Mick, bless him, happy blog birthday and all, tells me he 'hates jazz with a passion' and I suspect many of the rest of you feel the same - though some recent, sweet reminiscences in comments suggest otherwise for some.
Chaps I don't know why, but this music is just 'speaking to me' at the moment, that's all. I made a green tea with lemon this morning too (I know, I know), but at least I haven't been smoking any Gauloises (reminds me, you must read Crash's fine piece here).
Anyway, in my experience trying to 'sell' people music by talking about it is usually an utter waste of time - all you can do is tell them you like it and play it and let them make their own minds up, so that's what I'll do with this.
If the Duke Ellingtons left you unmoved, then I don't think this'll do it for you either - but hey, there's still some beautiful Blue Note cover art to admire, so all's not lost.
If you're softening up on this stuff or already very susceptible however, do have a listen - and if you like it, I'd love to know (especially if you've never left a comment here before - don't be shy, life is short).
For the record, I think this is quite, quite beautiful.
Horace Silver Quintet - 'Peace' (1959)
.
[Available without crackles and pops here]
I'll have to wait until I get home to listen to this, but I'm fair itching to do so!
ReplyDeleteSong For My Father is such a great piece of music, and I never really searched out anything else by him.
You'd better stop posting all this blue note stuff; otherwise I'll get obsessed again. And my wife won't thank you for that!
How can anyone not like this? It's similar to the vibe on Miles 'Some Day My Prince Will Come' album.
ReplyDelete'Song My Father' is a cracker - poplifted by Steely Dan for' Rikki' I think.
Jazz is a bit like Reggae, it's a matter of finding a way in. Chet Baker's vocal albums, and the Getz/Gilberto classics are good staring points
They're good starting points too as well the cover art which is great for 'staring' at. Whoops
ReplyDeleteWe knew what you meant PM.
ReplyDeleteSimon, this has got one of those heavy duty thick cardboard sleeves as well...obsession fuel, fuel...
Ah those blue note covers. I love em
ReplyDeleteMassive collection of them here, fronts and backs
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gokudo.co.jp/Record/BlueNote2/index.htm
My favourite Blue Note album was Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil. There's a track on there, I think it was Witch Hunt, but I'm not sure as it's been a while since I heard it. But Freddie Hubbard was the trumpet on that recording and he takes a solo, all pure blue notes, and the band pick up behind him and just...swing.
ReplyDeleteI swear it was like the track just turned inside out, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I had to put it back to the start of the solo and hear it happen again.
I haven't heard the track for over ten years and I can still remember that moment.
I went off jazz for a time, after seeing Terry Callier at the Jazz Cafe. He was great but the band did way too many solos, and it got annoying the way the audience applauded every solo. I just wanted to hear him sing.
The last jazz thing I got into was the Japanese 'Soil And Pimp Sessions' after seeing them on Jools late last year. They play really high energy melodic jazz, that sounds like they've consumed the entire Blue Note catalogue, but with a dj/mc. Occasionally they head over into funkier stuff that sounds like the soundtrack to Starsky and Hutch.
They're good, but perhaps overly tight and slick to the point of being shiny. It's more 'hyper'jazz in that way that Japanese genre music often is. Worth checking out though...
Hmmm. All this jazz talk has made me remember a piece of music by Grant Green from the late sixties. I feel a post coming on....
ReplyDeleteDamn your eyes Davy! I'll be getting the beret and shades out of the cupboard soon.....;)
I was more than three quarters of the way through a 4-pack when I wrote that. Mostly jazz just irritates me. What I hate is the pretensious bullshit that is written and spoken about it. I certainly don't include your writing in that - it's nice to read a fans perspective. I'm thinking of those pompous, pontificating ctitics telling us what great art some plinkety plink out of tune opus is. I always found the Jazz Club section of the Fast Show highly amusing.
ReplyDeleteThe weird thing is I like jazz influence and chords in mainstream rock and pop. Steely Dan for example.
Are you familiar with the sensational guitar work of Theydon Bois?
ReplyDeleteN-i-i-i-ice.
"Although it follows the original 32 bar A-A-B-A structure, instead of providing a harmonic departure from the A section the bridge resolves the rising chromatic pattern."
ReplyDeleteBrilliant!
btw I’m not a total philistine and I do appreciate those lovely Blue Note covers.
ReplyDelete