Jazz music

[Oldposts]

Topic suggested by SR Kaushik on Mon Mar 1 14:30:05 .


I have not listened to much jazz music - in fact, most of the jazz I know is Ilayaraja's. I want to know the leading names in this field so that I can hunt around for those CDs.

Jazz played on radio is lousy. But I think European jazz is very good (this opinion is based on a CD, "London Fog").

Another question: Where should I look for CDs of Paul Mariat? As far as I know, they are not available in Barnes and Noble or Best Buy or any other CD shops.

[Oldposts]

Hi kaushik,
I do not the leading name, but u can try Stanley Clark ( school days)

Mahavishnu Orchestra ( birds of fire & Visions from the emerald beyond)

John Coltrane.

Louis Armstrong.

Miles Davis( I was adviced not to listen to this chap without getting to listen to atleast a couple of artists in Jazz)

Weather Report ( Heavy weather)

I have heard Sypro-gyra is good, but havent listened to them.
Happy listening......

[Oldposts]

Hi,

I have an album of Spyro Gyro. I dont know much about Jazz music, but Spyro Gyro sounds like a Rock Crossover band. It is pretty good.

[Oldposts]

Hi gokul,
Maybe it is croos over band, I do not know much about them. But one should try Stanley clark and Mahavishnu Orchestra. I think they are absolutely mind boggling.....

BTW...anyone has listened to Shakti.....it is a jazzish fusion band with L. Shankar, John 'Mahavishnu' Maclaughlin, Zakir Hussain and Vikku vinayakram. One should listen to these fellows. This band was formed in the early seventies and they played some of the best music ever.

[Oldposts]

http://tfmpage.com/forum/13154.17.54.59.html (http://tfmpage.com/forum/13154.17.54.59.html
)
see this for more fundaes on jazz.

[Oldposts]

faTBOY

[Oldposts]

hey u should check out bands like 'mother
earth 'john mclaughlin' david hall 'yellow jacket and a must check out album is LAVA JAZZ

[Oldposts]

SHAKTHI IS THE GREATEST EVER JAZZ/FUSION
BAND EVER FORMED!!!.THEIR MUSICAL ABILITY
IS PUSHED TO THE LIMIT AND SETS YOU OFF TO
ANOTHER PLACE.ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE!!!
MARVELLOUS.

[Oldposts]

Not much of jazz here but I was going through articles on raja and found this interesting piece of info. The article is by Guitar Prasanna.
http://raajangahm.com/guitarprasanna/ (http://raajangahm.com/guitarprasanna/
)
Maybe it might atleast show who in jazz excites raja!

[Oldposts]

Friends..

Listen to JOHN SCOFIELD. He is a great Jazz musician / teacher. No need to explain more.
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[abbydoss1969]

Hi
I started listening to Jazz a year ago, so from a novice's point of view : Start listening to classical old masters like
Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington,Dave Brubeck, and some blue notes albums. Also listen to vocal Jazz .
Don't listen experimental jazz ,avantgarde jazz etc by chick corea etc in the beginning.Just like people say you shouldn't listen to Beethoven at first. It is always better to start with Mozart because he is more melodious.
Then slowly work your way to wherever you want to

[Querida]

I don't agree Abbydoss...sometimes the best jazz is the one that captures your interests and stays with you a long time....that may be classic, contemporary, improvisational or even street jazz....not all jazz appeals to everyone...seeing most are interested in fusion jazz i have heard of a local group called autorickshaw with Suba Shankaran

can check out their home page: http://www.autorickshaw.ca

samples can be gotten here:
http://www.rochesterjazz.com/artist_lineup/?artist_id=67
http://www.deepdownproductions.com/artists/autorickshaw.shtml

[abbydoss1969]

hi Querida,
All Im saying is don't listen to experimental jazz in the beginning in the context of hubber having no experience in listening to jazz at all. Once you develop an ear for the music and get used to it then you can listen to anything/or more complicated music you want.Otherwise it may put you off jazz completely.
when I first bought some Western Classical albums I made the mistake getting a Beethoven symphony. And since I had no technical knowledge and it was first attempt to appreciate WCM ,I found it difficult to enjoy. Later I bought some chopin piona concertos and some Mozart symphonies, I began to enjoy the music , still without any technical knowledge.Later I learned that this problem is encountered by all novices. You can ofcourse later graduate to more complicated music later on

[abbydoss1969]

[tscii:211939a764]A few good albums to collect:




Masterpieces: 1956-1965
Posted: 2004-04-28

There are times when you have to hold back and let certain music speak for itself. This list of jazz masterpieces is exactly that kind of music. By definition, these records are without flaw. (Okay, so humans are inherently flawed, but you'll have to get out a microscope to find anything that falls short here.)

