Jazz

[The Czech Republic 0]

Miles Davis stands above all, especially Bitches Brew. The earlier stuff is better than the later fusion, of course.

 

Charles Mingus, good stuff there. Moanin' and Haitian Fight Song are two awesome songs to play.

 

I'm a big Maynard Ferguson fan, especially because I got to meet the man, the myth, the legend, and share the stage with him and his band. That was an experience I'll remember for a long long time.

 

Ellington is hit or miss for me, I personally prefer the Count to the Duke.

 

Frank Zappa has good jazz stuff out there, especially Son of Mr. Green Genes.

 

Buddy Rich's big band is also a favorite of mine. Check out Willowcrest, Norwegian Wood, and of course Channel One Suite.

 

I also recommend a song called Strawberry Soup by the Don Ellis orchestra. It's 17 minutes of awesome epic jazz, like Channel One but better.

[Nighthawk 0]

I'm more of a blues guy, but Miles and Coltrane are my favorites. I've been known to dig a little Sun Ra too, from time to time.

[Guest BANKYWOOD]

Miles, Coltrane, Monk, Mingus, and to a lesser degree - Bird.

 

All safe bets. Especially Bird although I'm not down with him all that much. He started the whole bop thang, its just it doesn't appeal to me much. But that shit was madly controversial in the early-late 40's. It was fucking rebellious.

 

Dave Brubek has some steller moments, Time Out is great. A joyous listening experience. Perfectly crafted in every way.

 

Drummers:

 

1. Buddy Rich (of course)

2. Elvin Jones

3. Tony Williams

 

Albums:

 

1. Tribute to Jack Johnson: That shit is Miles at his creative peak. Not really jazz, but motherfuck, its downright amazing. Its more ecclectic than Bitches Brew, more risque than In a Silent Way, and more focused than On The Corner. Right Off shows how much Miles was into rock music. Its fucking sickening. Downright infectious. By far his best of the electric period. I pick this one because I care for Miles electric stuff more than his bop shit.

 

2. Love Supreme: Sit the fuck down and shut the hell up for 35 min. The music will hit you. You'll see why the Coltrane Quartet is arguably the best of all-time.

 

Underated Album:

 

Filles de Killamanjero (sp?): Fuckign amazing. Miles greatest quartet. Ron Carter's bass is abolutely menacing on the title track. The first signs of his electric period. Probably the bridge that connects the acoustic and electric stuff. Last album with Hancock and Carter.

 

 

I certainly don't have my finger on the pulse of jazz, but I know the main players - and their contributions. But as I've been slowly waning myself off the major jazz kick of the past few months - Miles has been the only consistant part of my active listening catalogue. I can't stress how great ATTJJ is.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I've very sparsely listened to jazz. I've heard Kind of Blue, which was excellent, and I love Jaco Pastorius' stuff. Being a bass player myself, he's an intermediate deity on my shrine.

 

I'm gradually moving toward's Zappa's jazz stuff. Hot Rats is sweet, and everything on You Can't do that on stage anymore, vol II is chock full of jazz percussion work. I don't like the big band sound at all though, and that's mostly what I've heard.

 

Oh, and Billie Holliday is awesome.

[B. Brian Brunzell 0]

I LOVE Jazz. I'm big on Miles, Coltrane, Brubeck, Parker, and especially Thelonious Monk. I play piano, and only wish I could play like him. He's just awesome on the ivory. Bela Fleck is another favourite, and Pasorius owns as well, as does Pat Metheny.

 

When it comes to the female vocalists, Ella Fitzgerald trumps them all.

[River City Rocker 0]

Dave Brubeck has some steller moments, Time Out is great. A joyous listening experience. Perfectly crafted in every way.

I plan to pick up the For All Time boxset soon, which has all five of his "time" themed records in it, three of which have never been released on CD before. It should be great.

 

-Ben

[godthedog 0]

the usual, miles & coltrane.

 

i've also heard a little bit of peter brotzmann & love it. found out he's playing here in athens tonight or tomorrow night, i just might go see him.

