The Good Stuff



There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind ... the only yardstick by which the result should be judged is simply that of how it sounds. If it sounds good it's successful; if it doesn't it has failed. --  Duke Ellington

This purpose of this thread is to provide a place to post outstanding examples of the Good Music. 
Genre Immaterial.

On the Old Kentucky Shore // Joan Osborne & Ricky Skaggs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liTdpTz7g5A

My CD has a different cover art, but it is the same album.

Cheers
128x128rok2id

@frogman 

Great clips of Roberts.  These guys appear to be getting older.☺  I have the Blues for the New Millennium CD.  

Cheers

Santana

SANTANA

Columbia / Sony       1969 / 1998

Reminds me of German Discos, Fräuleins and BOSS 302 Mustangs.

 

Jingo : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KOaIc0rkbE

Evil Ways : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPmPFY9PcCs

Persuasion : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iuCcIvO9Xw

Soul Sacrifice : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_wte93tG44

 

Cheers

 

**** These guys appear to be getting older. **** 

😊

In more ways than one. 

Oscar Peterson

AT THE STRATFORD SHAKESPEREAN FESTIVAL

Verve   1956 / 1993

Recorded in concert at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival, Ontario.

 

Falling in Love with Love : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w64-TlgDr1Q

Swinging on a Star : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO1YwrDf7ZI

How High the Moon : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nXtE7JQ9cA

Nuages : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiOCmFtxdcs

 

Cheers

rok , These Oscar Peterson at the Stratford are some

of the best clips ever on here ! Pure Canadian Class . Every note is a jewel, but "How High the Moon " floored me out ! Best trio ever IMO .

.

The one I had was lost in a move , got to get another ..

Cheers

@jim5559

I agree the playing is great, but I wasn’t that impressed with the record SQ. Turns out it’s in Mono, so that might be why it sounds sort of different.  Oscar is usually more in your face.

Cheers

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

OVERTURES

Academy of St. Martin -in-the-Fields --  Neville Marriner

EMI    1982

 

Le nozze di Figaro : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOiTSAH7Bi0

Don Giovanni, K527 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S45XHZbz84s

Der Schauspieldirektor K.486 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqPUdiMosx8

 

Cheers

2id , If you put up a good mono system it can be better with jazz .

I did it for a few years and it was very good .

You don’t need much depth and spead very often .

And Grado makes a nice mono for about 100 $ .

I hear you on Oscar face, , but no joke, a Canadian would tend to move back

with such a great duo . It does make a difference where you are from .

P.S .

4 guys not long out of the 22-3 Canadian French Regiment took off To Ukaine yesterday .

Kicker is one of them was best sniper in Canadian Army .

Another unreal was a Brit Col , tall and strong but at least 65 was in line to sign up.

They said , well Col. we don’t know where to put you , He said, you don’t have to ,I’m signed for 3 months as a common soldier.

 

I NEVER would have thought that people would Pull  together  like they are in a million years.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

AMADEUS (soundtrack)

ASMF -- Neville Marriner

 

Le Figaro :  ah tutti Contenti : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EodlyMbd9A

Don Giovanni :  Commendatore Scene://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9786j94XY4

 

Cheers

Hampton Hawes

THIS IS HAMPTON HAWES / VOL. 2 THE TRIO

Hampton Hawes(piano), Red Mitchell(bass), Chuck Thompson(drums)

Contemporary / OJC      1955-56 / 1987

Notes: Hawes explained that Charlie Parker's influence on him was as strong, or stronger, than any pianist.  "It was Bird's conception of time that influenced me most," he explained, "and made me realize how important meter and time are in Jazz to make it swing."

 

You the Night and the Music : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy9xCv7Oy8M

'Round Midnight : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07x94Fm0q_I

Autumn in New York : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afE5IozB5gY

Blues for Jacque : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVY_nihtdAI

Steeplechase : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUydSup3zEA

 

Cheers

Nuts and bolts

 

It's been a while since I've heard that.  Brings to mind my boy Wynton.

Cheers

Jackie McLean

BLUESNIK

Freddie Hubbard(trumpet), Jackie McLean(alto sax), Kenny Drew(piano), Doug Watkins(bass), Pete La Roca(drums)

Blue Note 1961 / 1989

Notes: "The Blues are here to stay. They pre-dated Jazz, helped form it and have been present through all it’s periods. Jazz without the Blues would be a body minus it’s spine. In retrospect, it is ironic to remember that Charlie Parker was derided by his many critics for having no feeling and accused of leaving Jazz to play another music, when all the time he was basically a powerful Blues player."

