haapanen@watdcsu.UUCP (Tom Haapanen [DCS]) (10/23/84)
I'd like to start listening more to modern jazz, but I'm at a loss
since I don't know practically any of the groups. Could you jazz
experts help me (by email)? I'd like to know which performers I
should check out, which are their best albums, and *why do you like
them*. Thanks!
Tom Haapanen
{allegra,decvax,ihnp4,linus,utzoo}!watmath!watdcsu!haapanenryan@fremen.DEC (10/29/84)
Here some of my personal favorites in jazz:
The Art Ensemble of Chicago - The masters of group improvisation. Two of
the best musical shows I've ever seen were given by these guys. The
African get ups worn by some of the members (and the African influence
and occasional gratuitous weirdness) may put some people off, but
when they hit that groove anybody can enjoy them.
Oregon - If you like classical or Indian music, this is a band to check out.
The instrumentation may give you some idea (but they really must be
heard to be believed):
Paul McCandless - oboe, bass clarinet, soprano sax, etc.
Ralph Towner - 12-string guitar, piano, trumpet, flugelhorn, (and now
synthesizer, unfortunately - it just doesn't fit their music)
Glen Moore - bass
Colin Walcott - sitar, tabla, various exotic percussion
They may take some getting used to, but they have made some truly
beautiful music. It's on the mellow side - not a lot of excitement,
and the 'drone' songs can wear thin, but "Out of the Woods" is one
of my favorite albums (like George Winston, good with a dark room, a
bottle of wine, and a member of the opposite sex).
Weather Report - If you like rock, a good way to start learning about jazz is
to listen to "Heavy Weather", "Black Market", and their more recent
albums and work backwards to the more experimental and jazzy stuff.
Keith Jarrett - Whatever your tastes, he's done something you'll like. His solo
piano albums have been the most successful solo instrument albums ever
(it doesn't matter which one you try), he's done some fairly free jazz
("Bop-be"), some relatively straight sax-piano-rhythm jazz ("My Song"
and "Nude Ants" are my favorites) and even some "classical" music
("Invocations/The Moth and the Flame" is interesting). Despite taking
himself much too seriously as an "artiste", he is good.
Charles Mingus - The greatest composer/band leader of jazz ever (oh, all right,
Ellington was at least as good). His music had an incredible life and
vitality that I've never heard duplicated (the Art Ensemble of Chicago
has come close). I like to compare him to Beethoven and Ellington to
Mozart - emotion versus structure. The albums I'm familiar with are
"The Atlantic Years", "Cumbia and Jazz Fusion", and one I unfortunately
do not own and whose name escapes me (maybe somebody can help me - it
came out in the early to mid-Seventies and included "Goodbye Porkpie Hat").
Woody Herman - If you like big bands, this is my personal favorite. Woody's kept
up with the times without sacrificing the true big-band sound (like
someone else in this list I won't name yet :-). "Road Father" is a
good example, as is an album whose name escapes me on which he does
a few Steely Dan songs.
Maynard Ferguson - Ignore the post-"Primal Scream" (i.e., post-sellout) albums.
Also try to ignore his trumpeting of his ability to screech. He had
some excellent bands that made some very good music. Look for
"Live at Jimmy's" (featuring an awesome performance of worst-lyric
nominee MacArthur Park) and the older "Si-Si MF".
While I've got people's attention, a few years ago I heard two impressive
albums by a group called Ian Carr's Nucleus. I haven't found the albums
or heard anything about the group since. Does anyone out there know
anything about them?
Mike Ryan
Everything here represents the opinions of myself, Digital Equipment
Corporation, and every other employee of said Corporation :-)chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Zonker T. Chuqui) (11/03/84)
One of my favorite jazz groups (an area of music I haven't explored as
deeply as I plan to someday) is Kittyhawk, an LA based fusion Jazz band.
They do a lot of work with the Chapman stick and the Lyricon, both very
interesting instruments. They have three albums that I've found:
'kittyhawk', 'race to the oasis' and a new one called 'fanfare'. All highly
recommended.
chuq
--
From the Department of Bistromatics: Chuq Von Rospach
{cbosgd,decwrl,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!chuqui nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA
I'd know those eyes from a million years away....