Thanks for your suggestion. I've read reviews but my understanding is that Musetech does not have a repair facility in the US. This a non-starter for me. If I'm mistaken, please let me know.
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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@stuartk - Yes, I see. When I do a URL search I get the dreaded spinning wheel. http://www.midwestaudiophile.com According to this, they are still in business. Of course, the important question is, is warranty service in the US? |
Here’s some mellow easy going Saturday (rainy maybe?) music for you good folks. Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays - September Fifteenth - From - As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls
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@stuartk, I’ve been away for awhile and haven’t had a chance to catch up to all the music posts but thanks for the Peter Bernstein post. |
I have many Peter Bernstein albums but not this one... Thanks stuartk Have you heard this one?
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I haven’t listened to him extensively but I’ve had difficulty engaging emotionally with what I have heard. Whether rightly or wrongly, I’ve come away with a sense that he’s rather cerebral. Of course, this is not to say he’s not a master. I’ve heard him with Evans, with Rollins, with Carter and the live trio... I think it was called "Jim Hall Live". Perhaps you can recommend others.
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Jim Hall was one of the true giants. Very nuanced player. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLut9KQdIHDDrVrYIPlZ7l4bWbsqs7Y5G7&si=STboAZeklAmcGv67 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLriPIg0RpIgweZ9bD1lA3F6aoxySomwSC&si=oiHqKRo1tB8WwPLq
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I’ve been listening to the new Jazz releases on Qobuz and it amazes me what they are called Jazz. But there are a few out there that are worth a listen, sort of. I’m not sure if I like the remasters of the 50’s-60’s greats and some of what they’re calling new releases are just reissued or made into High Res. |
Stuartk, I like them all, but a safe start is the Telarc mid-nineties recordings. He went on an absolute tear around then .I know the sound won't distract. If you like Art Farmer they have a great live recording from the early 60's. The one with Jimmy Giuffre called "Western Suite" is a Favorite. Just try them all! |
Paul Desmond with Jim Hall. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kylc5w0323sEFkvmGUZWyghKi3ZKGpktQ&si=kqa4DNyZj0FMxohg |
So, I gotta share this with y’all. This is in reference to an audiogon forum posting from: And to responding and researching this forum post, I found this very copacetic (or is it copesthetic?) website. Check it out: Roy DuNann, Engineer - From - The The Skeptical Audiophile - In Search of Better Records Apparently, this Roy DuNann of Contemporary Records was a master recording engineer. And also apparently the above site, has a plethora of master recordings of some stone cold jazz for y’all to check out. Scroll all the way down to the bottom to see all the records. @acman3, I got some ’spanish tinged’ jazz music ’backatya’ that’s swinging pretty darn hard! Barney Kessel from the album ’Carmen’ ’Out of print Barney Kessel album. Swingin’ interpretation of the Georges Bizet opera with stellar performances, featuring André Previn on keys. This is ripped from the original 1959 UK Mono pressing.’
