Jazz for aficionados

Thanks for the recommendations, Rok and Mitch; I will check them out.

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Frogman....If you have Rhapsody, check out some of Herbie's late '50's early 60's stuff. He was all bop and bossa nova. The '70's came and he had to make a living...pop and disco tinged albums paid very handsomely. While the puurists scoffed at his output during this time... Herbie laughed all the way to the bank with his new fan base.

Rok2id....Looks interesting. I put it in my queue.
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Music Lovers:

If you have Netflix, check out: THE LADY IN NUMBER 6

Cheers

Nice record! I listened to a couple of things from it on Youtube. It's a new to me as is Bobby Jaspar who I had heard about but never heard any of his recordings; nice tenor player. I have never been a huge Herbie Mann fan but this could change that. Thanks for sharing. If you like jazz flute this is a classic: "Flute Talk" with Sam Most and Joe Farrell (my favorite jazz flute player). On this cut they play alto flutes.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lybF3333Abo

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Whoa! A blast from the past! While going through my cd's I came across 'Flute Souffle' by Bobby Jaspar and Herbie Mann. Oh man, I haven't listened to this cd in almost 20 years. I've got to put it back in the rotation. I'd forgotten how good this cd is.
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Listened to these today, along with The Oscar Peterson Trio "LIVE AT THE BLUE NOTE".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiHS8Hf7Tb4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELno08Zg42g

Agree with the comments about Monty Alexander. I have Monty Alexander's "MY AMERICA".

Cheers

Cheers

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I saw Monty Alexander about 30 years ago at the Vine Street Bar & Grill in Hollywood. Up until that time, I had never heard of him. It was a great show. Today while listening to Pandora, this swinging piano came on...I went over to my stereo to see who it was. It was Monty Alexander playing 'Call Me Irresponsible' from his Echoes of Jilly's album. I had forgotten how good this cat is.
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Today's Playlist:

Keith Jarrett -- AT THE DEER HEAD INN
with/Peacock and Motian

The Inn is in his hometown of Allentown,PA and site of his first Jazz gig. This is 30 years later.
Not his usual quasi-classical recital type thing. Just Jazz. Great tunes and playing. The crowd adds to the ambiance.

Jarrett hums along as he plays, but it is not obtrusive at all. I think it's a positive. It's amazing how no matter how far out his solos get, the melody is still there. I love that. "Basin Street Blues" was my favorite.

Rachelle Ferrell -- FIRST INSTRUMENT

AWESOME!! Another 'discovery' that has been on my shelf forever. This is one you have to hear. The usual adjectives don't do it justice.

Good tune selection and outstanding support. Not a weak track or filler in sight.

On the last tune, 'Autumn Leaves', she is joined by Wayne Shorter, Michel Petrucciani and Stanely Clarke. On CD it was spellbinding, so I looked for a possible youtube of the performance. Here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u34fj0fdFDM

The CDs share two tunes. "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "You don't know what Love is". Comparing the two performances / interpretations just demostrates the unlimited potential of Jazz Improvisation.

Cheers

I, too, feel lukewarm about Chano's flamenco/jazz marriage; interesting, but it doesn't grab me. Extremely accomplished player, but aside from the heavier dose of flamenco, I don't hear anything in his piano playing that Chick Corea wasn't doing thirty+ years ago; and it is, well, not quite as good. He has clearly studied Chick Corea's playing. I have a soft spot for flamenco and always appreciate an honest attempt to bring the music of various cultures together, but in this case......

A couple of things don't work for me: in the "jazzier" tunes there is a rhythmic conflict when the flamenco hand claps are part of the musical picture. In jazz, the emphasis on beats two and four is key and an important part of what gives it it's swagger; in flamenco, there is an emphasis on beat one that creates an odd rhythmic feeling in jazz and makes it sound a little messy to my ears. In addition to that, and at the risk of making politically incorrect generalizations, many (if not most) Latin jazz musicians bring a particular rhythmic feeling to jazz that is unique. This should not be surprising and is as it should be; the same can probably be said, to some degree, about any nationality. If you have ever ordered spaghetti and meatballs while visiting Mexico you know that it tends to taste a little, well, Mexican :-).

