Contemplazione

I had misunderstood... anyway, I was amazed, not resentful! Cheers to opinions!

A somewhat lackluster film at times; otherwise, it would deserve five stars! Great analysis.

Hi muffin! Maybe it’s true in the case of Morton, but for example, Charlie Parker often loved to improvise for a long time. Let’s say there isn’t a general rule, but the concept is this: if you're forced not to play for more than three minutes, it’s still a LIMIT, and you’re compelled to leave something out (if you’re wordy) or you have to make a big (or small) effort to condense! If, on the other hand, you can choose the duration, you don’t have to adapt your expressive needs to the format! A lot of beautiful music has a broad scope, and it has various "compartments" within it… to use an example that has nothing to do with jazz, can you imagine a "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" that lasts three minutes?

@Uxo: I almost forgot... "Circle" DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING?? Come on, the solos by Shorter and Hancock are studied even at conservatories for how beautiful and structured they are! "Circle" has to be listened to several times, though, before fully appreciating it... the double bass is stunning, playing magnificent contrapuntal lines, and what can I say about the tone of Miles' muted trumpet?

Thank you all for the visit and the comments! @Stoopid: Miles' autobiography is an amazing book! Full of anecdotes galore that make you burst out laughing and make you feel New York alive and pulsing. Not to mention Miles' clear and sharp opinions on women, politics, and other musicians! It's a kind of unconventional, underground history of jazz, seen through the eyes of one of its greatest protagonists. Anyway, one would think that the rockers of Woodstock were heavy drug users... but come on? @charley: just for "Footprints" one could make this claim! @Morning & Odra: when I said this album is the best after Kind, I didn't mean to make rankings or churn out worn-out concepts, but to convey that it really is something special. I mainly wanted to emphasize that "Miles Smiles" is not only an excellent album, but it has also earned a true status (well-deserved) over time (like Kind) among industry professionals due to its extremely high artistic and technical value. @Uxo: I agree with your second post, except for the part about who wins and who loses. "Birth Of" is very nice, but I prefer albums where the individual instrumental voices and solos stand out more than the group sound. And then there's the issue of the three-minute duration constraints that tracks from that period had to respect for technical reasons! I prefer "free" pieces in their length, lasting 11 minutes like "All Blues" or even just 2 minutes like "Countdown" (from Coltrane's Giant Steps), but that don't give the impression that the solos have to end, when maybe the artist would have continued to improvise. Don't get me wrong; many short pieces, starting with the hot Fives and Sevens of Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Django Reinhardt, Charlie Parker, are true masterpieces of the small form! But think how amazing it would have been if they could have "taken their time" instead of "rushing"!

"Tatteus, I like you!" "...in what sense?"

Hey, thanks!

@Fest: yes, the cover is the same as the Pearl Jam one, but flipped. It represents a planetary nebula, says the scientist (my brother).
@Odra: I really like "The Trio Plays Ware" with William Parker and Guillermo Brown. 8 compositions by David Ware arranged and performed with great feeling. The only flaw: the quality of the recording, a bit hit or miss!

Hi Gabry, thank you! I can’t help it, every time I come across your nickname I can’t resist the temptation...how beautiful! I’m an aesthete, you’ll forgive me.

Well, I don't know the son’s music, but it indeed makes sense that with such a father at home, the offspring must have absorbed something special... the track you mentioned is also very beautiful! And Cecil Taylor is another name to be reckoned with... starting from his debut, "Jazz Advance" from '56, among the very first examples of free jazz (although Lennie Tristano and Charles Mingus had already produced something atonal and totally improvised in single tracks or in some sections). His reinterpretation of Monk's "Bemsha Swing" is stunning, so intricate from a rhythmic standpoint that the original almost seems conventional in its approach.