 

Bluesnik : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKUyEC5tE6Y

Blues Function : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vgcymkt8eI

Torchin’ : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTxcNOwdDK8

Goin’ Way Blues : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0_5tyZXh1g

 

Cheers

World Saxophone Quartet

PLAYS DUKE ELLINGTON

Julius Hemphill(alto sax), Oliver Lake(alto sax), David Murray(tenor sax), Hamiet Bluiett(baritone sax)

Nonesuch    1986

 

Take the A Train : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIUgou2lrf8

Lush Life : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4Pdar9HLtE

Sophisticated Lady : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ohV5tuI4qE

In a Sentimental Mood : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLz45tFzEnA

 

Cheers

Milt Jackson and Wes Montgomery

BAGS MEETS WES (Keepnews Collection)

Riverside    1961 / 2008

Keepnews Collection : The series follows a specific set of ground rules.  In each case the original product is preserved -- cover art, the notes, and the entire initial recorded content, in the exact original sequence -- and it is now presented with the sonic benefits of 24-bit remastering from the original master tapes.  Alternate takes or originally unissued numbers, when available, appear as bonus tracks.

 

Sam Sack : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJXN86sjuhk

Blue Roz : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09KJQ2lUbYY

S.K.J. : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4B3y-GIpp4

Jingles : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wJ9gEONkQE

Stablemates : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-pReJCN9xI

 

Cheers

Miles Davis

SEVEN STEPS TO HEAVEN

Columbia / Sony   1963 / 2005

 

Frank Butler(drums), Anthony Williams(drums), Victor Feldman(piano), Herbie Hancock(piano), Ron Carter(bass), George Coleman(tenor sax)

Excellent Booklet with much information concerning the formation of Miles's new group and the production of this album.

 

Basin Street Blues : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhfe1SUe2-A

Joshua : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXONYUnppLs

Please come Home : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-W9I-HRD9Y

Seven Steps to Heaven : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQMJv3HuZdU

 

Cheers

The Frogman seems to be in a soulful mood tonight.  I think McLean needs to work on his tone.  Etta and Ray, what is there to say.

 

Cheers

If you’re serious, it’s actually a fabulous tone.  It’s his intonation that is weird. He plays consistently sharp. It got even worse in that respect later in his career, but he swings his ass off.

@frogman 

Is the difference in meaning between TONE and INTONATION in music the  same as it is in speech?

Cheers

Randy Weston / Melba Liston

VOLCANO BLUES

Randy Weston(piano), Wallace Roney(trumpet), Hamiet Bluiett(Baritone sax), Benny Powell(trombone)   and others..

Gitanes Jazz    1993

Guest : Johnny Copeland -- Vocals and acoustic Guitar

 

Volcano : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=157DzDQuiaA

Harvard Blues : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHfnFKoTA7U

Blues for Strayhorn : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGNJWWeApJg

Sad Beauty Blues : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh2M0fxt55w

Blue Mood : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlTurF-3c60

Kucheza Blues : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvEU2SQ1jgs

 

Cheers

**** Is the difference in meaning between TONE and INTONATION in music the same as it is in speech? ****

Interesting question. Not quite the same, but related.

The meaning of “tone” can be said to be the same in both speech and in music. One could say, for example, “Miles’ voice had a raspy tone”; or, “Johnny Hodges had a sweet tone on alto”; just as one could say the same about the character of the sound of a person’s voice. In both cases it refers to the timbral quality of the person’s voice or player’s tone.

“Intonation” has to do with pitch (higher/lower). In speech, the meaning of intonation refers to the rise and fall of the pitch of a person’s voice; used for expressivity and is a big part what we call a person’s ethnic “accent”. In music, “intonation” has to do with the rise and fall of the pitch of the notes in a musician’s playing or singing. HOWEVER, in music this deals with the accuracy of the player’s pitch relative to an agreed upon standard/reference. In an orchestra, before the beginning of a concert, the oboe gives the tuning note; an “A”, most commonly (but not always) A=440 hz. The entire orchestra will use that pitch as a reference; not a little bit higher or lower. In a Jazz setting, the piano’s tuning is the standard. The piano is usually tuned to A=440, give or take a couple of hertz. It is the only instrument in the band that has no flexibility to adjust the tuning on the spot, so it becomes the reference. The bass player and horn players will tune to that reference. The saxophone player’s “A” should be exactly the same as the piano’s. If the piano is tuned a little high, a saxophone player has to push his mouthpiece further unto the neck of the horn, thus shortening the length of the instrument slightly and causing the pitch to be higher. If the piano has been tuned a little low, the saxophone player has to pull the mouthpiece out a little on the neck, thus essentially making the length of the instrument’s tubing a little longer which causes the pitch to go lower. The goal is always for everyone to be “on the same page” pitch (intonation) wise.

