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.
orpheus10
Catching up on some musical offerings.

Dizzy Gillespie "Duets": Nice! Dizzy and two of my favorite tenor players; Stitt and Rollins. What could possibly go wrong? Just for fun and not a criticism at all since its a pretty common thing: I would bet my copy of Miles "Kind of....." Wait! I already have that set aside for previous bets 😉. How about Oliver Nelson "Blues ATAT"? My original Impulse copy to bet that the inclusion of "Haut Bon" cut for Dizzy's "Duets" record went something like this: Nearing the end of the session and the producer says: "We're a little short of material; how about a blues". Ray Bryant starts tinkling that repeated little theme on the piano in the key of G and the other players join in. Tape is rolling. Basically a jam for filler. Great stuff 'though. For even more fun: the picture of the record cover is a little misleading. The title of the record is "Duets" yet the picture shows Dizzy playing with both Sonny's. Can anyone tell which of the Sonny's plays on the clip?

Cuban music clips: Great! I love this stuff. Close to home and most of it on those clips is the real deal.

Shankar: Not my cup of tea. She sure is pretty and she is definitely capitalizing on that fact in her performance. Not a fan of this type of watered down ethnic music. In this case it's neither Flamenco nor Indian Classical. Not that I don't like fusion; I do. I just don't think this is very good. Certainly pleasant, but not very good. I think it's fair to say that of the two female Shankar siblings, Norah is the talent. How many times can she play the same lick on the sitar? Jeez!
******Can anyone tell which of the Sonny's plays on the clip?*****

Rok says "I can", (as he sheepishly raises his hand). I youtubed it, and all was revealed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPFcP1oRmcs

Great tune. Drums and bass very prominent. :)

Cheers
There was a time when the pop tunes of the day were either in a jazz style or were taken by jazz players and turned into jazz standards. Here is a modern pop tune done as a jazz instrumental. It is a staple of WBGO's playlist. Wonderful time feel and always puts a smile on my face. Love it!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WqEweV0eScg

The great thing about jazz is that no matter how many times you have heard certain records, they can still stand "one mo listen"; that's the case with "Haute Mon" duets.

Another album is "Soul Brothers":
Ray Charles – piano, electric piano, alto saxophone
Milt Jackson – piano, vibraphone
Billy Mitchell – tenor saxophone
Connie Kay – drums
Oscar Pettiford – bass
Skeeter Best – guitar
Kenny Burrell – guitar

But with a cast like that, what could go wrong;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUnID70IU-g

Enjoy the music.