@griotspeak Jep, indeed. There are thick books trying to explain jazz chords and there are several theories that do a better or a worse job in some places or others. The above example is just a naming convention. @MetalClassicalRocks
I stumbled across this blue-tint-deteriorated photo of 52nd Street in New York in 1948 by William P. Gottlieb and thought that it deserved restoring. No colours added; they're all in the original photo. #jazz#photography
There was a guy named Maxwell,
who was born on that day, 100 years ago,
even if his birth certificate doesn't say so.
His second name was Lemuel.
Whatever — everybody calls him Max.
Let's embark for a 100 days celebration
with Max Roach, here on Mastodon.
You know what to do? — Follow the hashtag…
Born in 1924, Max Roach was already an accomplished musician when he founded, in 1954, a remarkable quintet with Clifford Brown on trumpet, Harold Land on tenor sax, Richie Powell on piano and George Morrow on bass. The sound of this quintet, the music they would play, is characteristic of the then beginning hard-bop style — combining the velocity of the bebop with a fuller sound and more sophisticated arrangements. (Another important hard bop quintet would be that of Art Blakey — another drummer ! — and his Jazz messengers.)
Their first recording features tunes by notable composers, but we owe three of them to Brown. The one I chose for today, Daahoud, has a slightly unusual form. The melody starts in anticipation by a full bar, while the musicians only play one full note on the first bar. This unbalance is kept during the full AABA form, an 8 bar motive in Eb which is repeated twice, another 8 bar motive that modulates in Bb, which leads to the initial 8 bar motive. That classic pattern is then enriched by an element of surprise by the addition of 4 bar bridge in repeated II-V-I. Choruses follow: trumpet, piano, saxophone, and drums, and the musicians end the tune by replaying the melody, 3 bars at the drums, and a finale.
10 years before yesterday's recording, Max Roach was already leading the bebop scene and recorded with all the great.
Today's song is a Don Byas composition, Living My Life, taken from an album led by Don Byas — Savoy Jam Party — made from 4 recording sessions from 1944 to 1946 in which he shares the drums with 3 other drummers I had never heard of. I want to share two songs of that recording with you, because the way Roach accompanies them is strikingly different.
Living My Life (*) is a kind of slow drag, AABA form, at a moderate tempo (approx 120 bpm), in AABA form where the saxophonist takes all the light: he exposes the theme, takes one chorus, leaves some space to the piano for 8 bars and takes back the melody to conclude. Roach's accompaniment is very minimal : he plays quarter notes on the snare drum all along, probably playing sort of flas with brushes — that allows him to create a longer sound — but nothing more.
I had explained a few days ago how Max Roach and Kenny Clarke had helped create bebop by switching the beat from the snare drum to the ride cymbal. Here, you have a great example, recorded in August 1946, of what hadn't happened yet!
Everyone, of course, has heard Time Out, one of the most famous and popular albums ever. They recently turned up additional tapes from those sessions, and here they are...and it's great to hear quite different (and equally great) versions of these classic tunes, plus a few extras.
Well worth your time. And money. Don't forget money.
Adelaide Hall was born on this day 122 years ago today. She performed around the world, moved to Britain in 1938 and became a big star, entertaining the troops in wartime. When she was 71 and still working hard, she recorded her first Desert Island Discs.
From this clip it's obvious that presenter and music nut Roy Plomley knew and loved her work.
1959 the year that changed jazz. This seminal jazz documentary focuses on the release of four LPs in 1959 by four American jazz artists: Kind of Blue by Miles Davis; Time Out by Dave Brubeck; Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus; and The Shape of Jazz to Come by Ornette Coleman. It does a great job of putting into context these four releases, and highlights what each of them in their own way brought to the table of jazz as a genre. There's plenty of archive footage and a lot of short interviews with people who were involved in one way or another, or have study the genre and the era. It's good, but I felt a little frustrated because it doesn't really deliver on its title. It spends much time explaining how we got there, but not so much delving into how these records (or rather the artists that made them) changed jazz, who they influenced and the continuity from there. Still, it's a good documentary even if you don't know much about jazz. #jazz#documentary#music#1959
Drew Friedman adapting one of Buddy Rich's brutal rants against his band, from a tape made secretly and handed around among musicians for years.
PS Rich was recently dead at the time this was drawn :) #jazz#music#assholes#badboss
Saturday is another episode of my #radio show, #Jazz Roulette, on #KUZU 92.9 FM in #Denton TX at 5:00 PM CST (23:00 UTC). You can stream live at https://kuzu.fm
Below are a few of the records I’ll be taking to the studio in a bit
The track list from tonight's #Jazz Roulette #Radio Show on #KUZU 92.9 FM, every Saturday at 5:00 PM CST (23:00 UTC) in #Denton TX and streaming at kuzu.fm
Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song
Ornette Coleman - Peace
The Young-Holt Unlimited - Just Ain't No Love
Jean-Luc Ponty - The Art of Happiness
Lee Ritenour - Wild Rice
Mahavishnu Orchestra with the London Symphony Orchestra - Vision is a Naked Sword
Thelonious Monk - 'Round Midnight
Bud Powell - Thelonious
Count Basie and his Orchestra - Taps Miller
Count Basie and his Orchestra - Swinging the Blues
Nat King Cole - O Holy Night
It's #internationaljazzday!
Here are some #jazz facts: According to research, jazz improves your verbal ability, focus, memory and mood. It also increases productivity & boosts creativity because it activates theta brain waves. It also promotes relaxation by increasing alpha waves. It has even been found to lessen depression symptoms. Jazz musicians improvising with other musicians show robust activation in the same brain areas traditionally associated with spoken language.
An often ignored classic of South African jazz, “Tete’s Big Sound” by Tete Mbambisa was released in 1976. Tete Mbambisa – "Tete's Big Sound" The album Tete’s Big Sound emerged during a golden age for local South African jazz recordings in the 1970s. Issued by the independent As-Shams/The Sun label in 1976, it was the […] …
"John Coltrane, one of jazz history’s most revered saxophonists, released 'Giant Steps' in 1959. It’s known across the jazz world as one of the most challenging compositions to improvise over for two reasons - it’s fast and it’s in three keys."
