Jazz for aficionados

**** Very creative, but with no relationship with the tune being played. ****

No relationship?!!! Seriously? With respect, you are then not listening enough, or you don’t understand some basics. Starting with the fact that in a good bass solo, like any other good Jazz solo the same chord progression (the harmony of the tune) is used to improvise. There is no difference, no matter the instrument. The limitation is not with the bass or the bass player, but with the listener and the need for musical cues that are more obvious and make it easier to know what is going on. Been to a live Jazz performance lately? Notice how some in the crowd will sometimes applaud before the player (any instrument) has finished his solo, thinking that a simple pause (space) in the playing means that the solo is finished? The more astute listener knows that it’s just a pause in the solo in the middle of a chorus and waits to the end of the chorus to applaud. A solo always goes to the end of the chorus. Every tune has it own unique harmonic progression (chorus). Relationship.

**** Yes indeed. Remember all the great actors of the silent screen era that could not make the cut to talking pictures? ****

Huh? That had nothing to do with the SOUNDs of their voices, but their ability to act vocally as opposed to physically. That’s exactly what I refer to. It’s not the sound (tone), it’s the ability to tell the story.

Hey, what better tribute to our OP and the history of this thread than a good debate /argument? 😊.

My burden is great.

Drummers and Bass players could be considered the most important people in a Jazz band.  Their role is crucial to the performance.  They are not expected to solo.  That is not their role.

Think of all the greats, Mingus, Ray Brown, McBride, Ron Carter, Blakey, Jo Jones,  Higgins  etc....

How often are they leaders?  Even when their name is on top of the album jacket, the reviewers talk mostly about the piano and horn players.

Blakey known for bringing along young players, Mingus for his composing, the others for who they play with.  The are support players.

No one buys Mingus albums to hear him play Bass.  No one buys Messenger albums to hear Art play drums.   They wanna hear his latest horn player, or the Messengers as a whole.

Exceptions to this are the 'Showman' drummers.  Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa are examples.  But what they play is not Jazz, is it.

Cheers   
 

@christianb5s4

<<Currently listening to the album Balanced by Jan Harbeck Quartet.>>

You mentioned Balanced and I’ve never heard it before, so I found the album in HR and started playing it, but I couldn’t get past the third track, (Silver String Valley), the sax sounded like a crunchy brown paper bag! Is it just my system? It’s about 6:30 pm here and sometimes my power is horrible, so that’s why I’m asking.

Jim

**** My burden is great. ****

Clearly! 😊

All I can say is WOW!