Any hard-core jazz and/or classical music fans?

[dukepsy1963]

Just curious. Anyone a jazz and/or classical music nuts out there?

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

Just curious. Anyone a jazz and/or classical music nuts out there?

Both of 'em for sure.
Love, Ima

[rasputin]

Just curious. Anyone a jazz and/or classical music nuts out there?

Yes (classical, not jazz).

Where's Throatybeard?

[DukeUsul]

I got pretty into jazz through years of playing the sax. I may not be a "hardcore" jazz fan, but I'm pretty into it. Classical music too, but probably to a lesser extent.

[Indoor66]

I like both. John Coltrane and Bach Rock (so to speak :)).

[DukeUsul]

Oh I didn't even mention my favorite artist. I'm WAAAAAY into Kenny G. Don't you guys just love his stuff?

[DukeUsul]

heh just kidding :D

[Indoor66]

Oh I didn't even mention my favorite artist. I'm WAAAAAY into Kenny G. Don't you guys just love his stuff?

Don't you think he plays a little too tall?

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Love both classical music and jazz. There are many musicians past and present who are my favorites, but among current day musicians, you can't beat the Marsalis family for being outstanding at playing classical and jazz.

[duke74]

Just curious. Anyone a jazz and/or classical music nuts out there?

FWIW, I am Board President of the Queens Symphony Orchestra, an excellent regional orchestra, now in our 56th year!

Anyone in the NYC area, just PM me and you'll be my guest at a concert.

[DukeUsul]

Love both classical music and jazz. There are many musicians past and present who are my favorites, but among current day musicians, you can't beat the Marsalis family for being outstanding at playing classical and jazz.

Agreed. I'm a huge Branford Marsalis fan (actually caught him at a basketball game a couple years ago). I have most of his albums. I love the one he did with his dad, Ellis, Loved Ones.

And speaking of classical, Branford has two "classical" albums, Romances for Saxophone and Creation, both excellent.

[allenmurray]

This weeks Newsweek magazine has a nice article on Miles Davis' album Kind of Blue. It was recorded fifty years ago next month and had been continuously in print since.

It is available on line (the article, not the album). http://www.newsweek.com/id/182528

[DukeUsul]

I really need to pick up Branford's Braggtown (http://www.branfordmarsalis.com/branford/pbuild/linkbuilder.cfm?selection=dn9.9.2), recorded right here in Durham.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Agreed. I'm a huge Branford Marsalis fan (actually caught him at a basketball game a couple years ago). I have most of his albums. I love the one he did with his dad, Ellis, Loved Ones.

And speaking of classical, Branford has two "classical" albums, Romances for Saxophone and Creation, both excellent.

Actually I was thinking more of Wynton and Ellis. Wynton's skill and tone quality are unique.... I think it's called chromatic tone or something like that. He can produce tones that are so exquisitely clear and pure. He's equally good at classical and jazz.

Had the privilege several times to see Ellis perform at Snug Harbor before he retired from the university.

[DukeUsul]

Actually I was thinking more of Wynton and Ellis. Wynton's skill and tone quality are unique.... I think it's called chromatic tone or something like that. He can produce tones that are so exquisitely clear and pure. He's equally good at classical and jazz.

Had the privilege several times to see Ellis perform at Snug Harbor before he retired from the university.

Yes, I figured you were probably talking about Wynton - he certainly is the most famous of the family. As a saxophonist and Durham resident, I have a special love for Branford. If you haven't heard Branford's classical stuff, give it a try. On some of the tracks, you'd hardly know he was playing a soprano sax and not an oboe.

Oh another group that's just phenomenal - the San Fransisco Saxophone Quartet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaUaQ3V2wbs). These guys make beautiful music.

[DukeUsul]

So what kind of "classical" do you guys listen to? My collection is mostly Beethoven (his symphonies and piano sonatas), Faure, Debussy and some Holst.

[dukepsy1963]

Great to hear from other classical and jazz fans!

I am photographer for the Brevard Music Center here in Brevard (having been a student there as a child, now retired here). You should drop in during the summer months and take in a few of our concerts (they are terrific!). Last summer we had Yo Yo Ma (great guy by the way) and the year before, Andre Watts (an old friend). Yes, I'm name dropping, but I do get to meet these guys up close and personal. One of the perks of being photographer!

On the jazz front, I would like to recommend a few of new artists.

