Jazz for aficionados
Lol! Good on yah! Not only am I an album head, but I’m a bass head too. I’ve been a bass head ever since my big baby sister brought home her first James Brown 45’s, and as she got older, albums. As my parents had a ’stereo console’. And of course James Jamerson of Motown too. It also helped that as a kid in music class I picked up the drums. Ahh, those days in the 5th grade of being in a garage band! Although I gotta say, I’m also a big Ray Brown and Ron Carter fan too. I saw SC back in ’85 and by then he had a bunch of his own albums out. It was at the Fox Theater in Atlanta and the country at the time was going through some massive snow storms and he made it to the show but his band got snowed in at the airport and he showed up with an old ’stage’ wooden 4 legged round seat stool, an amp, a mic and a cigar and played solo for at least 45 minutes to an hour an jammed so hard he almost tore the place down! Even though he is a thumper, I’ve often admired his melodic side the most. Case in point here: Stanley Clarke "Lisa" Passenger 57 from the 1992 album - Passenger 57 The way he plays the piccolo bass is simply unmatched. This is the song that got me really getting into SC: Stanley Clarke - Journey To Love - Silly Putty 1975 along with this Jeff Beck ’guesting’ tune entitled Stanley Clarke - Journey to Love - Journey to Love 1975 on the same album.
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@jafant, @mahgister, I go to hear jazz at the Soraya Theater at Northridge State University. Great theater! Last year I heard Joshua Redman, Christian McBride, and Brad Meldhau. Great concert. Redman played a piece on soprano sax and before he played the next piece on soprano, he said that sax players avoided doing two pieces in a row on soprano. He was a really charming guy. Here is a taste from Cassandra Wilson's album Traveling Miles. She's a very soulful singer: |
How could I've forgotten about this SC album? Stanley Clarke - Stanley Clarke 1974 Full Album |
I haven’t heard Redman play soprano but one thing I’ve noticed is that not all sax players are equal in terms of the tone they can get out of a soprano. Apparently, it’s not easy to get a round tone out of a soprano. Back in the day, "Journey to Love was my favorite" S.C. album. BTW, when I saw RTF, my favorite portion of the show was when Corea, Clarke and diMeola played acoustic solos. |
@tyray, I have so many CDs of Brazilian music, many of female singers. I'll post from time to time. Regarding my interest in musical influences, when I was young I taught in a school for kids with emotional problems. I knew my 8th grade history class would never be able to follow a history book, so I decided to have the kids go through the historical process with something they were interested in--rock n' roll. So we went through rock and all its various influences. One of the kids in the school was a savant, so if we were stuck he could tell us the very date on which a single came out and what was on the other side. That exercise made me interested in how music developed, where it came from and what its influences were. I thought maybe it would be easier in Brazil than the U.S., but it doesn't sound like it is. I'm now listening to Angelique Kidjo's "Djin Djin." It's not jazz. I guess it's African popular music. But it's a great album. |
@stuartk, I love that album! It's not printed on great vinyl so I've worn it out several times and have to keep looking for a mint copy. When I was taking classical guitar lessons, my teacher told me that was a great album so I went out and bought my first of many copies. Not that she was a jazz singer, but my teacher also told me what a great singer Donna Summer was, so I went out and bought the best of her. A very sexy lady! |
@audio-b-dog @stuartk @acman3, Guys, I can’t thank you enough. Chick Corea · Return To Forever · Light As A Feather 1973, Stanley Clarke · Children Of Forever 1973 and a host of Flora Purim albums got past me back then in the day as I was sooo much into the ’FONK’. You know, with RTF’s more commercial No Mystery and Where Have I known you Before and with some of Airto’s CTI albums I was more into, even with Flora on those Airto’s albums too. I’ve got some ’new’, nice, fantastic, easy listening music catchin up to do.. As legend has it, Chick told Stanley he better learn how to play the electric bass or he'd have to get another bassist. Stanley was a 'purist' and only played acoustic basses at the time. Interesting. Side note, did you know in Portuguese Flora ’Purim’ is pronounced Flora ’Pureen’. The letter m is pronounced the same way we pronounce the letter n in English. |
@tyray, stuartk, @acman3 Flora Purim's last name reminded me of the Jewish holiday Purim. I went onto chatgbt and asked what religion she is. She's a Sephardic Jew like me. Well, she has no religious affiliation, so she's really like me. But she was born into a Sephardic household. I wonder if that has anything to do with her spelling. I lean a lot into the African "commercial" music like Angelique Kido and King Sunny Ade. I'm just pretty much a world music guy. |
@tyray , @audio-b-dog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uou2Xb703U Wish I could’ve seen this group live!
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@tyray, Angelique Kidjo is a massive world star. I've seen her live twice and she's a force to be reckoned with. She's won a lot of awards, including 5 grammies. I have several of her CDs, including Djin Djin. I also have one of her singing her most known hits prior to Djin Djin. She's a delight to behold. Here she is singing one of her famous hits along with a full symphony orchestra: |
This here, is a live Jam Session.
