Crappy-ass easy listening music being called jazz (smooth jazz my butt! :mad: ) and worst self -professed jazz stations which play cover songs of major rock, historical, or big band tunes in a easy listening style. One baby step-up for friken Musak I tell yeah. If you think that’s jazz, I got bridge for sale- just for you.
Grumbles. . .
Our only major Jazz station here in the UK ( Jazz FM ) is like that . Most of the time it does not even play jazz but soul music. and the rest is mainly smooth jazz. It is left to the BBC classical station ( Radio 3 ) to play " real jazz " but that is for only a few hours a week.
People who are “jazzier than thou.”
Prolonged arguments about what jazz is or isn’t.
Self-indulgent stuff with no semblance of melody (or harmony for that matter).
Session recordings that have 3 takes of 2 songs rather than 1 take of 6 songs.
People who are “jazzier than thou.”
Prolonged arguments about what jazz is or isn’t.
Self-indulgent stuff with no semblance of melody (or harmony for that matter).
Session recordings that have 3 takes of 2 songs rather than 1 take of 6 songs. I don’t mind an extra take here and there but it does start to get old.
Did you listen to his earlier stuff, i.e. pre-1959? I think many people get turned off to Miles because of Kind of Blue. Many more than not get turned on to him because of that album but modal jazz is not everyone’s thing (including mine). I think it’s the most overrated album in music. Anyway, go back and listen to Birth of the Cool or the slightly more accessible Steamin’ (and Relaxin’, Cookin’, Walkin’) with Miles series.
Thanks KidCharlemagne and Eman Resu, I think you have both helped me out. I mistakenly got hold of “Kind of Blue” and “Bitches Brew” when I tried to get into Miles’ jazz. Having heard they were his best albums. I’ll have a look for the earlier albums to get an easier introduction.
Related to that: all those dweebs at Border’s who play and play and play the hell out of “Kind of Blue,” thinking they somehow discovered the CD and must educate EVERYONE about how great it is. Give it a rest, boys and girls!
There’s good later stuff, too… right now I’m really enjoying the stuff he did in the group with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. The two albums that I have are “Miles Smiles” and “E.S.P.” That’d be an especially good start if you’re into Wayne Shorter (I believe he wrote all but two of the tunes on “Miles Smiles”) or a good introduction to Wayne Shorter.
Or if you’re more at home with straight-ahead bop and hard bop, I guess earlier would be a good way to go.
I need to add an item to my list of hates/dislikes that I sorta skipped over before.
It has to do with how poorly TV in general has done with jazz. There have been some exceptional programs. Now and then somebody will put together the right combination of actual playing, with good camera work, decent sound, effective lighting, intelligent commentary and whatever it takes to convey the excitement and thrill of a performance, a style, a period in history, or an outstanding musician or group.
I have a few tapes with such programs captured off the air. Austin City Limits for one. Some late night weekend PBS specials for another. Some Bravo or A&E special. Even 60 Minutes with an in-depth interview on Miles. So there have been some good shows.
Just not nearly enough of them, especially when you compare the air time that gets spent on other styles of music.
Whatever and whenever it was that jazz got the reputation of being too cerebral to relate to, that you had to be a music student even to know what it’s about, was a huge disservice to a music that is visceral and emotional and direct – at least to me.
The stigma that jazz has gotten from overzealous critics, puffed up players who think their track is the only track, and otherwise bad handling, could be fixed so easily if those same producers who make MTV and VH1 and the other pop-oriented channels would put some of the dollars that go into clothes and lights and special effects into showcasing some jazz talent.
I already bitched about BET Jazz. There for just a little while I was hoping I’d be able to see some good stuff on that channel. I gave it a fair chance. But I have heard better sound on the local CAT channel, with better lighting to boot. And the shows have no energy and very little point.
Why can’t they do better?
Drum solos.
Meandering honking on the sax that sounds like a donkey in distress (credit to Tommy Tiernan for that phrase).
Nice jazz station on-line-- for free even:
http://www.jazz-radio.fm/home.php?stream=aba1
I have given up on KPLU for a while for the above mentioned reasons.