I can still remember the first time I ever ate a fresh peach. I would have been really small, about 3 or 4 maybe, and my little mind was blown. Still love a good peach.
I first heard Birdland, the opening track from this album, on the 1981 Akai TV ad (it's on YouTube).
Playing it today, I'm fixated by Jaco Pastorius' bass playing. He never plays a predictable note. It's remarkable how his bass makes the usually assertive Zawinul and Shorter sound like side-men.
I know everyone would have been happy to never heard a fretless bass again by the time No Parlez came out, but blimey this is good.
For a relatively brief period back in the '80s, Beverly Glen records was responsible for releasing some of the absolute finest soul music: Johnnie Taylor, Anita Baker, Chapter 8, and Bobby Womack, whose career had been in a bit af a dip prior, all passed through the label.
This album led to him being picked up by Motown and marked the beginning of his renaissance.
The only criticism I can offer is that Bobby could have used a Remington Fuzzaway on his sky-blue jacket before the sleeve photo was taken.
I've got more War LPs than most people, I reckon. A band who had their own distinctive sound, and were able to churn out dozens of albums and side projects, never straying far from the original concept.
The first side of this album is straight-up, latin-tinged jazz, and the second is more familiar War-sounding stuff, albeit with a bit more of a jazzy flavour at times.
I remember reading somewhere that this album is popular in Brazil. No idea if I've remembered that correctly, or, indeed, if it's true.
For some reason though, it kept making the dogs bark.
Wynton Marsalis, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Raymond Leppard, Dir. - Haydn/Hummel/L. Mozart: Trumpet Concertos
Picked this up for a dollar in an op shop in Kimba.
I'm not the world's leading expert in classical music, (but I know what I like, etc), but I have occasional toe-dips into it, usually on the less Classic FM end of things. I'm familiar with most of the tunes on this album.
I'd picked this up because it was Wynton, and you can't leave it there for a dollar, can you? There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. Am I rushing out to buy more? No.
Recorded live in 1974, at a time when Miles had stopped rehearsing and the band would just go out and play. (For two of the musicians, this was their audition.)
Al Foster's drumming is fucking insane.
It's the kind of album which makes jazz-haters wince and say, "See, this is why I hate jazz."
I like to think that there would have been someone in the audience who had gone along on the strength of kind of liking Kind of Blue.
I recommend the episodes of the Questlove Supreme podcast where James Mtume talks about his time in the band around this time. Fascinating stuff.
Note to self: must re-read Miles Davis's autobiography.
I listened to part of the podcast on my way home from work. Twas good. I chuckled at the Jazz punishment. The bit about silence and the advice on how to play with that was fascinating.
Tinselwig
in reply to John Spithead • •John Spithead
in reply to John Spithead • •Tinselwig
in reply to John Spithead • •Same!! I walk past now and just looks meh.
It's in background of one of our wedding pics!
John Spithead likes this.