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So anyone hear into much jazz?


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And if so what are some of your favorites....

 

I've been listening to the riverside sessions with Coltrane and Monk...

Pretty cool stuff.

 

Monk w/ Coltrane will forever be one of my top 5 albums no matter what comes out between now and the end of my life.

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Gone, Just Like a Train

 

Cool to see this mentioned. I was listening to it today. Actually, it's still in my player. Maybe I'll hit play again. Jim Keltner gets into some really unorthodox drumming on this one.

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Have you heard much medeski, martin and wood?

 

I went to see them because it was a friend's birthday and he was into them. I'd never heard of them, let alone heard them. Blew me away! The bummer part though is that I've lost my favorite mmw cd, combustication. I know it's around here somewhere. Maybe I should break down and go buy a new one so that I'll suddenly find the old one!

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Have you heard much medeski, martin and wood?

If you like MMW, I would suggest a New England-based band called Schleigho. I've got a live disc called Ho-Down 2000 that has Derek Trucks & Kofi Burbidge sitting in with them. Excellent takes on some Wayne Shorter stuff.

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Bad Plus is(are) awesome.

 

MMW are the best. I've seen them a bunch of times live. If you catch them on the wrong night you could get turned off. Some shows I've seen them do are lost of Hendrix covers and funk tunes and other times they'll just space out for a couple hours. The best is when you get a mix of those and see guest like Scofield, DJ Logic, Trey Anastasio, or Cyro Baptista.

 

I was always a big fun of Monk. Also Trane's Live At the Village Vanguard box set is amazing, if you're into modal jazz. Takes Kind of Blue to a much looser, dirtier, experimental, and dangerous level. Elvin Jones' drumming is great.

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Mingus, Coltrane, Thelonius, Miles and Charlie Parker would be considered Undisputed Heavyweights.

However, some great jazz can be overwhelming to get started on.

 

If so, try these :yes

 

 

Jimmy Smith or Jimmy McGriff for funky Hammond organ stuff.

 

Johnny Smith, Wes Montgomery or Django Reinhardt for blistering guitar.

 

Early Stanley Clarke for incredible Bass.

 

Dave Brubeck for piano bachelor pad fun.

 

Stan Getz for buttery sax.

 

Herbie Hancock for bridging the gap between the pioneers of Jazz and their descendants.

(This cat has had a long career)

 

Definitely check out Kind Of Blue

(it may be the greatest Jazz Album...........ever)

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Kieth Jarret has been my fav. for 30 years, I finally saw some of Miles at Ilse of White(sp) w/Jarret, Jack Dejonette, Chick Corea, Aairto(sp) and a sax player I didn't recognized . . .

 

In 1993 my favourite group was the Nels Cline Trio . . .

 

I'm glad Cecil Taylor took it out, when I heard that stuff it broke down all the walls

 

I love Sarah Vaugn(sp) . . . I use to go see Diane Reeves quite a bit back in the day, shes my favourite living singer . . .

 

the Allan Holdsworth IOU Band was pretty groundbreaking circa 1980-85, he's still got it, it's just that I was floored around 80-81 by those guys . . . I got to work with the singer from that band, Paul Williams [the English Paul Williams]

96-98 in a blues type group ala Juicy Lucy . . . I still kick myself for letting other mu$ic take priority . . .

 

Trane, Monk . . . Weather Report, RTF,

 

I was a prog teenager so in my 30's when Patrick Moraz starting teaching in my area I finally got the courage to call him and we became fast friends, man I'll have to get to that another time, cept to say he could nail some of those Kieth Jarret ostanatos . . . we went to see McCoy Tyner once, PM was loving life . . .

 

I was getting to do some gigs to do some gigs with Nels in Boilermaker, opening for good people with my own fusion group . . . a great time . . . but I digress

 

. . . dang life shows up . . .

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These threads pop up from time to time & I always love it!

 

I'm a big fan of the post-bop era & esp. the more avant-garde. I don't know how far out you like to get but the Art Ensemble of Chicago is a great place to start if you're a fan of the wierd. Folks like Lester Bowie, Henry Threadgill & my favorite post-Coltrane sax man Anthony Braxton are all amazing. Of course Rahsaan Roland Kirk (esp. Prepare Thyself To Deal With a Miracle) and Sun Ra are total forces of nature & will take your mind to places you never knew existed.

 

Among younger dudes David Murray is an incredibly prolific & inventive artist. He did an album a few years back called Dark Star-The Music of the Grateful Dead that any self-respecting head should own. He was also a founding member of the World Saxophone Quartet that was a stellar band that fused avant wierdness with straight-up R&B. Their album "Steppin'" is one of my favorite acoustic jazz albums from the past 30 years.

