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.
tonality can vary in its presentation from minor to complete dissonance.
Yes -- this is indisputable.
And you are correct -- Eric Dolphy does not engage in "chaos". Nevertheless, I find I do not enjoy his playing, at this point. When Jazz soloing is mostly consonant -- that is to say, when most pitches are targeted straight on-- I can enjoy touches of dissonance. I have plenty of Post-Bop recordings of sax players employing over-blowing and other extended techniques but Dolphy tends to not hit many pitches straight on -- his sound is quite "wobbly" in terms of intonation, overall, and this I do not enjoy.
I don’t know what qualifies as the earliest Free Jazz recording. Coleman’s Free Jazz isn’t a favorite but I do enjoy his "classic" quartet albums.
Are you familiar with Sam Rivers’ "Contours" ? I love Freddie Hubbard’s playing on that but Rivers is just too outside for my tastes. To use the analogy of a coloring book, Hubbard’s playing goes back and forth between staying "within the lines" and crossing over them -- he weaves back and forth and makes a point of maintaining a connection with consonance while Rivers, to my ear, is not nearly as concerned about this connection. Consistent with your assertion that I highlighted, It’s a matter of degree, not an either/or polarity.
Like Chet Baker they dont show off, they dont play the saxophone, they speaks and sing with it...
Any great musician if it show off , even if it is a genius repel me...
I can admire them but not to listen to them many hundred times ...
But the one i listened hundred or thousand times are the one who sing a song , and dont need to prove themselves as master...
Sadao Watanabe is very unrecognized in america... Paul Desmond is more well recognized... I like their humble stance facing a song .... They serve it and never use it for a show... The greatest musician dont prove anything and dont feel the need to...They only sing and spoke...
It is only my "taste" and takes...😊
Watanabe in "tokyo dating" .... One of my beloved album among the 10 i owned ..
Any great musician if it show off , even if it is a genius repel me...
I can admire them but not to listen to them many hundred times ...
But the one i listened hundred or thousand times are the one who sing a song , and dont need to prove themselves as master...
Yes. I want to hear a song about what it means to be human. A song about how fast someone can move their fingers or how many notes they can play is not a very interesting song... well, not interesting to me, at least! But perhaps the greatest masters are those who can utilize impeccable technique and still "serve the song", whether playing simply or in a highly complex manner.
@mahgisterI like so much Paul Desmond with Jim Hall ...
Paul Desmond has the most distinctive tone on the alto then any other. Every solo is a thing of beauty...
What do you mean by "showing off"? Back when Be Bop turned the swing era of jazz upside down the late night jamming sessions in all of the NYC nightclubs and cafes were attended by anyone who wanted to and was not afraid to compete... It was aright of passage when your "chops" and virtuosity were accepted by your peers and you became "one of them" There was no publicity - just the artists jamming.....
These jamming sessions would start at closing time around 4am and continue many times until 10am....
Norman Granz became very well known by hosting "jam sessions" for the public and recorded (thankfully) many of them. Granz called these jam concerts Jazz At The Philharmonic - JATP. Most of the recordings are sub par sonically but are still exciting to listen to.
All of these musicians could play a song beautifully from ballads to blues and waltzes....This is one of my desert island sessions
I was describing my taste not an objective judgement...
For example there is many trumpeters more virtuoso with the trumpet, not one can spoke as Baker minimalistically do or very , very few at least ...I dont know one...
There is no fault with the others trumpeter i like them too... But i prefer those as Watababe, Baker, and Desmond among others who play minimalistic and song the song...
There is a great difference between being impressed by a piece and listening it a few times and being moved by a piece and listening to it hundred times... That was my point...
I am admirative and amazed by many more musicians i like too but more rarely moved by very few i loved more than i liked ...
😊
In general i listened new albums one time or few times thats all ... I listened more often the one that moves me...
I prefer coming back to what i love than just exploring the new for the sake of novelty... I am more in search of what will move me....Desmond and Watanabe i discovered not long ago do it...It is why i posted them here...Sometimes some musician dont move me for sure at first but impress me so much i begun to love them too... It is less frequent... For example :
Sun Ra and Walt Dickerson "visions" album is a masterpiece ... I dont understand why this album is not in all top ten... Two geniuses... Here they impress me so much i begun to be moved... It is paradoxical....Usually being impressed is not enough , i must first be moved... 😁
I like with my brain but i love with my heart... With this album it start with my brain being impressed...It is not usual beginning for an album i will love ... Here i learned how to love ...
I begun to love it after understanding their perfect complicity and what they were trying to do , and miraculously that moved my heart in another plane... Too great album to be a popular one though ...One of the great jazz album of all time...
Why ? creativity but their communication ... Only two top musicians at their peak speaking to one another on the highest level as it is very rare to encounter ...
I’ve been slowly going through the Penguin Guide To Jazz and I’m into the D’s. I’ve been reading, listening and writing a list of who strikes my fancy. Later, I hope to put everything on the computer for easy access.
It’s funny, just yesterday I listened to Visions and it did not put it on my list. There is no doubt that Sun Ra and Walt Dickerson have great talent, but I am not a love of unstructured music and I’m not a huge fan of the Vibraphone. I guess I’m the reason it’s not in the top ten. Blame me.😁. But that’s what makes sharing music so much fun.
