***JAZZGASM***

Snufkin · Post by **Snufkin** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 1:43 pm

Okay,

I've done a search for the 'official Jazz thread' - or whatever - and nothing turned up.

So... is anyone out there a jazzhead?!

I can't help myself. Over the last few years I've fallen deeper and deeper into loving jazz (mainly 50s/60s stuff, haven't even touched on modern):

John Coltrane

Miles Davis

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Ornette Coleman

Sonny Rollins

Charlie Parker

Stan Getz

[the list goes on...]
---

It's a little weird admitting being into jazz; you're at once afraid that people think you're either totally pretentious or not-into-jazz-but-say-you-are-god-knows-why etc. I think, for me, the reason why good jazz strikes a real chord is its level of playfulness... improvisation at such a high level of playing, with such stunning results from the greats. You just hardly get that anywhere else...

...Jazz, more than any other music I've encountered, is more often geared towards the present tense; live, alive and in the moment...

So-- am I alone on Twoism? Or has anyone else experienced the jazzgasm? @_@

Evrox · Post by **Evrox** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 2:01 pm

Nice thread! I love jazz...

Here are some jazz (related) tracks I like:

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 2:10 pm

Ah Snuf we seem to share alot in common

I absolutely love Jazz. I am particularly fond of European Jazz as well as the American Giants.

Some of my favourites include, Martial Solal, Hans Koller, Charlie Parker, Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhardt.

This is one of my favourite Jazz collaborations ever, I also think this is some of the greatest 7 minutes recorded ever. It's a rare broadcast from a Jazz workshop in 1965.

Awesome.

Snufkin · Post by **Snufkin** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:07 pm

Thanks for the links all.

Fujee I have thought this also! And that track [Wes Montgomery] is awesome!!

Some of my top tracks, off the top of my head:

Miles Davis
- Freddie Freeloader

John Coltrane
- Theme for Ernie
- By The Numbers (just zone out waiting for that brass to come in...)

Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
- Relaxin' With Lee

Dave Brubeck Quartet
- St Louis Blues

----

I'm actually still something of a jazz newbie, in truth. I haven't branched out anywhere near as much as I should have. Instead, over the last few years, I've got my hands on certain pieces that I have fallen in love with and kept returning to, rather than looking for more.

I feel like I'm just on the edge of diving in much deeper and checking stuff out far and wide; so any recommendations are welcome!

[in truth, what prompted recent renewed interest was my catching the film The Talented Mr. Ripley the other night-- which has a huge jazz theme running through it. That wet my appetite!]

Going travelling soon, and what I seem to be doing often is searching for jazz festivals that I may be able to pass here n' there

Snufkin · Post by **Snufkin** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:08 pm

I should add: so I'm in the process of beefing up my iPod with 'unheards' before travels; hence diving deeper into stuff like jazz and The Beatles lately

So, as ever: all recommendations welcome

OverTheHorizonRadar · Post by **OverTheHorizonRadar** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:40 pm

Ever listen to any Jaco Pastorius? He's really badass at the bass, you should listen to Portrait of Tracy for some lovely bass harmonic melodies.

A_Northern_Soul · Post by **A_Northern_Soul** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:27 pm

A timely post; I read this this morning, which I thought was a lovely piece of writing:

http://www.leithermagazine.com/2012/07/ ... eauty.html

Just dipped my toe into jazz, but love A Love Supreme and Miles Davis' On The Corner.

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:49 pm

John Coltrane is possibly my favourite musician of all time. I love Blue Train, Giant Steps and A Love Supreme. I have 11gb of Coltrane on my computer

A_Northern_Soul · Post by **A_Northern_Soul** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:58 pm

I fell in love with A Love Supreme on a flight to New York. I had it on the in-flight entertainment system and I spent about 3-4 hours with the album playing over and over as I dozed in and out of sleep.

portiss · Post by **portiss** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 5:14 pm

Well I kinda like Frank Sinatra, can really dig some Miles Davis but never really explored the genre too deep.

