The Frogman:
******The idea that disregard for, lack of interest, or ignorance of that aspect of music is somehow a higher calling, or that it leads to a deeper emotional connection to music is simply mistaken.*******
I love it when you make your 'teaching points'. But in this case, no one has taken the position you stated. We all appreciate the 'nuts & bolts'. It's what makes Music, Music. Without them, music would just be a random collection of sounds. There could be no such thing as 'genre'. But we do get your point.
I guess it boils down to which is more important to the consumer. Since most of us wouldn't know 'nuts & bolts' if they fell on us. :)
In my field, we would call it being schooled in the military arts. Just having a lot of men and weapons is not enough. You must know when and how to deploy them.
As always, you just don't talk, you inform.
Cheers |
"There are two kinds of music, good music and the other kind" - Duke Ellington
I think a certain idea is getting lost in these discussions. Well, at least the idea that I tried to bring forth about the "nuts and bolts" part of music appreciation. The idea that disregard for, lack of interest, or ignorance of that aspect of music is somehow a higher calling, or that it leads to a deeper emotional connection to music is simply mistaken. It is not a prerequisite for the appreciation of music (obviously), but it can do nothing but enhance the emotional experience, and helps us be a better judge of the good and the bad.
On a more personal note, and this is something that every musician feels strongly about is the obvious (if cliched) truth in Duke's comment. I listen to everything, there is no genre of music that doesn't have the good and the bad; and I confess that I find it remarkable (and this is not meant to offend) that anyone can feel so passionately about a particular genre (any genre) and dismiss the incredible beauty in Kathleen Battle's singing, even if that genre is not the preferred genre. We all have our likes and dislikes, but like Duke said....Anyway, I strongly encourage all to be more open to this idea.
The "My Favorite Things" comparison. Orpheus, at first I thought it was a joke; it's like being asked to compare grandma's chicken soup to a spicy Cajun gumbo. I am not sure where to begin. One is a vocal rendition, the other is an instrumental version in which the tune is almost inconsequential; it's simply a vehicle for the players' improvisation within that tune's framework. On the vocal version you have classic production values and orchestration coupled to Andrews' charming and mildly theatrical singing; impeccable in the nuts and bolts considerations of pitch, control, and beauty of tone while (even more importantly) conveying the perfectly appropriate feeling of innocence that the lyric demands. A timeless, classic, and beautiful vocal rendition with an orchestration full of subtlety and restraint; what is there not to like? Coltrane's version could not be more different. His ascerbic and raw tone on the soprano gives this version an almost surreal quality. There is not much of an "arrangement" to speak of and obviously no orchestration. The rhythm section lays down a waltz feel very different from that in the vocal version, being much more swinging and not as appropriately light and buoyant. As I said, more than anything, a vehicle for improvisation which is done in typical Coltrane fashion; reaching, searching, with a sense of purpose that is typically Trane.
Grandma's chicken soup may not be as interesting as a Cajun gumbo, but man, there sure was perfection and comfort in that chicken soup; in its own way, a thing of beauty. Love that Cajun gumbo, but it could give me heartburn like the chicken soup never did. All in all, as far as the MUSIC, the emotion, both equally valid and good.
BTW, I don't tire of that story; I am envious as hell. I look forward to your comments about the two versions of MFT.
"“I believe in things that are developed through hard work. I always like people who have developed long and hard, especially through introspection and a lot of dedication. I think what they arrive at is usually a much deeper and more beautiful thing than the person who seems to have that ability and fluidity from the beginning. I say this because it’s a good message to give to young talents who feel as I used to.” - Bill Evans |
Acman3:
Very nicer tune. I have three CDs by Pullen.
'Live...Again', 'Kele Mou Bana' and 'Random Thoughts'. I will give them another listen and rerport.
The CD 'Breakthrough' that the clip was from, is now offered by 'these sellers' for $443.51 new! So I probably won't have that one.
Nice tune. Thanks.
Cheers |
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In no particular order:
Best of the Blue Note Vol 1
Best of the Blue Note Vol 2.
