Jn
Jazz?
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Impenitent
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JewelSong
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Jazz is one of America's finest contributions to the world. It is a highly complex and developed genre of music...and one of the few things that originated in the USA.
There are many kinds of jazz, of course and some have been mentioned here. But no matter what style of jazz, it is a very structured and intricate form of music.
People who say they don't like it might want to give it another listen.
And I do agree that while a good recording can be wonderful there is nothing like live jazz.
There are many kinds of jazz, of course and some have been mentioned here. But no matter what style of jazz, it is a very structured and intricate form of music.
People who say they don't like it might want to give it another listen.
And I do agree that while a good recording can be wonderful there is nothing like live jazz.
"Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!" - Auntie Mame
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Impenitent
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Jewel, a friend of mine recently published a book titled "Jazz and the French" (Colin Nettelbeck, Melbourne University Press, 2005)
He is a professor of history, with a life-long passion for France and an excellent jazz pianist when he's not professoring, so this book draws together his three life interests - and contends that if not for France, jazz would not have become what it is today. The French embraced jazz between the wars and encouraged black artists on a world stage who would otherwise have had little renown - and transformed the genre.
While America did indeed give birth to the form, the cradle which sustained it in its infancy was not the motherland - and that is a very interesting book indeed.
He is a professor of history, with a life-long passion for France and an excellent jazz pianist when he's not professoring, so this book draws together his three life interests - and contends that if not for France, jazz would not have become what it is today. The French embraced jazz between the wars and encouraged black artists on a world stage who would otherwise have had little renown - and transformed the genre.
While America did indeed give birth to the form, the cradle which sustained it in its infancy was not the motherland - and that is a very interesting book indeed.
Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.
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JewelSong
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Imp, that sounds like a great read! I'll have to check it out!
(and add it to the enormous stack of books I want to read sometime during the next decade!
)
ETA: Ack! It's $34 on Amazon! LINK For the paperback! Guess it'll have to wait!
(and add it to the enormous stack of books I want to read sometime during the next decade!
)ETA: Ack! It's $34 on Amazon! LINK For the paperback! Guess it'll have to wait!
"Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!" - Auntie Mame
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Impenitent
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Yes, I'm afraid books are very expensive in Oz - it's because we are such a small market, you see. Sigh.
If you provide me with your address I'll see if I can get my hands on a copy for less (Colin may still have some copies from the bundle provided by his publisher; I'll see what I can do.)
If you provide me with your address I'll see if I can get my hands on a copy for less (Colin may still have some copies from the bundle provided by his publisher; I'll see what I can do.)
Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.
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Rowanberry
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I'd say that, that very much describes me as well. (I have a spouse who majored in Political Science though.)Impenitent wrote:I don't know about cool (or kewl!), but I'm a city dweller who gets all itchy if I spend too much time away from the noise and hustle - but I don't got political science, a spouse of yellow or gree, nor ever owned a dawggie....but I do love jazz, in just about all of its manifestations, including all those 'fusions': jazz/rock, jazz/blues, jazz/world, jazz swing, classical jazz, jazz guitar, jazz piano, jazz, jazz, jazz...
I'm known to have spent a whole afternoon lying on the sofa listening to records of bands/artists like Ian Carr's Nucleus and Don Ellis; I've enjoyed the performances of Dixieland bands as well as the Chicago Art Ensemble; and I really preferred the Pori Jazz Festival when it really was about jazz... 
Regarding Country - sometimes, I enjoy listening to the classical redneck stuff.
But, the thing that they call "country" nowadays... blechh. 
And, I mostly like opera. But, Lied just tend to make me
See the world as your self.
Have faith in the way things are.
Love the world as your self;
then you can care for all things.
~ Lao Tzu
Oy!Impenitent wrote:I don't know about cool (or kewl!
In fact, we've nicknamed our son Jazz!
Then you would get along just fine with Cem, the owner of the jazz duo, Miles and Duke!
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truehobbit
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ROFL!
I like some kinds of Jazz - the more melodious ones.
