Grace Kelly

[Milestones]

Thoughts on Grace Kelly?

I saw some posts from 2011, and most people were anything but complimentary.  I have seen some gimmicky videos of her playing in Times Square and various NYC locations with some baritone player.  She seemed  more about sexiness and choreographed dance moves than anything else.  Also, it's kind of funny that she shares a name with one of the most famous women of the 20th Century.

I have really not heard much of her sax work, but apparently Phil Woods and Lee Konitz saw/heard something.

I was thinking of catching her on a double bill with Terence Blanchard this summer.

 

 

[clifford_thornton]

yeah, when she doesn't fart around on stage like a complete buffoon she can play just fine. Unfortunately it seems that she rarely concentrates on just "the music." That has been my experience live as well as watching footage online.

[jlhoots]

I like her playing, not her singing.

[JSngry]

These young people, with their sexiness and choreography, they're going to ruin music for unsexy people who won't dance. Young women, especially, there's just no place for that kind of thing in today's world.

Apart from that, whatever she's doing, serious music or otherwise, I don't care.

Matana Roberts, that's another deal altogether. Hope she's doing ok these days, had a big spurt of very intense music and then, what, chilling out for a bit?

NOT asbestos, merci beaucoup very much. Wish the rest of the album laid in there like this one, oh well.

 

[AllenLowe]

even when she just plays, I don't think there's much there.

[Steve Reynolds]

Never heard of her:)

[Chuck Nessa]

15 minutes ago, Steve Reynolds said:

Never heard of her:)

Heard her once at Lincoln Center with Phil Woods. Did not care for either at that point.

[sgcim]

Saw her at the Phil Woods Memorial concert in Pennsylvania with Vincent Herring, Brian Lynch, Randy Brecker, and Phil's rhythm section and big band. I don't know why they needed her there when they had Herring doing the PW stuff.

Then Houston Person came out and blew them all away. Bill Mays also cooked his brain out.

[Ken Dryden]

I don't think Lee Konitz or Phil Woods would have bothered to record with Grace Kelly if they didn't see something in her playing. Woods was very complimentary of her when I interviewed him ten or so years ago. I met her at IAJE very early (she had just released her second CD) and she has sent me a lot of her work over the years, though her recent focus toward more pop-oriented music and vocals haven't been as interesting to me. 

 

 

[CJ Shearn]

I have one of her discs a friend gave me, but I never opened it.  I think when younger jazz artists are trying newer things it's nothing but a good thing to attract the audience, I'm watching a video of "Worth It", it's not bad, fun music.  I may give "Trying To Figure It Out" a spin.  I think it's so important now more so than ever there are so many great women playing.

[Gheorghe]

She really knows her stuff and I think she was a girl wonder, she was maybe 14,15 years old when she was on stage with Frank Morgan, really played some vintage bop alto. But maybe for record companies that stuff didn´t sell enough so they pushed her into a vocal career.......

[optatio]

Grace Kelly was at our festival in Göttingen on November 8, 2013. Line-up: Lynne Arriale (p), René Marie (voc), Grace Kelly (as), Martin Gjakonovski (b), Guido May (dr). She just sang a bit, that was René Marie´s part, her playing was remarkable, the audience liked it ...

Edited March 6, 2018 by optatio

[Ken Dryden]

4 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

She really knows her stuff and I think she was a girl wonder, she was maybe 14,15 years old when she was on stage with Frank Morgan, really played some vintage bop alto. But maybe for record companies that stuff didn´t sell enough so they pushed her into a vocal career.......

Grace Kelly has been recording for her own label since the beginning, PAZZ.

[JSngry]

She's had the benefit of strong parental financial backing from the beginning, correct? That has nothing to do with her playing, but maybe a lot to do with her early visibility opportunities.

Frankly, her playing with Woods and Konitz, I don't think she played that well, really, and it definitely sounded like she was the beneficiary of some "product placement". not a bad thing, but, yeah...

[mjazzg]

15 hours ago, JSngry said:

 

Matana Roberts, that's another deal altogether. Hope she's doing ok these days, had a big spurt of very intense music and then, what, chilling out for a bit?

Currently touring Europe, playing with a certain Alexander Hawkins of this parish at some point. Hopefully building up to the next chapter of Coin Coin

never heard of Grace Kelly...

[JSngry]

Glad to hear that!

[catesta]

15 hours ago, AllenLowe said:

even when she just plays, I don't think there's much there.

Agree.

[clifford_thornton]

Matana is a force of nature. Grace Kelly is not. 

[jlhoots]

38 minutes ago, clifford_thornton said:

Matana is a force of nature. Grace Kelly is not. 

That's certainly true, although they clearly don't come from the same "place".

BTW, if I go out today & randomly ask who has heard of Matana Roberts (sadly) the number will probably be zero.

[kh1958]

The Grace Kelly  number  would probably be zero too.

Matana is wonderful anyway.

My only experience with  Grace Kelly was at a set by Frank Morgan, where he had her play as a guest, along with guest Lee Konitz. I recollect not really liking her playing; I just wanted her to sit  down and stop using up the set time. I was  not inspired to keep up with her  progress. Perhaps she is better now.

 

[Brad]

Hadn't heard of her so i went to listen to a couple of her songs on You Tube.  Seemed ok to me.  Georgia on My Mind wasn't bad. 

[Peter Friedman]

I have seen her live a few times. Did not care for her pop oriented things, but when she played straight ahead bop style alto she was terrific.

There are those here who are not interested in younger musicians playing bebop or hard bop. They only want to hear that style from recordings of musicians who are dead, or from those still alive,  but grew up with those styles when it new  in the 40's, 50's or maybe the 60's.

So it is no surprise that they do not care for the playing of Grace Kelly. Some us are beboppers at heart and enjoy many of the "younger" musicians continuing those styles that we love.

 

[Hot Ptah]

She has been playing professionally since she was 15. She is now 25 years old. Has anyone heard her recently? (I have not).

I would imagine that many of our favorite musicians sounded quite different when they were 25, as opposed to when they were 15.

[optatio]

11 minutes ago, Hot Ptah said:

I would imagine that many of our favorite musicians sounded quite different when they were 25, as opposed to when they were 15.

Remember, for example, the career of Steve Lacy: Dixieland, Kansas City, Modern Jazz, Free Improvisation!

[JSngry]

It's true, to evolve from a tentative lack of substance to a confident lack of substance is the mark of an evolving evolution nevertheless, in context, ergo, nothing from nothing leaves nothing, but you can charge more for it, so damn the torpedoes, full speed parallel!