SMF

What kind of music do you guys like? Might be a fun topic.

ALL music, but primarily BIG BAND, including the singers of the era.

Charles
Q E D

Thanks! I am a big music fan and also play semi-professionally. Hoping to eventually quit the day job and play full-time. Maybe one day!

Lately I have been listening to a lot of old blues and jazz....but I play in a bluegrass band. Not too sure if any of you are familiar with the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas....but we just got invited to attend this year. It is quite the honor and a golden opportunity for our band.

A day without music is like a day without sunshine!

I like the booty shakin music. JK. As I have gotten old in the past few years I have taken a liking to different kinds of music. Its funny. I was talking to Vince the other day and he ask me if my music that I like has changed. I thought about it for a minute and said "yes". It's wierd as we get old our style of music changes. I don't have any favorites like I used to but I am definitely into the saxaphone and piano. I guess that would be jazz. However I don't own any jazz cd's.

Any suggestions.

Johnnie:

I like all kinds of music, but I have a particular fondness for Big Band. One of my favorite musicians from that era is Artie Shaw. Though Benny Goodman, without question, was a great clarinet player, Shaw's style seems to have a bit more soul. I was recently introduced to a jazz musician who probably reached his height in the 20's and 30's by the name of Sidney Bechet. He played both clarinet and saxophone. There's little doubt that Shaw must have admired Bechet and perhaps even tried to mimic his style, though I am not certain how you can mimic real "soul". If you can find something by Bechet give it a listen.

Regards,
Charles
Q E D

Charles,

My fiance's god mother was really into big bands. She has an entire collection of records at our house. We even have her reel to reel/record cabinet in our house. I will go through some of the records tonight and report back on what she had. I know she was really into Glen Miller.

Artie Shaw just passed away in the last month or so didn't he?

For jazz I would recommend:
John Coltrain--if you like sax then Coltrain is a must have!
Billie Holiday
Ella Fitzgerald
Duke Ellington
John Coltrain
Thelonious Monk
Miles Davis

This seems like a pretty good list to start. Of course all these are legends in the jazz world. There are several lessor known musicians but I always thought you had better start with the legends and then research from there.

Johnnie:

By all means listen to some of that music. Glenn Miller was fabulous! But there were many MANY bands during that era that were wonderful and many great singers ...

Actually it was my wife and her family that got me to listen to Big Band music ... up till I met my wife I don't know the word "culture" applied to me in any way (probably doesn't today). But some of the Big Band music is so touching, with such beautifully simple lyrics that become more meaningful when you realize at the time the nation ... the world ... was at war.

• As Time Goes By
• I'll Be Seeing You
• I Don't Want To Walk Without You, Baby
• I'll Get By (As Long As I Have You)
• I'll Never Smile Again [Frank Sinatra & the Pied Pipers]
• Long Ago and Far Away
• There I Said It Again
• Till Then

... and the beautiful "White Christmas", are just a very few examples.

Regards,
Charles
Q E D

I really enjoy Irish music as well. I actually play mandolin and there are some great Irish bands that feature the mandolin. As far as Irish music goes you can definitely see where Irish, Celtic and Scottish music has influenced bluegrass and old time/mountain music here in the United States. The Chieftains are a great band. I have a couple of their CDs and one of them (Long Black Veil) has several different "legends" sitting in with them such as Mick Jagger, Van Morrison, Tom Jones, Ry Cooder and Mark Knopfler. Great album in my opinion!

My dad is a big fan of the old cowboy singers like Marty Robbins, Eddie Arnold and the Sons of the Pioneers. I guess I grew up listening to that type of music around the house more than any other. My dad is a big fan of music where you can hear the lyrics and understand the words.

I also really like Elvis. I just got to see a collection of never-before-released photos of his first couple of performances on the Ed Sullivan show. He was really something else...larger than life in some ways. I have seen a few interviews and some footage when he was preparing for a show in Vegas. He really impressed me as a professional musician and knowing how he wanted his music to sound. So many times artist are told what to sing and how to sing but I really think Elvis had a vision with his music and was very hands-on in arrangement. Elvis approached Bill Monroe (the father of bluegrass music) and asked him if he could record his song (Blue Moon of Kentucky) and Bill told him if he thought it would help out his career to go ahead and record the song. Well, Elvis went in the studio and tore that number up. After hearing it Bill Monroe was in the studio two days later rerecording Blue Moon of Kentucky in a more rocking/swinging style! It is sort of ironic that rock-n-roll really hurt the popularity of bluegrass in the late 50's and 60's. I have heard some folks say that rock-n-roll started when Elvis recorded Blue Moon of Kentucky. I'm not too sure about this myself but find it interesting.

Any fans of Tom Waits?