Side 1 0:00 Swingin’ the Toreador 05:51 Pad on the Edge of Town 12:36 If You Dig Me 16:40 Free As A Bird Side 2 21:36 Viva El Toro! 24:52 Flowersville 30:52 Carmen’s Cool 35:34 Like, There’s No Place Like... 39:35 The Gypsy’s Hip
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I think of jazz in 20-year periods, starting around 1915. The 30s-40s were a big band era, where Hollywood had some influence. The 50s and 60s saw some emerging greats (think of Coltrane playing with Miles early on.) The 70s has the integration of jazz with both classical and rock music (not simultaneously!) and you have the emergence of both fusion and some lighter fare that borders on the commercial - but still good. This continues from the 90s, and my enthusiasm wanes as the commercial stuff starts to take center stage (but that's just my opinion.) |
This conversation feels a bit stuffy to me. Why? I was a good chess player in high school. When I went off to college I looked for chess games. A whole bunch of guys were playing in the student union. But the question hit me immediately. Where are the women? I was outa' there. There are some mentions of Ella, and Sarah, but those are singers. In the seventies I got deeply into Brazilian jazz and man do they have some tasty women. I'd suggest Tania Maria for one. She sings, scats, and plays the piano like no get out. Now we're talking juicy jazz. I think the two best Tania Maria albums are "Brazil with My Soul" and "Piquant." Have a blast finding them on vinyl but that's the way to listen. Tania Maria is one of the best jazz pianists I've heard. Then Flora Purim. My God! She sings on one of the best selling jazz albums of all time: "Light as a Feather" with Chick Corea. As for her own albums which she usually makes with her percussionist husband, Airto, I recommend "Encounter." But be ready to bend your ear a bit. The lady is abstract. For some "stuffy" credibility, Ron Carter, Joe Henderson, and McCoy Tyner are also on that album. I go back to it again and again and again. Again, listen to it on vinyl if you can.I have purchased all the Flora Purim albums I could get my hands on. Sliding into the 21st century, I recently went to a concert of a saxaphonist named Melissa Aldana. I was extremely impressed that she had her own voice (on the saxaphone). I immediately purchased a couple of her albums. IMHO, the best jazz standard I have is Coltrane playing "My Favorite Things" on Selflessness. I have more Coltrane albums (vinyl) than I can count, but that's my all time favorite. He flies in the album. Here's a poem I wrote to Coltrane back in the day: ON HEARING A RADIO INTERVIEW
he doesn't say it I stop the car & & think that grace lands anyplace |
Is this your first time visiting this thread? If so, your willingness to pass judgement seems a bit hasty,. Perhaps I misunderstand your poem, but are you suggesting Jazz is, by definition, all church on the one hand and alleyway funk on the other? Do you believe Parker, Coltrane, Davis, Shorter, etc. were adverse to leveraging their intellects?
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stuartk, good question about intellect versus funk, or what I call raw emotion. What the poem is saying is that music doesn’t come from the intellect, it comes from the streets, and I include the feminine because it is often excluded from discussion of the arts. I am not a music scholar, but I know that many classical composers find their themes in folk music. Bartok is probably one of the most well-known for this since he studied Hungarian folk music. But I have also heard that Haydn used folk music for themes. Folk music, in my mind, comes from the streets. I like your choice of jazz musicians, Parker, Coltrane, Davis, Shorter. All of these men include a strong emotional content in their music. A lot of jazz I hear tends more toward the intellect and I like it less. Strong emotion coralled into artistic form is what I like in all the arts. De Kooning, for example, in painting. I apologize for my judgment. I was trying to shake things up a bit. But I judge the world--yes, the entire world--for their exclusion of the feminine, especially in the arts. I have been researching and writing a novel about the suppression of the feminine, especially in religion, so I see pretty much everything through that lens. But in regards to music, I’m not just talking the talk. I play more female jazz musicians than male. Although, right now I am listening to Charles Lloyd’s Forest Flower. Keith Jarrett has some great passages on there, and he is a male jazz musician I listen to a lot. Back to the feminine for a bit. It is my belief that women were our first artists. I think that they were the early cave painters who created those beautifully drawn animals. I have a lot to say about that, but I’ll stop here. I would ask that you try Tania Maria, especially "Brazil With My Soul." I think you will immediately be struck with a feminine strength that is not found in other jazz you might have heard. You must remember that she is playing the piano. She was classically trained in Paris.On my stereo those songs fill the room and wash over me. One thing I heard that might apply is that men show their swagger by the way they move their shoulders when they walk. Women show their swagger by the way they move their hips. |