In the Monk tune Chano plays great, but it doesn't have that unique and kind of quirky rhythmic feeling that Monk's music likes: more emphasis on two and four and further behind the beat as if each beat is being stretched. Chano plays it with that typical Latin feel that is more on top of the beat, and sometimes has a "ball rolling down the stairs" sensation; probably an exaggeration, but gives an idea (I hope).

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7cR-nHNPROU

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl8jSzwvtsw

This one is for you Rok. You can skip to 23:00; very nice playing by Wynton with that impossibly beautiful trumpet tone of his:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ILJmn0041dg

Today's Playlist:

Chano Dominguez -- HECHO a MANO

Interesting. Well played and the recording quality is awesome. Apparently this is an effort to merge Jazz and Flamenco.

Things are real Jazzy on two tunes. Bill Evans' "Turn off The Stars" and Monk's "Bemsha Swing". The other 10 tunes are composed by Chano Dominguez. Excellent piano, Spanish guitar and percussion.

The liner notes are of such detail, that only The Frogman could understand or appreciate them. The writer 'explains' what is going on. The music is enjoyable, but it did not grab me. Not a must have.

Randy Crawford -- BEST OF RANDY CRAWFORD

I have a few lps by her that include a lot of these tunes. This is Pop music at it's best.

Great selection of tunes. Includes, Street Life, Imagine, Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Give me the Night, and Your Precious Love. All done in an outstanding manner.

This woman has an outstanding voice. Brings back a particular time in my musical journey.

She should be singing Jazz!! Check it out.

Cheers

****You have the memory of an elephant!!****

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b1z4JfxFb6c

You gotta love it!

Rok, you are correct that Stravinsky is often murder on trumpet and horn players. It is good hard, though - we love to play it!

Mitch4t:

I find these little details fascinating. Just like the details in the music.

Thanks for sharing

Cheers

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Lester Young called everyone 'Lady', male or female.
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Today's Tidbit:

Fats Navarro's nickname was 'Fat Girl'. I would have thought those would have been fighting words!

Cheers

Listened to Stravinky's 'Rite of Spring'. A person has to have seen, and know the ballet, to really appreicate this music.

It's interesting that the music tells you that you should be seeing something. You just know it.

Sort of like the Nutcracker / Swan Lake stuff. You listen to the music and you can recall the images. I will have to get the Ballet on DVD.

Stravinsky was murder on Trumpet / Brass players.

Cheers

****well, I am really glad you liked it; let's leave it at that****

What?

******GRRRRRRRRR*****

That comes under the heading of MESSING WITH THE FROGMAN :)

You have the memory of an elephant!!

I wasn't dissing Woods, just was never aware of him. Never came on my radar. Same as with Navarro. Hearing Woods on' MJQ with Friends' opened my eyes and ears. Just one of those moments. I wonder who my next 'discovery' will be.

Cheers

Glad you have come around to appreciating Phil Woods. In the spirit of lively debate (as always):

I am curious as to why you ever doubted his "stature in jazz"; his playing has always been proof of that stature. In previous posts you seemed to be critical or somewhat dismissive of him (I am still curious about your "Grrrrrrr" comment re Phil). Not trying to be provocative, but genuinely curious as to what it was that turned your opinion around for you?

If one could only have one of the many great Phil Woods records, "Live From The Showboat" would have to be it.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rMe6YO2Sp10

Today's Playlist:

Herbie Mann / Phil Woods -- BEYOND BROOKLYN

I have had this one for years. Never realized woods was on it, or more to the point, I did not reazlize his stature in Jazz.

Very enjoyable well played CD. Mann never seems to stray too far from Brazil even when it's not Brazilian music.

