Jazz for aficionados
"We", like the music and musicians we admire, are individualistic, and nobody's going to take that away from us. With this thought in mind, I sought a musician we could all agree on, and I think Mr. Gene Ammons meets that criteria. Here are two of my favorites by "Jug", as his friends called him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol5E37pMaiw "Hitting The Jug" and "The Happy Blues" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVu_g_9oFwU&list=AL94UKMTqg-9At3fTg1zCEz7G9SAWVsmO3 Enjoy the music. |
Orpheus10, there are exceptions to every rule; as I am sure you would agree. Actually, Art Pepper was one, he seldom practiced. But, as a rule, jazz musicans practice, or practiced, a great deal. If your jazz musician friend is able to do what you describe, I am certain that at some point he put in the hours. Thanks for the Bobby McFerrin links. Great stuff. |
I tried to stop doing my 'reviews', but the public outcry was so great, that I was forced to continue. So, by popular demand, todays listen. 'The Quintet' -- Jazz At Massey Hall The Quintet consisted of: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus and Max Roach. Therefore, the only comment to be made, is on the sound quality. The concert was recorded by Gillespie and Roach on their personal tape recorder, so the sound is uneven. No hiss or noise, just not a professional job. Some players seem to fade in and out. Except Dizzy of course. After all, it was his tape machine. This is the concert where Bird played the plastic toy sax. Didn't seem to matter. One of the highlights was when Bird referred to Dizzy as his 'worthy constituent' during the intro to 'salt peanuts'. There seemed to be bad blood between the two, which they expressed during their solos. Took place in Toronto. May 1953. Same night as the Marciano / Walcott Championship fight. Affected the attendance. A must have for any serious 'Real Jazz' fan. Cheers |
Hi Orpheus - I will second Frogman and say that your friend MUST have put in very serious hours. Also, the process of jazz musicians who haven't played together before but who sound like they have is not so mystifying as it may seem. Each jazz standard is usually performed in the same few keys, and with the same basic chord changes. What the discussions were about that were unintelligible to you were making sure everyone knew the tunes, what keys they were going to be played in, and anything that might not be standard, such as a different chord change than normal, for instance. Jazz musicians have what they call a "Fake Book" that has standard keys and chord changes for literally hundreds of standard tunes. They will often review such a book before a gig, especially when they are new to the group they will be performing with. Frogman will definitely have much more knowledge of that sort of thing than I, so please chime in on this if you wish. As an orchestral French horn player, the only jazz I have ever played is in a big band, where the parts were of course written out, or on a pops show where again, the orchestra parts are written out. |
