Oct 1, 2018 12:45:40 AM Edited May 15, 2020 08:26:49 AM by Lena E
I'm a huge jazz fan, and since there's a classical music thread, thought I'd provide an alternative. To kick things off, a storied Bill Evans trio performance at the Village Vanguard of a Cole Porter piece:
Bill Evans had many detractors, but even they would have to concede that he swings on this if they're honest, I believe.
Feb 8, 2020 05:36:34 PM by John K
Resurrecting this thread with arguably the greatest Jazz oboist (and accomplished saxophonist) Yusef Lateef, playing a 12 bar blues classic.
Feb 8, 2020 05:46:22 PM by Amanda L
I don't think this qualifies as promotion...One of my clients is a jazz ensemble. They are getting some pretty good reviews on their latest album, a reimagining of Billie Holiday. If you like jazz, these are lesser known charts by Holiday.
Feb 8, 2020 05:50:14 PM by John K
Can't go wrong doing a Lady Day homage. She was a major influence on Frank Sinatra, among others.
Feb 10, 2020 05:31:38 PM by Julie J
I enjoy quite a few different musical genres and jazz is one of my favorites. My dad was a huge fan so I grew up with it.
This is on heavy rotation:
Feb 10, 2020 06:09:20 PM by Julie J
Well that didn't post properly, I tried to follow John's instructions but didn't find a video button.
Feb 11, 2020 04:30:23 AM by Phyllis G
Julie J wrote:I enjoy quite a few different musical genres and jazz is one of my favorites. My dad was a huge fan so I grew up with it.
This is on heavy rotation:
A huge favorite of mine!
Feb 11, 2020 04:38:10 PM Edited Feb 11, 2020 04:38:56 PM by John K
Julie, welcome to the thread, and great choice. I saw Mr. Silver perform once. In addition to the many great compositions he wrote, he was a super funky pianist, when he wanted to be. But to get the album cover in your post, you need to click the Video button and insert the youtube link that way, rather than as a regular link, and choose large size.
Feb 11, 2020 05:34:16 PM Edited Feb 11, 2020 05:35:41 PM by John K
Since the last piece had a bossa nova beat, how about the princess of the bossa nova. Nice medley, ending with a definitive rendition of Garota de Ipanema in both Portuguese and English
Feb 11, 2020 07:06:57 PM by Julie J
John K wrote: But to get the album cover in your post, you need to click the Video button and insert the youtube link that way, rather than as a regular link, and choose large size.
Thanks John but WHERE is the video button? I'm not seeing it on the posting toolbar.
Feb 13, 2020 04:58:03 PM by John K
Julie, hope this helps.
Feb 13, 2020 05:01:53 PM Edited Feb 13, 2020 05:02:56 PM by John K
In the meantime, this may not strictly be Jazz but it's a song that will probably never become irrelevant.
Feb 28, 2020 09:31:42 AM by John K
Mose Allison may not be strictly a Jazz singer, either, but as he says, "if the shoe fits, wear it."
Mar 1, 2020 03:02:24 AM by John K
Great rendition of a great song, although the lyrics are considerably different from the original English lyrics I posted in the Poetry thread:
Mar 15, 2020 09:17:53 PM by John K
Another seasonal piece, since it's almost spring. For the longest time, I thought the title was Joy of Spring, but regardless, it's a classic tune by a classic combo.
Mar 19, 2020 10:44:07 AM Edited Mar 19, 2020 10:51:05 AM by John K
Here's a definitive version of a Coltrane composition, that's especially appropriate today. Also, it didn't even occur to me when I chose this selection, but the sax solophonist here, the much underrated Harold Land, was also the sax soloist on my previous selection, "Joy Spring".
Apr 1, 2020 07:36:16 AM Edited Sep 1, 2020 10:11:45 AM by John K
This isn't a high quality video, but the vocal comes through fine. I'll Remember April was something of a signature song for Sassy -- she opened her shows with it often. As a bonus, her trio includes the great drummer Jimmy Cobb, who played with almost everyone, but notably on the great Miles Davis recording Kind of Blue. For a second bonus, the divine one also sings East of the Sun, something she recorded with Dizzy Gillespie when she was just starting out.
Apr 6, 2020 02:17:17 PM Edited Apr 6, 2020 02:19:02 PM by John K
Since I mentioned drummer Jimmy Cobb's contribution to the classic Kind of Blue album by Miles Davis, it's a good time to play a piece from it. There's some question about whether this tune and the one that followed were incorrectly titled when the album was manufactured, in which case it was supposed to be called Flamenco Sketches rather than All Blues but I think not because it is a twelve-bar blues, but in 6/8 time rather than the normal 4/4. Cobb seamlessly switches from brushes to drumsticks as Miles takes off his trademark trumpet mute before soloing. A couple of musicians I've featured earlier, Bill Evans and John Coltrane, are also featured along with other greats Cannonball Adderley and Paul Chambers.
Apr 21, 2020 09:51:20 AM Edited Apr 22, 2020 07:55:04 AM by Renata S
Have we had a tune from Memphis Slim yet? Although I might be diverging into the blues realm.
This one fits the COVID-inspired mood today:
May 3, 2020 02:03:32 PM Edited May 3, 2020 02:04:45 PM by John K
Here's a Jazz giant I haven't featured previously, although his younger brother Richie was pianist on a track I featured earlier, Joy Spring by Clifford Brown. This is a Jazz standard by Bud Powell, with a clever title, because it's played at a furious tempo. Bud Powell was a victim of circumstances and couldn't sustain his early brilliance, but among other accomplishments, he elevated Jazz piano from accompaniment to lead instrument status with his trio performances.