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

I have a "Super Hits" CD of Miles, and I LOVE it. I didn't much care for Birth Of the Cool, but I need to get around to more Miles. I have A Love Supreme, and I really like it, I just wish there was more on the CD. "In the Mood" is always a fav of mine, despite the fact that I don't like how Glenn Miller presented his band. I like everything I've heard by Artie Shaw. I like Louis Armstrong once they got some order to the music and it didn't sound like bad cartoon background music. Oh, and I dig Keiko Matsui's Cherry Blossum. Haven't heard her other CDs yet though. By the way, there's some fun jazz over at Overclocked Remix. Make sure you check out the One Up Mushroom's homepage.

[Guest macheteofodin]

I don't know much about Jazz, but the very limited amount of the Jazz I've listened to I've enjoyed a lot. That being the albums I own (Miles Davis' Kind of Blue and Al Di Meola's Anthology) and whatever random nameless (only to me) Jazz I've heard online, on the radio or on BET (yes...BET).

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

I've been listening to free jazz lately. Ornette Coleman is spectacular (This is Our Music being my favorite); even more extreme is the aforementioned Brotzmann. His Machine Gun and Balls are fucking insane.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Anyone a fan of that Coltrane modal jazz? I like it

[Guest BANKYWOOD]

I've been listening to free jazz lately. Ornette Coleman is spectacular (This is Our Music being my favorite); even more extreme is the aforementioned Brotzmann. His Machine Gun and Balls are fucking insane.

One can only listen to so much free jazz until they lose their mind. I honestly can only go as far as Meditations by Coltrane before I lose my mind. And thats pretty darn tame.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

I understand.

 

Peter Brotzmann--whom, admittedly, is more like a noise terrorist rather than a jazzman--doesn't so much play the saxophone as beats you across the head with it.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Brotzmann, huh? Mental note. Sounds like my kind of jazz. Anyone like Edgar Varese?

[godthedog 0]

Brotzmann, huh? Mental note. Sounds like my kind of jazz. Anyone like Edgar Varese?

check it out. easily the most abrasive thing i've ever heard in my life, it's probably right up your alley.

 

i tried the ornette coleman thing, but his "free jazz" bores the shit out of me. the problem is, it feels truly random and never goes anywhere. 'ascension' and 'meditations' are irregular and atonal and all that, but you can at least sense them going for something, and the tension in the music comes from that. i don't hear any tension in coleman's music. to me, it's the equivalent of taking a handful of actors, putting them on a stage, and saying "here, don't try to build a scene or respond to each other, just say any word that comes into your head." with especially 'ascension', you can feel that the music really wants to come together and never quite gets there. coleman doesn't want to go anywhere, he stands still.

[ArkhamGlobe 0]

I really like the little of Varese that I've heard.

 

I've been meaning for a long time to get more into jazz. I've mainly just listened a bit to the usual suspects; Davis, Coltrane, Mingus et al, and liked their music immensely.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Hey, godthedog, have you tried any other Coleman besides Free Jazz? I don't particularly care for that one myself.

[Guest BANKYWOOD]

Hey, godthedog, have you tried any other Coleman besides Free Jazz? I don't particularly care for that one myself.

"New York is Now"

 

Very good.

[godthedog 0]

Hey, godthedog, have you tried any other Coleman besides Free Jazz? I don't particularly care for that one myself.

sadly, no.

 

"New York is Now"

 

Very good.

i'll keep an eye out for that one.

[Henry Spencer 0]

Mingus is my favorite overall.

 

Oh, and if you're getting into Coleman, you need The Shape Of Jazz To Come. Brilliant stuff.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

And I've already given love to This is Our Music; it's superb.

 

Plus, if you're up for it, Colemad's had some success dabbling in fusion. His Science Fiction is good.

[Guest BANKYWOOD]

Plus, if you're up for it, Colemad's had some success dabbling in fusion. His Science Fiction is good.

I second that.

 

*carries Inc's jock*