This set was recorded a few weeks before Mann died. The last tune, "Time After Time", was done for his wife. There is a nice photo of the two in the liner notes, taken immediately after the recording of "Time After Time".

"Blood Count" is among the tunes. Knowing the time of Mann's passing, and the story behind "Blood Count", gives the record a somber mood.

I have a lot of Mann on LP. From back in his 'Memphis Underground' days. I will have to get more on CD. This is my only one.

Woods is awesome as always. Beautiful playing. Esp on "Blood Count". Plays some Clarinet.

Walter Davis Jr. -- IN WALKED THELONIOUS

All of Monk's 'greatest hits' are here. Solo piano. A Mapleshade Production. Davis' playing can be summed up in one word, EMPHATIC!! Sounded as if he was striking the keys with hammers. He wanted to make sure we heard him.

Performance was good, but I prefer the real Monk, with a group. Otherwise I can't imagine Monk scaring the hell outta everyone in the group as they solo.

Cheers

Agree about Etta James; fabulous!

Re Stravinsky: .......well, I am really glad you liked it; let's leave it at that.
BTW, you might be interested to know that the trumpet part is written for and meant to be played on cornet; and, in fact, it is on your recording. Often played on trumpet 'though. The clarinetist on that recording is one of my idols, the late great Harold Wright.

Today's Playlist:

Etta Jones -- DON'T GO TO STRANGERS

Throughly enjoyable CD. Jones is as good as anyone not named Ella. Excellent song selection and accompaniment.
Excellent recording quality.

And all this time, I thought 'Fine and Mellow' and 'All the Way', were owned by Billie Holiday and Little Jimmy Scott respectively. Maybe not.

Check it out!

Stravinsky -- THE SOLDIER'S TALE

I thought I would listen to what I 'assumed' would be 'noise', for a few minutes, before dinner. Turned out, I could not move for the entire hour the piece lasted!

Fascinating!! I could not leave it. The story is so irresistible. The Music and the story are perfectly matched. You cannot conceive of one, without the other.

The narrator on my version, was Sir John Gielgud. When it comes to voice, he is the master.

The Trumpet part was extremely difficult playing, but the Boston Symphony Chamber Players were up to the task.

I will listen to Firebird and / or Rite tomorrow.

Cheers

Yes, he can! Well, he is very old now (88) and not playing like he used too; but, he definitely could. Interesting and unique tone on the tenor for a player playing in that style. Another, almost forgotten.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mc7SydNIEg

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Listening to Pandora. Saxophonist Buck Hill playing a tune called 'Yesterdays' from the album 'This Is Buck Hill'. I've never heard of Buck Hill before. Check him out if you have a Rhapsody account.

The cat can play.
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****You get the impression this is BeBop being born or at least weaned. ****

That's exactly what it was. Beautiful player and a great example for understanding the evolution of the harmonic language of jazz improvisation. Navarro was a kind of link between the swing players and the bebop players that he influenced (Clifford Brown), who would later play in an even more harmonically sophisticated style. It's particularly clear when one compares some of the sidemen playing along side Navarro. Many of these swing players were still locked into a harmonic concept which stayed very close to the basic building blocks of each chord. One can hear how Navarro was more adventurous by comparison and strayed farther away from those basics, but still relatively "inside" the harmony. Later, more modern players like Brown would go further outside the harmonies and, just as modern classical composers (Stravinsky) did, threw away a lot of the traditional rules of harmony. Keep that in mind as an interesting and important parallel before being too quick to judge Stravinsky's concept of a "beautiful melody". Cheers.

Today's Playlist:

Fats Navarro and Tadd Dameron -- THE COMPLETE BLUE NOTE and CAPITOL RECORDINGS.
2CD set.

My first CD by Navarro. CD #1 is Dameron with Fats on three different sets / groups, and another set of Dameron with Miles Davis.