Johnny Hodges not only had a sweet tone, but his sense of intonation was great. Jackie Maclean, on the other hand, always played sharp; his pitch center was higher than that laid down by the other instruments. He just heard things that way. Some players have a tendency to play a little under, or a little over the communal pitch center. They simply hear things that way. Most times its subtle and sometimes even manipulated for effect. Other times, when it’s too far in one direction or the other it can be perceived as a “tone” issue when, in reality, it is an “intonation” (pitch) issue. If he were playing by himself with no piano or bass establishing a pitch center, it wouldn’t be noticed (unless the listener has “perfect pitch”).

 

 

@frogman 

Excellent explanation, clearly stated!  As always.  When you have time would you talk about Opera, the rehearsals and the performance.  Who is in charge?  We know a conductor directs the orchestra, but is any direction given to the singers during the performance?  And if so, who does it?  Who is responsible for keeping it all together?

Thanks

Cheers

 

Milt Jackson / Joe Pass / Ray Brown

THE BIG 3

Pablo / OJC    1975 / 1994

Notes: "A sense of time is perhaps the most important weapon in the Jazz soloist's armoury, for it is something purely instinctive, which means that those without it can never hope to acquire it." 

Goes on to talk about the different approaches to time taken by Jackson and Pass.  

 

Blue Bossa : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWPFfLNaxxE

Come Sunday : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7fWVp2nykk

Nuages : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc4dEBvjlS0

The Pink Panther : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QTuve9Sz2c

 

Cheers

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR, Op.77

Gil Shaham (violin)

The Knights / Eric Jacobsen (conductor)

Canary Classics    2019

The Knights : The Knights are proud to be known as "one of Brooklyn's sterling cultural products...known far beyond the borough for their relaxed virtuosity and expansive repertory" (The New Yorker)

Notes: "This CD therefore brings together two of the greatest concertos for violin and orchestra in the entire repertory of Western music."

 

1. Allegro non troppo : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LESBetOxvTc

2. Adagio : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22468CofvrA

3. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbkhphbpdto

 

Cheers

 

 

 

Regarding tone vs. intonation -- as frogman sez....The most lucid analysis I've come across, too.

Kenny Burrell

ELLINGTON IS FOREVER VOL. 1

Fantasy     1975 / 1993

Notes: "Ellington is Forever' is a celebration of immortality.  The participants individually and collectively demonstrate their appreciation of the heritage bequeathed by the Maestro by enriching the music with each man's personal interpretation.  It is an exchange of gifts."

 

Caravanhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3zPC5JIRp8

Don't get around muchhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGRQa9QI9TY

Take The A Trainhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-AEuD39y7M

My Little Brown Bookhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvS5cb02qTA

Blues Medleyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ0mf9aC52g

 

Cheers

+! for Gil and the Mighty 77

 

Brooklyn never ceases to amaze me.  Music gurus, Baptist Church Choirs, and now a Symphony Orchestra.  What next??  The Dodgers return???

Cheers

 

Harold Mabern

MABERN PLAYS COLTRANE

Smoke Session Records   2021

Excellent fold out Booklet filled with personal anecdotes.

.

My Favorite Things : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgitnIRKp3Q

Dahomey Dance : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBJED9nX2vE

Blue Train : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m83n-_O90-I

Naima : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gibBl9EW8KA

 

Cheers

Post removed 

Brooklyn, fourth largest city in America had a symphony orchestra from the mid 1800’s (Philharmonic Society of Brooklyn, later the Brooklyn Philharmonic) until 2010. The Brooklyn Phil was a very fine orchestra known for its innovative programming. Some would argue that it was its emphasis on new works resulting in smaller and smaller audiences that led to its demise. Some interesting factoids about Brooklyn:

Brooklyn is home to over 700 cultural arts institutions and a hotbed of modern Jazz.

Speaking of the Brooklyn Dodgers: the name came about because of its once maze of street cars, pedestrians had to constantly “dodge” the vehicles.

Brooklyn has two “Leaving Brooklyn” highway signs. One reads “Leaving Brooklyn, Oy Vey!”, and my favorite, “Leaving Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit!”

And, of course, its the birthplace of the hotdog 😊

 

Booker Little

BOOKER LITTLE

Bainbridge / Time    1960 / 1993

Wiki : Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961)[1] was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He appeared on many recordings in his short career, both as a sideman and as a leader. Little performed with Max RoachJohn Coltrane, and Eric Dolphy and was strongly influenced by Sonny Rollins and Clifford Brown. He died aged 23.[2]

 

Who can I Turn To : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkUcdwoPNWA

The Grand Valse : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z9W4Mo_niY

Minor Sweet : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AC9wzSNhnc

Life's a Little Blue : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdshs-yeoiQ

 

Cheers

 

Dizzy Gillespie - Sonny Rollins - Sonny Stitt

SONNY SIDE UP

Verve    1957 / 1997

 

Sunny Side of the Street : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSHevGXSKuk

The Eternal Triangle : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aqUVtl3g8s

I Know that You Know : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZek6JRFXg8

 

Cheers

John Coltrane

COLTRANE LIVE AT BIRDLAND

Impulse   1963

"Notes" by Leroi Jones,  a.k.a. Amiri Baraka,   a.k.a. Imamu Amear Baraka.  That's all you need to know.  This album and these artists deserved better.

