SwingDJs

julius wrote:It's too bad we can't all get together at some point and just share music with each other, like a DJ/music appreciation festival of some sort.

I guess we could do it digitally but it's not the same.

I agree. Lots of it needs to be discussed in person with examples. Come to Austin's Exchange. We can do a "sharing" session during one of the days or on the Monday after.

Ron, I understand your dislike of Monk, but I hope you remain open to him and revisit his music after a while. Sometimes it takes the right (often loose and drunken) mood in order to understand what he was up to.

Lawrence wrote:I started craving for something more. Then I listened to Charlie Parker and I suddenly understood what all the fanfare was about: not in musical terms, but from a listener's standpoint. In a loose manner of speaking, it finally made sense to me. I then re-examined all the jazz giants from the 50s and 60s--Coltrane, Rollins, Davis, Dex--and fell in love with it: especially Sonny Rollins.

YES YES YES. Sonny Rollins rules. "Paul's Pal" by him is currently on repeat a lot in my player. I've got some ace tunes of his with a big band that are almost danceable. DJed Grand Street (from Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass) at a very informal dances and it went down well, though people did say, "Ooh that's challenging to dance to."

I had the same experience as you. The first jazz cd I ever bought was Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. At the time I thought, "Nice melodies but why all the scales and squealing in between." Coming back to it with a few years of intensive swing education it all makes beautiful sense and is a stunning record. Rollins' modal improvisation and Max Roach's drum solos in St Thomas are worth the price of the disc on their own.

And Charlie Mingus is amazing (as someone already said earlier). Have you heard his A-Train? 254 bpm with riffing and soloing all beautifully layered.

I find Dizzy Gillespie amazing too. It's probably the influence of the UK band Gillespiana that I raved about in another post , but I find the energy level of that band is 4 or 5 times higher than any of the swing bands over here, so it makes me want to dance even if it is bloody fast and the rhythm section are "dropping bombs".

My girlfriend introduced me to Miles Davis' Love For Sale with Adderly, Coltrane & Evans and the moment Canonball starts his alto solo is one of the best things I've ever heard.

Tom

junglekid wrote: And Charlie Mingus is amazing (as someone already said earlier). Have you heard his A-Train? 254 bpm with riffing and soloing all beautifully layered.

Tom

From the "Before Duke" album?

CafeSavoy wrote:

junglekid wrote: And Charlie Mingus is amazing (as someone already said earlier). Have you heard his A-Train? 254 bpm with riffing and soloing all beautifully layered.

Tom

From the "Before Duke" album?

Mingus Revisited, I think.

Cute little story: About three years ago I couldn't stand Coltrane's "A Love Supreme"; I just didn't "get it". And then I went to sleep listening to it every night for over a month. Sometimes more than once. After that, I've been totally crazy about it (although I'm sure I still don't really "get it"...lol)



What would you say are the "definitive" non-swing dancing jazz cds any jazz fans should own? For starters I'd say Kind of Blue, Take Five, and A Love Supreme

Giant Steps by John Coltrane
Bitches Brew by Miles Davis
Birth of the Cool by Miles Davis
Blood on the Fields by Wynton Marsalis (not bop)
The Champ by Dizzy Gillespie
Go! by Dexter Gordon

Paul Overton lists the following as "must-haves" on his site:

Okeh, that's gone now (so far as I can find). Anyhoo, Paul's got good stuff on his site and some pics of the Squirrel Dominator, so check him out at www.paulandsharon.com.

Kalman

Shorty Dave wrote:What would you say are the "definitive" non-swing dancing jazz cds any jazz fans should own? For starters I'd say Kind of Blue, Take Five, and A Love Supreme

Mingus: Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus

Mingus rules. I used to go see his big band all the Time (Cafe, get it?) when I lived in Manhattan.

Kalman

They still play every Thur night at the Fez here in NYC. And they're still awesome. (Too bad that's Frim Fram night, so I very rarely make it...)