All That Jazz ...

An interesting take on why we gravitate towards certain musical genres.
Some food for thought here.

I haven't seen the video yet so apologies if this comes off as as OT ...

I was just talking to another jazz enthusiast recently on a similar vein. The guy was a heavy metal / death metal fan in his younger years in college. Now he only listens to small ensemble jazz music that is as far away as one can get from his youth. It's an interesting topic to see what makes us gravitate towards the music we listen to on our setups.


.
 
If one is attentive to improvisation, isn't that an aspect of Melody?
The key word, I believe, is ‘attentive’. I think jazz aficionados like to pay close attention to what’s going on in the music, while most others are not that invested.
Every time I play Trane’s My Favourite Things for non-jazzophiles, here’s what happens:
- their eyes (and ears) light up when they hear the melody statement at the beginning. Usually, they’ll hum along.
- when Tyner starts his solo, they quickly lose interest and conversation starts again.
- when Trane really gets into his solo, they glance nervously at the speakers. Sometimes they’ll ask if this is still the same tune.
- when the melody returns at the end, they pay attention again.
You can try this experiment with any jazz cover of a familiar pop tune. Time After Time or Human Nature by Miles also works well.

Now he only listens to small ensemble jazz
That’s quite an interesting leap :)
I wonder if he’s still ok with hearing heavy metal, though?
One aspect not covered in the video is our exposure to musical genres in our formative years. I’m pretty sure that would have a huge impact on what we listen to today. At the same time, there’s some music that I liked as a teenager that I find really boring now.
 
The key word, I believe, is ‘attentive’. I think jazz aficionados like to pay close attention to what’s going on in the music, while most others are not that invested.
Every time I play Trane’s My Favourite Things for non-jazzophiles, here’s what happens:
- their eyes (and ears) light up when they hear the melody statement at the beginning. Usually, they’ll hum along.
- when Tyner starts his solo, they quickly lose interest and conversation starts again.
- when Trane really gets into his solo, they glance nervously at the speakers. Sometimes they’ll ask if this is still the same tune.
- when the melody returns at the end, they pay attention again.
You can try this experiment with any jazz cover of a familiar pop tune. Time After Time or Human Nature by Miles also works well.


That’s quite an interesting leap :)
I wonder if he’s still ok with hearing heavy metal, though?
One aspect not covered in the video is our exposure to musical genres in our formative years. I’m pretty sure that would have a huge impact on what we listen to today. At the same time, there’s some music that I liked as a teenager that I find really boring now.

Wonder if his parents were jazz fans ?
 
The next time you have guests, try Norah Jones or Melody Gardot :)
Err… not a fan of Norah. Will Ella do? :)
But you raise a good point: most people are ok with vocals in any genre. It’s the instrumental music that takes some getting used to.

Btw, here’s a new group I discovered recently. Only available on streaming services, I believe.

 
Mile Davis fan. Anyway, really loving this Miles Porgy and Bess Mo-Fi CD...

SACD-Porgy-and-Bess-crp.jpg

Other recent purchases - Japanese Blu-Spec CDs...
Miles on Blu-Spec2.jpg


My Miles Davis Collection ripped to FLAC as shown in JRiver Media Center....
Mile Davis Collection - Apr2023.jpg

My Fav "acoustic Miles" is Kind of Blue; In A Silent Way. Electric Miles is Get Up With It; Bitches Brew. Other is Porgy & Bess.
 
Last edited:
After Allan Holdsworth's passing away a number of live recordings has been released.This one from the many is the latest and the one I like the best.The band is searingly hot.
1682315758584.png
 
The greatest!
No arguments there :)
It’s funny, but when it comes to vocal jazz, I prefer the classic female vocalists of yesteryear: Ella, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, to name a few.
But for other genres, the names are (relatively) more recent: Suzanne Vega, India Arie, Jill Scott, Macy Gray, Tracy Thorn, Erykah Badu, et al.
 
K54472000000000-00-600x600.jpg




.
 
Join WhatsApp group to get HiFiMART.com Offers & Deals delivered to your smartphone!
Back
Top