After surveying our editors, we compromised on this short “master” list. For listeners keen on what the definitive truth was at a certain point in jazz's history, this one's for you.

If you're just stepping into the jazz world, be assured that these recording signposts mark high points, turning points, and moments of sheer genius. In other words, required listening.

After all... it's all we can do to shorten the ranks of great recordings in order to distill a few that we think can stand alone. Feel free to judge for yourself. We're confident that you'll enjoy these selections.


Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers: Moanin' (1958)
Jazz's most explosive drummer debuted his third version of the Jazz Messengers with this instant hard-bop classic. It's way too funky in here, thanks to compositions and performances by Benny Golson, Lee Morgan, and Bobby Timmons (who contributed the famous title track).

Dave Brubeck: Time Out (1959)
What was conceived by pianist Brubeck as an adventure into unusual time signatures ended up one of the most successful records in jazz history, due in large part to its beautiful melodies and the mesmerizing alto work of Paul Desmond.


Ornette Coleman: The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959)
After four decades, this disc remains true to its title. Saxophonist Ornette Coleman solidified his group in 1959 to the working quartet recorded here. They broke convention and provided a major stepping stone on the road to free jazz.

John Coltrane: Love Supreme (1964)
One of Coltrane's most spiritually moving recordings, this disc has been popular among devotees and neophytes alike. It's a heart-felt celebration of divine love, with equal measures of devotion and exploration.


Miles Davis: Kind of Blue (1959)
The best-selling jazz recording of the era (and a perfect introduction for the jazz newbie), Kind of Blue helped introduce a new sound for jazz. Working from relatively simple structures, the musicians here lay out wonderfully lyrical extended improvisations.


Eric Dolphy: Out to Lunch (1964)
Eric Dolphy was always a big fan of bird calls, and much of his playing here reflects that natural sonority. This disc transports a relatively straightahead group into adventurous, inventive territory—with dramatically successful results.


Bill Evans: Waltz for Debby & Live at the Village Vanguard (1961)
The laid-back character of Bill Evans's piano playing here masks a serenely beautiful touch and wonderfully innovative ideas. His inhumanly intuitive interactions with bassist Scott LaFaro remain legendary. This is the best piano trio music ever recorded (and it's all live).

Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage (1965)
Pianist Herbie Hancock's best record adopts a nautical angle, with gentle waves of sound surrounding strong, forward-sailing melodies. Maiden Voyage relies upon subtlety, but it features wonderful group interaction and showcases some of Hancock's finest playing.

Thelonious Monk: Brilliant Corners (1956)
Quirky yet rigorously logical, Brilliant Corners is a triumph of composition and performance, a set heavy on Monk originals with Rollins, Roach and Pettiford along for the swing. Even its title describes Monk's angular genius.


Oliver Nelson: Blues & The Abstract Truth (1961)
Some of Nelson's best work - as a composer, arranger, AND saxophonist - features his large ensemble soulfully tight-roping arrangement and improvisation. A genuine masterpiece that has inspired musicians and arrangers for decades.


Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus (1956)
Not just one of Rollins' great moments - one of the great “monster” jazz sessions of all time, and, in “St. Thomas,” one the first crossroads between Jazz and the Caribbean.


Horace Silver: Song for My Father (1963)
One of the first hard bop albums and also one of the greatest, and not just from that title track (honored in “Rikki Don't Lose That Number”) but also his classic “Lonely Woman.”

Jimmy Smith: The Sermon (1958)
A foreshadowing of Smith's awesome Chicken Shack and Midnight Special , and defining moment of organ jazz. Smith, Lee Morgan and Curtis Fuller testify on the side-long title track.





