Best of Chet Baker Sings
Sarah Vaughan and Cliffford Brown
Kind of Blue
Big Joe Turner Greatest Hits
Cannonball Adderly - Somthin' ELSE
Charles Mingus - New Tijuana Moods
Louis Armstrong - Hot Fives & Sevens
Miles Davis - Sketches Of Spain
Honorable mention:
Dinah Jams - Dinah Washington
The Blue Note Jazz Profile Series - Various Artists - Promo disc. |
*****Kathleen Battle sure is pretty, I'd rather look at her than hear her sing; but that's the "subjective" opinion of a jazz aficionado. ******
Mercy Lord, Mercy!!
Cheers |
Acman3:
****If he had been around from 1955, and died in 1963, AND played on Blue Note you would love him.****
You know what? I think you are correct. But to play for Blue Note in 1955, aha, he would have been a different player. :)
Also, I am only speaking of this one tune. I am not trashing the guy totally. They are all magicians to some degree. And in that sense, I love them all.
Suppose the only Miles, or the first Miles, I had heard, had been 'Bitches Brew'!! That would be the only CD of his I would own. At least, until I could sell it.
I am sure Harrell is a good player. I do admire him, after learning of his condition. And he does know his way around a trumpet.
Woods is still fat!
Cheers |
Rok, I admit to being baffled by your statements toward Tom Harrell . You could not be more wrong in your assessment of his playing. I was led to Mr. Harrell in the mid eighties by a trumpet player/teacher who worked in a record shop I hung out in. Very emotional player who I have never heard struggle in any way technically. Roars through changes while keeping his ideas coherent.Has 30+ years of very good to great recordings.
I intentionally choose a burner, as I was reminded of this GREAT version of Phil Wood's bands, by listening to the trumpet playing of Blue Mitchell.
Hal Galpner was/is a very good piano player. Check out some of his solo
work.
If he had been around from 1955, and died in 1963, AND played on Blue Note you would love him. |
Kathleen Battle sure is pretty, I'd rather look at her than hear her sing; but that's the "subjective" opinion of a jazz aficionado. You just can not have Christmas without Mahalia Jackson's "Silent Night"; she convey's the religious aspect of Christmas like no one else, it's almost supernatural, and that's not as subjective as one might think, because people in London England will agree with me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRpMc5OVHncEnjoy the music. |
Rok, thanks. I can't disagree with you about anything in your post; save for the IMPLICATION that having the training and being polished precludes being able to convey emotion. Clearly there are performers that were born with "the gift" and can get the message across wether they have the training or not. I don't know much about Mahalia Jackson's background to know wether she had any training or not; I just know how much I love her singing. But, the flaw in your argument is not in the substance of the general point, but in the specific example. Saying that Kathleen Battle singing spirituals doesn't move you the way that Mahalia Jackson does proves little. Have you ever heard Mahalia Jackson sing Schubert Lieder? I haven't either, but I am fairly confident that it wouldn't make me cry the way Battle can. This a common mistake by performers; singing or playing in a genre outside their comfort zone. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qki5oy1z14 |
*****he has been living with (and controlling) schizophrenia *****
Sorry, I didn't know. I withdraw the comment.
Cheers |
A few posts back, remember the 'treacherous road' thingy? I wanted to make a point but it seemed as if we had moved on so I didn't. I will make it now to elighten you as to HOW I, approach, receive, judge and understand music.
Recently I received several of CDs from Amazon. Among them two CDs of Spirituals. I love only Jazz more. The CDs were: GREAT AMERICAN SPIRITUALS. A great CD. The songs are sung by Kathleen Battle, Barbara Hendricks and Florence Quivar. WOW! What a lineup. They didn't sing together, they each did several songs on the CD.
These are two world class Sopranos, and a World Class Mezzo. They have performed around the world, at all the great Opera Houses, under the greatest conductors, and singing the greatest and most beloved roles in Opera. Taught at the top schools and by the top teachers. Their 'nuts & bolts' are impeccable!! I will enjoy this disc forever! Highly recommended!
The second CD was MAHALIA JACKSON - LIVE AT NEWPORT
She sang spirituals here also. The two CDs only had two songs in common. A night and day difference. I don't know if Mahalia has much, or any formal training. Probably just started singing at her church. Her 'nuts & Bolts? I am sure they don't match the divas. But here is what Mahalia can do, that the divas can't: She can make a person Cry!
