Tiray i just post it above...😉
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.
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.
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Thanks i will look at it... I advised students about books and ideas for thirty five years... But i was not teaching any course, they come for me for months years and in some case decades...Mostly between 20 years old and thirty years... But here the only teacher is frogman... He is musician not me... I read less after my retirement 4 years ago and almost got depressed because i loose touch with the students with whom i can discuss any subjects in their field and interests and LEARN from them way more than the advise i can gave them ...I even read their doctorate or masters thesis in some case as an unofficial adviser for discussion .. Now if i made a discovery about a thinker i will not be able to speak with a student the day after...I realized that ideas motivated me way more if i can communicate them and help someone ... I was never a specialist in my life, i spoke linguistic with a linguist, or poetry with a poet, music with a musician or mathemathic with a student in maths philosophy with a student in philo. i became friend with a lawyer and spoke with him about Roman law. because he published a book about it .. etc... What interested me was the relation between field not any field in itself alone ... This is the reason why for me music is not only music, it is history of human consciousness, it is acoustic and it is brain neurology of hearing, and it is about phenomenology of the perception, it is even the way by which we enter in the most intimate contact possible with the world INSIDE of the phenomena... For example i stumbled on a book, complete genius, which created ideas and new mathematics over neural networks andmore deep mathematics and the writer of this book is a not well known Indian scientist working in Japan : "nanobrain" his book throw the basis of A. C. artificial consciousness and not mere A. I. artificial consciousness... His idea are so deep and remind me of an experience i felt when i was younger... Now with who can i discuss that ? Only with a student in A. I. or in maths or in philosohy... Did you got why i felt depressed ? Why reading new ideas if i could not give them to a student to motivate him tomorrow and importantly LEARN from him by feedback ? It is why i came here by despair, after my retirement being motivated by the idea to create my audio room by learning some basic acoustic ...I succeeded and spoke about here to help people to spare their money...Now i lost my house ten months ago and my room... It takes me 6 months to recreate a top audio system with headphone... Now less sad i am back again here ... I will look for your book suggestion... Thanks my friend... By the way do you know why i am interested by your book sugggestion? I read a marvellous book about sound: "sound sources" by Ekpan J. Essien.. This african man takes twenty years to create his doctorate research about sound sources ...His doctorate are so disturbing for classical acoustic he was refused in London to be received as doctorate fellow and he succeded only in Paris...He used Yorumba drum musicological studies and linguistic to achieve his acoustic research on acoustic phenomenology and history of sound perception and the physical basis of acoustic ... Very interesting and revolutionary for me... Very interesting book founded on the perceived body-image of the sound source : «The definition of sound in physics as vibrations in an elastic medium establishes a link between the sound source and the organism. Thus, it satisfies an essential psychophysical prerequisite for a theory of perception. However, over the past 170 years since Ohm’s law (1843), and some 137 years since Helmholtz’s resonance theory (1877), psychoacoustic procedures founded on air vibration have shrouded music and speech in mystery. Ecological theories have fallen short, not only of Gestalt invariance, but also of the link between the distal object and the organism. This paper approaches auditory analysis from the standpoint of sound production. It argues that although air vibration produces sound, sound is not air vibration; and that exploitation of features of air vibration can hardly (if ever) lead to accurate understanding of the principle of the auditory mechanism in speech or music perception. Evidence is provided in support of the definition of sound as the vibratory image of the sonorous body. It establishes isomorphism between characteristics of a sonorous body and auditory attributes of sound. Wherefore, a body is different from the sound it produces in much the same way as steam is different from ice ─ two different forms of the same entity. The data under consideration offer succinct insights into the way the auditory mechanism extracts from sound wave invariants for use in speech or music regardless of chaotic production and acoustic variability. Implications for future research in speech, music and all aspects of auditory analysis are discussed.»
