I can't understand why anyone would want to listen to this mixed up, tuneless drivel called jazz. The only mildly amusing thing about it is the weird names the muisicians have, like Thelonious Monk. What was his mother thinking of! Or calling a kid Dizzy?
Richard Sutherland
It gets worse. His full name is THELONIUS SPHERE MONK. I guess his mother didn't want him to be a square.
Richard Sutherland
Like many other musical forms, jazz has many forms. I love jazz-rock and jazzy ballads, but don't like mainstream jazz, cleo laine being my worst nightmare! I would say Sade is a jazz singer and she is worlds away.
Likewise Jacques Loussier's jazz interpretation of some of Bach's classics are sublime.
Lots of people think Jazz is not something to enjoy. Thats because what people remember is those few tunes that are hard to take in.
I personally can't see what people get out of the stuff they thrash out at Skins each night, far less the attraction people have for country music but I do respect the fact that people are all different.
I do the Jazz show on a wednesday on CFM 10 - 12, - and so many people say exactly as you do, but they like Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and so many jazzy singers; Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald sang Jazz - I defy anyone to say that is without a tune.
So although I do play the odd track that you may find over complicated most of it I make a particular effort to keep easy to listen to (and thats what I like)....... the other night I started with the old Guinness ad tune from the 90's,; Ad agencies won't use all the Jazz they do without people in general liking it.
So like classical music, some modern, avant garde stuff is hard to enjoy and you need to be a Jazz enthusiast to get it, most of it however is mainstream, enjoyable and the foundation (along with blues) that most of popular music is built on.
So dislike whatever you like thats fine, what is sad is that all of jazz is tarred with the same brush - you probably do like some!
I speak as someone without beard and wooly jumper who only says NICE rarely.
Dave
Oh no..I cannot agree with the anti-jazz brigade.
I was brought up in a house where lots of jazz was played and appreciated.
I consider it one of life's finest pleasures!
Schmoozy,sexy,soul- stirring, wonderful sounds..IMO!
Karia
Cattach you are so cool! Perhaps you could explain jazz to me.
Richard Sutherland
I would agree with both Orkneylass and davem, Jazz can sometimes be difficult to get into or listen to (Sun Rah, seeing as we are on great names) and can sometimes be complete rubbish, or indeed 'easy listening' nonsense. But, like most musical genres, there is some really good wheat in there with the chaff. I defy anyone to listen to Nina Simone (almost anything), John Coltrane's 'Blue Train', Miles Davis' 'Kind Of Blue', Herbie Hancock 'Headhunters' and not get a tingle down the spine...
Its a shame to dismiss the whole genre when there is more than a hundred years worth of Jazz and jazz influenced music to listen to and try. From funk (Stevie Wonder / James Brown / so much 70's and onwards) to soul (Marvin Gaye / AL Green and so on) to pop (Amy Winehouse / Joss Stone etc) to house & dance (St Germain / Faithless / Massive Attack etc) and hip-hop (loads sample from Blue Note's Recordings). A listen to Radio 1 or Radio 2 on any day will give you numerous heavily jazz influenced records....
Surfing around the web I have found that hating jazz is OK. Here's how one guy describes a dinner party ruined by jazz (on the fatmammycat blog):
"Jazz scares the pants of me normally, but that night it was the headless horseman and I was Ichabod Crane. I could not flee I was rooted to the spot in horror, I could only watch and weave as the black waves rolled over me in toot-tootles, barbalas and strange didlde-eepeeps.
'Hey is this the same song as the last one? Where's the chorus? How does anyone know where to end it? When will it end? It will end won't it? My ears are bleeding. Is that tapioca? I think I am about to stab you in the heart with my fish knife.'
I got very very drunk that night-so drunk I lost my voice for two days. And even as drunk as I got I still couldn't make head nor tails of Jazz- and I can talk Esperanto like a native when drunk.
Jazz, I against it!
Richard Sutherland
Oh I so have to agree, Jazz IS tuneless drivel, anytime jazz is mentioned to me I think of that comedy program (the name eludes me) where the guy turns side on to the camera and says 'nice'!
Why be a hard rock when you really are a gem!
The worst sort of jazz bore is the learned idiot who says "you have never listened to REAL jazz" - then he disappears into the basement and emerges clutching some album with coffee rings on the cover, and waves this thing around in triumph and then I am stuck with this cacophany as some 80 year old toothless denizen of New Orleans plays the stovepipe and then mumbles some incomprehensible dreck. Or worse it turns out to be some flautist or baritone sax player playing broadway songs like they were never intended to be played. It sounds like an animal in distress.
Richard Sutherland
I once shared a flat in Dundee with some characters who were into John Coaltrain and they would play this crap all night, driving away some very attractive women let me say - I used to tell my flatmates there is more music in one bar of Jimmy Shand than there is in the whole collected works of Charles Mingus or Coletrain.
I really think that we Caithness folk are not as easilly fooled as people who live in Edinburgh and London and New York. What do they know?
Richard Sutherland
Prefer jazz mags myself, but you're right - Loussier was amazing.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/feat...?id=1200852007
If you don't believe me just listen to this awful sound of a man who clearly does not know how to play the Piano. Yes, it is the spherical Mr. Monk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmhP1RgbrrY
Richard Sutherland
i love jazz. anykind o jazz. specially if its got a bit o funk til it. an i think van morrison is one o e greatest musicians til ever walk e earth. i saw him in edinburgh last november an he wis brilliant.
by the way dave, iv herd yer jazz program on a wednesday an hev til say wis mighty impressed
Merry Meet, Merry Part and Merry Meet Again
Blessed Be...
I'm delighted to hear there's other Loussier fans out there - here's one of my favourites:- Choral - Jesus, Joy of Man's Desiring.
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