slowfingers wrote:Perfect description. To my ears, a lot of Jazz seems more interested in demonstrating how much theory the guy knows and how many ways he can bend the rules. Nothing wrong with that but I like music as a language for emotion and I don't often find that in Jazz.Danger Mouse wrote: Jazz influenced uber shredder
Danger Mouse wrote:I'm much the same, I can appreciate the skill, knowledge and mastery of technical Jazz, but it doesn't do anything for me. I do like a good shredder too, but it's the guys with the heightened sense of melody that I listen to and really like. That, for me, gives the emotional connection I also need.
Without it, you end up with the Chris Brodericks of the world (ex-Megadeth), who is a technically accomplished and highly skilled guitarist, but everything he plays sounds like a bunch of scales and warm-up exercises joined together.
benderissimo wrote:
I just don't think you've been exposed to all that much jazz. Your description is a really common one, but only covers about a tenth of what's out there.
I'm no jazz advocate, and I loathe the kind of music you're talking about, but I think there's an enormous misconception about what it is and, as a result, the word has come to mean musical wankery, which is not what jazz is about at all. Think of it as blues that's not afraid to use more than three chords and you're getting far closer to the truth.
And then:Molly wrote:All of this. Music as athletics doesn't' hold my attention for even a moment. Learned Counting Crows' 4 White Stallions yesterday. Took about two minutes. Great to play and the live version I was listening to had wonderful slide with a great tone. Absolutely nothing complicated in it whatsoever. Back when my peer group were all learning to shred and trying to outdo each other I was grateful for REM. It was like musical-respite. Songs you could just play and enjoy.Danger Mouse wrote: I'm much the same, I can appreciate the skill, knowledge and mastery of technical Jazz, but it doesn't do anything for me.
Anyone who is into something that could conceivably fall under the massive umbrella that is 'Jazz' (horrible word), that is cool to listen to (and not too challenging) recommend away!benderissimo wrote:Start with Jim Campilongo. Avoid anyone with the surname Marsalis.slowfingers wrote:This is a fair comment, I'm certainly no expert and even for me, my statement was a massive generalisation. Dixie Jazz makes me smile, such folks as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong are a joy to listen to. I can see the melodic chordal possibilities of Jazz but like many, I'm confused as to where to begin and too lazy to find out.benderissimo wrote: I just don't think you've been exposed to all that much jazz. Your description is a really common one, but only covers about a tenth of what's out there.
Lake Street Dive (these guys weave in and out of Jazz, Country, Rock and Pop):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EPwRdVg5Ug[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcUeothSPyc[/youtube]
Madeleine Peyroux (these two are unashamedly Country tinged):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7cokKfGk_Y[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEKM36SZqL0[/youtube]
Jim Campilongo:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvua4unz-JI[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0laFe1CLhlY[/youtube]
Pokey LaFarge:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOHSOEiBdv8[/youtube]
Medeski, Martin and Wood. Beware- they have a tendency to go extremely weird at times (but in an almost shoegaze way) so some of their albums are brilliant and others are almost unlistenable. If you need guitars, they team up with John Scofield, Mark Ribot or Nels Cline sometimes:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u38tCue0pE[/youtube] (stick with this one- it's spectacular).
