Jazz for aficionados

*****But, wait!, you mention the audience; so, you must be referring to either the Horace Silver "Cool Eyes" or the Phil Woods/Tom Harrell. Now I am really confused. On the Horace Silver clip the Dutch audience looks like they don't know what hit them and seem totally uninvolved; in spite of the great music. On the Phil Woods/Tom Harrell clip what I can see of the audience is mainly two gentlemen who are clearly digging the playing*******

I am speaking of the 'TRUMPET' playing on the Woods/Harrell. clip. This conversation started with trumpet playing. The Horace Silver clip I saw, was just a still shot of the LP cover. Nica's dream. No audience. I may have missed a clip. But I can assure you I would not be critical of Silver. On the Woods/Harrell clip, there are a few shots of the audience. One shows that, during Harrell's solo, people in the booth have turned their backs to him! Not a good sign, assuming they are Jazz lovers. But not proof of anything either. Other than having a big un-Jazz like, belly, Woods was Ok by me.

Cheers

No it's not, it's Saturday!

In Japan :-)

********So, in the spirit of enlightenment and sharing can you expound on that a bit? What is it the makes it empty for you; what is lacking? Better yet, what do you hear in the "Bebop" clip that you don't hear in the "Tenor Of The Time". Perhaps the music was better than you think, and had the intended impact on you simply because a very good argument can be made for the tenor of our time being "loud, fast and empty". But, the playing? No way!*******

When I was in college, it seemed as if the Trumpet players were always the brash and trash talking bunch. I was one of them. But the guys from Memphis and New Orleans were light years ahead of me. One of our favorite things was to have what we called 'head cutting sessions'.

We would get the Excerise book and see who could play it the fastest and longest without screwing up. Once we destroyed the Purdue University Trumpet section at the Indianapolis 500. We were bad!! :)

My point is this: That was not music. Just notes used to improve technique and sight reading. And that's what Harrell sounded like to me. Playing the exercise book.

Also, the body language of all, save the bass player, did not indicate that even the players themselves, were into the music. The piano player could have been Horowitz playing Chopin!!!

I did not mean to imply that 'fast and loud' was a negative. Esp, since my favorite tune is "Hog Calling Blues"!

In the Bebop tune, I heard a Jazz GROUP, playing bebop Jazz, with, among others, a trumpet soloist. In the Woods/Harrell thing, I heard a guy blowing a trumpet. It did not convey anything other than that to me.

You must keep in mind that I am a member of the unwashed masses, and often times miss the finer points of music. I just know what I like, when I hear it.

I have one final point to send.

Cheers

Rok, thanks for expounding. We are all entitled to like what we like; simple as that. It's interesting to try and understand the reasons why (it is for me, anyway) that's all. In this case we will just have to call it a case of Mars and Venus. I find Faddis's playing on the Bebop clip to be exactly what you object to in your account of your trumpet playing colleges buds: "how fast and high can I play this"; bordering on the "bullshit" for me. Harrell's is a thoughtful and well constructed solo. Different strokes for different folks. BTW, don't be to critical of his "body language"; he has been living with (and controlling) schizophrenia for many years and that is his usual stage demeanor.

Cheers.

A few posts back, remember the 'treacherous road' thingy? I wanted to make a point but it seemed as if we had moved on so I didn't. I will make it now to elighten you as to HOW I, approach, receive, judge and understand music.

Recently I received several of CDs from Amazon. Among them two CDs of Spirituals. I love only Jazz more. The CDs were: GREAT AMERICAN SPIRITUALS. A great CD. The songs are sung by Kathleen Battle, Barbara Hendricks and Florence Quivar. WOW! What a lineup. They didn't sing together, they each did several songs on the CD.

These are two world class Sopranos, and a World Class Mezzo. They have performed around the world, at all the great Opera Houses, under the greatest conductors, and singing the greatest and most beloved roles in Opera. Taught at the top schools and by the top teachers. Their 'nuts & bolts' are impeccable!! I will enjoy this disc forever! Highly recommended!

The second CD was MAHALIA JACKSON - LIVE AT NEWPORT

She sang spirituals here also. The two CDs only had two songs in common. A night and day difference. I don't know if Mahalia has much, or any formal training. Probably just started singing at her church. Her 'nuts & Bolts? I am sure they don't match the divas. But here is what Mahalia can do, that the divas can't: She can make a person Cry!

I remember the effect singers like her, had on people from my childhood. Old women with eyes shut, slowly nodding while tears streamed down their faces. And the choir was nowhere near in Mahalia's class. Mostly field workers and domestic workers. Zero training! No 'nuts & bolts. They used to scare the hell outta me. When they started singing I always moved closer to my Mom.

That's the difference THAT CAN exsist between impeccable 'nuts & bolts' and less polished music, and musicians, conveying emotion.

That's it. That's me.

Cheers