Non-jazz artists you're finally catching on to

[Pete C]

• Patsy Cline

My favorite pre-Owen Bradley recording of hers is Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray. Great lyric, very "literary" and "cinematic" in its devices.

[medjuck]

Yes Mr. Keith, that's a great reissue of the first two "lps". . . . I have the Elvis "Fifties" RCA box set, but this reissue sounds so much better. I've also been listening to the Sun material. I like some of the recordings of the 'sixties and 'seventies, but the 'fifties Elvis is a period I really enjoy.

I remember buying the first two Elvis Lps when they were new.

[medjuck]

Musician trading cards it is.

Wayman Tisdale advises to get your licensing ducks in a row first!

Robert Crumb did a series of cards about Blues Musicians and also one about early Jazzmen (Pops, Bix, Jelly Roll and many who are more obscure.)

[Jim R]

I'm not sure that "finally catching on to" describes it in every case, but a short list of some artists I've either discovered or more closely focused on in the last couple of years:

Chet Atkins

LIttle Milton

Robert Ward

Tad Robinson

...and it's only one album, but this is one of my favorite discoveries in many years, a Canadian band from the early 90's:

Stumbled onto this after a brief exploration one day into (what ever happened to the members of) The Cowsills.

[medjuck]

I've only seem clips of the film.

The film is definitely worth Netflix-ing, etc. Ringo's narration is (yes) charming. The (sometimes improvised?) script, from an animated feature point of view, also makes excellent use of interruption during dialogue — something you almost never hear in animated features. Characters commonly don't finish their sentences because others are persistently butting in. It's not an emphasis of the film, but it's there (and not in the soundtrack). Also, you get to quote The Count (a la Saturday Night Live quotes) over and over after you've watched it:

The Count: "I groomed you. Oooh how I groomed you! I cultivated you like a rare flower!"

Are you discussing the Nillson documentary or the animated film The Point? IIRC when The Point was first broadcast the narrator was Dustin Hoffman but they never contracted for a home video release with him so when it was released as such they replaced his voice with Ringo's. (I've never seen either version so I'm really talking through my hat here?)

[Chuck Nessa]

Matisse and the Spinners.

[.:.impossible]

I've only seem clips of the film.

The film is definitely worth Netflix-ing, etc. Ringo's narration is (yes) charming. The (sometimes improvised?) script, from an animated feature point of view, also makes excellent use of interruption during dialogue — something you almost never hear in animated features. Characters commonly don't finish their sentences because others are persistently butting in. It's not an emphasis of the film, but it's there (and not in the soundtrack). Also, you get to quote The Count (a la Saturday Night Live quotes) over and over after you've watched it:

The Count: "I groomed you. Oooh how I groomed you! I cultivated you like a rare flower!"

Are you discussing the Nillson documentary or the animated film The Point? IIRC when The Point was first broadcast the narrator was Dustin Hoffman but they never contracted for a home video release with him so when it was released as such they replaced his voice with Ringo's. (I've never seen either version so I'm really talking through my hat here?)

The animated film... There are snips across the Internet, as well as the BBC specials, but I'd love to own them on DVD, blu-ray, what have you.

[medjuck]

I've only seem clips of the film.

The film is definitely worth Netflix-ing, etc. Ringo's narration is (yes) charming. The (sometimes improvised?) script, from an animated feature point of view, also makes excellent use of interruption during dialogue — something you almost never hear in animated features. Characters commonly don't finish their sentences because others are persistently butting in. It's not an emphasis of the film, but it's there (and not in the soundtrack). Also, you get to quote The Count (a la Saturday Night Live quotes) over and over after you've watched it:

The Count: "I groomed you. Oooh how I groomed you! I cultivated you like a rare flower!"

Are you discussing the Nillson documentary or the animated film The Point? IIRC when The Point was first broadcast the narrator was Dustin Hoffman but they never contracted for a home video release with him so when it was released as such they replaced his voice with Ringo's. (I've never seen either version so I'm really talking through my hat here?)

The animated film... There are snips across the Internet, as well as the BBC specials, but I'd love to own them on DVD, blu-ray, what have you.

Seems to be availabe from Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dmovies-tv&field-keywords=the+point

[.:.impossible]

Nice! Thanks!

