Whiplash

     This is one of the best music movies that I've ever seen. I would put it second in my favorite movies about music after the Karate Kid's(Ralph Machio) guitar movie Crossroads, where he duels guitar shredder Steve Vai. This movie is about a jazz drummer attending Shafford Conservatory of Music, learning jazz and playing in Studio Band, which is a big band performance class. Shafford is a fictional school in New York. The student is Andrew Nieman (Miles Teller), a first year student who idolized Buddy Rich. The teacher who whips the students into shape is Mr. Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). Basically one late night Andrew is practicing the drums at the school and Mr. Fletcher just happens to walk into the room, asking him to play some rudiments, the one he asked was a double time swing rudiment. Their first meeting was awkward but you got the sense that from that first meeting Mr. Fletcher saw greatness in Andrew despite the fact that he seemed to lack confidence in his demeanor.
     So basically Andrew is in a lower level jazz band class where he's confined to turning the pages for the other drummer, who gets to play more than he does because he's first drummer. Out of nowhere during one of the classes Mr. Fletcher comes in looking to pick musicians for the Studio Band, which is the best band in the school. He asks Andrew and the first chair drummer to play their double time swing. Because Fletcher already knew Andrew could do it it was automatically a given that he was going to get chosen over the other guy, especially because Andrew already knew what he was looking for because Fletcher asked him to do it the other day before. So in a way Fletcher has already made his mark for Andrew, picking him over this other drummer named Conelly.
      Once Andrew is in the band he begins to realize that Fletcher is an asshole that cusses out and insults his students to get good results. He resorts to insults like 'no wonder your mommy ran out on you' and 'Jesus fucking Christ! I didn't know they allowed retards into Schaefer!'. He's a pretty funny guy but after all the insults are said and done you begin to despise him. I've had some interesting music teachers myself. In high school at Wauwatosa West I had a music teacher who sometimes had an attitude with the students, he had his good days and his bad days. But he was nothing like this. My first guitar teacher was a really cool hippie type that loved Hendrix and Jeff Beck. In college I didn't really stay long enough to find great music teachers but I wish I could have stayed at UW-Parkside in Wisconsin to work and learn from this great jazz trumpet player named Russ Johnson. This movie really reminds me of being in college. But I digress. So Fletcher goes crazy trying to get all the scores and the music right and eventually Andrew becomes first chair drummer in the Studio Band. But the only reason he became the go to drummer for the band is because at a music competition the original main drummer lost the sheet music for the tunes and he could only play from looking at the score. Andrew had the whole tune memorized so he played instead, gaining Fletcher's affection and main go to drummer in the band. 
     Eventually there's another big competition. I think this is what all the big music schools really try to do in colleges, do these music competitions to get their students noticed, maybe signed on record labels or get them to join prestigious bands or orchestras. So Andrew is on the bus getting to the comp but the bus gets a flat and he's running late. So he gets off and rents a car and gets to the place but he forgot his sticks in the car. So he gets back to the car to get his sticks but gets toppled by a truck! This part of the movie was totally easy to see because he was yelling and shouting on the cell phone to one of the other guys in the band, yelling 'I'll be right there!'. After he gets hit, he climbs out of the car and runs back the to place where the whole band is waiting for him. But he's so injured that he can hardly play. Fletcher tells him he's out and then Andrew goes ape shit, tackling Fletcher like a football player onto the ground and punching him in the face. 
     Next scene we have Andrew and his dad (Paul Reiser), talking to a school social worker about how Fletcher abused him psychologically and emotionally. She states that a previous student had gotten depression after working in Fletcher's class when he was a student, and that the guy had hung himself not too long ago. 'What does that have to do with me', Andrew asks. Then the woman says that whatever is being discussed will be confidential and that Fletcher won't know about it. Finally Andrew agrees to talk saying 'tell me what you want me to say'. 
