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.
I finally reinstalled my CD Transport to the system and was digging through a box of disks a pulled out Doin’ Alright. Dexter Gordon, Freddie Hubbard, Horace Parlin, George Tucker, Al Harewood. Originally recorded on May 6, 1961 in the Rudy Van Gelder studio and reworked by RVG in 2003.
@curiousjim, good for you. I recently sold my EVERSOLO DMP-A8 streamer, dac, preamp, so my Shanling ET3 Digital CD Transport is down right now too until I purchase another dac. I got about a thousand cd’s boxed up that I haven’t heard in years.
@acman3 (and others too)I do not know why, but this album has been issued under few different titles. Check it out, if you have not already, its a nice one
@curiousjim, @tyray, I haven't been playing CDs since forever until I started contributing to this forum. Much of my jazz is on CD, SACD, and DVD Audio. I have a twenty-year-old McCormack multi-disk player and run it through my Moon 280 D Streamer, which I think is a great product for the money.
For people who get up in the morning like I do, not quite ready for the world, a great soft, pretty album is Jobim's "Wave." It soothes my brainwaves.
@stuartk, this Jorge Ben album may be a good introduction to the music of Brasil as this album and especially the song ’Mas Que Nada!’ was a monster hit not only in Brasil but in the states too, for you to check out...And of course, everyone else here also.
Jorge Ben changed his name to Jorge Ben Jor and in 1975 released the album Africa Brasil. At 2:23 of this song you will notice a striking resemblance to the Rod Stewart song of ’Do ya think I’m sexy’ and Jorge Ben Jor sued the ’bejeebers’ out of Rod Stewart for copyright infringement and won, big time.
@tyray, I have a Jorge Ben album (Personalidade) from Brazil I haven't played in God knows how long. Maybe twenty years. Maybe more. I'll have to pull it out and listen.
@tyray, We have probably covered Webster and Hawk along these pages somewhere, but still, here are few albums that you might like that are perhaps not so 'obvious'...
Marcos Valle - The Lost Sessions - 1967 This guy is kinda like the Stevie Wonder of Brazil, with a prolific amount of music he has put out over the years. If you may be of interest in his music, click on this Marcos Valle - Topic link and you will find almost a 1000 videos with I don't know how many of his albums are there.
I was gonna post ’SONNY CLARK TRIO The 1960 Sessions w/ George Duvivier and Max Roach’ Full Double Album but that was already posted here some years ago by @orpheus10, I think?
I used to have over 5000 CD’s. I ripped a bunch and just plain gave away a bunch, but I still have about 2500 left. A lot are old favorites like the Beatles and I have many that aren’t on Amazon and Qobuz (the two services I currently have). So I’ll probably play a few hundred disks and then go back to streaming. I really enjoy finding new to me music especially Jazz.
Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve been listening to a handful of other Jorge Ben albums already and a bunch of other MPB recordings.
Perhaps hearing Clube Da Esquina first has ruined me for life. Nothing else I’ve heard (including by Milton) appeals to me by comparison.
My hope was that C.D.E. would be a doorway into a whole new world of musical exploration like I experienced decades ago with Jazz but that’s not seeming to pan out. So much of what I’ve heard so far is what I call "terminally mellow", as if all the artists are stoned on a beach somewhere. I find this quite monotonous no matter how beautiful the melodies.
Perhaps there are other genres of Brazilian music I might like that I simply haven't heard.
@curiousjim, I have been pulling out a bunch of Brazilian CDs I forgot I had. I'm now listening to Selma Reis and Maris Monte. I listened to Jorge Ben yesterday, but my wife was home and I couldn't blast it, the way I think it needed to be. The recordings were made live in an arena and need to fill the hall.
A question has arisen, though. I don't know if any of these are really jazz. They sound more like Brazilian popular music. I have many Brazilian (French, African, etc.) recordings whose genre I've never tried to distinguish. I love Angelique Kidjo, but I'm not sure I'd call it jazz. It doesn't really matter when I'm listening. I like what I like, but for this forum, it might matter?
@stuartk, I think you need to take a couple things into consideration about what you like now and what you don't. First of all, hearing music live is a very different experience. There have been a number of artists I haven't liked until I hear them live.
Then, our tastes change as we age. I think the reason I continue to listen to Tania Maria and Flora Purim is because they are jazz. A lot of the other music I have from Brazil is popular music. And quite frankly, I grew up with American popular music, have been more exposed to it, so I like it better. Even though I took some exotic tours when I was younger, I have returned to Paul Simon, The Band, etc., when it comes to popular music.
@stuartk, you are welcome. I know exactly how you feel about certain Brazilian music genres as it is a acquired taste. I felt the same way when I was first exposed to blues jazz, be and hard bop, Miles, Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker and a host of others were hard core herion addicts and it was a complete shock to me as a young man trying to learn the essence of jazz.
I also think you listen to and know of far more about Brazilian music than you give yourself credit. For example you know what MPB is, were others may not. After hearing Clube Da Esquina has also ruined me and that is why I have described it as an OPUS, for sure. That’s also why I’ve tried to post here what I call Brazilian jazz, made by and for Brazilians other than the more Bossa Nova and MPB influenced tunes for the same reasons you state above. Unlike others, I don’t equate Bossa Nova to Jazz. I look at them as two different music mediums.
Brazil does have a very big beach culture but there are far more mediums of music in Brazil. In the states we have about 40 different types of music were as in Brazil they have about 60 different types of music. Brazil was founded about 100 years before Plymouth Rock so they’ve had much more time to develop their music culture.
