The Jazz Thread

[MasterShakezula]

Ooops, must of used misleading sentence structure.  What I meant was I only knew of MM from being a sideman for Miles Davis in the 80s.  And I've heard that Davis' 80s work really sucked. 

I'm currently listening to Scoop on YouTube, a recording from the 94 Montreux festival, and it's very enjoyable. 

[MasterShakezula]

Listening to the complete Ellington At Newport.  This is the first album from his orchestra I've listened to, and top notch! 

(Isn't it swell when a live album is one complete, uninterrupted show?)

[PuffyPat]

Giant Steps. Forgot how awesome this song/album is. Damn is Coltrane a beast on this track.

[MasterShakezula]

What can you say, album's a classic!

My preferred tune from there is Mr. PC.

Helps that I'm currently jamming a lot with that on vibes.

You have any opinions on his discography as a whole, or at least his albums you have?

I've got Blue Train, Giant Steps, Stardust, Crescent, and Love Supreme.

Love all of them, though the ones with his classic quarter (the latter two) are preferred most.

[PuffyPat]

I've got Giant Steps, A Love Supreme, the Fearless Leader Box Set, which is a bunch of his recordings for Prestige, as well as a best of album. There really isn't any Coltrane I don't love, but out of everything that I've heard A Love Supreme is, by far, my favorite (it also happens to be my second favorite album of all time).

I would have to agree that his classic quartet is where it's at. Coltrane, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Garrison, and McCoy Tyner, were some of the greatest musicians to ever play music in one group, I mean there's nothing better than just sitting back and listening to guys just play.

[MasterShakezula]

Was A Love Supreme the last album he did with the Quartet before drifting into space for his final couple years?

I'd love to venture forwards into his even more outside stuff, but my first priority is to get all if his work with the quartet.

[PuffyPat]

Pretty sure it was the last.

When you say his "outside stuff" I assume you mean his avant garde period, which to be honest, I do not really care for. I can listen to some weird stuff, but it's a little too far out there for me. At least what I've heard of it is.

[MasterShakezula]

Hmm... Looks like I may want to wait on the avent stuff, then?

In the meantime, What would you say are the Quartet's best pre-Crescent albums and or tunes?

[PuffyPat]

I can't really tell you to be honest. I know I've heard a lot of it, but I'm really not sure what's what. Most of what I heard, I heard while I was at my dad's friend's house while he had the stereo going, so I don't know names of songs or albums. I just know that it's really damn good. If I were you, I would just go with what came first, and go from there.

[MasterShakezula]

Alrighty!

I'll take it in chrono order, and perhaps even share my say on them on this thread as I get them. That way, we all can have a better knowledge on the Quartet and it's greatness.

[PuffyPat]

Sounds like a plan Shake!

[SPNKr]

just leaving this here.

[jsem]

Olé Coltrane is an underrated masterpiece of a gem.


edit: in fact. All of his soprano work is legendary

[obscure]

as I've heard very little positive about his post-75 stuff.

Years active    1975–present

Well, listen to the song Scoop. That gives you an idea of what Marcus Miller is capable of.

I'm currently listening to Scoop on YouTube, a recording from the 94 Montreux festival, and it's very enjoyable. 

cool!

[PuffyPat]

just leaving this here.

I. Want. It. All.

[Sketchy]

You are my favorite Pokemon, Jigglypuff!

Now, a quick question for you:

How jazzy is Lizard by King Crimson?

I've heard it being described as having elements of big band and being a major development in early jazz rock.  Is this the case?

(I'm looking into getting it and want to know what to expect)

In response to this: It is still very classical, but there are hugely jazzy sections in it, particularly the title track. It's really experimental so it may take a while to click (for example I think I only "got" it last week, having had the album for the last two years).

[MasterShakezula]

Listening to My Point of View and Inventions and Dimensions by Herbie Hancock.  Both albums are very enjoyable; they seem rather underrated, being sandwiched in-between Takin Off and Empryan isles.

I&D is especially great; sort of quirky, yet cool feel throughout with a standard rhythm trio+ anxillery percussion.

[SPNKr]

*sniped*https://i.imgur.com/8L6qo.jpg*sniped

just leaving this here.

