# DDDorian's JJJazz TTThread



## DDDorian (Nov 24, 2007)

I figure I'll update this every week or so, so I hope you dig some of the clips/musicians I link to 

First up, Kurt Rosenwinkel:




(a bit washed out, but still cool)



Enjoy!


----------



## Apophis (Nov 24, 2007)

Awesome  Thanks. I'm very interested in jazz theory now


----------



## Kotex (Nov 26, 2007)

Pretty cool duder


----------



## DDDorian (Nov 27, 2007)

Check out his _Heartcore_ album if you're interested

Apophis, if you're only beginning to get into jazz and jazz theory, it might help to know that Kurt Rosenwinkel is a very modern player, so it could be a long time before you decipher the ins and outs of his stle. I will say, though, that he uses a lot of open tunings, and in that first video he's using an octave pedal of some kind. Hope this helps!


----------



## DDDorian (Dec 2, 2007)

BAM! John Stowell, and the stretch chords of infinite bliss:


----------



## Blackrg (Dec 2, 2007)

Nice thread keep em comin'


----------



## DDDorian (Dec 17, 2007)

Forgot about this, whoops  Anyhow, here's a player in the more traditional ven, Philip Catherine:








(w/gypsy jazz monster Bireli Lagrene, who must be about 21 in this video, what a monster)


----------



## DDDorian (Dec 27, 2007)

BAM! Naked Ciity! This stuff seems improvised but it's all strictly choreographed. You can check out pretty much any of the musicians involved if you're interested in challenging, experimental music, Bill Frisell and Joey Baron are probably the most " jazz" of the lot though. Enjoy!


----------



## Shooter (Dec 28, 2007)

I love Jazz. And I love Metal. And I like combining the two. Why isn't that more common? I wanna hear some heavy swung riffs!


----------



## Uber Mega (Dec 30, 2007)

It's jazzzzzzzzzzzz mannnnnnnn.


----------



## ArchAngel1024 (Jan 10, 2008)

Shooter said:


> I love Jazz. And I love Metal. And I like combining the two. Why isn't that more common? I wanna hear some heavy swung riffs!



Try this. Shaun Baxter

There's not a lot as far as previews (30 second or so clips from 3 songs) but he's the only one in the Jazz Metal genre (as far as I know)


----------



## Shooter (Jan 10, 2008)

Wow. That was actually pretty damn cool. I might have to order one of his cds!


----------



## ArchAngel1024 (Jan 11, 2008)

I still haven't (I'm only 16, and no job XD)

If you do, Let me know how the rest of it sounds.


----------



## Shooter (Jan 11, 2008)

^ I feel your pain bro. Only 17 with no job here.


----------



## DDDorian (Jan 11, 2008)

Argh, forgot about this thread! Anyway, as far as "jazz metal" is concerned, there's always fusion-y progressive death metal bands like Cynic, Alarum, Atheist and Aghora to check out. There are a lot of heavier projects from the Zorn circle too, like the improv noise band Painkiller, the kletzmer/prog band Rashanim and Marc Ribot's band with Trevor Dunn ex Mr Bungle, Asmodeus. Plus, if you haven't already heard it, Fredrik Thordendal's solo album _Sol Niger Within_ should be right up your alley

As far as Shaun Baxter goes, I've never checked out his music, but he's a regular columnist for the UK's Guitar Techniques magazine and he's probably the best contributor they have. Regardless of topic, he explains things in language that anyone can understand, and his playing on the included CSs is always impeccable. Guthrie's album was pretty cool, so I'll have to look into Shaun's, too.

Youtube is sorely lacking in clips I wanna post, but give me a day or two, I'll come up with something!


----------



## DDDorian (Jan 23, 2008)

Okay, I hate hate HATE posting links to Myspace, but this particular rythym section doesn't feature in any of his youtube videos, so... BAM! Wayne Krantz!


----------



## distressed_romeo (Feb 1, 2008)

Sorry I'm a bit late to the party. I'd recommend Shawn's album to anyone who's into fusion. It's a superb piece of work. Imagine if Nuno Bettencourt went back to school and studied bebop for 20+ years and you'll have a pretty good idea what he sounds like. Apparently he has a new album in the works, but the only thing that's surfaced so far (it's been 'in progress' for years now, and he sucks at updating his website) is one song on the Eric Roche tribute album, which was actually very cool, and bodes well for the future...

Oh, and Naked City are nuts! I've got a 'John Zorn plays Ennio Morricone' album featuring Vernon Reed, Bill Frissell and Diamanda Galas amongst others that's a completely insane listen...


