Best JAZZ Instrumental of all time?
Jun 30, 2005 at 6:55 AM Post #2 of 14
Quote:

Originally Posted by Asterix
I vote for Coleman Hawkins' classic rendition of Body and Soul.


I've gotta say, this is a pretty daunting question. Where's the musicologist who's going to offer the definitive explanation to back up his/her preference?

Having said that, a couple of years ago, I heard a long excerpt of Coleman Hawkins' "My Love and I" [Themesong from "Apache"] on Charlie Hayden/Quartet West Always Say Goodbye.

I think "My Love and I" is one of the standout sultry, romantic, film-noiresque instrumentals. It knocks my socks off. If I could only find the current Hawkins cd that contains the number in its entirety.. . .
 
Jun 30, 2005 at 7:07 AM Post #3 of 14
I don't know if I have heard enough Jazz to answer the question, but Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" is the most astonishing jazz instrumental I have heard. My jazz collection is only around 80 CDs so I am ready to explore more.
 
Jun 30, 2005 at 3:09 PM Post #5 of 14
Hmmm...what about Miles Davis' Kind of Blue? Classic...althought I can't claim that it is definitively "THE BEST" but should certainly rank up there..
 
Jun 30, 2005 at 9:21 PM Post #6 of 14
Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferbose
I don't know if I have heard enough Jazz to answer the question, but Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" is the most astonishing jazz instrumental I have heard. My jazz collection is only around 80 CDs so I am ready to explore more.


That's a good choice, except for the fact that there are about 10 or 15 live versions that each rival the studio version.
eek.gif
 
Jun 30, 2005 at 9:27 PM Post #7 of 14
Quote:

Originally Posted by Asterix
I vote for Coleman Hawkins' classic rendition of Body and Soul.



You are killing me ...... I hate picking only one (I am a huge fan of "top five" lists).

How about Coltrane's cadenza on "I Want to Talk About You" on Live at Birdland?
 
Jun 30, 2005 at 9:39 PM Post #8 of 14
This is almost impossible to answer, since most great jazz is instrumental.

If one assumes that we are talking about structured songs (as opposed to improvised solos), I would vote for Weather Report's "Birdland". It's certainly among the most-covered. Incidentally, the Manhattan Transfer vocal version came later.
 
Jun 30, 2005 at 11:32 PM Post #9 of 14
Quote:

Originally Posted by gratefulshrink
That's a good choice, except for the fact that there are about 10 or 15 live versions that each rival the studio version.
eek.gif



I actually prefer the Newport '63 version to the studio version, but haven't heard many other versions by him.

As to the original question, the Roy Ayers Smooth Jazz CD I borrowed from my sister definitely isn't it. He did have a fan club telephone number on the back of the CD though...
 
Jul 1, 2005 at 6:27 AM Post #10 of 14
do you want strictly traditionalist jazz?

if so, i haven't really heard enough to give a fair answer.

if not, my vote goes to Hiromi's "Double Personality", from the album "Another Mind".. with a supporting lineup of Mitch Cohn, Dave DiCenso, Anthony Jackson, Jim Odgren, and Dave Fiuczynski.. it's just incredible contemporary jazz.
 
Jul 3, 2005 at 2:42 AM Post #11 of 14
Jazz is obviously a wide genre that means different things to different people. I mostly listen to 'classic' or 'traditional' jazz. My taste in jazz runs from about the 30's to the 80's. I have a collection of about 300 or so jazz albums. To me, if you were to highlight the 'best' players of all-time, it would start with:

Charlie Parker

Then, his mentor,

Lester Young

Then,

Coltrane

and

Bean (Coleman Hawkins)


But that's just my taste. To me Coleman Hawkins 'Body and Soul' is really awesome since he wrote the tune and it is one of the most beautiful, classic jazz standard ever composed. Not only that but his solo on the classic 40's rendition is pretty revolutionary for jazz at the time. To me it just sounds perfect how he constructed his solo, everything is in the right place at the right time and it's very cohesive. I think this time period is Bean at his best, the 40's for me really is when he's in his prime. Somehow what he did here seems to be of the greatest importance in jazz to me, because he layed down foundations for bebop while still staying within the older swing style.
Unfortunately my Coleman Hawkins cd has hundreds of errors per track since it's all scratched up to death (and later scratched more with toothpaste.) So unfortunately I won't be able to listen to it now to think about what I wrote.
 
Jul 3, 2005 at 11:57 PM Post #12 of 14
Actually, if you check AMG to Jazz, 3rd Edition (the one and only authority on Jazz
rolleyes.gif
), it says 'Classic Jazz' is jazz from the 1920s.

To me, the Post-Bop and Avant-Garde jazz from, say, the mid-to-late sixties (Blue Note: Eric Dolphy, Andrew Hill, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, Larry Young, etc.) sounds really fresh and relevant today. Even some of the more funky music or 'Soul Jazz' from the sixties feels right now - will tha funk ever go out of style?
cool.gif
'Smooth Jazz' arrived from an alternate universe I think.
rolleyes.gif


However, when I listen to jazz prior, I feel more like an historian/student than just a listener (perhaps recording quality has something to due with it?). I know all these masters like Louis Armstrong, Duke, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and Charlie Parker layed down the foundation of jazz today, but I just can't get into them as much. Perhaps that will change...
 
Jul 4, 2005 at 2:59 AM Post #13 of 14
A lot of it for me is imagining the time period and the culture of the world at the time and how revolutionary it was for these guys IN THAT PERIOD. It may not seem that advanced by today's standards but it is just creativity but in a more antique style, musically. I personally do not listen to anything earlier than the 30's, though.


Quote:

Originally Posted by White Fox
Actually, if you check AMG to Jazz, 3rd Edition (the one and only authority on Jazz
rolleyes.gif
), it says 'Classic Jazz' is jazz from the 1920s.

To me, the Post-Bop and Avant-Garde jazz from, say, the mid-to-late sixties (Blue Note: Eric Dolphy, Andrew Hill, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, Larry Young, etc.) sounds really fresh and relevant today. Even some of the more funky music or 'Soul Jazz' from the sixties feels right now - will tha funk ever go out of style?
cool.gif
'Smooth Jazz' arrived from an alternate universe I think.
rolleyes.gif


However, when I listen to jazz prior, I feel more like an historian/student than just a listener (perhaps recording quality has something to due with it?). I know all these masters like Louis Armstrong, Duke, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and Charlie Parker layed down the foundation of jazz today, but I just can't get into them as much. Perhaps that will change...


 
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