i apologize for this long post not about jazz but i will include this album of jazz absolutely marvellous and Unknown and INCREDIBLY GOOD : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNv2RxjsbWA&t=314s
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Yes i apologize i forgot...i gave only the youtube adress without the title... An album way more than just good for me... You will accept my excuse if you listen to this two hours album of jazz from japan : "spiritual Jazz"... It is way more than just good too... Completely relaxing totally original with no musician i know of but all great... One of the top best album of jazz in my big collection... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNv2RxjsbWA&t=314s I just listen to it after the Tom Harrell and jim Hall album... The recording sound is top notch.. Thre hours of ectasy with these 2 albums spritual jazz and Tom Harrell... I am very picky in my jazz taste... As in classical... i ask for ectasy... It does not means that all my choices would be for the taste of everyone, not at all, but it said that my choices are there for a reason...Just good is not enough...All the albums i recommended gave me ectasy if not i never listen to them again... But those who give me ectasy i came back again and again... I will said to you an anecdote... I had the habit to read and meditate about a subject... Many years ago i enter into a deep study, it takes me 3 years, and each day i listen to a one hour album of Heinrich Schutz Geistliche chor music by Mauesberger as conductor of the chorus , now count the days : it was around one thousand listenings...This is my favorite work in German choral music ever with Bach different albums which i listened to for each day for these three years.. Then if something gave me ectasy i sometimes cannot be used to it easily... The "art of the fugue" is my favorite work with Scriabin( but it impossible to listen Scriabin each days one after the other here we must wait for some SACRED day as with most composers ) ... I own many interpretations of the art of the fugue... The deepest musical work ever... Nothing touch it... I suspect God is envious of his own creature listening Bach and say to him : "you know son dont be too proud, i created you and your music"... 😊
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@mahgister I'm not really a fan of improv jazz, preferring Dixieland, Chicago etc. Really enjoyed streaming most of the "Spiritual Jazz" collections you suggested. |
BTW, the "spiritual Jazz" series is on the British label "Jazzman". Here is the discogs page for the series: https://www.discogs.com/label/528518-Spiritual-Jazz Not sure if they’ve all been released on both vinyl and cd. Thanks, @mahgister for turning us on to this series.
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@mahgister Well, so much for cutting back on record purchases! haha |
I just check all the 13 albums of the spiritual jazz collection... They seems interesting... But the double albums from japan is made by unknown artists here and is so good i did not hope it will be beat in ORIGINALITY and RELAXING power ... I recommend this one... i will try some others and i will spoke about it here in the months to come... |
@stuartk said "BTW, the "spiritual Jazz" series is on the British label "Jazzman" I quickly scanned the various albums-- there's some material on these that is simply unobtanium these days as OG LPs. Great introduction to the genre. I'm a huge Cecil McBee fan, he didn't limit himself to spiritual jazz but was part of the old NYC "loft" scene, which crossed over into free jazz as well as more mainstream stuff. I was fortunate to buy some of these before the prices went through the roof. The Ronnie Boykins piece is a hoot. It sounds like they are totally out of tune at the beginning but they suddenly get very focused and play their asses off. Are you using the CeeDees or vinyl? Curious to know what the quality of the pressings is like. GZ can make a decent record-- they typically use digital masters, but in a lot of cases, who knows where the master tapes are or if they even exist. One of my personal favs is Milt Ward & Virgo Spectrum. It was reissued as a needle drop, the OG is serious money. This can give somebody entry into a rarified sub-genre for little money and they can then go chase the originals they like! |
The japan spiritual jazz double album even if experimental jazz in many way, is balanced well between hypnotizing rythm and some melody with japan musical instrument sometimes... I like it and experimental jazz is not my cup of tea very often... The sound quality is top notch... All japan music lover will kill themselves before the slighest recording error can be faulted to them ... 😉 |
My Dad was a jazz aficionado. In April 2019 he chose to end his life with medical assistance, they call it MAID in Canada. He had terminal pancreatic cancer. We had a very nice family dinner the night before. They day of, we made him a fancy breakfast of his choosing, then spent the day listening to jazz, and polished off a bottle of 15yo MacAllan single malt whiskey. He was the DJ. I sat at his feet for hours listening to him recite the liner notes and history of whatever he was playing. I have no clue what he played on that day. A few weeks later, my mum sent me a pic of the CD she found still in the player. It was what he chose as the last recording he would hear on this earth, and the last recording we would listen to together. For My father, Hank Jones. |
thanks again for expanding my horizons. I have listened to at least one album from everyone you mentioned and I have enjoyed most all of your suggestions . I still really enjoy listening to simple 50’s-60’s style jazz and closing my eyes and imagining that I’m in some smoky nightclub on the lower east side, tapping my toe. |
" I still really enjoy listening to simple 50’s-60’s style jazz and closing my eyes and imagining that I’m in some smoky nightclub on the lower east side, tapping my toe." Nothing wrong with that! I listen to that sort of stuff, too! I grew up not too far from Manhattan but a generation too late to see such greats at that time, in that place. I didn't suggest any recordings from the early careers of the artists mentioned because I assumed others would probably mention those. Happy listening!
