JAZZ Music
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Aaron German
Active Member
To get some posts on this board I will list some some Jazz bands I like. I have seen all of them live, and think that they are all great. But some are greater than others. They all contain improvisational elements, some more so than others. I will list them in order of least noisy to most noisy. Or at least I'll try. I can guarantee you that the first band is the least noisy and the last the most. To give you an idea bout the noisiness of the last band, let me just say this: one of the members places various heated objects on dry ice to get different sounds; the drummer rarely if ever uses a drum stick, instead he uses things that look like wooden rakes and other things that look like (well, OK, they are) vibrators; and the cellist has his cello hooked up to an array of about 9 different effects pedals, sometimes playing the the effects pedals as if they were the main instrument. The rest are purely acoustic, but I consider them noisy because the playing is so wild. If anyone here knows about Brotzmann, you know what I'm saying.
Klang
Aram Shelton Quartet
Fred Lonberg-Holm Valentine Trio
Jason Ajemian and the High Life
Aram Shelton's Fast Citizens
Keefe Jackson's Fast Citizens
Rempis/Rosaly
Peter Brotzmann and Hamid Drake
Peter Brotzmann and Fred Lonberg-Holm
The Friction Brothers
Klang
Aram Shelton Quartet
Fred Lonberg-Holm Valentine Trio
Jason Ajemian and the High Life
Aram Shelton's Fast Citizens
Keefe Jackson's Fast Citizens
Rempis/Rosaly
Peter Brotzmann and Hamid Drake
Peter Brotzmann and Fred Lonberg-Holm
The Friction Brothers
Aaron German
Active Member
Brotzmann has been around since the 60s. But his style is like a saxophone attack. I'll admit, it was not until I saw him live a couple of times that I was able to start listening to the CDs. But if you give it a chance, and embrace the noise, it can take you into other spheres. Most of the other folks I listed are currently based in Chicago and make semi-frequent stops in Lexington.
emoxley
Active Member
I like Spyro Gyra a lot. They've been around a long time (25 yrs.), and have a lot of albums out (about 30). Their site is here: http://www.spyrogyra.com/ If you like smooth jazz, you'll like these guys.
Aaron German
Active Member
Having posted the other day about The Friction Brothers, I decided to give one of their CDs a spin last night. It is truly and amazing CD. The sounds are almost other-worldly. I do wonder, however, if I should include it in the jazz section or not. The music is more of a soundscape than it is traditional songs. But it is certainly improvisational, which I think is a key mark of a lot of jazz music. It'd be hard for these guys not to improvise, given that they are using "instruments" that are not all that predictable: hot watter kettles screeching on dry ice, bullet shaped vibrators bouncing around on top of snare drums, etc.
Anyhow, on to the whole point of making this post. If I am going to list The Friction Brothers in the Jazz section, then I can also list Tatsuya Nakatani in the Jazz section. But I should point out that I do so only because of the improvisational and experimental aspects of his music. Like The Friction Brothers, his music is about soundscapes, not traditional song structures. However, every sound he makes is purely acoustic (= non-electrically generated). Well, at least when I saw him perform, it was all acoustic. He is a percussionist, who in addition to a couple of normal drums, also uses singing bowls. But his trademark contribution to the world of percussion is his use of a bow on cymbals and gongs. The sounds he can get with the bow are amazing.
I am going to post links to a video and the the CD Baby website, where you can hear excerpts from his Abiogenesis CD. This CD is definitely one of the best sounding CDs I own. It is also great for showing off your sub, as the gongs he uses really get down low. The youtube video doesn't capture the low freqs very well, but the excerpts on CD Baby do. As I said, I think that the Abiogenesis CD is one of the best I own in terms of sound quality. I also think it is one of the best I own in terms of imagination and sound experimentation. If you want to listen to something that takes you on a bunch of miniature, dream-like journeys, then this CD is for you.
The video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xArUQ5uk1x0&feature=related
The audio excerpts:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/TatsuyaNakatani
Anyhow, on to the whole point of making this post. If I am going to list The Friction Brothers in the Jazz section, then I can also list Tatsuya Nakatani in the Jazz section. But I should point out that I do so only because of the improvisational and experimental aspects of his music. Like The Friction Brothers, his music is about soundscapes, not traditional song structures. However, every sound he makes is purely acoustic (= non-electrically generated). Well, at least when I saw him perform, it was all acoustic. He is a percussionist, who in addition to a couple of normal drums, also uses singing bowls. But his trademark contribution to the world of percussion is his use of a bow on cymbals and gongs. The sounds he can get with the bow are amazing.
I am going to post links to a video and the the CD Baby website, where you can hear excerpts from his Abiogenesis CD. This CD is definitely one of the best sounding CDs I own. It is also great for showing off your sub, as the gongs he uses really get down low. The youtube video doesn't capture the low freqs very well, but the excerpts on CD Baby do. As I said, I think that the Abiogenesis CD is one of the best I own in terms of sound quality. I also think it is one of the best I own in terms of imagination and sound experimentation. If you want to listen to something that takes you on a bunch of miniature, dream-like journeys, then this CD is for you.
