music analysis: "Frisco Fog" - what makes it so go

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Jonathon Neville · #1 Post by **Jonathon Neville** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 8:15 pm

Jimmy Lunceford's Frisco Fog is freaking fantastic. (Actually, I think 1:23-2:05 is pretty bad. But besides that, it's freaking fantastic.) What makes it so?

anton · #2 Post by **anton** » Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:40 am

You love it because it has solid riffing AND an advanced arrangement with unusual chords. Plus, it's an instrumental.

anton · #3 Post by **anton** » Thu Nov 25, 2010 11:52 am

Two more reasons: it's from the perfect year (1937) and has the perfect tempo (175).

Btw, it is written and arranged by Leon Carr. It seems to be his only arrangement for Lunceford.

Haydn · #4 Post by **Haydn** » Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:22 pm

Yeah - it is an exciting 'hot' instrumental from that time. I think the minor key gives it more of an atmosphere. But it's mainly the arrangement that makes those syncopations swing so stylishly

. (Turning up the bass makes it sound even better

)

Eyeball · #5 Post by **Eyeball** » Fri Nov 26, 2010 1:26 am

http://www.jazz-on-line.com/a/ramc/DECDLA1014.ram

anton · #6 Post by **anton** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 6:39 am

(After repeated listening and dancing:) I think it's a tad too long - if it ended already at 2:30 it would have been perfect. The last 40 seconds is just the same theme all over again.

Haydn · #7 Post by **Haydn** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 2:01 am

I played this last night, I think for the first time, and it went down very well with the dancers - someone asked me what it was called. (It seems to have a special atmosphere, perhaps particularly suited to a smaller room).