FYI, also write poetry. I’ve also played guitar (not Jazz) for many decades. As you know, in art we have inspiration/intuition and craft/application of techniques and concepts. The point I was trying to make is that there are no dumb Jazz musicians. For even the most naturally gifted, Jazz requires a sophisticated understanding of harmony and its application in improvising. This isn’t typically handed down by the muse. While emotion is number one for me in enjoying music and as an artistic man, I identify with and value the inner feminine more than men of other persuasions, I think it’s important to not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Mental discipline and the ability to analyze and conceptualize have an important place in all the arts. |
Of course, Jazz covers a very wide range. Some styles/genres are more complex than others and needless to say, individuals vary according to their natural expressive inclinations and natural talents. Some incline towards cool "intellectual" abstraction while others are more earthy, emotional and blues-based. And these factors are not necessarily mutually exclusive. I was speaking of Jazz players who have the ability to cover a wide stylistic spectrum, including the most harmonically sophisticated scenarios. Perhaps @frogman will join in and provide an inside-out perspective. |
stuartk, very well said! I do understand how difficult all jazz is and the degree of study and musicality that is involved. And I am really glad that you mentioned the inner feminine. As a writer, it something I have to struggle to find within myself. I think like a male, but I am learning. In regards to appreciating the degree of musical sophistication and intellectual understanding of music that is required by jazz musicians, I am in awe of all jazz musicians I hear, especially live. I began listening to jazz is the 60s, and at some point, perhaps in the 90s, I felt I wasn't hearing anything really new, except in Brazillian jazz. And maybe that wasn't so much new as new to my ear. Many years ago i went to hear Wynton Masalis live. Obviously the man is a great musician. Any musician who is adept at both classical and jazz has my respect. I found his music, however, not exciting. He played what I will call older jazz. I like Brad Meldhau and have seen him live a few times. Clearly he is a great musician, and I appreciate that, but I am not excited by it anymore. Whereas when I put on Tania Maria or Flora Purim, I am literally up dancing at my old age. I went to hear Melissa Aldana live and she excited me because I found her voice to be new and unique. Although, like most young saxaphonists, she was influenced by Coltrane, her notes wavered softly in a way I'd never heard before. In a way, I felt like the first time I heard Stan Getz (backing up Astrid Gilberto on the Johnny Carson show.) What's this! My young mind asked of my young body. I'd never heard anything like that before. Bossa Nova. Wow! At that time (I was probably 15) I listened to Wagner in classical music. I have a lot of jazz records I haven't listened to in many, many years, and I am beginning to pull them out again to see what I missed the first time I listened. And I am reeducating my ear to jazz classics. I have also been streaming some female sax players like Anat Cohen. I may be old, but I want to listen to new things, especially jazz. Back to my poem. Yes, it does take a lot of work to become a jazz musician. I don't think it is work, though, for those who were born with a passion for music. I like to say I get lost when I am writing, and I love being lost creatively. All of these musicians, whether I think they are exciting or not, are excited by music. And that is what I mean at the end of my poem by "garce lands anyplace/ like snowflakes/ promiscuously kissing faces. I think of how so many of these jazz musicians were born into poverty, yet they were kissed by the muse who does seem to be promiscuous. I think that's partly what the movie Amadaeus was about. So, stuartk, I think you and I are on the same page, except you can play guitar and I was a failure at playing guitar. I love music, but cannot make it. I was not promiscuously kissed, at least not by the muse of music. Thank you for not abandoning me. I know I can be a pain sometimes. |
I agree-- we are very much on the same page although I do think you are romanticizing a bit if you really believe there is not work involved in mastering Jazz. Like any art form, it takes commitment and and discipline and the further one wishes to go, the more it requires of the individual. The Coltrane’s and Shorters may make it seem easy but for most of us, art is not easy. Having said that, I was watching an interview with Diane Seuss (digressing to poetry, here) the other day and she said writing poems has never been "effortful" for her. I wish I could say the same about my writing process! BTW, I don’t find you to be a pain at all. That never entered my mind. |
