oddie
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The new Jazz item
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Jan 18 17:42 UTC 2000 |
I am entering this item because the old jazz item seems rather dead and because
the music conf as a whole seems to be in need of some new discussion. So, this
is it: the Year 2000 item for discussing jazz: different genres of jazz,
listening to jazz, playing jazz...
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oddie
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response 1 of 65:
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Jan 18 18:02 UTC 2000 |
So, as for myself: I like just about any kind of jazz, from New Orleans to
fusion, but at the moment most of my interest is in jazz from the late '40s
through the '60s, which is to say mostly later bebop (Thelonious Monk, I
find, sounds "fresher" than most other jazz of that period due to his use of
unusual harmonies and lots of chromatic stuff), modal and fusion. I am really
only getting into fusion, having heard _Bitches Brew_ at a friend's house and
getting out Chick Corea's _Return to Forever_ from the library. (Another two
discs to go on the "buy this when I have more money" list...) _Return to
Forever_ is an interesting disc, easier to listen to than _Bitches Brew_ and
also influenced a lot by Latin/bossa nova as well as rock and free jazz.
Bossa nova is another kind of music I like to listen to; some would probably
find it too smooth and "elevator-music"-like, but it really does have some
lovely melodies and solos. (Antonio Carlos Jobim is a bit like Bill Evans
in the _Kind of Blue_ era in that he can say a lot with just a few notes.)
I am also trying to start playing jazz (on piano) and meet with my friend
Russell, who is quite accomplished at jazz on the clarinet, most weekends
to play some tunes out of the fakebook. I find it difficult because if you
are the piano player you basically have to make up the accompaniment at the
same time as the melody (especially when there is no drummer or bass player)
and also when I get all tense about it I can't do anything well...so, hopefully
this is something I'll get a bit better at.
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orinoco
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response 2 of 65:
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Jan 19 01:13 UTC 2000 |
Well, since the death of the _previous_ jazz item, I've started up taking jazz
piano lessons, and listening to more of the music, so here's hoping for a
restart of the conversation....
Bitches Brew seemed to me to have a "steeper learning curve" than many jazz
albums, but since I got into it it's also been one of my favorites. Most
other fusion that I've heard hasn't grown on me nearly as much.
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