What jazz have you been listening to today?

gord

gord

New member
just finished listening to, charles mingus-mingus ah um- columbia (cd)
this is one of the great classic albums. gord
 

OLDUDE

New member
Allan Vache Swingtet, my latest download. This guy is hard to separate from Benny Goodman as a clarinetist, and I now have 5 of his CDs.

"With Benny in Mind"
"Allan and Allen"
"A.V.Swingtet"
"Strike Two"
"A.V's Florida Jazz Allstars"
I recommend that his music be listened to on Spotify if possible.
 
gord

gord

New member
just finished playing sun ra- reflections in blue. one jazz critic called sun ra's music demented jazz, that is a perfect discription. this album though is closer to mainstream than i heard him before.a mixture of big band and sun ras "demented jazz".i like this. gord
 
White Knight

White Knight

Spectral Warrior con passion
John Coltrane and Mccoy Tyner via you tube:
"Equinox"
"One and Four"{aka"Mr.Day"}
"Giant Steps"
 
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White Knight

White Knight

Spectral Warrior con passion
David, I'm so glad you enjoyed those Coltrane links. I truly believe the man was a genius and--like Hendrix--far ahead of his time. And unfortunately, their other shared fate is that they died at obscenely young ages!

Today I listened to Lee Morgan--Best of The Blue Note Years and The Sixth Sense
Wayne Shorter--Best of The Blue Note Years
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers--Indestructible

 
Mat

Mat

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Ah, Giant Steps. That's an absolute ALL TIME classic.

Would you mind sharing your opinion on the pianist's solo, Steve?
 
White Knight

White Knight

Spectral Warrior con passion
Hi Mat. The version played here is the one with pianist Tommy Flanagan. On the actual cd Giant Steps, there is an alternate version of this song featuring Cedar Walton on the keys. After listening to both, the one with Flanagan is played at a much faster tempo. To me {an untrained ear and not a musician} his soloing is not really that confident; he just seems to be "vamping" {right term} off the chords and theme set down by Trane. I'm not saying it's a "bad solo" in any way, but when I heard Walton's right after this in the alternate playing, it struck me as being much more assertive, and yet equally supportive and melodic at the same time to the overall thematic conception and structure of this piece. As well, even though the second version of "Giant Steps" is slower than the first, it is about a minute shorter in duration. A very interesting contrast indeed.
Anyway, I hope that some--if any--of my observations on this matter make any sense. Do you have the Giant Steps cd? And, if you do, have you noticed these differences in the two rendered versions of this song?
p.s. Thanks so much for asking my opinion; I just hope I didn't make a total hash of it!
 
Mat

Mat

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Your observations make perfect sense, Steve.

I've heard the Flanagan version many times and I think that his solo is, with all due respect, quite an unsuccessful one. His playing makes me think that the tempo was too fast for him (even though he'd proved on many other recordings that he can play fast). Maybe he just had a bad day, I don't know, but he kept breaking off his solo. It sounded like he was either unprepared or lost track of the form, (which is very unlikely, I know). Anyway, such a big contrast between him and Coltrane. Maybe he just didn't want to outshine him... :grin:

I've spoken with a bunch of people and most of them shared my opinion. That's why I wanted to hear yours. And anyone else's here, for that matter.

As for the Giant Steps album - I do have it. It consists of 12 tracks, including an alternate take of GS, but it turns out it's got only Coltrane's solo in it. It lasts 3:44. Strange...
 
White Knight

White Knight

Spectral Warrior con passion
Wow, Mat that is strange indeed. My version has the Trane and Walton solos. I had thought too that Flanagan's soloing was so insipid because he didn't want to outshine the "master", but I am really not all that familiar with his body of work to make that assumption.
Anyway, hope everything is going well for you and that all your loved ones are healthy. Steve
 
Mat

Mat

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Staff member
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Regulator
Thanks for your kind words, Steve, though I can't say it's been all well in re to health issues in my family lately.

Well, I think I am going to look for some Flanagan's albums. Gotta hear for myself, you know.

Anyway, thanks for your opinion and take care.
 
White Knight

White Knight

Spectral Warrior con passion
Mat said:
Thanks for your kind words, Steve, though I can't say it's been all well in re to health issues in my family lately.

Well, I think I am going to look for some Flanagan's albums. Gotta hear for myself, you know.

Anyway, thanks for your opinion and take care.
Click to expand...

Mat, I'm so sorry to hear that your family is having health issues at this time. I know from personal and ongoing experience that it can be very emotionally draining for the caregiver, as well as the person suffering from the malady. I hope things get better for you and yours ASAP!
 
Mat

Mat

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Staff member
Sr. Regulator
Regulator
White Knight said:
Mat, I'm so sorry to hear that your family is having health issues at this time. I know from personal and ongoing experience that it can be very emotionally draining for the caregiver, as well as the person suffering from the malady. I hope things get better for you and yours ASAP!
Click to expand...

It's so true. I am trying to stay positive, though. Thanks again, Steve. Take care.
 
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