On the piano scene: Taylor Eigsti and also Eldar (both are up and coming)
Older ones: Fred Hersch, Alan Pasqua, and Alan
Broadbent (all three have not received their due).

As for classical: I particularly like Prokofiev, especially his 1st and 3rd piano
concertos

Any new artists to recommend?

[YmoBeThere]

Classical music yes, jazz not so much. Though I do like the Samba type stuff that came out of Brazil.

[Indoor66]

On the Jazz front, do you like it cool (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_jazz) or hot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_jazz)?

[2535Miles]

I love it all. I played violin from 8 - 13, switched to the bass guitar. I played bass in the high school jazz band. Where is that nerd emoticon? :D

[robed deity]

I love classical music, as I am a freelance musician (pianist) living in NYC. I went to Juilliard, and have stayed here since graduating. I have many favorites, (Brahms, Bach, Mozart, Prokofiev..you know....all the greats) but am also appreciative of new and different styles.

As for jazz, I can't say I'm that into it, but I do listen to it occasionally, and sometimes go to clubs here in NYC to here some of my jazz friends play. It's a lot of fun, even if I do maintain that classical music is superior;)

[DukeUsul]

I'm mostly a bebop and post-bop kind of guy (loads of Diz and Bird in my collection). Monk, Miles, Rollins, Young, Coltrane, Getz, and the Marsalises.

But when I play, I'm a terrible improviser. I'd much rather play in a 20-piece orchestra and play classic big band stuff.

[snowdenscold]

HUGE classical fan.

Some of my favorites/highlights (and I've played a lot of these):

Bach - Chaconne from Partita No. 2 for Violin
Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra
Copland - Appalachian Spring; Rodeo
Elgar - Enigma Variations
Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto #2
Vaughan Williams - Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus; Symphony #5; Rhosymedre; Lark Ascending
Respighi - Pines of Rome; Ancient Airs and Dances
Barber - Adagio for Strings
Shostakovich - Symphony #5, Waltz from Jazz Suite 2; Festive Overture
Stravinsky - Firebird
Beethoven - Symphony # 3, 5, 6, 7, 9; Piano Concerto 5; Moonlight, Pathetique, Apassionata sonatas; Violin Concerto
Bizet - Carmen; L'Arlesienne Suites
Brahms - German Requiem
Chopin - Fantasie Impromptu
Dvorak - Symphony # 8, 9
Liszt - Les Preludes; Hungarian Rhapsody 1, 2; Hungarian Fantasy
Mendelssohn - Symphony 3
Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
Rimsky-Korsakov - Cappricio Espagnol
J. Strauss - Emperor Waltz
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 4, 5, 6; 1812; Cappricio Italien; Violin Concerto; Piano Concerto #1
Wagner - Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral from Lohengrin; Siegfried's Death / Funeral March from Gotterdammerung
Holst - Planets; 1 & 2 Suites for Military Band
Grainger - Lincolnshire Posey; Irish Tune from County Derry
Gershwin - Cuban Overture; Rhapsody in Blue

Anyway, those are just a few, brief highlights. :) I had to cut out so much good stuff by those same and other composers


Jazz I'm not that into, but I do have and enjoy some works by Maynard Ferguson, Chick Corea and Pat Metheny.

[duke74]

HUGE classical fan.

Some of my favorites/highlights (and I've played a lot of these):

Bach - Chaconne from Partita No. 2 for Violin
Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra
Copland - Appalachian Spring; Rodeo
Elgar - Enigma Variations
Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto #2
Vaughan Williams - Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus; Symphony #5; Rhosymedre; Lark Ascending
Respighi - Pines of Rome; Ancient Airs and Dances
Barber - Adagio for Strings
Shostakovich - Symphony #5, Waltz from Jazz Suite 2; Festive Overture
Stravinsky - Firebird
Beethoven - Symphony # 3, 5, 6, 7, 9; Piano Concerto 5; Moonlight, Pathetique, Apassionata sonatas; Violin Concerto
Bizet - Carmen; L'Arlesienne Suites
Brahms - German Requiem
Chopin - Fantasie Impromptu
Dvorak - Symphony # 8, 9
Liszt - Les Preludes; Hungarian Rhapsody 1, 2; Hungarian Fantasy
Mendelssohn - Symphony 3
Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
Rimsky-Korsakov - Cappricio Espagnol
J. Strauss - Emperor Waltz
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 4, 5, 6; 1812; Cappricio Italien; Violin Concerto; Piano Concerto #1
Wagner - Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral from Lohengrin; Siegfried's Death / Funeral March from Gotterdammerung
Holst - Planets; 1 & 2 Suites for Military Band
Grainger - Lincolnshire Posey; Irish Tune from County Derry
Gershwin - Cuban Overture; Rhapsody in Blue

Anyway, those are just a few, brief highlights. :) I had to cut out so much good stuff by those same and other composers




So where's Vivaldi? My personal favorite (although I agree with your list).