May 15, 2020 07:29:05 AM by Phyllis G
What happened to all the links in this thread? They've all disappeared!
May 15, 2020 09:24:11 AM by Valeria K
Hi Phyllis,
Thanks for flagging! We're currently looking into why links to videos on this thread are broken.
May 16, 2020 01:39:28 PM by Phyllis G
Valeria K wrote:Hi Phyllis,
Thanks for flagging! We're currently looking into why links to videos on this thread are broken.
Thank you!!!!
May 16, 2020 02:22:03 PM Edited May 17, 2020 09:38:23 AM by John K
Valeria K wrote:Hi Phyllis,
Thanks for flagging! We're currently looking into why links to videos on this thread are broken.
Valeria, much gratitude to you and the team for taking the time to fixing this.
I'm celebrating by posting a much-covered song by the originator, a short time before he passed away. It's a bit leisurely, but sometimes it's good to be laid back. FYI, the song is based on a Native American peyote chant. Also, the video has a typo, the title is Witchi Tai To, not Witchi To Tai.
May 19, 2020 04:44:51 AM by Mary W
Not sure if I've ever posted this. There is a radio station in New Orleans - WWOZ - which features jazz 24 hours a day. They have streaming so it should be readily available to all. It's a non-profit which consistently struggles so donations are greatly appreciated. (For those who watched the HBO series Treme over the years, WWOZ is featured many times in the story.) (And if this should interest you in watching the series, I was a background actor in almost every episode - although rarely seen!)
Jun 1, 2020 09:39:17 AM Edited Jun 1, 2020 09:39:51 AM by John K
I occurred to me that I hadn't featured any Jazz cover versions of pop songs. Jazz musicians do use pop material on occasion. So here's an artist who specialized at this. She covered tunes like Here Comes the Sun, Isn't It a Pity, and even Everyone's Gone to the Moon, but I especially like this poignant rendition of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band original. FYI, Ms. Simone is an accomplished pianist, having studied piano at Juilliard.
Jun 9, 2020 01:31:42 PM by John K
Not sure I've done unusual time signatures in this thread, so here's one in 11/8 time, with some fusion heavyweights. Of the 4 musicians on the track, the only one I never saw in person is the bassist Dave Holland, but maybe I'll catch him one of these days.
Aug 26, 2020 01:38:46 PM by John K
Haven't been diligent maintaining my thread, but it's just 3 days from the 100th anniversary of the birth of the immortal Charlie Parker, I had to post something. I could easily choose several dozen examples of his opus, but here's one of his celebrated compositions, and as a bonus, a cool vocalise version by singer/pianist Bob Dorough.
Aug 27, 2020 03:36:52 PM by Phyllis G
Thanks, John! Just listening to the first eight bars makes me feel happier.
Sep 13, 2020 04:51:38 PM by George J
I was raised in a Jazz household. My stepfather didn't like us listening to most of the music on the radio back in the 70's so we listened to Jazz while we were at home and out and about. Recently found myself listening to it more while I work instead of my usual Detroit Techno, downtempo, and 80's/90's hip hop.
Sep 19, 2020 12:14:43 PM Edited Sep 19, 2020 12:17:45 PM by John K
Riz & George, a belated welcome to the thread. I've been working mostly non-stop for a couple of weeks, so didn't have much time to participate in the forum.
George, this is first time I heard Perception -- the tune as whole, and Chick Corea on piano in particular, are very reminiscent of McCoy Tyner.
Ahmad Jamal was big influence on Miles Davis, including the use of medium tempo. So here's that shortlived but amazing band of Kind of Blue renown doing Green Dolphin Street. And after that, a Jamal obscurity I discovered, notable in that at 1:37 into the recording, the guitarist plays the melody of John Colrane's composition Impressions. Here I thought Impressions was based on Miles' So What.
Oct 23, 2020 07:07:13 PM by John K
I know I've featured Coltrane a lot in the thread, but I'm not sure I've featured much music of an overtly spiritual character, and it happened to come up in my smartphone shuffle today, so here's part 1 of A Love Supreme.
Jan 19, 2021 06:55:55 AM by John K
Resurrecting my thread momentarily. This would have been more timely yesterday, but the song itself is timeless, and it's a heartfelt rendition by some great musicians.
Feb 1, 2021 12:59:27 PM by Valeria K
This is an impressive thread with over 50 beautiful songs shared here. So I took liberty to put it together into one Spotify playlist in case anybody ever wants to listen to it when working or relaxing.
I'll do my best adding any new music posted here into the playlist so keep it coming!
Thanks so much, John, for keeping this thread going!
Apr 20, 2021 04:20:44 AM Edited Apr 20, 2021 04:24:26 AM by John K
Valeria, belated thanks for the kind words. Here's something classical, so to speak. I had the pleausure to hear this performed live before the record was released, with a sax solo instead of a guitar solo, but everyone there knew it would be a hit.
Jun 20, 2021 07:20:29 PM by John K
I thought this would be an appropriate piece for the summer solstice. Though the album is under Ramsey Lewis' name, this particular tune is essentially performed by Earth, Wind, and Fire.
Jun 20, 2021 07:25:34 PM by John K
But if you'd rather celebrate father's day, then there's this Horace Silver classic.
Mar 20, 2022 12:08:20 PM by John K
Reviving my old thread to commemorate equinox. It's a melancholy song, but no one could do melancholy like Lady Day.