Jazz for aficionados

Hi O-10 - as Frogman has tried a couple of times to explain to you, it is not the tune itself that sounds like elevator music.  It is the cheesy string arrangement backing up the piano in that particular Previn recording that sounds like elevator.  I guarantee you Previn himself performed it live in a much different fashion that would not have sounded like elevator music - probably many times, in many different versions, since he wrote the tune.  That's the thing about jazz - it is never the same twice, even from the same performer, unless you are listening to a recording.    Don't you remember that from your world class friend who lived with you that summer and never practiced who you heard perform a few times a week?  I wonder what he really thought about your proud ignorance of music?

And no, of course the Ella performance of that tune does not sound like elevator music - your conclusion that I must think so because I thought the other one did is completely illogical.  If you really cannot understand that, then it is truly hopeless to have any sort of intelligent conversation with you about jazz, let alone music in general; but I think you really do understand that, and are just pretending not to - so I am forced to wonder, as others have, why on earth did you start this thread when you are so resistant to anyone else's opinions?   You should start a blog if you want the floor to yourself - this is an open forum.  

 Great stuff, jazzcourier; thanks.  Understanding when and how it all came from is a beautiful thing.  No mention of Eddie Lang so far, going even further back:

http://youtu.be/ggJCrl9oEgQ

http://youtu.be/qgzAoDhzUJA

Learsfool, you're completely illogical, so why should I think anything you said was logical.

Eddie Lang died in 1933. He was incredibly active up to that point,so many great records and that singing,single string style really created a platform for so many to come.His records with Joe Venuti,Jack Teagarden and the great duets with Lonnie Johnson.You hear him in Grant Green and B.B. King.Into the 30's...some amazing guitar from Carl Kress,Dick McDonough and George Van Eps.Early electric and acoustic from Eddie Durham,also a trombonist and a great writer and arranger.His work wth Jimmie Lunceford ("Hittin' the bottle") on acoustic and with Lester Young on Commodore with his electric.Floyd Smith in the 30's with Andy Kirk ("Floyd's guitar Blues")
    Les Paul,the demon seed of the electric guitar,so many excellent sides from  rthe 1940's with speed and precision.George Barnes in the 40's with a ringing horn like tone.Billy Bauer into the late 40's with Lennie Tristano and several broadcasts with Charlie Parker.Standing alone as one of the greatest on any instrument....Django Reinhardt,throughout the 30's and into the 50's on the electric,even though he lost a step moving to the amplified guitar the sound was unearthly and another big influence on so many in that electric period. The 50's was a landslide of amazing players- Barney Kessel,Herb Ellis,Jimmy Raney,Jim Hall all heavily recorded and well documented.
    Of course Grant Green,who has become a legend and never failed to impress on any of the essential Blue Note's.By the time i got to see him in 1968 he had moved into that Funk/Soul Jazz bag and was playing to half full crowds,but we had all the Blue Note's and there was always amazing guitarists everywhere you turned in that period.B.B.King at his best before Pop came to his music.Albert King,a monster and Freddie King,the hardest driver of them all.Albert Collins fresh from Texas and T-Bone Walker on his last lap,but still with an amazing slow burn of precisely chosen notes like a surgeon.Buddy Guy! By the turn of the 70's most of these guys were compromised by the lure of Rock producers and the music went elsewhere.
     Still the best was Joe Pass,who seemed to combine elements from all these players plus an Art Tatum like one man orchestra approach.
     Just some darn good guitar players here.As far as the living,Howard Alden.

Pat Martino....greatest living guitarist?
Of Course....Wes Montgomery!