Benny Carter

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GemZombie · #1 Post by **GemZombie** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 2:09 pm

Bored, so thought I'd ask y'all about this.

I recently picked up the Benny Carter Proper Box set. Figured I couldn't go wrong. I read the liner notes before I got a chance to listen to the tracks while waiting for a new windshield to be installed in our jeep.

I was pretty excited about the prospect of the CD as the author of the liner notes "Joop Visser" kept saying wonderful things about them. When I sat down to listen to the CD I found myself disappointed.

The man was obviously good at what he did. Sax, Clarinet, Trumpet, writing, arranging and all that. But I found the majority of the tunes to bore me a bit. I'm trying to decide whether I was in the wrong mood, whether I had set my expectations too high, or I genuinly didn't dig the selections.

One thing I did note was Joop talked mostly about the quality of the improvisation, where on first listen I was listening for the overall tune... And I didn't get all the way through the collection yet.

Anyway, just some notes... wondering if anyone else has an opinion on Mr. Carter's music.

Jerry_Jelinek · #2 Post by **Jerry_Jelinek** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 4:22 pm

Benny Carter is truly one of the most amazing musicians in history.

I don't own the proper set, but I'm certain from a listening standpoint it would be marvelous.

Like most Carter compilations, you have to feature his different abilities. His alto playing was always very elegant and tastee. His trumpet playing was also subdued.

His composing and arranging varies widely. Some of his later suites are gorgeous.

My favorite CD of Benny is Further Definitions from 1961. The CD also has Additions to Further Definitions from 1966. These are landmark recordings for sax ensemble writing.

I would recommend checking your local library for Carter things. The stuff from the 40s will be much more oriented toward dance music.

GemZombie · #3 Post by **GemZombie** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 10:59 am

I think it boiled down to the fact that most of his music was too "Sweet" for my tastes.

Lots of good technical playing, and good musical ideas and such, but not as much heart and soul as I like. Most of the time I'll choose energy, drive and soul over technicality when it comes to what I like to listen to. In other words, i don't dig "elegant" jazz so much... so you might have hit on what my problem is.

Again, it might be the particular tracks selected, and/or the fact that I haven't actually gotten through the entire box set. I've noticed that sometimes these sets fizzle out towards the last two discs for my liking, maybe this one is the other way around.

Finally, i'm not saying he's bad at all. Obviously quite good... just didn't make me tap my feet much.

CafeSavoy · #4 Post by **CafeSavoy** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 11:57 pm

GemZombie wrote:I think it boiled down to the fact that most of his music was too "Sweet" for my tastes.

Lots of good technical playing, and good musical ideas and such, but not as much heart and soul as I like. Most of the time I'll choose energy, drive and soul over technicality when it comes to what I like to listen to. In other words, i don't dig "elegant" jazz so much... so you might have hit on what my problem is.

Again, it might be the particular tracks selected, and/or the fact that I haven't actually gotten through the entire box set. I've noticed that sometimes these sets fizzle out towards the last two discs for my liking, maybe this one is the other way around.

Finally, i'm not saying he's bad at all. Obviously quite good... just didn't make me tap my feet much.

You might like this cd
Benny CarterDevil's Holiday (1933-1934)

You might also like him better on other people's gigs.

GemZombie · #5 Post by **GemZombie** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 10:00 am

Good call. The Chocolate Dandies have often been my favorites on compilation CDs. I'll have to check that out, thanks.