I do.
I use to be into mostly rock but gradually went over to jazz though I still like the classic rockers like the Stones and others. Some like just singers but I'm mostly into instrumental stuff like Take 5, which I consider a monumental work of jazz. I love all the heavyweights such as Monk, Miles and many others plus newer artists and groups such as the Carribean Jazz Project, Paquito de Rivera and others.
What/who are your favorites and why do you like them? Do you like jazz better than pop or rock or just like it a little or just like certain tunes and certain players?
Then there are the blues which I think of as a subset of jazz though I'm sure I'll get an argument on that from someone. Who are your fav blues people? I like BB King and many others.
Good topic, Stoney. I am a huge lover of blues and jazz, and I see the line between them as very blury.
I also like the greats. Personal favorites start with Miles, Trane , Monk, Ellington. I have special love for the guitar playes such as Wes Montgomery, Herb Ellis , Barney Kessel ect. I dig the B3 giants like Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff and Jimmy McGriff.
As far as younger players, I really like John Scofield and Joey Difrancesco.
I like pretty much all well known blues players, more so the older generation but a lot of young ones as well.
On the lighter side: Q. What;s the differnce between blues and jazz?
A. In blues you play 3 chords to hundreds of people, in jazz you play hundreds of chords to 3 people.
Yesssirree, fine topic.... I too would say I mostly listen to rock satndards like the Stones, Animals,Who, but then, there's those times that I venture into other genres.... For Jazz, I'd go with Miles first off, then maybe some Monk, or Taj... Listened to some Cab Calloway Sunday evening that was really cool....For Blues, Jeez, how I love the stuff!! Touches me in a place that even rock does not reach; somehow more visceral, more transforming... Ha, when I mention blues, alot of folks have made the comment that ""That stuff is just depressing"" I always find it making me feel so much better, so settled and contemplative.... As far as Blues Artists, the list goes forever... Billie Holiday-Joplin-Stevie Ray-John Lee Hooker-Robert Johnson-John Mayer-Albert Collins-BB King-Early Zepplin-and so so many others.... Actually if I had to go to that fabled island and could take only one genre of music, it would be Blues instead of Rock............ Ha,,, I'll be thinking of this thread now, for days!!!------ 8)
Yeah, I do like blues a lot myself. When I was younger I said the same thing, "it's dismal" or something like that. That was before I got better educated and started listening to good blues and jazz. There are a few blues tunes, even some popular ones I don't like because to me they sound negative. Such as 'moaning' or whatever the name is and one or two others. There are a few jazz tunes I don't care for and a few jazz singers I don't like. I do not like Curt Elling though the DJ's seem to love him and play his junk all the time.
It's hard for me to remember the names of all the good artists and good tunes and albums. Sal, you mentioned some good names and JRL, you too. I would toss in Dizzy, Ray Charles, that piano player whose band was the range, and of course J Defranchesco, as Joe said. I'll think of some others soon as my head starts working again.
What about latin jazz, anybody into that? Paquito is great as are the Caribean Jazz Project. There are others but as usual I can't think of the names. Afro Cuban and a lot of world jazz is good. Probably not the right name but there is stuff nobody heard of out there which is very good. I even heard a rapper I liked years ago. He chanted in french, I think it was, and the rhythm and sound of it was hypnotic. I saw him on TV once and never again. Good stuff is hard to find but crap is everywhere.
I listen to the radio, mostly, and very seldom go to concerts. I have a cd collection but haven't upgraded in a while. The DJ babbles so much on the radio I turn the mute on whenever the song ends to avoid it so I miss out on a lot of trivia and stories.
Bruce Hornsby and the range. I knew it would come to me.
So Many greats. I was listening to Little Walter's greatest hits CD, how I love that country blues sound.
Ray Charles of course. One of my favorite records is Thats What I Say, Scofields Ray Charles tribute.
A lot of what I dig falls through the cracks: The Meters, Roben Ford, Neville Bros, Dr John. I'm not sure what bin to put those records in.
And I can't fight the funk which is right next door to jazz: Tower of Power, George Clinton, Herbie Hancock's funky side, Earth Wind and Fire, James Brown, Maceo Parker ect.
