Alon Marcus

Talkin' about good music and bad personality: Have you watched/read "The clockwork orange? :rsmile: :rsmile: :rsmile: But seriously I wish everybody would listen to music instead of fighting and the only battles would be "Tenor battles" (or any other instrument!).

I am totally agreeing with these two. They were next to "Portrait in jazz" in my listening history. Affinity has fine compositions and Larry Schneider (thank you free for all for correcting) steals the show on the more strange and modern pieces. "I will say goodbye" is nice too. Contains an interesting version of Hancock's classic Dolphin Dance.

Thank you for the VSOP answers.

Sorry for an ignorant question, but, does anyone know what V.S.O.P means ?

What about the Jarrett solo records? Seems to me that the emphasis in his records goes towards playing with the form of the songs, I mean he improvises not only in the "choruses' but also changes and rebuilds them.

A high praise indeed from a fellow guitarist ! Thanks for the info.

Joe, where did you hear Vic's playing?

Among the young pianists one of the most interesting solo efforts is Marcus Robert's "The joy of Joplin". A fascinating exploration of ragtime. Don't worry, the album is not plain stride, Marcus decomposes Joplin compositions, adds modern sounds to them, changes rhythms wildly and creates polyphonic mazes with both of his hands. His own compositions are composed in the same complex structure like the rags (not the usual AABA or blues). The liner notes by Marcus are very helpful and informative. This album got cold responses by some reviewers, maybe because the young lions are going now out of favor (seems like a popular trend), but it's a great solo record. Truly recommended.

Not totally new, about a year old, but still fresh enough to be categorized in the "New Releases" forum. As usual for me, I digested the album track wise, listening to portion of it per day. Some tunes are really catchy (in the positive sense, the album never sounds cheesy or cheap) like "Soft spoken" or "Snow Day" which features a deceptively effortless solo from Vic Juris. Juris is one of the reasons to listen to this album, his solos are melodic and mostly traditional but he is able of creating atmospheric textures and sounds that serve well the small group orchestrations. Juris varies his guitars (sometimes on the same track) and overdubbes from time to time. Liebman plays mainly soprano but he has some solo spots on tenor and uses the flute for diversity, to decorate the melodies. Anubis is the track where they stretch out, a modal piece with Eastern motifs. Marko Marcinko, the drummer on this session, plays with a lot of energy and uses his drum base extensively to create rock patterns that add rhythmic color. They sound like a well rehearsed group; this is certainly not a blowin' session. The tight small band arrangements are effective and maximize the abilities of each instrument to the point where it sounds more reach in color and textures than the usual quartet of that type.

A little bit off topic: in the world of jazz standards (I'm talking about the Tin Pan Alley pop songs, not tunes written by jazz musicians, that became common) there are many songs without harmonic identity. They just have strong and catchy melodies. On the contrary there are standards that are harmonically distinctive. Anyone could recognize Stella by starlight, All the things you are, Body and soul or "Rainy day" just by the chords. These songs contain surprising twists and modulations that make them unique. Generally they are thought as more challenging (both for the player and the listener).

What does it take to make a good recital/record playing solo? Is it about virtuosity? Imagination and creativity? Original arrangements? Funny, but one of the first records I have heard when I just started listening to jazz was Monk's solo on Riverside. For some strange reason this angular and weird album attracted my attention. In this case it's the clarity and simplicity that make the recording sound interesting. Monk's improvisations stick to the heads and sometimes have a repetitive/hypnotic quality. Another favorite solo piano is that of Michel Petrucciani, the double cd recorded at the Champs Elysees. I think the long medley on the first disc is a good yardstick for beginners in jazz (and just fun for the more advanced), while recognizing the songs on it. Michel has a lot of humor in his playing; he varies the textures from sparse to dense and he varies the repertoire (keys and tempi of songs). One important aspect of solo playing is what you can do with your left hand. Michel, for example, walks sometimes like the best bassist, plays stride and complex boogie woogie lines, uses simple bebop left hand patterns and orchestrates chords in the manner of Bill Evans or McCoy Tyner. I think this technical ability of the left hand is super important. I also like very much what I heard from the Maybeck recitals. Can't say I'm familiar with more than 25 percents of the recordings but out of them Gene Harris and Stanley Cowell are probably my favorite. There are many champions in solo playing: Bill Evans, OP, Errol Garner, Chick Corea and more. Who are your favorites? What is important in your opinion in a solo recital/record?

It's probably the loneliest album of the week ever. I heard it a couple of times in the last few days. Nothing to say but the obvious - this is a very good album. Still didn't grasp the whole album so it will take a few more times to listen (probably it should sink for a few months before I'll be able to express something less general than: "very good, great, wonderful" etc).

