes inc. 'Torn'..best Blues ballad album ever.
Poul Berner Band 'Road to Memphis'.. beautifully told Elvis Presley "saga"
and Carmen Gomes inc. 'Thousand Shades of Blue'..intimacy, the band is so well recorded that you can practically reach out and touch them,and there's an absolutely haunting version of Bruce Springsteen's I'm on Fire.
http://www.soundliaison.com
(1) Dizzy Gillespie and his Orchestra -- AFRO

(2) The Original Mambo Kings -- An Introduction to Afro-Cubop

Most of the music on the Mambo Cd is by Machito and his Orchestra. At first I did not realize these two Cds have common music. Half of the Dizzy disc appears on the Mambo Kings disc, which is a complilation. Charlie Parker and Mario Bauza also appear on the Mambo CD.

Both are very good examples of what is called 'afro-cubop.'
I thought the Dizzy Cd was exceptional! We get so wrapped in these younger guys, we tend to forget why Dizzy is one of the true GIANTS of Jazz. I must listen to him more often. Just great trumpet playing. Gillespie seems to have a great affinity for latin music.

There is a lot of brass on both CDs, the difference is, on the Dizzy Cd, the brass is Dizzy! I think the brass was a little too much on some of the Machito cuts.

(3) Erroll Garner -- Concert By The Sea.

Great playing by a man who cannot read music. That's amazing. Mostly standards, but done very well and fresh sounding. Live recording with great ambience. Some hiss on the CD, but not a distraction. I understand this is one of the best selling Jazz records of all time! He appears with a trio. The sort of performance that makes you wish you were there.

Cheers
I would agree that most Jazz musicians are serious practitioners. As a horn player, I can speak from experience that you cannot develop the chops needed to play without practicing-talent only gets you so far. Recall the story of Sonny Rollins, who took a three year hiatus from performing to practice 10 plus hours a day on the Williamsburg bridge (apparently he practiced there so he would not disturb his landlady) because he was unhappy with his playing. Extreme example but many other Jazz players had rigorous practice routines. Art Farmer and John Coltrane come to mind.
This is one of the more interesting and informative threads on audiogon in a while.Orpheus, your friend very well have been an exception. The jazz musicians I've known put considerable hours into practice, serious practice.
Regards,

Frogman, I looked at his Bio. and discovered he was self taught, which meant he was truly gifted.

Not long ago, I was telling another professional jazz musician that my friend was one of the best ever. "He was good, but he wasn't that good", was the musician's Reply. "I'll show him", I thought.

In order to prove my point, I bought every record and CD I could find by my friend, but none of them was as good as the music I remembered that summer. This caused me to reflect back on that time. He played like a man obsessed at every performance. I never have, and still don't like it when a musician plays a lot of notes/music like crazy, but when he did it, the music was coherent.

That was a long time ago, and I discovered he never recorded anything else after that summer, before he died. The music I heard, was new music that he was working on; the only place it's recorded is in my mind.

Enjoy the music.
Hi Orpheus - I will second Frogman and say that your friend MUST have put in very serious hours. Also, the process of jazz musicians who haven't played together before but who sound like they have is not so mystifying as it may seem. Each jazz standard is usually performed in the same few keys, and with the same basic chord changes. What the discussions were about that were unintelligible to you were making sure everyone knew the tunes, what keys they were going to be played in, and anything that might not be standard, such as a different chord change than normal, for instance. Jazz musicians have what they call a "Fake Book" that has standard keys and chord changes for literally hundreds of standard tunes. They will often review such a book before a gig, especially when they are new to the group they will be performing with. Frogman will definitely have much more knowledge of that sort of thing than I, so please chime in on this if you wish. As an orchestral French horn player, the only jazz I have ever played is in a big band, where the parts were of course written out, or on a pops show where again, the orchestra parts are written out.
I tried to stop doing my 'reviews', but the public outcry was so great, that I was forced to continue. So, by popular demand, todays listen.

