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JSngry

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Posts posted by JSngry

  1. Blue Note signs WM

    in Artists

    Posted · Edited by JSngry

    Well, for the record, Kevin, although postings on this matter motivated my last post, it was not directed directly at you specifically, nor even to this Board generally. The Wynton thing has been a fact of life for nearly every professional jazz musician for several decades now, and the assumptions I dealt with are in no way unique to you (and as you've stated, they are probably not your GENERAL perceptions).

    It has seemed to me over the years that Wynton is more of "dividing line" or a "factor" in jazz for what he "stands for" rather than for what he plays, and also that there are almost always "extra-musical" factors that enter into any disagreement over him, factors that have always been a part of the jazz musician's life (things like race, "ownership" of the music, public image of the music, etc.). When his profile was at it's peak, it seemed for a while as if it was impossible to express reservations about his music without being immediately labeled as some kind of "enemy" of "real jazz". Usually, and perhaps tellingly, though, these blanket assaults and assumptions were hurled by "civilians", very often those in the promotional wing of the buisiness with a distinct socio-political agenda of their own, and far, FAR less offten by musicians, especially older ones who dug Wynton's rhetoric about their music MUCH more than they dug how he played it. When you're hungry, you don't really care who feeds you until AFTER you're full AND you have a way to get some food for yourself the next time you're hungry. We've all been there in some form or fashion, right?

    So Kevin, nothing at all personal in this or the previous post. This is just what I've been through myself, personally and professionally, nothing more and nothing less. I have no axe to grind with Wynton's music - I just don't care for hardly any of it, period. Honestly.

    Wynyon's MOUTH on the other hand... :D :D :D

  2. Album Of The Week: June 1 - 7

    in Album Of The Week

    Posted · Edited by JSngry

    Pops is consistently magestic in the way that only he could be, bantying around with light humor one moment and blowing the deepest shit you ever heard the next.  There may have been quicker and flashier chops back in the 20s.  But just one note of this mature Armstrong can send shivers down your spine.  Every note is played so forcefully and with such velocity.  This is the Grand Canyon of jazz trumpet.

    Indeed.

    The thing that has always moved me about this album is just how fully realized and MATURE, to echo Lon's first reaction, a musical statement this is. Art of this caliber, of this degree of perfection, is rare in ANY medium, I think.

    If we can take as implicit that one of the major motivators in playing jazz, perhaps THE major motivator for some, is the discovery and subsequent assertion of one's unique "self-self", then it is not at all an unreasonable yardstick to use when measuring the "success" of any endeavor just how much of yourself you've found and just how confident you are in asserting it. In this album, we have what surely must be the Gold Standard.

    Armstrong here is so TOTALLY himself, so TOTALLY in command of every aspect of this performance - not just the technical details, but the intangible elements like vibe and such. The man fully inhabits every element of this music in a way that is as natural as it is absolute, and you know how I know (as opposed to "feel")?

    Timing.

    Timing is everything. Timing is what ultimately differentiates between FEELING confident and BEING confident. Timing can destroy even the best people if it's even a microsecond off, if the situation is critical enough. And believe it or not, the stakes in Louis' game ARE that critical. It's a given among musicians that it's harder to play slow than it is fast, REALLY play, and that the same holds true for playing less than more. The reason is simple, really - the slower and simpler anything is, the more room there is for a misfire in timing, and a mistake that at a faster/more busy pace could be glossed over by musician and listener alike suddenly becomes EXTREMELY obvious, unsettling even, because it has no place to hide, nothing forthcoming to immediately cover it with.

    When listening to this album, I'm constantly struck, no, AWEstruck, at how absolutely freakin' PERFECT Pops' timing is, in both his playing and his singing. It's not just in the placement of the notes either, it's in the falloffs and upwards glisses, it's in the attacks and the cutoffs, it's in the vibrato, it's in the constant shifting of vocal tone (technical term unknown to me), it's so omnipresent as to be the defining factor of this music and this artist.