I tend to listen to easier stuff like St. Germain, Praful, Adani&Wolf, stuff like that.

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 5:27 pm

I think once it clicks, it can be one of the most enjoyable genres to explore, there is something for everyone. Smooth/Cool Jazz for people who like their emphasis on melody and something a little more downtempo. Vocal Jazz for the easy listening fans, also for those who want to hear true heartache. Bebop and Hard Bop for the people who admire musical virtuosity and technical expression. Modal Jazz for the mysterious/eastern influence fans. Free/Avant Garde for those who want to be pushed aurally. Then there is the more Bluesey end of the spectrum which is generally where the genre evolved from.

I also love how it's the music which accompanied the first 50/60 years of the 20th century. I tend to drift off into daydreams about the music being played in particular scenes and where abouts in the world the enigmatic sounds would have been played. It's the perfect company to certain films and television shows, i.e Mad Men which only adds to my adoration for the genre.

I also love how the genre developed stylistically and merged into some other forms of music. (psychedelic jazz rock like Soft Machine)

The Jazz sound is very evocative of so many aesthetics, which is mainly what attracts me to the music so much. Once your a cool cat, that's it

Also, Jazz musicians from the golden era tend to be the most stylish/badass looking cats ever.

Case in point:

Snufkin · Post by **Snufkin** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:20 pm

That's an awesome eulogy of jazz there fujee! I never really gave as much thought to the historical context of jazz across that period- but now that you've said that the thought is no doubt going to float around my mind whenever I lay on some jazz (which is increasingly more often!)

Also, I am 100% with you on John Coltrane. (although I haven't amassed anywhere near as much as 11gb-- and I thought I had alot!

). The first jazz record I ever had was Blue Train. For a period of about 2 years actually, this was the only jazz record I had-- and I constantly returned to it. I still rate it as one of my top picks, if not my top pick. I also love A Love Supreme, but I find that's more for the right kind of time/place/feeling. One thing I like about a lot of jazz is that it creates an awesome environment/aesthetic/vibe that can go well with a lot of things, like reading a good book (but, the exception with A Love Supreme, I find, is that this is one of those albums that kind of takes/needs your full attention, and doesn't really work in that kind of atmospheric way).

For the longest time I just delved into Coltrane, and while I'm still hooked, I was over-the-moon to discover such high quality elsewhere too. I'm only just about getting into Charlie Parker... but this guy is equally as awesome as Trane

I was at a bar the other year before a Flying Lotus gig and Ravi Coltrane was hanging out too before the show... I didn't hassle him in the end as I wasn't familiar with his own music (still aren't, actually-- but now that I think of it, I'll get some!) but I soooooo wanted to chat jazz/Trane with him... but glad I just let him be

Okay... *Snufkin goes away to dig up some more jazz greats*

Snufkin · Post by **Snufkin** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:33 pm

A_Northern_Soul wrote:A timely post; I read this this morning, which I thought was a lovely piece of writing:

http://www.leithermagazine.com/2012/07/ ... eauty.html

Just dipped my toe into jazz, but love A Love Supreme and Miles Davis' On The Corner.

And thanks for that, Northern Soul! ^_^

Okay man-- I'd totally recommend Blue Train by John Coltrane and Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. If you love A Love Supreme and On The Corner, I can't imagine you won't love these too....

Bryan · Post by **Bryan** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:11 pm

Thread needs more Charles Mingus 'Ah Um'

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:27 pm

Bryan wrote:Thread needs more Charles Mingus 'Ah Um'

God DAMN I love this tune. Mingus is incredible, heard he was a firey fellow though.

Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, Ah Um and Blues are Roots are all 10/10 for me.

God Jazz is so awesome!

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:31 pm

Snufkin wrote:That's an awesome eulogy of jazz there fujee! I never really gave as much thought to the historical context of jazz across that period- but now that you've said that the thought is no doubt going to float around my mind whenever I lay on some jazz (which is increasingly more often!)

