Where to go next?

[James]

I spend a lot of time doing things that are difficult: I want my jazz to be easy.

Man .. this is all in your head. There isn't anything really difficult about listening to most jazz .. again the bulk of it is simple song-form and homophonic in texture, much like most forms of popular music are. Give it more experience & time and you'll see and hear what I'm talking about. Of course, there will be voices/players/groups/moments/songs/solos that will speak to you more than others - just like anything.

Alas the video doesn't work for me, Karl, but I'll look him up.

You don't know who Chick Corea is? 

Man, wonderful player with a great touch .. his body of work, lots of good stuff to choose from. Try Crystal Silence with jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton.

[Karl Henning]

Truly, both Wisdom and Grace are seated upon James's brow.

[James]

Yes, as always .. matters are delicate, a graceful decorum is needed above all. No sense in just being blunt about it. Feelings are involved, you know?

[kishnevi]

Note to James:
People who speak as if they know it all usually come off as equine rear quarters.


To the main topic

Elgarian seems to have a hard time with jazz I like (Miles etc) and a connection to jazz (big band etc) that I have a hard time with.

Have you explored much vocal stuff?  That does little for me, so if the trend continues, it will be good for you.

[James]

Dear fellow Jeffrey,

I've never claimed to know it all, but I am pretty confident, knowledgeable & experienced about Jazz, and music in general.

[Elgarian]

Have you explored much vocal stuff?  That does little for me, so if the trend continues, it will be good for you.

Yes, I love lots of vocal stuff, predominantly female singers: the incomparable Annette Hanshaw from the 30s; the swinging Helen Ward from the 40s; Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, the bedazzling Anita O'Day ... to mention but a handful.

But it seems we've definitely got a trend here Jeffrey! Sounds as though if you tell me what you don't like, I should try it!!

[king ubu]

try Ella Fitzgerald doing Cole Porter - this is the edition to get (on CD, that is):

[asin]B0000047EG[/asin]

[Brian]

Where did Alan go???!?!?!?!

[Elgarian Redux]

Where did Alan go???!?!?!?!

He popped out for a cup of tea, Brian.

But seriously, during the seven or eight years since I started this thread, there have been a number of developments, so I thought I'd blither on about them a bit. The most significant, by far, is the pleasure I get from my box of 'Songbook' albums by Oscar Peterson, initially recommended by Brian, to whom I am even further indebted than I was before. Thank you Brian.

There are two reasons behind this. First, is the sheer delight of the melodies (of course). It's only quite late in life that I properly recognised the fantastic melodic invention of the Great American Songbook writers, and from time to time I kick myself for having missed out on such rich fare for so long. Second - and this is what makes the Peterson recordings so special for me - is that his improvisations seem like an homage to those melodies: he opens the box, and lets them play as they fly out, as if discovering melodic potential that hadn't been recognised before. I feel as if he's showing me new aspects of those melodies - opening new windows of perception - rather than impressing me with his virtuosity.

The Peterson Songbooks, then, are The Great Thing that, 7 years on, I've carried away from this old discussion. But also, I find I can now listen to Kind of Blue with pleasure. I don't understand what's going on - not even slightly - but I can pop the CD into the player and just let it go and enjoy the sound of it. Perhaps that's all I was ever actually hoping for when I started this thread. Much the same can be said of my box of 20 Miles Davis albums. I'll never truly love this music, but there are times when it seems to be what I want.

Somewhere down the line I also discovered Russ Freeman and his band, The Rippingtons. What they do is called, I believe, 'Smooth Jazz', which may not be proper jazz at all, for all I know. It seems too easy to enjoy, and no hair shirt is needed. But it fills a nice hole in my listening, and in particular I love Freeman's composition 'Guitarland':

I wish I could make my own Taylor guitars sound like that. Shoot me down in flames and say it isn't jazz, and I'll believe  you, but I'll still think it's gorgeous.

[Karl Henning]

He popped out for a cup of tea, Brian.

But seriously, during the seven or eight years since I started this thread, there have been a number of developments, so I thought I'd blither on about them a bit. The most significant, by far, is the pleasure I get from my box of 'Songbook' albums by Oscar Peterson, initially recommended by Brian, to whom I am even further indebted than I was before. Thank you Brian.

There are two reasons behind this. First, is the sheer delight of the melodies (of course). It's only quite late in life that I properly recognised the fantastic melodic invention of the Great American Songbook writers, and from time to time I kick myself for having missed out on such rich fare for so long. Second - and this is what makes the Peterson recordings so special for me - is that his improvisations seem like an homage to those melodies: he opens the box, and lets them play as they fly out, as if discovering melodic potential that hadn't been recognised before. I feel as if he's showing me new aspects of those melodies - opening new windows of perception - rather than impressing me with his virtuosity.

The Peterson Songbooks, then, are The Great Thing that, 7 years on, I've carried away from this old discussion. But also, I find I can now listen to Kind of Blue with pleasure. I don't understand what's going on - not even slightly - but I can pop the CD into the player and just let it go and enjoy the sound of it. Perhaps that's all I was ever actually hoping for when I started this thread. Much the same can be said of my box of 20 Miles Davis albums. I'll never truly love this music, but there are times when it seems to be what I want.

Somewhere down the line I also discovered Russ Freeman and his band, The Rippingtons. What they do is called, I believe, 'Smooth Jazz', which may not be proper jazz at all, for all I know. It seems too easy to enjoy, and no hair shirt is needed. But it fills a nice hole in my listening, and in particular I love Freeman's composition 'Guitarland':

I wish I could make my own Taylor guitars sound like that. Shoot me down in flames and say it isn't jazz, and I'll believe  you, but I'll still think it's gorgeous.

That was quite the cup of tea!

[Elgarian Redux]

That was quite the cup of tea!

I've become curiously fond of green tea of late, O friend of my youth. (I've been reading a lot of Wodehouse too.)

[Marky01]

If you're interested in following big bands, there are a few options I would suggest. However, I would recommend skipping the ground-breaking one led by Dizzy Gillespie in the late forties for starters. While it's amazing, it may not be easy to adjust to for those with ears attuned to the swing-era sound. Instead, you may want to check out outfits such as Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland, or the late sixties big band by Buddy Rich. Woody Herman also led an amazing band in the early sixties, with some great albums on Philips. And of course, there's always Duke Ellington, who created his own unique sound that was both modern and timeless. His music is worth exploring from the late twenties right up until the end.