    But such a miracle does not come about as a matter of strictly mechanical indoctrination. Practice will only get you so far down this road. After that, it comes down to what you find when you get to yourself - what and who you REALLY are. Well, the revelation that Louis Armstrong was one of the purest, most wholly-formed spirits of this or any other time should come as nothing but a world-class DUH!!! to most jazz folks, but we take that as a given at the risk of glossing over it, of not fully understanding EXACTLY how profound what the man accomplished was in purely HUMAN terms. Music is just the surface - what counts, REALLY counts for me is how one man could be SO self-aware and SO confidently joyous at the same time. There is no cheapness in Armstrong's music. Over the years, there was often a veneer of cheapness in the setting, the material, and/or the presentation, all there as a commercial necessity. The veneer often obscured the essence for many, and probably still does today. But there is none of that on Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy, and we can see the man revealed for the triumph of the human spirit that he truly was, no filters or blockage in place. A pure, unalloyed triumph. This is more than great music - this is a benchmark for humanity. That might be prose of the purple variety, probably is, but I stand behind the sentiment.

    Once again, genius and its power are rare in this world, but they cannot be denied or glossed over when one is confronted with them if one has any hope at all of living a truly honest life. This album contains just such genius.

    Just my opinion, of course. ;)

  3. Blue Note signs WM

    in Artists

    Posted

    I know that nothing's been directed at me, either explicitly or implicitly, but I'm wondering why those who have feelings that Wynton's music is mediocre (or at best, "good", which given the reservoir of true greatness this music has produced, is hardly cause for celebration - you're SUPPOSED to be "good"!) and at the same time feel that, for lack of a better word, "preeminence" that the purveyor of this music has attained in certain business circles of the music is essentially a matter of hype, a triumph of style over substance, are automatically assumed to have made our musical judgements based entirely on jealousy, bitterness, or some other personal factor that is seemingly assumed to cloud our ability to objectively judge the music.

    I say this in all honesty and MUSICAL objectivity - Wynton's musical output just doesn't do it for me, and I'd have EXACTLY the same opinion in THIS regard if the guy were as low on the totem pole of public/industry awareness as Rob Blakeslee (who BTW is an EXCELLENT player of both "in" & "out" types of jazz - check him out!). Now, granted, I'd might be less VOCAL about my feelings about Wynton's music if he were just another cat on the scene, but those feelings would still be the same - I just don't find his playing or composing, taken as a whole, to have the flavor or substance that I enjoy in ANY kind of music. I began to lose interest after BLACK CODES, and actually applauded some of his earlier pronouncements (and still do - his comments on the degree of irresponsible exploitation of adolescent sexuality and rebellion in the current pop world ring very true to me, and always have. His opinions of electric Miles, otoh, I found totally full of shit even when I was enthusiastic about his potential).

    Again, the rancor that I feel about Wynton is based ENTIRELY on the effect that I see as him having on the music's BUSINESS developement from the early-80s up until about 5 years ago. But that is ENTIRELY another matter, ENTIRELY seperate from how I feel about his music. There's players who I find equally "good" or "mediocre" if you like) who I feel are having (or have had) a positive overall effect on the music, and I applaud them for that effect/influence while remaining less than enthusiastic about their actual music (ie - Ken Vandermark, to use a current example). Similarly, there are artists who have created what I feel is a significant, perhaps even profound, body of work for themselves who I feel have had a deliterious overall effect on their idiom, and perhaps even society as a whole (Sinatra come immediately to mind).

    So please - do not assume (ANYBODY) that my, or anybody else's for that matter, feelings about Wynton Marsalis's MUSIC are inextricably linked to my/our feelings about Wynton Marsalis the FIGURE. 'T'aint NECESSARILY so!

