LouieB Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Good to know someone went in previous years. Hyde Park is a bit off the beaten track for us Northsiders and so soon after Jazz Fest in Grant Park, this event is slightly redundant, but the lineup seems better than in years past. Fortunately you can some some of these folks in clubs on a regular basis (many at the Velvet or the Hideout or the Green Mill and such). I will try and get down for this, but my neices wedding is that weekend so it ain't looking so good. Please report back though. Recently I have gotten ahold of some or Reginald Robinson's CDs. Strangely he doesn't play around town that often. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I implore everyone to try to uncover some Duke Ellington piano recordings, particularly these:They are a great look at a true master, not only a master composer and arranger, but a master pianist. Check them out.Okay I will take a chance on these. I just bought the second for $5 and the first for one cent (that's correct one cent) on Amazon. Not alot of market for Duke these days I guess... LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I got my $5 copy of the Capital Duke album discussed here and it is pleasant enough. It isn't the revelation that some of the other Capital reissues in this series are (Miles Birth of the Cool, Lennie Tristanto, Art Tatum, etc.) but it is okay. Duke never claimed to be a great pianist (although one should give one of Duke's mentors Willie "the Lion" Smith's solo work a listen) and this record doesn't really bolster that claim. This album actually a really nice small setting for Duke and both Duke and Trane are excellent. Not to mention the sidemen who are all top notch. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 (And his Mother Called him Bill, if you can't see the writing on the image) I like this one because, seeing as it was recorded in the 60s, the sound is terrific, and there is some phenomenal swinging as well as some excellent playing on slower numbers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Dang, I can't find a newer "jazz thread," only a couple from 2008. I don't know where the main jazz thread went.... Anyhow, I have been discovering a fair amount of classic jazz over the past few years, mainly from people on Blue Note but beyond that too. Solo projects by everyone from Donald Byrd to Dexter Gordon to Hank Mobley to Elvin Jones. The latest find is a pretty interesting album by Elvin called The Prime Element. Apparently, it has never had a proper CD release, just vinyl. I managed to track down YouTube videos of each song and convert them to mp3s so I can hear them in my car. It's an interesting listen: reminds me a bit of the classic Coltrane quartet kind of crossed with one of the more traditional-sounding sessions from Pharoah Sanders, before he got really out there. I've also discovered a newer group called 3osity, an organ trio that covers The Wind Cries Mary. Cool stuff. Anyone else listening to jazz much lately? It might sound like a weird thing for me to mix in with my usual steady diet of Grateful Dead, Bruce Cockburn, and new-to-me (but not necessarily new) rock from Badfinger, Drive By Truckers, etc. etc., but I really like to hear some jazz just about every day... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tinnitus photography Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 i listened to an Art Ensemble of Chicago cd last weekend (A Jackson In Your House) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 i listened to an Art Ensemble of Chicago cd last weekend (A Jackson In Your House) Just brought my copy to work today to give it a listen, again. Just finished up the below. (I am alone in the office on Tuesdays and Fridays, so it usually "free" jazz days.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Just brought my copy to work today to give it a listen, again. Just finished up the below. (I am alone in the office on Tuesdays and Fridays, so it usually "free" jazz days.) I have listened to that entire Coltrane release a good 25-30 times, and it isn't even my favorite. If you like him in the live setting, and are not a fanatic about perfect sound quality, I recommend the box set Live Trane: The European Tours. Personally, I love the sound on those shows, but some people don't feel it sounds, I don't know, soundboard-y enough. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 My library has the European Tour set and I check it out quite a bit - good stuff, indeed. The sounds is okay, as you say, not the best - but I believe it's the source tapes that are the issue - so if it's all that they have to play with from a mastering point - it's fine by be. Glad it the material is released. The sound on the One Down, One up isn't the best, either. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings is essential too, especially so you can have a few versions of India to listen to. Ha! Interesting that we are getting back into talking about Coltrane again. I just reread Louie's old post about Trane and Miles, and I am amused to realize that I just turned my lady onto jazz without actually going through the standard Miles and Trane route. I figured she would be more inclined to like something that you can "boogie" to a little, so I have been playing her bits and pieces of all sorts of different people: a little Hank Mobley, a little Charles Kynard, Lee Morgan, a couple of Billie Holiday tunes. So far, she's been into it (though not fanatically so, like me), and it will be interesting to see how she likes Trane and Miles when I play those. