So, What Are You Listening To NOW?

[dougcrates]

Real Gone CD.  Sounds much better than the original LP but the cover scan is sub-par.

[Rabshakeh]

6 hours ago, JSngry said:

What's your takeaway from this one?

I actually don't mind the odd Kaempfert cut. I like that trumpet player, sort of a German Bobby Hackett vibe to him.

I do see what you mean with the Bobby Hackett vibe on some Kaempfert records, like Wonderland By Night. Moody stuff. My first reference point was also the Hackett records A String of Pearls and That Midnight Touch, although I like those much more than Kaempfert's stuff in that vein. 

This one is different to that. It is more like a Herb Alpert Tijuana Brass record, but it is pennywhistle rather mariachi. Very upbeat and packed with corny hits. Like with the TJB it is stupid fun music and I can't claim not to enjoy it a lot in a visceral dumb way. As a disclaimer I should add that pennywhistle was basically the only music that my parents played growing up (they were born in SA, but left in 1960s), so even this very fake stuff has an oddly nostalgic effect on me.

I've been having a bit of an explore recently of jazz adjacent big band music produced by the studios or by easy listening brand orchestras. There are plenty of kernels of goodness out there. Not an easy task to sift the wheat from the chaff so any recommendations are welcome.

Edited August 2, 2024 by Rabshakeh

[soulpope]

7 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Bert Kaempfert And His Orchestra – A Swingin' Safari

A number of excellent musicians involved ....

[EKE BBB]

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, EKE BBB said:

Excellent .... btw Tommy Flanagan doesn't try to impersonate Thelonious Monk at all which is key to a successful homage ....

[jazzbo]

Another stuffy morning. This cd is hitting the spot just right.

“Joyce live at the Mojo Club”

[EKE BBB]

[mhatta]

Sir Roland Hanna is an enigma to me. He is clearly an excellent pianist, but something is missing. I just don't know what it is.  This one is my favorite, though.

 

 

[EKE BBB]

[Rabshakeh]

16 minutes ago, mhatta said:

Sir Roland Hanna is an enigma to me. He is clearly an excellent pianist, but something is missing. I just don't know what it is.  This one is my favorite, though.

Agreed on SRH. I also cannot put my finger on it.

[optatio]

2 hours ago, EKE BBB said:

👍

[jazzbo]

Bob Dylan “The Cutting Edge 1965 – 1966: The Bootleg Series Vol.12: Collector’s Edition” disc 10

 

[EKE BBB]

[jazzbo]

“Weather Report Live in Tokyo” Sony 2 LP set, LP 2

 

[jazzbo]

“Introducing The Rocky Boyd Quintet–Ease It” Jazztime/Muzak lp facsimile cd

 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

21 hours ago, John Tapscott said:

Having seen Ralph perform live several times over the years, I wonder why he hasn't made more of a name for himself on the Jazz scene. The dude can play. Is it because he liked playing in big bands? Did he not get the opportunity?

[kh1958]

Johnny Smith, The Last Night at Shaner's

[HutchFan]

4 hours ago, mhatta said:

Sir Roland Hanna is an enigma to me. He is clearly an excellent pianist, but something is missing. I just don't know what it is.

Just goes to show that we all hear music differently -- because Hanna is among my favorite jazz pianists. 

I think there's a wide swath of classical music that's woven into Hanna's playing.  (Arthur Rubinstein was one of his favorites.)  So Hanna doesn't swing the way that most of his Detroit peers do/did -- pianists like, say, Tommy Flanagan or Barry Harris.  Hanna still swings; it's just different, subtler.

Just my take, of course.   

 

 

Now playing:

I'm still getting to know this relatively new-to-me album.   But I'm really digging it, so far.

 

Edited August 2, 2024 by HutchFan

[rostasi]

[HutchFan]

Next up, music from fellow forum member @Gheorghe:

Bop Explosion - Waltz for Serena (Alessa Records, 2024)

Anyone who enjoys classic bop groups like The Jazztet or Gigi Gryce & Donald Byrd's Jazz Lab Quintet -- or more contemporary groups like One for All -- might want to give Waltz for Serena a listen.  Every soloists in the band is rock-solid, and the music is bolstered further still by the impressive compositions (including six originals by Gheorghe) and thoughtful arrangements that lend the music (at times) a chamber-like quality.  One should note that when I use the term "chamber-like," it's bebop chamber jazz a la Benny Golson or Gigi Gryce.  Because this music is more reminiscent of The Jazztet than, say, the more classically-oriented chamber jazz of the MJQ.  After all, the band's name is Bop Explosion! 

Well done, @Gheorghe!   

 

Edited August 2, 2024 by HutchFan

[JSngry]

 

[soulpope]

Well-reheased Norman Simmons + Lisle Atkinson + Al Harewood keep rollin`....

[Peter Friedman]

Ben Webster is in good form here.

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, HutchFan said:

Next up, music from fellow forum member @Gheorghe:

Bop Explosion - Waltz for Serena (Alessa Records, 2024)

Anyone who enjoys classic bop groups like The Jazztet or Gigi Gryce & Donald Byrd's Jazz Lab Quintet -- or more contemporary groups like One for All -- might want to give Waltz for Serena a listen.  Every soloists in the band is rock-solid, and the music is bolstered further still by the impressive compositions (including six originals by Gheorghe) and thoughtful arrangements that lend the music (at times) a chamber-like quality.  One should note that when I use the term "chamber-like," it's bebop chamber jazz a la Benny Golson or Gigi Gryce.  Because this music is more reminiscent of The Jazztet than, say, the more classically-oriented chamber jazz of the MJQ.  After all, the band's name is Bop Explosion! 

Well done, @Gheorghe!   

👌👍 ....

[HutchFan]

56 minutes ago, soulpope said:

Well-reheased Norman Simmons + Lisle Atkinson + Al Harewood keep rollin`....

Yes!   

If anyone wants to hear more of that same trio -- minus Carter -- they made a terrific album titled Ramira the Dancer for Spotlite in 1977.  (The group, led by Simmons, is augmented with percussionist Ralph Dorsey.)

 

Edited August 2, 2024 by HutchFan