  5. Clarinet Recommendation?

    in Recommendations

    Posted

    Why not be a friend and give her some Ellington overview thing? That's a band that between Bigard, Hamilton, & Procope has enough distinctive varied clarinet stylings to capture the imagination. And there's so, SO very much more. ;)

    Nobody's recommended Eddie Daniels? COOL! :rsmile: :rsmile: :rsmile:

    Of course, if you want the kid to be a total failure as a clarinet student but have an awareness of just how heavy a personal expression MUSIC can be, there's the version of "They Can't Take That Away From Me" from this album:

    e02677op0w9.jpg

    But you can say that about MOST jazz clarinet. I was required to take two years of clarinet in college, since saxophone was my first instrument, and every, EVERY teadher I had would rag endlessly about jazz clarinetists. This was before Daniels made the transition from ultra-hip Joe Henderson wannabe tenorist to godawfully squeaky clean jazz clarinet technician supreme. Even Goodman got dissed for being, "Better than most, but still sloppy". His cllassical recordings were regarded as a noble joke by these cats.

    So tell her to switch to tenor befire it's too late. :rfr

  6. Obscure, In Print Gems In Your Collection

    in Recommendations

    Posted

    In the spirit of "family first", I gotta put in a plug for the Nessa catalog - not "obscure" in terms of GLOBAL recognition or reputation, but not on nearly as many shelves as the music warrants. If Roscoe ain't to your liking, perhaps Von is, or Warne will be. If none of THOSE 3 do anything for you, what the hell are you doing HERE? :D :D :D

  7. David 'Fathead' Newman - THE GIFT

    in New Releases

    Posted

    Very good, very solid. Nowhere near as radical as the Freeman or as miraculous as the Edwards, but mighty fine playing by all concerned. I could live happily enough without it, but will live happier with it. Fathead's ALWAYS a gas for me. Why? Just because. :D

    Just my opinion.

  10. "Your Name in Lights"

    in Miscellaneous Music

    Posted

    Only wrote one letter to a jazz mag, in December of 1971, and it was published: Down Beat, March 2, 1972, in response to a "damning with faint praise" review by Bill Cole of the first Music Inc. Big Band record. Was sneaking a read of the magazine during sophomore biology when I saw the letter and gasped out loud, causing the teacher to, uh, "redirect" his attention my way. He threatened to seize the issue (other issues WERE in fact seized due to a recurring L.P. ad with a breast-baring model, but were always returned. Eventually...) but upon seeing what had caused my disruptive behavior and reading the letter to himself, he then read it aloud to the class and said, "Mr. Sangrey stands up for his convictions", like that was going to be a GOOD thing to the average high school sophomore...

    I'd like to say that all the jocks gave me a pat on the back after class for defending Tolliver and crew, and that all the babes were clogging my phone line begging me to give it to them Strata-East style, but that would be a lie, and lying is wrong.

  13. Blue Note signs WM

    in Artists

    Posted · Edited by JSngry

    I've got to ask: What's the "good water" being referred to? Am I reading this right? Is "good water" Everette Harp, Najee & Norah Jones or are they the "bad wine"? Considering other statements expressed in this thread, I would almost think that "bad wine" is Wynton Marsalis' unrecorded Blue Note date. However, that would imply that you would prefer Everette Harp, Najee or Norah Jones to Wynton's unrecorded Blue Note date. That can't be what I'm seeing.

    Well, maybe from me it is...

