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.
After my 3 hours listening of this 6 cd box...( i am lucky to have almost another 4 hours to go)
Wayne Shorter and Lee Morgan "The complete Vee Jay sessions"
I really think that it is one of the greatest jazz album series of all time...
Shorter is not less than pure genius on the saxophone, and believe me i am particularly "picky" for ANY sax part.... Lee Morgan is abolutely one of the more gifted trumpeter there ever is...What is miraculous Is that these 2 plays at the same level AND in absolute symbiosis and complementarity.... Which is not so much common to begin with.... And their lever of playing is indeed of the highest order.... I am breathless...
The other many various musicians are absolutely top one also, at near the level of the two masters....
If there is a greatest i would be in the mood and with reason greatly inclined to vote for Armstrong....
It is the first i has listen to at my teens years, his voice and instrument sunny and luminous craftmanship, and his role and influence in all jazz at the golden era....i think it is a good choice for the best ever....
My law: Even if there is no best in the world there is always one in our heart....
But i will be very annoyed to choose a best or a "better" trumpeter between for example , Lee Morgan, Miles Davis and Chet Baker...
We can judge an artist on many counts too numerous to enumerate, and not all listeners could perceive each one of these numerous factors by which we can judge a player anyway...
It is our natural ability, our knowledge of music, and mostly our tastes history and our sensibility coming from our brain or heart connections in some order, that determine our favored choices...
For example if we choose only 3 factors among many others:
-pure virtuosity and ability to play dynamically with all sounds potential of the instrument at the "same time",
-musical innate talent to improvise and create astounding complex musical development on the spot and without safeguard,
-Ability to create a unique timbre and more than that ability to make the instrument not only sing but spoke, in a word ability to interpret a melody..
Only for these 3 factors which trumpeter is the best?
Answer: there is no best for these 3 factors together at the same time...No trumpeter by himself beat all the other trumpeters on these 3 counts taken simultaneously...
And if i add a fourth factor completely different, ability to play with others to merge and emerge at the right time...
Who is the best trumpeter with these 4 factors?
I can add a fifth factor which would be a new one or a precise sub-part aspect of these 4....
Ad infinitum......
Myself for reason i could explained but which are of no importance to every one else here now , the trumpeter i love the most is Chet Baker...
Chet Baker is not the best or the better trumpeter there is on all counts, even me i know this; but i love him so much because of his imperfections on the first two counts, he concentrate on the third factor in a way that is unforgettable and look like or speak like no other with most of the times the slow pace of a beating heart..
Once it’s said, we keep each one of us like a personal sacred treasury our privileged relation to whom we chose....
pjw, I appreciate your effort at peace and equanimity, but I think the issue is not the differences of opinion and their relative merit, but the inability to have and express an opinion without the retort being abrasive and condescending. Expressing the details of why one holds a particular opinion should be an opportunity to, if not learn, understand a different point of view. Blanket dismissal of an opinion without offering any specific reasons why won’t hold water and is an opportunity lost because there is so much going on in this music. For instance, you wrote:
**** frogman the studio solos on a lot of jazz albums are improvised just as in a live setting. ****
Of course. I hope I didn’t write anything that caused you to think that I thought differently. I said nothing of the sort. So, wouldn’t it be best to be able to have a dialogue about the reasons why the disconnect may exist? It does all go directly to the music. I think so.
Ok I will try my best to help out with this ongoing trivial distraction which only takes away from the mostly positive experience of JFA.
First and foremost since when are jazz aficionados not allowed to have a difference of opinions. This is not 1938 Nazi Germany is it?????