And I agree it's much better live than from a recording - even if I like the songs, recordings usually gets on my nerves after about fifteen minutes. But then, it's one of that weird kinds of music that, even if played live, you don't really listen to, and I think that's what makes it fun - it's background music, you may listen to a piece but then it's back to chatting with your friends at the pub.
I guess that makes it a fittin music for 20th century attention-spans.
And, even though I don't hate it, I think vison's description is spot-on:
As to Rap: our music teacher at school spent five years teaching us that it's always wrong to say "that's not music" when you didn't like some piece of music. He had me convinced, and that was in face of all the modern stuff he put us through. And then Rap got here...
I recently read somewhere: Rap is to Music as Etch-a-sketch is to Art.
I like some kinds of Jazz - the more melodious ones.
And I agree it's much better live than from a recording - even if I like the songs, recordings usually gets on my nerves after about fifteen minutes. But then, it's one of that weird kinds of music that, even if played live, you don't really listen to, and I think that's what makes it fun - it's background music, you may listen to a piece but then it's back to chatting with your friends at the pub.
I guess that makes it a fittin music for 20th century attention-spans.
And, even though I don't hate it, I think vison's description is spot-on:
The Jazz-lovers I've known typically also were professional cynics, politically aware and careful not to be "mainstream".it seems to me you have to be a cool city dweller who has five degrees in Political Science, a spouse of a different colour than you, and the owner of a dog of a breed no one else on earth has ever heard of.
As to Rap: our music teacher at school spent five years teaching us that it's always wrong to say "that's not music" when you didn't like some piece of music. He had me convinced, and that was in face of all the modern stuff he put us through. And then Rap got here...
I recently read somewhere: Rap is to Music as Etch-a-sketch is to Art.
but being a cheerful hobbit he had not needed hope, as long as despair could be postponed.
There are so many different styles of jazz that I find it hard to say I don't like it. I'm not as fond of Ornette Coleman or Thelonius Monk as I am of Louis Armstrong or the sublime and sophisticated Duke Ellington but they are just a small part of jazz.
I grew up listening to Fats Waller, Benny Goodman, Dave Brubeck, Artie Shaw & Count Basie. I even enjoy John Coltrane and Miles Davis in small doses. After seeing a PBS special on jazz I fell in love with Django Reinhardt, who was able to create wonderful arrangements on his guitar in spite of his damaged left hand.
It's such a broad category there should be something to please almost everyone.
(I'm not real fond of rap or country & western, though!)
I grew up listening to Fats Waller, Benny Goodman, Dave Brubeck, Artie Shaw & Count Basie. I even enjoy John Coltrane and Miles Davis in small doses. After seeing a PBS special on jazz I fell in love with Django Reinhardt, who was able to create wonderful arrangements on his guitar in spite of his damaged left hand.
It's such a broad category there should be something to please almost everyone.
(I'm not real fond of rap or country & western, though!)
While live jazz is the best way to experience jazz for most people, the best way to experience it for me has been to perform it. 
That's how I fell in love with it. Two years of high school jazz band, where I was forced to play the trumpet and learn improv, left me hooked forever.
(And I didn't actually name either of my dogs completely, they just happened to end up being a "jazz" duo.)
My 2nd high school private tutor was a jazz trumpet player and he let me sample his extensive collection of obscure jazz artists. (One of the few advantages to being a teacher's "pet".)
I'm a big fan of progressive jazz and wouldn't mind discussing it with other people who like jazz. However I'm not likely to participate in a thread where most people just pop in to post how much they dislike a particular subject.
That's how I fell in love with it. Two years of high school jazz band, where I was forced to play the trumpet and learn improv, left me hooked forever.
(And I didn't actually name either of my dogs completely, they just happened to end up being a "jazz" duo.)
My 2nd high school private tutor was a jazz trumpet player and he let me sample his extensive collection of obscure jazz artists. (One of the few advantages to being a teacher's "pet".)
