jazz saved my life?

[tweeds]

great album.

i can't decide if i prefer duke's big band or his own piano playing. two different feels altogether.

[nairb49]

been listening to this album alot lately.

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

Terrific album, and amazing song. Always gets me.

Anyone else think Coltrane's "Ballads" was highly underrated?

I mean, it was no Village Vanguard, but damn, you can feel it, and Tyner is unreal.

[goldengloves]

[nairb49]

So pissed I missed him at the jazz fest a few years back.

[travisio]

since were on jazz, anyone likes bossa nova? like milton banana trio, jobim, marcos valle, etc..anyone collects jazz vinyl on MPS? holler if you hear me. xoxox

i know it's a really ubiquitous album but i really like stan getz/joao gilberto album. it's really relaxing. i also have the bebel gilberto album which i don't get into as much as the former. jobim's really good too.

[mizanation]

john coltrane's "lush life" (the instrumental version) always moves me. sometimes to the point of tears.

btw, billy strayhorn wrote lush life when he was 16. the song is one of the hardest songs in jazz--because of the difficult melody, unorthodox chord changes, huge range and super hard key it's in. that's why you don't see many trumpet players (or any instrumentalist for that matter) playing that song--it's just too hard (i'm not sure, but maybe donald byrd played a different key trumpet on his recording with coltrane. it's just so hard to play with a B flat trumpet).

that's just the instrumental part.

the words of the song are so dark, so deep and longing, it's hard to imagine a 16 year old wrote it. for a singer, it's the ultimate challenge. the few who have sung it have done a great job (that's because only the best can really sing it). ella fitzgerald's version is classic as is johnny hartman's.

[tweeds]

i know it's a really ubiquitous album but i really like stan getz/joao gilberto album. it's really relaxing. i also have the bebel gilberto album which i don't get into as much as the former. jobim's really good too.

two bossa albums i've always liked are jazz samba (getz/charlie byrd) and jazz samba encore! (getz/luis bonfa)

brain i will go and listen to ballads again...haven't been listening to coltrane much recently.

[tweeds]

john coltrane's "lush life" (the instrumental version) always moves me. sometimes to the point of tears.

btw, billy strayhorn wrote lush life when he was 16. the song is one of the hardest songs in jazz--because of the difficult melody, unorthodox chord changes, huge range and super hard key it's in. that's why you don't see many trumpet players (or any instrumentalist for that matter) playing that song--it's just too hard (i'm not sure, but maybe donald byrd played a different key trumpet on his recording with coltrane. it's just so hard to play with a B flat trumpet).

that's just the instrumental part.

the words of the song are so dark, so deep and longing, it's hard to imagine a 16 year old wrote it. for a singer, it's the ultimate challenge. the few who have sung it have done a great job (that's because only the best can really sing it). ella fitzgerald's version is classic as is johnny hartman's.

miz it's funny but a friend and i were just talking about songs that have instrumentation as well as words...gershwin's a fascinating rhythm came to mind. he includes the words in the offbeat groove, syllables are perfectly in the right places. we were singing it while wandering around the mall.

[mizanation]

found a crazy quote about "lush life"

“Lush Life” remains a classic and one of the most difficult songs in the jazz catalogue.

Frank Sinatra attempted to record “Lush Life” but found it too difficult. He remained a Strayhorn fan, even to the point of trying, unsuccessfully, to ‘steal’ him away from Ellington.

http://www.dallasweekly.com/diaspora.htm

tweeds, facinating rhythm is a great song. mel torme's version is my favorite. btw, you might know this, but that's where you get "rhythm changes"--the blueprint for most of the non-blues songs in jazz.

[readytoignite]

gradual projection is a great live recording of kaoru abe

and masayuki takanayagi together

i think it was kaoru abe that used to play his sax in traffic to improve the force of his breath

sorry to grave dig but couldn't resist commenting. abe's best stuff is probably the solo releases on psf, for takayanagi you can't beat call in question on the same label. i'm personally not a huge fan of that duo record so i figured i'd lay out more options.

also you gotta check out mototeru takagi, very similar to roscoe mitchell in his lyricism. awesome duo cd with yoshizawa (also on psf!) which features a killer version of "lonely woman." the first itaru oki record is a classic and if you like esp-style energy jazz, early yosuke yamashita is a must.

jazz-wise i have been really feeling female vocals recently, anita o'day and sarah vaughan in particular (just got that roulette comp on mosaic).

oh and btw i saw sonny rollins maybe 7 years ago in the lincoln center bandshell and it was unbelievably great. i hear he does phone it in sometimes tho.

[choice_genes]

I thought rhythm changes came from 'I Got Rhythm' by Gershwin?

[tweeds]

could someone recommend a good jazz periodical that i could be looking out for? i bought a copy of downbeat magazine and i was sorely disappointed. thin, too many ads, not enough good stuff...kind of like a newspaper rather than a magazine.

[azad]

^^i second this inquiry.

[mizanation]

I thought rhythm changes came from 'I Got Rhythm' by Gershwin?

oops, sorry, mistook the two. i actually like fascinating rhythm more than i got rhythm as a song.

[azad]

while we're on the topic of bossa nova, i liked the soundtrack to orpheu (black orpheus) alot. it's arranged by jobim.

[readytoignite]

great album.

i can't decide if i prefer duke's big band or his own piano playing. two different feels altogether.

that reminds me - money jungle is one of the greatest albums ever. tho i know what you mean.

[tweeds]

why do all horace silver tunes have the same opening?

