Music Preferences

[BigH]

Just think that we should try to jump start this forum a little bit. Can't all be about technical stuff - although I am hoping that we can get some good discussions going. But, lets start with music. I grew up on the stuff - the days of the Beatles and Dave Clark 5 (Tequilla!!) Loved the Byrds, Hollies, the one-hit groups (e.g., Agnes English) - but got to Cornell and saw that jazz was more my thing. Anyway - my top picks in categories:

Jazz: 1. John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things"
2. John Coltrane's "Giant Steps"
3. Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue"
4. Don Pullen's "Kele Mou Bana" (Africa/Brazilian)
5. Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley
6. Abbey Lincoln's "You Gotta Pay the Band"
7. Henry Mancini's "Music from Peter Gunn"
8. Anything by Thelonius Monk!!! Monk Rules.

Rock: 1. Byrds Greatest Hits
2. Crosby Stills Nash (Wooden Ships)
3. Frank Zappa's "Absolutely Free" and anything else by him!!!)
4. Fresh Cream
5. Animal's Greatest Hits

Blues: 1. John Mayall's "Blues Crusaders" with Eric Clapton
2. John Mayall's "Wake Up Call"
3. Huddie Ledbetter aka Leadbelly

Classical: 1. Bach's Brandenberg Concertoes
2. Beethoven's Eroica (3rd Symphony"
3. Brahm's Second Symphony

Finally I hate Kenny G !!!

Just a few that came to mind.

 

[JAE]

OK, I'll bite - some of my favorites in no particular order:

1. Jethro Tull
2. Neil Young (and CSN too!)
3. Eva Cassidy
4. Jimmie Spheeris (anyone heard of him? just curious)
5. Emerson Lake and Palmer
6. Bill Mallonee and the Vigilantes of Love
7. One Tree Hill
8. Over the Rhine
9. Burlap to Cashmere
10. Yes
11. Led Zeppelin
12. Allison Krause
13. Norah Jones
14. DC Talk
15. Jars of Clay
16. Caedmon's Call

 

[Mccoy]

My favourite players? piano:

McCoy Tyner........(that's where my monicker comes from!)
Mulgrew Miller
Kenny Barron
Chucho Valdes
Michael Camilo
Many, many others...

All other instruments:
too many to list. Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, eric Dolphy deserve special places

BigH, "My favourite things" and "Giant steps" are just legendary.
Monk was too great! A crazy genius.
I agree about Kenny G. Just let's don our ear plugs!

Sorry, my favourite has always been jazz music, and latin jazz, but Emerson, Lake & Palmer were great, Jethro Tull as well, don't know many others, maybe the old Santana and a few more.
Modern rock tend to produce bad vibes, affecting negatively peace of mind.

Albeit I'm italian, I can't help but hate Italian music. Trite & corny vibes.
Much better were the old opera composers: Rossini, Puccini, Verdi

Classical is too vast, vibes tend to be uplifting.
Listz, Rachmaninoff, Grieg just a few composers I like
Also I've always liked "flight of the mumblebee", by Rimsky-Korsakoff, real peculiar

 

[BigH]

Of course, McCoy played with Coltrane! - has a nice CD called "Remembering John". I forgot Aqualung! - and I never heard of Jimmie Spheeris??? Norah's first album was quite good; she's grand-daughter of Ravi Shankar. One reason she's big in India. Kenny Barron is quite good - I've a few things here by him - but so is Horace Silver.
and thanks for biting!

 

[Mccoy]

I have remembering John and it's great. In giant steps you get a glimpse of McCoy's terrific virtuosism.
By the way, they say John Coltrane at the end of his life became sort of one of those Indian sages-musician, always engrossed in new musical combinations. Who was that medioeval musician who, by playing by day a nocturnal raga (so ordered by a king), caused the king's palace to plunge into darkness? I don't mind if you think I'm crazy, but I really believe that stuff !

 

[JAE]

BigH - Jimmie Spheeris put out four albums in the late 70's through mid 80's. I'd describe him as jazz/folk/rock fusion with a voice somewhat similar to that of Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame - he was killed in a motorcycle accident some time in the 80's. A few years ago they re-issued his albums on CD's but the record company didn't last long. You can hear some snippets of his music here .

There is a website out there and he has quite a cult following. His music is very captivating.

 

[BigH]

JAE - Thanks - I'll check it out.