[Dave James]

Stumbled onto this after a brief exploration one day into (what ever happened to the members of) The Cowsills.

Seems to me I read that one of the Cowsills is part of the band that's backing the Beach Boys on their 50th anniversary tour.

[BFrank]

Stumbled onto this after a brief exploration one day into (what ever happened to the members of) The Cowsills.

Seems to me I read that one of the Cowsills is part of the band that's backing the Beach Boys on their 50th anniversary tour.

Susan Cowsill is a talented singer who regularly toured with Dwight Twilley and was in a band called the Continental Drifters. I think she still does quite a bit of back-up singing as well as fronting her own group.

[Jim R]

Stumbled onto this after a brief exploration one day into (what ever happened to the members of) The Cowsills.

Seems to me I read that one of the Cowsills is part of the band that's backing the Beach Boys on their 50th anniversary tour.

Yes, that would be John. The other surviving brothers are Bob and Paul; and Susan is still active, afaik. Billy (the one who was in The Blue Shadows) passed away in 2006, a few months after Barry had apparently drowned in New Orleans during Katrina.

Edit: I see BFrank came in just ahead of me regarding Susan. I agree about her talent. Check out that Blue Shadows album if you haven't already! Really good stuff.

Edited May 4, 2012 by Jim R

[Shawn]

Well, it should be fairly obvious to many that my primary focus over the past several years has been non-jazz for the most part. It's been fun discovering new bands and also revisiting genres that I had neglected for too long. Taking a break from jazz hasn't decreased my appreciation, in fact i think time away has helped, because there's a freshness to even the most familiar albums when I do listen to them now.

My love for Progressive Rock is what brought me to jazz in the first place and i've been having a blast digging deeper into groups I was unfamiliar with previously. Some artists I've either discovered or gained a deeper appreciation of...

Camel, Gentle Giant, Nektar, Focus, Rare Bird, Wishbone Ash, Atomic Rooster, Ash Ra Tempel, Gong, Magma, Soft Machine and others.

The big "discoveries" over the past several years has been Opeth, Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson's many projects. I had really forgotten how exciting it was to become "A FAN" again, it was a pleasant experience too long dormant.

[A Lark Ascending]

Sorry, I mistyped Debussy. Very familiar with Ravel. Was familiar with Debussy as well, but his work has really clicked with me lately.

Not going teacher on you - I knew it was a typo! Just couldn't resist.

Debussy is almost ideal music for me - you don't get the structure staring you in the face (although it is there) and I love they way that he'll present a gorgeous or arresting theme and then you don't hear it again (or don't hear it in unaltered form). There's also a liquid movement in his music that works for me.

I find something similar in the mature Delius (though the music sounds very different) - something diaphanous, airy and ever-shifting.

This is a beautiful album:

I was in Stockholm for a weekend some years ago and I did see Swedish folk music at a jazz club: Frifot at Fasching.

Indeed! You lucky devil. Frifot are quite superb (and the individuals have been involved in some superb projects on their own - Lena Willemark has done a few jazz based projects).

Sad Scandinavian folk has never caught on in the UK - you get groups visiting Scotland but they are rare south of the border.

Edited May 4, 2012 by A Lark Ascending

[Pete C]

Little Milton

I love Little Milton. I was planning to go down to see him at the Wilmington, DE blues festival in 2005 and he died 2 days before he was scheduled to appear.

[Pete C]

Fishbone

[Pete C]

So, I just listened to this, and I'd say it's superior to Teddy's studio recordings. All the voice, all the energy.

[medjuck]

Stumbled onto this after a brief exploration one day into (what ever happened to the members of) The Cowsills.

Seems to me I read that one of the Cowsills is part of the band that's backing the Beach Boys on their 50th anniversary tour.

Yes, that would be John. The other surviving brothers are Bob and Paul; and Susan is still active, afaik. Billy (the one who was in The Blue Shadows) passed away in 2006, a few months after Barry had apparently drowned in New Orleans during Katrina.

Edit: I see BFrank came in just ahead of me regarding Susan. I agree about her talent. Check out that Blue Shadows album if you haven't already! Really good stuff.

Bob Cowsills plays with what he calls The Bob Cowsills Band. Does mainly music of the '70s. My wife's band played on a bill with them in a club in Santa Barbara. They were good.