Teasing the Korean

I remember the lines more than the instrumentation. One instrument is playing the melody, and a second melodic instrument is doing an 8th-note counter-melody with descending lines and baroque ornamentation. Drums and bass are fairly minimal IIRC, until the solos kick in. In my mind, I can hear Milt Jackson and John Lewis, but I can also hear Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan. Sorry to be so vague...

"Songs to fit any mood" - The Skip-Jacks, Sweet Hot & Blue, LPM-2200.

We can split hairs over how things can be categorized. If you change the phrase "easy listening" to "mood music," which was in vogue at the time, I would say that exotica is a sub-category of mood music and that Jade fits there. I'm not sure that "world music" as we understand it today existed back then. There were field recordings of indigenous music, and there were western releases of pop music from other countries/regions, but the kind of explorations and cross-collaborations that we think of today as "world music" were pretty minimal. I would say that some of the differences between exotica of the postwar era and what we today call "world music" would include the impressionistic nature of exotica. Also, exotica is less focused on "authenticity" - and let me say here that I have a real issue with the concept of musical authenticity - and that it was more about taking particular aspects of music from other cultures - scales, rhythms, etc. - and then filling in the holes with more familiar conventions. I have a very extensive postwar exotica collection/accumulation, and I can say that Jade, based on a number of characteristics, fits neatly into the genre. Again, we can obsess and split hairs over these kind of things. But then again, categorization and ability to recognize patterns got us where we are today, for better or worse...

Thanks for trying. This kind of thing drives me crazy! Could it be Dave Brubeck, on Fantasy or one of his Columbia "Jazz Goes to Rehab" concerts?

Someplace I have a jazz version of "All the Things You Are" in which the group had done a baroque arrangement, e.g., constructing a counterpoint melody to the baroque-esque chord progression, adding baroque ornamentation, etc. I thought it might have been MJQ or Lennie Tristano, but I listened to those versions and they weren't the ones. It must have dated from the 1950s or 1960s - certainly not by a jazz artist coming of age in the digital era. Maybe George Shearing or Nina Simone? I know this tune has been done to death. Can anyone help me remember which version this is? Thanks in advance.

Interesting. I don't know what else I would call it.

Agreed. So far I have played only one album with electric bass. Everything else had acoustic bass, and these speakers delivered low end along with definition. I have the backs close to the wall, which supposedly adds bass. I don't find these speakers overly bright, either. I had the treble cranked - and I don't like too much treble - and it seemed to be just the right amount of high end. The room may play a role. John Corigliano's Altered States soundtrack sounded AMAZING!

This is true, but you would have to pick up a Y adapter to sum the left & right channel for the sub. Also, make sure your sub has a built-in crossover because the tape out jacks output the full frequency spectrum. Thanks. I know of the Y-adapter trick for mono playback of mono records (before I had an amp with a mono switch).

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That is very well said It's a situation similar to Plas Johnson being the featured soloist on Les Baxter's Jungle Jazz and African Jazz, except those came out under Baxter's name, not Plas Johnson's. Both Cal and Lalo were recording artists at Verve during that period. I've always thought it was odd that both did not get equal billing on that one, considering the respective roles of the participants. Either way, it is a gem and easily in my top ten exotica albums ever, along with Les Baxter's Tamboo and Robert Drasnin's Voodoo.

I also learned that the "tape out" and "tape monitor" features on my two-ton Pioneer amplifier will power a subwoofer if I ever want to boost the bass. Where I would fit the subwoofer is the question...

I got a pair of Bowers and Wilkins 686. They were discontinued and $400 instead of $550. Perfect compromise between size and sound. Thanks all for the recommendations.

Oh, where are you now, pussy willow?

"Several Shades of Jade" is one of my very favorite exotica albums. It is really a Lalo Schifrin album featuring Cal as soloist. It is perfect from top to bottom.

Frankly, I like The Pink Floyd much more than Pink Floyd.

No, it depends on the group dynamics, the roles of the members, and who leaves. Some groups can maintain a thread of consistency and identity as members come and go. Others cannot; the Byrds come to mind.

It is good, not great. It has a Latin/exotica sound. I think Richard Evans did the arrangements.

http://www.amazon.co...xotica classics

I was just in Chicago and of course went to Dusty Groove. I was determined to find a copy of Paul Horn's Columbia LP Cleopatra, and there it was in the new arrivals bin. RIP.

http://www.amazon.com/Exotica-Classics-Various-Artists/dp/B00JVSIFLS/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1404819089&sr=1-1&keywords=exotica+classics

Thanks. A clean copy of "In a Latin Bag" has eluded me, so I may have to grab this CD.

I share the love for the Soul Sister and Cape Verdean Blues albums. There is a ballad on the former that I love. (Don't have the title in front of me). So much great music for so many years of my life. RIP.

On the second of the two, is Johnny Rae on drums and Cal on vibes?

Across 110th Street is amazing! RIP.

The worst is track 1 - forget the title right now. I think the quintet tracks have the most distortion on my copy. I can't imagine it is the pressing; OJC pressings from that period that I've had are always very good. But you never know.