Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology

[MartyFunkhouser]

Really interesting collection and something I'm glad to see floating out there. I don't have a lot of interest in buying it, but it is nice to see a somewhat high profile attempt to accurately categorize the history of jazz. I'm hoping this gets some traction to combat the damage that the jazz documentary did to the music. It probably won't, but at least it can.

I won't be buying it it costs a lot and there as in making it an anthology they do include pre-bop stuff that I don't really care about.

I'm downright giddy though looking at disc 6 which has a Wynton Marsalis track on the same album as a Art Ensemble of Chicago track (Lester Bowie had a famous feud with Marsalis where Lester called Marsalis brain dead and mentally ill), MMW track, and Zorn Masada track.

There is a lot of good stuff on these discs and it is a nice primer on jazz. Kudos for the effort and making this available and recognizing important jazz figures that often ignored like Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Zorn.

http://www.folkways.si.edu/jazz/

[MarkGrace]

There was a track on the new Flying Lotus album that got compared to Sun Ra in quite a few places. I didn't even know who he was and looked him up after reading the comparisons.

[MartyFunkhouser]

There was a track on the new Flying Lotus album that got compared to Sun Ra in quite a few places. I didn't even know who he was and looked him up after reading the comparisons.

Sun Ra is a bizarre guy who makes really good music. What is the track that was compared to Sun Ra, I'm interested to give it a listen.

Related to John Coltrane and influenced by Sun Ra, I'm very intrigued.

[MarkGrace]

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMvU23FLT2M"]YouTube - Flying Lotus - Arkestry[/nomedia]

He's actually related to Alice, I think John was just his uncle by marriage. And Ravi Coltrane is his cousin.

[MarkGrace]

YouTube - Flying Lotus - Arkestry

He's actually related to Alice, I think John was just his uncle by marriage. And Ravi Coltrane is his cousin.

And Ravi plays sax in that song, btw. He also appears on the album here: [nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ONqhZY3KlE"]YouTube - Flying Lotus - German Haircut[/nomedia]

[MartyFunkhouser]

YouTube - Flying Lotus - Arkestry

He's actually related to Alice, I think John was just his uncle by marriage. And Ravi Coltrane is his cousin.

The title of the song itself is a reference to Sun Ra. Sun Ra called his band the Arkestra. Yep, that is very much a Sun Ra influenced song. It is very good as well. If you have any interest in Sun Ra, I really like the Space is the Place album. It is really out and times and fairly traditional at times.

[BoylenOver]

YouTube - Flying Lotus - Arkestry

He's actually related to Alice, I think John was just his uncle by marriage. And Ravi Coltrane is his cousin.

I just listened to an older The Sound of Young America interview with Flying Lotus, and heard that Alice Coltrane was his aunt. Crazy.

[PaloAltoCougar]

For want of a better thread, I'll post here that today's (carrying over to tomorrow) Google Doodle is very cool.

[Indy Coug]

Ken Burns' series on Jazz has been interesting.

[MarkGrace]

Ken Burns' series on Jazz has been interesting.

Funk is a big fan.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Funk is a big fan.

NO!!!! Don't get him started.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Doesn't really belong in this thread, but without any other place to post it, I'll pass along this pretty cool take on Dave Brubeck's Take Five by a Pakistani sitar player and orchestra.

[creekster]

Doesn't really belong in this thread, but without any other place to post it, I'll pass along this pretty cool take on Dave Brubeck's Take Five by a Pakistani sitar player and orchestra.

That is very cool. Although there isn't a lot of joy on their faces. Not sure they really have the feeling of the beat, but its still pretty nice to hear. I ride my bike past Dave Brubeck park almost everyday, so always glad to see some pub for the local guy.

You might also post it in the covers thread.

[PaloAltoCougar]

That is very cool. Although there isn't a lot of joy on their faces. Not sure they really have the feeling of the beat, but its still pretty nice to hear. I ride my bike past Dave Brubeck park almost everyday, so always glad to see some pub for the local guy.

You might also post it in the covers thread.

Agreed the rather stoic look on the faces of the violinists is kind of weird, and funny, not to mention their dress. Still, it's great how the music transcends cultural, geographical, and even religious differences.

[Copelius]

I had to buy the anthology for a Jazz Improv class taught by Steve Call. I wound up dropping the class because I didn't want to put in the practice for that and my senior recital in the same semester, but kept the anthology. I have enjoyed playing it on random and experiencing the history of jazz through 1997.

I kind of felt bad dropping it since he had made an exception for me being that the class was designed for instrumental improv and I would have been doing vocal improv.