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Jazz for aficionados

Jazz for aficionados

I'm going to review records in my collection, and you'll be able to decide if they're worthy of your collection. These records are what I consider "must haves" for any jazz aficionado, and would be found in their collections. I wont review any record that's not on CD, nor will I review any record if the CD is markedly inferior. Fortunately, I only found 1 case where the CD was markedly inferior to the record.

Our first album is "Moanin" by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. We have Lee Morgan , trumpet; Benney Golson, tenor sax; Bobby Timmons, piano; Jymie merrit, bass; Art Blakey, drums.

The title tune "Moanin" is by Bobby Timmons, it conveys the emotion of the title like no other tune I've ever heard, even better than any words could ever convey. This music pictures a person whose down to his last nickel, and all he can do is "moan".

"Along Came Betty" is a tune by Benny Golson, it reminds me of a Betty I once knew. She was gorgeous with a jazzy personality, and she moved smooth and easy, just like this tune. Somebody find me a time machine! Maybe you knew a Betty.

While the rest of the music is just fine, those are my favorite tunes. Why don't you share your, "must have" jazz albums with us.

Enjoy the music.
orpheus10
stuartk
4,013 posts
 

@pjw81563 

Wow -- that's a pretty intense example! I cannot handle that. 

David Murray is an example of an artist whose recordings span a spectrum. I don't enjoy the more severe albums but I enjoy the more mellow ones, like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBNXS7C-5So&list=OLAK5uy_nd0zv3V5YsbQ_wdk4MyFkij5UKnMKHhjQ&index=2

He did 3 or 4 albums with the same group, perhaps all recorded in one session. 

Ming's Samba is another I like. Could only find one tune on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDECyUGsU8Y

 

 

alexatpos
1,290 posts
 

"The main thing a musician would like to do is to give a picture to the listener of the many wonderful things he knows of and senses in the universe. That's what music is to me—it's just another way of saying this is a big, beautiful universe we live in, that's been given to us, and here's an example of just how magnificent and encompassing it is. That's what I would like to do. I think that's one of the greatest things you can do in life, and we all try to do it in some way. The musician's is through his music.

Coltrane and Eric Dolphy interviewed by Don DeMichael, as cited in "John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy Answer the Jazz Critic DownBeat

stuartk
4,013 posts
 
Life "encompasses" a lot. Different musicians choose to express their respective experiences of being human in different ways that may or may not be consistent with how a given listener defines "wonderful", "beautiful" or "magnificent". I guess it comes down to how much effort we’re willing to put in as individuals to try to find the "beauty" in something that initially strikes us as ugly/abrasive. There is an inevitable tension between artist and the one perceiving the art. As artists we want to be free to be genuine in our expressions. Presumably we want to facilitate some degree of communication, as well. For some, "the personal is the universal". For others, part of the craft is working with the material in ways that make the universality more explicit. It’s a balancing act. 
jafant's avatar
jafant
21,601 posts
 

Gary Karr - (R.I.P.)

jbuhl's avatar
jbuhl
1,110 posts
 

Radio paradise has started a new channel called Beyond.  Streams up to Redbook FLAC quality.  “Exploring the frontiers of improvisational music”

Beyond

 

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