Thank you, tyray
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Thanks for the RTF link! ... and for those who like me, prefer RTF with Bill Connors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ-5FebS7Qc&list=PLvzqeclTHZ5ch8HxJOYoFY2h-VOaXanLH&index=5
Yes , I know. I posted it above ! ;o)
Joe Farrell discography:
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Ahh...I missed 1other album I have. George Benson & Joe Farrell – Benson & Farrell CTI 1976 |
I was 14 when i bought my only one Rolling Stone album... Good showmanship, great musical talents...I listened to it perhaps 2 times from one song to the last... I regretted buying this perfect album designed for a certain crowd ( wanted to be rebels) No musical interest for me even at 14... I was from a very poor family and paid for it a high price for me by the way ... I learned to differentiate music from perfect musical show... I apologize i confuse this answer in my haste about Rolling Stone with another thread not this jazz thread... Anyway, what is said is said...
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Then i understand you... I moved to Leo Ferré.... If i had known him i would have bought a Marvin Gaye album instead of Rolling Stone... I did not want to disparage Rolling Stone they were talented but with no moving "jazz" element for me nor "poetry" for me....
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Just curious, when you said "no moving jazz element" re: the Stones, did you mean it didn’t "move you" emotionally, or did you mean something else? I’d never heard of Leo Ferré, so I typed his name into Google and this was the first result: In 1970, when this song was first released, I was 14. I don’t think I could’ve related to the sentiment or handled the emotional intensity at that age.
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@maghister, I didn't have a lot of money growing up either. I would work odd jobs and use the money to buy records. All of the records I bought in high school were classical. I couldn't stand the bubble-gum music on the radio. When I got to college friends introduced me to jazz and some of the better pop. I was very lucky to go to Berkeley in the mid-sixties. I saw Sunny Terry and Brownie McGhee several times, once at a party where I was sitting at their feet. Big Mama Thorton sang on the bar in a joint I went to. I went to San Francisco to hear Pharoah Sanders in person. I went to the Fillmore Auditorium to hear Mary Wells and Otis Redding. Plus other interesting rock groups like The Dead. I met a girl and she introduced me to the Beatles. I would have danced with her to anything. I introduced her to Stravinsky. Music has been woven through my life since I can remember. |
Glad to see the great Joe Farrel get some love. Fabulous player. One of my very favorite saxophone players and arguably the best Jazz flutist of all time. Left us way too soon. Check your audiophile hats at the door and check out this amazing bootleg of Joe’s quintet with Tom Harrel. Probably my favorite Tom Harrel on any recording. |
@stuartk, thank you for that concert of Flora Purim. It is so very, very cool. For me, that is jazz at its best. I love to hear Flora Purim scatting, and those Brazilian rhythms are so very difficult. I saw her many, many years ago and have no memory of it. I think I'd heard her record "Angels" in which she sang. I wasn't prepared for the abstract scatting then. Now I love it, and I loved watching her do it. Thanks again. |
Farrell in a bluesy Mingus bag: Solo kicks off around the 3:15 mark, following R. Brecker... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL1bnw6dLS4&list=RDmL1bnw6dLS4&start_radio=1
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@stuartk , for me, yes. An argument can be made that Tabackin is the better flute player, but for me (and others) Farrel is the better Jazz player. Tabackin is a more “impressive” player in that he plays with a huge sound and has a more aggressive approach same as with his tenor playing, but Farrel’s improvisations have a more sophisticated compositional approach. Both great players with different styles. Btw, Farrel was Tabackin’s mentor and helped him get established as a player and would have Farrel sub for him on gigs: https://youtu.be/1BPV1yrcsuQ?si=wQxUu9_c4Qif6YZ1
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He does not moves me at all... But later i recognized the blues element present in the Stones music for sure... I did not knew blues at 14 ... When i discovered it it was with John Lee Hooker who moves me at 17 way more than the Stones... |
Thanks frogman for Joe Farrel recommendation... A new player for me ... I trust all your recommendation...
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I grew with sacred Choral music and folklore songs since birth... Then i had gone my younger years with classical choral before Bach.... Anything else was like inferior to me... He takes me decade to go further than Bach (thanks to Bruckner and Scriabin at thirty ) Then i came to like Jazz long after ... But after discovering Persian-Iranian music and Indian music with the cd invention ... Being poor was also a luck: I learned acoustics instead of buying gear... But being poor to buy albums and books was hard...I bought a house later in life because of my investment in books mainly... Anyway i will stop here ...
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Growing up, all I had was the radio and top 40 music. I’d sleep with it on and before long, I knew every tune, every word. It wasn’t until the seventies that I was able to explore Jazz, Blues, Classical. And my window into Jazz was mostly Weather Report, The Yellow Jackets and The Rippingtons. My first five Jazz records that I bought with my own money those three groups and Herbie Hancock. My knowledge of all the people we talk about here is all within the 2000’s, so I’m still catching up.☺️ |
Thanks for your comments on Farrell vs.Tabackin and Jazz flute. I’ve seen Tabackin just once, with the T. Akioshi - L.Tabackin Big Band in the mid 70’s at U.C.S.B. I asked because never really enjoyed Jazz flute until I heard Tabackin, whose tone, as you undoubtedly know, is often described as "Orientalized". I wasn’t aware of "Inferno (Live)". I’ll have to try to track that one down.
You must be quite an expert! The Blues was the first genre I really connected with as an adolescent, albeit indirectly, through Stones, Cream. Hendrix, J. Joplin. I didn’t hear any authentic Blues until Iate in high school. One of the highlights of my junior year was seeing Freddie King. Interesting. I never would’ve imagined that particular rhythm section paired with Petrucciani.
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What? Sure you could’ve. You didn’t get your heart broken when you were a freshman in highschool like so many of us did? It was and is a part of growing up and life. The love songs I listened to in highschool and tugged at my heart then are still some of my favorite love songs to this day. |
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