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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
orpheus10 OP
8,668 posts
 

You have no idea how precious this is to me;


      https://downbeat.com/news/detail/john-coltrane-out-of-obscurity


I bought this album shortly after it was released in 1960. There is no way I can find words to explain how different this album sounded to me then, and how it sounds to me now. Then, I had a one piece wooden record player with an astatic cartridge. Now, I have an "audiophile" rig that would take a whole page to describe. That album sounded better to me then, than it would on the worlds best audiophile rig now.


Here is the album I'm talking about;


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6NCx0wcrC4&list=PLC9h9deIXsDsBiB50lJRZjdPkU51c1gfF




keegiam
731 posts
 
pjw, thanks for the McLaughlin/deLucia/Coryell at Royal Albert Hall.  It always makes me both sad and happy to watch, having later learned that Larry was nearing the bottom of his substance abuse and was barely functioning.  John soon asked Di Meola to replace Larry.

But the performance is sheer joy to watch.

Just after Di Meola joined in 1980:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFlDf7Ck-N4
keegiam
731 posts
 
O10, I have heard of that phenomenon of not being able to bear normal life without the rush of combat, but have never met anyone that had that going on.  That must have been a real eye-opener.

"The Hurt Locker" dealt with the same subject, although I never made it all the way through that one.

That Billy Bang stuff is beyond cool - thanks!
orpheus10 OP
8,668 posts
 

Keegiam, it makes my day that you shared my appreciation of Billy Bang's music he created that was inspired by his Vietnam experiences.


Billy Bang explored his experience in Vietnam in two albums: Vietnam: The Aftermath (2001) and Vietnam: Reflections (2005), recorded with a band which included several other veterans of that war. The latter album also features two Vietnamese musicians based in the United States (voice and đàn tranh zither).

Bang died on April 11, 2011. According to an associate, Bang had suffered from lung cancer. He had been scheduled to perform on the opening day of the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival on June 10, 2011. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York.


I just discovered another album that I was unaware of;


        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGiej-o1pp8&list=PLZz6KJ6RIvgaiIH4vIWUHfEEXiOw-YMuE
orpheus10 OP
8,668 posts
 

Keegiam, I was at a New Year's Eve party bringing in 69, sitting across a coffee table from a guy sitting on a couch. He was a well dressed, soft spoken, good looking fellow of about 27.

This was early in the evening before most of the guests had arrived and any serious drinking had begun. It was certain that I would know most of the guests at the party, but I had never seen this guest before. He was talking and making the kind of small talk people make with people they don't know. I listened, and when I looked into his eyes my blood froze and I experienced extreme fear. (What the he--) He wasn't talking loud or mean; he was soft spoken, he wasn't rough looking, he was well dressed, I hadn't had hardly anything to drink, so let me look away and try this again.

I looked away momentarily, and then responded to the small talk. He had a soft smile that never changed, but when I looked into his eyes I experienced fear; that's when I found someone else to help make this new guest comfortable.

I discovered he was just back from Nam. That experience was so weird that I never figured it out or even talked to anyone else about it.
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