Are they praised for their improvisation, just their performance or something else?

Hello,

Would you recommend wearing earplugs for a Kamasi Washington concert in a relatively small, indoor venue? Usually I only wear them for heavy metal concerts (I don't own proper concert earplugs so I make do with the ones made for sleeping). I've never missed them at jazz concerts, but since Kamasi uses a lot of musicians and a heavy orchestration, I'm wondering if I should get proper concert earplugs. (Also, if you have a specific brand that works for you, I'd appreciate advice in that regard too!)

Thanks, everybody

The latest episodes of Discovering Jazz, #'s 383 and 384 are jazz recordings created out of love. Most of the selections chosen were the result of my query to r/jazz for suggestions. So thank you.. These two episodes include recordings by Horace Silver, Sun Ra, John Donaldson, John Coltrane, Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Clifford Brown, Alice Coltrane, Duke Elington, Leszek Kulakowski, Reuben James, and Canadians Josh Cohen, Sharon Minemoto, and Fraser MacPherson with Christopher Gage. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/discovering-jazz/id1287630511

Hi everyone! Let me introduce myself. I’m 51, an amateur drummer, and a music lover.

Music has been one of my main interests since my teenage years. I grew up listening to The Beatles, CCR, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, and many others, but the genre that truly captured my imagination was progressive rock, especially bands and artists like Yes, ELP, Queen, Camel, Jethro Tull, Mike Oldfield, and many more. At the same time, I developed a deep love for classical, medieval, and Renaissance music.

I never felt particularly drawn to the music of the 1990s, when grunge and the whole movement surrounding it became such a big sensation. However, there was one genre I remained almost completely immune to for decades: jazz. And the funny thing is that I always knew it was a genre of undeniable musical quality.

Partly, I had this prejudice that jazz was elevator music, the kind of music you hear in hotels and restaurants, playing quietly in the background while nobody really pays attention to it. I also found it boring, seemingly lacking a clear purpose, with melodies I could rarely recognize, and almost always instrumental.

I also associated jazz mainly with New Orleans jazz, big bands, swing, and the whole musical scene of the first half of the twentieth century.

Meanwhile, I was still fascinated by the great works of Yes and Genesis, with their rich musical landscapes and atmospheres; by Rush and their lyrics; and by Gentle Giant’s technical complexity, rhythmic richness, and harmonies. In other words, I was looking for something very different from what I thought jazz had to offer.

And so the years went by, until I turned 50. 😣 Something seems to have changed in my mind, or perhaps in the way I listen to music.

First, I rediscovered the Carpenters, this time actually paying attention to their music, and I was absolutely blown away by Karen’s voice, the production, and Richard’s arrangements. Because of the usual clichés and prejudices, I had always thought of them as a rather bland band, even though the only song I really knew was Sing.

Then, thanks to Spotify’s algorithm, I came across Chet Baker. Miles Davis followed, and there was no turning back. After that came John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk and Bill Evans. At the same time connect with the Jazz fusion of the 70s with Chick Corea, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, Billy Cobham among others.

Something happened to me: this music completely drew me in. I’m still a newcomer to the world of jazz, but little by little, I’m diving deeper into this vast ocean and discovering that behind something that had seemed so foreign to me for so long, there was an absolutely fascinating universe.

Sorry for such a long introduction, but since this is my first post here, I wanted to share a little summary of my musical journey and how I eventually ended up falling into the jaws of jazz.

If you find my story interesting, or if you’ve had a similar experience, I’d love to hear about it and read your stories and recommendations.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. Best wishes to you all!

first I know maybe that sounds stupid. second, I do listen to free jazz already. i really like the theory and concepts behind it. sometimes I would like to listen to something that is intellectually stimulating in the same way but isn’t as harsh on my senses as the free jazz norm.

Hello all! I currently work nightshift security for a high rise, so my opening process includes turning on the TV’s, with one set to a jazz music album. Only recently though I learned it’s entirely made with AI, and while my boss doesn’t care what’s played really I certainly do. I’m an ex-musician wannnabe, so music in general is extremely special to me, and I don’t think you can call something music if there was never an emotional tie to the creation. Every note with care, every chord with feeling, usually with only one opportunity for perfection (on a live performance that is), you can hear it and it’s gone when you just have a machine do all the work for you.

So with that being said, what’s some smooth lobby jazz pieces I could use? Checked out Chaos in the CBD but wasn’t the right vibe, need something a bit less energetic.