As far as piamo players right now I'm into the great New Orleans piano man like Proffesor Longhair and James Booker. Anything from Nawlins is a good bet for me.
Yeah, I know what you mean about not being able to classify some stuff but still liking it. Many or all those names are familiar. I'm pretty sure I heard cuts off that Ray Charles tribute album. And of course Herby Hancock. I mostly like instrumental over singing but Ray C is an exception to that rule. He is one of the greats.
A number of Beatles tunes were redone in a jazz format and came out super. Come Together, is one of those but there are others. I feel a little guilty not supporting the performers of today by going to their concerts but the cost has gone through the roof plus all the hassle. Some day they will have the internet figured out and you will be able to hear anything you like for a buck a tune or less and have a permanent digital recording. Maybe even a dime a tune. Wouldnt you rather have a dime from 100 million people than $20 from a handful?
The Marsellis brothers, especially Winton. Not sure of the spelling there. Those were some I was trying to think of the names of the other day. All of them are great and I think they all have their own groups but sometimes collaborate. Arturo Sandoval is another excellent jazz musician.
I like Branford Marselis a lot. He plays it all, from the Dead to Sting to jazz to Nawlins funk. Wynton of course is a fabulous musician but too much of a purest for me, He is one of those cats tryin to "legitimize" jazz. he wants to clean it up for the concert hall. I feel that jazz is really a folk music, and the audience is an active participant. It neads shouts and moans, not polite applause. Celebration!!!
One guy and band we haven't hit yet is the late Joe Zawinul and Weather Report. Now thats what I call fusion!!! It's deep stuff, and when I saw them in 1976 they were on the cutting edge of world culture. You could feel the future, it was such a mix of the most modern and the most timeless. They were beyond my ability to describe. I remember as we filed out after the show, no one was talking. Still one of the best shows I ever saw.
I'm not sure if I have heard Joe Zawinul or not. I hear a lot of stuff and never know who did it. I do like a lot of stuff that was labeled fusion.
Yeah, the Marselis brothers are great. I know what you mean about concert hall type jazz. I like the more 'folk' type myself but I like it all. Wynton has done some outstanding work.
What about zydeco? It's jamaican but also is connected to N Orleans, in my mind at least. It's some great stuff, I recall Beausoleil as one I'd like to hear more from. Do you consider zydeco to be related to jazz? I know it's hard to put a lot of things into catagories.
Good music of whatever type sometimes puts me into a good sort of trance. I just want to sit there and let the music wash over me and carry me away. Better than drugs.
As matter of fact I have been hard at work playing with a Cajun/zydeco/Louisiana r&b band called The Bayou Boys. Summer is zydeco season, just got back from The Isleton Crawdad Festival, did 2 gigs today back again tommorow.
Zydeco like most music from Louisiana is a wonderful mix of influences. It really is native to Louisiana, but there is a similarity to reggae. Other inluences are blues, r and b, french music, country, ect. I thought I knew something about it when I joined the bayou Boys 2 years ago, but its been an education. I really fell in love with it, the rythyms, the earthy songs and the great bass players. I will post a list of some acts to check put if you are interested.
Cajun and Zydeco have many things in common but there are definite differences. Cajun like Beausoleil was created by the French Canadians exiled to Louisiana. It has more of the French and folk influence. Zydeco comes from the Creole side of the tracks, it's got a harder edge and uses the rubboard, and modern zydeco has a lot of blues, funk, and rock in it.
I don't hear a lot of jazz in Cajun/Zydeco, but maybe a bit. Our violin/electric mandolin player is a country swing monster, so that influences everything he plays.
Good thread here. Lets keep it going!! I can talk music forever![/url]
Beausoleil, pronounced bow-so-lay for those new to this, is a terrific group. They've been around for at least 20 years. It's amazing that you are part of a zydeco group. What instrument do you play? I'm sure you've told us many times but the old memory doesn't always work.
>Cajun and Zydeco have many things in common but there are definite differences. Cajun like Beausoleil was created by the French Canadians exiled to Louisiana. It has more of the French and folk influence.
Oh mon, you put every ting in little boxes.
(feeble attempt at island accent)
I play bass. Cajun and Zydeco do have some differences for sure, and many similarities. Sometime da boxes have their use. It's good to know where stuff comes from, no?
