jazz saved my life?

[alterion]

you need to check out a japanese band called soil& "pimp" sessions:

( i forgot how to embed videos)

[choice_genes]

On the herbie tip - I saw him about a month ago at the Melbourne Jazz Fest. It sold out but I was lucky enough to get a comp (which made the experience even sweeter).

It was a great gig - quartet with Vinnie Colliuta, Nathan East and Lionel Loueke. Definitely not a traditional standards or acoustic jazz gig, more Headhunters style. Chick Corea got up to play grand piano Watermelon man, and he duelled with Herbie on keytar! And they finished with Chameleon (more keytar action)! And I'm rambling. But anyway, it was one of the most enjoyable and musically satisfying gigs I have been to. Make sure you see Herbie sometime.

[mizanation]

i love the keytar. wish i could get the ax-7, but it costs too much.

[tweeds]

now if only he'd come to singapore. chick and gary burton have just come and gone, so why not herbie, eh?

there was a survey form they were handing out after the last festival here, and they asked what musicians i'd like to see in future--i happily shot off keith jarrett, brad mehldau and wynton marsalis.

the jam went fairly enjoyably although not very productively. i think we need to set a firmer direction, get a routine up...and pick easier tunes. giant steps is, for now, completely un-doable.

[innit]

innit's being a tease

sorry, it was free, Atlanta Jazz Festival,Vinny Colaiuta on drums ,Nathan East on bass,Lionel Loueke on guitar. It was wonderful!! but it wasnt a very long set.

But alas I was not able to go see Sheila E the following night.

Edit:watermelon man, a song of his last album that he composed with john mayer(no john mayer), and other great stuff

[tweeds]

question: is there ever a herbie hancock gig without watermelon man?

bought two albums on sale last night, dexter gordon and chet baker.

[innit]

but why not? watermelonman is damn funky, plus ours was "special" they were switching back and forth between "Watermelon Man" and "Seven Teens". WM is a 4/4 beat, and ST is a 17/8.

[tweeds]

oh no don't get me wrong it's in no way a bad thing that they always play watermelon man. i love the tune. but i was just wondering--we know miles has so broad a repertoire and so many changes in sound that i wouldn't naturally assume that so what would be an automatic part of a miles gig. it's just funny that herbie and watermelon man share that same association that miles and so what have, but it seems to be more persistent than in miles' case.

fuckkk...4/4 to 17/8!?!

did you bootleg the thing

[innit]

^no, i dont have any video or audio, but i saw more then a few people with camcorders, so I'm waiting to see if anything pops up on youtube, but 4/4 and 17/8 I shit you not.

[>++fishb0neR]

i know jazz sucks...

blasphemy!!!!!!

ltj bukem - journey inwards

bob james - bob james I

oh my....

if you like LTJ, I have at least 10 albums from him (and his record label) that you will love...

search the interwebz for "Good Looking Records"- i guarantee you'll find some the finest Jazz/ Drum and Bass / Ambient / Rare Groove stuff in the world..

search for "Progression Sessions," the "Earth" series, and "The Ingredients" (check out volumes I and II.

Since I started producing a few years back, I started investigating my parent's record collections....well over 500 albums in their basement alone (pops used to be a radio DJ in the 70's), so I have access to every great funk/jazz/fusion album on vinyl.....no better way to create quality music for the future than to study the great stuff from the past.

I admit I haven't read too many of the other responses yet, but i've got a huge list of artists and albums to recommend....just ask, and i'd be glad to share some

[BodiesOfLight]

I would like to add that Mel Tormé and Chet Baker are incredible--amazing voices (and all together musicianship).

"My Funny Valentine" by Chet Baker is beautiful.

[choice_genes]

Regarding keytars - every now and again we have a girl fill in on keys in my band who has a red yamaha keytar from the 80s (red!). She hooks it up to a microkorg and uses it as a midi controller to play synth lead sounds. It is awesome.

Also, a friend has told me he found a video of the herbie touring band playing watermelon man on youtube, so check it out.

[Corbin Law]

i just recently started listneing to eldar

jesus christ hes one of the most talented musicians ive ever heard and ehs only what? 19>?

[tweeds]

I would like to add that Mel Tormé and Chet Baker are incredible--amazing voices (and all together musicianship).

"My Funny Valentine" by Chet Baker is beautiful.

agreed, but i actually prefer baker on the horn rather than singing. not to knock his voice, but his trumpet work is completely breathtaking. check out his records with gerry mulligan and stan getz...textured and layered lines that aren't quite the same in his vocal records.

just IMO. opinions on this welcome

[choice_genes]

I really dig Chet's playing as a trumpeter - he was really melodic, and had a great tone. Real understated player, to the point that sometimes you wonder whether he was actually technically a bit of a hack. But he could play faster boppish stuff too. Check out an instrumental tune called 'Bea's Flat' - dude had Chops.

