My Jazz Reflections
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So I haven't added a post in quite sometime. I've actually have had plenty I wanted to say but have found things somewhat busy. I have been listening to a lot of Jazz and also listening to as much new music as I usually do. So my Jazz collection has grown exponentially and here are some of my layman's reflections on Jazz:
1) There is no way that I will ever catch up on several decades of Jazz.
2) I used to think Jazz was much better live than on disc, tape, etc. I still think the same: Coltrane, Parker, Gillespie, Monk, Miles, etc. must have really sounded damn awesome live. I can only imagine.
3) There is a lot of great Jazz music being played now but the production used in the studio doesn't seem to capture the spirit of the live shows.
4) The term "Jazz Fusion" seemed to make Jazz lose some of its identity. All Jazz is improvisational fusion: so-called Jazz Fusion was just an extention of Jazz moving forward just as Jazz had been moving forward for the 60 or more years before the '70s.
5) I really don't like the sound of orchestra's playing Jazz (e.g. Miles Ahead, etc.).
6) I have been a Yes fan for years. I never before realized how much they were influenced by Coltrane's later work.
7) My current neighborhood has some great places to see Jazz - another reason to love New York.
Comments (7)
Nice one.
Jazz is music I love to listen to, but afraid to tell anyone I do. It is one genre of music I do not know much about, yet anytime it comes on it seems to put me in a better place. I still have the soundtrack to Mo Better Blues on constant rotation
one begs the question if its improv then how can it be recorded other than live? not a criticism.
Thanks for your responses.
Cody B - couldn't agree more on Rudy Van Gelder. He seems to have been the best Jazz recording engineer in the studio or live (e.g. The Art Blakey Quintet A Night at Birdland). Would love to read your term paper on #4. I may expand on #6 in another comment or post.
Rawk - if Jazz is your guilty pleasure, you don't have much to feel guilty about. I think I have Def Leppard's High and Dry in my collection. I don't know the soundtrack to Mo Better Blues but I'll have to look into it.
Cpetersonart3 - I think Cody got it right. Rudy Van Gelder was able to catch the improvisation on tape much better than the more modern production. Most of the Jazz in the 50's and 60's and before was basically recorded live in the studio with the best takes used for the album. The different versions have different improvisations.
For anybody who cares to hear me expand on #6 above here's an example of what I mean:
(These may sound a bit off-putting on first listen but trust me, they may grow on you)
Here is The Father and The Son and The Holy Ghost / Compassion from John Coltrane's Meditations (1965-1966) in two parts:
And Sound Chaser by Yes' Relayer (1974):
Thanks for the Mo Better Blues.