    Harp I've got little use for, what I've heard of him sounds rather hack-like, but Najee can play with subtlty and nuance (relative to his context), and his output is amongst the better of the "smooth" genre (although neither gets the groove that George Howard did, and BN should put his THERE'S A RIOT GOIN' ON CD back in print, but very, VERY quietly, if you get my drift...), which means that for those special times when "smooth jazz" is called for (ie, crusing the mall, riding an elevator, prolonged dental work with heavy anesthesia, making out with the wife behind some bigass armoire in the deserted furniture section of your favorite department store, you know, stuff like that), I'd MUCH rather hear Najee than that big hairy blubbergut (not that I'm one to talk, alas...) tanktop wearin' Richard Elliot, or the demon who shall remain nameless, or so much other of the crap in the genre that has absolutely NO inherent musicality, no matter HOW deeply you excavate into the fecal facade. So yeah, everything's relative, but if forced to choose I'll take quality smooth over so-so "real" jazz more often than not. Ideally, I'll be able to avoid both, but if I'm ever THAT lucky, I'm heading to Vegas before it wears off... ;)

    Norah I've gone on record as liking very much, and as having an interest to see what direction she takes musically. She COULD turn into quite a significant performer or she could crap out into PrettyKittyLand and never return. But her being on Blue Note, and having Lundvall's guidance, gives me more hope for the former than if she had been signed by ANY other label. The lady has potential. Potential is mostly all it is right now, but how many artists in ANY genre can you say that about these days? "Jazz" or not, I'm interested in hearing where she goes from here.

    Besides, there's enough high-quality NON-jazz music out there (more than enough, actually) that "settling" for some "ok" jazz just ain't a habit I've really gotten into. Now that's not to say that Wynton's BN album WILL be "just ok". It MIGHT be better than that. The guy doesn't SUCK, ya'know. But I just do not care for him as a player or a composer. My feelings about him in this regard could best be described as "indifferent" at best, "blase" at worst. I've heard selections from most of his output (KNTU played each new release, seemingly, for a few weeks after street date), and honestly, it just kinda went in one ear and out the other, ESPECIALLY when the stuff wasn't announced in advance, which I think is revealing. If I heard in advance that it was Wynton, I'd pay closer attention because he's supposed to be, you know, "important" and all that, and I figured that maybe THIS time I'd get it. But no...Although I've heard most of his later output, none of it has stuck with me at all. In the recent "Best/Worst Wynton Album" polls, I said that I was "unfamiliar" with any of the albums listed, and that's true, even after having heard selections from most of them on the radio with some minimal regularity. It's very rare that music leaves me SO indifferent that I can't remember anything about it other than that I can't remember anything about it. But such is the effect that Wynton's music has had on me.

    I give the guy credit for making a personal evolution beyond his early "Miles Clone" days, and, in fairness, those who still pigeonhole him as such really haven't been listening. I also admire him for exploring his New Orleans roots, as well as those of Gospel & Ellington. I DO believe that he has his own "voice", musically, but I just don't dig it - it seems hollow or something to me, a voice, sure, but one that just doesn't say anything to get your attention. I've never, EVER, heard Wynton play ANYTHING that makes me spontaneously shout out "mother FUCKER!!!!" in sheer delight, and those who have spent enough time hanging out with me will attest that that's something I'm not at all averse to doing. ;) No, Wynton has just never reached me in that place that all the musicians I LOVE do, or even the place that those I'm merely fond of tickle when the mood is right. I don't begrudge those who enjoy him more than I, Of such differences are the world made, no?

    Now, Wynton as a "figure" in the music is somebody I have VERY strong feelings about, but I've elaborated on those here and elsewhere often (and vehemently) enough that I think my feeling on the matter are known by all who care (and probably by some who don't!). But I CAN seperate my feelings about Wynton Marsalis the musician from those about WYNTON MARSALIS the man who sold jazz back to Massa's plantation in exchange for 30 pieces of silver (or any other hyperbolic mixed metaphor of derision you care to come up with...), just as I can rant rather violently about the evil that was STAN KENTON the Great White Hope of Jazz from the mid-40s to the early 60s but STILL enjoy some of his albums, and even consider a couple (CITY OF GLASS & ADVENTURES IN JAZZ come readily to mind), not quite essential but still "recommended". There's a few Wynton albums I could recommend (the first one, BLACK CODES, and especially HOT HOUSE FLOWERS - LOVE the string writing on that one!), so it's not like I think the guy is a joke as a musician. I don't. As a "spokesman" for jazz, yes, but NOT as a musician.