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@stuartk , LOL, I’m a Midwest boy born and bred, but I traveled way to much during my working years. No need to suggest albums from those who you have already mentioned, I will go through the list again and listen to all I can find.😁. Then I’ll be back asking for more if you have ‘em.😊 |
My Jazz listening journey was, for quite awhile, very much influenced by the Penguin Guides to Jazz. I started out collecting the usual "classics" but the Guides also turned me on to lesser known recordings from the 50’s and 60’s as well as excellent Jazz recordings from the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. We live a couple hours from Oakland and for a number of years, we made regular "pilgrimages" to Yoshi’s to hear the likes of McCoy Tyner, Joe Lovano, Bobby Hutcherson, Cedar Walton, Jack DeJohnette, Bobby Watson, Dave Holland, Billy Harper, etc. Now, Yoshi’s rarely features Jazz and it’s probably just as well -- Bay Area traffic is insane! I’ll be happy to suggest more artists/recordings whenever you’re ready. Let me know and I’ll PM you a list.
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@tyray @mahgister @frogman @acman3 Thank you for the kind words, thoughts and links. I was able to find that CD on the used market. At the time it was not available on Tidal. I was happy when it did show up (along with what looks like the whole catalogue) on Tidal and Qobuz. Happy Father's day in advance to all the Dad's out there:) |
@macg19 Powerful story. RIP. @curiousjim Thanks for listening! |
@mahgister Wow! so much to take in... I salute you
I suggest Jackie M̲c̲L̲e̲a̲n̲ – B̲l̲u̲e̲s̲n̲i̲k (̲1̲9̲6̲1̲)̲ - YouTube and... Jackie M̲c̲L̲e̲a̲n̲ – O̲n̲e̲ S̲t̲e̲p B̲e̲y̲o̲n̲d̲ (̲1̲9̲6̲3̲)̲ - YouTube lastly... Jackie Mc.Lean -Destination... Out! -1964 (FULL ALBUM) - YouTube |
Thanks
For sure there is more good Jazz unknown to me than the hours of all the rest of my few years left ... This is another proof from kooljazzman... thats a problem ? Yes especially if we must choose which albums to buy... And it is another problem if we cannot decide which one is the better... Anyway some problems make our life fuller...Even if they stay unsolved... Thanks for your enthusiastic existence kooljazzman...
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@frogman I just saw that Hank Jones clip. Great album. Here is Hank, Chick Corea and Satao Watanabe with some younger jazz musicians in an old meets new performance Hank Jones Trio, Sadao Watanabe, Chick Corea, Hiromi, Austin Peralta - Tokyo Jazz 2006 - YouTube
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a warm hearted suggestion for jazz music lovers the new joey alexander release, called ’origin’ is fantastic... chris potter on sax and wonderful israeli guitarist gilad hekselman etc etc https://joeyalexandermusic.net/ lovely lovely mature sophisticated beautiful music from a quickly maturing prodigy... very high quality recording too enjoy! |
Thanks @acman3 At $200-300 for a copy, I just ordered it from my local library.😁 |
Thanks @alexatpos I’ll either order this or see if the library has it after I’m finished with the Penguin guide. |
Hah -- very funny. Now you know why the authors are such ardent proponents of Cool Jazz! The Guide, like any, has its pros and cons. If you read Amazon reviews, I expect you’ll encounter plenty of complaints and criticisms. Each edition only covers those discs that were available in the UK in the year of publication. There are no out-of-print titles. The authors mystifyingly leave out artists who deserve inclusion and are big fans of European Free Jazz that simply doesn't sound very "jazzy" to me. They can come across as being overly impressed by their own cleverness.. Nevertheless, for me, the pros have significantly outweighed the cons; it’s served as a gateway to so much great music. But keep in mind, when I first encountered it, I hadn’t listened to Jazz for very long. At that point, I’d heard (or at least heard of) Dizzy, Chet Baker, Freddie Hubbard and Miles. The Guide introduced me to the likes of Art Farmer, Booker Little, Woody Shaw, Charles Tolliver, Kenny Dorham, Kenny Wheeler, Johnny Coles, Tom Harrell and Eddie Henderson, greatly expanding my horizons. As my tastes and exposure to more and more music developed, I turned to the Guide less often but I still pick it up now and then. For example, "The Unforgettable NHOP Trio Live" CD was one that I found in the Guide only a few months ago. I get the sense you are far from a neophyte. I’ll be interested to hear what you think. Another one I’ve used: "The All Music Definitive Guide to Jazz". It includes out of print titles but the main problem I’ve encountered is the fact that there are many more reviewers involved. It’s rendered the task of determining to what degree reviewers’ tastes align with my own much more challenging. But it does list titles the Penguin omits and I have discovered some good stuff in its pages.
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