Jazz listening: Is it about the music? Or is it about the sound?
As a long-time jazz collector, to me, it is about the music first. That's not to say that sound quality isn't important too, but in looking at my collection, it contains a lot of jazz history. Back in time, there were some pretty poor quality recordings that contained fantastic music. Charlie Parker albums readily come to mind. "Bird's" influence on jazz musicians cannot be denied, including current ones. His recordings belong in any serious jazz fan's collection. Frank |
jjss49 ... My cousin turned me on to jazz when I was just a kid. I remember when I really hated Monk. Then one day, the lightbulb went on in my heart and he became a genius. The artists you mentioned are among my favorites and are still my go-to's to this day. I love the giant tenor players from the big band era. Some that come to mind are Charlie Ventura, Chu Berry, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and certainly Lester Young. Same thing with the big band singers who went solo in the late 40s and early 50s. Doris Day, June Christy, Jo Stafford are examples. Due to the times, the Black singers didn't get the immense credit they deserved. Some of us caught on early though. Mabel Mercer, Dinah Washington, Billy Eckstine, etc. Check this out ... The beautiful Dinah Washington: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGOnb-2e6kM&ab_channel=JuanPuellesLopez https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y10TqeFBMU0&ab_channel=sanpei55 |
I agree. Kenny G's music as presented to the public via his recordings is nothing but electronic, drenched in artificial digital reverb bunk. However, he does have talent. I saw him give a performance on the old Arcenio Hall show one night. No electronic enhancement. Just straight-ahead jazz. The man was terrific. Kinda reminded me of Sonny Stitt. Who knew?? Frank |
