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

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 8:15 pm
by Jonathon Neville
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?

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:40 am
by anton
You love it because it has solid riffing AND an advanced arrangement with unusual chords. Plus, it's an instrumental.

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 11:52 am
by anton
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.

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:22 pm
by Haydn
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 8). (Turning up the bass makes it sound even better :P )

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 1:26 am
by Eyeball

Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 6:39 am
by anton
(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.

Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 2:01 am
by Haydn
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).