I remember the effect singers like her, had on people from my childhood. Old women with eyes shut, slowly nodding while tears streamed down their faces. And the choir was nowhere near in Mahalia's class. Mostly field workers and domestic workers. Zero training! No 'nuts & bolts. They used to scare the hell outta me. When they started singing I always moved closer to my Mom.
That's the difference THAT CAN exsist between impeccable 'nuts & bolts' and less polished music, and musicians, conveying emotion.
That's it. That's me.
Cheers |
Rok, thanks for expounding. We are all entitled to like what we like; simple as that. It's interesting to try and understand the reasons why (it is for me, anyway) that's all. In this case we will just have to call it a case of Mars and Venus. I find Faddis's playing on the Bebop clip to be exactly what you object to in your account of your trumpet playing colleges buds: "how fast and high can I play this"; bordering on the "bullshit" for me. Harrell's is a thoughtful and well constructed solo. Different strokes for different folks. BTW, don't be to critical of his "body language"; he has been living with (and controlling) schizophrenia for many years and that is his usual stage demeanor.
Cheers. |
********So, in the spirit of enlightenment and sharing can you expound on that a bit? What is it the makes it empty for you; what is lacking? Better yet, what do you hear in the "Bebop" clip that you don't hear in the "Tenor Of The Time". Perhaps the music was better than you think, and had the intended impact on you simply because a very good argument can be made for the tenor of our time being "loud, fast and empty". But, the playing? No way!*******
When I was in college, it seemed as if the Trumpet players were always the brash and trash talking bunch. I was one of them. But the guys from Memphis and New Orleans were light years ahead of me. One of our favorite things was to have what we called 'head cutting sessions'.
We would get the Excerise book and see who could play it the fastest and longest without screwing up. Once we destroyed the Purdue University Trumpet section at the Indianapolis 500. We were bad!! :)
My point is this: That was not music. Just notes used to improve technique and sight reading. And that's what Harrell sounded like to me. Playing the exercise book.
Also, the body language of all, save the bass player, did not indicate that even the players themselves, were into the music. The piano player could have been Horowitz playing Chopin!!!
I did not mean to imply that 'fast and loud' was a negative. Esp, since my favorite tune is "Hog Calling Blues"!
In the Bebop tune, I heard a Jazz GROUP, playing bebop Jazz, with, among others, a trumpet soloist. In the Woods/Harrell thing, I heard a guy blowing a trumpet. It did not convey anything other than that to me.
You must keep in mind that I am a member of the unwashed masses, and often times miss the finer points of music. I just know what I like, when I hear it.
I have one final point to send.
Cheers |
No it's not, it's Saturday!
In Japan :-) |
*****But, wait!, you mention the audience; so, you must be referring to either the Horace Silver "Cool Eyes" or the Phil Woods/Tom Harrell. Now I am really confused. On the Horace Silver clip the Dutch audience looks like they don't know what hit them and seem totally uninvolved; in spite of the great music. On the Phil Woods/Tom Harrell clip what I can see of the audience is mainly two gentlemen who are clearly digging the playing*******
I am speaking of the 'TRUMPET' playing on the Woods/Harrell. clip. This conversation started with trumpet playing. The Horace Silver clip I saw, was just a still shot of the LP cover. Nica's dream. No audience. I may have missed a clip. But I can assure you I would not be critical of Silver. On the Woods/Harrell clip, there are a few shots of the audience. One shows that, during Harrell's solo, people in the booth have turned their backs to him! Not a good sign, assuming they are Jazz lovers. But not proof of anything either. Other than having a big un-Jazz like, belly, Woods was Ok by me.
Cheers |
*****Empty!?! Empty!?! Damn! At first I thought you were referring to the "Bebop" clip; "loud, fast and empty" was exactly my reaction. I didn't say that because... well, like my grandmother used to say.....You seemed to like the "Bebop" clip, even if it wasn't by Diz.******
Can we at least agree that today is Friday?
I thought I liked the 'Bebop' clip in spite of it being Dizzy. When you said it was Faddis, then I thought, well that explains why I liked it. Dizzy is a seminal figure in Jazz and a great player. An imposing personality and innovator. And, he did go to Cuba, which changed everything for the better. Can't talk about Jazz without mentioning him.