 

I'm guessing you might have already heard Trey Anastasio's "Surrender to the Air" that features a number of Sun Ra alums. Definitely NOT for the faint-hearted. :lol

 

The heavyweights like Ornette, Miles, Coltrane, Monk & Mingus have already been mentioned & rightly so. You can't go wrong imo with anything from these guys (at least what I've heard). So I'll just mention my favorite from each:

 

Coleman--Free Jazz

Miles--In a Silent Way

Trane--Ascension

Mingus--Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus

Monk--Live at the IT Club

 

I MUST mention also Chick Corea's first Return To Forever LP (w/ Stanley Clarke & Airto & Flora) and the most jaw-dropping guitarist I've ever heard (w/ the possible exception of Jimi) John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra--Birds of Fire for a taste of fusion. Don't forget Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow" either.

 

I've forgotten a shit ton of important stuff here but our VC friend Louie B needs to chime in here. He's forgotten more jazz than I'll ever know & I respect his opinions on this subject highly.

 

Hope this helps man.

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I finally saw some of Miles at Ilse of White(sp) w/Jarret, Jack Dejonette, Chick Corea, Aairto(sp) and a sax player I didn't recognized . . .

 

 

You can see their Isle of Wight performance on "Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue". I'm not sure if this is their entire performance, supposedly it is. It's only 20 something minutes, but there were zillions of bands playing that festival so they probably did short sets. The sax player is Gary Bartz.

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Always great to see these threads pop up from time to time.

 

MMW is a big favorite of mine, although they are admittedly sometimes easier on the ears than others. Love the experimentation, but really don't find myself listening much to stuff like Electric Tonic (all improv) or even The Dropper very much. Friday Afternoon In the Universe was a revelation to me when I first heard it--might have been what started me down the path to jazz-appreciation. Maybe not. I dunno.

 

Hard to go wrong with the classics mentioned: Coltrane/Monk/Miles/Mingus/Parker. I always liked the suggestion that the best way to get into jazz was to get a Miles Davis record and then listen to the records by all the other guys in the group and then listen to all the side players for those albums and so on and so on. A whole universe of stuff out there, man.

 

BTW, I'll second the Visions of Jazz recommendation. Great book. I've barely scratched the surface of it (its huge), but always a good one to pull off the shelf from time to time.

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All this talk about MMW...

 

I enjoy them, but I've only listened to the Dropper and Combustication. Of those, I think I prefer Combustication. I'd like to hear their Tonic album (the all acoustic one), or all of their earlier stuff, really. I first saw/heard them as an opening act for Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta. I remember they played a Monk tune and a Bob Marley tune. That was back when Billy Martin was using that three colored tub as a bass drum. They went over quite well even though they seemed to be unknown to most of the audience.

 

After that show I kept seeing their name regularly in listings for a place called Homage Coffeehouse. I saw them a few times there playing for anywhere between 20 and 50 people. I think the gal who used to book Homage is now works for them handling MMW's merchandising, perhaps explaining why they came to Atlanta so many times.

 

MMW did a really good performance on Sessions at West 54. I used to have a tape of it, but I taped over it. Bummer.

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Current faves in the rotation:

 

410MP0TQXPL._AA240_.jpg

Elvin Jones, Jimmy Garrison, Mccoy Tyner, Prince Lasha, Charles Davis, and Sonny Simmons.

 

31TNJD1WFHL._AA240_.jpg

Jack DeJohnnette, David Murray, Arthur Blythe, and Peter Warren.

 

41kyGTFFLzL._AA240_.jpg

Eric Dolphy, Booker Little, Mal Waldron, Ed Blackwell, and Richard Davis.

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I hate to quote myself, but earlier I said this:

 

"You can see their Isle of Wight performance on "Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue". I'm not sure if this is their entire performance, supposedly it is. It's only 20 something minutes"

 

The bold part is wrong. Their set was 38 minutes.

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Current faves in the rotation:

 

410MP0TQXPL._AA240_.jpg

Elvin Jones, Jimmy Garrison, Mccoy Tyner, Prince Lasha, Charles Davis, and Sonny Simmons.

 

41kyGTFFLzL._AA240_.jpg

Eric Dolphy, Booker Little, Mal Waldron, Ed Blackwell, and Richard Davis.

 

 

fantastic :thumbup

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mmw is a real acquired taste.Definitely not standard jazz.
Strangely they are appearing at the Chicago Jazz Fest this year.

 

I have been into jazz for many years.....been collecting jazz LPs for a long time.....come on over and we can spin a few...

 

LouieB

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I MUST mention also Chick Corea's first Return To Forever LP (w/ Stanley Clarke & Airto & Flora) and the most jaw-dropping guitarist I've ever heard (w/ the possible exception of Jimi) John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra--Birds of Fire for a taste of fusion. Don't forget Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow" either.

 

 

:worship Jeff Beck is THE MAN!!

Blow By Blow was also produced by George Martin.

 

try Wired and There And Back.

These would hold the best of the Jan Hammer duals that can get a little tedious on other releases.

 

Stanley Clarke has a duet with Jeff Beck on his Modern Man album called Rock and Roll Jelly.

please listen to that one.

School Days is Bass Heaven and I believe John McLaughlin appears on one song.

 

 

 

Switching gears,

 

Dixie Dreggs boast twin leads, but with guitar and Violin.

They take Jefferson Starship and Papa John Creach style and get a little "jazzy".

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