Jazz listening: Is it about the music? Or is it about the sound?


The thread title says it all. I can listen to jazz recordings for hours on end but can scarcely name a dozen tunes.  My jazz collection is small but still growing.  Most recordings sound great.  On the other hand, I have a substantial rock, pop and country collection and like most of us, have a near encyclopedic knowledge of it.  Yet sound quality is all over the map to the point that many titles have become nearly unlistenable on my best system.  Which leads me back to my question: Is it the sound or the music?  Maybe it’s both. You’ve just got to have one or the other!
jdmccall56
’’Not So Special Keepers" (any genre)

That’s why I went from two arms (MC Stereo; Mono) to 3 arms ( added MM Stereo). Luckily I chose a vintage SUT with 3 inputs and MM pass.

I realized, I was wearing my non-replaceable stylus on LP’s that are keepers, because, like OP said, they are quite memorable, could name the tune, artist, get the year right most times, BUT not audibly special i.e. just ok (or none) musical talent, early poor equipment, poor engineering, but BIG HITS nonetheless.

I now play them with MM replaceable stylus. If I own these in CD format I will sell the LP or toss it if beat up as many are.

Meanwhile, if sonically great, I replace favorites with new LP, toss the old. Our advanced systems can easily reveal ’much better’ playing a new Eurythmics, (any frequently played favorite)
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Jazz, I agree, most often I could not give you the name of a tune if you had me on a firing wall.

I go by primary instrument, then artist(s), then superior engineering resulting importantly in individual distinction of particular players which naturally creates appreciable imaging.

When young and poor (redundant?), not knowing anything about Jazz, I was given about 50 Jazz LP’s that were in a flood. I washed em let em dry in dishwasher rack, played em on my decent low-budget system, and learned: I like Trombone; Trumpet; Sax; Piano, not electronic keyboards, yes trios, quartets, not large groups so much, not Jazz mixed with strings. Special voices, particularly female.

Back then, I had a weekly budget, CD’s were blowing LP’s out of the stores at low prices, and every payday I began refining which saxophone player, found Stan Getz ..., which piano found Earl Hines, Red Garland, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Terrance Blanchard ... i.e. refined what I liked and didn’t like as well.

Next: superior recording, superior versions, then moved into R2R tapes, technically nosiest, yet my best sounding format, limited by content that stopped due to CD’s.
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One thing I learned to do, if not special, or Mono, is not to listen from my centered listening position, but go back to my corner sofa spot, then your mind does not seek imaging which detracts mightily from non-special or Mono recordings.

1. There is something seriously wrong with your best system.
2. What utility is it to you if you can‘t play the bulk of your music collection?
3. Personally, I would rather listen to good music on an ipad than inferior music on a $50k system. The system is always subsurvient to the music. In my view, at least.
Both - but I think Jazz is especially amenable to sounding good. In terms of a system making a given genre sound better or worse, I think it is simply that good recordings benefit a lot more from a good system. But all recordings should benefit to varying degrees from a good system.