'The Quintet' -- Jazz At Massey Hall

The Quintet consisted of: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus and Max Roach. Therefore, the only comment to be made, is on the sound quality.

The concert was recorded by Gillespie and Roach on their personal tape recorder, so the sound is uneven. No hiss or noise, just not a professional job. Some players seem to fade in and out. Except Dizzy of course. After all, it was his tape machine. This is the concert where Bird played the plastic toy sax. Didn't seem to matter.

One of the highlights was when Bird referred to Dizzy as his 'worthy constituent' during the intro to 'salt peanuts'. There seemed to be bad blood between the two, which they expressed during their solos.

Took place in Toronto. May 1953. Same night as the Marciano / Walcott Championship fight. Affected the attendance.

A must have for any serious 'Real Jazz' fan.

Cheers
Orpheus10, there are exceptions to every rule; as I am sure you would agree. Actually, Art Pepper was one, he seldom practiced. But, as a rule, jazz musicans practice, or practiced, a great deal. If your jazz musician friend is able to do what you describe, I am certain that at some point he put in the hours.

Thanks for the Bobby McFerrin links. Great stuff.

"We", like the music and musicians we admire, are individualistic, and nobody's going to take that away from us. With this thought in mind, I sought a musician we could all agree on, and I think Mr. Gene Ammons meets that criteria. Here are two of my favorites by "Jug", as his friends called him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol5E37pMaiw

"Hitting The Jug" and "The Happy Blues"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVu_g_9oFwU&list=AL94UKMTqg-9At3fTg1zCEz7G9SAWVsmO3

Enjoy the music.
Pnmeyer, what's most astounding about my assessments and recommendations, is the fact that they are making me aware of all the CD's not currently in my collection.

Enjoy the music.
"Rok, if the JATP is your concept of jazz, that was dead a long time ago"

Well, I guess I was duped into thinking it was Jazz. But it did say Jazz on the cover of the CD. And the reviews I read said it was Jazz. But the thing that really sucked me in, was the guys in the band!

I thought I read somewhere that Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Ella Fitzgerald etc.... were Jazz musicians. I guess not. Boy, I feel like a chump now.

But I do want to thank you for exposing me to some 'real' Jazz. That Youn Sun Nah is something!! And to think, I used to think Ella Fitzgerald could sing!! I see now I have been misled. I spent three years in Korea and never knew they did Jazz, let along at such a high level. WOW!!

Thanks O-10. I think, for the first time, I completely and truly understand your concept of Jazz. What can one say? (amadeus)

Cheers

Frogman, A professional jazz musician lived in my apartment for 3 months and he never practiced. I wont mention his name because every time it's mentioned, some clown pops out of the woodwork with garbage. In regard to,"If I don't practice for a day, I know it. If I don't practice for two days, the critics know it. And if I don't practice for three days, the audience knows it".

For an entire summer, I chauffeured him and his lady friend to gigs at least 3 times a week. We were only at the apartment long enough to take care of the necessities of life, the rest of the time we were on a set, or digin a set. What astounded me more than anything, was when we arrived an hour before show time, and he was introduced to musicians he had never played with before. They would talk this musical gibberish, that meant absolutely nothing to me, "All right Mac, when I come in on the... and hit a chord on the piano, point to the drummer who seemed to know what he was talking about and go "Wham bang". They would do this for an hour, while I watched in fear of every thing turning out lousy.

When they played as if they had been together for years, I was all ways truly astonished. Those performances never failed to mesmerize yours truly. Each performance was uniquely different from the last one. I had surgery that summer, and he entertained me during my recuperation time, with stories about his life as a professional jazz musician; that was an unforgettable summer.
Orpheus10,
Agree with your assessment of Lee Morgan-he was a great player. One of my favorites. I have the XRCD version of Candy and the sound is excellent. I was listening to his Tom Cat album yesterday, also the XRCD version, and it is very good.