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Post by jk on Sept 15, 2021 8:56:04 GMT
What was my first conscious memory of jazz? I think it must have been this footage of Anita O'Day from the 1959 film Jazz on a Summer's Day. The TV show in question (shown in the early '60s) was making a comparison between what they called "hot jazz" and "cool jazz" -- I can only assume "Tea For Two" falls under "hot jazz" but perhaps I'm being naive. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_on_a_Summer%27s_Day
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 15, 2021 11:59:54 GMT
There is something funny about watching audience members try to look like they're into jazz. (It always seems like a very conscious effort.)
Here's a great, early example of cool jazz, the more heavily arranged, usually a little more relaxed, and often derided as whiter cousin to "hot" jazz (which usually just meant bebop at the time). Gerry Mulligan's "Jeru" by a nonet led by Miles Davis (and including Mulligan) in 1949, from the classic Birth of the Cool.
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Post by jk on Sept 15, 2021 13:33:06 GMT
Here's a great, early example of cool jazz, the more heavily arranged, usually a little more relaxed, and often derided as whiter cousin to "hot" jazz (which usually just meant bebop at the time). Gerry Mulligan's "Jeru" by a nonet led by Miles Davis (and including Mulligan) in 1949, from the classic Birth of the Cool.
I have that excellent album -- the stellar lineup of musicians is to die for. By sheer coincidence my wife played it for our youngest granddaughter just two days ago!
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 15, 2021 13:34:02 GMT
Here's a great, early example of cool jazz, the more heavily arranged, usually a little more relaxed, and often derided as whiter cousin to "hot" jazz (which usually just meant bebop at the time). Gerry Mulligan's "Jeru" by a nonet led by Miles Davis (and including Mulligan) in 1949, from the classic Birth of the Cool.
I have that excellent album -- the lineup of stellar musicians is to die for. By sheer coincidence my wife played it for our youngest granddaughter just two days ago! I consider it one of the 10 or so greatest jazz albums of all time. One of Miles's best, too; one of several with which he helped change the entire form.
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sockit
The Surfer Moon
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Post by sockit on Sept 24, 2021 23:04:42 GMT
Anybody here into Sammy Nestico? I played trombone in the jazz band in high school, and we played a number of his tunes in our performances. I don't know much about Nestico, besides the fact that the music is pretty contemporary compared to some of the classic jazz discussed here.
This is one of the tunes we played quite often. I notice it has kind of a 70s sound to it.
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 24, 2021 23:42:00 GMT
I have to plead total ignorance on that. I googled him and see he arranged for Count Basie (among many others). It's possible I played something he arranged at some point, but not that I recall. So I can't say I am familiar. The one you linked is cool, and yeah, DEFINITELY has a '70s feel. Jazz lost a lot of swing through that 70s-80s period, and incorporated so much funk, rock, pop, Latin, etc that you would find those things.
For some reason, my HS jazz band teacher (in the early 90s) thought that was exactly the kind of music we'd find cool. That and cheesily jazzified versions of pop songs. He was seriously the worst music-related teacher I ever had. (He also won some kind of teaching award years later. Good lord...)
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sockit
The Surfer Moon
Posts: 234
Likes: 181
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Post by sockit on Sept 25, 2021 1:31:55 GMT
For some reason, my HS jazz band teacher (in the early 90s) thought that was exactly the kind of music we'd find cool. That and cheesily jazzified versions of pop songs. He was seriously the worst music-related teacher I ever had. (He also won some kind of teaching award years later. Good lord...)
Yes! You nailed it right there, Kapitan! I think this was the case in my...er, case. Our playlist consisted of a handful of Sammy Nestico tunes (as I mentioned), a jazzified version of Toto's "Rosanna", and a jazzified version of Kermit the Frog's "It's Not Easy Being Green", showcasing the trombone player to my left (first chair). Interesting you mention this side of things. I mean, what did I know then? But on the positive side, it gave me some exposure to jazz (we actually read through "Take Five" as an exercise, but never performed it). And best of all, we had fun. A few of my classmates actually became local professionals.
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sockit
The Surfer Moon
Posts: 234
Likes: 181
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Post by sockit on Sept 25, 2021 1:37:30 GMT
Ok, here's another one we performed and our keyboard player was on fire whenever we played it! She's one of those classmates I mentioned who went the professional jazz musician route.
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 25, 2021 11:17:15 GMT
For some reason, my HS jazz band teacher (in the early 90s) thought that was exactly the kind of music we'd find cool. That and cheesily jazzified versions of pop songs. He was seriously the worst music-related teacher I ever had. (He also won some kind of teaching award years later. Good lord...)
Yes! You nailed it right there, Kapitan! I think this was the case in my...er, case. Our playlist consisted of a handful of Sammy Nestico tunes (as I mentioned), a jazzified version of Toto's "Rosanna", and a jazzified version of Kermit the Frog's "It's Not Easy Being Green", showcasing the trombone player to my left (first chair). Interesting you mention this side of things. I mean, what did I know then? But on the positive side, it gave me some exposure to jazz (we actually read through "Take Five" as an exercise, but never performed it). And best of all, we had fun. A few of my classmates actually became local professionals. Mine was just atrocious. I was just in it because it meant I could play guitar. The first real exposure to real jazz by people who could play was all-state jazz, after my sophomore year of HS. (I had only auditioned because the music store where I took guitar lessons let me use a 6-track to record my audition tape.) All of a sudden I'm surrounded by kids my age who are REALLY good, and knowledgeable, too. Me, I knew almost nothing about jazz, I was a young rock and blues guitarist who could sorta fake it. I was hugely intimidated, but came out inspired, too: that's what got me really thinking about and listening to jazz.
