Music: Favorite Jazz piece or album | The Boneyard

Music: Favorite Jazz piece or album

SVCBeercats

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What is your favorite jazz piece or album? Mine is Herbie Mann's "Memphis Underground." Piece and album. I like the flute. Late one Friday night 1969 while returning home to Euclid, a suburb of Cleveland, from an assignment in Columbus I was listening to a jazz station. This piece started playing but I missed the introduction because I was still thinking of the system we were installing. I was really taken by the piece. Finally the DJ said the piece's name and musican's name. Monday morning I was at the door of Cleveland's best record store. I asked where I could find this record. He said there is only one left and where it was. I got to the end of the aisle and saw another customer at the other end. Suddenly we realized we both wanted the same album. We sprinted to mid-aisle but I managed to get get there slightly ahead of him and grab the album. I was delighted and he was disappointed. But our liking of jazz made it better and we talked easily for 30 minutes. Have a listen. It mellows me everytime. Mrs. SVC introduced me to jazz. Back then she was quite knowledgeable. She had her local favorites but some clubs would import nationally known artists. We would prowl the Shadyside (Pittsburgh) clubs. We would vacation in Toronto and hit the jazz clubs on Yonge St. Of course she had to suffer through a day at the Ontario Science Centre.
 
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Albums
Kind of Blue - Miles
Time Out - Dave
any Mingus Big Band
Wee Small Hours of the Morning - not sure you'd count Sinatra

Tunes
How High the Moon
A Night in Tunisia
Take 5
A Train
Georgia
Actually, just about anything in the Fake Book (except Giant Steps - I've heard it played enuf, badly)
 

Bama fan

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Heard a piece on NPR's Fresh Air the other day about an album set being released with the title "Newest Sound You Never Heard". It is some old stuff by Jeanne Lee and Ran Blake. I was very impressed with Ms Lee's vocals. I am ashamed to say that I did not know the name when the show introduced her work. Now this is not the best jazz I ever heard, but if you are unaware , give it a listen. :) BTW, Take Five is my personal favorite, but just one of many I love.
 

JordyG

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Well, now you guys are in my wheelhouse. I have so many favorites. I'll just list some (5) of my current faves.

1) Dreams and Daggers - Cecile McLorin Salvant. The premier jazz singer of her generation. An interpretive genius. She mines every note for meaning and harmony. A sweet tone with power in reserve.

2) A Rift In The Decourm - Akire Akinmusire. The preeminent jazz trumpet today. The record features challenging chord progressions, odd time signatures and improvisations over this stuff that is stellar. Intellectual and moving. The new cool.

3) Trip Mode - Joey DeFrancesco. A virtuoso organist that also plays a great trumpet. Whether playing hard grooves or hard bop there's no one else like him. And no, his fingers never leave his hands.

4) Something Gold, Something Blue - Tom Harrell. This old hard bopper still blows like hell. When one of the all time greatest meets the best of the young guns on this album, Akinmusire, the sparks and the music are sublime.

5) Lift - Chris Potter. Endlessly creative in music that is approachable. Even though you can hear his influences with every note he somehow makes it original. Big, intricate, sassy, gritty, intimate and smart. In my mind the best today.

Honorable mention to Brad Meldau, Sullivan Fortner, Jazzmeia Horn, Aaron Parks, Conrad Herwig, Fred Hersch, and Bill Charlap.

All of the artists I've mentioned are incredibly approachable after performances. Some (Sullivan, Cecile, Joey) can really bend an ear. Just great people.
 
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Carnac

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I have many Jazz favorites. I love Jazz. I began listening to and formulating an appreciation for jazz around 1964. One of my all time favorites is a "Jazz Classic" by one of the legendary GIANTS in the world of jazz, Miles Davis.
A tune he called "So what.". :cool:

 
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huskeynut

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MF Horn - Maynard Furgeson
Live Evil - Miles Davis
Stick It - Buddy Rich
In the Mood - Glenn Miller
Moonlight Serenade - Glenn Miller
Kid from Red Bank - Count Basie
Kenton's West Side Story - Stan Kenton
 
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Outside those already mentioned.
I really like most of Chet Baker's work.
Try "Chet", "The Best of Chet Baker Sings"
or "Chet Baker in Paris".
 

Bama fan

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I have many Jazz favorites. I love Jazz. I began listening to andformulationg an appreciation for jazz around 1964. One of my all time favorites is a "Jazz Classic" , Miles Davis' So what.


Fantastic music! :D
 

JordyG

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Outside those already mentioned.
I really like most of Chet Baker's work.
Try "Chet", "The Best of Chet Baker Sings"
or "Chet Baker in Paris".
Try "Chet Baker In NY" as well with Philly Joe, Paul Chambers, Johnny Griffin and Al Haig. Terrific.
 
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Too many greats already mentioned here to comment on.

SVC - if you like the flute, if you ever get a chance, listen to Bobby Militello - he played for years with Maynard and later fronted for Brubeck before Dave passed......usually on alto so you may have to hunt for some flute pieces.....if u see him live you'll just grin from ear to ear

Chet Baker - Arttie Frank was a CT resident for many years before he moved to AZ for his health -- listened to many "war stories" from Artt as he passed the "heritage" down to my kids.


"So What" was my ring tone on my cel phone for years .....often drew a laugh when somebody recognized what it was

Coltrane - its claimed by some who played with him that his "harmonics" came from being so effed up one night he was just started playing the wrong damn notes

Somebody mentioned Chris Potter....great
 
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Favorite album - Sunday at the Village Vanguard

Favorite tunes - there are many, but a few that come immediately to mind

Bill Evans - Waltz for Debby
Miles Davis - Someday My Prince Will Come
Bill Evans - Blue in Green
Bill Evans - On Green Dolphin Street

As much as I love Evans, my favorite version of his tune Waltz for Debby is Oscar Peterson's
 

LETTERL

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My favorite all-time song of any genre. Loved this as a teenager...the entire RISE album is awesome...but it wasn't until I finally got a high-quality stereo system in my 20s that I realized how very much ahead of his time Herb Alpert was; every bit of instrumentation is perfect and the bassline is incredible.