stuartk, writing poetry was never difficult for me because I was bursting with something to say and I wanted very badly to say it. I studied with Gary Snyder and other notable poets, so I had a technical foundation. Once a poem burst out of me, like the Coltrane poem which I did write on a roadside, then I lovingly worked on it to refine what I wanted to say. But I don't write poetry anymore. Writing prose, on the other hand, is a bitch. I should be working on my novel, but it's more pleasurable to write you. I think I was touched with poetry. I started writing in 9th grade. My high school poems were good enough to get me entry into a much-coveted spot in Gary Snyder's upper-division class at Berkeley. I was hungry for the tools he gave me. To me poetry is a burst of emotion crafted into form. Prose, prose, prose... it is too long to be a burst of anything. And I do tons of research. I have been researching the book I'm working on for at least fifteen years. I didn't even know exactly what the book was about until research led me there. From my research, I believe that music was first made during humanity's spiritual quest, about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. Nietsche says there is no tragedy without music. And we all know there is not ecstasy without music. I think Coltrane had a direct pipeline into music's spirituality. I'm listening to Pharoah Sanders now, and he shared what Coltrane had. So did Alice Coltrane, whom I think should be on anybody's list of top jazz musicians. The musicians you mentioned to me, Davis, Shorter, Coltrane, Parker, all broke through some barrier. And barriers are only broken with raw emotion. Parker brought us into bebop. Out of bebop, Coltrane and Miles took us into a raw, spiritual territory that jazz had not yet explored, at least not in their way. I am not saying that they did not have to work, but I'm saying I don't think it was "work" for them. If somebody falls in love with somebody else, it is not work to spend days traveling to see them, even for a short time. Coltrane had something bursting to get out of him, and fI think he would have been anxious to find the tools and learn how to use them |
Roots of jazz: for those discussing the roots of jazz, I think the U.S. and Brazil are two countries where jazz and pop emerged because they're such melting pots with so many roots. Early jazz had so many influences. Obviously the blues from slaves and other Blacks, but there was also Scotch-Irish influences, and Jewish Klezmer music. The Gershwins were clearly part of jazz's beginnings, and Italian singers weren't wanting. This is one area of the arts where Europe had to look to the Americas. |
Some thoughts on this interesting discussion. @audio-b-dog , welcome to the thread! I greatly appreciate it when someone shows great passion for this great art form. One of its beauties is how it (any art) can touch each of us differently and in unique ways. This goes straight to why, with all respect, I disagree with some of what you wrote. This is a personal matter and not a criticism. I think it is very important to remember that one’s reaction to the amount of “emotionality” that a musician is perceived to express is very often as much a reflection of the listener as it is of the musician in question. It is very easy (and unfair) to label a musician as “lacking emotionality”, “intellectual”, or, conversely, “soulful” outside the context of our own unique sensibilities as listeners. I think that one should be very careful to not judge too quickly and instead be more respectful of what, instead, might be a very nuanced and personal way with emotionality. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t have preferences, but sometimes we are influenced by things that have little to do with musicality. **** men show their swagger by the way they move their shoulders when they walk. Women show their swagger by the way they move their hips**** Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a woman’s hips as much as any man, but I don’t see what that has to do with expression of swagger (or anything else) in their playing. I don’t understand why the distinction is made between “female singers” and “musicians”. Female (and male, obviously) singers ARE musicians. Some singers are every bit the musician that the greatest instrumentalists are. Personally, I don’t get the preoccupation with “the feminine”. Stereotypes can be a dangerous thing when judging art. Re the history of the music. While it is very true that the “swing” and “call and response” elements of Jazz has its roots in African culture, European concepts of melody and harmony were equally important in its development. And, yes, the greats WORK at their craft. Work very hard. The greats practice incessantly and it isn’t always a fun endeavor. Sometimes it is painstaking and frustrating, but, yes, rewarding in the end. Since you admire female Jazz artists so, have you checked out Mary Lou Williams? Very important figure in Jazz. Again, welcome to the thread. |
Lucky you! Looking back, now, I regret not having tried to get into an MFA writing program but my life went in other directions (BA in studio art and an MA in Counseling Psych). My writing is getting better but largely working on my own, progress has been slow. I’m currently working with a mentor I found on The Brooklyn Poets’ "Bridge" site. BTW, like Snyder, I live in the Sierra Foothills.
Words of wisdom. I suspect this recognition may be more difficult for those of us who naturally gravitate to players who are more emphatically effusive. ... But then, maybe not. I don’t think anyone would describe Bill Evans as effusive but his live V. Vanguard version of "My Foolish "heart" has always been a very emotive listening experience for me. In fact, it’s one of my very favorite Jazz recordings. There seems to be little logic involved, when it comes to our likes/dislikes, or if there is, it’s subtle and convoluted.
Thanks for the intro to Nakamoto.