     At this point its summer time and Andrew is working at some kind of cafe but still living in his small New York apartment. When he gets off he walks past a club where he sees a jazz band is playing with guest Terrence Fletcher. In this scene we see that despite Fletcher being an obscene, loud, and abusive teacher that he is really a beautiful cat. His piano playing here is so soulful and emotive, it's a wonder why he started teaching and wasn't just a jazz musician performing in clubs all the time. Sometimes you find music teachers who are great performers and teachers. But other times you'll find a great teacher who isn't such a hot performer, or vice versa. After Fletcher plays a great piano solo Andrew starts to walk away but Fletcher calls to him and they sit down and talk, like what happened between them was long forgotten and now they're best friends. Fletcher mentions that he's no longer working at Shaffer, and Andrew acknowledges the fact that he already knew this. After they talk Fletcher mentions that he's looking for a drummer that knows the scores to the tunes 'Whiplash' and 'Caravan', the two tunes that Andrew worked hard to master while in school before he dropped out. Andrew decides to do it because this would allow him to play with Fletcher (who was conducting) at the JVC Jazz Festival, a real life jazz festival that happens every year. But we don't know yet that Fletcher was secretly planning to screw Andrew here because once he's at the gig onstage at the festival they're about to play a song that Andrew doesn't have the score for because Fletcher didn't give it to him or tell him about the song at all! Then he goes over to Andrew and says 'you don't think I know it was you fucker'. Pretty crazy revenge he was getting here because Andrew didn't know the song but played anyways, making a fool of himself. The bass player was all like 'what the fuck are you doing man'. After the tunes over the audience still claps, which leads me to the idea that sometimes jazz fans are ok with whatever happens at a jazz concert, even if there are lots of mistakes. It is an improvisational artform after all and sometimes there are mistakes that can be made while improvising. It's not like classical music where if you miss a note on the page, the audience isn't satisfied with the performance. Anyways, so Andrew gets mad and runs offstage, hugging his father for support. Then he decides to get back onstage and he starts playing this wild solo, queing the bass player for the intro to 'Caravan'. Fletcher is actually happy about this and the whole song is fabulous. When the end of the tune comes in Andrew plays this totally Buddy Rich-inspired drum solo for like 10 minutes before he ques Fletcher to the ending of the tune. It was a great musical performance on the drums. This movie is all about drums and jazz drumming. I find myself to be a very rhythmic person, I even want a drum-set but can't really put it in my house because its too small here. My friends always say that they see me more as a drummer than a guitar player because of how I always air drum to songs that we listen to. The solo at the end was my favorite part of the movie because it shows that even though he dropped out of college and was down and out, he was still a great musician, all because of Mr. Fletcher's guidance. It shows that really all it takes to be great is determination, training, and will. It doesn't hurt to have a teacher or guy that yells at you to practice harder. 
     Lastly, the music in this movie was astounding. The music was composed by a guy named Justin Hurwitz. He also did the great film score for Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, another great music movie that I saw back when I was younger. The music is all big band oriented stuff because in college that's what the university jazz curriculum focuses on. The drumming was incredible, especially the last drum solo at the end. I would recommend this movie to any jazz fans and drummers. They would really appreciate it more rather than just the average movie watcher. However, that doesn't mean that a regular audience wouldn't enjoy it because the film got great reviews and premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, with critical acclaim for Simmon's performance. The film was inspiring to me as a musician. Even without musical training or conservatory school you can be a great musician! 

St.Vincent's self titled album

     Here's a post that doesn't involve jazz but in a way it kind of does because Annie Clark (singer,guitar player,composer for St.Vincent) used to go to Berklee College of Music for three years. She dropped out before finishing her degree but she has stated that she did learn a lot of jazz chord voicings on the guitar, and was exposed to jazz greats like Miles Davis. When it comes to rock music I tend to prefer live performances because I like to see how the musicians interpret the music from the record on stage. I've seen tons of concert footage of St.Vincent on YouTube. I really dig what she does. Her guitar playing, singing, and stage show are really on point and she sounds unique and herself, one of the hardest things any musician can do. This is a great record released in 2014 and won a Grammy for best Alternative Music Album. Let's talk about the songs.
