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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
mary_jo
1,525 posts
 
All right keeg...I do not mind...:--) 
mary_jo
1,525 posts
 
Always loved 'Nightmare'.
I do not mind for dark Artie either. 
Actually love it.
alexatpos
1,249 posts
 
Thelonious Monk and Charlie Rouse practicing at Nica’s “Cathouse” circa 1960 (photo by Pannonica de Koenigswarter)


https://hipstersanctuary.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/monk-and-charlie-rouse.jpg?w=640
mary_jo
1,525 posts
 
He looks like saying: Are you sure you wanna play like that?
Nice photo kiddo...
orpheus10 OP
8,668 posts
 

When I saw "Trane" he was blowing the Soprano sax, it was the same one Miles had given him. Miles said that John Coltrane had helped to make both of them legends.

According to Miles; "Trane was the loudest, fastest saxophonist I’ve ever heard. He could play real fast, and real loud at the same time and that’s very difficult to do.

After I gave him that soprano saxophone, it had an effect on his playing, his style changed; while he sometime played like Bird, Stitt, Lockjaw, or Dexter Gordon before, after he got that horn, he didn’t sound like nobody but himself. He found out he could play lighter and faster on the soprano than he could on the tenor. He found he could think and hear better with the soprano than he could with the tenor. When he played the soprano, after a while it sounded almost like a human voice, wailing"

That’s what Miles had to say about Trane.

This is the album that was hot when I saw John Coltrane;


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWG2dsXV5HI


The place was packed with professional musicians (minus girlfriends). If I had come minus girlfriend, I would not have had one when I got home; she liked Trane as much as I did. We were fortunate enough to have "Kenny Rice" a professional drummer, sit at our table.

All those professional musicians were there for a reason, which I was soon to discover; Trane didn’t repeat what was on the album, but played a much extended version, that was long enough to take me to a place that I had never been, but always wanted to go; a blissful musical heaven.

This was in a nightclub setting and we were close enough to the musicians to see every bead of sweat, and the expressions on their faces as they took us through different moods; naturally, Elvin Jones, the drummer was dripping with sweat as he propelled Trane to higher ground.

Near the end of the set, Trane really stretched out, that was what the professional musicians came to hear; "Coltrane unleashed", going places where no musician had gone before, out into the far reaches of the seventh galaxy. He reworked and extended "My Favorite Things" into a 35 minute tune. A grand time was had by all.

More to discover