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.
orpheus10

Showing 50 responses by inna

No, I can't stand those singers from his latest group, that's not flamenco singing.
Solea and his other solo performances I know very well. In a sense, they are better because it's pure flamenco, but you can't really compare. I think that Zyryab performance is excellent. Those two guitarists, clearly his former students, are also excellent.
That Zawinul's Orient Express makes no sense to me. I like him but not as a band leader.
Of course, I know that Paco's tune - new flamenco, nice but not engaging.
I could never convince myself to like Segovia. Not a fan either but when it comes to classical guitar I prefer John Williams overall.
Orpheus10, after Miles and McLaughlin you can listen to that? It's Manhattan restaurant music.
Let's not be too literal, I meant the level. That's the reason why I listen to relatively few recordings.

Jesse Cook is a very accomplished guitar player. Most of what he plays is too, let's say, popular kind of new age music, but at times...yeah. Was at least once rated by Guitar or some other magazine as number two acoustic guitar player, with the first being Paco de Lucia. Among other places he studied guitar playing with French Gypsies!
Orpheus10, I am glad to hear it. 
That Armenian instrument is really unique, I've never heard it before.
You can try Cook's concert in Montreal, some tracks I quite like. But "Incantation" stands apart.
Class, Frogman, class.
I listened to what you posted. I would still prefer John Williams to the former and I would not listen to the latter, just not my kind of music.
I think, I said it once here long ago, the best sax playing I've ever heard was at the corner of 5th Avenue and 60 something. The man, black man, was playing alone what I would call a never ending blues, combining styles of Coltrane and Miles from seventies but with more passion. No idea who he was.  Point is that there are great players, even if few, out there, but they are not 'on TV'.
I only like this composition by Tony Scott and his performance with Japanese musicians - Music for Zen Meditation. Very unusual collaboration, especially for that time.


And no, that man was not technically as good as Coltrane, but his technical level was good enough for what he had to expess.

Yeah, try to find those people recorded anywhere let alone released albums. Maybe that man with sax was well known in NYC, I don't know. It was late evening in September, I listened to him for about twenty minutes, dropped $20 in his case and left. He kept playing.
Orpheus10, I think you simplify things. Some audiophiles, me included, do hesitate to spend subjectively and objectively significant amounts on music and equipment. There are other expenses, there are family members too. Also, I don't have much and I do save on food, especially on eating out, but not only. Did you know that on average Americans eat at least twice as much as needed? I am not talking about hungry people, there are many of them too.
As an example, I just bought a great used power cord for my integrated amp for $650, which is quite a money for me to spend on a cord. I did hesitate a little before buying it. But currently I do one upgrade every year and stay under $1k for each.
I said about those overpriced records because I saw some titles on ebay from people with very good feedback for half as much. True, you got to check ebay at least once every day when hunting for something particular. 
Orpheus10, you are probably right, I don't know much about Parker.
How about this, something very different. That's class, at least I think so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bl8tFcI6YU
There is Studer A810 on ebay for $5k. Too bad it's out of my reach. Well, I would have to sell most of my equipment and cables and some records to be able to get it. What's stopping me? Probably mostly the difficulty and cost of obtaining master dubbs.
Yeah, I think that old school audiophiles are very different, not always poorer, but possibly especially those who still play open reel decks.
Orpheus10, that was fun ! Mingus was a very interesting person - many voices in one. I am not good at describing music in words, but I can tell that I followed this with no difficulty. Let's call it primaeval jazz. By definition it should be a little crazy. Good performance too.
This doesn't speak to me. I don't think of it as a successful east/west fusion. I'll take Mingus's neanderthal or similar any day.
By 2040 they want to phase out all cars except the electric, at least all new cars. I woud call it eco-terrorism, they need treatment not us. And what do you suppose they are going to do with old batterries? They will dump them in Africa or/and somewhere else. Slave labour is on the rise too, and I mean literally not metaphorically. The whole world is going to hell, and I think Orpheus10 senses it, though not always puts it into words quite eloquently. Yes, 99% of people who actually earn their money not make it would not spend $20k on any cables, but that's 99% not100%, generalizations are dangerous, agreed.

Marrakech video is very nice. Are you familiar with Morocco trans music? I can't say I am, though I heard something. Can't find it right away.
McLaughlin/ Hellborg played this in 1987 concerts. Better than Mingus let alone the rest.
Yeah, but Liberta is much better. Not to mention video.
 But she can't really dance..
Orpheus10, thank you, very dreamy. Both those bands desperately need Jessy Cook on the guitar.
Those ladies are much prettier than Mingus, I must say.
I'll try to find something.

I am sorry to say that I fully agree with Schubert, and more. But I wouldn't have put it quite straightforwardly as he did. This doesn't mean that I wouldn't have wanted to.
Orpheus10, our taste is sometimes similar or at least not dissimilar, but at other times I completely fail to understand you.
Schubert listens to classical music, I don't, and yet.. I know when classical musician plays as it should be played. And I truly miss Paganini, I guess.
Pangaea by Miles is the only album worth listening after Bitches Brew. There were also a few good tracks, though, Time After Time is definitely one of them.
Mahavishnu Orchestra at their best were and are incomparable. Not to mention that no-one can play a guitar like McLaughlin.
If Orpheus10 asks me to leave his thread I will do so. As for analizing the hidden intentions of the participants, it would serve no purpose here and is not possible either.

Orpheus10, I hear you. These are the times of decline of many things. 
NYC is going down big time as well.
orpheus10, yes, that’s my point. Find a female doctor, sometimes they are better for unclear cases. Their often deeper perception and intuition guide them. They are also usually better at sharing pain.
Take care.
I've never heard McLaughlin play a pop tune at a restaurant. It takes place in Monaco, I understand, that's where he lives. Quite a  life-affirming song. I thought that the singer was good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ1SaCHoakk

Sonny Rollins strikes me as irrelevant, by the way. Maybe he should've stayed on that bridge a little longer.
Nah, he is too white to play blues and he is not McLaughlin to play East/West. Sorry boys, no good.
Orpheus10, I appreciate your exotic romanticism.
Here's something different. This is not simple music, it takes some effort to take it in. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY0LBVtJWik&list=FLHAEL8Iwz684WaGFx1rQchA&index=8&ab_cha...
All the music of this kind has been written and played, and rewritten and replayed. You can't do better or even often not worse. We need new music, a breakthrough, at least comparable to Miles's and McLaughlin's seventies.
I agree with the thought that jazz is mostly a way to play music. It is also a way to listen to this music. Then there will be a resonance.
Improvising is difficult and one needs to have a great 'sense of risk' to do it right.