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GOD.... I LOVE JAZZ

Bilbo

By Bilbo,
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Bilbo Grand Master

Bilbo

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Just got hold of Ornette Coleman's 'Beauty Is A Rare Thing'. 57 track retrospective of his early stuff. Some interesting material on there.

The Uri Caine works but its more funk than jazz to my ears. Not that matters.

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Len_derby Mentor

Len_derby

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[quote name='derrenleepoole' timestamp='1335296036' post='1628945']
The new Tord Gustavsen Quartet album The Well wonderful. Beautifully recorded and very understated with melodies and phrases that just hang in the air :)

[media]http://youtu.be/_3A6ziUPbdk[/media]
[/quote]

Thanks for posting this. They're a band that I just hadn't heard of. I've just ordered the CD off Amazon. God, this forum costs me some money......

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Bilbo Grand Master

Bilbo

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[quote name='Earbrass' timestamp='1322749310' post='1455325']
Ah yes, Carla Bley. If you haven't already heard it, you should check out the Hapless Child album, in which Robert Wyatt sings some of the stories of Edward Gorey. Fab band, including Bley and some of her regular companions.

[/quote]

Just got hold of this as a download (itunes, £4.49). Great stuff. Perversely feel good!

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ZMech Enthusiast

ZMech

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[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1336737277' post='1650197']
I think ES is a pretty rounded musician (albeit not the genius everyone suggests) but the 'cute'/glamour thing really p***es me off. I wish that record companies didn't do that and I wish the female musicians didn't allow it to be done to them. Its only a matter of time until she puts the bass down!! If they can play, let them play. Leave the eye candy to MTV.
[/quote]

I'm not sure I fully agree with this sentiment tbh. Any music performance is just that, a performance, and so inevitably includes a visual aspect. Surely it's therefore inevitable that a musician that's fun to watch be it due to appearance/presence has more appeal than a bored looking equivalent? Whilst I don't think the overblown application of this mentality is beneficial e.g. in pop music, it's not surprising that Esperanza's looks add to her success, and it's probably idealistic to think it should be otherwise.

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Hector Enthusiast

Hector

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I'd agree to an extent. An artist's value should not be determined on looks as much as it seems to be in today's mainstream media. That said, in a psychological sense, you cannot fully dissociate the visual and the auditory aspects of a performance - you process it all together, so it all has an effect. There are tons of studies about this as a cognitive bias: for example, people are more likely to think and behave positively towards those that they consider more attractive.

I think Esperanza treads a delicate line - her femininity and the fact that she is beautiful is an aspect of her as a performer which can't be ignored, and which influences our perceptions of her and her music. She doesn't pander to this in a particularly specific way, but she isn't actively trying to hide her looks either. It works both ways in fact - people see her as more beautiful because her music is good, and people see her music as good in part because she is beautiful. I don't think her looks detract from her music, despite them being a non-dissociable aspect of it.

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Bilbo Grand Master

Bilbo

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[quote name='Hector' timestamp='1337521509' post='1661259']
I think Esperanza treads a delicate line - She doesn't pander to this in a particularly specific way, [/quote]

So her choice of skirt and heels was purely pragmatic :lol:

I'll try it on the next gig to see if it helps my intonation.

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Earbrass Mentor

Earbrass

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[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1337516054' post='1661144']
Just got hold of this as a download (itunes, £4.49). Great stuff. Perversely feel good!
[/quote]

:)

As an author yourself, I'm sure you would also appreciate Edward Gorey's wonderful first book: [i][url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Unstrung-Harp-Earbrass-Writes/dp/0747550344/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337589667&sr=1-1"]The Unstrung Harp: or Mr Earbrass writes a novel[/url]. [/i]Not yet set to music.

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Hector Enthusiast

Hector

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[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1337587696' post='1662214']
So her choice of skirt and heels was purely pragmatic :lol:

I'll try it on the next gig to see if it helps my intonation.
[/quote]

Nobody dresses purely pragmatically, especially not when performing. It's no different from, say, Roy Hargrove and his band performing in suits. The visual aspect affects how we experience the performance as a whole, and dressing smart is a well-established method of enhancing a performance. It adds to it, just like a little bit of talking between numbers or introducing the band. There's more than just the music that makes up a live performance. Last time I checked, a skirt and heels like that is just what a woman wears when she wants to look nice. She's hardly prancing about in a bikini! I think it's unfair that female musicians can't dress nicely as part of a performance without people assuming they're doing it through lack of talent. Just because you find Esperanza attractive when she dresses nicely for her performance, doesn't give you any right to accuse her of flaunting her looks and not being a heavyweight musician.