     The first song is 'Rattlesnake'. The lyrics begin with 'follow the power lines back from the road'. It has a midi/digital effects kind of vibe, with this electronic music going on over catchy lyrics and a simple robotic drumbeat. The song is so catchy it could be mistaken for a pop song if it wasn't for the avant-garde type sounding arrangement. There's all this electronic stuff going on and to top it off there's this distorted guitar solo that is very melodic. Annie is a great guitar player by the way, even if she does rely on effects (stomp-boxes, guitar pedals) too much.
     Next, is 'Birth in Reverse', which sounds more like a classic rock type song, almost a bluesy type thing with funky guitar chords. The guitar is more important here, and she plays a lot of funky stuff but it sounds avant-garde and would fit in a pop context too. The lyrics are 'like a birth in reverse, what I saw through the blinds'. Its a simple tune with verse chorus type pop arrangement but at the end again there's this instrumental break that is totally unique and only sound like St.Vincent. You can tell she listened to a lot of Talking Heads from these instrumental parts.
     The next tune is 'Prince Johnny'. This one has a more mellow vibe with keyboard chords sounding like a mellotron, which The Beatles and progressive rock bands like King Crimson used to use. It's a very progressive sounding track. The chorus lyrics are 'so you pray to all, to make you a real boy'. The drums sound programmed on this track. The lyrics seem simple but they have a complexity to them. I don't really understand what she's singing about because this is only the second time I've listened to this album but I really dig the music and the progressive and avant-garde nature of it.
     Then, is the song 'Huey Newton'. This one is one of her best songs in my opinion. I've seen her play it tons of times on YouTube concert footage. There's an electronic musical kind of thing going in the background over these organ type guitar chords. This is where you can see her Berklee education showing through. These guitar chord voicings aren't your standard barre chords, they're more complex voicings. In the middle of the tune there's this great synthesizer solo that sounds like something straight out of the English progressive rock scene. I love it! Then she comes in with this sick guitar line that is totally rock and roll over some great lyrics. At this part of the song she sounds like a total rock star, which she totally is. The guitar is heavily distorted and has tons of reverb and effects.
     Next up is another tune that I really like of hers that she plays a lot live. It's called 'Digital Witness'. It has some great lyrics that I like. 'Get back, to your seat, Get back, gnashing teeth, Ooh, I want all of your mind'. 'People turn the the TV on, it looks just like a window, Ooh, Ya.' This is probably the most pop sounding song on the album thus far. It even has some digital effects doing a horn section part over the verses. The chorus is just so catchy. The whole song is catchy. If someone never heard St.Vincent I would probably play them this song because its simple and shows off her typical sound and songwriting without filler.
     The next number is 'I Prefer Your Love'.  This one sounds like a ballad, a song about love. The lyrics are 'I, I prefer your love, to Jesus'. The drums are a simple robotic drum beat over and over again over these lush orchestral keyboard/synthesizer chords that sound beautiful. As much as she is a guitar player, she sure does love her keyboards and synthesizers.
     Next, is a more rock type tune called 'Regret'. Here Annie relies on the guitar to play this kind of almost punk riff. But during the chorus the keyboards shine in. Then there's this distorted guitar interlude, almost like a solo but not quite. The chord progressions she uses are quite unique in the middle of the song. It sounds like a jazz progression. There's so much going on in this song that its hard to describe it all with words.
     This next one is another one she plays all the time live. It's called 'Bring Me Your Loves'. The lyrics are 'Bring me your loves, All your loves, your loves, I wanna love them too, you know. I thought you were like a dog, I thought you were like a dog, But you made a pet of me.' The song is totally robotic sounding in an avant-garde way. Her voice really sounds great here. I don't really know anyone who sounds or sings like her. She has a unique way of doing vocals. The keyboards here play some great chord progressions over the simple lyrics with the verse chorus verse chorus arrangement going on.
