Jazz for aficionados

I recently got rid of a trash can full of records not worth the time it takes to listen to them; since I bought them a long time ago, I don't have a clue why I bought them in the first place, but I was tired of them taking up much needed space.

I must have been searching for "unknowns".

Frogman, ok, good, now I understand you better. Things are much clearer, if not completely.

One more thing:
"Have there been musicians of the artistic caliber of a Satchmo, Bird, Miles, Sonny Rollins, Trane, Bill Evans and, yes, Ornette Coleman, or even the “tier” below (Johnny Griffin) that slipped through the cracks and were never discovered or have been forgotten? Not a chance in hell."

It is as if you are saying: If the unknown one had been good enough (meaning great), we would have heard about him for sure.

And it is also as if we should not ’dig’ any further, ’cause it is already all there what is to listen. I know that you do not mean this but a bit sounded like this. : )

mary_jo, thanks for your comments.

**** It is as if you are saying: If the unknown one had been good enough (meaning great), we would have heard about him for sure. ****

Well, that is exactly what I am saying.  Now, to be clear, we are talking about comparison to the greatest.  Was there some unknown player in some little town that was of the exalted caliber of Miles or Trane that chose to remain anonymous, or ”didn’t get the breaks” to become well known during his lifetime or at some point after?  I suppose it’s possible that there has been an example or two of musicians with that POTENTIAL who, for personal reasons didn’t want the limelight; but I seriously doubt it for the reasons mentioned previously.  A player needs to be in playing settings that push him to full potential; staying in obscurity doesn’t allow that.  Moreover, part of what drives a creative artist is the need to express himself; so.....
“if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?”

Let me try and explain what I mean this way, and let’s try and look at the issue in concrete terms and not just the abstract.  Again, I am always glad to learn of some lesser known player.  It’s always interesting and sometimes adds to the historical context.  This is not a reflection at all of how I feel about Alex’s focus (sometimes) on lesser known players. I appreciate the posts very much and have enjoyed much of the music.  However, to be frank, I can’t think of a single one that has been posted who has caused me to think, based on MY feeling about the quality of the playing relative to most of the well known players of the same instrument, ”hey, he could have been a Miles or Morgan or....”.   

Concrete, not abstract, question for you or anyone else:  who and how/why?

Man can not live on "Hard-Bop" alone;    


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


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