Jazz + Rock = Fu.....

[Chazro]

.....FUN!!!!!

Wazzup All! Really long post but it’s Sun. morning and I’ve got time to kill.

I’m gonna touch on some recordings and players in particular and reflect on a general belief concerning Jazz. Jazz used to be a much more popular music decades ago. People used to hear it on their radio all the time, and more importantly, they used to DANCE to it! In other words, the music was FUN! Fun is a strange word to be used within the context of Jazz but to me it’s key. Like Jazz, it’s a short, simple word but truly can be profound in its meaning and depth. I think when Jazz stopped being fun to the masses it stopped being a popular music. It doesn’t mean the fun has stopped though. To me, when a band is in the pocket/zone/groove (playing ANY type of music), when the band members are smiling at each other, when the listeners smile or howl when the band is playing, we’re having FUN! This is what eludes me about Free/AG Jazz, I’m afraid I just don’t get it. I always try to imagine the mindset of the musicians when listening, it’s exciting, bordering on sexual, when a group is in the zone, cookin’, burnin’, isn’t it? The few times I’ve given Free/AG Jazz a listen the only group/band mindset I can envision is that they’re basically thinking; “I guess we’ll have to agree that we disagree”. I’m not trying to upset the Avant-Garderati (of which I know there’s quite a few hangin’ here). Hey, if it makes ya feel better, call me Contemporary/Latin Jazz/Fusionerati!

I understand that Jazz has evolved way beyond popular dance music. It's a music that can and does reflect ALL emotions within the spectrum. My personal preferences have always leaned towards enjoying myself when listening to music. I have many recordings of serious, somber, reflective, achingly beautiful music that I play when I’m in the mood, but it’s not music I make a daily, steady diet of.

So, in my long-winded, rambling way I’m trying to establish a fun-factor to music. Take this leap with me; Rock ‘n’ Roll/Rock is at its core a fun music. Regardless of type, Rock slams ya, rthymically moves ya, and should put a grin on your face. When you combine Rock and Jazz you come up with Jazz/Rock, Rock/Jazz, or…dare I say it??!….Fusion! I don’t think I’ve ever heard the word FUN associated with the music of Weather Report, the MHO or Bitches Brew but it is!! When Jaco was slidin’ across the stage on one leg in the middle of a churnin, burnin' solo you gotta know he was havin’ a blast! I honestly believe that Keith Jarrett’s electric piano solos on Miles Davis ‘Live-Evil’ are joyous, exhilarating, and FUN. Going beyond the extreme examples of the pioneers of Fusion, the nature of the music, the volume, impact, and electricity of it, inherently make it a fun medium. It totally lost it’s way when the smooth/Muzak became associated with it due to many of it’s playas selling out but truthfully, isn’t it laughable to connect TRUE Contemporary Electric Jazz with Smooth, I mean c’mon, say it with me, Joe Zawinul and Kenny G? ‘Nuff said.

Randy Brecker needs no introduction from me. He’s been around for over 30 years. An A-list player that truly is comfortable playing ANY kind of music and does it very, very well. I’ve been listening to him since his early days with B,S,&T and Dreams and have never stopped. One thing Randy has consistently done regardless of genre is have FUN! The man knows how to Play and it’s easily heard in his music. One of his finest recordings was 2003’s ‘34th n Lex’. With brother Michael, David Sanborn, & Ronnie Cuber playing along it should be considered a solid addition to the Brecker Bros. Catalog. If memory serves me well this recording wasn’t mentioned on this board (!).

Bill Evans (the sax player) biggest claim to fame was that he played with Miles for years before he passed. We all know what shitty taste Miles had when choosing bandmates. His last recording, ‘Big Fun’, was one of the absolutely best Contemporary jazz records ever! Playing with an all-star band, this record especially highlights one of my all-time favorite drummers, Vinnie Colaiuta, who almost steals the spotlight throughout the record, he kills on this disc. This one wasn’t mentioned on this board either, what a shock! Let’s see, what was the name of this record? BIG FUN, oh yeah, BTW, it is.

If you don’t own these and you’ve ever enjoyed a Brecker Bros./Tom Scott/Yellowjackets-type record you should RUN and pick ‘em up!

Currently I have on order from Audiophile Imports the latest from Evans & Brecker called appropriately enough, ‘Bill Evans/Randy Brecker Soulbop Band-Live’. Featuring Hiram Bullock, Victor bailey, & Peter Erskine.

I expect to have a lotta FUN with this one I’ll let you know once I get it!

[Lois Gilbert]

Originally Posted by Chazro

.....FUN!!!!!

Wazzup All! Really long post but it’s Sun. morning and I’ve got time to kill.

