Hi everyone - hoping to learn something useful and develop my understanding and appreciation of Jazz.
I remember as youngster I’d listen to a wide range of music, I might not enjoy it all in the same way, but I’d always give it a go.
Recently (after buying new hi-fi) I have been enjoying listening to music so much I have even bought CDs from genre’s I normally avoid - including Jazz.
I have been listening to 'Charles Mingus at Carnegie Hall (recorded 1972). The musicians are extremely talented and know what they are doing. They can take a song they know well, improvise around it together for a long time - starting, stopping, changing key and musical direction etc at what seems the drop of a hat - no one having to catch up or get in the groove.
There is what sounds like a great drum solo at one point which as a drummer I can hear the skill involved.
But I don’t get it…despite my enjoyment of discordant electronic music and strange rhythms I don’t really know what I’m supposed to be enjoying - where do I hang my hat?
The discordant harmonies are consistent enough to show they are deliberately chosen and explored - and different musicians use them at the same time so they ‘disharmonise’ together, it’s not just chaos being played badly…
I know Jazz evolved out of other music (as do they all) so is there any history I need to check, to understand how the linked forms evolved and what they were trying to achieve or explore as they responded to what went before?
If I was visiting you - what would you play or recommend to a beginner?? Your knowledge and experience humbly welcomed.
That is a pretty heavy starting point. I have been around this music a long time and that would probably be beyond me.
If you have a stream work your way from the start.
Try Louis Armstrong’sFats or WC Handy tributes.
Have a go at Basie and and Duke.
Charlie Parker and Dizzy
Bill Evans is very popular and approachable.
Jazz appreciation is like all learning. You have to know the basics.
So many jump in on the currently popular names,find it too difficult to understand and leave.
Try my recent post for Frank Morgan. It won’t frighten the cat and there you have everything in a gentle well recorded package.You are just the target I was aiming for.
Good luck.
N
Not bad but it does make you realise why OP is cited as in the top 5 pianists of all time. This just doesn’t groove in the same way. Of course it’s a personal taste, so ymmv.
Well… Oscar Peterson is unique. I read an anecdote of a piano professor at a prestigious US institution saying that “… when I want to humble myself, I listen to Oscar Peterson.”
Giving Lizz Wright’s 2003 excellent debut album another listen. I really enjoy her voice. It’s a mixture of covers and her own compositions. Great late evening listening.