That said I will attempt a resolution and address our OP first. I know you are a big Lee Morgan fan and aficionado of his talented trumpet playing. I agree that on the studio album Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers A Night In Tunisia here: Acoustic Sounds Lee Morgan hits the high registers quite often and sounds great doing it. However it is highly possible that on the live version Morgan could have been doped up, a little drunk, maybe a combination of both, maybe hungover or in need of a "fix" or maybe he was just plain exhausted that particular night. Any of the reasons I have stated could have effected his playing on his solo - THAT PARTICULAR RENDITION RECORDED LIVE THAT NIGHT.
frogman the studio solos on a lot of jazz albums are improvised just as in a live setting. Also live recording equipment in those days was sub par and may effect the end result. The reasons I gave O10 above certainly could have an effect on a musician. So yes your opinion that Morgan was unusually playing in the high register on that live recording and on THAT PARTICULAR RECORDING THAT NIGHT sounded "off" is not without merit.
YOU BOTH HAVE GOOD POINTS AND I RESPECT BOTH OPINIONS
The solos in question are not opinions; we are talking about one of the greatest jazz trumpeters who ever lived, playing a solo on one of the greatest jazz tunes ever written; our opinions have nothing to do with that.
O-10, you know by now that I enjoy dialogue as long as it does not turn contentious and insulting.
Of course there is a significant difference between the two solos; and yes the solo in question appears on the live recording, but not the record. They are entirely different solos. As they should be. That is the whole point of Jazz improvisation, no?
I never felt his solo was controversial in any musical sense. It became controversial HERE for some reason which, as I see it, was totally unnecessary: your objection to what I wrote re the character of a part of that particular solo. My opinion, not yours; or are we not allowed to have opinions that may differ from yours?
O-10, I fail to see how a solo on a live version of the tune has anything to do with the solo on the record. Having said that, I will try and clarify even further by rewriting that sentence:
** “Tunisia” is from the same concert as the earlier “Moanin” with the great, but mysteriously controversial (HERE!) Lee Morgan solo. **
No additional controversy intended when I wrote the first version of the comment. It was done simply to explain which clip I was referring to. So I think we can move on.
Moanin' is a jazz album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers recorded in 1958 for the Blue Note label and released in 1959
According to Frogman, there was a "Great but mysteriously controversial Lee Morgan solo"
Tunisia” is from the same concert as the earlier “Moanin” with the great, but mysteriously controversial Lee Morgan solo.
"Moanin" was popular on the radio, and on juke boxes in cities all over the country, and this is the first time I heard of this "Great but mysteriously controversial Lee Morgan solo"
I would appreciate it if Frogman could amplify, expand, and clarify that statement.
I've been listening to the album since 59, and this is the first time I heard of a "Great but mysteriously controversial Lee Morgan solo"
Glad you liked the Ray Charles clips, mahgister and keegiam and beautifully put comments.
Amazing genius and, as mahgister states, “on a spiritual journey”. Comments like that may seem hyperbolic, but there is no better way to describe and explain the extraordinary musical power. One of those artists whose musical force can completely transcend and overcome any musical shortcomings in the accompanying band. Of course, the extent of a musical shortcoming is a relative thing and when one is talking about an inspired genius no one will be on quite the same level. Still…….
“Song For You” is a perfect example and goes to one of my comments re the “Tunisia” clips: the difference between the sound and feel of a working band and that of a more loosely put together group of musicians put together for a special event. There is no doubt in my mind that had Ray had his own drummer for that live performance that the performance would have been taken to an even higher level as is the case on the other two live clips in which Ray’s big band was playing. Yet, Ray was like a musical lightning bolt on stage and one can just ignore the drummer’s uninspired groove. The groove came almost entirely from Ray; an amazing thing particularly at such a slow tempo.
Speaking of slow tempo. Btw, one of my favorite Ray stories is told in the first listener comment:
Fabulous Ray Charles clips. He was much more than a generational genius - he heard, understood, and shared with us an entire century of America's unique and treasured musical heritage. We can hear it all when he plays and sings. Just close your eyes and let him take you there.
Thank you so much for that beautiful Nicolo Pellegrino piece. 10 years old and playing oboe with such reverence for the music - not to mention his musicianship. Very refreshing and downright inspiring. BTW, he didn't need sheet music.