----------



## Holy Katana (Mar 20, 2008)

I enjoy this thread. DDDorian, you need to update this more often.


----------



## DDDorian (Mar 20, 2008)

Ah, crap! Totally forgot about this thread (I tend to do that a lot, so if you ever asked me a question on the forums somewhere and didn't got an answer, I didn't intentionally snub you). Gimme a day or so and I'll be back with the goods


----------



## Holy Katana (Mar 21, 2008)

DDDorian said:


> Ah, crap! Totally forgot about this thread (I tend to do that a lot, so if you ever asked me a question on the forums somewhere and didn't got an answer, I didn't intentionally snub you). Gimme a day or so and I'll be back with the goods



It's cool, man. I figured you had forgotten about it. Could you give me some names of some modern players similar to Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Mike Stern, Bill Frisell, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and the like? I've been getting into more contemporary stuff recently.


----------



## DDDorian (Mar 21, 2008)

Holy Katana said:


> It's cool, man. I figured you had forgotten about it. Could you give me some names of some modern players similar to Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Mike Stern, Bill Frisell, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and the like? I've been getting into more contemporary stuff recently.



No worries! The main thing that's holding the thread back is the lack of decent clips on youtube, really. Some are terrible quality, some don't really feature the players I'm trying to showcase and some don't have any videos at all. Nevertheless, these guys should hopefully keep you busy for a while:



Wolfgang Muthspiel - Wolfgang came up through Berkley alongside Rosenwinkel and are both considered big names in modern jazz guitar. He started off with a pretty heavy Metheny influence but over the years he's taken on elements of gypsy, classical and avant-garde and has a more unique, identifiable sound. To be honest, I only heard his stuff about six months ago at a festival and thus couldn't reccommend any releases, but keep in mind that he's tried a lot of different stuff, so if you hear something you don't like, persevere. I picked this clip because the sound quality was good, and because it featured two great guitarists in their own right; Ralph Towner and Slava Grigorian.



Adam Rogers - another relatively new guy, with rock-solid time and a pretty decent tone, too. He sometimes comes across as a bit... I dunno, calculated? but I dig his stuff. The _Allegories_ album comes reccommended



Jonathan Kreisberg - Kreisberg's style is a modern take on the chord-heavy style of more traditional players like Joe Pass, with a healthy dash of Herbie Hancock for good measure. I can't get enough of this guy right now! He's so ridiculously laid-back that it's easy to overlook his monster chops and forward-thinking note choices. _Nine Stories Wide_ is probably the best place to start. 



Nelson Veras - this guy toured with Metheny's band when he was 15 or so and it shows, although he tends to veer off into Ornette Coleman-esque uglified moments. This clip is uncharacteristically downtempo in regards to his usual playing, but he tends to keep with that same foreboding, almost monotonous vibe with everything he does. Maybe not to everyones' tastes, but I dig it.

I'ld love to post more, but it's 2:30am here and I should probably be asleep or something. Enjoy!


----------



## jacksonplayer (Mar 21, 2008)

I dug the Adam Rogers clip. The rest was a little too bebop for me, but then I'm more of a fusion/modal guy.


----------



## Despised_0515 (Mar 21, 2008)

Officially one of my all time favorite threads


----------



## Holy Katana (Mar 22, 2008)

^Agreed. Best thread EVAR.

Those last two videos don't work anymore.


----------



## DDDorian (Mar 22, 2008)

Why thankee saws! I aim to please!



jacksonplayer said:


> I dug the Adam Rogers clip. The rest was a little too bebop for me, but then I'm more of a fusion/modal guy.



I tend to go through phases of loving and hating fusion, I guess it's pretty obvious which one I'm in now, heh. So much of it is pure cheese that I often don't have the patience to search for the good stuff. Holdsworth and Zappa are constants, although I wouldn't really call either of them "fusion" myself.



Holy Katana said:


> ^Agreed. Best thread EVAR.
> 
> Those last two videos don't work anymore.



They seem fine to me Try refreshing the thread and clicking anywhere on the video but the play button, so that it pops up in another window, it should work fine then. When you embed a bunch of clips in a row you can only load one at a time, if I recall correctly. Good luck


----------



## jacksonplayer (Mar 23, 2008)

DDDorian said:


> I tend to go through phases of loving and hating fusion, I guess it's pretty obvious which one I'm in now, heh. So much of it is pure cheese that I often don't have the patience to search for the good stuff. Holdsworth and Zappa are constants, although I wouldn't really call either of them "fusion" myself.



So many different things are called "fusion" nowadays, that the term is almost meaningless. I think "electric jazz" or "jazz-rock" are actually more meaningful terms.