CD #2 is Fats with Howard McGhee, Fats with Bud Powell and Fats with Benny Goodman. The set with McGhee is awesome! Two great trumpet players dueling!

Fats died at age 26. This guy was in a class by himself. The most beautiful trumpet playing I have ever heard.

Some others on board include Sonny Rollins, Wardell Gray, Dexter Gordon, Milt Jackson and Kenny Clarke. And this is when they were all young!!

Excellent booklet with great photos.
Recorded 1947-49, Mono. Great sound.

Fats Navarro -- THE FATS NAVARRO STORY
4CD box

"Fats Navarro's trumpet had a clear singing quality and purity of tone that no other trumpet player could match. He was BeBop's most perfect trumpeter."

This was an uncreditied review written on the back of the Box Set. It says it all. He is now my favorite.

Outstanding Booklet with photos and notes. Includes Bird and Eckstine among others.
Mono.

I think anyone who has not heard Navarro before, will have to rearrange their Jazz Trumpet pecking order. He really is that good.

You get the impression this is BeBop being born or at least weaned.

Cheers

Awesome! Thanks. And nothing like the sound of a real horn section; not the synth crap on a lot of the "new" stuff.
BTW, check out the pool player's breaking shot as the tune ends and the camera pans away. Right with the drummer's final hit; one could not have have planned that better :)

Today's playlist:

Beethoven -- PIANO SONATAS
"Pathetique" "Moonlight" "Appassionata" / Alfred Brendel
From a master of Beethoven.

Beethoven -- SYMPHONY NO. 9
The Deutsche Kammerphilharmondie / Paavo Jarvi
Second Movement always reminds me of the NBC nightly news with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. Hard to believe now.
Bohm still rules.

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown -- STANDING MY GROUND
La/Tx 'border' blues. Born in Louisiana, raised on the Texas side. Texas Blues is a distinctive style.

Clifton Chenier -- BOGALUSA BOOGIE
Le Blues De La Louisiane! Parlez-Vous ???
Like a little accordion and rubboard, and a whole lot of French in your blues? Check it out. Great cover photo.

Cheers

I agree with everything Frogman has posted lately about Stravinsky, especially the suggestion to listen to a wide variety of his music. He was truly a musical chameleon, with the ability to write pretty much anything in any style. Mozart is really the only other major composer who was the same in that regard.

Stravinsky was much like his good friend Pablo Picasso in this respect. The two were close, and are often compared to each other.

Well said, Ghosthouse. Wonderful music.

The Bird thing was great. I love tidbits like that. If Igor went to see Bird play, he can't be all bad. :)

I ordered the Soldier's Tale and The Three Ballets. I hope the CDs have good notes. I have Rite and Firebird on LP. So, I did listen to them back in the day. I guess it was just too different at the time.

At that time my favorite music was Beethoven's 6th. I seldom listen to the 6th today. I guess we all move on.

***"God is closer to me than others of my art" - LV Beethoven*****
This is not arrogance, just fact.:)

I thought Berg's LULU was a total disaster, but, EVERY reveiw of that music I have ever read has been over the top positive. The greatest thing since sliced bread! It must be me. There is a Berg piece on Soldier's Tale CD.

Cheers

Because of this discussion I will listen to Stravinsky's "Symphony of Psalms" later today. To my ear, there is beauty there. Is it the beauty of Debussy or Ravel? No. For me, it is something more austere, transcendent and moving.

