Parker, Armstrong, Miles and Mingus - The Jazz Appreciation Thread

Hey, this is for all you cool cats out there, it's time to talk about America's Classical Music, Jazz.....feel free to discuss who is your favorite on each instrument, best album, etc.....i'll start things off with my own favorite list....

Alto Sax - Gerald Albright (With a strong runner up to Bird)

Tenor Sax - John Coltrane

Bari Sax - Dennis DiBlasio (most have not heard of him, but believe me, he is incredible)

Trumpet - Miles Davis

Drums - Art Blakey

Piano - Thelonius Monk

Bass - Charles Mingus

Guitar - Wes Montgomery

Vocal - Ella Fitzgerald

And, my all time favorite album....

Kind of Blue by the Miles Davis Quintet

 

Kind Of Blue is one of the all-time great works of any genre. It can fit so many moods - late evening with the lights down, dinnertime, sunrise, a warm sunny afternoon, a rainy day...

 

Good choices, but I fail to see Charlie Parker anywhere... Hmm...

Also, most of the choices for 'bests' are all stylistic players...

For old Tneor Sax, I love a good Coltrane "Blue Trane", but for modern Jazz Tenor, sign me up for Jeff Coffin... The guy is frikkin crazy!

Which brings me to Bela Fleck.... *sigh*

I don't think that there has been a tighter group with technical skills as a jazz group other than Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.. Some of those runs and stuff... It's crazy!

But "Kind of Blue" was my very first Jazz CD and 2nd CD ever (The first was the SW soundtrack, big surprise), so I have a very special place in my heart for it, especially because I play trumpet, and if ONLY I could even SEMI recreate his tone!

 

I can't beleive you didn't put Ellington in your heading!

for god's sake man, what were you thinking??????

I don't see a best trombonist or clarinettist anywhere. Is this because you have a problem withg these instruments, or did you just forget?

hmm... Clari = Benny Goodman
Trom = JJ Jones

Kind of Blue is definatly the best jazz album ever. There was a thread on Jazz a while back that got turned into a thread about KoB.

And best Sax solo goes to Paul Gonsalves. Who you say? d/l and listen to [/i]Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue[/i] by Ellington.

And best trumpeter goes to Davis? he was more of a composer than a trumpeter. What about Gillespie? he was the best actual trumpeter... Armstrong was damn good, but he was also more a singer and a composer/arranger...

 

Actually.....i love miles' tone....it is beautiful

I also love Aurturo Whatshisname....i can't spell his last name, you know the one from Cuba

as far as clarinet and bone....i really listen to more sax oriented stuff, being a sax player myself, but whatever......as for my favorite players today (i will add more when i think of them)

Alto - Gerald Albright

Tenor - Chris Farr (obscure one, but he is great)

Drums - Rob Brosh (again, obscure)

 

any of you guys heard of a group called supersax?

 

I'm really into Miles and Mingus. But I need some recommendations. From Miles I already have Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew, what else is essential listening? And anything you can recommend to me by Mingus would be much appreciated.

~PAd

 

if you like miles, you will probably like john coltrane.... Giant steps, blue train and my favorite things are his best.

It also really depends on what particular type of jazz you go in for...

i mean to name a few(in no particular order), theres:

Swing/Big band
Dixieland
Be-bop
Cool Jazz
Hard Bop
Modal jazz
Free jazz (hmm....)
Fusion
Soul jazz
Boogie-Woogie
Latin Jazz
Improv
Funk

You say you like Miles..... which miles? miles davis has had so many incarnations in jazz it is hard to tell what particular brand of jazz you like...

ok...which album do you like best of his?

 

Get ready to crucify me, but i absolutely did not like Coltranes recordings of Favorite things.....his solos seemed, a little elementary to me.......as compared to say, Giant Steps, which is my favorite tune by him (on which i have promised never to perform, cause i will never be happy with it)

 

ok...which album do you like best of his?

Well, like I said, I've only listened to a handful of songs other than the ones on Kind of Blue and Bitches brew and of those two, I think I prefer the latter. I'm into fusion jazz.

What about Mingus? Just about anything you can recommend of his at this point would be helpful. Thanks.

~PAd

 

I like some of the new blends that are coming out.....has anyone heard some of the new Herbie Hancock stuff.......it has got some wicked turntable action goin' on.....i like where jazz is going

 

Yeah I love Jazz. Whether it be old or new, it gets me singng or snapping. Louis was the Best Jazz maker ever. Many of his songs are my favorite.

 

sorry. when jazz turns electric, you can count me out.

although i do like Herbie Hancock's headhunters, and some of James Morrison's jazz/rock.

sorry, i don't know many songs by mingus, but i recommend Ken Burn's compilations of any artist. they are all a pretty good cross-section of their career.

and favourite things was not coltranes best, but it was certainly up there. i prefer Mr PC from Giant Steps.

 

I like Michael Brecker. He is one of the best technical players around.

 

BuMP

 

For Mingus, you need,
Mingus Ah-Um
The Clown-has cool narrated tune with Jean Shepard, author of Christmas Story


Miles: many artistic peaks during his career and at the forefront or creator of many jazz movements, Cool, Bop, Hard Bop, Fusion etc.

Birth of the Cool
Workin' and
Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quartet
Milestones
Sketches of Spain
ESP
In A Silent Way
On the Corner- sharp opinion about this one, was Miles most poorly received album, but is considered genius by others

Of course, there is Kind of Blue, and others like Nefertiti or Porgy and Bess and others that could make this list pretty extensive, but the above are some good choices

 

Merkurian:

In addition to K&D, I really dig the stuff being done by St. Germain

 

St. Germain is actually pretty cool.... i like 'so flute' that is used in the soundtrack from "snatch".

 

Anakin:
You forgot a couple of categories in your list...

Vibes: lionel hampton or milt jackson
Violin: stephane grappelli

 

i refuse to acknowledge the violin as a jazz instrument.

 

You should check out the Hot Club of France or Jean Luc Ponty or a contemporary artist like Regina Carter and then you can reconsider whether or not the violin is a jazz instrument

 

I think St Germain is using samples and programmed beats but is also mixing it with live musicians. Sometimes its hard to distinguish what is a sample and what is not. His last album Tourist was a really big crossover hit, appealing to fans of Jazz, dance and World musics simultaneously because of of its blend of influences and its quality in doing so. I am a fan of all types of traditional to modern jazz and improvised music, and I think artists like St. Germain bode well for the future, as they are opening up new worlds for those who listen to and those who create music.