Even today...I use this song as stress relief when I need it.

BTW...for u trivia nuts: Herb Alpert is the only artist in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to hit #1 as a singer (with the Tijuana Brass) and with an instrumental.

The link I have provided is the album version. If you don't want to listen to the whole thing, you MUST listen to the final minute. The climax of this is awesome!

"Rise" -- Herb Alpert
 
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JordyG

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Too many greats already mentioned here to comment on.

SVC - if you like the flute, if you ever get a chance, listen to Bobby Militello - he played for years with Maynard and later fronted for Brubeck before Dave passed.usually on alto so you may have to hunt for some flute pieces.....if u see him live you'll just grin from ear to ear

Chet Baker - Arttie Frank was a CT resident for many years before he moved to AZ for his health -- listened to many "war stories" from Artt as he passed the "heritage" down to my kids.


"So What" was my ring tone on my cel phone for years .....often drew a laugh when somebody recognized what it was

Coltrane - its claimed by some who played with him that his "harmonics" came from being so effed up one night he was just started playing the wrong damn notes

Somebody mentioned Chris Potter....great

It was I that mentioned Chris Potter. John occasionally being "effed up" may have encouraged him harmonically, but practicing 19 hours a day surely had something to do with it. Talk about getting Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours

My two favorite Trane stories. One day he was on a double bill with Betty Carter and John went on first. Once John got going he played and played 20 mins. into Betty's time. The owner went over to Betty and asked that she tell John to stop and get off. Betty replied, "I ain't tellin' that MF nothin'. You tell him to stop." My second is when they once asked John how was it to play with Miles and John replied, "I don't know. He just seemed to be pissed off all the time". John didn't record many interviews, so the ones extant are precious.
 

JordyG

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Favorite album - Sunday at the Village Vanguard

Favorite tunes - there are many, but a few that come immediately to mind

Bill Evans - Waltz for Debby
Miles Davis - Someday My Prince Will Come
Bill Evans - Blue in Green
Bill Evans - On Green Dolphin Street

As much as I love Evans, my favorite version of his tune Waltz for Debby is Oscar Peterson's

The version with Cannonball Adderley with Bill Evans on "Know What I Mean" (Riverside) is also extraordinary. The entire album is in fact very good. One of my favorites. Among the songs you mentioned by Bill I'm also a big fan of "Interplay", a song that kind of gets overlooked.

The reissue of "Sunday" by Mobile Fidelity, specifically the Ultradisc One-Step, is far better than any variant. I have the original deep groove, the Acoustic Sounds 45 rpm reissue, a Hi-Rez download, and the One-Step. The latter is so clearly, so overwhelmingly superior it's criminal. The price is also criminal; both the initial offering and now that it is out of print. Mobile Fidelity is reissuing "Portrait In Jazz) as a One-Step and they're talking preorders (yes $125).
 

Bigboote

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You mean, *besides* Kind of Blue...?

That's pretty much what I was gonna start my post with. Do you know that as of ten years ago, Kind of Blue was certified 4x platinum and STILL selling 5000 units a MONTH? That's only down from 6000 a month 20 years ago.

So in addition to the many already listed:

Masterpieces by Ellington -- an early LP (one of the very first) that has full concert arrangements of some of his classic tunes that had only been available on 78's, four tunes/songs, around 50 minutes. My favorite on that one (may not have been released previously) is called the Tattooed Bride.

Africa/Brass by Coltrane. It's a foray into big-band music, kinda noisy, but I've had it on repeat the past couple of weekends.

The rockier side of jazz, I love a piece called Hymn to Him by the Mahavishnu Orchestra with the LSO. Also Jack Johnson by Miles.

And for my link: Believe it or not, I got into jazz listening to Yusef Lateef. This is one of my favorite tunes of his. He was one of the early jazz artists who began importing Middle Eastern components. This tune has a rabat, tambourine, and scratcher making a really interesting sound. He used the beautiful simple chord progression played by the piano in many subsequent pieces:

 

JordyG

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That's pretty much what I was gonna start my post with. Do you know that as of ten years ago, Kind of Blue was certified 4x platinum and STILL selling 5000 units a MONTH? That's only down from 6000 a month 20 years ago.

So in addition to the many already listed:

Masterpieces by Ellington -- an early LP (one of the very first) that has full concert arrangements of some of his classic tunes that had only been available on 78's, four tunes/songs, around 50 minutes. My favorite on that one (may not have been released previously) is called the Tattooed Bride.

Africa/Brass by Coltrane. It's a foray into big-band music, kinda noisy, but I've had it on repeat the past couple of weekends.

The rockier side of jazz, I love a piece called Hymn to Him by the Mahavishnu Orchestra with the LSO. Also Jack Johnson by Miles.

And for my link: Believe it or not, I got into jazz listening to Yusef Lateef. This is one of my favorite tunes of his. He was one of the early jazz artists who began importing Middle Eastern components. This tune has a rabat, tambourine, and scratcher making a really interesting sound. He used the beautiful simple chord progression played by the piano in many subsequent pieces:


The reissue of "Masterpieces By Ellington" by Analogue Productions 45 rpm is one of the great recordings of the modern era, mono or no.
 
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John Klemmer's "Touch".......there was this certain girl once........and.....well..... :D

 

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