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 28, 2021 13:16:23 GMT
Here is an article not on The Birth of the Cool, but the birth of "cool." It focuses on jazz, of course, though I question some of its assertions.
For example, "An icon of cool is a person who has created or inspired social change through art, protest, or popular culture." I'm not sure "cool" has its roots in, or was focused on, social justice. If I had to bet, I'd put money on coolness being a successful sexual strategy, to be honest.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 16, 2021 21:20:06 GMT
I think I posted the Miles Davis version of this in the 1967 thread, which presumably inspired YouTube to recommend this: a 1972 version of "Freedom Jazz Dance" under bassist Miroslav Vitous's leadership. The band includes Jack DeJohnette on drums, John McLaughlin on electric guitar, Herbie Hancock on electric piano (he was on Miles's version too), and Joe Henderson on tenor sax.
Very cool sound, like if the Bitches Brew band reined it in a little and played more traditional tunes. (Actually, I suppose it almost is the Bitches Brew band.
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Post by jk on Oct 16, 2021 21:38:30 GMT
I think I posted the Miles Davis version of this in the 1967 thread, which presumably inspired YouTube to recommend this: a 1972 version of "Freedom Jazz Dance" under bassist Miroslav Vitous's leadership. The band includes Jack DeJohnette on drums, John McLaughlin on electric guitar, Herbie Hancock on electric piano (he was on Miles's version too), and Joe Henderson on tenor sax.
Very cool sound, like if the Bitches Brew band reined it in a little and played more traditional tunes. (Actually, I suppose it almost is the Bitches Brew band.) Never heard of Vitous. Sounds like he's quite a force to be reckoned with! I agree: very cool. Thanks for passing it on. A lovely way to end the day (in my case). I don't know if I've posted this before, but it's what Joshilyn H, a huge Mahavishnu fan, has to say about its guitarist: "McLaughlin must have gigantic hands; I experience the same sort of discouragement [as another EH poster] every time I pick up a guitar and try to play those picked arpeggios. He could hook his left thumb under on chords where I can barely get my thumb to peek out over the back of the neck. He really is the greatest guitar player of all time, I think. A little more taste than some of the other fusion monsters (although that's gone a bit downhill recently IMO), unbeatable speed, unsurpassed harmonic knowledge, and total mastery of rhythm. Superhuman."
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 10, 2021 19:23:39 GMT
I'm actually a little bit surprised that it's the first jazz album of the '60s to go platinum. But as I thought about it, what are some of the other likely candidates? Dave Brubeck's Time Out and Miles Davis's A Kind of Blue? Both 1959. Miles's Bitches Brew? Early 1970. (Wikipedia shows Miles's 1960 Sketches of Spain as platinum, but it also shows the sales at 861k.) Maybe something from Herbie Hancock, like Head Hunters ... from 1973.
As many cool jazz albums as there were from the 1960s, most of the really big sellers were from the '50s or '70s.
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Post by jk on Feb 6, 2022 19:03:28 GMT
I'll put this in the jazz thread, but really it could fit anywhere. I caught this performance the other week on Dutch TV and was completely gobsmacked:
"Don’t get your facts erroneous The master bop blaster was named Thelonious Thelonious Monk was the original gangster Diabolic with the melodic and a rhythm-a-ning prankster So don't get faked by the copies; they're the phoniest The master bop blaster was named Thelonious
"He could stop a Trane with a single chord Make you feel like a Newcomber with a fast run down the keyboard Some cats were just handing out flash Those copping Tatum, well, Monk just ate 'em They broke out 'round midnight in a rash
"Nice work if he played behind your solo But if you blew cliché it was a no-go He'd drop an angular line in flawless time And it was shown that what you'd blown was copped from another fellow
"Played between the cracks At high speed could relax Chatter always ceased for a solo from the Priest 'Cause the tension of the invention never slacked
"So if you happen upon a place called Minton's Wind up in one of those historical sit-ins Check out the guy taking out changes like he's taking out Chinese The traditional cats found it felonious The way he put two chords together, well, it wasn't Platonious But what would you expect from a one-member sect Hard to catch his name in this din T-h-e-l-o-n-i-o-u-s, I'll say it again
"Don't get your facts erroneous The master bop blaster was named Thelonious Thelonious Monk was the original gangster Diabolic with the melodic and a rhythm-a-ning prankster So don't get faked by the copies; they're the phoniest The master bop blaster was named Thelonious"
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 6, 2022 19:42:37 GMT
Man oh man, I don't know what to think.
Musical arrangement: very cool! I loved the integration of "Straight, No Chaser," and especially the flat 9 in the IV chord. (Also later, with the fugal stuff on that melody.)
Topic: I love giving Monk praise. One of the top half-dozen giants in American music, in my opinion. (Most of the giants in American music are jazz musicians, I'd say. Monk, Miles, Duke, probably Louis Armstrong even though he's not my thing, and then Dylan and Wilson? Something like that. I ought to throw in a "serious" composer but I said half dozen...)
But that said, incorporating some hip hop terminology and style to it makes it feel awfully awkward to me. Almost like, "he's black, hip-hop is black, it works!" Something about this makes it feel like a church rock band, or a school-sponsored rap about saying no to drugs.
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