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings is essential too, especially so you can have a few versions of India to listen to. Ha! Definitely - this set was the first box set my girlfriend (now wife) bought me for Christmas when it came out back in 97 - I don't think she ever bought me a better Christmas gift. (though she did get me the Complete Miles on Columbia set for Valentine's Day a few years back.) Regarding listening to jazz around the house --- some stuff I am relegated to head phones, this includes while listening to some of the later Coltrane stuff, while the wife is milling about. So far my kids can put up with anything, but I am waiting for the day when they don't want to listen to Peter Brotzmann blaring away on the sax. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Aw, come on, you mean you can't subject them all to Leo or Crescent from Live in Japan? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 The Bad Plus's take on Stravinsky's Rite of Spring came out today. I want to hear that. Coltrane at the Half Note is great, haven't listened to that in a while. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Oil Can Boyd Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 A couple of months ago I saw a great lecture/performance by Wynton Marsalis called "New Orleans: the Birth of Jazz." Much of it was a lecture but he had a crack band with him and as he talked about specific pieces of music or explained how a song sounded when it was played in different styles, the band would play. It was pretty illuminating. These names may mean more to others but his band was Lucien Barbarin (trombone), Jonathan Batiste (piano), Troy Davis (drums), Vince Giordano (tuba/bass), Victor Goines (reeds), Ricky Gordon (percussion), Marcus Printup (cornet), Don Vappie (banjo/guitar), and Michael White (clarinet). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Another huge favorite that turned me from casual to "serious" (not as serious as Calvino or louisb) is the Miles Quintet releases just before he went to Columbia (workin', relaxin' sweatin', steamin'). I listened to those hardcore in the late 90s early 00s. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
choo-choo-charlie Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I love those Miles quintet records too. My favorite is Relaxin'. I'm also a fan of 'Round About Midnight. In terms of Coltrane, my favorites are Live at Birdland and with Thelonious Monk Quartet at Carnegie Hall. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/which-jazz-greats-were-left-off-the-blue-note-100/?smid=tw-nytimesmusic&seid=auto Big Blue Note re-release which might interest some of the vinyl aficionados. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I do love talking about jazz, but really have nothing to add to any of this at the moment. As I get older I appreciate and listen to more jazz vocal than I used to. In fact I used to hate most vocalists, but don't anymore. But then again I also like swing more than I used to also. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 As I get older I appreciate and listen to more jazz vocal than I used to. In fact I used to hate most vocalists, but don't anymore. That's the one area where I have a bit of a blind spot. With one exception: Billie Holiday.On the other hand, I don't hate all the other jazz vocalists as much as before. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 That's the one area where I have a bit of a blind spot. With one exception: Billie Holiday. On the other hand, I don't hate all the other jazz vocalists as much as before. Billie always got a pass, as did Sarah Vaughn. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I forgot to mention, I also love some of Sarah Vaughan's material. Some of it, though, is pure cornball. Same for Ella. The other (classic) jazz vocalist whom I admire quite a bit is Nina Simone. Of course, Nina was an accomplished pianist, not only a singer, and a lot of her stuff is really pure blues to my ear. But still. Modern: not so much. I like Cassandra Wilson and Rene Marie, but have not heard much of anyone else of interest. Not yet, anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Some of Sarah Vaughn is awful but a lot of it great. Ella seems to be the darling of the younger jazz fans. While none of her stuff is awful I would agree that it is cornball. But for some reason her star has risen since her passing. Nina Simone is amazing in general. Anita O'Day was pretty good in her day as well. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
choo-choo-charlie Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Try listening to Fay Victor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Sarah singing Lullaby of Birdland w/ Clifford Brown on trumpet. Swoon! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I do love talking about jazz, but really have nothing to add to any of this at the moment. As I get older I appreciate and listen to more jazz vocal than I used to. In fact I used to hate most vocalists, but don't anymore. But then again I also like swing more than I used to also. LouieBI'm not a big fan of jazz vocals. I won't be surprised if that changes, though. My tastes in jazz have been changing as it is. When I got into jazz, my focus was on Coltrane and the Impulse universe. More abrasive types of things, I suppose. Now I'm more into Jackie McLean, Horace Silver. Hard bop, and what I guess you could call soul jazz is more my thing these days. I guess it's no different with pop or rock. I used to be heavily into punk, then '60s/70s guitar hero type of shit, then indie rock, then whatever, etc., but now I'm more into music that more heavily leans on vocal melodies, and tends to be female fronted...which will perhaps be the wedge that opens the door to vocal jazz. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.