    OTOH, like I said, the guy just leaves me going "Yeah? And?" way more often than not, so I'm not REAL optimistic that just signing a deal with Blue Note is going to change all that. But who knows? Truthfully, who the hell among us REALLY knows? None of us, if we're honest. But if I were a betting man (who, ME? :D ), I'd look for some kind of sign, some kind of historical precedent, and for me, that might be the recording of Wynton playing A LOVE SUPREME live in Japan with Elvin on drums. Now, them's pretty high stakes as far as I'm concerned, and although I've heard another recording of another Elvin group doing it that was pretty mediocre, it was Pat LaBarbera on tenor - pleasant competency was all that was expected, and pleasant competency was all that was delivered. I actually went into the Wynton/Elvin recording with high hopes - I mean, if you're as serious about the spiritual and cultural heritage of jazz as Wynton seems to be, this is, you know, some SERIOUS shit to be getting into. But dammit, the guy just fell flat. Not that he played BADLY, mind you. His execution was flawless, and his ideas his own. But there was just no "there" there, no "mother FUCKER" moment (or moments) where the cat grabbed the music by the cojones and said, "I'M WYNTON MARSALIS!!! I'M PLAYING A LOVE SUPREME WITH ELVIN-FUCKING-JONES!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! DIG THIS SHIT DAMMIT!!!" It was all just rather tepid, especially considering everything involved. In fact, Elvin actually kicked it up a notch AFTER Wynton finished his solo - for the PIANO solo, for crissakes!

    Besides, I think that Wynton's "reign" has probably plateaued and he's done all the harm (or good, if you see it that way) he's going to do. The culture has shifted enough that newer, younger audiences are more interested in seeing/hearing something with a visceral punch AND some musical "substance" (ie - jambands & avant garde) than they are in checking out some dude in a 3-piece delivering lectures before he plays each piece of music. That time has passed, or more accurately, is in the act of passing (don't worrry though, it WILL be back - these things inevitably come - and go - in cycles). Wynton's consolodated his audience, and a fixed audience it's likely to remain from here on out, more or less. I'd not bet my house on that just yet, but I could probably put one of our cars on the line, if you like... He was in sync with a certain era of American culture and now, having established his "persona" so firmly in line with that era (the ever beloved "traditional values" days :rolleyes: ), will probably remain there. Most folks do, so no biggie. Smart career move, and far be it from me to knock somebody for that.

    So in summary:

    • Good "smooth jazz" over "just ok" straight-ahead? Yes, if I just absolutely, positively MUST, I suppose so. At least there's the potential for sex.
    • Wynton's new one for BN? Not optimistic, but will wait and see. Why not?
    • Wynton taking over BN or some such? No way - the cat ain't got the juice. Besides, Bruce Lundvall, thank God, ain't George Butler.

    Thanks for tuning in, and see you next week.

  16. St. Louis question

    in Miscellaneous Music

    Posted

    Does the B.A.G. scene count? And there IS the "St. Louis school" of trumpet players.

    I've got a good friend who's close to a lifelong St. Louisian, and he claims that the city hit its peak when they hosted the World's Fair back in whenever it was, and that the city began a slow but certain decline shortly thereafter that has left its mark on all aspects of the city. That's just his opinion, though, and he still enjoys living there.

    Might it be safe to say that with Chicago so nearby, relatively speaking, that it might have been both easier and more alluring to head there and sim big rather than stay home and play small? Just a theory.

    Oh yeah, Grant Green.

  19. Francesca Tanksley Trio - JOURNEY

    in New Releases

    Posted · Edited by JSngry

    Again, heavy rotation on KNTU (aw hell, if anybody's interested, they do streaming audio http://www.kntu.fm ) has caused a new release to get my attention above the usual drone of clone jazz and jazz golden oldies-but-goodies.