I'm kind of a weird bird because I don't really care much for traditional jazz guitar. I like the gutsier/bluesier style of Wes Montgomery and George Benson, but the pure bebop guys never did it for me. Too fussy. I listen to horn players more than anything else, and my favorite guitarists seem to be the noisier ones who've tried to emulate Coltrane, like McLaughlin and Holdsworth. I try to add some spare Mile Davis melodies into my Coltrane-style "sheets of sound," too.

Funny thing is, lately I've even been gravitating towards fusion bands without guitar, such as Weather Report and Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi band, as well as all of the great funk-fusion from the mid-70s. I find that I get better ideas for my own stuff by not listening to people who do sort of the same thing (albeit probably a lot better than I do).


----------



## Holy Katana (Mar 26, 2008)

Odd, the videos work now. It said that they were no longer available when they didn't work for me.


----------



## DDDorian (Apr 8, 2008)

^^Righteous

Anyway, I've got a pianist for y'all this time, Brad Mehldau! He rolls with the same crowds as the guys mentioned above and has a ton of recordings, mostly as sidemen; the only ones I'm intimately familiar with are the Mehldau/Metheny releases (the first is a duet, the second a quartet). Anyway, I just picked up his album Day Is Done which includes a few familiar standards, a couple of obscure ones and a few originals, as well as arrangements of more contemporary pop tunes, which I thought some of you might dig:


Rdiohead's "Paranoid Android"


Nick Drake's "River Man"


Paul Simon's "Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover"

Enjoy!


----------



## Blackrg (Apr 25, 2008)

Thanks DDD

As the kids say...Brad Mehldau ......FTW \M/


----------



## DDDorian (May 1, 2008)

BAM! Tal Wilkenfeld! She's played with the likes of Jeff Beck and Chick Corea and has only been playing bass for four years or so. Her debut solo album _Transformation_ (which also features guitarist Wayne Krantz, posted earlier in this thread) was one of my most listened-to albums of last year and I'm spinning it as I type this. I'm not hugely into jazz bassists post-Jaco but she really has the goods... and to think she's only 21! Sheesh. Chekkit:


----------



## jacksonplayer (May 1, 2008)

Wow, she's got a bright future. Very nice sense of pocket. She could probably push the groove a little more, but that's just a personal preference of mine--my current favorites are more funk-oriented guys like Alphonso Johnson and Michael Henderson.


----------



## Holy Katana (May 1, 2008)

DDDorian said:


> ^^Righteous
> 
> Anyway, I've got a pianist for y'all this time, Brad Mehldau! He rolls with the same crowds as the guys mentioned above and has a ton of recordings, mostly as sidemen; the only ones I'm intimately familiar with are the Mehldau/Metheny releases (the first is a duet, the second a quartet). Anyway, I just picked up his album Day Is Done which includes a few familiar standards, a couple of obscure ones and a few originals, as well as arrangements of more contemporary pop tunes, which I thought some of you might dig:
> 
> ...




Sweet. I have Metheny/Mehldau Quartet. It's awesome.


----------



## DDDorian (May 1, 2008)

jacksonplayer said:


> Wow, she's got a bright future. Very nice sense of pocket. She could probably push the groove a little more, but that's just a personal preference of mine--my current favorites are more funk-oriented guys like Alphonso Johnson and Michael Henderson.



Well the album pushes the funk a bit harder than the tracks I posted - 90% of clips were of her with Jeff Beck at Crossroads, with a few tracks from her album here and there (the two I posted and another ballad). To be honest I'm not sure I've heard either of those guys directly (more of the funk-oriented fusion has too much of a "Mexican restaurant" vibe for mine) but I'll definitely check 'em out


----------



## jacksonplayer (May 2, 2008)

Alphonso Johnson has been all over the place (lots of fusion sessions), though he's probably most famous for his stints in Weather Report and Santana. In Weather Report, I recommend the "Mysterious Traveler" album, along with "Tale Spinnin'". I can't remember when he played in Santana (and I think I saw him in that context), but it wasn't anything to blow you away. I also love his work on Flora Purim's "Open Your Eyes You Can Fly" album, and his own solo album, "Moonshadow." He's not the guy to play real flashy stuff, but his groove is phenomenal.

Michael Henderson is most famous for his tenure in Miles Davis' bands in the '70s. He was the first bassist Miles worked with who never played upright bass. His work in Miles tended to seem like simple ostinatos on first listen, but he never played them the exact way twice. Probably not a conventional choice for a fun listen, but his approach has influenced me lately.

Of course, I also love stuff like Jaco and Stanley, but that's more inspirational than influential, if you get my drift.


----------

