Ugh! Every time I hear someone play a Real Group recording of anything at a dance venue I want to reach out and smack the dj upside the head. I've had alot of experience with music in this style; and I think the Real Group, while they have some interesting arrangements, sound very canned and sterile. Just like I think the Swingle Singers sound pretty canned and sterile. Manhattan Transfer ellicits an even stronger reaction from me than the Real Group- I want to take the cd, break it in half and stab the offending dj with the broken shards. I know it sounds a bit extreme- but, seriously, it irks me more than a night of nothing but BBVD, CPD and Indigo Swing. Waaaay to campy for my ears.
There are alot of very good collegiate a cappella/vocal harmony groups that perform and record regularly (although, mostly popular music from the 80's to present), but there is so much more energy in their performances than those groups. Once you hear that you can never go back.
I'm interested to hear HLR, and see how they compare to the others.
I just love those singing groups
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i would place Oscar Brown, Jr. in the same general category too. What that category is, I don't know, but he's in there.
Nate -- you should listen to "Hottest New Group" before passing final judgement on LHR. like I said, it's much much much better.
Regarding transcribed solos -- a lot of Ellington solos were planned out in advance, not necessarily improvised even if they sound like it. Check out how on multiple recordings of the same tune, the solos are often similar or the same.
--yakov
Nate -- you should listen to "Hottest New Group" before passing final judgement on LHR. like I said, it's much much much better.
Regarding transcribed solos -- a lot of Ellington solos were planned out in advance, not necessarily improvised even if they sound like it. Check out how on multiple recordings of the same tune, the solos are often similar or the same.
--yakov
Giacomo Gates is a waaaay excellent current vocaleese singer!! Saw him live at the Manley jazz festival a couple of years ago. His performance looses only a little bit on his CDs. Worth buying if you are into vocaleese.julius wrote:Also try out Kurt Elling. He's probably the best male vocalist in jazz today. (Name another...right.)
Can be kinda hard to dance to though.
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AlekseyKosygin
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Re: I just love those singing groups
get some red caps...thank me later.Yakov wrote:i am totally in love with close harmony bop singing groups... i can hardly keep from listening to those cds ALL THE TIME...
lambert, hendricks, and ross -- the hottest new group in jazz! -- two amazing amazing cds... danceable? hell yeah. listenable? hell yeah. my favorites from that cd: cottontail ("i'm a hooked rabbit! got a carrot habit!") , i don't know what kind of blues i got ("there's two kinds of woman..."), in a mellow tone, what am i here for, twisted.. too many great tracks
delta rhythm boys -- anthology vol. 2 -- "dee jay" overpriced label. awesome tracks: "take the a train" and the all time incredible "my blue heaven" jazz version
the cats and the fiddle -- anthology vols. 1 and 2 -- "gangbusters" -- need i say more? this stuff is not as good as DRB, but it's great. (it's a sparse rhythm section)
what else?
-yakov
I caught Giacomo last year at an intimate setting on the UES in NYC. He's a very strong vocalese singer.Doug wrote:Giacomo Gates is a waaaay excellent current vocaleese singer!! Saw him live at the Manley jazz festival a couple of years ago. His performance looses only a little bit on his CDs. Worth buying if you are into vocaleese.julius wrote:Also try out Kurt Elling. He's probably the best male vocalist in jazz today. (Name another...right.)
Can be kinda hard to dance to though.
As for harmony groups, Rockapella have a couple of songs that are danceable.