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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
inna
7,296 posts
 
Argentinian tango is a very different form.
Easy to dance wrong, just like flamenco.
jmphotography's avatar
jmphotography
161 posts
 
OK, Jazz aficionados help me understand some of the older jazz recordings. To give you a background my all time favorite is Coltrane Blue Train, absolutely love it, fabulous recording. When I listed to some of the other older jazz recordings, while the artist and music is great the recording bothers me because it is so heavy in left and right channel with nothing in the middle for  sound stage. Recordings like Blue Train have a wide soundstage well laid out. Others have sax and piano coming from the left speaker and drums coming from the right and nothing in between. Is this typical of the late 50's early 60's?
orpheus10 OP
8,668 posts
 

I am every bit as much audiophile as the most extreme; however, music trumps everything else, and I take what I get when it comes to Jazz in regard to "audiophilia".
pjw81563
1,829 posts
 
OK, Jazz aficionados help me understand some of the older jazz recordings. To give you a background my all time favorite is Coltrane Blue Train, absolutely love it, fabulous recording.


Blue Train was recorded/engineered at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio at his Englewood Cliffs (Hackensack NJ) recording studio for the Blue Note record label.

This was the only recording Coltrane did at Blue Note as a leader. The bulk of his early work was recorded for Prestige and Atlantic and his famous quartet of the early 6o’s on the Impulse label.

This might have something to do with what you are pertaining to. I happen to like the way Van Gelder recorded.

From Wiki:

Van Gelder was secretive about his recording methods, leaving fans and critics to speculate about his techniques. He would go as far as to move microphones when bands were being photographed in the studio.[19] His recording techniques are often admired by his fans for their transparency, warmth and presence.



acman3
4,255 posts
 
I think PWJ nailed it. When stereo was new some recording engineers got it, and some did not. I often wondered, what were they thinking. Let's put Sonny on the left by himself, and the bass and drums on the right, so they can really hear what Sonny's doing.

Obviously, they had ideas other than live music as a goal. 
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