All That Jazz

Introduction

There is a meme that says:

A rock guitarist plays 3 chords to 1,000 people, a jazz guitarist plays 1,000 chords to 3 people

I would not describe myself as a jazz aficionado, and I completely detest lounge jazz and elevator music jazz, and must admit I find some of the more outre jazz unlistenable, so why am I writing this, you might ask?

I sell CDs on Discogs, my store is here:

These are all albums that have been in my collection, but I d,on't listen to any more. Sometimes I pick them out of the pile, and take a listen, and then decide to put them back into my collection.

One of these was "The Real Dave Brubeck" which you can buy from Amazon below if you are so inclined.

There are three discs in this pack, and I have listened to the set twice in the last three days. I then thought about doing a Dave Brubeck playlist, but while I would describe most of this collection as OK (there are lots of standards, and the saxophones are quite bland, but inoffensive), there are only three standout pieces, and they feature Brubeck's piano work heavily.

So I thought maybe add some of the other jazz pieces I like, and maybe show you some jazz that is at least interesting. One of the things is that most music is in 4/4 time, but jazz can be in any time, including 4/4. Also, the playing can be incredibly precise or all over the place. This a piece that I did on non-4/4 music.

I published a piece on the amazing (in my and many others' opinions) "Bitches Brew" by Miles Davis that you can read and hear here, so I won't include anything from that album in this list:

I will start this with Dave Brubeck's most famous piece, and finish with my favourite Dave Brubeck piece, and the third one will be in the middle with some other jazz pieces that do impress me, although they may not be to your taste.

All That Jazz - The Jazz

Dave Brubeck - "Take Five" from the eponymous album

If you have heard anything by Dave Brubeck, it will probably be this. It has been covered by many artists in a variety of styles, so if you just search "Take Five" on YouTube or Google, you will find them if you want to investigate further.

Bonzo Dog Band - "Jazz Delicious Hot, Disgusting Cold" from "Gorilla"

I suppose this is trad jazz that I hated as a kid, am still not impressed with, but this is fun, and the Bonzos do a lot more than just jazz. The title sort of expresses my opinion of the overall genre.

Dave Brubeck - "Unsquare Dance" from "Time Further Out"

This is in 7/4 time and is very close to my favourite Brubeck piece, it is one of those tunes I don't want to stop.

Al Di Meola - "Short Tales Of The Black Forest" from "Land Of The Midnight Sun"

When I heard this, I bought the album straight away. The music is amazing, incredible speed and precision on an acoustic guitar, and it is most definitely very melodic.

Dave Brubeck - "Blue Rondo à la Turk" from "Take Five"

It is written in 9/8 time, with one side theme in 4/4, and the choice of rhythm was inspired by the Turkish aksak time signatures.

This just tips "Unsquare Dance" as my favourite Brubeck tune.

Brubeck heard this unusual rhythm performed by Turkish musicians on the street. Upon asking the musicians where they got the rhythm, one replied, "This rhythm is to us what the blues is to you." Hence the title "Blue Rondo à la Turk."

Contrary to popular belief, the piece is neither inspired by nor related to the last movement of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11, known by the near-identical title "Rondo Alla Turca".

Conclusion

Thank you for reading, and I hope listening. Hopefully, you have found some jazz that you actually like.

I could have included a lot more from my collection, but even I don't want to be swamped with jazz.

Thank you once more.