what’s in your cd player?
quote:
Originally posted by bonnee:
Its good to see that you’re both still around Jason and Flamegrape. Nifty record collections, too.Beethoven’s pastoral symphony is also a favorite of mine, although I’m a lttle surprised to not see Coltrane’s Love Supreme and Davis’ Kind of Blue figure in your list (probably on rotation or a little obvious for your tastes).
What record collection (jazz or otherwise) would be complete without those two seminal recordings? Kind of Blue is one of the most famous jazz records ever made, and launched the whole modal style of composition in which the complex chord substitutions of hard bop were replaced by extended soloing based on scales or modes. It’s accessible enough to be easily recommendable to anyone with even a passing interest in jazz (it was my first straight-ahead jazz album) – simple blues-based tunes that provide the foundation for some outstanding solos by Cannonball Adderly, Coltrane, Miles and Bill Evans (I’m sure you know all this, so I apologize in advance for my enthusiasm). If it doesn’t make it into rotation these days, it’s only because of my preference for his work with Shorter, Hancock, Carter and Williams, which was probably the most technically proficient and harmonically advanced group Miles ever worked with and featured some of his best playing.
As for Coltrane, I’m slightly partial to Giant Steps for the compositions, and maybe also to My Favorite Things because of the way he revolutionized the soprano on that record. Nevertheless, A Love Supreme is an amazing album, entirely deserving of its reputation, and one even a non-fan can enjoy. It stands out from his earlier works by its devotion to the spiritual and/or mystical aspect of music, an element that came to dominate his later work in free jazz. His playing is powerful and beautiful, and he is perfectly complimented by the remarkable rhythm section. Speaking of which, McCoy Tyner might be my favorite jazz pianist with his combination of amazing technique (especially his left hand) and consistently interesting solos, and Elvin Jones is just one of the greatest drummers of all time in any genre. Both musicians were able to go in whatever direction Trane was leading and still retain their unique character. They also provided the foundation for a string of outstanding mid sixties Blue Note albums with other tenor players like Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter, as well as guitarist Grant Green (again sorry if you’re familiar with these).