I am exactly like you if you read my two last posts...
I dont like very much unstructured music free jazz music ... And i like when the -players dont show off but sings...
But there is exceptions, like some Eric Dolphy albums...
And Walt Dickerson and Sun Ra...
i precisely recommended them as exception about my first preference for humble singing albums by trumpeters or sax players...
my advice : listen to it anew and let it grow on you and observe the wonderful complementarity between the two musicians and the creativity and their creation of complete new sound......
For sure you are right anyway ... We all have our idiosyncrasies and tastes.. 😊
It’s funny, just yesterday I listened to Visions and it did not put it on my list. There is no doubt that Sun Ra and Walt Dickerson have great talent, but I am not a love of unstructured music and I’m not a huge fan of the Vibraphone. I guess I’m the reason it’s not in the top ten. Blame me.😁. But that’s what makes sharing music so much fun.
I’m wanting to thank you again for suggesting the Penguin Jazz Recordings book.
A day hasn’t gone by where I haven’t found another artist that puts a smile on my face. As you can see, I’m up to the F’s , so I have many more great recordings to ahead of me.
Sonny Rollins, at age 18 - 20 used to hang out for hours in the Harlem apartment of Bud Powell and the upper west side apartment of Thelonious Monk on 63rd St.
Sonny and his young friends, aspiring young musicians all, would go to both Powell's and Monk's apartments to "jam out" and work out their jazz vocabulary on their respective instruments. This included Kenny Drew on piano, Jackie McLean alto sax and young sax phenom Andy Kirk Jr. the son of band leader Andy Kirk.
Both Rollins and McLean state that Kirk Jr. was the better player and could have been one of the all time greats but, unlike Rollins and McLean who kicked heroin, the drug, which Rollins called the scourge of the jazz scene at the time, heroin won the battle with Kirk Jr. and eventually killed him....
Further Kirk Jr. info on a forum thread by ghost of miles here:
@stuartk The Harold Land material I am most familiar with is his 50s collaborations with Clifford Brown and Max Roach. I also own all the CDs of Land as a leader 1959 - 68. I also have all the CDs with Curtis Counce/Land. Carmel Jones/Land also good....
I'm familiar with the Brown/Roach band, both with S. Rollins and Harold Land. I'm not a huge Rollins fan but one I do like is "Plus Four" with Brown.
I listened to that track from "The Peacemaker" and enjoyed it. Too bad it’s so expensive as an out-of-print CD. Recently, I scored a new copy of "Mapenzi", though, so these do come up, if one is vigilant.
I listened to "Quintessence". To be honest, I’m not sure what to think. I’m so habituated to Evans in trio formant that I’ll have to listen to this again.
Hutcherson and Land had a quintet that released at least two albums on Blue Note-- "Spiral" and "Medina". B. Note released both as a "two-fer" on CD.
Thanks for the Hutch selections. I have the Mapenzi disc.
My favorite Hutcherson are the 60s sessions. I just like it when the music "swings"
Listening to Step Lightly from The Kicker disc as I am writing this. Joe Henderson on ts and Grant Green g.
Been revisiting my Spotify library (I do have all the 60s Hutch CDs) through my 100 dollar "gadget", the Qudelix 5k via laptop usb - Qudelix 5k - 2.5mm balanced Audio Ninja headphone cable - Sennheiser HD650
Joe Chambers – drums Side one is typical hard bop 60s era but side two is avant garde so you get the "swing" side one and challenging yet accessible music on side two. Bobby Hutcherson composed all of side one and drummer Joe Chambers composed side two Components - Bobby Hutcherson - YouTube
Great LP to have in your collection. I dont have a copy on CD but found it on Spotify and I am listening to the opener, Goin’ Down South, through my Qudelix/Sennheiser rig as I write this.
I was not familiar with this album but if the rest of it is as good as the first song its a winner..
Edit: track 2 is awesome as well. I’m really digging the electric keyboards played by Joe Sample.
Edit 2: Track 3 Joe Sample plays acoustic piano instead of the electric piano. Another great tune!
Edit 3 Track 4 is funk based. Sample back to the electric keyboard. Really digging this album!!
@stuartk and @acman3 Btw, Harold Land plays tenor, Bobby Hutcherson vibes and Joe Sample organ, on one of my desert island albums, Donald Byrd's funky masterpiece Ethiopian Knights.
Been listening to Coleman Hawkins The Hawk Flies High session. One of his best.
The 11:17 long track two, Juicy Fruit, is my favorite. At the 0:40 mark the Hawk hits a note and sustains it for over a minute displaying his talent of circular breathing. A lot of the great players really perfected circular breathing especially Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Co. on the Ed Sullivan Show. Its like the who's who of the jazz world including Charles Mingus and Roy Haynes among others. And playing one of Mingus' best songs....
Chambers was a monster and remains undervalued, it seems to me.
The D. Byrd is not really my thing. I prefer more melodic and harmonic content. Otherwise, my mind starts to wander. Maybe I just have a short attention span ;o)
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