Ray Charles is way more than a musical genius...He is a spiritual artist whose mission is to manifest only humanity and kindness ....And this mission never manifest so clearly than in his old age.....
I agree that this (bw) great version of “Tunisia” with Blakey was probably played on tour. The smaller drum set is what Blakey would have been taking on tour, for practical reasons. However, I think that it was in Brazil, not Europe. That “Tunisia” is from the same concert as the earlier “Moanin” with the great, but mysteriously controversial Lee Morgan solo. Reading between the lines, and looking at the listed copyright info on the link one can see that it was licensed by a Brazilian media company. Add to that how all the players pick up percussion instruments at one point; a bit of showmanship as a nod to Brazilian culture where practically everyone, musician or not, plays a percussion instrument. I would guess it was a televised concert.
Two great versions of “Tunisia”, but apples and oranges and enjoyable in very different ways. The first with Timmons, Morgan et al: classic feel, relaxed, with fabulous solos, and clearly a Blakey vibe. Also, and as Rok points out feeling a little “organized”. The second (color): definitely more boisterous and very exciting. Maclean kills with, for me, the best solo of all. The feel is entirely different. Almost like that of a jam session. Much more to the Latin side of things: faster, and very forward and on top of the beat; almost hectic. The presence of Hidalgo on congas definitely adds to that vibe.
However, I think the title is a little misleading. Blakey did have a working big band in the 50’s and recorded an album with that name, but to the best of my knowledge he didn’t have a working big band during the period of this concert. It seems to me to be some special event/concert with a lot of big names including a lot of the young lions at the time. An all star show of sorts with a lot of Blakey alumni. The feel is a lot less “Blakey” than the other clip and less that of a working band; not surprising since he lays out and other drummers play about half the time. To quote the last remaining aficionado on JFA: “more does not mean better”.
The Black and white performance was good, but seemed well rehearsed. Sort of MJQish. But no complaints.
The color version was more
boisterous
. More like Jazz's true element and spirit. Notice how when McLean turned to Griffin, Griffin was not ready. :) Loved that. Much better audience support. Neither can be faulted no matter how Snarky a snarky is, but I would rather have been at the color version.
I bet the B&W version was in Europe. Notice how Blakey's drum set grew from the B&W to the color. But more does not mean better.
1:11am This post is for the true blue "Jazz Aficionado", the kind who can just sit and listen, enjoying the music for an entire afternoon; not the snarky fake kind who finds fault with everything.
I would like to bring your attention to two very different versions of "Night In Tunisia" by Art Blakey:
Yes, in the Deep Ellum area of Dallas. Opened in the late 90's and shut down around decade ago. It was a small venue with only seating at the bar, said to hold 2000 standing people. I never saw more than a few hundred and always found a seat on something. Not fancy but great to see up and coming music before they made it or went away. Saw a lot of very good bands that just went away.
Pjw, one of my desert island disk. Saw them at the Gypsy Tea Room. Also saw an early Wilco show there.
In Dallas Texas?
I know it seems like a dumb question but there are many, restaurants and pubs in America, and I am sure globally, named "The Gypsy Tea Room". We have one in NYC...
For Be-Bop Dizzy Gillespie - Oop bop Sh' bam Dizzy Gillespie - Salt Peanuts Both recorded in the early 50's
Supersax on their 1977 record "Chasin' the Bird." Among others
Miles Davis up to Bitch's Brew (JMO - but maybe one day I'll "get it") Supersax on their 1977 record "Chasin' the Bird" Oscar Peterson - We Get Requests or just about any O.P. album
That phrase made me jump out of my chair, like a good professional !
I know Italy makes many fine musicians but this kid , in a Catholic Church and so humble ........................................ God has Blessed Him Greatly .
To be able to play the oboe with such intonation at 10 years of age is remarkable. To be able to feel and know how to turn a phrase at his age is amazing! God bless him. If I were to learn that he also makes his own reeds I would fall off my chair.
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