Jazz for aficionados

Ghosthouse, no, it hasn't been done, and Frogman would be the person who could shed light on the subject.

During the time I was in close contact with a jazz musician in 69, he never rehearsed or held rehearsals. The first set I witnessed; him, and what's called "pick up musicians" gathered about an hour before the set, and discussed what was to go down. I listened intently, but understood nothing.

Professional "hard bop" musicians have a language that only they understand. Since he was a friend of mine, I was really nervous before the set kicked off; "Ain't no way this is going to come out right" was racing through my mind, because this was a hard bop audience, and the place was packed.

That was a memorable set, and it went as he knew it would; the musicians played as though they they had been doing it for a lifetime.



Enjoy the music.

****Might be the person I admire most in any number of musical endeavors: THE ARRANGER. So often they are the ones that bring the magic.****

So true, I recently made the comment that this might be a good subject to explore on this thread.  When this subject comes up, the first recording that comes to mind is always Miles' "Sketches Of Spain" and to a somewhat lesser degree "The Birth Of The Cool"; both , recordings which, at the end of the day, are arranger Gil Evans' records, eventhough Miles gets the attention.  Could Miles have been replaced by someone else?  Arguably, yes.  Could Gil Evans have been?  No way!

BTW, I listened to "Black Light Syndrome" in its entirety; the first couple of cuts twice.  Thanks for the recommendation.  Tough record to comment on.  I think it's a great record.  A great record by the standards of a particular musical sensibility.  Rock and roll sensitivity all the way; with a bit of "glam" thrown in (and more than a bit of Flamenco in one spot).  Steve Stevens is a very impressive guitar player.  The recording is really about him and his amazing virtuosic guitar playing; and, it is also, over the top.  Only because of the hype, I am less impressed with Bozzio and wonder what the band could do with someone like Dave Weckl.  Stevens has a very wide tonal palette with his use of distortion and effects; but, for instance, his use of the Whammy bar is way over the top and sounds tasteless more than anything to me.  A more contained and disciplined range would be more musically effective imo.  On the other hand, a "take no prisoners", "let it all hang out" attitude is part of the R&R ethos; hence the quandary.  I realize this may seem like a contradiction of my comments re the first Bozzio and co. clip, but still....For me, when I want those particular buttons pushed I would prefer something like these; which strike me as having a little more grit and a little less "look at me!" glam:

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

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oN0qYUeV0KQ

Btw, I really like and admire your inquisitiveness and open-mindedness.  Regards.

Curious, what do you think of this?: 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=61k627ElDLg

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UM4TOcDuC14

Frogman - I’ll comment here briefly on a couple of things from your latest posts. Will get back afterwards on the new links you included.

1) Pleased to read we share great esteem for arrangers. In the statement from me that you quote, might be more appropriate had I said, "the ROLE of the arranger...." since, as you know, it’s not always a separate individual but sometimes the actual composer, one of the musicians or the producer (George Martin comes to mind). Regardless, the arrangement can certainly make or break a piece or take it over the top in a good way.

Gil Evans on Sketches of Spain is a GREAT example. Someone on A’gon a (year?) ago posted notes that were written at the time of the SoS session(s). Some studio employee - an eye witness - documented at least one of the sessions in great detail...what people were wearing, the personnel, who played what, interactions between Miles, Evans and others. It’s a great read. I’ll look around for it but you do too. It is well worth it. A nice word picture of that time.

2) re Black Light Syndrome. Agree with you for the most part: an inconsistent effort by some talented musicians. Rocker Steve is over the top in a not so good way - esp. on track 1 and the closer. This brings up the matter of "taste" and artistry, I think - factors that derive from both objective and subjective elements but, to me, constitute a 3rd area of evaluation. See my 9/22 9:19PM post (unless bored with the topic!).

Honestly, while the sonics of BLS are very good, there are only a few tracks I listen to repeatedly for the the sake of the music: 3) Duende & 6) Book of Hours. Both display some flamenco influence. To a much lesser extent, I revisit 4) title track & 5) Falling in Circles. If the entire recording were up to the quality of 3 & 6, it would be a stellar album.

Situation Dangerous, the second by this trio, is also inconsistent from my perspective. I don’t think the sonics are quite as good, either. Seems little less airy and spacious.

By the way, not that I'm that big a Bozzio fan but I will say I think he is the real deal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcerKvzcyvQ&ab_channel=CalVid

Comments on the FZ composition performed above (The Black Page) in this mini-bio of another great drummer
http://www.lastudiomusicians.info/vinniecolaiuta.htm

I will check out those links you posted next. Good chatting.

Dixie Dregs - yeah, okay. Excellent musicianship. REALLY good. Musically it’s a little boring (well the bit sampled here) BUT I’ll listen to more by them. Great drumming. Heard of Steve Morse, of course. On the other hand I never listened to them as a band! Always mixed them up with Dexys Midnight Runners and that horrible hit THEY had so avoided ’em. Totally mixed up and mistaken on my part, of course. Thanks for the links.

Pat Martino? - FREAKING A!!! Why was I not told about this sooner!!!
Those tracks are sublime. To me, more interesting than anything from Weather Report I can call to mind. Those are some complex (time signatures?). Not just technical excellence (esp. Pat’s guitar and his drummer, Kenwood Dennard) but somebody actually gifted with a sense of MELODY. THANK YOU much. If Joyous Lake draws me back for repeated listening, it’ll be a buy. Found it and saved it to my albums on Spotify. Listening to the whole thing now as I do some paperwork this AM.  Best thing that's happened so far today.