     Then, we have a song called 'Pychopath'. This sounds like a more rock song but instead of a guitar riff it has keyboard jabs playing a simple riff that sounds totally rock. The music is very pop here until the guitar solo comes in. It's a nice distorted guitar solo that sounds like Jimmy Page from Led Zepplin. She's such a guitar hero! Her guitar solos are very short but are very catchy and melodic despite playing with heavily distorted guitar. By this point you begin to realize the kinds of arrangements Annie Clark does, and her personal style of music.
     This far at the end of the album we have a tune entitled 'Every Tear Dissapears'. This one has an experimental vibe to it. After a few verses of a robotic electronic sounds and vocals there's this electronic kind of interlude that sounds really spacey, like out of this world. She relies so much on the keyboards but she makes such good use of them with those long open orchestral sounding progressions. If that wasn't enough she also has these guitar breaks and riffs, adding more depth to the song and doing things that couldn't be done with the keyboards alone.
     Finally, the last song is 'Severed Cross Fingers', which sounds like a country song. It has what sounds like an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar through an acoustic setting on an amp. This song sounds like a total hipster indie thing. It reminds me of being at a barn but the backing vocals remind me of hipsters smoking cigarettes on the sidewalk. In the middle of the tune there's this total 70's soul inspired chord progression that sounds totally bizarre, in a good way. If that wasn't enough, there's a melodic synthesizer part ending the tune.
     Lastly, this is the second time I've heard the album and its a good one in my collection. Usually I'm more of a jazz guy but this is great music as well. Annie Clark isn't really pop or rock. She's more like avant-garde chamber jazz, if that were a thing. She really has some great inspired musical arrangements in her songs. I would say that the complexity she has, she learned from Berklee but she could've just got it from her influences, which are all kind of different stuff. Bands like Talking Heads and Miles Davis, shit like that. I bought this album not too long ago at my local record shop. I listened to it once but didn't think much of it because it's such a short album, plus at the time I was listening to it while doing other things, not really paying attention to the music or lyrics. The album has gotten great reviews from a lot of major publications like Allmusic, The Guardian, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, etc. This second time around listening to it, I realized how much of a great songwriter Annie Clark is. She's a bit of an improviser, rocker, composer, and singer. She does it all. I would say St. Vincent is one of my favorite rock bands, for good reason. She has the chops, the voice, and the songwriting ability of a great musician. She'll go far with her music although I don't think she will ever be super famous like say Taylor Swift or Beyonce. But for hipsters, alternative music fans, and people who like jazz and improvisational music like myself, her music is just perfect.

Pat Metheny Question And Answer

     Question And Answer is an album released by guitarist Pat Metheny in 1990 on the Geffen label. The album is half jazz standards and half Pat Metheny compositions. This is a trio album featuring jazz alumni Dave Holland on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. I got the album for free as a promotional at my local record shop but you can actually buy the CD on amazon for as low as $0.98 cents used and $3.49 brand new! Pretty damn good prices for great jazz.
     The first song is a Miles Davis tune, 'Solar', one of my personal favorite Miles Davis tunes, probably my favorite. The song starts off with a drum introduction and the familiar head to the tune begins. It's a bluesy bebop type thing that is characteristic of the 50's. But soon Metheny and company take off, stretching the tune in all directions. Pat's guitar lines are very melodic but he jazzes everything up, using the jazz kind of phrasing in his solo. They play Solar very uptempo and the drumming is everything you could expect from a great jazz drummer. Lots of cymbal and snare hits, keeping time but also colouring and accenting the beats. After's Metheny's fast and inventive guitar solo Dave Holland plays a bass solo. His playing is very melodic like Metheny's but he lays down a groove more rather than flurries of notes. After the bass solo, they trade bars, like trading 4's or 8's its called, where they play all together but then the drums come in solo, playing a kind of solo that incorporates the whole band into it. Roy Haynes is a fantastic drummer that came up during the 50's. He's still playing to this day. I believe he's in his 80's. What you can really appreciate here is how great this is in terms of being jazz, and I mean jazz in the straight-ahead sense of the word. These guys are all seasoned veterans and you can tell they've been doing this their whole lives just from hearing this first song.