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@audio-b-dog, I may have felt the way you’ve felt when I first encountered this thread, but after awhile, slowly, I could not disavow the sheer musical talent and universal vibes of the artists shared here. The musical vibrations that my fellow members have shared here will never be recorded again. And what fascinates me the most of the music (played) posted here is, believe it or not is mostly "NEW" to me. And ain’t nothing like one of your partner’s introducing (turning you on!) you to new music! For example, if you click on @stuartk’s recent link: You will see and notice - it is a small universe unto itself of music I and most here have never even heard of before! I had no idea when I came here that jazz was so bountiful! I thought it was a finite medium. Also keep in mind that most of us here have some very badass bosco audiophile grade rigs to which to reproduce these heavenly vibrations on wax, cd, reel to reel and even maybe streamer sometimes. So that has a lot to do with keeping this jazz vibe alive also This thread was started by orpheus10 in Now I see you claim to be a aficionado of the so called Brazilian jazz? Hmmm? But what I see is your machinations of ’Brazilian Jazz’ are really music that was recorded in and for and released in the US market. Do I have your attention now? Again I say, believe it or not, if you care to look and delve into this thread, there is some ’show nuff’ made, written, produced, played, recorded, sung in Portuguese, and pressed in Brazil for Brazilian consumption, ’straight up’ Brazilian jazz (jazz Brasileiro) here in this very thread! That's if you care, or should I say dare to look! And then YOU will be introduced (tuned on!) to REAL Brazilian jazz...right here. Surely if you comeback, and we all here hope you do, we will look forward to your posts and music that you can share with us, indeed. As someone here once told me, ’don’t be a stranger’... Tchau
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Frogman, I meant no disrespect to Wynton Marsalis. I have recordings of him playing both jazz and classical music. And I was very impressed with his knowledge of jazz when he was interviewed in Ken Burns' great series on Jazz. I'm an old guy and I've heard a lot of music, and I've come to a point where I like what I like. I often tend toward 'abstract' jazz, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Flora Purim. At other times I like old-school jazz. I've been playing a lot of the album of Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden playing standards. But I think you're right that I should express my views with more respect. And I will. Ty Ray, a lot of the Brazillian jazz I own (on vinyl) was pressed in Brazil. I have old Wando albums from the sixties that were impossible to find in the U.S. Most, if not all, of my Tania Maria albums are from Brazil. I go fairly deep into Brazilian music. I would venture to say that you could spend a week at my house listening to my reocrdings of Brazilian music for ten hours a day and not get through it all. I know a bit about the different roots, but I don't lean toward history. I just like certain things and then maybe find out a bit about it. I even have recordings of Brazilian musicians who are still fairly young (in my book) like Luciana Souza. I went to hear her live several years ago. But thank you folks for the welcome. I look forward to reading and learning. |
@jafant, Elaine Elias is new to me! I’m one of those ’gatos’ who got deep into not only music from the times of the 1959 movie Black Orpheus (Orfue Negro) 1959 Trailer but the even older historical music from the birthplace of Samba itself, Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. Oh I got it bad! Real bad! @audio-b-dog, I have probably thousands of albums of Brazilian music on flac. I was trying to learn Portuguese by what I call ’the easy way’ by downloading (bootlegging?) music from Brazil and listening to it. Actually here is the very site I got most of my Brazilian music from and it’s still active! Flabbergasted Vibes P.S. I hope I haven’t taught you to much, to fast! We want you to come back... |
@mahgister, oowee! I have to say, Mari Nakamoto, a first blush, is very Nancy Wilson-esk! |
What I’ve found is that, with age, it’s become more challenging to avoid being constrained by preferences developed over decades of listening. I don’t know whether this is inevitable or to what degree this may be circumvented but for me, at least, it’s a real issue. It’s become harder and harder to discover music that really grabs me. This is one reason I lurk around this thread. ;o)
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stuartk, I think it's true for everybody that as we age our tastes tend to get frozen in time. I also try to resist this by going to concerts and hearing new things. I live in L.A., so there's plenty of music around. I also have granddaughters (twins) who just entered college and they introduce me to new pop music. And I also poke around the internet and that's how I found this forum. As you know, one of my loves is Brazillian music, and I have checked out new Brazilian groups, but a lot of it is rap related. To me, rap has little to no feminine side, and often tends toward misogyny. Explaining my resistance to the misogynistic would take a long time. You'll have to read my book when I finish it. |