And yes, I tried it last week and the heels really helped with my tone. I find louboutins particularly give me a fat woody tone :ph34r:

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Bilbo Grand Master

Bilbo

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I don't find her attractive (particularly) and the dress/heels thing is not the point. Its the marketing. The fact that she is not a heavyweight but is being presented as something more than she is is the point. She is marketed the way she is because of the way she looks, no because of the way she plays. Her stuff is ok and the band is good but she ain't no Messiah! It happens every time a woman picks up a bass or any other horn; she is seen before she is heard. This kind of approach to image aggravates that tendency to the detriment of other female musicians. One wonders if she would have had this coverage had she been a better player but looked like Norah Batty. Where's the features on Melissa Slocum, Joanne Brackeen, Marian McPartland, Toshiko Akiyoshi..... oops, no cute dimples and no mini-skirts = no cover story, no videos and no record deal.

And the fact that she sings makes everything rrrrrrrrrright (irony, in case you thought I was being serious)

Anyway, all of this a distraction. I'm probably being more hostile because of the 'trappings' than is fair to the kid. I hope she grows into a great musician and PUTS SOME TROUSERS ON :lol:

Jazz rools! :lol:

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Bilbo Grand Master

Bilbo

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[quote name='Earbrass' timestamp='1337589797' post='1662241']


:)

As an author yourself, I'm sure you would also appreciate Edward Gorey's wonderful first book: [i][url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Unstrung-Harp-Earbrass-Writes/dp/0747550344/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337589667&sr=1-1"]The Unstrung Harp: or Mr Earbrass writes a novel[/url]. [/i]Not yet set to music.
[/quote]

On order!!

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Hector Enthusiast

Hector

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[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1337604322' post='1662551']
I don't find her attractive (particularly) and the dress/heels thing is not the point. Its the marketing. The fact that she is not a heavyweight but is being presented as something more than she is is the point. She is marketed the way she is because of the way she looks, no because of the way she plays. Her stuff is ok and the band is good but she ain't no Messiah! It happens every time a woman picks up a bass or any other horn; she is seen before she is heard. This kind of approach to image aggravates that tendency to the detriment of other female musicians. One wonders if she would have had this coverage had she been a better player but looked like Norah Batty. Where's the features on Melissa Slocum, Joanne Brackeen, Marian McPartland, Toshiko Akiyoshi..... oops, no cute dimples and no mini-skirts = no cover story, no videos and no record deal.

And the fact that she sings makes everything rrrrrrrrrright (irony, in case you thought I was being serious)

Anyway, all of this a distraction. I'm probably being more hostile because of the 'trappings' than is fair to the kid. I hope she grows into a great musician and PUTS SOME TROUSERS ON :lol:

Jazz rools! :lol:
[/quote]

Fair enough I know very little about how she is marketed, I've only heard/seen her play. I tend to ignore all the hype and just listen to the music! I use magazines etc. to find new music, and then prefer to form my own opinion on it rather than wasting my time hearing what other people think about it.... I'd hate to hold an opinion that just blindly agreed with everyone or (even worse imo) was purely reactionary.

I still think you're being exceptionally unfair to her, but I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree. :)

In the meantime, I've been listening to loads of Gregory Porter today, and I think he's got a nice voice:

[url="http://youtu.be/9HvpIgHBSdo"]http://youtu.be/9HvpIgHBSdo[/url]

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  • 2 weeks later...
BassBus Mentor

BassBus

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Here's something I've just been introduced to. Tim Landers bass just sounds as good as it gets. It's all music of King Crimson played as a jazz trio.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX0rORcHOsA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX0rORcHOsA[/url]

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derrenleepoole Collaborator

derrenleepoole

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[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1339170883' post='1684875']
Here's something I've just been introduced to. Tim Landers bass just sounds as good as it gets. It's all music of King Crimson played as a jazz trio.
[/quote]

Two great albums from that band, and the Crimson treatments into jazz are superb. Such a pity that Ian Wallace died during the recording of the last album :(

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blamelouis Enthusiast

blamelouis

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[quote name='urb' timestamp='1339691159' post='1692856']
New Branford Marsalis album 'Four MFs Playing Tunes' is f-ing great - coming out soon I believe

Cool video

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r_FPvSn0RY[/media]
[/quote]

Cheers mate great heads up .

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1339694316' post='1692928']
Nice one, Mike. Really enjoyed that. BMQ is one of my favourite bands and I have everything they have ever done since he started recording.The new drummer is great. Something nice to look forward to.
[/quote]

Just downloaded it from itunes Bilbo , its out already .

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jbn4001 Apprentice

jbn4001

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Just bought this

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi7xBLsxGnA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi7xBLsxGnA[/url]

and

this

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HISo0r-UcI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HISo0r-UcI[/url]

Looking forward to seeing Troyka in London soon.

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