[palaceman]

I heard some jazz on the radio the other day. The announcer said that it was (something that sounded like) the Actus Band. I am mispelling the name but it is some form of Latino name I think because the band was named after the group leader who I believed was named Carlo(s) Actus. I may be wrong about the 1st name and I definitely have the spelling of the last name wrong. But it sounded just like 'Actus Band'. Anyone know who this is or the proper spelling so that I may track it down? Thank you?

[choice_genes]

why do all horace silver tunes have the same opening?

lol tweeds, these are the big philosophical questions in jazz

sorry palaceman I can't help you there, but there are few knowledgeable people here so hopefully you'll get an answer.

I've been listening to a bit of Ella singing the Duke Ellington songbook. Damn she had the most beautiful voice, and such a brilliant technique. In a Sentimental Mood is a fantastic song. Especially the Bridge. [Rant over].

[mizanation]

btw, i forgot to tell you guys that i saw mccoy tyner and toots thielemans at the blue note the other night. they were fucking awesome. but very, very old. especially toots.

[tweeds]

lol tweeds, these are the big philosophical questions in jazz

haha

i've been playing with various other musicians--most recently my violin matched with an acoustic guitar and it's quite an enjoyable time. more intimate and yet exacting, because all errors are immediately magnified by the fact that there are only two instruments and slightly thinner sound.

something else that i love is playing violin with a sax. the colours that the two instruments can create run the whole range from muted to bright, and the ability of both to hold long notes over or under the other player is quite a powerful tool.

[mizanation]

glad you're playing a lot, tweeds. i'm gonna jam tomorrow, but probably not on trumpet.

[tweeds]

miz - WHAT! :eek:

can tyner still play?

i say that with complete respect.

[mizanation]

yeah, mccoy can play. he's still a monster.

toots is awesome too, but he was a little out of it.

after about 3 numbers, mccoy introduced toots, but he was nowhere to be found. so, mccoy shrugged and started another number. during the middle of that song, toots comes walking down the stairs. but he didn't know how to get to the stage, so he took this crazy route to get there. mccoy is looking around trying to find the old belgian when he pops up from the other side of the stage.

toots high fives the bassist and smiles at the drummer. toots then grabs the mic and thanks mccoy for inviting him to play. then mccoy grabs the mic and thanks toots, but in the middle of the speech, toots starts playing a tune. then the band follows. after toots plays his solo, he motions to the bassist for his solo. about 3/4 of the way through the bassist's solo, toots starts playing again. the bassist doesn't know what's going on, so he starts walking. after the song, toots is high fiving the bassist and smiling at the drummer.

toots starts playing the next song and takes a solo. then mccoy solos. then, toots plays 4 bars and motions to the drummer to trade 4's. the drummer plays 4 bars and stops. mccoy and the bassist start playing, but toots doesn't play. mccoy and the bassist abruptly stop playing. they figure, "oh, he probably meant trade 8's?" so, the drummer starts soloing again. after 8 bars, the drummer stops to let toots play. toots just plays the head again instead of trading 8's and the song inelegantly ends.

at the end of the next song, mccoy walks off the stage, leaving toots speaking non-sensically into the mic. the lights come on and that's how the show ends.

[choice_genes]

Haha that's pretty funny miz, sounds like toots is a pretty weird character.

So what instruments do you play man? I know you play trumpet and I read your thread about the fender strats. Anything else? I only really play trumpet myself now. Used to play guitar in highschool (inherited a nice tele from my old man), but that kinda gave way to trumpet after a while.

Also, who are the trumpeters to look out for in New York? I'm planning on being there for a few weeks in october. Def wanna see Roy Hargrove if I can (I heard there's a jam session he often heads down to somewhere...?). I'm also kinda interested in seeing Matt Schulman. And there was a dude who's name I've forgotten who sometimes has Meshell Ndegeocello as his bass player....anyone else I should check out?

[tweeds]

miz, that is some wacky shit. hmmm.

does wynton marsalis still play in new york? or has he ever?

for that matter, does joshua redman play in NYC?

pretty much decided that i will haul my ass to montreal next year and maybe newport as well. will be back looking for recommendations (from 2000db, brian, etc) on places to hang, crash, jam...

[mizanation]

choice, i play trumpet, keys, guitar, drums, bass, harmonica (diatonic).

hmm, trumpeters in new york. you should check out the village voice to see who's playing. roy is known to stop in at cleopatra's needle sometimes. there are a ton of good trumpet players, you just gotta check the voice to see who's in town.

tweeds, wynton does stuff with his orchestra now. you can catch him at lincoln center. his days of destroying everyone at small new york jam sessions are long over. the big name cats are usually touring around, so it's hard to catch them in new york. you can see a lot of up and comers at a bunch of places, though.

[coleslawyum]

Joshua Redman was based in SF for a bit. But everybody rolls into New York once in awhile. Caught Wynton in one of his rehearsals recently. He's got chops up the ass, but sometimes his music is a tad dated. Saw James Carter too. He's pretty dope live. And McCoy Tyner can still tear it up.

[tweeds]

wynton's sound isn't the most modern in the world but his grasp of rhythm and groove is fucking out of this world. another guy whom i can think of is keith jarrett, especially with his trio (gary peacock, jack dejohnette). keith is my hero, even with all that moaning

[coleslawyum]

^I agree, wynton can pretty much outplay anyone in terms of sheer chops. His command of the instrument is impeccable. Keith Jarrett is pretty dope, but is definitely a GIANT nerd. He even laughs like one too. I realise that most of my musical heros have somewhat of a nerdish quality to them. I guess you gotta be kind of introverted to practice 14 hours a day.