[/tscii:211939a764]

[abbydoss1969]

meaning of the word jazz:
----------------------------------



Songwriter, musician, Clarence Williams says that he was the first to use the word "jazz" in a song. Williams said, "On both Brown Skin, Who You For? and Mama's Baby Boy, I used the words, jazz song, on the sheet music. I don't exactly remember where the words came from, but I remember I heard a woman say it to me when we were playin' some music. `Oh, jazz me, baby,' she said."


Early jazz men said "to jazz" meant to fornicate, or as they put it "jazzing meant effing." (fucking) A "jazzbow" or "jazzbo" was a lover of the ladies. According to some sources, the word Jazz was also underworld jargon found in Chaucer and Shakespeare. Jazz had many names: jabo, jaba, jazpation, jazynco, jazorient, jazanola. Also jazanata, jazarella, jazanjaz, jazology, jazette, jazitis and jazioso.


According to Arnold Loyacano, the word jazz had different origins. Loyacano was in Tom Brown's band, which in 1915, was the first white band to ever go to Chicago and play jazz. They were playing in a hotel which previously had a string quartet for entertainment. Brown's band had been used to playing on the back of a wagon, which meant that they had to play loud and were really incapable of playing soft. The crowd's reaction was to hold their ears and yell, "Too loud!" Loyacano says that was when people started calling his music "jazz." "The way Northern people figured it out, our music was loud, clangy, boisterous, like you'd say, ~Where did you get that jazzy suit?" meaning loud or fancy. Some people called it "jass." Later when the name struck, it was spelled with a "z," "jazz."

[abbydoss1969]

Louis Armstrong (1901-1971):

The Star, the Innovator, the man who turned jazz from pure entertainment into one of the major 20th-century art forms. Some achievement for the son of a prostitute, deserted by his father at birth, born in a shack and brought up in poverty.

1. Armstrong is alternately known as the "Father of Jazz" or just simply "Pops".

2. Born on July 4th 1900, in New Orleans (atleast that's what he though t- He was actually born on August 4th 1901) Louis sang on the streets as a boy. In 1913 he was admitted to the Colored Waifs Home for shooting a gun into the air on New Years Eve. In the home he learned the trumpet, and within four years he was challenging every trumpet player in his home town. From Freddie Keppard to Joe Oliver, his first father figure, whom he replaced in Kid Ory's band in 1919. In 1922 Oliver (now King Oliver) invited Louis to join him in Chicago to play second cornet (he switched to trumpet for its increased range and power in 1926).


3. In 1925 already a recording star and very much in command of his instrument, Louis began recording with his Hot Five and Hot Seven bands. These albums produced masterpieces such as "Cornet Chop Suey", "Potato Head Blues" and "West End Blues". This single handedly turned Jazz into a soloist's art form and set new standards for musicians (not just trumpet players) worldwide.


4. These bands featured Johnny Dodds, Kid Ory and now Lil' Hardin Armstrong (now married to Louis) until she was replaced with Earl "Fatha" Hines.

5. His playing on these albums becomes a model for the swing era that was to follow.

6. Armstrong's historic contributions include:


A. Solo improvisation. He was the first great jazz soloist. His intelligently developed and
musically effective solos eclipsed the notion of group improvisation.


B. Rhythmic Refinements:
1. He abandoned the stiffness of ragtime.
2. He employed swing 8ths better than any musician of his time.
3. He used "rhythmic displacement" or the syncopation of selected phrases. (Placing them
slightly behind the beat.)


C. He was a great musical architect. He simplified his music, polishing each phrase to perfection, while keeping his strength for the knockout punch.


D. He played with a superb sense of drama. The pacing was always carefully calculated, allowing the solo to build to the climax.


E. He created new melodies in his improvisations not relying on the tunes original melody for ideas.


F. He was a virtuoso trumpet player. He peeled off top C's as easily as breathing (this was unheard of previously) and pulled out technical tours de force which never degenerated into notes for their own sake.


G. He extended the vocabulary for the Jazz soloist.


H. He influenced popular singers with his vocal styles.


I. And for good measure he invented the "scat singing" style when he dropped his music during a recording session ("Heebie Jeebies").