I sure wish more people would describe what they liked about these albums, or at least rate them. I guess you must think itâs good if you went to the trouble of posting the artwork anyway.
Well, Iâm going to break tradition and rave about something I heard last night. About 10 years ago, I discovered alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon. I was so impressed with his playing that I jumped in the car and drove 6 hours to hear him in Boone, North Carolina (famous for Tweetsie Railroad). His newest release Golden City, commissioned by SFJAZZ and the Hewlett Foundation, features not only Zenonâs brilliance as a player and improviser, but as a composer, arranger, leader, mixer, and producer. The music is phenomenal and creative and meaningful. But more, the recording is one of the best Iâve heard in a long time. Perfect rendering and balance of saxophone, horns, piano, drums, bass, etc. It has a warmth of sound, yet presence that isnât sacrificed. I always know when Iâm really impressed is when I trot over to HDTracks or the Qobuz store to download the hi-res files just to make sure a) Iâm getting the absolute best quality, and b) the artist gets a little something. Check it out, you wonât be disappointed, unless you donât like jazz.
Go to the original thread and its introduction as that was clearly my intent. There are other threads that serve well for posting LP cover images, but the intent of this had been to first to discuss the music, and second to discuss the community built around the music. People being people will do as they choose., but a string of album covers does interrupt ant meaningful conversation IMO. Off my soapbox for now.
Iâm a big fan of Miguel Zenon, not a big fan of posting my opinions about music in threads nor reading about music that doesnât really interest me which is often what is posted and most âwrittenâ about, and figure that others who are into what I am not are likewise not too interested in reading about my thoughts. Nor am I too interested in discussing sound quality any longer in detail as itâs the music that matters to me and if everything is audible Iâm pretty happy. In my fourth decade on bulletin boards now my interest in much of the usual mechanics and content wanes.
But if you havenât heard this material I recommend this 2 cd set as it gathers probably my favorite of the Zenon pieces released on the SFJazz Collective discs (I have all of those but the most recent one).
Lovely music Iâve enjoyed for about fifty years. I bet this new edition sounds great, I have an SACD copy ordered but itâs currenlty on backorder.
What gets me is the marketing machine of connecting it to âKind of Blueâ as if it was some sort of concerted effort to prepare for that milestone. No, it was not. . . in the least. Seems deceptive advertising to me.
Itâs a good idea and has been mentioned before.
I often use Qobuz to search for jazz.
Many recordings where Steve Gadd participates have my interest.
Thatâs also how I came across Simon Oslender.
Jazz that is played super tight and with lots of variety.
And of course the use of Hammond.
If I had to give the grade it would be an:
8 for music
9 for sound quality
Have yet to hear it and honestly didnât know much about it.
A review from Analog Planet provides several insights. Seems to be a worthy addition to oneâs collection.
I do not understand the point of posting album covers. I greatly prefer discussion of the music, etc.
Following up on JLawryâs suggestion, provide a bit of context with an album cover post.
Presently listening to Sun Ra and his Arkestra Bad and Beautiful on a Saturn ESR 532 LP. Bad and Beautiful captures the Arkestra as they arrived from Chicago to New York City. A scaled down Arkestra as all Chicago members did not relocate, and Sun Ra had yet to tap into local talent. This release is rooted in the Arkestra;âs 1950âs Chicago sound, a bit more inside than what was to soon follow. Sonically the recording is nothing special, typical of Arkestra recordings of this era.
The Arkestra aconsists of:
John Gilmore
Pat Patrick
Marshall Allen
Ronnie Boykins
Tommy Hunter
Sun Ra
Note Marshall Allen at 100 years old continues to carry the Arkestra torch.
Really outstanding set of improvisations â inspired by Judith Schalanskyâs book âAtlas of Remote Islands: 50 islands I never set foot in and never will.â The music is an echo of her writing, of inspiration by islands, entities with different and changing characteristicsâ.
Fie Schouten - bass clarinet, clarinet in A, basset horn
Vincent Courtois - violoncello
Guus Janssen - piano, organ, harmonium, harpsichord
Giuseppe Doronzo - baritone saxophone (tracks 6-8, 10)
I suppose this could be classified as âchamber musicâ. Fie Schouten and Vincent Courtois certainly play in a lot of different contextsâŠvery beautiful record, another winner from Relative Pitch.
I find it useful in a general sense, being more visually oriented as opposed to written word, it helps me identify the album without any ambiguity.
A brief write-up adds context, and can aid in understanding what the music provides. Most helpful when one is attempting to explore the less familiar. Nice to have both the visual and a short summary. As I have mentioned there exists another thread which serves the visual sans discussion admirably. Nice to have an option to discuss what may motivate a listen.
Itâs sounds nice