Jazz for aficionados
Marija FWIW I do believe that cables can make a difference and that it also depends on what other gear they are connected to. I also believe that a lot of people have been duped out of money in their quest for higher fidelity. BTW Marija what do you think of the late pianist Lyle Mays? Do you like his large catalog of composing and recording collaborations with guitarist Pat Metheny or the more straight ahead jazz music that, IMHO, he did not make enough of the latter sessions? Lyle Mays composed and recorded 14 albums with Pat Metheny and I would say they were co - leaders on these sessions. Lyle composed the bulk of the scores on them. Its challenging music but I do listen to the handful of discs I have when I’m in the mood - and you could call it mood music. Two with Pat Metheny: The Way Up - Pat Metheny Group - (Full Album) - YouTube As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls - YouTube A beautiful song Lyle wrote for most likely his main influence when it came to jazz as opposed to classical on the album Fictionary: Lyle Mays - Bill Evans - YouTube Another great one from the album Fictionary and also the title track for the album: Lyle Mays - Fictionary - YouTube And two more from the Ludwigsburg concert. Au Lait - YouTube August - YouTube A lot of classical can be heard in Lyle’s playing. |
Never forgotten, pjw; just a quick diversion. As usual, the real problems are ego and generalities. The ego of those who cannot accept that some are able to hear, or, ARE OPEN TO HEARING, nuances that they can’t, or, SIMPLY WON’T. So, anyone who because of open mindedness, experience and/or training does hear and appreciates those nuances is deemed delusional and lumped in with those who are, in fact, clueless....the gear jocks. Then, for the “icing on the cake”, because they are PREDISPOSED TO NOT HEARING, or simply can’t hear these nuances, they fall back on the idea that they are more virtuous as music lovers. They then again lump those who balance the two pursuits in a reasonable and wide eyed manner with those who care more about gear than the music. Curiously and ironically, they also tend to be the ones who can’t bear to listen to sonically poor recordings (such as early Bird recordings) simply for the sake of the music. Huh?! The denial that these sonic nuances in the sounds of gear do exist becomes dogma and they are often not even willing to try or experiment to see (hear) for themselves. The danger in generalizations. Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to do with your travels in audiophile land. As I said in my first response to this, I have never felt that it is a necessary pursuit for a music lover such as yourself, but it can definitely lead to a clearer window into the music when done intelligently and kept in the right perspective. Lyle Mays: Great player. Like the recently discussed musical relationship between Charlie Rouse and Monk, he was the perfect piano player and complement for Pat Metheny. Excellent piano player with chops galore and a great improviser with a musical sensibility that was not overtly steeped in the Blues....just like Metheny. For some, that is a deal breaker; not for me. Strong parallel to the discussion about audio: “If the Blues doesn’t hit you squarely in the face, if it doesn’t sound *bluesy*, then it is not Jazz”, some say. Wrong! The blues content can be more subtle and nuanced within an overall sensibility more representative of the (modern) times. I like his playing very much. Sad that he is gone. |
Frogman if you like Lyle Mays and/or Pat Metheny you might like the following 3 videos by pianist Ryan Slatko: LYLE MAYS: The Composer (Part 1) - YouTube LYLE MAYS: The Composer (Part 2) - YouTube Here Slatko talks about Lyle Mays' classical influences from the late romantic impressionistic era - Stravinsky, Bartok, Ravel, and Debussy: Lyle Mays: The Pianist - YouTube |
