cedar

I've been re-watching "The Sopranos" (which by the way, holds up incredibly well) and am wondering about the instrumentation of "Woke up this morning," which plays during the opening credits. And I find myself wondering about the source of some of the incidental sounds that occur at different points. For example, at one point there is a distinctly metallic sound. But there are a few other interesting sounds, and I can't identify what is creating the sounds. I looked up the wikipedia entry, but it wasn't particularly helpful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke_Up_This_Morning At this site, https://www.songfacts.com/facts/alabama-3/woke-up-this-morning, I came across this tidbit: But that doesn't really help explain the sounds I am wondering about. Anyone have any ideas? I think what I'm hearing might be generated from a synth or some kind of sampling, but not sure. I realize this is somewhat vague. If necessary, I'll try to identify the specific portions of the song I am wondering about.

I just started to check out WBGO's anthology of material honoring Chick. Full of great stuff. https://www.wbgo.org/post/chick-corea-anthology-curated-our-hosts And the page includes a link to the first-recording of Tones for Joan's Bones, on a Blue Mitchell album that I've never seen before. Check it out! [video:youtube]

Incidentally, one of my fond memories is a show in NYC where Christian McBride basically interviewed Chick on stage, and they performed various snippets of stuff. (The event is mentioned in this article, which might be pay-walled: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/arts/music/07dizz.html (Article is nothing great itself, so not a big deal if you can't read it). What really knocked me out was that, during the evening, Chick briefly played in various styles (as kind of a demonstration). My recollection was that, among other things, he mimicked Red Garland and Wynton Kelly. His mastery of each style was pretty remarkable. In a way, it was more impressive than trying to mimic, say, McCoy or Bill Evans - but that's another topic.

That article from Mark is great, but I almost stopped reading when he dissed the "Three Quartets" album. I vividly recall when that was released. At least among NY jazz students, that album made a huge impression and, I think, is still very well-regarded and considered influential. On the other hand, that article did alert me to a few recordings I didn't know (and will definitely try to pick up).

I would have trouble limiting myself to 4 pianists deserving of Mt. Rushmore status, even if we limited the category to jazz pianists in the 1950s.

VLC is something I kind of tried. The recommendation was to use Handbrake first (for one intermediary conversion I forgot), in order to avoid some issue (maybe skipping). And that"s where I got hung up in the process. I did not try VLC directly.

I tried Audacity earlier, but without any special configuration (and frankly I didn't explore it at length). I'll give that a shot next since I'm at least a little familiar with the basic functions in Audacity,

Guess I should have mentioned I have a PC. I did try Handbrake, but didn't work for me. (In other words, the process just froze up.) I could try it again. But I think the issue that may be arising has to do with the DVD being commercial (and copyrighted),

Doesn't work

Chick Corea's recent death reminded me that I once purchased this wonderful 10 DVD set But I've been frustrated by my inability to listen to this music out of the house (using my iPhone). So, I've searched for ways to rip the audio portion of the videos and convert them to MP3s. I've seen some software that claims to do this, but I can't get it to work for me. I took the DVDs to a local merchant for help, and they ran into some kind of error saying this can't be done for a commercial DVD (i.e., because of a copyright issue). Does anyone have any suggestions for a workaround? Could I somehow make my own recording of the material (perhaps with my Zoom Livetrack?) I have very limited understanding of technology in general, but hoping that there is some answer.

This one really hurts. There is no greater musical hero for me than Chick. "Light as a feather" was my introduction to jazz, and I never looked back. The scope of his playing and compositions is beyond comprehension. He could do anything. I saw him in countless different configurations. His live performances, I think, outstripped his albums (though they were consistently great). And he was also a truly sweet man.

Look at the bright side: it's probably also somewhat less likely that the human race will be wiped out through some unexpected side effect (like I think happened in "I am Legend" and maybe one of the Planet of the Ape movies).