[tweeds]

i think technically--or at least in his theoretical foundation--chet was a bit of a lightweight: there's a story told by dexter gordon of chet's first sit-in with the band, when he didn't even know the key he wanted to play 'Body and Soul' in. but for all his theoretical shortcomings he's no less an musician when going forward in faster tunes, like you said.

to build on that recommendation, there's also 'Bernie's Tune' with chet and gerry mulligan blowing some great lines at speed.

[choice_genes]

haha yeah Bernies Tune is a good one! (laughing because I have played many a corny version of that at gigs over the years...).

I agree, he certainly did have the technical ability of say, Dizzy, or any of those bebop dudes. But he knew what sounded good, so it didn't really matter.

[tweeds]

got a recording?

it's hard to match dizzy's prowess or his knack for showmanship (he tells great jokes and stories...i find myself watching his videos with a smile all the time), maybe wynton marsalis?

miles was also a lesser player technically...but he had such feel! it's crazy.

[mizanation]

guys, about chet baker. he was definitely NOT, i repeat, NOT a lightweight technically. the reason why he didn't know what key any of the songs were in is because he played everything by ear, so he didn't know anything about keys. at jam sessions, he would ask what the first note is in the song. then, he would play the song by ear. when cats tried to fuck with him by changing the song to a different key, they wouldn't be able to hang, but he was ok, cuz it was all the same to him. check out chet baker's "italian sessions" (also known as "somewhere over the rainbow') and you will see how good he was technically. you have to remember, he was charlie parker's trumpet player for a while. that alone tells you he had chops.

miles was also super technical. he wrote the book on chromatic playing. he basically wrote the book on modern jazz trumpet, along with freddie hubbard. most of his stuff in the 60s had range, power, tone and technique--and of course beautiful phrasing. early wynton marsalis (who many consider the MOST technical player) modelled himself after 60s miles--which is saying a lot.

not take anything away from diz, roy eldridge, maynard ferguson, arturo sandoval, etc... but playing technically is not just about playing fast and high. chet and miles are doing technical stuff, but it's more subtle, like how they navigate changes, what scales to play over certain chords, what passing notes to use, etc... it's less flashy but very technical...

[tweeds]

ok i think this is a difference in understanding of terminology...

would it help to say that miles is less of a "technician" than dizzy et al? in the classical context when i use it i refer to the many kids who dream of mastering all the paganini repertoire, of which many are pieces which emphasise the showier aspects of violin technique...i guess that is what i have been accustomed to saying. and in that respect that is what i am trying to say about miles (or at least the miles i have heard...i definitely haven't heard enough).

[mizanation]

yeah, i hear you, tweeds. if we are on the topic of technically awesome trumpet players, woody shaw deserves a mention. largely overlooked due to the decline of jazz in the 70s, woody shaw was lost in the shadow of freddie hubbard and was a little bit too early for the neo-classical jazz movement of the 80s. nonetheless, he was a very important player in the development of modern jazz, especially in the use of fourths, which he passed on to his protoge kenny garrett.

[tweeds]

kenny garrett was woody shaw's protege? learn something new everyday...

that's like hiromi being ahmad jamal's protege.

[tweeds]

since we are on this note, this is what i bought yesterday... (10 each)

and the day before i picked this up on sale (11 bucks)

if you guys ever want cheap albums let me know. if there's something here that's not overpriced, it's albums. we've just about the lowest average price for jazz CDs. only place i've seen cheaper is this small place in bangkok. if anyone is ever looking for a good price on a whole pile of things, toss a list my way and i'll find out the prices. note that i'm talking averages here...usually amazon has better prices for classic albums but in terms of "modern" jazz we've got the lead.

[mizanation]

nice pickups, tweeds!

[tweeds]

someday i will have i5tioneyes's CD collection...

he took his pics down but they used to be in the diddy thread about Other Collections apart from denim. shelves and shelves of impulse & riverside CD spines nearly made me choke on my drink.

my dad tells me by the time i build up a collection like that the CD will be completely obsolete. and he does have a point.

[choice_genes]

Thanks for dropping knowledge miz. I didn't know that about Chet playing everything by ear, OR that he played with bird.

Tip - I think I have a demo recording of a group of mine playing Bernie's Tune, but NOONE will ever hear it. In fact, I just locked it in an acne safe and gave it to warner brothers.

[nettiemoore]

just picked up kind of blue today for my friend. she wanted me to get her a good jazz album to start with so i thought this one would be the perfect choice.

[tweeds]

somebody mentioned the miles davis gig at the isle of wight...i looked on youtube and there is a copy of the film Call It Anything, with interviews and footage from the 1970 gig. the audio is a little out of sync, but the music is beautiful.

[choice_genes]

Yeah, someone asked him at the start of the gig, 'what's the tune called'? And he said 'Call it anything'. Miles was on FIRE that gig. Some of his best playing IMO (and I'm not even that much into the whole Bitches Brew era).

Maan gotta get back to study...

[nettiemoore]

been listening to this album alot lately.

also i think in a sentimental mood is my favorite jazz song right now.