I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of Hermeto Pascoal. Miles Davis referred to Hermeto Pascoal as "one of the most important musicians on the planet". He also called him "the most impressive musician in the world," according to Red Bull Music Academy Daily. These accolades highlight Davis’s high regard for Pascoal’s musical talent and innovation. Maybe try and re-introduce yourself to his music.
I’ve actually seen a Candomble ceremony in Salvador, Bahia Brazil and other forms of Brazilian music up close and personal, being played by some masters of their craft so I have a very different outlook than just someone listening to an lp.
One thing I do know. This jazz for aficionados thread is a stunning depository of music unlike anything I’ve ever seen or heard before. I wouldn’t be surprised if this thread is Smithsonian worthy.
Thanks for your understanding and for sharing your knowledge and experience. I suspect I wouldn’t be frustrated if I didn’t believe, given the richness and diversity of Brazilian culture, there surely must be some style of Brazilian music that will appeal to me. Despite the tone of my previous post, I’m not ready to give up. I will check out H. Pascoal.
No doubt you are right. I can’t help (whether consciously or unconsciously) but compare Brazilian Pop to the American music that’s far more familiar to me. I’m used to greater dynamic contrasts and variety of mood as opposed to the more understated, mellow MPB approach. Clube Da Esquina is not in this ultra mellow vein, however. The later "Milton" with H. Hancock and W. Shorter is good if not quite as timeless and and invigorating as Clube:
I like Flora Purim but the 70’s Fusion-tinged recordings that I’ve revisited now sound pretty dated to me, although I haven’t listened to all of them. Yesterday I was listening to some of Airto’s early solo recordings, some of which feature Flora’s vocals. I hadn’t heard those before and am interested enough to listen some more.
I will make a point of going through Flora’s recordings more comprehensively to see if there are some that might appeal to me that I’ve either forgotten or never heard.
I’d also suggest you do a search not only on his albums but check out some of his gigs with/on Miles albums too, and if you like any of them, post ’em here...
Just in case anyone wants to know what Milton Nascimento album @stuartkand I are talking about it’s the Opus O Clube Da Esquina 1972 - Full Album. The whole entire album is a banger. You can tell he listened to a lot of the Beatles...
@stuartk, @tyray, the Flor Purim album I come back to again and again is "Encounter." I don't think it can be appreciated over computer speakers. I need to play it loud. I bought it when I was buying a lot of Flora Purim albums and for years it was the one I couldn't listen to. Just too abstract. Then one day it clicked and now it's my favorite of her albums. I think it is super sophisticated jazz. Probably the second of her albums is "Stories To Tell," and again her voice goes into abstraction. She can do things with her voice that I have never heard any other singer do. She can "hear" things that few singers can hear. You know how we were talking about everybody in a jazz band inferring the beat, yet nobody hitting right on the beat. She does the same with the melody. Once you can hear the inference... very, very cool!
Fantastic, very good! Hermeto Pascoal's style of music is derived from the Northeast of Brazil from the town of Lagoa da Canoa in the state of Alagoas.
No, I have not heard of Jorge Strunz of Costa Rica. In fact I can't say I've had the pleasure of listening to any Costa Rican music, that I know of?
You gotta remember audiogon is a site dedicated to all sorts of audio equipment usage first, not just sharing music. So everyone's rig may be much different than someone else's rig.
Some here have just a turntable an integrated amplifier/stereo receiver and a set of stand alone speakers. While others may or may not have a turntable, streamer and some just use their computer as their front end as a streamer and use powered speakers for playback, stand alone or desktop.
I know you mean no harm, but I notice that sometimes you use absolutes in equipment usage without regarding what others may or may not have for music playback.
Also keep in mind when we use youtube we use it only as an easy tool that we have at our disposal. Including all the function buttons at the top of the audiogon page where we post our messages to each other.
I agree with you about Flora's voice. She is a Brazilian Sorceress with her voice inflections which draw you in and you gotta listen to her!
@tyray, I get you on various people's audio gear. I do try to keep down my references to equipment. But some things you just can't get unless you can kick up the volume. I made reference to myself not being able to listen to Jorge Ben properly because my wife was home. I could tell that he wouldn't come across properly unless I played him loud, which I'll do the next time I have the house to myself. Flora Purim's "Encounter" is an album that requires a certain amount of volume. I never play it when my wife is home. Flora needs to take over the room. And I'm not judging anyones rig--I'm just saying she needs room. And I also wanted to let people know that I literally couldn't get what she was doing for many years. I'd try to take a taste and then have to turn her off. Eventually, she educated my ear. My neighbor has a fairly inexpensive stereo but he kicks it up (I know I can hear it next door), and he does fine with the Stones and other rock he listens to. He also loves my stereo and has pronounced that he will gladly inherit it when I die. And maybe he will, because nobody in my family has room for it or even knows how to turn it on.
’In terms of his influence on other musicians, most notably those he worked with directly, his unwavering dedication to a life of music and the uniqueness of his artistic vision, Hermeto Pascoal is almost without peer. It would not be an injustice to either musician, to compare him to Sun Ra.’
’The chickens’ clucking sounds remarkably like a wah-wah guitar, before the whole thing explodes into the kind of wild, sculpted cacophony usually considered the preserve of Sun Ra.’
’The same could equally be said of the occasional comparisons to Zappa elsewhere in Pascoal’s music.’
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