[captmojo]

So where's Vivaldi? My personal favorite (although I agree with your list).

Particularly "Spring".

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Yes, I figured you were probably talking about Wynton - he certainly is the most famous of the family. As a saxophonist and Durham resident, I have a special love for Branford. If you haven't heard Branford's classical stuff, give it a try. On some of the tracks, you'd hardly know he was playing a soprano sax and not an oboe.

Oh another group that's just phenomenal - the San Fransisco Saxophone Quartet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaUaQ3V2wbs). These guys make beautiful music.
I like Branford's work, too, but those clear, pure trumpet tones really capture by heart. One of my favorite CDs is one recorded by the entire Marsalis clan about the time Ellis retired from the NO University faculty.

[snowdenscold]

I enjoy Wynton's version of Carnival of Venice.

I often play the second half of the piece for people and then point out to them that during the last verse only 1 trumpet is playing - it's pretty ridiculous. (I also do this for the aforementioned Bach Chaconne for violin - how a single person manages that is very impressive to me)

[throatybeard]

Sorry, I would have responded earlier if I had seen this. It's often hard to catch threads on the OTB because they get lost in a lot of stuff about shooting off bottle rockets, shammwows, people's shower habits, and that sort of thing.

I don't feel like making a comprehensive favorite works list, since I've done that on DBR before, and I've got quite a bit of overlap with Snowden, so read his. Or my facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=1315029

The things I cannot do with out are late Verdi, Wagner's 10 canonical operas, Handel's Rodelinda and Giulio Cesare, Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande, Montemezzi's L'amore de tre re; Mahler except for the 7th, quite a bit of Shostakovich, the late Beethoven SQs.

Strauss' Four Last Songs.

I'm located primary in 19thC and early 20thC Romanticism, but with lots of excursions outside that period, including but not limited to Tallis, Palestrina, Ste Colombe, Geminiani, Vivaldi (he wrote other things, people), JS and CPE Bach, Shosty, Gorecki, Glass. The SLSO is helping me appreciate the mid 20thC more.

With some exceptions (Sinfonia Concertante K364, 1st Piano Quintet, Requiem, Idomeneo), I dislike Mozart and contemporaries. I don't have much patience for Schumann and very little for Brahms (again, outside a few works like the 4th)

Baroque is highly underrated.

Hell of a good concert here at the SLSO last weekend--principal cellist played the Elgar Cto.

The Bach chaconne from the second partita that Snowden is talking about is one of the monuments of western art. I have Heifetz but I like Hilary Hahn more.

I love me a good chaconne. Hit the Pachelbel chaconnes in f-minor and d-minor sometime. Man wrote a lot of great organ music.


I greatly respect, but don't much enjoy, jazz. I really dug the title sequence of Catch me if you can. <sheepish shrug>

[Master Shake]

Not a whole lot of love for the 20th century on the "classical" list, but the Avant Garde Project (http://www.avantgardeproject.org/index.htm) is a great resource for 20th century music.

I avoided jazz for a long time as simply a category too huge to be able to get into and explore. But I took the plunge in the past year. My faves right now are Albert Ayler, Mingus, Rahsaan Roland-Kirk, Ornette Coleman. And Coltrane (mostly from A Love Supreme onwards).

[snowdenscold]

I have Heifetz but I like Hilary Hahn more.


I also have Heifetz but it's not my favorite recording of the work. And Hilary Hahn would be much more pleasing to watch on stage ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partita_for_Violin_No._2_(Bach)#The_Ciaccona
"On one stave, for a small instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings. If I imagined that I could have created, even conceived the piece, I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth-shattering experience would have driven me out of my mind."
-Brahms

Speaking of Hilary - she's the violin soloist from the soundtrack to the The Village - and whether you enjoyed it or not (I love the movie) - the music is amazing.