I. Want. It. All.

Actually i forgot that i had more down that list, just forgot to increase the height of the window. I want it all too! i'm still collecting his music and i remember documenting a bit on it here.
I think the last thing I found was Om (pronounced "home" without the H), you gotta hear it! if you also dig his ballad style, get Ballads. great album...

edit: may as well write the rest down here.
Duke Ellington & John Coltrane - (1963) Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman - (1963) John Coltrane And Johnny Hartman
John Coltrane Quartet, The - (1961) Africa/Brass
John Coltrane Quartet, The - (1962) Ballads (Deluxe Edition)
John Coltrane Quartet, The - (1964) Crescent
John Coltrane Quartet, The - (1965) The John Coltrane Quartet Plays
John Coltrane Quintet, The - (1961) John Coltrane Quintet With Eric Dolphy
John Coltrane With The Red Garland Trio - (1957) Traneing In
John Coltrane/Archie Shepp - (1966) New Thing At Newport (half of this live album is Coltrane's set and half is a new musician's at the time, Shepp)
Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane - (1963) Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane
Milt Jackson & John Coltrane - (1961) Bags & Trane
Thelonious Monk - (1961) Thelonius Monk With John Coltrane

[PuffyPat]

I'm just hitting the tip of the iceberg it seems. Although I didn't get really into Coltrane, let alone jazz, until a little over a year ago, so it makes sense that I haven't acquired a large collection... yet.

[MasterShakezula]

SPNKr, what's your say on Bags and Trane?
Being a vibraphonist, I really dig Milt Jackson and his work with the Modern Jazz Quartet.

[SPNKr]

^ He's really good. Bags does a great job accompanying Trane on there, took a bit for me to stand how cheesy some vibes could sound. i mean i already had grant green's idle moments so how i can i talk.. and now just thinking about GG i feel bad that that's the only album i have of him. such a great guitarist/musician.
it's been a while since i've heard B&T but it was worth the few listens, i even kept the bonus tracks and they're also good. you should get it.

@puffy, it took a lot of courage to spend so much time on coltrane this year. i feel really good about hearing all those albums, let alone having them, and his discography is among my favourite of any musician's in the world.

[PuffyPat]

his discography is among my favourite of any musician's in the world.

Seeing that Coltrane is one of the greatest musicians ever, it only makes sense that you would feel that way.

[darkshade]

his discography is among my favourite of any musician's in the world.

Seeing that Coltrane is one of the greatest musicians ever, it only makes sense that you would feel that way.

Only second to Miles IMO. One can only imagine what Trane would have done if he had lived into the fusion era

[PuffyPat]

There would have been some crazy avant garde fusion going on. Which would be insane.

[jsem]

He and Ornette Coleman were the two guys really pushing it out there at the time anyway, so he woulda been all up in fusion.

How great would not his fusion soprano work be... oh wow

[SPNKr]

I've been listening to bitches brew a lot lately. I've only started finding the form in the music, but to a lot of people there isn't form in there. Well i can say there damn sure is.
I bought it for $15, turned out to be a pressing from 1990. I was after an original mix on cd anyway, so by my luck i found what i was after . I listened to it last night and thanks to the lack of dynamic range compression i was able to crank it UP! Though this one was probably barely eq'd, the highs are severely rolled off but it's very warm sounding. It must've sounded like that back in the day when new.
It took foobar's noise sharpening plugin to be at 200% to really hear the high end in the instruments. I guess you can say it was quite flat but i bloody enjoyed it all.

I just picked up the complete bitches brew sessions.

[MasterShakezula]

Well, once you've had the chance to give that boxset a solid listen or two, please give us your say on whether it's worth the bank!

More music from that era of Davis sounds quite intriguing!

[SPNKr]

If you listen to this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tHHqTrObEM you know it's already worth it. straight away sounds like soul. also the song on there, Yaphet, has a tasty bass riff from Dave Holland.

Oh and I forgot to mention that for the first time I noticed actual dynamic build ups and climaxes on this particular CD version I bought. It was way more effective than what I had before and having the volume cranked up, unexpecting this variety of dynamics in the music, gave me chills.

[MasterShakezula]

Checked out Corrado; kickass cut, my man!

It's so R&B-ish, yet so evil and twisted; if that's the sorta quality to expect of the other bonuses in that boxset, I'm so getting it! 

That and the In A Silent Way one.  I'd love to see how the tunes sounded in their original, unedited/spliced forms. 