I'm a big fan of progressive jazz and wouldn't mind discussing it with other people who like jazz. However I'm not likely to participate in a thread where most people just pop in to post how much they dislike a particular subject.
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Primula Baggins
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Hi, cem! 
It's great to see you around here!
While it looks as if I started this thread just to diss jazz (maybe I was in a really grumpy mood), it was actually a side discussion split out of another thread that happened to begin with my post. It would be great if a real discussion would start. I would probably learn something!
As I said above, I enjoy some kinds of jazz, the kind with melodies I can hear. I find some forms impenetrable, though, especially the really busy stuff that sounds to me like several swarms of bees fighting. But I'm sure it's just my own lack of a trained ear—I love some pretty esoteric classical music, but I know not everybody can even stand to listen to it.
It's great to see you around here!While it looks as if I started this thread just to diss jazz (maybe I was in a really grumpy mood), it was actually a side discussion split out of another thread that happened to begin with my post. It would be great if a real discussion would start. I would probably learn something!
As I said above, I enjoy some kinds of jazz, the kind with melodies I can hear. I find some forms impenetrable, though, especially the really busy stuff that sounds to me like several swarms of bees fighting. But I'm sure it's just my own lack of a trained ear—I love some pretty esoteric classical music, but I know not everybody can even stand to listen to it.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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Voronwë the Faithful
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Cem! Wonderful to see you here!
Yes, progressive jazz is definitely an acquired taste. I love Miles and Coltraine and can really enjoy Ornette when I am in certain moods. He showed up at a Grateful Dead concert that I was at one time (not long after Jerry guested on one of his albums, which Jerry admitted was a big challenge). Ornette absolutely took over, and led the band on an exploration of the The Other One (a classic Dead jam song) that went to places that I don't think even they knew were possible. His sense of melody, harmony, rhythm and counterpoint is so sophisticated!
I would definitely be interested in hearing more about your experiences playing and listening to this music!
Yes, progressive jazz is definitely an acquired taste. I love Miles and Coltraine and can really enjoy Ornette when I am in certain moods. He showed up at a Grateful Dead concert that I was at one time (not long after Jerry guested on one of his albums, which Jerry admitted was a big challenge). Ornette absolutely took over, and led the band on an exploration of the The Other One (a classic Dead jam song) that went to places that I don't think even they knew were possible. His sense of melody, harmony, rhythm and counterpoint is so sophisticated!
I would definitely be interested in hearing more about your experiences playing and listening to this music!
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
That would be why I love jazz so much! It just takes over & moves you! Great fun!Voronwë_the_Faithful wrote:Ornette absolutely took over, and led the band on an exploration of the The Other One (a classic Dead jam song) that went to places that I don't think even they knew were possible.
Hello, V. Nice to see another Ornette Coleman fan. Very jealous you got to hear him perform live. Even if it was at a GD concert.
(ETA: Coleman is about the only saxophone sound I can stand. I even once had a crush on a saxophonist, but couldn't stand the fact that he played that instrument. Ugh.)
Hello to Prim too.
I have to go get my haircut soon, but I'll talk a bit. I actually joined our jazz band because I was told I couldn't. (Girls can't play jazz... horn players can't play jazz...) Wanna bet?
Because I had an "in" with the director he lent me a trumpet & taught me the basics. I was never able to convince him to let me play horn in the ensemble, but I have found various internet resources concerning jazz french hornists. They are an awesome group of people, let me tell you.
And that would be it for now... gotta git.
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Primula Baggins
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But you'll be back soon, right?
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
For now. So long as the discussion suits. I had to go get my hair chopped off. Might not seem like a big deal, but it was to me.
I dug out some of my Davis albums, but couldn't get anything to play in my car cd player on the way there. I need to expand my personal collection. I have mostly main stream music.
I'm going to have to look around for some starter suggestions, but I'll probably be back later.
I dug out some of my Davis albums, but couldn't get anything to play in my car cd player on the way there. I need to expand my personal collection. I have mostly main stream music.
I'm going to have to look around for some starter suggestions, but I'll probably be back later.