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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
danvignau's avatar
danvignau
935 posts
 
I am the opposite, but learned about rock from my XM radio display.  Yes, I know, you have better sources.  So do I, but the jazz selection is awesome, and the info, especially for jazz, is educational.  The Polk costs about $50.00 on eBay, and service is $60 for the first year.
jyprez's avatar
jyprez
241 posts
 
Interesting that people for whom it really IS about the music - namely professional musicians. Rarely have very sophisticated audio systems. Even when they can afford it
chefscg
8 posts
 
Jazz is a music you listen with your soul. I have been equally moved by listening on great systems, not so great systems and live performances.  After 50 plus years and hundreds of listens to A Love Supreme, Kind Of Blue and many other classic recordings from many great players. They are still a fresh spiritual experience every time I hear them.  Every single note John Coltrane played deserves complete attention he is sharing his soul and his gift from God with us. 
IMHO


That’s how I listen to Jazz

Peace
Stevr
coltrane1's avatar
coltrane1
696 posts
 
I grew up listening to jazz. Learning names like Miles, Trane, Gordon, etc. it rubbed off. As an adult jazz is 90% of what I listen to. Playing trumpet in school, my first influence was Freddie Hubbard’s First Light LP. What a trumpet player. What an album, and some of CTI’s finest work in 1971. I’ve studied both jazz piano and jazz guitar. One doesn’t have to be a musician to know jazz, but studying does give one insights. I’ve been listening to jazz for 58 years. And I’ve not scratched the surface of available music. 
keegiam
730 posts
 
@coltrane1

Your experience interests me because I grew up learning to play trumpet & baritone.  I dabbled with the french horn but found the mouthpiece tiny and the instrument kind of stubborn.  Never got as far as improvisational jazz though.

But learning music theory changed my life forever.  It informs our listening enjoyment immeasurably and led to one of my life's greatest passions.

Freddie Hubbard's "Sky Dive" was one of my first non-Miles trumpet recordings after college - on CTI.  Yikes, I was captivated.

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