This is great!

http://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/2004/01/great-encounters-1-when-charlie-parker-played-for-igor-stravinsky/

****Are you trying to destory all of my idols in one night? :)****

Now, THAT'S very funny. Not at all; even if it may seem like it. Just trying to push your process of discovery (Stravinsky) in a more open-minded direction. I am truly glad that, even after your previous rants about Stravinsky and "modern" composers in general, that you have decided to give Igor a shot. However, you seem to be going into it with a bias against him. Simply an observation on my part based on what you have written now and previously, and probably just as unreliable as comments about Stravinsky's personality. Me? I would rather wait until I meet him :-) before making such a judgment and let his music do the talking first. Most importantly, if one of my acknowledged idols says "Hey, check this out," I will look long and hard for what it is I am not seeing (hearing) at first. But, just for kicks and some good natured idol destruction:

http://stillchaos.wordpress.com/2010/11/12/the-necessity-of-arrogance

From Beethoven.ws :

"In Prince Lichnowski's house in Vienna, where he lived, he was said to be stubborn. He would deliberately arrive late at meal times and he paid little attention to the way he dressed. The young genius had always had a brusque, arrogant personality."

"God is closer to me than others of my art" - LV Beethoven

http://mikelynchcartoons.blogspot.com/2009/12/schulzs-beethoven-schroeders-muse.html

I don't know which of Stravinsky's works you ordered besides "L'Histoire", but keep something in mind when you listen to them. Stravinsky, probably more so than any other major composer, was known for composing in an amazing range of styles; in fact, he was criticized for that. So, before making a final verdict I would make sure you have heard a fairly wide range of his music.

*****BTW, did you know that Bird wanted to study with Stravinsky?******

Are you trying to destory all of my idols in one night? :)

Cheers

*****Rok, just curious, what do you base the "arrogant twerk" comment on? ******

From the youtube of him you sent earlier. Just came across that way to me. Nothing to do with music.

Well if he wrote more that LvB, he certainly did not have nearly the impact of Beethoven. But I will see soon enough. I have the Ballets and The Soldiers Tale on order.

I am not hating on the guy. It's just that I have NEVER read anything like that about Beethoven. But, I can't argue with both you and Learsfool. You guys should know. Could be that my reading list is inadequate.

The Media:
You will admit that the powers that be in the art world, went out of their way to support and praise all the Russians that escaped to the West. At least while the Reds were running Russia.

And part of that support was to 'ensure' that they were a success here. Sort of like the support 'West Berlin' got during the cold war. It was a welfare city, but boy did it look good! Esp in comparison to East Berlin.

Solzhenitsyn comes to mind. A person would think, reading his press, that he was the second coming of Hemingway! Same with most other 'defectors'.

We have no disagreement concerning Igor.

Cheers

Rok, just curious, what do you base the "arrogant twerk" comment on? If you are basing it on his comment about Beethoven, what is arrogant about a statement of fact (Beethoven's laborious composing methodology); especially one in which he praises Beethoven as being "one of the greatest creators of music"?

"Most people who knew him through dealings connected with performances spoke of him as polite, courteous and helpful." - Erik Satie

****And The Masters did not live in the age of hype / media, and the advantages that can bring, if a person is a darling of the press.****

Are you aware that he was far from wealthy and had to be financially supported throughout his career by, among others, Leopold Stokowski? If you are suggesting that his acclaim is the result of "hype", I could tell you that you are seriously mistaken, but I think it would be much more productive to encourage you to actually familiarize yourself with his works before making those insinuations. Have you heard "The Firebird", "Petrushka", "Symphony In Three Movements"? From one of the greatest musical minds ever:

"The death of Stravinsky means the final disappearance of a musical generation which gave music its basic shock at the beginning of this century and which brought about the real departure from Romanticism. Something radically new, even foreign to Western tradition, had to be found for music to survive, and to enter our contemporary era. The glory of Stravinsky was to have belonged to this extremely gifted generation and to be one of the most creative of them all." - Pierre Boulez

Now, re your life span stats:

I hope we can agree that the size of the output is no indication of its quality. Nonetheless, it is true that Mozart was an incredible genius with an output of over six hundred published works (and probably many unpublished); although some are clearly more memorable than others. But, did you know that Stravinsky wrote about twice as many works as Beethoven? So, if one considers that Stravinsky lived about one third longer than Beethoven, then it can fairly be said that Stravinsky was more prolific than Beethoven; for whatever that is worth.