 

[jdonville]

BigH,

Thanks for the invite to the forum.

Currently listening to Pat Metheny Group "We Live Here", Charlie Haden "Nocturne" and "Beyond the Missouri Sky" (w/Metheny), pretty much everything by Kurt Elling, "Kind of Blue" by Davis. Am about to warm up my second copy of the Oscar Peterson Trio's "Night Train" (left the first copy behind during a recent move).

As I have a 3-week-old daughter, we are also listening to a "Mozart for Meditation" compilation during feedings and rockings.

For pure power-chord guitar rock, the 'best-of' album "Pure Cult" seems to be satisfying my needs at the moment.

Jeff


Jeffrey T. Donville, PE
TTL Associates, Inc.

http://www.ttlassoc.com

 

[BigH]

Jeff - geotechs apparently like jazz; maybe it's the non-conformists we tend to be. I've got Oscar's Night Train - nice CD. As for your young daughter, I found that the bebop jazz/traditioal jazz works great. My daughter is 13 and while she likes all the young stuff today (avril Levigne, etc.), she also likes Coltrane, Davis and Monk. We were in Bangkok once and went to hear a jazz band and bought their CD; she could't go to sleep without it! And, bless her soul, she's a big fan of John Mayall and that greatest of non-conformists, Frank Zappa! Zappa is "k".
Welcome to the group!

 

[MRM]

I see some great examples above! In the jazz world I'd have to say that Charles Mingus is a favorite, as well as Stanley Clarke, (I'm a bass player myself, so these are natural choices for me). I'm a big Zappa fan too!

A few years ago, Stanley Clarke got together with his buddies Chick Corea and Jon Luc Ponty and put a little disc together. It's called "Rite of Strings." Great stuff on that, it's on the mellow side, but the instrumentation is really something to behold... Come to think of it, there may also be a song dedicated to John Coltrane’s memory on that disc too.

I've never considered myself much of a hard core Bob Dylan fan, but I have to say that "Basements Tapes," which features Bob Dylan and The Band, is a musical masterpiece. Great stuff.

 

[Mccoy]

A few years ago Stanley Clarke also recorded an excellent CD with McCoy Tyner, don't remember the name, just it was great stuff!

 

[BigH]

When I was in university, we had a great treat one night. They had Larry Coryell's 11th House playing along with Chick Corea's Light as a Feather Group. So, I got to see Corea interact with Stanley Clarke on the one side. It was truly an amazing night - was only sad that they didn't do an encore with Coryell and Corea playing togethter! I think that Stanley Clarke is doing movie scores now, too. - Don't anyone mention Billy Cobham as drummer!?

 

[BigH]

Recommendation - sitting here checking out Eng-Tips listening to Kenny Barron's Wanton Spirit (with Charlie Haden on bass and Roy Haynes on drums). Great - especially "One Finger Snap."

 

[Mccoy]

Cobham is regarded as THE virtuoso drummer.
Can do everything.
Played with McCoy and orchestra on one CD in the seventies and fitted very, very well.
Next month both are playing in my place. Looking forward to it.

P.S. Kenny Barron is one of the few musicians whose CD's you can buy without surprises. They're all good!

MRM, you're not the only player in the group. I've been playing jazz piano for quite a while, but listening to those guys makes me nervous. They're too perfect!
(of course most of'em have an innate talent for music, and cultivated it - and many were born in jazz-playing families)

 

[BigH]

Find a drummer and we may cut a "Foundations by Terzaghi" CD!!

 

[BigH]

It is a Saturday night, watching "The Rock" - which I have seen many times - and checking out some jazz sites. Also downloading some great jazz (good deals) from the net. Anyway I might suggest the following:

http://www.eJazzNews.com

http://members.aol.com/plabjazz/index.html

Also - should anybody have hotmail or yahoo chat:

bohicafries at either of the sites; might be nice.

Take care all!

 

[Mccoy]

Thanks BigH for sharing those links.
McCoy played last night near my place. Although very busy, I couldn't but loose some sleep and go listen to him.
At 69, he's still the best. Mythic piano playing. powerful left hand. The piano is now definitely an appendix of his body.
Only drawback, the formation (an "all-star" group) wasn't up to his energy.

 

[BigH]

Mccoy - your email still the same? Just wondering. I've got a double album CD of McCoy's "Ballads" - fantastic!