Just not my favorite trumpet player, just as Bird, is not my favorite Sax player. Has to do with style, not talent.
Cheers |
Frogman, before I could only compare the different versions of a tune, but now that we have you to give us a new perspective from a "nuts and bolts" point of view; maybe you could compare these two versions of "My Favorite Things". I know you're tired of hearing this, but I'm going to tell it again. When I saw Trane live, this is what he played; try 45 minutes of "My Favorite Things". Miles said Trane played for himself on live performances; I saw Miles and I had no idea what he was playing; talk about the pot calling the kettle black, that's the best example yet; but Trane worked the tune so many different ways. I was at a table with some professional musicians, and they were in a Trance; to be honest, I was lost; but I'm sure you would have enjoyed it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33o32C0ogVM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWG2dsXV5HIEnjoy the music. |
Empty!?! Empty!?! Damn! At first I thought you were referring to the "Bebop" clip; "loud, fast and empty" was exactly my reaction. I didn't say that because... well, like my grandmother used to say.....You seemed to like the "Bebop" clip, even if it wasn't by Diz.
But, wait!, you mention the audience; so, you must be referring to either the Horace Silver "Cool Eyes" or the Phil Woods/Tom Harrell. Now I am really confused. On the Horace Silver clip the Dutch audience looks like they don't know what hit them and seem totally uninvolved; in spite of the great music. On the Phil Woods/Tom Harrell clip what I can see of the audience is mainly two gentlemen who are clearly digging the playing (big smiles of appreciation on their faces), and there is big applause and hollering after the solos. But, that tune IS faster and louder; so that must be the one you refer to.
First of all, I didn't think "loud" or "fast" was ever an automatic disqualifier. But, empty? This must be the first time that I have heard Phil Wood's or Tom Harrell's playing referred to as "empty": complete mastery of the language of bebop and its harmony, great swing (yes, fast and relentless; but, that is the point of the tune: "Tenor Of The Time") from some of the acknowledged contemporary masters of the music, especially Woods and Harrell. So, in the spirit of enlightenment and sharing can you expound on that a bit? What is it the makes it empty for you; what is lacking? Better yet, what do you hear in the "Bebop" clip that you don't hear in the "Tenor Of The Time". Perhaps the music was better than you think, and had the intended impact on you simply because a very good argument can be made for the tenor of our time being "loud, fast and empty". But, the playing? No way! |
Loud, fast and empty! Thrombosis alert! Always check the audience's reaction, that will tell you what's going on.
Cheers |
Fabulous! It really doesn't get a whole lot better than that; thanks for the clip. Phil Woods is fantastic and Tom Harrell is without a doubt one of the unsung heroes of the trumpet; a beautiful player. Checkout his flugelhorn playing sometime; he has an unusually introspective and warm sound on flugelhorn. Great clip! |
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Great tune, Nica's Dream; aka Orpheus' W..... nah, I better not ;-). Thanks for sharing. Came across this when listening to Nica's Dream. Check out Blue Mitchell's solo; holy cow! If you want to get geeky, check out 1:26. He plays this little motif, repeats it transposed to fit the changing harmony and then the magic happens at 1:29 with the most unexpected, strange but perfect note choice. These guys were brilliant. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=73pex5SGd0YBTW, there were no takers, but the trumpet player on the "Bebop" clip was Jon Faddis; from his tribute to Dizzy album. |
Smitten is putting it mildly; she's my dream jazz date, I can just picture us on the set, "Sssh, just listen to the music Orpheus".
Here are two of "Satchmo's" three wishes; "That I go back to the world and see the fans, and play for them again"..... "That I live a hundred years, so I can enjoy what the next generation's doing, same as I do this one".
His wishes were so prophetic that you would think I made them up if you didn't have the book.
Enjoy the music.
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Today's Listen:
Louis Armstrong & Oscar peterson -- LOUIS ARMSTRONG MEETS OSCAR PETERSON
Pops mostly sings here. Very little trumpet playing. Oscar and his trio give awesome support. Great line up of tunes. Louis is in fine voice.