The video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xArUQ5uk1x0&feature=related
The audio excerpts:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/TatsuyaNakatani
Aaron German
Active Member
PaulyT said:
Yeah, I agree with that. But what is is exactly that makes something jazz, I 'm still not sure about. Tatsuya's Abiogenesis is not jazz (in my almost totally uninformed opinion). But I don't think there's any other place to post about it. Maybe we need an "experimental" or "soundscape" section.
You can create any thread you want in the Music section, this one and a few of the other "big" genres are simply pinned threads.
Yeah, defining Jazz certainly isn't straightforward. But I agree, Tatsuya isn't jazz. Doesn't mean it's not cool stuff, though!
Yeah, defining Jazz certainly isn't straightforward. But I agree, Tatsuya isn't jazz. Doesn't mean it's not cool stuff, though!
Back to Zing's OP, if this one doesn't define "silky smooth" I don't know what does. Ok it's pretty mellow, but it's a great sit-back-with-a-glass-of-wine sort of album. Enjoying a glass of Black Ankle right now... :music-listening:
Dennie
Well-Known Member
If you want "Silky Smooth with a little "Gravel" thrown in, this is the ticket.........
I know that I've mentioned this album many times, but it is one of my All Time Favorites and would be one of my "Deserted Island" picks!
From Amazon......
Amazon.com
What we have here is the mating of honey and molasses. Or is it the sound of melted butter over gravel? Never mind--sweeter, more joyous music has never been recorded (although the follow-up, Ella and Louis Again, may be even better). You can't listen to these two without smiling. It's such an inevitable pairing that you wonder what titanic forces of nature could have kept Ella and Satchmo apart until they made this record together in 1957, accompanied by the Oscar Peterson trio and Buddy Rich on drums. The songs are standards--extraordinary standards, of course, like "Moonlight in Vermont" and "A Foggy Day"--but nirvana is reached on "Cheek to Cheek." Heaven. --Jim Emerson
Dennie :handgestures-thumbup:
I know that I've mentioned this album many times, but it is one of my All Time Favorites and would be one of my "Deserted Island" picks!
From Amazon......
Amazon.com
What we have here is the mating of honey and molasses. Or is it the sound of melted butter over gravel? Never mind--sweeter, more joyous music has never been recorded (although the follow-up, Ella and Louis Again, may be even better). You can't listen to these two without smiling. It's such an inevitable pairing that you wonder what titanic forces of nature could have kept Ella and Satchmo apart until they made this record together in 1957, accompanied by the Oscar Peterson trio and Buddy Rich on drums. The songs are standards--extraordinary standards, of course, like "Moonlight in Vermont" and "A Foggy Day"--but nirvana is reached on "Cheek to Cheek." Heaven. --Jim Emerson
Dennie :handgestures-thumbup:
What I call "smoove" jazz:
Spyro Gyra is a good one
Richard Elliot (sax)
David Benoit (piano)
George Benson
Steve Cole (sax)
Larry Carlton (guitar)
Sam Cardon (keys)
Michael Franks (excellent smoove vocalist/songwriter, but all my musician friends call me a p*ssy for listening to him)
Fourplay
Lee Ritenour
Mark Isham (trumpet, composer)
Boney James (sax)
I only got about 1/5 thru my collection, I'll post more later. Spend lots!
Spyro Gyra is a good one
Richard Elliot (sax)
David Benoit (piano)
George Benson
Steve Cole (sax)
Larry Carlton (guitar)
Sam Cardon (keys)
Michael Franks (excellent smoove vocalist/songwriter, but all my musician friends call me a p*ssy for listening to him)
Fourplay
Lee Ritenour
Mark Isham (trumpet, composer)
Boney James (sax)
I only got about 1/5 thru my collection, I'll post more later. Spend lots!
Dennie
Well-Known Member
That is a great list of musicians Botch!!Botch said:What I call "smoove" jazz:
Spyro Gyra is a good one
Richard Elliot (sax)
David Benoit (piano)
George Benson
Steve Cole (sax)
Larry Carlton (guitar)
Sam Cardon (keys)
Michael Franks (excellent smoove vocalist/songwriter, but all my musician friends call me a p*ssy for listening to him)
Fourplay
Lee Ritenour
Mark Isham (trumpet, composer)
Boney James (sax)
I only got about 1/5 thru my collection, I'll post more later. Spend lots!
Only a couple I am not familiar with.......yet! Smooth or "Smoove" (I like that) Jazz gets a bad rap from some of the Hardcore Jazz enthusiasts, but I am a big fan. Yes, I like Michael Franks and I think his "Blue Pacific" album is great!
Thanks for posting it,
Dennie
Finally getting around to listening to this one (the 3-SACD+1-DVD box set). So far so good! Yeah, it's a good recording. Yeah, it's good music. Is it worth the $60 for the set? Yeah, I think probably so... but gotta listen to it a few more times before making a final judgment.
Nice version of Take Five, of Brubeck fame. Some really stellar drumming in that one!
The SACD is 4.0, which while being artificially constructed from the stereo recording (done in 1976), does seem to add just a little subtle depth of sound to it, which is nice.
Certainly proves that Americans aren't the only ones who can play some kick-ass jazz!