Just Discovered Some Great Jazz!!!! (1 Viewer)

[Lin Park]

Here are the titles I recently picked up and just can't get enough of:

Jimmy Smith - The Definitive Jimmy Smith
Cannonball Adderley - Things are Getting Better
Milt Jackson & John Coltrane - Bags & Trane

Smith's album is just fantastic, man what that guy could do with an organ. The last two each feature Milt Jackson who was one of the greatest vibraphone players of all time. I got turned on to the vibraphone when I picked up the SACD of Jazz at the Pawnshop along with Bucky Pizzarelli's Swing Live DVD-A and I just can't get enough of that sound. Any other great vibraphone artists I need to be aware of?

Lin

 

[Mike Broadman]

Lin,
I've never heard those titles. Thanks for the heads-up.

I used to not really like the vibes until I started listening to Jackson. The Modern Jazz Quartet turned me on to his playing. I also enjoy an album he did with Wes Montgomery a lot.

Probably the most famous vibes player in jazz is Lionel Hampton. He was before Jackson, playing blues and swing music, very different from Jackson's bop style.

 

[Lin Park]

Mike, Thanks for the tip - I read about Lionel Hampton while researching Milt over at allmusic.com. Might just have to check him out. I'm a huge blues fan so this sounds like something that's gonna cost me more money.

It's rare these days that I hear something on the radio and have to rush out and buy it but all of the titles listed above recently had a track played by WBGO here in Newark, NJ. What a GREAT station!!! If you don't live in the NJ area, you can listen in on-line at www.wbgo.org if you are interested.

Lin

 

[Mike Broadman]

Ah, WGBO. I live in NJ myself (Edison), despite what it says in my profile, which I haven't gotten around to changing yet. I'm also from NY, so I've listened to that station a lot.

I just don't listen to it as much now because I can't deal with all of the pledge drives. Of course, that wouldn't be necessary if people actually cared about this music, but oh well.

 

[John Watson]

The Hammond B3, was that Jimmy's instrument?

Right up there with the fretless bass for wonderful weirdness, long before synthesisers.

I also like the vibes, or is that a xylophone?

I got several MJQ disks recently because of that instrument. Very mellow.

Gary Burton did harder stuff with vibraphone, I have a 1970 album called "Good Vibes" that I could recommend.

 

[Allen Hirsch]

I heard/saw Jimmy Smith live at Yoshi's, probably the most recent time he was through the Bay Area.

Amazing stuff, even at his advanced age.

 

[Lin Park]

The Hammond B3 it is and oh what he can do with it.

I believe vibraphone = xylophone but I'm not sure who I'm insulting by saying that.

Lin

 

[Mike Broadman]

A xylophone uses wooden bars, a vibraphone uses metal. A vibraphone, aka vibraharp, also uses electronic pedals to control the sound.

NP: King Crimson Collector's Club #8, The VROOM Sessions