Still, something is just not right here. Maybe it's because it's a studio recording. Maybe the Trio is not the best backing for Louis.
I am used to him carrying on, and interacting with the other performers. A lot of trash talking / flirting with a female vocalist. Also, no trombone!!
Both Louis and the Trio were great. The overall effect was just not what you would expect, given the performers. Perfunctory?
Maybe live, with Basie or Ellington would have been a better match. Of course he and Ella would have been the dream team!!
But, Louis and Oscar can never be bad. Just not as great as they usually are. This is like Louis in NYC, when we want him in Nawlins!! :)
Cheers |
I think our OP has been smitten by the Baroness! :) Screw Eastwwod, she was a beauty by the standards of the European elite.
Cheers |
Nica's story is the most fascinating jazz story I've ever encountered and she never wrote a tune or played an instrument; she was even too busy living her story to write about it. Since all I had to go by were the slanderous rumors, I believed them up until now. Clint Eastwood made some disparaging remarks about her beauty after she had gotten older, and I believe he was truly jealous; with all his fame and fortune, he was nobody in the jazz world compared to Nica. She was super cool and hip without making any effort what so ever to be that way. I've met people like her, and I wish I could be that way. One such person gave me some sage advice, "Be true to thine self", he told me, in his naturally hip manner; and so he was. Nica lived for the moment, and her life after she became "The Jazz Baroness" was one continues set. She told one of her nieces to meet her at a club: "How will I recognize the club"? "Look for the car" was Nica's response. The niece instantly recognized the club, it was the the one with the badly parked Bentley in front, that had two winos lolling around on the leather seats. "They keep anyone from stealing the car", she was told after finding Nica. This was in a tiny basement club, where Nica was the only white person in the joint. "Smoking a cigarette in a long black filter, her fur coat draped over the back of a spindly chair, Nica gestured to an empty seat, and picking up a teapot from the table, poured something into two chipped china cups. We toasted each other silently. I'd been expecting tea. Whisky bit into my throat; I choked and my eyes watered. Nica threw back her head and laughed." "Thanks", I croaked. She put her finger to her lips, and nodding at the pianist on stage, said "Sssh, just listen to the music Hannah, just listen", as she swayed to the sounds. After that soaks in, you can begin to percieve Nica; no wonder "Nica's Dream" is my favorite tune. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDrxzKYdwsAEnjoy the music. |
Speaking of photos in Nica's book, can you believe Lee Morgan was a giant among giants at that young age. In the compilation "The 100 best tunes of the 50's", he appears as a sideman on: Moanin, Blue Train, The Sermon; plus lead on "I Remember Clifford".
Lee was shot by a jealous woman at Slug's Saloon, a jazz club in New york city's East Village where his band was performing, and bled to death because the ambulance took so long getting there; it seems they were reluctant to go into that neighborhood. Can you imagine an ambulance being reluctant to go into a neighborhood where Nica "The jazz baroness" went in her Bentley and fur coat after midnight; what a contrast.
I checked Ray Bryants "Slow Freight" and it's on my list.
Enjoy the music.
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*******Jessye Norman was too operatic********
Lets just say she was teetering on the fence. :)
******kathleen Battle and Fredrica Von Stade; they made me long for the magabuck system I don't have in order to hear everything, or to have been there in the flesh.******
Mega buck system not required. People have been enjoying this great recorded music since Edison and his player. Sounded great on my Yorx setup! Now being there, I agree! I have since ordered and received, all DVD:
Richard Strauss Gala: New Year's Eve Concert 1992 , also with Battle and von Stade and others. Berlin/Abbado.
New Year's Concert Vienna 1987: Also with Kathleen Battle. Wiener / Karajan
Rossini: IL Barbiere di Siviglia with Battle and others.
MET Opera Orch and Chorus / Weikert
Love her singing. Her beauty has nothing to do with it.
Cheers |
O-10:
I agree about Christmas music. I am not into all these pop / Rock singers, and their "Christmas" albums. I prefer the traditional carols from England, Germany and the U.S.
There are a few secular exceptions to the sacred music. They are Johnny Mathis, Nat Cole and Fiedler/Williams and the Pops.
You can listen to Mathis in Texas, in August, and you will still look outside to see if it is snowing. He can really convey the Christmas season and Spirit.