[throatybeard]

Hilary just won a Grammy for her Sibelius album last year.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-grammyclassical9-2009feb09,0,7825384.story

[Lavabe]

My wife, ILJ, used to sing with the St.Louis Symphony Chorus, Duke Chapel Choir, and ... egads, her brother is a conductor. She may need to check out this thread. She is DEFINITELY hard-core classical.

As for me, it all depends on the mood, but I could listen to anything on snowden's list. Maybe I'm partial to Dvorak, but I could just as easily rave about opera, or some of the sacred music that ILJ prefers.

I guess I'm biased to the SLSO's Carmina Burana (w/ILJ in the chorus).

On the jazz side:
Bela Fleck & Chick Corea (the joint CD... wow)
Woody Herman's 40th anniversary concert (including Getz)
Branford Marsalis
Scott Sawyer

Cheers (and thanks for this thread),
Lavabe

[throatybeard]

I forgot to mention, I'm hearing Hilary Hahn in Chicago next month. I'm riding the train up all morning, getting lunch, going to the concert, and then riding the train back all evening. ($44 and free upgrade to business car).

http://www.cso.org/main.taf?p=3,11,6,1&EventID=2542

We just got the 2009-10 SLSO schedule. Biggest highlights: Mahler 5 (opening night), Mendelssohn 5, Korngold Violin Cto, Elgar 1, Ravel Piano Cto (Filter), Symphonie Fantastique, a Beethoven festival in midwinter including Tetzlaff and Lupu, Mozart Requiem, The Planets, Rach Sym 3 and Piano Cto 2, Shostakovich 8, Pinchas Zukerman, Christine Brewer & Alan Held in Wagner including the last 40m or so of Walkure, Vaughn-Williams 1, and the usual helping of John Adams.

http://www.slso.org/0910/grid.htm

[robed deity]

Hahn plays the Chaconne (and the other Sonatas and Partitas) quite well, but I've always preferred Nathan Milstein's Bach to just about anyone.

Also, I would definitely hit those Lupu Beethoven Concerti; he is an amazing artist. I heard him play Brahms d minor a few years ago and thought it was one of the best things I've heard in a long time.

[throatybeard]

Hahn plays the Chaconne (and the other Sonatas and Partitas) quite well, but I've always preferred Nathan Milstein's Bach to just about anyone.

Also, I would definitely hit those Lupu Beethoven Concerti; he is an amazing artist. I heard him play Brahms d minor a few years ago and thought it was one of the best things I've heard in a long time.

Lupu came to the NC Symphony Artists Series (since discontinued I think) in maybe 2001 or 2002. Played the hell out of one of the Schubert Impromptus.

[throatybeard]

My wife, ILJ, used to sing with the St.Louis Symphony Chorus, Duke Chapel Choir, and ... egads, her brother is a conductor. She may need to check out this thread. She is DEFINITELY hard-core classical.

The SLSO Chorus gets their shot this weekend with the Verdi Requiem.

Soloists include Christine Brewer, among others. www.slso.org

[dukepsy1963]

If you are interested in "getting into" jazz, there are a number of wonderful ways to start.
Might I suggest a few places to start:

Anything by Bill Evans (piano)
Kind of Blue (Miles Davis classic with Adderley, Evans, Kelly, Coltrane)

There are many other great places to start too! If you are interested in some suggestions let me know. We need all the new jazz fans we can muster!

P.S. I have a classical and jazz background in my earlier life.

[throatybeard]

My wife has been prodding me into publicizing this.

I will be on the intermission feature of the nationally syndicated Metropolitan Opera Broadcast of Puccini's Tosca on Saturday 4/24. First intermission, something like 1.50 east, 12.50 central. This would be on your local public radio affiliate terrestrially in most cases, like WCPE in the Research Triangle, or Sirius 78, or Dish network 6078, or XM I'm not sure which station, but since the merger, the Met station is on XM too. I want to say 79.

I've been listening to the Quiz since I was 8, so it's going to be weird to be behind the mike.

I haven't been to New York in four years, and I'd forgotten how weird it looks flying in, still, with no WTC.

[snowdenscold]

I'm not familiar with "Handel's Rodelinda and Giulio Cesare, Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande". Any particular sections that you recommend listening to?