I’m gonna touch on some recordings and players in particular and reflect on a general belief concerning Jazz. Jazz used to be a much more popular music decades ago. People used to hear it on their radio all the time, and more importantly, they used to DANCE to it! In other words, the music was FUN! Fun is a strange word to be used within the context of Jazz but to me it’s key. Like Jazz, it’s a short, simple word but truly can be profound in its meaning and depth. I think when Jazz stopped being fun to the masses it stopped being a popular music. It doesn’t mean the fun has stopped though. To me, when a band is in the pocket/zone/groove (playing ANY type of music), when the band members are smiling at each other, when the listeners smile or howl when the band is playing, we’re having FUN! This is what eludes me about Free/AG Jazz, I’m afraid I just don’t get it. I always try to imagine the mindset of the musicians when listening, it’s exciting, bordering on sexual, when a group is in the zone, cookin’, burnin’, isn’t it? The few times I’ve given Free/AG Jazz a listen the only group/band mindset I can envision is that they’re basically thinking; “I guess we’ll have to agree that we disagree”. I’m not trying to upset the Avant-Garderati (of which I know there’s quite a few hangin’ here). Hey, if it makes ya feel better, call me Contemporary/Latin Jazz/Fusionerati!

I understand that Jazz has evolved way beyond popular dance music. It's a music that can and does reflect ALL emotions within the spectrum. My personal preferences have always leaned towards enjoying myself when listening to music. I have many recordings of serious, somber, reflective, achingly beautiful music that I play when I’m in the mood, but it’s not music I make a daily, steady diet of.

So, in my long-winded, rambling way I’m trying to establish a fun-factor to music. Take this leap with me; Rock ‘n’ Roll/Rock is at its core a fun music. Regardless of type, Rock slams ya, rthymically moves ya, and should put a grin on your face. When you combine Rock and Jazz you come up with Jazz/Rock, Rock/Jazz, or…dare I say it??!….Fusion! I don’t think I’ve ever heard the word FUN associated with the music of Weather Report, the MHO or Bitches Brew but it is!! When Jaco was slidin’ across the stage on one leg in the middle of a churnin, burnin' solo you gotta know he was havin’ a blast! I honestly believe that Keith Jarrett’s electric piano solos on Miles Davis ‘Live-Evil’ are joyous, exhilarating, and FUN. Going beyond the extreme examples of the pioneers of Fusion, the nature of the music, the volume, impact, and electricity of it, inherently make it a fun medium. It totally lost it’s way when the smooth/Muzak became associated with it due to many of it’s playas selling out but truthfully, isn’t it laughable to connect TRUE Contemporary Electric Jazz with Smooth, I mean c’mon, say it with me, Joe Zawinul and Kenny G? ‘Nuff said.

Randy Brecker needs no introduction from me. He’s been around for over 30 years. An A-list player that truly is comfortable playing ANY kind of music and does it very, very well. I’ve been listening to him since his early days with B,S,&T and Dreams and have never stopped. One thing Randy has consistently done regardless of genre is have FUN! The man knows how to Play and it’s easily heard in his music. One of his finest recordings was 2003’s ‘34th n Lex’. With brother Michael, David Sanborn, & Ronnie Cuber playing along it should be considered a solid addition to the Brecker Bros. Catalog. If memory serves me well this recording wasn’t mentioned on this board (!).

Bill Evans (the sax player) biggest claim to fame was that he played with Miles for years before he passed. We all know what shitty taste Miles had when choosing bandmates. His last recording, ‘Big Fun’, was one of the absolutely best Contemporary jazz records ever! Playing with an all-star band, this record especially highlights one of my all-time favorite drummers, Vinnie Colaiuta, who almost steals the spotlight throughout the record, he kills on this disc. This one wasn’t mentioned on this board either, what a shock! Let’s see, what was the name of this record? BIG FUN, oh yeah, BTW, it is.

If you don’t own these and you’ve ever enjoyed a Brecker Bros./Tom Scott/Yellowjackets-type record you should RUN and pick ‘em up!

Currently I have on order from Audiophile Imports the latest from Evans & Brecker called appropriately enough, ‘Bill Evans/Randy Brecker Soulbop Band-Live’. Featuring Hiram Bullock, Victor bailey, & Peter Erskine.

I expect to have a lotta FUN with this one I’ll let you know once I get it!

Chaz - even Randy Brecker doesn't have a copy!

[Gentle Giant]

When I was first checking out jazz LPs from the 50s and 60s, the liner notes really turned me off. They were oh so serious, talking in highly technical musical terms about what this cat's doing and how this other cat is twisting that around with all kinds of nomenclature that I, as an unschooled musician, could not make a bit of sense of. Then I'd listen to the tunes and wonder, "Am I even listening to the same thing this liner note writer was listening to?" Cause I wasn't hearing technical shit, I was hearing emotion-driven music. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the reasons that so many younger brothers don't dig jazz is because the literature just doesn't speak to them.

You want to hear a guy having fun in a rock/jazz context? Check out Craig Handy's version of "Spinning Wheel."