Why would you not assume that Joe Pass and Ella Fitzgerald would be good?
Hope this doesn't come across as a dick comment, as it's a great vid, but:
I have to admit [heresy] to not being a huge Pass fan. I mean, he's a brilliant player, but his musical voice [as a solo player] doesn't do it for me at all. So the duo stuff is definitely the best bit.
I feel better about you not liking Charlie Parr. What are you listening to these days?
We've been listening to a lot of Ella Fitzgerald, because she covered Old McDonald. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Fmwgf0NRA&sns=em
The guy from the Del Fuegos does children's music, if that's your thing.
re: 3
Listening to. The usual, mostly. Lots of 30s and 40s jazz, and 50s, 60s, and 70s soul and RnB. Little bits of classic 70s and 80s metal and hard rock. Plus whatever modern stuff [pop, rock, indie, hip-hop, whatever] has grabbed my attention recently.
In terms of jazz guitarists, Pass has just never done it for me. He's a bit like the Oscar Peterson of guitar. OK, it's technically quite impressive, but it doesn't really make me want to listen to it. I have a general problem with solo jazz guitar, too, which is that the rhythmic pulse gets disrupted a lot when people transition between single line and chordal stuff, and very very few people, even Pass, are good enough to pull it off consistently while improvising, rather than playing a semi-worked out chord-melody arrangement. I tend to like my guitar players to swing harder, or to do something more impressionistic. Pass falls between stools.
That's just for me, purely in terms of personal taste. Not a judgement of him as a player or of other people for really enjoying his stuff.
Why would you not assume that Joe Pass and Ella Fitzgerald would be good?
I did assume that Joe Pass and Ella Fitzgerald would be good.
I tend to like my guitar players to swing harder, or to do something more impressionistic. Pass falls between stools.
I'm somewhat sympathetic to this, although the video is lovely -- whom would you prefer?
I do admit I wasn't really sold until "My Funny Valentine", because I know it best, so I could follow along much better.
Also of possible interest, neb: Mary Halvorson and violist collaborator doing a long set that includes an Elliott Smith cover (~6:40?), "Everything Means Nothing To Me." l. kayak liked it better than the original.
We moved house, and I have no headphones or working hi-fi [stupidly left my 'phones at work], or I'd put together some links. But:
re: 7
My taste tends to run to either early stuff - Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, Eddie Durham, Oscar Moore (or Irving Ashby) with Nat Cole, Tiny Grimes, etc -- or stuff that's much less classic jazz -- McLaughlin with Miles Davis [or his early non-Mahavishnu solo stuff], Marc Ribot [solo stuff, with Waits, or the various Zorn 'Masada' projects], Bill Frissell, Nels Cline, etc.
In terms of more straight ahead 50s/60s style jazz playing, I like loads of people. Jim Hall, Kenny Burrell, some George Benson, etc, and lots of others. Many of the usual suspects. Not a big fan of solo jazz guitar, though, by anyone.
I'll put together a mix if I get the chance [and can find spare headphones].
Surely Jessica Pavone deserves to be named rather than to be relegated to the status of "violist collaborator" (her duo with Halvorson is of long standing)! Though it's true that Halvorson's much the bigger name these days.
You'd probably expect me to be some kind of huge Elliott Smith fan, but in fact, I hardly know his music at all.
11: I think we're still solidly in the realm of "possible interest." It might be good! Too quiet for my taste, I think, but one piece (the final one?) held my attention. I should listen to it again. Those are the two instruments I loved but gave up playing (then more recently tried/am trying to relearn), so I think I wasn't at all disinterested enough to listen thoughtfully. Emoticon. Manifest interest, possible disinterest.
10: Mix is welcome! A lot of huge gaps in my knowledge on that list, but I like the ones I do know.