[SPNKr]

yep, it has more strange and fairly evil stuff on it. But also some craziness captured on the final album. Big difference is there are no edits here, at least I can't hear any, whereas on IASW and BB they're quite obvious at times.
Definitely will be grabbing the IASW Sessions some time when I have the time. I just have a sickening amount of music to plough through lately.

Forgot to mention the complete BBs have a sitar player, Khalil Balakrishna, almost throughout, and this track called Lonely Fire has some eastern and spanish essence. If you think about the atmosphere and amount of space in Sketches Of Spain then introduce some avant-garde instruments to the jazz based music, you get this interesting and odd result found in that song.

[ytserush]

now I'm on this


This album is pretty good. Nice lineup of course, but this reminds me of Bitches Brew in terms of mood, but with the creative virtuosic fire than Jaco and Metheny bring to the mix. Everyone should check out this album.

Well, shit. i've forgotten to talk about this particular and rare record. i encourage you all to find this, took me probably months to finally get it.

Damn!  I can't even tell you when I listened to this last.

It was so long ago that I don't even remember what it even sounds like. I keep it at the beginning of my Jaco section (Not sure why I chose to put it there instead of with Metheny--which still doesn't explain why I've haven't put it on in a while since I listen to more Jaco than Metheny on average.)


It looks like I have about half of that Coltrane up there. Most of it from the '60s (Blue Train is the only pre 1961 solo album of his that I own.)


As far as '80s Miles goes, I only have We Want Miles which I think is from 1982. It sure is different, but in a very good way.

[SPNKr]

^ Damn man, you NEED Blue Train. One of the jazz requirements for anybody.
I put Jaco (Pastorius/Metheny/Ditmas/Bley) in my Jaco section, and considering his name is written first on the front and he was already capable of being a leader at the time I don't see why it shouldn't be in his section. You can always count it as a Metheny album too, just logically should be in the Jaco section lol.

[ytserush]

^ Damn man, you NEED Blue Train. One of the jazz requirements for anybody.
I put Jaco (Pastorius/Metheny/Ditmas/Bley) in my Jaco section, and considering his name is written first on the front and he was already capable of being a leader at the time I don't see why it shouldn't be in his section. You can always count it as a Metheny album too, just logically should be in the Jaco section lol.

That's probably the most consistent way to do that. I never thought of that as a rule. (Thanks for the help!)

I suppose that would work for the many other instances were there are collaborations such as that.

I've got my Bruford/Levin Upper Extremities Blue Nights album in the Levin section for reasons I can't even explain (other than I had Tony Levin sign it when I saw him last) when under this rule I should clearly file it with the Bruford albums.  I'm sure there are more inconsistencies I should fix.


I should have made that more clear.

Blue Train is the only pre-1961 Coltrane solo album that I own.  I was fortune to secure a Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs version in the days before Ebay and the Internet. Sitting to the right of it is the Complete Africa/Brass Sessions with the quartet.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Time for Soft Machine's Third. It's rare I'm in the mood for it, but when I am anything else just doesn't cut it.

[SPNKr]

If I have time today I'll put on Third, only heard the first track so far and that was on the weekend.

^ Damn man, you NEED Blue Train. One of the jazz requirements for anybody.
I put Jaco (Pastorius/Metheny/Ditmas/Bley) in my Jaco section, and considering his name is written first on the front and he was already capable of being a leader at the time I don't see why it shouldn't be in his section. You can always count it as a Metheny album too, just logically should be in the Jaco section lol.

That's probably the most consistent way to do that. I never thought of that as a rule. (Thanks for the help!)

I suppose that would work for the many other instances were there are collaborations such as that.

I've got my Bruford/Levin Upper Extremities Blue Nights album in the Levin section for reasons I can't even explain (other than I had Tony Levin sign it when I saw him last) when under this rule I should clearly file it with the Bruford albums.  I'm sure there are more inconsistencies I should fix.


I should have made that more clear.

Blue Train is the only pre-1961 Coltrane solo album that I own.  I was fortune to secure a Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs version in the days before Ebay and the Internet. Sitting to the right of it is the Complete Africa/Brass Sessions with the quartet.

Ah ok, I remember reading you don't have it unless you edited that post. Good that you have it
what is that album called anyway? i never got a good look of it on google, i have it digitally. all i got to see was the front of it. anything written on the spine?