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Musical instruments you could do without in jazz.


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I didn't post the cover of the first Julius Watkins Blue Note session as I assumed everybody here has that one - some of the most beautiful french horn ever recorded, the range of his sounds on the horn is amazing, the tone is gorgeous.

yeah, rub it in... <_<

So ya don't like dem french horns, John?

I certainly do! I was referring to your assumption that I included in the quote

Edited by couw
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I didn't post the cover of the first Julius Watkins Blue Note session as I assumed everybody here has that one - some of the most beautiful french horn ever recorded, the range of his sounds on the horn is amazing, the tone is gorgeous.

yeah, rub it in... <_<

So ya don't like dem french horns, John?

I certainly do! I was referring to your assumption that I included in the quote

Poor little boy ... aber sie können geholfen werden ... B)

(sorry for the misinterpretation)

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Tastes change. I used to dislike the organ, the vibes and the guitar. Now Larry Young, Grant Green and Bobby Hutcherson are three of my favorite musicians. Go figure.

Concerning others' comments:

1. Not all violinists are bad, but when they are bad, they really suck. The only concert I ever walked out of was Cecil Taylor and Matt Maneri at the Library of Congress. God that was awful!

2. On the soprano sax: a lot of sopranos do sound kind of nasal (Coltrane included), BUT Wayne Shorter has a very pure tone, and 95% of the time his soprano sounds simply lovely. Check out his solo on 'Spanish Key' on Bitches' Brew, for example. In my opinion, he is the finest soprano saxophonist in jazz, period. Even Wayne does get screechy/nasal on occasion - for example, on the live version of 'Teen Town' on Weather Report's 8:30 live. But most of the time, he is just simply amazing.

3. I once posted on a theremin thread about a rare record by Clara Rockmoor (the world's greatest theremin player) called Theremingus where she plays all tunes by you-know-who. I waited a week before admitting it was a prank. You should have seen 'em scrambling!

This being said, I think 'Pithecanthropus Erectus' would sound very cool on a theremin.

By the way, one of the most amazing movies I ever saw was a documentary on the theremin's inventor, Leo Theremin. He escaped Russia to come to the U.S. (he was a brilliant scientist) but was kidnapped in New York (!) by the U.S.S.R. in the forties and sent back to Moscow, where he was forced to work for years on intelligence stuff. He finally made it back to NYC in the eighties; the reunion footage with Rockmoor is amazing. There is also a hilarious interview with Brian Wilson (remember 'Good Vibrations?).

Bertrand.

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Not a fan of vocalese....Those who don't like the soprano...listen to much Sidney Bechet??? Just curious......

I must admit, Bechet sounds good on the instrument. Damned good! :tup

As impressive as on clarinet, IMHO

Yup. But I guess Bechet's sound might not bother many listeners who don't like the nasal (Coltrane, Shorter) soprano sound.

ubu

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Not that it's really 'jazz' per se, but all those turntables and laptop computers in modern 'improv' really annoy the shit out of me... ugh!

I can imagine Maneri and Cecil would suck, if only 'cos Mat Maneri sucks. Last time I saw him he just sat on stage with a Heineken and a ciggie while Rob Brown and Whit Dickey went at it... what a poser.

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I love trombone.  It's a fantastic instrument.  That said, it's now time for the obligatory trombone joke: What's the difference between a dead frog in the road and a dead trombonist? The frog was on his way to a gig.

BA-DUM CHING!

i really enjoy the trombone too. still, there does seem to be a lot of jokes aimed specifically at trombone players. Here's a few more:

What do you call a trombonist with a beeper and a cellular telephone?

An optimist.

How many trombonists does it take to change a lightbulb?

Just one, but he’ll do it too loudly.

How do you know when a trombone player is at your door?

The doorbell drags.

And my personal favorite:

How can you tell which kid on a playground is the child of a trombonist?

He doesn’t know how to use the slide, and he can’t swing.

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By the way, one of the most amazing movies I ever saw was a documentary on the theremin's inventor, Leo Theremin. He escaped Russia to come to the U.S. (he was a brilliant scientist) but was kidnapped in New York (!) by the U.S.S.R. in the forties and sent back to Moscow, where he was forced to work for years on intelligence stuff. He finally made it back to NYC in the eighties; the reunion footage with Rockmoor is amazing. There is also a hilarious interview with Brian Wilson (remember 'Good Vibrations?).

TOTALLY agree -- amazing movie! :tup:tup:tup

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I can imagine Maneri and Cecil would suck, if only 'cos Mat Maneri sucks.

TOTALLY agree -- hearing his tone live is like being forced to suck on a lemon -- actually, the lemon is VASTLY preferable. Not one hint of vibrato -- ouch -- can't even assess the NOTES he's playing because the tone is torture to me. :tdown:tdown:tdown

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OK, OK; I'll play.

What do you call a trombonist without a girlfriend? Homeless.

And some other chestnuts which I'm sure you've all heard.....

How do you know if there's a "chick singer" at your door?

She doesn't have her key and doesn't know when to come in.

What's the difference between a violin and a viola?

Viola burns longer.

How do you write "tremolo" for viola?

Write a whole note and put "solo" above it.

How do you make a guitarist turn down?

Put a chart in front of him.

What's the difference between a bull and a big band?

Well, with a bull the horns are in front and the asshole's in back.

Thanks folks! I'll be at the Holiday Inn on Route 14 all week! :blink:

Edited by Free For All
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I can't think of any instrument that I would like to have excluded from jazz, because jazz is such an inclusive genre and there are times that almost anything will work.

That being said, I don't happen to like when Latin percussion tnstruments are used in jazz pieces that aren't going for the Latin flavor. Specifically things like timbales and guiro. They work great in latin-jazz, but they have such a distinct character that they impose a style to anything that they are played in. They only sound good to my ears when they are being played with the kind of rhythm patterns specific to their genre. Sometimes I've heard them used as accents for effects in other types of jazz and I find it distracting.

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Not a specific instrument but the electric guitar played in the fusion, "jazz rock" style just doesn't cut it for me. If I wanted to hear guitar based music, I'd go for Hendrix or Metallica or some other rock group.

Comb & Tissue or Kazoo wouldn't stand repeated listenings, if not for the presence of other instruments.

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