Three jazz radios

I've never listened to webradios until I installed iTunes on my computer. In its Radio menu there are hundreds of radios from all music genres, and in this post I recommend three jazz radios to you, with its Internet-versions, too.

- First, my favourite: Carstairs Kitchen Radio - A mix of old swing, country swing and folk music broadcasting on 88.5 FM from Carstairs Alberta Canada. It's a very calm and good feeling as you hear those old music, with its poor quality, it's perfect at any time of the day. One of the advantages of this channel is that when a music plays, you can see the name of the artist and the title of the song (unfortunately on many radios you can't do it). And can you imagine that the streaming server is usually so full, that you can't connect? I wouldn't, because I thought people today don't want to hear this kind of music... but it seems to be a desire for it. http://www.carstairs.fm/

- The second one's music is very classic, and comes from the well-known bebop and cool jazz times: radioio Standards - This is the sound of pure jazz from the '50s through the mid '70s... I like this radio because there are lots of famous music on it and lots of that kind which I don't know, so I can discover new music. http://www.radioio.com/

- The last one is the most extreme, it's: DI.fm Modern Jazz - The likes of Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus and many others. The name of the channel tells you everything. Enjoy! www.sky.fm/jazz

Herbie Hancock - Maiden voyage

It's my first review of a real classic masterpiece in jazz. I often think about: Can we state that it's perfect about an album? Does any perfect album exist? I don't know that we should dare to say something like that... but Maiden voyage makes me think about it.

"The sea has often stirred the imagination of creative minds involved in all spheres of art. There still exists an element of mystery which surrounds the sea and the living aquatic creatures which provide it with its vital essence. Atlantis, the Sargasso Sea, giant serpents, and mermaids are only a few of the many folkloric mysteries which have evolved through man's experiences with the sea.

This music attempts to capture its vastness and majesty, the splendor of a sea-going vessel on its maiden voyage, the graceful beauty of the playful dolphins, the constant struggle for survival of even the tiniest sea creatures, and the awesome destructive power of the hurricane, nemesis of seamen." (Herbie Hancock, Maiden voyage)

Yes, it has the touch of mystery - and beauty as well. I've always liked the mix of these two components. And as you start listening to it: first it pulsates... than flows. As you hear the first rhythm, you fall into that atmosphere "in medias res". Than the saxophone and the trumpet plays together, and a beautiful, but unsteady colour starts to evolve - like a maiden voyage (from the dictionary: maiden voyage / maiden flight - done for the first time, usually about ships). Now have your maiden voyage with this album, listen to Herbie Hancock, one of the most famous jazz pianists, and such a great person who could create valuable and everlasting music in quite different musical styles, from classical jazz to fusion/funky.

Listen to samples on the BlueNote website: http://www.bluenote.com/ArtistDiscography.aspx?ArtistId=903322&PromoId=&UPCCode=724349533127

And a performance from a concert:

part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qorvyRszZKs&feature=related

part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtLe2sne0fI&feature=related

Drum battles

Sometimes I wonder: why can't we see drum battles today? As watching these old videos I surely say that they were doing it for fun, and the audience was inquisitive and opened. It was a great musical occassion where the main role was the drummers' but you could hear music as well. A newer reason to feel sorry about the past is gone.

In the first video you can see in order: Elvin Jones, Max Roach, and Art Blakey. Perhaps the three most known jazz drummer in our history, but each has a different style in this video. Elvin Jones starts with a free, loose play, and while listening to it the "ancient force" comes up from the deepness. It's the most hardly understoodable performance of the three, I think. Watch his hands at 1:03, he almost drops the drum sticks, his posture is so loose. Compared to this Max Roach is very strict and complex. There's an always returning motive in his play. I don't feel that kind of looseness at him as at Elvin, so his drumming is very determined and disciplined. I like the way as Elvin stares at him, but don't believe in those comments - I think their knowledgement is the same. Watch that incredible hihat play at 1:58. And eventually Art Blakey comes in, taking the attention with a big beat on the cymbals. His style is more minimal than the first two. There's a constant base and he builds upon this every time. In the end his solo turns to the well-known Art Blakey rhythm, the same which we can hear in the beginning of the album: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - A night in Tunisia.

In the second video the atmosphere is looser: it's a great party with lots of fun and - don't forget it - with lots of good music. Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich plays the famous song by Benny Goodman - Sing, sing, sing. That's funny as that man takes his shoes onto Buddy's and Gene's drum at the end of the song. See below for more interesting videos.

Elvin Jones & Max Roach & Art Blakey:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfZSzDCPBvY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8JQ6y66h7w&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA5dt9QT4Ms&feature=related
Gene Krupa & Buddy Rich:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwJAAlXomVk
Buddy Rich & Jerry Lewis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=141o_jwG7cA&feature=related

What's going on

I saw this Marvin Gaye video a week ago at first time, and it had a huge effect on me. Its melody came back to my mind every day and I felt an intense desire to watch it again. The music and the video is perfectly synchronized: these old, fallow pictures from the past is very sorrowful and beautiful for me at the same time. It's a feeling that I can't draw, let alone write down, but I'll try it in few words: the beautifulness of life is mixed with the sadness of it, and this makes it so emotional. Those people on the video perhaps don't even live yet, and those children are adult now. They've come from a hard place and time. I always like this kind of blending in music, and also in films... and in my life, too. As we remember to old stories there's always the passing in it. Everything happens to us and we see too much of this world. We can't write this up. The most important things are the small vibrations of life - the things we can't draw. These are only feelings. And the feeling which I feel at 1:51 and later, watching the street with those afro-americans is also a thing that I can't draw. I could write more about it, but there'll be posts where this topic will be back again. It was just 5 minutes of contemplation before lying down.

The coolest parts:

- at 0:42 as he sings the second "father"

- at 1:35 as the first musical change starts after a cool "ooo"

- at 2:04 as he sings "Mother, mother": it's the way of singing that a non-afro-american can't do, I suppose

- at 3:53 and later as the music disappears, but the monotonic drum remains, creating a place for a deeper part... with fascinating video again

- at 8:24 as he sings "I wanna know, I wanna know...".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KC7uhMY9s

and on album: Marvin Gaye - What's going on

There's also a very cool version of it on the album: Quincy Jones - Smackwater Jack.