I have the CD of that clip you sent. His version of 'O Holy Night' is awesome!! Nat Cole is in the same category. Love his 'Tannenbaum' For the fun, sleigh riding, modern stuff I reach for the Boston Pops.
I must confess I have two Jazz 'Christmas' CDs. One by Wynton Marsalis and the other by Oscar Peterson. Both very good for what they are.
Cheers |
Today's Listen:
Betty Carter & Ray Bryant -- MEET BETTY CARTER AND RAY BRYANT
Ray Bryant Trio: Bryant(p), Wendell Marshall(b), Philly Jo Jones(d).
This CD consists of three different recording dates. !9 tracks in all. 1-4 Carter backed by a large group, these tunes are from her album 'Social Call', 5-11, she is backed by Bryant's group, and on 12-19, Bryant's Trio without Carter.
Recorded in 1955-56. Very young players. Nice photos. They look like they looked in Nica's book.
Very good performances. I liked the tunes by the Trio without Carter the best. Nothing against her, she was great, but Bryant could really do his thing better without the vocals. This player is really steeped in the Blues. Very dynamic player. One of my favorites. Never makes a bad record.
Mostly standards. Very nice 'Moonlight in Vermont', but, as good as she did it, Billie has made that tune hers and hers alone. Good sound quality. Perfect for late night listening.
The liner notes say this is Bryant's first recording. This was sort of like an introduction to the Jazz public. Recorded the same year the 12" LP was introduced.
My first Jazz Album, if memory serves, was Ray Bryant's 'Slow Freight'. Still have the LP, but no CD!!
Recommended.
Cheers |
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Thanks! But, I have always been on the same train. I think the difference is that you took the EXPRESS; I took the LOCAL. ;-) |
The Frogman.
To name such a distinguished prize 'no blues, no Jazz', Surely must imply agreement with the sentiment! Welcome aboard!
Cheers |
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The story that Diz told was that at his wife's birthday celebration a couple of dancers fell on his horn and bent it. He played it that night anyway, bent and all, and in spite of the fact that it was now harder to play he liked the sound. He then commissioned a trumpet with an upturned bell and the rest is history.
BTW, the trumpet player on that clip is not Dizzy. I guess it's time for the 3rd installment of the "Lobotomy Award". Who can name the trumpet player? As always, NO CHEATING! And to make things really interesting (in case someone cheats) whoever can name the saxophone player also wins the "No blues, no Jazz" prize. |
Hi O-10 - thanks for reposting those links. It made me realize I had heard of Willie Ruff also in the context of Yale, but never put two and two together that this was the same jazz horn player. I haven't Googled him, so I don't know if he is still living. He certainly hasn't been at Yale in decades now.
The one clip that had him playing horn was quite short, just the Stompin at the Savoy tune. Fine rendition, as far as it goes, doesn't really show off much improvisational skill. I don't have any albums of his other than the one I mentioned where he is playing hymn tunes in a church. I'd love to hear more of him, to really check out what he could do. It's possible that he didn't improvise a whole lot - he certainly would have learned that skill later in his horn playing life, judging from the comments he makes to Gumbel.
He certainly wasn't the best out there in the New York jazz scene back in the day, though this should not be taken to mean he was not a good player. The best jazz hornist out there was Julius Watkins - I have a few albums of his that he did as leader, though usually he was a side man, as pretty much most jazz horn players are. Robert Northern was another, and even Gunther Schuller played quite a bit of jazz on the side back in the day when he wasn't in the pit at the Metropolitan Opera. All three of these men appeared with Miles Davis, at least two of them on Birth of the Cool. Julius Watkins records are worth seeking out, though they are very hard to find and usually very expensive, being Blue Notes. There is one he did for Philips called French Horns For My Lady, all Quincy Jones arrangements. |
O-10
Great clips. Enjoyed them all. Esp Kirk's version of 'The Entertainer'. I bet Scott Joplin didn't know he wrote THAT!!
Dizzy's trumpet was not bent upwards. Do you know when, and why, he did that?