A blindfold test by Walter Becker http://www.steelydan.com/blindfold.html B-) B-) B-) B-) B-) B-) B-) B-)

Couldn't vote Not familiar with about 40 % of the names that were mentioned.

No doubt, he is one my favorite improvisers. Though Guy Berger opened this discussion about his playing and not writing, I'm sure these features are interconnected. Wayne knows how to milk the most out of a phrase, how to use and change his sound. Being a composer helps to develop this "storytelling" skill that Lester Young talked about. IMO his best recorded solos are on his Blue Note Sixties output (including the soprano albums) and with Art Blakey. With all the love I have for Miles' second great quintet I think that Wayne was under recorded (lengths of solos anywhere except the "Nickel" are short, sound quality sounds dull sometimes and worse than on BN). Still I'm looking for everything he is on. Weather Report is a great band but no descent comparison can be made with his solos there to those from the sixties. Finally to the topic of this thread – Favorite solos. Two solos that jumped immediately when seeing the question are the first two that made a great impression on me before becoming a Wayne addict. 1. On Art Blakey's "Night in Tunisia" solo on "When your lover has gone" (tenor sax). 2. On a record with Jim Hall and Petrucciani called "The power of three". A heart tearing soprano on "Morning Blues" (one of the best soprano solos ever IMHO).

My recommendation is not from Steeple Chase (sorry ) and maybe you already have heard it but I think it's worth mentioning his "Maybeck Recital". Original interpretations to standards and pop songs. A solo record which doesn't loose interest (a drawback common IMO to many solo recordings, even the great ones that I happen to enjoy, like the "Virtuoso" series by Joe Pass). The range of compositions is wide and includes the challenging "Nefertiti" by Wayne Shorter.

No, the ladies are for commercial purpose only. You will "Alone Together" with Kenny for the whole weekend.

B-) Oh !... One more thing, you won't be working for free Everyone who will contribute to the thread will get choose between Monk T shirt Miles T shirt Bird T shirt Dizzy T shirt As i said you will get to choose (you won't necessarily get the shirts ) And the first prize is - A weekend with Kenny G :rsly:

While exploring and searching the web I discovered many classic and lesser known Blindfold tests. I thought it would be a good idea to concentrate links for them on one webpage. The same for many interesting and classic interviews that found somewhere in the wilds of World Wide Web. Here is the webpage http://www.geocities.com/ztrauq22/links.htm Enjoy what I collected and linked so far. If you have more web pages that contain Blindfold tests and interviews please post on this thread or send me an email and I would add it. One important thing: All about jazz is not an option – it has a very good collection of interviews but easily accessible and easy to find. I'm looking for more classic and famous articles that are usually buried somewhere unknown.

First of all "Atomic Basie" is great. It was one of the first cd's my father bought when just got a stereo system. It sounded weird and obsolete to me for a long time until I began appreciating jazz and started listening to the variety found in each chorus of this wonderful music. A surprising discovery for me is a Basie album from the 70's called "Afrique". This is maybe the most adventurous recording by him. Oliver Nelson is responsible for most of the arrangements and compositions (not enough said?!). Additional songs are by Albert Ayler and Pharaoh Sanders. The whole records functions as one long, Africa flavored suite and contains one of the best Hubert Laws works (flute). Another Basie favorite of mine is the record he made with George Benson. It's rare to hear Benson perform in a jazzy setting like this one, singing and playing very well.

One important collaboration that wasn't mentioned at all is that between John McLaughlin, Joey DeFrancesco and Elvin Jones. The tribute album to Trane "After the rain" is their best known effort. From AMG: …and Scott also made a point talking about the trio with Young/Williams and McLaughlin. Enjoy one more revealing picture

Yes you are right, sorry, my mistake.

The most impressive line up that i have seen on a debut album (I'm not sure it meets the criteria of Rooster Ties) is Joshua Redman's "Wish". Half of the legendary Ornette quartet: Charlie Haden and Billy Higins; probably the most well known jazz guitarist for today: Pat Metheny.

Thanks a lot for the Splawn info Did you hear about the Candoli brothers ? The older (Pete) and the younger (Conte) both played since the forties in Herman's band. Pete was a high note specialist and sometimes appeared in a superman's suite in concerts. The younger also got to work with Stan Kenton and Shelly Mann. They both developed their styles in the same time when Dizzy's star was rising and were influenced by him (and of course by some people from the older generation like Rex Stewart and Roy Eldridge). I suppose they made more contributions than I mentioned but still it would appropriate to mention them. Personally I only heard them as sidemen for others, once again, on rare occasions.

LOL Michael and Pat I'm really sorry, didn't mean it when posted the picture B-)