BTW, did you know that Bird wanted to study with Stravinsky?

Learsfool:

Once I get my Igor CDs, will I hear beautiful melodies?

Cheers.

Hi Rok - I would add to Frogman's comments a funny story about a professor at a famous music school who taught a class for non-musicians on music appreciation. The course was also required for graduate level music ed students. She famously would begin this course every year by being a little bit late to the first class, slowly walking to the lectern, and announcing - "Beethoven Sucks!" After some stunned silence, someone would finally ask her to repeat it, which she would do. After more stunned silence, she would launch into her first lecture, which was about how most non-musicians only pay attention to melody when they listen to music. And if music was only judged by that standard alone, Beethoven would be nowhere to be found on the list of all time greats. Which would be absurd, of course. He is a great example of being great about pretty much all other aspects of music, though he struggled to write beautiful melodies, as Frogman said. She would use this humorous opening to get people's attention and make them think about all of the other aspects of music that they don't normally pay attention to.

The Frogman:
Thanks for your answer.

Life spans:

Mozart -- 35
Beethoven -- 57
Stravinsky -- 89

Now think about musical impact and output. And The Masters did not live in the age of hype / media, and the advantages that can bring, if a person is a darling of the press.

IMHO, Igor was an arrogant twerk.

Cheers

Albertporter:

Thanks for your recommendations.

I ordered the Soldier's Tale with John Gielgud, also a DG 'twofer' with Rite, Firebird and Petrushka.
The DG CD is conducted by Abbado,. who passed away recently.

Cheers

Beethoven, in spite of all the brilliance, was a composer for who composing was a tedious process. It is well known and documented that he would often make revision after revision of a work or passage, and the sketches for a work would sometimes be three times as long as the final product. It can be fairly said that it was not an easy process for him; unlike a composer like Mozart for who composing was a seemingly effortless process and who would write down final drafts after conceiving the work (often very quickly) in his head. The difference in their respective outputs is probably further proof of this. I believe that is what Stravinsky meant with that comment.

****Too many pieces of music finish too long after the end.****

Igor Stravinsky

Thomas Wolfe was wrong. You can go home agian. I went yesterday.

Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Johnny Copeland -- SHOWDOWN

Ray Charles, Milt Jackson -- SOUL BROTHERS SOUL MEETING

Great to be back down home.

From The BBC Music Magazine

"Karajan was conducting a Mozart Concerto and leaned over to ask Dennis Brain something. He looked at his music stand, and of course he didn't have the score -it was a motoring magazine! That was quite a moment."

Great English understatement!!

The Orchestra was The London Philharmonica. The interview subject was Neville Marriner. He is 90 now. I gather Karajan was a part of the effort to get the English Orchestras up to 'continental' (German) standards.

Anyone know what this means?
"The example of Beethoven would suffice to convince us that, of all the elements of music, melody is the most accessible to the ear and the least capable of acquisition. Here we have one of the greatest creators of music who spent his whole life imploring the aid of this gift which he lacked."
Igor Stravinsky.

The disscussion was about 'Melody'

Also a great piece on Russian composers and plasyers. Who did, and who did not compose to satisfy the regime. Names a informant for the security police who was part of a famous string quartet.

Interesting stuff.

Cheers

An interesting version of the Soldiers Tale is narrated by Sting. I have that copy and the one with John Gielgud.

Both are excellent.

Rok, I think you may find that you have indeed heard the Soldier's Tale before. Many people have, without realizing it was Stravinsky they were listening to. It is a fantastic little work. Very difficult trumpet and violin parts in particular.

I will be sure to have your post in front of me when I listen to 'The Soldier's Tale'. I noticed that there is a lot of narration in the piece.

The folks on Amazon have their favorite 'narrator'. hahahahaha Gilda Radner was right, 'There is always something'!