One thing I am not though is a purist, I likes my gumbo with all da flavors.
Oh, yeah ://http://www.bayouband.com We got a CD in the final stages of production.
Something wierd happened last night. I turned on the pbs radio channel I listen to and it sounded really good. It was a while before I noticed it was classical music and not jazz. What tipped me off was that the DJ's were different people. Then I noticed it was classical. I'm not really a classical fan but some of it is quite decent.
They play classical during the day and jazz at night but the hours vary.
We got two(2) NPR stations: one plays classical around the clock, the other is news by day jazz by night. It's really the only station I listen to since our Air America station became a christian music station over night.
I don't really dig bassplayer solo records tat much usually, but I do l like to check in and check the new guys out. One guy I like is my mentor and friend Todd Johnson. His best stuff is with jazz guitarist Ron Eschte. Ron is know as the best pure jazz guitar player in LA. Todd plays 6 string bass Ron plays 7 string guitar. Todd's got a lot of stuff up on Youtube.
A younger guy I like is Mat Garrison. He is Coltrane bassist Jimmy Garrison's son. He is taking the bass guitar in some interesting directions.
If you like your jazz more in funk/pop direction check out Marcus Miller. He is prolly the best around. At 19 he was procucing, arranging, playing bass and a bunch of other instruments for none other than Miles Davis.
Nowdays a "bass" means a bass fiddle. I remember when, at least in my neck of the woods, there were several instruments called bass. There was a bass clarinet, bass sax and a few others. Now they call them baritone. Maybe that was the correct term all along but we called them bass, bass drum and so on. I use to play an instrument but it was long long ago. No musician here.
And back then we called singers, singers. Today they are all vocalists. "so and so is doing the vocals" Some singers today sound more like they are shouting or talking than singing.
Yeah, Coltrane is one of my favorites. I like all kinds of jazz and jazz tinged things like blues, cajun and zydeco. It's funny how they put most of the jazz on at night
Personally I use the terms double bass, string bass, or upright for bass violin, and bass guitar for what I play.
Baritone and bass saxes are different, the one Doc plays in Tower of Power is the bari, bass saxes are quite rare.
Coltrane is one of the great artists of any type IMO. His music cuts to the very core of what it means to be human. A Love Supreme is a masterpiece. Another one that I love is the romantic, sensual "Ballads"
Coltrans plays for lovers indeed.
I didn't know there was a difference between a bass sax and a baritone. We called 'em bass also bass clarinet.
A love supreme is top notch, I have to say.
Here is a chart of the whole sax family.
sax link (//http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.jmichaelbell.com/sax_family2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.jmichaelbell.com/saxinfo.htm&h=489&w=800&sz=111&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=s7VDCL54o0XsgM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsaxophone%2Bfamily%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26ie%3DUTF-8)
Bass clarinet is a great instrument. Great players of it that come to mind are Eric Dolphy, Benny Maupin and Donald Garret.
You are a walking encyclopedia of music.
Another great jazz musician we haven't discussed yet is Chic Corea (sp?). He plays the keyboard, I believe. He comes up with some great compositions and unique sounds.
What do you think of Wayne Shorter? There is a tribute album out called the latin side of Wayne Shorter. If you haven't heard it yet, do so. It's a do not miss kind of thing and will help explain why I like latin jazz a lot. Other great latin style artists include Paquito de Rivera and others that I've mentioned.
Do you mind if I edit your post so it's not stretched out to the side so much? It was fine but now it's wierd.
Everybodys post are, or did I do that. Feel free to edit.
Chic is one of the giants for sure. He is out on tour right now with the classic lineup of his early fusion band , Return to Forever.
Wavne Shorter, words fail me. He is one of the most vital, expressive, personal, quirkey jazz men still alive. Remember the afore mentioned Joe Zawinul? Wayne and Joe were the co-leaders of my favorite fusion band Weather Report. They are a must listen. Most people like the middle period stuff with Jaco Pastorious on bass the best. A good place to start is Heavy Weather.
Every good musician I know has an encyclopedic knowledge of music, Thats the school you learn in and the pallete you draw from.
