Niiiiiiiice!

I've just took posession of the following

Miles Davis: "Kind of blue", "In a silent way", and "Sketches of spain"

Martin Taylor Solo.

And The essential Dave Brubeck(2 cds)

Not had a chance to listen to any of them yet.

I've heard of Only Miles previously. Who are the others?

I'll let you know what I think after a spin toMOrow

Do I need any special clothing to listen to this?

 

I wear slippers when I listen to Miles Davis I too have Sketches of Spain and don't like it much.

Try some John Coltrane, IMHO he's way better.

Think I might need to put on my asbestos Y fronts as I probally have started a flame war

 

You've definitely picked stuff at the s-m-o-o-o-t-h end of the scale. If you want something with more cajones, there's plenty to choose. Having said that, "In a Silent Way" is a nice album. "Kind of Blue" is important, but overrated (much better to hear the 1960 Davis band doing this stuff live, they really pick it up a notch or two). I've never liked "Sketches of Spain", but lots of people do (they tend not to be Aphex Twins fans, however).

Brubeck - you'll definitely know "Take 5" (everybody's heard it, even if they don't know what it's called).

Martin Taylor - never heard him.

Sgt Rock - Trane: seconded!

-- Ian

 

Wasn't so much picked. MOre had them chosen.

Only one i've had a chance to give a listen to so far is this Martin Taylor one. Acoustic guitar only, and the guy seems a bit good! I'm assuming that it's just one guitar, but he's got that whole 3 guitars on one thang goin on! My younger brother is a pretty good guitar player, I think he'd be interested/impressed by this!

AMAZON review

OOPS! Just noticed i've not submitted this post yet! Well a few tracks further into the album and WOW!!! This is some of the MOst impressive stuff i've ever heard! I aint just an Aphex fan! Saying that if the other albums are as sMOoooooth as you say, I may be needing to get some of the MOre "free" jazz stuff.

That air album I mentioned (think on the aphex thread) had something like 6weeks delievery on it! I'll try and find it when i'm in london this weekend, I think that's the sort of jazz i'd find MOst appealing.


Cheers MO

:MILD:

 

I never really got Miles Davis, I think kind of blue sounds like porn film music.

Sorry.

 

If you like your jazz to sound like a Warp-records unplugged album, you might want to try the following. These do it for me:

Charles Mingus: Black Saint and the Sinner Woman
Eric Dolphy: Out To Lunch
Duke Ellington: Money Jungle

Also, if you like Antipop Consortium, you should check out their collab with free jazz pianist Matthew Shipp.

 

I have "Kind of Blue" and "Sketches of Spain". Kind of Blue was OK, but it didn't really light my fire. Sketches of Spain I really don't like much at all. Garyi's description of Kind of Blue as like "porn film music" actually seems quite accurate :duck:

I bought a bunch of jazz records recently which were:
- the 2 above mentioned Miles Davis records
- Getz / Gilberto (verve re-master)
- Jazz Samba (verve re-master)
- Wayne Shorter, Alegria
- Back to Back: Play the Blues (Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges) - another Verve remaster.

Of those, I thought the 2 bossa records and the Duke Ellington/Johnny Hodges one were awesome and the rest basically shite (ok, that's a bit harsh, but I really didn't enjoy them). Bossanova I loved anyway already and had many records of so it wasn't surprising I liked the bossa records. The Ellington/Hodges record really boogied but the others, well,
:SLEEP:

I guess that for me, jazz has to have a groove. If it's just a tinkling piano with a muted trumpet or sax 'crying' over the top and a the odd swish on the snare drum every so often then it really doesn't do anything for me

Michael.

 

Seconded !

An absolute gem that'll have you scratchin' your noggin' during the first listen .

Personally I love 'Sketches". It's a great late night summer album IMHO.
I think if you knw the stories behind the music it also helps.

"Kind of..." is great but better does exist. It is however possibly the most accessable jazz album available without deceding into loungeness .

mO - enjoy. Pipe and slippers are in the post :MILD: .

 

Will have to give Kind of Blue and Sketches another listen today to re-evaluate but I bought Kind of Blue on the basis of it being accessible but I really didn't think it was that accessible at all Sketches is even less so. In fact, I would say it's stretching what you could call jazz - it's much closer to avantgarde classical music IMO (which, allthough somewhat inaccessible, I actually quite like a reasonable amount of).

Michael.