Cheers |
Rok, it wont be long before Mrs. Orpheus will be dragging out her Christmas collection, and it will consist of all the Carols we sang as kids; that's when I stuff my ears, smile and pretend I'm listening; but until that time, I gonna Bop. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09BB1pci8_oEnjoy the music. |
As my Baptist Pastor keeps telling me, "man can't live on Bop alone".
Here are my Christmas recommendations and recent acquisitions.
NEW:
A CARNEGIE CHRISTMAS CONCERT -- Battle, von Stade, Marsalis, Previn. CD and DVD!!! Esp DVD!! 100 Stars!
Only Ebenezer Scrooge could not love this one!!
CHRISTMASTIDE -- Jessye Norman
One of the greatest singers ever. On stuff like this she can sometimes be a little TOO operatic, but on this one, she comes down to earth, and it's just perfect. You gotta have it!
CHRISTMAS STAR -- The Cambridge Singers and Orch./ Rutter
Lot of English, German and French carols here. Sung with those unique English voices. Outstanding!. 22 Carols!
Old Favorites:
THE MANY MOODS OF CHRISTMAS -- Robert Shaw/Atlanta Orch & Chorus Telarc
MESSIAH -- Boston Baroque / Pearlman Telarc
MESSIAH -- Toronto Sym / Davis EMI
SONGS OF ANGELS -- Robert Shaw Chamber Singers Telarc
For those of you, Like O-10, that knock on the front door, when you stumble upon a church:
Silent Night from the Temptations Christmas CD.
Merry Christmas Baby - Charles Brown
Cheers
Messiah 'highlights', of course! :) |
When I was a child, my aunt had a big diamond in her ring that sparkled all the colors of the rainbow as you turned it under a bright light. Tired of me holding her finger and turning it, she took the ring off when she came home from work. I never tired of watching the brilliant sparkling colors that ring emitted. I just discovered "Rahsaan Roland Kirk" is exactly like that diamond, he sparkles endlessly; old LP's that I've had forever are emitting new colors. Today I was listening to the computer play list when the music really grabbed me. Although I knew it was Rahsaan, I still don't know the name of the tune because unlike CD's, cuts on Lp's aren't listed; therefore, I can only share with you some of his music that might be from that LP. Remember, when listening to Rahsaan it's not just his virtuosity on the unusual instruments he plays, but the totality of his music which is so different from everyone else's. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAyStpDSNzs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWPUKskCv7EEnjoy the music. |
You guys crack me up. Glad you recognized the intended humor in posting that clip. Actually, I prefer your clip, O-10. |
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May 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th. |
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I heard LvB at ther very beginning on piano, and at the end on guitar. But, as has been pointed out on this thread, I don't know how to listen.
Overall, not a bad piece of music. The could have dropped the pretense at LvB.
They seemed to be pretty impressed with themselves, and their playing. Judging by their facial expressions and body language.
Cheers |
Rok, Dallas Symphony is playing Beethoven's 9th in May of 2013 at the Mort. Not your Daddy's DSO. |
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Today's Listen:
Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery -- JIMMY & WES THE DYNAMIC DUO
I thought this would be a small group effort, but it turned out to be a big band thingy. Conducted by Oliver Nelson with Jimmy and Wes dueling out front.
A lot of good ones. Night Train, Road Song, Down by the Riverside, baby it's Cold Outside, etc... They all cook. The big band is only there when needed. They do not intrude on Jimmy and Wes as they push each other.
On this CD, both of these guys, are as good as I have ever heard them. They really do feed off each other. With arrangements by Nelson and personnel of the caliber of Clark Terry and Melba Liston, in the band, what's not to like.
Great Stuff.
Cheers |
The Frogman / Learsfool:
Thanks for the input on Beethoven. After thinking about it, and I do think sometimes, since I have many 9th's on LP / CD, then the video is the thing I am most interested in. I want to SEE all this magic, that I have been listening to for so long. So video quality and camera work are most important.
The Christian Thielemann performance seems interesting.
The Ideal, would be Bohm-Viener-Domingo-Norman-Fassbaender, but I have not found a DVD of that one yet.
I do have Karajan-Berlin-1963-SACD. I thought that would be the ultimate, or at least the ultimate Karajan.
Thanks.
Now let us quickly return to Jazz, before the OP notices!
Cheers |
