Comments on: Fifteen Great Jazz Albums

By: S. Baum

S. Baum — Tue, 07 Oct 2003 20:05:02 +0000

Seeing how many of my faves have already been covered, and not feeling like being obscure for the sake of obscurity at the moment, I’ll just add a list of jazz lists I recently compiled while in work avoidance mode. The obscure stuff occasionally shows up on my soapbox during those moments I’m not grinding my axe. Mebbe I’ll try a real list tonight as the grog relaxes me.

By: cw

cw — Tue, 07 Oct 2003 04:49:20 +0000

Some other worthy albums: And his mother called him Bill- ellington Max Roach in 3/4 time Rasshan Roland Kirk—voluntered slavery Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto—best of two worlds (or something like that) mingus Tiajuana moods. (there’s a lot of really good ones, Blues and Roots for instance). Water babies—miles davis (not a “greatest” but something really, really interesting, a wierd offshoot of the sixties music.)

By: Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Patrick Nielsen Hayden — Tue, 07 Oct 2003 02:54:18 +0000

Mingus Ah Um. Essential. Thelonious Monk, Brilliant Corners. Ellington, Mingus, Roach, Money Jungle. The Quintet, Jazz at Massey Hall. And my personal eccentric choice: Duke Ellington, New Orleans Suite.

By: Matt Weiner

Matt Weiner — Mon, 06 Oct 2003 22:01:29 +0000

Most jazz musicians do better work after cleaning up. Don’t post on an empty stomach, weiner.

By: Matt Weiner

Matt Weiner — Mon, 06 Oct 2003 22:00:40 +0000

Whoops, that was Tom with “Decoy.” I mean, taking fewer drugs was supposed to be a good thing here? (Actually, jazz is unlike rock in that most musicians seem to do better about cleaning up, but I’ll take 70s Miles over 80s Miles any day. De gustibus.)

By: Matt Weiner

Matt Weiner — Mon, 06 Oct 2003 17:08:02 +0000

Ian—If available in your territory, and possibly even if not, get the JSP box of the “complete hot fives and sevens.” 4 CDs—two disks of the hot fives and sevens with Ory and Dodds, one of the hot five with Hines, one of big bands—superb remastering, and it cost me $25 with tax included. Thank heaven for the expiration of copyright. (Not just because it’s cheap. Columbia did a poor job of remastering these records until their most recent issue, according to Cook and Morton—and I’m sure they wouldn’t have improved if not for the JSP competition.) So: Louis Armstrong “Compete Hot Fives and Sevens” Jelly Roll Morton “Vols. One through Five” (the Victor recordings—also on JSP) Duke Ellington “The Blanton-Webster Band” (currently released as “Never No Lament”) Charles Mingus “Black Saint and the Sinner Lady” (or “Ah Um”) Ornette Coleman “Beauty Is a Rare Thing” Jimmy Giuffre 3 “1961” George Lewis “Homage to Charles Parker” Arthur Blythe “Lenox Avenue Breakdown” Cecil Taylor “Air Above Mountains (buildings within)” Derek Bailey “Aida” Sonny Sharrock “Guitar” Henry Threadgill “Where’s Your Cup” Peter Brotzmann “Chicago Octet/Tentet” John Zorn “The Big Gundown” Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” (I was sorely tempted to put in “Big Fun,” just to counter what Norman says about “Decoy” as the first good electric Miles album, but KoB is really the best) If we’re going for “Best,” there should be some Charlie Parker on there, but I went for something more like personal faves.

By: Zizka

Zizka — Mon, 06 Oct 2003 17:04:34 +0000

Coach—Ah Um was the last one I cut to make 15. I now realize that I broke the rules by not listing 15 different artists. But actually, my list isn’t the 15 greatest jazz albums anyway. It’s basically just my favorites.

By: Thlayli

Thlayli — Mon, 06 Oct 2003 14:37:02 +0000

All these Miles fans, and no votes for “Birth of the Cool”….

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 06 Oct 2003 11:35:34 +0000

Since I’ve missed the deadline here’s some from my list (although I would be perfectly happy if it was simply any 15 by Ellington): Billie Holiday – Lady in Satin Duke Ellington – Black Brown and Beige Miles Davis – Bitches Brew Louis Armstrong – anything by the Hot Five (I don’t actually own one of these which is a huge gap I must remedy) Bill Evans – Conversations with myself Oscar Peterson – Night Train Ellington/Mingus/Roach – Money Jungle Chris McGregor – Brotherhood of Breath Ellington – Ellington at Newport 1946

By: theCoach

theCoach — Mon, 06 Oct 2003 05:24:25 +0000

One vote for including Mingus Ah Um

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 06 Oct 2003 00:06:21 +0000

Arses, I’ve completely buggered up the continuity haven’t I? I take it that Daniel is replying to a (now deleted) troll barfing that Zizka should, ahem, jolly well go away and write another one of his excellent political essays. Like Daniel, I concur with the last bit.

By: Zizka

Zizka — Sun, 05 Oct 2003 23:30:47 +0000

I have new stuff up at my site. Actually, mostly restatements of the same thing I’ve been saying all along. For me, the neo-Confederates, Armageddon Christians, and other Grover Norquist types never lose their fascination.

By: dsquared

dsquared — Sun, 05 Oct 2003 22:48:18 +0000

I’d also like to read another of zizka’s conspiracy theory addled essays, if this has turned into “Requests Hour”

By: Zizka

Zizka — Sun, 05 Oct 2003 20:05:19 +0000

A@b.com and SG@fg.com, thanks for sharing!

By: a

Sun, 05 Oct 2003 18:16:28 +0000

Sunday, October 05, 2003 MODO GETS ONE THING RIGHT: “Feminism died in 1998 when Hillary allowed henchlings and Democrats to demonize Monica as an unbalanced stalker, and when Gloria Steinem defended Mr. Clinton against Kathleen Willey and Paula Jones by saying he had merely made clumsy passes, then accepted rejection, so there was no sexual harassment involved. As to his dallying with an emotionally immature 21-year-old, Ms. Steinem noted, ‘Welcome sexual behavior is about as relevant to sexual harassment as borrowing a car is to stealing one.’ Surely what’s good for the Comeback Kid is good for the Terminator.” – from her column today. Sorry, Democratic-party-hacks-pretending-to-be-feminists. (That means you, Pollitt, Steinem and Streisand.) One grope and you’re ok. Them’s your rules. I stand by the distinctions I made yesterday.