What jazz music are you listening to?

[bart]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Starting the day with something different.

The Art of the Balkan Bass. Nenad Vasilić Qobuz


Musical brilliance and lived inspiration: there is no other quite like him-a double bass player, a composer, an arranger and a complete rhythm section refined and rolled into one person: Nenad Vasilić has long been at the forefront of European jazz and is highly acclaimed throughout the continent.

Born in Nis, Serbia, he grew up surrounded by a rich tradition of Balkan folklore. Traditional music, Roma music and a love of jazz were strong influences in his younger years, when he was playing mainly piano and bass guitar.

From sixteen onwards, he played throughout the local jazz scene and was considered one of the most talented double bass players. After jazz studies in Graz, he moved to Vienna and has since been one of the most sought-after contrabassists.


With nearly 40 original compositions on seven albums, Vasilić uniquely fuses jazz, improvisation and world music, making it his own. In 2004, his album "Nenad Vasilić Balkan Band Live in ORF" was nominated for the Hans Koller Prize.

His pieces, simultaneously innovative and respectful of the musical traditions that made him what he is today, exude a lightness and virtuous understanding of the complexity of the Balkan rhythms and melodies.

By now, this groundbreaking, Vienna-based musician has left a gentle yet permanent mark on the European world music and jazz scene and, as an arranger and producer, is constantly remapping his personal and musical boundaries.

Well recorded and worthy of my time!

[bart]

Originally Posted by joel_hifi

Diego Imbert & Alain Jean-Marie - Interplay: The Music Of Bill Evans

Pleasant interpretation/listen, new release on Qobuz (24/96) & Tidal (16/44.1)

Diego Imbert - Bass
Alain Jean-Marie - Piano

Joel, nice!!
Very good performances and splendid sound.

[PHC1]

Bart, sounds like you got some serious listening in today!

[bart]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Bart, sounds like you got some serious listening in today!

I'm quite amazed myself.

With classical, I'm able to read serious stuff, with jazz, it's browsing the web, AA and reading magazines.
That's another reason why I like this hobby so much: it allows you to do other things while listening.

[bart]

Helge Lien Trio - Hello Troll
Qobuz 24/96




I heard Helge Lien for the first time at a dealer, on Sonus Faber Ellipsas, first with a Moon amp, then with a Jadis.
The recording quality and the performance convinced me to buy some of his albums.
This one I'm streaming.
Helge Lien succeeds in escaping the mainstream while remaining very accessible.

When a musician is from a Scandinavian country and his album is titled Hello Troll, someone who is unfamiliar with his work could easily assume that the music has something to do with death metal, black metal, Viking metal, or folk-metal. Trolls, after all, are mythical creatures from Nordic mythology, and Nordic mythology of pre-Christian times has been a prominent theme among Scandinavian extreme metal bands. One of Finland's best-known metal bands, in fact, is named Finntroll. But Hello Troll has nothing to do with metal. The focus of Norwegian pianist Helge Lien is straight-ahead post-bop jazz, and on Hello Troll, he embraces the time-honored acoustic piano trio format (Frode Berg is on upright bass, Knut Aalefjær on drums). Over the years, that format has been successful for a wide variety of acoustic jazz pianists ranging from Erroll Garner to Cecil Taylor to Red Garland; it also works well for Lien, who favors a clean-sounding post-bop pianism along the lines of Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Ahmad Jamal. Lien's crystalline approach serves him well on thoughtful originals such as "Snurt," "It Is What It Is, But It Is," "Axis of Free Will," and "Troozee" (all of which offer an attractive blend of intellect and melodic lyricism). There are no standards at all on this 2008 recording -- no post-bop standards, no hard bop standards, no Tin Pan Alley standards -- and that is probably for the best because playing original material exclusively gives Lien's improvisations a more personal quality. Although Hello Troll falls short of exceptional, this is a solid outing that underscores Lien's talents as both an acoustic pianist and a composer.

© Alex Henderson /TiVo

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by bart

I'm quite amazed myself.

With classical, I'm able to read serious stuff, with jazz, it's browsing the web, AA and reading magazines.
That's another reason why I like this hobby so much: it allows you to do other things while listening.

Absolutely. I've given up sitting in the sweet spot just for the sake of the "soundstage". My listening room is in the basement (walk-out to the backyard) and it is a big multi-purpose room. I have my system on one side, tv on the other side, a hobby work table on the far end... Another hobby room which may be another listening room soon. So I am either listening to my system or my headphones but I can easily browse, read, work on my hobbies and once in a while I will jump to the sweet spot seat to check out a new album.

Music should be about having fun and wanting to listen when the mood is right. Seems I can't be without music for the past few years... My system is on all the time.

[bart]

Originally Posted by bart

Another good piano trio:

Helge Lien Trio - Badgers and Other Beings
Qobuz 24/96




I own the CD, it sounds terrific, but the stream is even better...

Already revisiting this album.
Helge Lien's albums are always in rotation here.

[bart]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Absolutely. I've given up sitting in the sweet spot just for the sake of the "soundstage". My listening room is in the basement (walk-out to the backyard) and it is a big multi-purpose room. I have my system on one side, tv on the other side, a hobby work table on the far end... Another hobby room which may be another listening room soon. So I am either listening to my system or my headphones but I can easily browse, read, work on my hobbies and once in a while I will jump to the sweet spot seat to check out a new album.

Music should be about having fun and wanting to listen when the mood is right. Seems I can't be without music for the past few years... My system is on all the time.

Serge, I'm also with music the whole time: in my practice (classical), and with my wife in the living room (main system).
Our tastes are quite alike fortunately.
Music is very soothing in these strange times, even healing.

You write about another listening room.
I just spoke with my wife about our great tube amps in storage.
Much to my surprise she agreed upon building a second system in the room adjacent to our living room.
It would only be a small investment as our Burmester CD-player would serve as source.
For the speakers I'm thinking of KEF LS50 Meta (my wife's name is Meta!).
My wife liked the idea.
Just like you, I'll be able to enjoy some tube sound when the mood strikes...

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by bart

Serge, I'm also with music the whole time: in my practice (classical), and with my wife in the living room (main system).
Our tastes are quite alike fortunately.
Music is very soothing in these strange times, even healing.

You write about another listening room.
I just spoke with my wife about our great tube amps in storage.
Much to my surprise she agreed upon building a second system in the room adjacent to our living room.
It would only be a small investment as our Burmester CD-player would serve as source.
For the speakers I'm thinking of KEF LS50 Meta (my wife's name is Meta!).
My wife liked the idea.
Just like you, I'll be able to enjoy some tube sound when the mood strikes...

That will be a fun project! The KEF LS50 should be good with tubes (8 ohm nominal, 3.2 ohm minimum.) There is something seriously “right” about the bepop, hard bop and post bop jazz that we share a common passion for with tubes. This holds true over main and headphones for me. All the jazz instruments come alive with tubes. Will be looking forward to your “jazz room” project

[PHC1]

Time to open up the "evening jazz session".

Tubes all fired up and ready to go.


Pianist Red Garland is best known for his work with Miles Davis' groundbreaking quintet (where he played alongside John Coltrane and Philly Joe Jones), but he turned in some excellent albums as a leader as well. At the Prelude, a live date recorded in 1959, is definitely one of them.

Bassist Jimmy Rowser and drummer Charles Wright lend light, propulsive support to Garland's keyboard work, which is highlighted by deft, melodic solos and his famed block chords.

The repertoire includes standards, jazz favorites, and a host of swinging, bop-inflected blues. The date comes highly recommended to Garland enthusiasts, and should please fans of classic '50s and '60s jazz.