 

Of the Gil Evans/Miles Davis collaborations I prefer Miles Ahead then Porgy and Bess and finally Sketches.

If it is groove orientated you want look for music from 2 styles. Either Swing, which can tend to be Big Band stuff by Basie and Ellington (2 you have heard of) as well as Lester Young or Bop : Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonius Monk. These names just stratch the surface, but may help you on your way.

 

Thanks Lee, Parker, Gillespie and Monk I have all heard bits of (I even have a 2CD Monk compilation) and I like them all so will be looking for more stuff from them. I would that "bop" is then definitely my bag as far as jazz is concerned...

Now, voodoo, when you mentioned descending into loungeness, you weren't referring to bossa by any chance were you Loungy or not, it's some of my favourite music :MILD:

Michael.

 

Michael, mon ami, I'm staying tight lipped .

 

Once your ears become accustomised to Bop, you can then move onto Post-Bop, BeBop and HardBop (I kid you not, who said modern dance had too many genre's?).

Post-Bop is where Miles too over the reigns of mainstream Jazz, BeBop is where Blue Note in the sixties was at, so Clifford Brown, Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderly etc, and HardBop is typically the music of Art Blakey and his alumni.

 

Thanks for the replies

I've still only had a chance to listen to the Martin Taylor album. The guy is a wee bit on the talented side! Have heard very few if indeed any who can match him technicaly! Some familiar tracks on there, the full track listing is on that amazon link I posted earlier. MOose the MOoch on acoustic guitar indeed!

I investigated Eric Dolphy, and heard about 5 tracks. Though I liked them, I feel perhaps, still not quite what I'm after. Saying that I took no notice of what album they were off. Is the recomendation specific to the Out to lunch album?

Cheers

MO

 

If you want more stuff along the lines of Martin Taylor, then the likes of Adrian Legg, Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, Pierre Bensusan and my current favourite Louis Winsberg (a bit more electric though).

There was a good thread on the Naim forum where a few others were mentioned who I hadn't heard of http://naim-audio.infopop.net/1/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=67019385&f=38019385&m=1971963516

 

And Martin Taylor is British [english?]

Lots of ace UK guitar jazzwizzos like

John Etheridge

Allan Holdsworth

John McG......in [I can never spell that one]

 

Well, having given Kind Of Blue two spins my thoughts....

I did find myselfwith foot tapping and my fingers rhythmicaly drumming along with it. But it's not really gripping stuff. It's nice, but not really MOre than that. I'll definately listen to it many MOre times when the MOod is right. But, it's a little bit passive and uneventfull for my liking.

As i've said, it shall definately be played many MOre times, but not as gripping as i'm looking for, I need something MOre dirty and gritty!

MOre thoughts to follow....

 

so far.....

Kind of blue is nice, a bit chilled out but still very good for what it is. Perhaps the sort of thing I may wish to get MOre of later in my jazz buying life. Want some MOre dirty, gritty stuff now though! I wanna hear them gums bleed! Bleed I tells ya!

Sketches of spain had a spin last night. Not really sure about this one. Sounds like there should be a big film epic to watch along with it. Not really my cuppa coco but technically good. Sure it will appeay to many but not for me right now.

I only managed a passive listen to Silent way, but sounds good! Perhaps my fav' of the Miles Davis ones so far! Will need to give them all a few MOre spins though!

Shall probably give Brubeck a crack after the pub kicks me out tonight

 

As one jazz tyro to another - definitely try Mingus. I've heard virtually nothing from him yet that's not brilliant (although I'm sure he's taking the piss in large parts of "Mingus - Oh Yeah"). Ian's recommendation of "Black Saint And the Sinner Lady" did it for me - and "Ah Um" is also great. This guy's got the guts and grunt, with a purpose I just can't find in Coltrane.

Brubeck's "Time Out" is wonderful with all sorts of rhythms around - other than the "Take Five", there's 9s, 6s, 3s against 4s etc. Maybe not the overheated rhythmic subdivisions of techno - but far more subversive!!!!

On a completely different tack - the 'swing' side of the fence - I'm also still intending to get some Benny Goodman (particularly stuff from the '40s when he teamed up with a harmonically more adventurous composer), after an excellent concert of his music earlier this year.

 

Oi, I like "Oh Yeah". It's got a sense of humour, and some good tunes. "Ecclusiastics" is one of my favourites, so there!

-- Ian