What I'm listening to lately and some thoughts on the (possibly perceived as neglected) Yoity Tot CD list

Readers may well be forgiven for thinking that I have let the Yoity Tot CD list go to the dogs. Attentive readers will note the addition of Thad Jones' Consummation last weekend was the only addition since the launch of the list back in May, and that there've been no other changes or alterations to the list. "Eric's stopped listening to jazz and the list, once targeted to have 25 titles plus some past title-holder slots is stuck at 15 or 16 now and for ever. Lazy ***!" The fact of the matter is, I've been adding to my jazz music collection like crazy, so much so that Mrs. S sometimes doesn't even find time to upload everything to our iTunes library, or, with so many CD's coming in on a regular basis, isn't sure which ones have been uploaded and which ones haven't. What's more, I've been adding almost exclusively classic jazz recordings recommended as part of the core collection of the Penguin Jazz Recordings Guide, so there haven't been too many duds and slouchers creeping into my listening regimen.

This has created some problems.

First of all, listening time. Right now, I probably own ten CD's that I haven't even listened to yet. The reason is because, after I listen to something once, even if it is a casual listen while cooking and eating dinner or driving to work, before I listen to it a second time, I like to read the original liner notes, compare the musicians playing on it to other recordings, and maybe read up on it in the Penguin. So naturally, this process takes some time. I must admit also that this process sometimes get jumbled up and I forget what I have listened to so far, or I put in Dexter Gordon but think I'm listening to Wayne Shorter, or something like that. This makes for interesting listening and interesting results in formulating my opinion, which is what I'm trying to achieve anyway. But again, this takes time. Secondly, I have to say, despite the overload of what are considered jazz classics, honestly, I haven't found any that are worthy of the Yoity Tot list. One thing I am not interested in is recreating someone else's list. This is my list, so I'm careful about how I listen to and think about a CD and what qualifies if for Yoity Tot. And just to show that I have been doing what I say I am doing, here's a list of what I'm listening to lately and why they haven't made the list:

-Sarah Vaughn with Clifford Brown - Excellent. Really great stuff. But for my money, nowhere near as good as Helen Merrill with CB. Can't put them both on the list. Sorry.
-Love Supreme by John Coltrane - Legendary recording. Legendary work. Unmatched. Historic. But I bought the deluxe edition and the live version from France on disc two is nothing special and overall, I'm not moved by the pieces, original or bootleg. Somebody cries for John Coltrane when they hear this music, but sometimes, I just wish the noise would stop. McCoy Tyner almost saves it, but no, this is not Yoity Tot material.
-Destiny's Dance by Chico Freeman - Probably, this will make the list if nothing else comes along to impress me more. I listened to it once and thought it was crap. Listened to it a second time and "got it", listened to it a third time and was enraptured. The tracks that Wynton Marsalis plays on are especially dynamic. It's not great but it's as deep as the ocean, and that might be enough.
-Maiden Voyage by Herbie Hancock - Another legendary, historic, epic recording. But it only has five songs on it and only two of them are any good and none of them are that entertaining that repeated listenings don't become a bit boring. (I may be biased here.)
-Speak No Evil by Wayne Shorter - A list candidate. Still thinking about it.
-Our Man in Paris by Dexter Gordon - Another viable candidate. But, like John Coltrane, in places, I just wish it would stop.
-Blue Serge by Serge Chaloff - Probably this will go on the list, even if it will eventually be surpassed and have to be removed. This CD is very interesting and baritone sax is an instrument with a sound completely unto itself. A unique recording.
-The Amazing Bud Powell Volumes 1 and 2 - Great music, crappy recordings. I want them to be better, and that means, they're not good enough.
-The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson Volumes 1 and 2 - Great music, great bands, Clifford Brown, sharp recordings, these have a lot going for them. If Jay Jay doesn't make the list through Clifford (Volume 1 is on the Complete CB on Pacific set that I have, which I'm thinking about putting on the list), I may have to throw this one on there. It's probably good enough to be on the list.
-In My Time by Marian McPartland - Decent. Some interesting moments and a high level of skill, but, it doesn't stand out to me.
-Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery - Borderline. This recording really has its moments and despite my admitted bias against jazz guitar, this is very close to edging its way into the list.
-King Oliver's Complete Creole Jazz Band - Good God! I don't care how historic or trendsetting or timeless or anything the music is. If it was recorded on a street corner by a monkey turning a spindle on a prototype Edison recorder, it's crap.
-Complete Atomic Count Basie - Yeah. That's better. Good enough for the Yoity Tot list? Maybe. Just maybe.

I could go on. Suffice to say, I listen to jazz everyday for at least an hour, not counting my own playing time. When I find a recording that you it to yourself to own, it will get listed.

