On my way home today I was listening to local radio station 88.5 WXPN when all of a sudden came on this great tune. When it finished, the DJ identified it as "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" by the Cannonball Adderly Quintet. The piece was written by his keyboardist, Joe Zawinul.
Even if you don't like jazz, you'll love this one. You can smell the cigarette smoke in the air. Great intro, too.
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy"
For serious jazz fans, you might also like this one:
"Birdland" by Weather Report
Even if you don't like jazz, you'll love this one. You can smell the cigarette smoke in the air. Great intro, too.
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy"
For serious jazz fans, you might also like this one:
"Birdland" by Weather Report
This song is a pretty good example of "fusion," a style I am typically not crazy about, but this has a catchy melody line. One critic says, "'Birdland' is a remarkable bit of record-making, a unified, ever-developing piece of music that evokes, without in any way imitating, a joyous evening on 52nd St. with a big band."
An interesting sidenote: "Weather Report started out as a jazz equivalent of what the rock world in 1970 was calling a "supergroup." But unlike most of the rock supergroups, this one not only kept going for a good 15 years, it more than lived up to its billing, practically defining the state of the jazz-rock art throughout almost all of its run." For more on supergroups, see the R.L.P.A.
1 comment:
This is a great blog by a true American. The author's conversion to jazz is a heroic act of individulism and self-determination--like throwing down your musket and runnin' like hell.
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