    This time it's a release by longtime Billy Harper pianist Francesca Tanksley, joined by Harper bandmates Clarence Seay &

    Newman Taylor Baker. I've always dug Tanksley'swork w/Harper. She's not a startingly "original stylist" (her work w/Harper is steeped in Tyner, but as an influence, not as a source to plunder and plagerize), but I think she has nevertheless asserted a strong personality within a preexisting style. Besides, this album shows her range and depth - there are pieces, STRONG pieces, that are not at all Tyneresque. Her playing has a certain "serenity" for me that provides a dimension that many other players lack. Serenity, but not blandness or "easy" content. As well, I very much like the way that she's always been able to flow naturally within Billy's forms - not as easy a task as you might think. Some of the pieces here have those long and winding forms, but, again, they do not sound imitative. In terms of finding distinctly original substance within existing parameters, a comparison to Bertha Hope may not be totally off base, but that's just my impression.

    The 2 or 3 cuts I've heard off this new disc all have that same quality of originality within a traditional "style". Tanksley is a musician/composer well past the "look at me!" stage and has been for quite some time (if indeed she was ever there at all). I hear a definite, distinct voice in both the playing and the composing, and that's the first thing I look for in a new release (and often the last thing I find...).

    I think she's only selling this disc through her website: http://www.dreamcallerproductions.com/dream/music.html

    Just wondering if anybody was familiar w/the entire album. This might appeal to many on the board here, I think. There's RealPlayer :tdown samples on the site, and I'm very much liking what I'm hearing.

  20. Playful Intentions

    in New Releases

    Posted

    Got anything else coming out soon, Phil? (Don't you just love THAT question? :D :D :D)

    Seriously, I ask because...

    That Johnson/Nichols date's been getting pretty heavy airplay on KNTU down here, and I enjoy it every time out, your unique contributions in particular, so I'm wondering if you've done any more sideman dates recently that we can look forward to?

    You got a good thing goin', man!

  23. Joe Henderson Fans:

    in Recommendations

    Posted

    Holy shazz-ittski!

    A cuppla decades late, I finally pick up on Joe's BARCELONA (Enja)

    c36830jekm9.jpg

    Great, GREAT side, although those of you who prefer your Joe on the decidedly "in" side might want to tread lightly.

    This date shows, to me anyway, why Joe is (I refuse to say "was") beloved by tenor players everywhere - his tone here is just incredibly rich and full, and his command of the horn's "traditional" and "extended" techniques are total and (seemingly ;) ) effortless. If you play the tenor and love the tenor, you just GOT to love Joe Henderson, and this is one of his most "tenor-centric" recordings. Loosely structured (when it's structured at all), the natural interplay between the trio of Joe and the relatively "unknowns" Wayne Darling and Ed Soph is a gas to hear. Soph, btw, is currently on faculty here at UNT and is playing really, REALLY well these days. Attention should be paid...

    BARCELONA is a side I kinda passed on and over back in the day. I already had lots of Joe, and the choice of rhythm section kinda made me shrug and move on. My bad on all counts, but I will say that one of the joys of leaving things behind for another day is that when that day finally comes, often enough the rewards are SCH-WEEEEEEET, and BARCELONA is sweet indeed.

  24. Playful Intentions

    in New Releases

    Posted

    Phil's on a roll - besides this HIGHLY recommended new release of his (love the title, btw, as it sums up the music in several different ways), his appearances on Eric T. Johnson's new Summit release HERBIE NICHOLS, VOLUME 1 is nothing short of outstanding.

    The (trumpet) guy's got PERSONALITY in his playing, beaucoups personality, in fact, and there just ain't that much of that around these days. PLAYFUL INTENTIONS is a seriously happy/happily serious work from a musician from whom we'll hopefully be hearing lots more.

    Check it out! :tup:tup:tup:tup:tup

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