 

Afro-Blue : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSiYUksOjXE

Talk About You : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yg_4fxo7yo

Alabama : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixc5DSHyZQU

 

Cheers

Post removed 

Jimmy Heath

LOVE LETTER

Jimmy Heath(tenor and soprano sax), Kenny Barron(piano), David Wong(bass), Lewis Nash(drums), Monte Croft(vibes), Russell Malone(guitar)

With / Wynton Marsalis(trumpet), Gregory Porter(vocals), Cecile McLorin Salvant(vocals)

Verve  2019

Jimmy Heath died January 2020 age 93, a month after this was recorded.

 

Don't Explain : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhEY4gl6mgI

Upper Neighbors : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whhcXIbBln0

Left Alone : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqIcivwBxZU

La Mesha : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvYFkYirHjQ

 

Cheers

 

The Muddy Waters Tribute Band

YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME (when I'm dead & gone)

Telarc Blues  1996

 

Gotta be Saturday Night somewhere!

Nice fold out booklet with pictures.

 

Clouds in my Heart : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhZxHPIHJto

You can't Lose : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4lPcFJvgIU

I don't know why : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIcGUQaIPnE

Walkin' in the Park : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNIjrX0bERY

Going Down Slow : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40VRDNoditw

 

Cheers

 

Ray Bryant

SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE

Hyena Records    2003

Notes : "Ray's doin' just fine.  He works where he wants, when he wants and for good bread.  And the honors have even started to come in.  He's one of a handful of musicians who are part of The Smithsonian's Living Legends Oral History Archive.  And recently he was elected to the Hall Of Fame at The Institute For Jazz Studies at Rutgers University.  So few of the guys from the golden age made it to their golden years in good shape.  Ray has his cake, and he's eatin' it.  Sometimes the good guys actually do win."

The first Jazz album I ever purchased was Bryant's Slow Freight.

 

Take The "A" Train : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_F4Z5bodYc

Con Alma : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5dfKirFhzA

Django : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyChHo0IDrs

After Hours : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBufKYk6i5c

Jungle Town Jubilee : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymZ2AXwh1nI

Slow Freight : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIiF3UH0MXY

 

Cheers

Bill Evans Trio

EXPLORATIONS

Bill Evans(piano), Scott LaFaro(bass), Paul Motian(drums)

Riverside / OJC      1961 / 2011

 

Notes : "This Original Jazz Classics Remasters reissue of Explorations is the definitive edition of the album that captured one of Jazz's seminal bands on its final visit to a recording studio."

 

How Deep is the Ocean : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54_rzAdy57A

Haunted Heart : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlHg4_PJl8E

Sweet and Lovely : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SshXPDgbbfM

Nardis : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx6JhE5K22I

 

Cheers

Billie Holiday

BODY AND SOUL

Billie Holiday(vocals), Ben Webster(tenor sax), Barney Kessel(guitar), Harry "Sweets" Edison(trumpet), Jimmy Rowles(piano), Red Mitchell(bass), J Alvin Stoller(drums), Larry Bunker(drums)

Verve   1957 / 2002

 

Body and Soul : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibo-f3Q-yJQ

Come Love : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cq-EQGNfN0

Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4BfDMIRKUs

Moonlight in Vermont : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anfl_eOh0f8

 

Cheers

 

Art Pepper

ART PEPPER + ELEVEN

Contemporary   1959 / 2004     (SACD)

Notes : "In an album that laughed at the East coast vs. West coast critical arguments of the day, Art pepper in 1959 executed a masterpiece that maintains its freshness and fiber nearly half a century later."

 

Move : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avJDbmqfH3Y

Four Brothers : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-dYz0Loq5o

Shaw 'Nuff : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5ACQeU3Qu0

Anthropology : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwLiNPfZ9qk

Donna Lee : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx69AHOJk40

 

Cheers

Charles Mingus

MINGUS DYNASTY

Columbia / Sony     1959 / 1994

Notes : "Recorded in 1959, Mingus Dynasty is a fine cross section of the sort of music that endeared Mingus to Jazz followers.  Showcased here is his ability to bring seemingly disparate elements together and make even the rough edges sound natural."

 

Slop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHI0rkR53Tw

Mood Indigohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p0oWt2QtJw

Far Wells, Mill Valleyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9NOB13p_0E

Ain't what they used to behttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psccSyPoOW4

 

Cheers