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

Rok, it seems that all your posts are bringing on memories. I was in "Mobay"; that's what they call Montego Bay, and while they had nothing but Reggae at the hotel and in public, when you turned on the radio, nothing but jazz; you would have thought you were in Chicago or LA; Jamaicans were some hip dudes.


When I was LA, a girl I knew took me to a big church where I heard gospel on par with the "Staple Singers"; I got religion that Sunday. The Staple Singers make me want to go to church and repent, although I don't recall offhand doing anything wrong. I got to have some more of that music.



"City, country City"; my favorite cut on that album.



"Rainy Night in Georgia"; I was in Atlanta, and it started drizzling one night, and didn't stop for a week. I remember walking up and down "Peach Tree Street" where I was living in a hotel (work related) and it seemed like it was never going to stop raining. Atlanta is a lonely place when it's raining and you don't know anybody.



Frogman, he muffed it so bad, I bet most people thought he was just someone trying to imitate Maynard Ferguson.


The guy who looked most like the Maynard Ferguson I saw, was the first one.
And now, due to a diminishing number of requests (as the old club MC would say), a last comment from me about the bass clarinet. Like many of you I do have interests in other music besides jazz (Dead Can Dance o10?) and I attended our local symphony Saturday evening. The main performance was Mahler’s "The Song of the Earth". He’s not a favorite of mine but I though I should give it a chance. Anyway I noted the instrumentation included bass clarinet. Sure enough, there were at least three times where that distinctive mellow low tone penetrated through the other instruments, reminding me again I do like that sound.  That was the best part of the hour-long piece.

o10, yet another appreciation we share. Growing up I heard multiple times that boys didn’t notice girls until our early teens, about the time facial hair began to show. That was not true for me. I had a crush on a girl in my kindergarten class. Decades later I still remember her name even. We moved and I lost track of her by the 3rd grade but I still remember how cute she was and how that made me feel. ;^)