Jazz for aficionados
I walked out of the book store with a number of books, and a friend of mine peeped in the bag: "old Shakespeare, Dickens, and D H Lawrence, you still into them?" That was the question he asked 20 years ago. It's for certain I thought I would be out of those artists by now, but we are discussing those same artists more than ever now. ??? |
Pryso, very nice Joe Morello live clips. I like your description of his playing as steady and nuanced. Very little flash but always a strong sense that the rhythm is simmering. He was definitely one of the greats and a perfect choice for Brubeck’s Quartet. Notable is the fact that he had the ability to play in the unusual time signatures (odd-meter) that Brubeck’s group was known for and pioneered in jazz. Your first clip "Castilian Drums" is in 5/4 (five beats to the measure) same as Brubeck’s well known "Take Five". It’s one thing to be able to play rhythm in odd-meter within the context and framework of a melody. It’s all the more impressive to be able to solo in odd-meter with the ease and musical logic that Morello could play with. Great drummer and great quartet. And then there’s Paul Desmond with that wonderful tone which he wanted to sound "like a dry martini". This time in 9/8 time: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KAlVasHbipo https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j9GgmGLPbWU (For anyone interested: In "Blue Rondo a la Turk" the 9/8 meter is organized as a repeated cycle of three measures of 2+2+2+3 followed by one measure of 3+3+3. For a fun exercise/challenge listen to the melody and think (fast): ONE-two, ONE-two, ONE-two, ONE-two-three ONE-two, ONE-two, ONE-two, ONE-two-three ONE-two, ONE-two, ONE-two, ONE-two-three ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three) |
Many thanks frogman. I particularly enjoyed the live "Blue Rondo". I’ve always liked that as much if not better than "Take Five". Plus it was a treat watching them performing and getting such a kick out of each other. Now I’ll show my age by saying I also appreciated the steady camera work. No rapid "jump cutting" which has become de rugueur these days. In addition I appreciate your musical explanations since I know so little about the technicalities. I can hear whenever someone is out of tune or off tempo but never learned to read music or play any instrument so much is otherwise lost on me. Lastly my feelings about that version of the Brubeck Quartet. I’ve long felt they were one of the top groups in the world of jazz. Yes, they often ranked highly in popular polls but didn’t do so well in critic’s polls. I believe that was because they were so popular in general that "serious" jazz critics and musicians refused to give them fair due. Only Paul Desmond seemed to be considered outside that. Still, as your live clip displayed, they played not only with inventive rhythms, but they had wonderful interplay and could swing pretty hard. Of course, each one of the four was a top musician. OK I’m a fanboy and must have at least 20 of their albums. But for this uneducated musical set of ears they played music I could understand, even with the complex rhythms, while loving their spontaneity and creativity. |