     Next, is a tune entitled 'Question And Answer', which is more of a mellow number that I believe is a Metheny composition. On this song you can really hear Metheny's Midwestern roots. The atmosphere of the song is very rural, very relaxed, but has all the characteristics of a great jazz song. The melody is very bluesy and the chords Metheny plays are very pleasing to the ear. They are typical jazz chords but sound lush and beautiful with the drums and bass. After an extended guitar solo, Dave Holland plays a bass solo where he shows his musicality rather than virtuosity. The blues is so real in this song that it really hits deep. It's that Midwestern blues, something that I can relate to myself, being from Wisconsin. The blues influence is so apparent here but there is also a darkness to the melody too. It really shows Metheny's depth as a composer. He's a hell of a guitar player and a composer.
     Then, the next tune is 'H&H'. Not sure what that stands for but it sounds like a great title for a tune. This one has a bebop head before Pat takes solo.  Once Pat starts playing they are really cooking. On this one Dave Holland plays walking bass lines that make it sound like something from the 50's but because of Pat's guitar tone it sounds modern and fresh. This was 1990 after all. I would say Pat has had the same guitar tone all of his life but I couldn't say that because I haven't heard him when he was like my age. But for the most part, Pat's guitar tone on his recordings have been the same. It's a hollow sound of a big box jazz guitar, with lots of mid-range rather than treble and bass. Once you hear it you'll always know its Pat Metheny once you hear him play. After Pat's solo Dave Holland takes a bass solo but this time it's a complicated fast type of thing but it's still musical. What a guy! He plays with so much technique but has a certain musicality to his bass playing. After the bass solo they trade bars with the drums, giving Roy Haynes a time to shine with all his wild snare and cymbal hits. Then the head repeats, signaling the end of the tune. The head is complicated but musical at the same time.
     Next, is a tune called 'Never Too Far Away'. This one is a ballad with beautiful chord changes. They sound like standard jazz chord changes. I think this song might be a standard but one I've just never heard before. The guitar chords are typical jazz chords but they have so many extensions that it would be hard for even me to figure out and I'm a pretty good guitar player. The song kind of focuses on the guitar chords. It's like a chord-melody type song rather than just single note lines from Pat. The bass playing supporting the guitar is very melodic and pretty. And then there's the drums playing with brushes, adding character and depth to the song, giving it a very classic 'jazz' kind of sound. This song sounds so modern to my ears that it sounds like this guy I listen to named Kurt Rosenwinkel, a young guitarist that plays out of New York a lot. No doubt, he was influenced by Metheny.
     Then, we have a tune called 'Law Years'. It has a quick short introduction that is very boppish and then goes into a bass solo. This is a jazz standard, an old Ornette Coleman song from the album Science Fiction, released in 1972. It has a classic jazz vibe to it and is uptempo. The drumming on this track is especially terrific because he's really swinging. He's emphasizing certain beats over others, and getting in a lot of snare hits while hitting the cymbals. This rhythmic nature of the music is probably the most important part of jazz. Without it, it wouldn't sound like jazz. Pat's guitar solo here gets a little weird, well for him. This is no doubt the Ornette Coleman aspect of the piece. There's a great drum solo at the end of the tune that is very loud and in your face.
     Then, comes a tune called 'Change of Heart'.  The introduction has more of those beautiful guitar chords that Metheny likes to play. He even throws in some harmonics the guitar, giving it that harp-like sound. This one sounds like a Metheny original tune. The tone of this song is very happy. The guitar lines from Pat here are amazing. He plays lots of fast technical stuff but has such a melodic singing quality to his sound. It's almost as though he was singing. This is also more of a ballad type song.
     Next up, is one of my personal favorites, 'All The Things You Are'. Pat, for lack of a better word, jazzes up the theme, playing it faster and with more of a rhythmic emphasis. Then they begin going for it, with Pat leading with his guitar solo. At the end of his solo he quotes the theme of the song. Then the bass comes in with a solo but as he's playing the guitar is comping (accompanying, playing chords) in the background with the drums. At all the other moments so far on the album where there's a bass solo, Pat sat out but here he's still playing over it, which is true trio style of playing. After the bass solo the drums trades bars with the band, playing lots of snare and cymbal hits. Roy Haynes just has that classic jazz sound. I can't say that he's playing anything unique but he does sound like himself. The ending of the piece is great because they repeat the theme but play it slower.
