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
frogman

Great Freddie Hubbard links. I have all of those albums. What is your take on Hubbard's CTI session Red Clay?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA1ZelIbUfI



Julia Fisher rarely uses a score , I have seen her live three times and she did not on those occasions . I see none on the You Tube clips either .
Ditto for most "jet-set" violinists .
What I hear from Hubbard is the way he almost seamlessly drifts into a rhythm, you have to concentrate to hear the micro- second it takes. Fisher does it seamlessly, a function than can be done on the violin, and which she does better than anyone else .
What makes her as great as she is she serves the music she plays every single second .
A jazz player, to a significant degree, shows you what they think.A classical player’s job is to show you what the composer thought .
Not  that classical players don't slip a tiny riff in  now and then .

What made Hubbard great is he had something to say that moved  the jazz trumpet along .
IMO , more than anyone else on the scene .

P.S . rok, Buy yourself a notebook .

Today's Listen:

Cedar Walton  --  COMPOSER
with/Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride, Vincent Herring, Ralph Moore, Victor Lewis

Notes:  Primarily celebrates Walton as player and composer.  He played with Blakey and wrote the tunes, 'Mosaic' and 'Ugetsu', both titles of Blakey albums.  Speaks of his dignity, humble demeanor and the respect he commands in the world of Jazz.

Sounds like he was a serious musician.

All tunes by Cedar Walton.  Notes by Christian McBride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO1iJuefI2M  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw_ff_eHYL4  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azpbPsipV04  

Cheers
pjw, I like “Red Clay”. I have always had mixed feelings about most (not all) CTI recordings. Red Clay is one that I like a lot ....with some relatively minor reservations. You asked for my take:

It stays closer to the vibe of the classic hard bop recordings with just a kind of “peek” into the over produced, not quite straight-ahead Jazz, not quite Funk, not quite Soul vibe of some other CTI’s. Something that gives them, for me, a somewhat “lite” character.
Freddie sounds great. One of my reservations, and one of the reasons that I like early Freddie so much is that while he was by then (Red Clay) a much more fully formed stylist, at the same time he was starting to show something that has often been a little annoying for me me from that point forward in his career. Lots of Freddieisms on that record. Little pet licks and trumpetistic (?) inflections that he would use in just about every solo; a signature sound, but comes across as a little cliched at times. And, a kind of relentless quality; always on fire. Some would would say I’m nitpicking, but I usually enjoy pre-CTI Freddie best. Lastly, Joe Henderson sounds amazing as always, but he shouldn’t be playing the flute; doesn’t sound very good. And, even though he can do no wrong in my book, Herbie is not entirely convincing playing organ.


***** rok, Buy yourself a notebook .*****

Why, whatever for?

Cheers

Btw, I didn't mean she had to have the score in front of her, she has it in her head.   But rest assured it was in front of her once upon a time.
And,
her job is not to show what the composer thought, but HER sense of what he thought.   And everyone has a different sense.   Otherwise we would only need one player.

And Jazz musicians and Classical players, apples and oranges.  You only have to listen to the several attempts by classical players to play Jazz on recordings.   And these are Jazz standards.   Written down.

Wynton being a brilliant exception.

Cheers