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

That shows you got good taste. Do you have Nancy and George Shearing?



          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8u_S7H8W4A


            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbrVv2AggjE



Nancy is too beautiful for words.



Enjoy the music.

This is a very special "Round Midnight", it's the one before Wes became famous; if you notice it has a different sound. This is my favorite.


                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Xozvcf0FA



Enjoy the music.
Tsuyoshi Yamamoto "midnight sugar" jazz piano.   Tell me what you think everyone.   
calvinj, thank you for the introduction to Tsuyosi Yamamoto; I was not familiar with this player.

****Tell me what you think everyone.****

Some may balk at this idea, but in my opinion, because jazz is a uniquely American creation, jazz players of a different nationality will inevitably bring their own cultural flavor to the music. This is certainly not to say that there aren’t very good non-American jazz players; quite the contrary. However, in my opinion, the best non-American jazz players don’t try to sound "American", but instead embrace the broader spirit of jazz; freedom of self-expression and creativity while embracing their own unique cultural flavor. I’m not sure Yamamoto accomplishes this.

From a technical standpoint, Yamamoto is clearly well versed in the language of jazz. He favors the highest registers of the piano keyboard. His time feel is not always consistently relaxed and there is a sense of "rushing" through the music at times; especially when he, as he is prone to do, repeats a single note several times. His attack is a bit "hard" at times, going back and forth between deliberate and obvious "delicate" attack of notes and hard percussive attacks.

From a stylistic standpoint, I find his playing most convincing when he is NOT playing the blues and plays standards like "I’m A fool To Want You". When he plays the blues, and in keeping with my previous comments about not trying to sound "American", his playing is full of blues cliches. The main feeling I am left with is that he sounds pretty good at any five seconds in time, but there is no sense of "the big picture" of a solo. A great player always gives the listener a convincing sense that the solo is going somewhere, of shape, and that one "lick" is somehow and logically connected to the one that came before it and the one the follows. When I listen to Yamamoto playing the blues it sounds like a bunch of unconnected blues licks giving the music a strangely static feeling; like it’s not going anywhere.

Glad to have been introduced to his playing; but I think I’ll pass.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ax4HFrdwm50

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka8GEJ_ed04