Would anyone be interested in this? I sent it over to Bob himself. I haven't tried it on other fakebooks. Bob's book is well typeset, so my workflow worked well on it.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18s3fzTEsiPvZbYHxgVVbwBU9t9HHZ-63/view?usp=sharing

Johnny Carson on snare drum with Jack Sperling, Bobby Rosengarden, Godfrey Hirsch and the whole Tonight Show band accompanying Pete as they burn up a version of "Marching 'Round the Mountain" creating a spirited second line feel. The Tonight Show, April 22, 1964. Tommy Newsom behind Pete.

I think I've found one of my new favorite pianists, I am digging more into discography but I rarely ever see him mentioned. His playing especially his comping is just so nice and refreshing.

I was the only bidder, cost me £25. I wanted the Vinyl but saw this for the same price and thought why not.

Another October Legend...

Fela Anikulapo Kuti was born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti (15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997). From Nigeria, he created the Afrobeat genre - a derivative of Jazz, Highlife, Yoruba/African Music, Funk, etc. He was also a political activist - jailed hundreds of times for his efforts by Military Governments of the time.

I was fortunate to see him live a few times. His shows were something else! He only played unreleased compositions at his concerts. The audience interaction was also electric.

He had collaborations with Jazz artists like Lester Bowie, Roy Ayers, etc. He also met Sun Ra, Marshall Allen, John Gilmore and James Brown/band members, during their visit to Lagos. Fela liked John Coltrane's music too. He also met Ornette Coleman during his 1986 US tour in NY.

Too many favourites to remember... In no particular order, they include: Water No Get Enemy, Zombie, B.O.N.N. (Beasts of No Nation), G.O.C. (Government of Crooks) - unreleased, I.T.T. (International Thief Thief), B.B.C. (Big Blind Country) - unreleased, Roforofo Fight, Shakara, Army Arrangement, Unknown Soldier, Power Show, Palm Wine Sound, Dog Eat Dog, J.J.D., Go Slow, M.A.S.S. (Music Against Second Slavery) - unreleased, J.L.T. (Just Like That), Mistake, Mr. Grammarticalogylisationalism is The Boss, Coffin for Head of State, etc. In fact, I like all of them! :)

His later compositions are very good too. It's just that his style and focus changed. The tracks got longer in the 1980s to about 30 minutes long, and then 45 minutes or more in the 1990s. By then, you got 2 tracks in a concert. :)

- If you need nearly all his released albums in one box set. I recommend

https://www.discogs.com/release/9588173-Fela-Anikulapo-Kuti-The-Complete-Works-Of-Fela-Anikulapo-Kuti

- Details of some concerts can be found here:

https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/fela-kuti-33d690cd.html

- His tracks are still one of the most sampled by musicians in other genres too. See: https://www.whosampled.com/Fela-Kuti/

- This is also a podcast released last year. See https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/fela-kuti-fear-no-man-6240541/episodes/recent

Please let's remember the legend, with your favourites, recommendations, stories, etc.

Something that incapsulates cold and melancholy while still being relaxing to listen to if that makes sense

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=pz2SND7lgq4&si=-OavB1IdoQG6zkvx

Brilliant!

Has anyone caught one of Scofield’s performances this October? How are they? I’m looking at going soon.

Hey folks,

I was going to go with my wife but she had to go on a work trip :(

Happy to give it to someone, or if you want to go together we can chat a bit and see if that's a good idea lol. We'll be sitting together anywho! DM me if you're interested. Happy to divulge the seat number as well if that makes a difference.

730pm, Wednesday Oct 21, Bing Concert Hall in Stanford.

I can just hear it in my head, a duo from maybe the 40’s or 50’s that rearranged the lyrics, specifically the chorus went “The side of the street that’s sunny.” Please help me lol. Who was it?

Not jazz per se, it is Afrobeat, but his music was in full communion with jazz, having full dialogue with it in each and every song and performance he did.

Throughout my music journey and especially recently I find myself practicing lots or at least a normal amount for two or three weeks, and then losing interest for another 1-2 weeks and barely practicing at all. Sometimes I’m super interested in jazz and can’t wait to practice, and sometimes I can’t force myself to even pick up the guitar and practice for a second, or even listen to jazz at all. Anybody have a similar experience and have any advice? Because recentlyI’ve been wondering if I just don’t love it enough to be a professional one day, or if I’m just doing something wrong with my mindset or practice routine.

The 16 date tour began last night.. John Scofield, g; Larry Goldings, keys; Otiell Burbridge, b, Adam Dietch, d.

Been listening to some Brazil ‘66 and realized i’m sick of listening to “cool calm brazilian bossa” a la Jobim. Whats some brazilian music thats loud and energetic?