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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
strateahed
301 posts
 
@orpheus10 thanks for Mark Masters "Blue Skylight" . Streaming it now. Great production quality.
orpheus10 OP
8,668 posts
 

Strateahed, your evaluation of Lee Morgan and Miles was the best anyone could have written; while Miles couldn't "out blow" Lee, he conquered "time", which is something relatively few "jazz" musicians conquered; there are so many Miles Davis's that you can have a small collection based on any one of them.


Enjoy the music.
learsfool
1,215 posts
 
Interesting discussion here re Davis, Morgan, and Brown.  This is more up my alley, being a professional brass player.  As Frogman has said, the removal of Davis would have changed the development of jazz much more than the other two, and I think this would have been true even if Morgan and Brown had lived as long as Miles.  

I am about 99% certain that if I surveyed all of my trumpet playing colleagues, that they would say Miles was by far the most influential.  I am tempted to do just that over the next couple of weeks and see what they say, and to ask them which was their personal favorite as well.  I'll report back if I do.

That said, all were fantastic players, and I don't think anyone is saying otherwise here.  All three are decently represented in my collection.

orpheus10 OP
8,668 posts
 

Strateahed, Somehow I don't get this statement, " As Frogman has said, the removal of Davis would have changed the development of jazz much more than the other two, and I think this would have been true even if Morgan and Brown had lived as long as Miles."

Beyond Diz and Bird, I don't quite get this development of jazz. Jazz musicians I've known were such staunch individualists, that I couldn't hear how they were affected by Miles one way or the other.

It could be said that Miles led jazz in "fusion", but not all jazz musicians were into fusion. The more I think about Frogman's and Learsfool's statement, the less I get it; I need help on this one.
strateahed
301 posts
 
@orpheus10 first, I can’t presume to speak for @frogman or @learsfool . They’ll have to weigh in themselves. But what I can say is when we look at jazz, unless we accept the premise that it encompasses more than bebop and hard bop, then there is no need for further discussion.

“Bird was the giant among us. He was our musical and spiritual leader. Bird died before I had a chance to let him know his message got through to me.” Sonny Rollins, in a snippet from interview on local jazz radio station 4/15/17

Miles carried a message too. What Sonny’s statement says is that Miles’ legacy was through how he influenced other musicians. By the way, I feel that’s an important distinction between Lee and Miles. Morgan was a better bebop/hard bop trumpet player; Miles was a superior musician. That was reflected in how Miles interacted with Gil Evans on big band and larger ensembles, in addition to Miles’ many groups … including his two great ensembles . Many would say they were perhaps the greatest groups ever assembled: Coltrane, Cannonball, Bill Evans, and Paul Chambers; then Shorter, Hancock, Tony Williams, and Ron Carter.

So, there were 8 other musicians – each considered a virtuoso in their own right – who Miles drove to their better selves. Then you have Red Garland, Philly Joe Jones, and JJ Johnson. Adding to that list, we have those who became part of the electrified era. True, it was the forerunner to “fusion”; but I certainly wouldn’t put it in the same class as so-called “smooth jazz” [please don’t get me started!]. How about Chick Corea?  

The most amazing thing about “Kind of Blue” is that each cut was done in one take. It was an intricate expression of a type of jazz based more on scales than chords. That was Miles. He communicated his vision of what he wanted to the group, laid it out, and then they jammed. I think the result speaks for itself. In the DVD “Herbie Hancock: Possibilities” Herbie talks about Miles’ influence on him and his stable mates and how they all learned to create on the fly and to exhibit exceptional artistry while staying “in the moment.”    

Miles’ view of jazz was that it was always changing and evolving … pushing the limits. He was not alone in that. There was the “free jazz” period, with the likes of Anthony Braxton. [I walked out on folks like Oliver Lake and Archie Shepp]. Years ago I went to see Cannonball  at the Both/And Club in SF. Joe Zawinul was on keyboards (he would later collaborate with Miles on” Bitches Brew”). A couple of years later Zawinul teamed up with Wayne Shorter to form Weather Report. I went to check them out not knowing what to expect. Was it mainstream jazz? No. It was something different; and I liked some of it. Isn’t that all that really counts?  


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