Also, I am 100% with you on John Coltrane. (although I haven't amassed anywhere near as much as 11gb-- and I thought I had alot! ). The first jazz record I ever had was Blue Train. For a period of about 2 years actually, this was the only jazz record I had-- and I constantly returned to it. I still rate it as one of my top picks, if not my top pick. I also love A Love Supreme, but I find that's more for the right kind of time/place/feeling. One thing I like about a lot of jazz is that it creates an awesome environment/aesthetic/vibe that can go well with a lot of things, like reading a good book (but, the exception with A Love Supreme, I find, is that this is one of those albums that kind of takes/needs your full attention, and doesn't really work in that kind of atmospheric way).

For the longest time I just delved into Coltrane, and while I'm still hooked, I was over-the-moon to discover such high quality elsewhere too. I'm only just about getting into Charlie Parker... but this guy is equally as awesome as Trane

I was at a bar the other year before a Flying Lotus gig and Ravi Coltrane was hanging out too before the show... I didn't hassle him in the end as I wasn't familiar with his own music (still aren't, actually-- but now that I think of it, I'll get some!) but I soooooo wanted to chat jazz/Trane with him... but glad I just let him be

Okay... *Snufkin goes away to dig up some more jazz greats*

Ah thats awesome! Can't believe you saw Ravi, he's a fine saxophonist!

Trane really is such a god. The thing is.. he actually is.. look up the church of john coltrane

Bryan · Post by **Bryan** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:40 pm

Thread also needs more Bill Evans 'Sunday at the Village Vanguard'. Scott LeFaro on bass will sooth your soul -

Sunday at the Village Vanguard was recorded live on June 25, 1961 at the Village Vanguard in New York City over five recorded sessions (2 matinee and 3 soiree). It is well remembered as the final performance by the Evans trio of the time, which included bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. LaFaro was killed in a car accident ten days after the recording.[1]

Evans and producer Orrin Keepnews reportedly selected the tracks for Sunday at the Village Vanguard to best feature LaFaro's masterly performance on bass, beginning and ending with two tracks ("Gloria's Step" and "Jade Visions") written by LaFaro himself, and with all the others featuring solos by him. This album is routinely ranked as one of the best live jazz recordings of all time.[2][3]

Additional material from the same day's performance was released in a second album Waltz for Debby (also 1961), as was other material in another LP Bill Evans - More From the Vanguard. The entire day's recordings were released in 2005 as The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961.

-Wikipedia

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:24 pm

Bryan knows where its at

Bird rippin it up, that open phrase is SO awesome!

sevenELIXIR · Post by **sevenELIXIR** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 4:31 pm

wow, totally missed this thread. jazz is a mixed bag for me; it seems everyone has a different opinon of what "jazz music" is. in high school I was a drummer for the schools jazz band, and was fortunate enough to have played at lincoln center, and performed with Clark Terry, a former trumpet player with Duke Ellington. being with one of the top 15 high school jazz bands in the country. it was for the Essentially Ellington competition in nyc. this was 4 months prior to 9/11, so I got to see the outside of the world trade center. anyway, the school jazz band opened my world to the genre of 'jazz' music, and I appreciate it a lot but my opinons differ as well. I really like the drumming of Brian Blade.

Hypercolor · Post by **Hypercolor** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:23 pm

Hi all, been lurking on here for a bit now, but this thread has urged me to speak up! It's like a therapy session for problem jazz addicts!!
I absolutely love jazz, there's so much amazing stuff out there if you keep digging. I started out, probably like many people hunting for hip hop samples, devouring Kudu, CTI, Blue Note breaks and just began to be amazed at the other music on some of those LPs, spiritual, cosmic, psychedelic music that seemed to defy categorisation, John McLaughlin, Mahavishnu Orchestra, John Klemmer, Pharaoh Sanders, Alice Coltrane, Lonnie Liston Smith to name but a few... here's some gems I've stumbled across...hope you like em!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4nAGtdk ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndiU593LFAM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHRTSJ0ihjQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acxvmW5T ... ure=fvwrel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iOG_ZSEMUs

cheeky DJ Shadow sample on this one..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57rGgh7oGQI