My theory about Oscar Peterson is that, because he had such a long and prolific recording career, a lot of people may form their opinions of him based upon a limited sample that doesn't do him justice. For example, some of the Pablo recordings in the 1970s (solos and duets), in my recollection, highlight his dazzling technique to the point of overshadowing his sensitivity. Also in that era (if my memory is correct) are many big-venue, festival type performances. Much more satisfying, in my view, are the more intimate-type sessions. For example, this is an amazing album that seems to be somewhat of a lesser-known gem (with Ed Thigpen and Ray Brown, from 1959): Also, I wonder how many Oscar-critics are familiar with his beautiful "Hymn to Freedom": [video:youtube] Could talk about Oscar Peterson all day, but I'll just gratuitously post this video of another Latin tune, mostly because I really love the groove (and this thread began by discussing "Wave"): [video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qGHyu5an1M

I'm amused to find a single thread discussing "Wave" (which I've avoided for years just because I was forced to play it too often when you g), "Pensativa" (which I agree is one of the most brilliant jazz tunes ever) and "I should care" (which is a joy to play and listen to).

One of my favorite arrangers. I'll also note that a lot of his tunes - even when meant for big bands - work well in the piano trio format. I've been playing some of his tunes in trios for years. Relaxed, swinging stuff no matter the instrumentation.

I love jazz biographies (as well as biographies in general), and am a big fan of Fred Hersch, so have been planning to read his book since it came out a few years ago. (One reason I decided to read this now was because I wanted to do so before watching a documentary that is out.) Anyway, I devoured the first three chapters last night - making me lose some sleep -- because this already ranks as one of the best jazz musician autobiographies (or biographies) I have ever read. It is brutally honest and extremely well-written. Moreover, the book is replete with discussions of his musical development, a topic which I find is rarely handled well. I just had to share my excitement over this book!

I admit I haven't read the article linked, but the title of this thread did remind me of an argument I once read somewhere that our adult musical tastes really come into focus when we are 14 years old. I don't know if that's true for most, but in my case it is. By 14 - if not earlier - I knew that straight-ahead jazz was my favorite genre. I've become exposed and learned to enjoy many, many other genres and styles since then, but my favorite stuff remains jazz.

I find it interesting that you looked. I guess I'm a bit squeamish, so I studiously avoid watching needles getting put into my body. With all the televised vaccines now occurring, I actually pointed out to my wife that everyone seems to look straight away, as if they are trying to avoid watching also. This prompted a discussion. My wife said that she actually likes to observe the whole thing. I think that, whether one looks or not, might reveal something interesting about one's personality, but can't say exactly what.

Does it zap you with a high voltage shock if your tempo gets out of whack? I've toyed with making this purchase, but never pulled the trigger. This discussion reminds me of something one musician once told me: she said that tempo issues reflect personality. In other words, if you tend to rush, you are probably someone who is impatient generally. Frankly, I thought this theory was silly. But at the same time, I am in the category of people who are more likely to rush than slow down, and there is no question I am a pretty impatient person. So maybe there is something to it.

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/massive-attack-mezzanine-dna-album

"ORGAN2/ASLSP, the slowest and longest music piece ever, is being performed for 639 years in Halberstadt" https://universes.art/en/specials/john-cage-organ-project-halberstadt?fbclid=IwAR3HrKFPj32WDoU__uv-eSpwy3JW7eD1zpRCteO-BQbOtdJehRVgq4Rr_BE

I'm a fan, but some bass players surprisingly are not. Seems that they find his technique somewhat off-putting. Kind of reminds me of some criticisms I used to hear occasionally about Oscar Peterson. I don't know if it's resentment or just that some people are so blinded by the technique that they don't listen more closely and appreciate the lyricism and subtlety. Incidentally, this is one of my favorite piano/bass albums:

This morning, I happened to listen to Joe Henderson's version of another Jobim tune, "Triste," from his great album "Double Rainbow." (Youtube link is below). And his variations on that tune reminded me of this thread. I'm actually not sure which changes are different from the original (mostly because I'm unsure whether the Real Book changes I've seen are correct in the first place). But Joe's version is definitely different from how I've usually played this. To begin with, the first chord of the start of the second chorus (usually written as the "B" section) is different from the beginning of the tune (kind of similar to one of the alternate takes on TGFI mentioned above). But there are some other changes towards the end of the tune also (at least during the head). During Joe's solo, the changes do seem mostly to track the Real Book chart. But during Herbie's solo, the changes differ again (I think). And while it's possible Herbie was just being Herbie, it seems to me that the bass is following along. In other words, I think that they may have agreed to play some variation on the changes behind Herbie's solo. Anyway, I love this version, and I think I'll try to figure out and transcribe what's actually going on. [video:youtube]

An even less expensive option I've heard is furniture sliders. https://www.keytarhq.com/furniture-sliders-for-music-gear.html#top_ankor Tempted to try this myself: [video:youtube]