    Then, we have a piece called 'Old Folks'. This one is a slower piece that sounds like another ballad. This is another one of those classic jazz standards, although I haven't heard this one because I think it goes back farther. Pat's guitar solo here is very bebop influenced but very much based on the blues as well. Some of the bass lines in this piece are very 'jazz' sounding, having those classic bass lines from very early jazz standards. The ending of the piece is very memorable. I just love those classic jazz endings that give the tune a charismatic ending.
     Finally, the last piece is 'Free Flights Up', which I believe is another jazz standard. This one has some kind of keyboards or synthesizers in the background over the guitar, bass, and drums. Pat kind of goes right into a solo from the get go. With the keyboards supporting the solos and giving the band harmonic structure, it sounds like a very modern tune. Usually jazz bands try not to play with keyboards or synthesizers, none of that glittery stuff in my jazz please. But here it ain't bad. The bass solo in this song is very mellow. The whole vibe of this song is kind of like a Midwestern night's dream.
     Lastly, this album was a blast to listen to. It's one of the best albums I've heard from Pat Metheny since I've listened to his first record, which was from the 1970's. He really became a jazz star. All of these guys in this band are jazz superstars, for good reason, because they all can really play like motherfuckers. This album has since gotten a lot of great reviews, not so much back then but now because of the great playing on it. Its a great straight-ahead album that most jazz fans can approve of. 

John Coltrane First Meditations

     John Coltrane's album First Meditations (for Quartet) is a studio album recorded in 1965 but not released until 1977. It's a Quartet version of a suite John Coltrane would record 2 months later with Rashied Ali (drums) and Pharoah Sanders (tenor sax). This is the last recording made by the classic Quartet of McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Elvin Jones (drums) and Coltrane ( tenor sax). I can't believe this was their last recording! I would've thought they made more but I guess this is last recording in terms of in the studio, not counting the countless live albums you can get of the classic Coltrane Quartet in 1965. The album was released on Impulse!, a great jazz label back in the day that had countless Coltrane recordings to their name.
     First, the album begins with a beautiful tune entitled 'Love'. I've heard a lot of Pharaoh Sanders stuff and it sounds like Sanders, but we all know he got it from Coltrane. But what I mean is that its a beautiful opening over lush piano chords, and the saxophone sometimes engages in over-blowing on the high notes, getting dramatic effect. Basically its a powerful emotional tune with a great saxophone introduction, leading into some great piano arpeggios by McCoy. Then the sax comes back in. I would say that on this Coltrane has a lighter, wispier tone. There's no real tune here but it does sound like a ballad. The music just flows effortlessly, like they just recorded it in one or two takes live in the studio without sheet music. The drums sound like timpani here. Instead of using drumsticks, Elvin Jones used mallets and it sounds great here, adding flair and effect to the atmosphere of the piece. This isn't really a song per se, than it is an attitude, an atmosphere.
     Next, is a tune called 'Compassion', another name with emotional ties. This one starts off with more of bluesy bebop feel, having more of a form than the first tune, but still sounding totally free at the same time. Coltrane makes use of over-blowing on the high notes, making the saxophone squeek and squck like nobody else, although there were other saxophonists doing this technique back then, most notably Sun Ra's sax player John Gilmore. But Gilmore used it more for effect. Coltrane uses the technique in the most musical way possible. The notes sound right even though over-blowing isn't proper saxophone technique. If I was a sax player I would definitely learn to do it. Anyways, in this piece Coltrane really extends himself playing a long solo, while the piano is comping in that standard McCoy Tyner comping way. By that I mean he's playing a steady rhythmic pulse with a strong hand, and soloing with the other hand. Once you hear McCoy Tyner you never forget his style and rhythmic touch. Again, like the first piece, this is more of an atmosphere than a song with structure. This is the beginnings of John Coltrane's free-jazz period and you can tell right away just by listening to this. It's interesting to see how Coltrane sounded before that period and how he developed into playing in such a free manner. You can't teach that at school. I don't even think they can teach you how to play bebop or straight-ahead at colleges. They can try but at best you'll only sound like a Charlie Parker clone. Basically these tunes so far have a darker mellow mood and the musicians play off each other, developing ideas.