Yeah, Correa is sublime... How's about the 70's stuff with the John McGlauflin (sp??) Group?? The stuff when I think it was Billy Cobham drumming??.... To me, that genre seemed to be what 'fusion' was all about....
Yeah, fusion is a great kind of music too. It's sort of jazzy in a way. I like some in the heading techno pop but not all.
I heard some Willie Nelson last night. He might not fit in any of your little boxes, JRL. He is part jazz, part blues and part country. He isn't in my top tier of favorites but he is very good.
Post edited. Somehow your link got a mile long. Here is how to do it next time someone has a link that goes on and on
[ url=http://www.whatever.com]sax link[/url]
I put a space after the first [ so you could see the code. You don't use any spaces within the [ and ]. The words "sax link" or whatever you put just before the [/url] will be what appears and can be clicked on.
I am more into big boxes I think. Classification is useful for communication ie. "On this section of the tune play disco 16ths, then swing the bridge"
I think the best players trancend the boxes, its all music. Duke Ellinington said "there are two kinds of music, good and bad".
Willie is so great on so many levels. But those elements, blues and jazz are part of the country tradition for sure. Hank Willians(the first) learned from an old black bluesman Teetot, and you ave to go no further than Bob Wills to hear the jazz.
"there are two kinds of music, good and bad"
I like that. I don't like boxes all that much. They seem limiting and sometimes arbitrary. I have to agree they have their uses. They help us communicate, as you said. Boxes have a defined length, breadth and height. Putting something in a box implies they must conform to those specs. Most things do not fit that well. It's like the magician's trick where his assistant gets in a box but her head, hands and feet stick out. The people who love little boxes chop off anything that sticks out.
You can say there is some jazz and blues in country music. Willie has country roots but he doesn't fit in that box either. It think it's more helpful to say something has influences, rather than saying what it "is". Willie has definite country influences and a few of his tunes really show that. But he can not be confined to any box, more to his credit.
I don't think we are arguing so much as discussing terms and the usefullness of terms. Many styles of music have multiple influences, IMO.
"But those elements, blues and jazz are part of the country tradition for sure"
I totally stand by that statement. I have known many country singers that feel a great connection to Ray Charles, in fact, the last country band I played with, Sticky Vicki and the Pines Cones, had a keyboard player that only sang Ray Charles tunes. But it goes further back than that, Jimmie Rodgers (white country) was a total bluesman, so much so that (Jimmie Rodgers (black bluesman) took his name.
You are the one that brought up the boxes, I basically have one big box that is incredibley full, with many things some identifyable some not so much. I think influences is what we are talking about here, like you said.
The catagories are helpful for people that sell music and maybe people that buy music. But I use labels everyday in my work, like the earlier examples.
Another thing I have noticed about boxes is that they help you make money. Like a band that is all the way biker, zydeco, jump blues, surf or whatever is an easier sell for better money than one that is eclectic. It gives the buyers a handle on promoting it and a targeted fan base. But that is more the concern of someone like myself rather than listeners.
Another take on this: Things like blues, funk and swing have trancended their boxes and becone descriptive terms of qualities of music that can turn up anywhere. So a country tune can be bluesy, a rock tune funky and a blues tune swinging. Again labels have their utility.
As far as Willie goes, I think he would tell you he is part of the country tradition, the crop right after guys like Lefty Frissel, Hank Williams, Hank Snow and Hank Thompson. If you listen to thses guys, they also have lots of blues and a bit of jazz in their music. Blues and country are parallel tracks leading from poor, rural southerners of either color. I think the old time country guys are part of a long line of white musicians with huge admiration for the genius of the African American people. I am also part of that tradition.
""But those elements, blues and jazz are part of the country tradition for sure"
I totally stand by that statement. "
Is someone arguing with that? I don't see it. I think you have a lot of good points but tend to be authoritarian at times.
"As far as Willie goes, I think he would tell you he is part of the country tradition"
Lets see, I said "Willie has definite country influences and a few of his tunes really show that." It sounds like I'm saying about the same thing but you choose to argue with me. Some people won't let you agree with them.
Since it's bogging down into arguments maybe I should just shut up for now.
"I don't think we are arguing so much as discussing terms and the usefullness of terms. Many styles of music have multiple influences, IMO."
That's what I think, too.