Meandering musings on things jazz

I had an occasion to listen to some live jazz music this weekend, but for various reasons, I was not able to take advantage of the opportunity. Instead, I was mostly stuck at home, and it provided me an opportunity to delve into a few of the new CD's I purchased for my rapidly growing collection. One that I listened to the most is one of the most classic of jazz classics: A Love Supreme by John Coltrane. I hardly know what to make of it. It went by so fast the first time, I felt sure it wasn't the 28 (?) minutes it said it was, so I listened to it again, back to back. Again, it seemed to me that the first track (listed at 7+ minutes) wasn't more than two minutes long. So, either the CD is altering the space time continuum, the liner notes are wrong, or it's just so good, you can't feel the time go by. It was weird, actually. I swear I thought maybe I passed out or somehow skipped one or two of the tracks or something. I guess ultimately, forgetting about time is what jazz (and all music, really) is all about. That, and waking up in the morning, going, (in a really really deep voice) "A love supreme, a love supreme, a love supreme, a love supreme..."

After Coltrane, I put on Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage. The title track is really the only song on there that I like, but I'm going to write about that recording some other time.

Then this morning I was listening to volume two of Jay Jay Johnson, and that freaked me out for a simpler, less supernatural reason. I've been listening to a lot of trumpet music lately, and I was struck by how smooth Johnson is on the trombone that it sounded, in its phrasing, more like a trumpet than a trombone. Of course, he's not doing anything crisp and jumpy like Clifford Brown or Fats Navarro would, but on Old Devil Moon, I found his phrasing to be remarkably lively and similar to Mel Torme's, enough so that I wonder if Mel might not have been listening to Johnson before he stepped into the studio to make his Swings Shubert Alley recording.

And, over the weekend, I read about Louis Armstrong's recording of West End Blues, which will be 80 years old this Friday. I'll write about that later this week, I suppose.

I stopped practicing half-diminished chords because that wasn't going all that well. Instead, I decided just to do diminished sevenths with the bass note as the lowest note around the circle of fifths. Even that was not easy. I have a lot of basic things I need to work on, and with an hour long lesson coming up this week, I'm going to get my instructor to give me some ideas of what to work on - specifically. I thought there would be some kind of diminished chord exercises in one of my jazz chord workbooks, and I was surprised to find there was not. Now I'm thinking that such a thing might exist and I need to find it for my own benefit. Then I remembered, that's what my instructor is for. Teamwork.

It happened again

It happened again.

I was listening to Volume One of The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson on the drive in to work this morning. I put it into the player last night on the way home from the local poker game (where I won exactly half a hand in two hours of poker), and because I live close to where the game is held, I only listened to one song last night, but I thought, that sounds familiar. But then I thought, hmmm, must be another version of a song I've heard before. I didn't think anything more of it, as I pulled into the garage and turned it off for the night.

So this morning, as I'm driving, I'm listening closely again and noticing that the trumpet player accompanying (trombonist) J.J. Johnson is really kicking it, so much so, I'm thinking, is that Miles Davis? Doc Severinson? Herb Alpert maybe even? I challenge myself to figure it out, and I listen carefully to that song and the next. I conclude that it must be Clifford Brown on trumpet and I decide to make that my "final answer" and I look at the CD cover.

Correct! I've won $32,000 and the chance to continue. It is Clifford Brown. Uh-oh. Clifford Brown. No wonder I thought I'd heard it before. Don't tell me. This CD is a duplicate of one in the complete Clifford Brown Blue Note recordings that I already own. Isn't it? ISN'T IT?!?! I glance at the CD cover again. Sure enough: Blue Note.

Son of a --!

I'm starting to get pissed off about this, I think. But as I'm listening, I'm thinking: you know, this sounds like I've heard it before, but not quite. Not really. Maybe it's not exactly the same as the Clifford Brown pressing. Then I think, maybe I just want to think that because I'm getting upset about having all these duplicate recordings. First thing when I get to work, before the drudge begins, I jump to amazon.com, open two or three windows and pull up J. J. Johnson Volume 1 and Clifford Brown Complete. I'm relieved to see that, while all of volume one does appear on the Clifford Brown set, none of volume two does. So, my ideas about having to finally bite the bullet and resell some CD's because my collection went from two duplicates to four were unfounded, although it did go to three, but I will, for now, be content to hold onto all of the CD's I have, for the collection's sake.

Just the same, I'm again starting to get upset about letting the Penguin Jazz Recordings Guide be my guide in purchasing jazz recordings because, let's face it, as a "guide", it sucks. As a "list", it is essentially one of a kind and indispensible, but it doesn't "guide" you anywhere except into a black hole of debt and duplication. I promise you, there is nothing in the entries about J. J. Johnson that says, "this is also available on the Clifford Brown Complete set", or "parts of this also appear on...". Plus don't forget, two of the four CD's in the Clifford Brown set also happen to be Volumes 1 and 2 of Art Blakey at Birdland, so IF in fact, both J.J. Johnson works were duplicated on the Clifford set, it would have been possible to buy that and dispense with buying both Art and J.J. So instead of buying eight CD's, you could buy four and have exactly the same "amount" of music. Now, if you pay $20 for a "guide", don't you think it should tell you that? At a minimum? I guess it's time to start a "duplicate CD's list". Maybe people will come to me for the information, instead of Penguin.

Look for that list, coming soon.