One of the CDs avalible has the Stravinsky, along with pieces by Schoenberg and Berg. Yikes!! This one is narrated by Sir John Gielgud.

Cheers

Cheers

Fantastic piece! It is really a theatrical work with music scored for seven instruments, and is essentially the story of Faust (in this case, a deserting soldier) and his pact with the devil. To understand the "jazz influence", and as always, it's all about context.

When the work was composed (1918?) jazz was just beginning to take shape in America. Stravinsky had never actually heard any jazz but was given some written scores of "jazz" music brought from America by his friend Ernest Ansermet who also conducted the premier of "L'Histoire". Like most serious composers in any genre open to influences from unexpected sources he was intrigued by some of what he "saw" in the written scores without really fully understanding what it actually sounded like. What I am talking about is different from, for instance, the idea of Beethoven being able to "hear" in his head what his music would sound like even though he was deaf. In this case I refer to one of THE biggest challenges for composers and orchestrators and one which continues to the present time: how to notate the FEELING of jazz syncopation. Truth is, it really can't be done. The classic swing feel of jazz can only be approximated when notating jazz and is ultimately left up to the performer to realize it in a credible way. For the geeks, this is what it's about; all others skip to the end :-) :

-Imagine simple, slow tempo (one beat per second), four beats to the measure music: "one, two, three, four" "one, two, three, four" (repeat several times while tapping your foot to that beat).

-Now, while tapping that same beat, subdivide each beat into four equal subdivisions: "ONE (two, three, four), TWO (two, three, four), THREE (two, three, four), FOUR (two, three, four)". Repeat several times.

-Now the fun part: do the same thing, but emphasize FOUR:
"one (two, three, FOUR), two (two, three, FOUR), three (two, three, FOUR), four (two, three, FOUR)"

That emphasized FOUR is the most basic way to describe classic jazz syncopation. The problem for composers trying to notate this is that "FOUR" is too close to the next beat, and if notated this way would sound very "square" (white dude on the dance floor square :-) )

-Now, think Frank Sinatra (same tempo as before) :

"shoo BY doo BY doo (four, one) EX chang ING glan CE s stran GERS in THE night". Note that the emphasized subdivision has a different feeling than the previous example. In this case it is closer to when each beat is subdivided into threes (triplets) with the emphasis on the third subdivision:

"one (two, THREE), two (two, THREE), three (two, THREE), four (two, THREE).

Closer, but still not right; now the emphasis is a little too far from the next downbeat. That's the dilemma; you need something in between the two examples. So, most smart jazz composers often don't bother at all and notate the music with a simple duplet (in twos) subdivision and leave it up to the performer to find the correct feeling. Back to Stravinsky:

In "L'Histoire" there are three "Dances", one of which Stravinsky titled "Ragtime". Ragtime, as we all know, was one of the earliest forms of "jazz". Listen to Stravinsky's "Ragtime" and you will note, besides the constantly changing time signatures (odd meter) and syncopation, a recurring musical figure like the above example of subdivision in fours, but this time in a much faster tempo:

"da TA da TA da"

First heard in the bassoon about thirty seconds into the "Ragtime". I guess one could say that was Stravinsky's idea of swinging his ass off :-)

-

I read today that Stravinsky's, 'The Soldier's Tale', has Jazz elements or influence. Has anyone heard it, or have any comments?

Cheers

Today's Playlist:

Bebop & Beyond -- PLAYS THELONIOUS MONK
It's Monk's Music! Nuff said.

Jazz Futures -- LIVE IN CONCERT

Good to see and hear 'Young lions' in action and playing real Jazz.
Players include: Roy Hargrove, Antonio Hart, Christian McBride, Mark Whitfield, BENNY green, Marion Jordan, Tim Warfield and Carl Allen.

Various Artists -- THE BEST OF KEN BURNS JAZZ

This just one single CD. Takes us from Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton up through Miles, Coltrane and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Great selection of tunes.

Cheers