Jazz Musician's Sonic Signature


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There are some jazz musicians, even if you've never heard the album or song before, you know who the musician is...even if he's playing as a sideman. For me, this is because I have lots of recordings by these guys and I've gotten used to their subtle nuances.

1. Stanley Turrentine
2. Hank Crawford
3. Kenny Barron
4. Miles Davis
5. Hubert Laws
6. Horace Silver
7. Dexter Gordon
8. Freddie Hubbard
9. Wes Montgomery

Whose playing do you instantly recognize?
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128x128mitch4t

Showing 5 responses by mitch4t

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Drubin, I see Elvin Jones in your list. Of the many great jazz drummers throughout history, I haven't listened close enough to any drummers to identify a signature. 99.9% of all of my jazz recordings include drums, but for the life of me, I cannot identify a drummer on any of them.

I cannot say that I can instantly identify any bass players either. Drums and bass don't usually call attention to themselves, therefore, it is more difficult to distinguish unless you are really listening for it.
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I love Lee Morgan and have listened to him for decades. However, I cannot readily identify his playing except for his tunes that I'm familiar with.

I could identify the sound of Paul Desmond and Wes Montgomery in a hurricane, Dave Brubeck, not so much.

I have Terence Blanchard and Nicholas Payton albums. I love their music, but nothing they do make them readily recognizable to me if I heard one of their unfamiliar albums.
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