     Then, we have the song 'Joy'. This is more upbeat than the others so far and the drumming especially stands out. It's the great drumming of Elvin Jones. There's a lot of syncopation and emphasis on beats 2 and 4 (a staple of jazz), its so complex but sounds great with the whole Quartet. There's a lot of snare and cymbal hits as well. I would say this tune is modal, which I believe the other tunes are as well. Basically they're staying on certain chord changes and improvising on those alone, not changing it up. Coltrane's second sax solo here sounds amazing. He hits a lot of high over-blown notes, and mixes it up with his classic 'sheets of sound', a flurry of notes played in succession that sound very melodic and are phrased in that Coltrane-esque way. He has a certain way of phrasing where he stops and starts again playing groups of notes. It's very bop and straight-ahead, but it's also very free-jazz at the same time if you know what I mean.
      Next, is a tune entitled 'Consequences'. It starts out with some very free drumming before the sax comes in playing these short stabs of music, sounding like complete free-jazz that we would hear more of from Coltrane. The piano playing here is especially free. McCoy sounds like himself but he's playing in a more free way. There's so much going on sonically in this piece even I myself get dumbfounded that this was only 1965 and they were playing like that! They were absolutely killing it here, playing as a unit musically without getting in each others way. The piano solo here is absolutely slaying. After the piano solo, the sax comes back in playing those stabs of sound. I say stabs because that's what hes doing, playing a melody quickly and short. It's really a marvel to hear because with this tune you can really see and hear how he would later play music, in the final year of his life.
     Then, the last tune is 'Serenity'. This one starts off as kind of melancholy and haunting, but also beautiful at the same time. It almost sounds like a classical piece of music, especially because Jimmy Garrison is using a bow on his bass, adding this great orchestral ambiance to the piece. McCoy's piano playing here is very classical sounding too. It's like classical meets jazz, but it sounds like free-jazz. It's super cool. Coltrane's sax playing on this piece is the most far out on the whole album. There's melodic lines and moments but there are also chaotic and intense moments as well. This was probably my favorite piece on the whole album.
     Lastly, because this is a remastered CD and not a vinyl record there is an extra bonus track. The bonus track is another version of 'Joy'. The thing that really stands out about this alternate version is that there is a bass solo in the beginning of the track. Jimmy Garrison sounds bass-y and melodic but his bass has that woodiness sound to it, like it was recorded un-amplified and just maybe amplified by a mike or something. It's a great sound. He does some interesting things in his solo, like hitting harmonics and making the strings sound detuned, adding great effect. I would say Jimmy Garrison is a very characteristic bass player. All of these guys are. They sound like themselves, which is probably the hardest thing to do as a musician, especially as a jazz musician. I have to say that this is one of the best jazz albums I've heard in a while. It's my style of jazz. It's straight-ahead of the 1960's but it sounds modern to my young ears. I could hear people playing like this today in New York or Chicago. I hear Pharaoh Sanders playing like this today, although he's getting up there in age. This is an album that straight-ahead, blues, and bebop guys can like as well as fans of improvised music, avant-garde, and free-jazz. This is basically the beginnings of free-jazz and boy does it sound beautiful. You really can't beat this band. Everything they did together was great. For me, this band rivals Miles Davis's classic Quintet. Check this one out.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Street Fighter IV Ultra, and Other Cool Stuff

     The other day me and my friends hung out and naturally we ended up going to Gamestop on my suggestion. My original idea was to pick up Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate for the new 3ds xl but I also had Street Fighter IV for Xbox360 in mind. My friend told me that the Ultra version is better and comes with like 44 characters in the game. I had to get it. We went back to my friends pad and played the game and it was super cool. It has a bunch of characters that I don't really know about but I can always learn more or play the arcade mode to get an idea of who and what kind of people the characters all are. Some of the characters look really cool and interesting. A lot of the female characters have sexy outfits too. I'm a beginner at fighting games so I tend to stick with Ryu, the original classic Street Fighter character. But I also love Chun-Li, she's pretty cool with her kicks of fury. There's literally so many characters to learn how to play, and thankfully the combo list is right within the game and easy to get to. I'm such a novice at fighting games but I really want to learn. Think about owning people online in Street Fighter, it would be amazing. But right now, I know if I tried to play online I would get annihilated.
     Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is a completely different kind of game. It's an action rpg but some of the stats and abilities you can get on gear make a lot more difference than say just upgrading your equipment for better defense or damage like in most rpgs. Today I played a lot with my brother, just doing easy star one quests, getting to level 6. It was pretty fun, probably the most fun I've had playing my 3ds since I got Super Smash Brothers. I'm tempted to try playing the game online right away but I don't want to completely suck and waste my time. So I'll learn more about the game and play solo and just do local play with my brother until I learn the game a bit more. There are so many different kinds of monsters, it's really crazy. There are so many bosses as well. The bosses are all tough motherfuckers man! In fact, out of all the quests me and my brother did today, we ended up only doing one boss fight and it was tough. Right now, I have my character, named Figuero (my name if I was a dark lord of the Sith) uses a 2-handed katana that does hella damage. It's a pretty good weapon but because its 2-handed its slow, but thankfully it hits hard. Interestingly enough, every time I watch streamers play this game on twitch, usually everyone in the party is using 2-handers. Maybe 2-handers are just the best weapons in the game? Not really sure but my brother is using a sickle and shield because with the shield you can block attacks. With a 2-hander you can't block unfortunately but you can still dodge roll to get out of the way of attacks. Another great thing about this game is the fact that its not just a great multiplayer game that you can play online on the 3ds. It also has a great single player campaign as well. There's actually stories and stuff and its such an old school style rpg that you actually have to read everything! I'm so used to just hearing the characters say stuff than reading. It is refreshing to actually read stuff in games again. Reminds me of when I was a kid, playing games like Final Fantasy and Xenogears, my two personal favorites from when I was young. I can see myself putting in a lot of time into Monster Hunter, especially once I start playing it online.
     During the same day I picked up those two games we also stopped at the local record shop. They have this deal where you buy 10 CD's you get a free CD that's $7.99 or less. My friend got Slayer's Reign in Blood so I was able to use that as credit for my 10th CD, thus earning myself a free CD. So I got this album by jazz guitarist Pat Metheny called Question and Answer, which I believe is an old Ornette Coleman song. The album features Dave Holland on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. Haven't listened to it yet but judging from the song titles like All The Things You Are and Question and Answer, this is more of a traditional jazz album.
     And lastly, if that wasn't enough we also went to Goodwill. We looked around and my friend got this Pokemon book that has information on tons of different Pokemon for 50 cents. I myself got a shirt with a cartoon looking guy playing bass, and it says jazz bass New Orleans on it. In addition, I got an Angry Birds shirt. Both of these shirts were purple, the colour of swag. It was a fun day. As I walked into my house, my friends were blasting Slayer-Angel of Death. Good times man.

E3 News

     E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo happened recently here in LA! Too bad I didn't go, it would've been badass if I went and got to meet some gaming celebrities and gaming YouTube personalities. I'm a big fan of BlackNerdRants, Melonie Mac, Angry Joe, and TotalBiscuit. They really do some great videos on games and gaming in general, it would just be cool to meet someone like that. But the whole E3 experience is learning about all the new content and games that will be coming out this holiday season and next year. There is literally tons of games, too many to mention so I'll talk about some of my personal favorite new things that I've seen in the press conferences from E3 from YouTube videos. 

     First, I'm really hyped for StarWars the Old Republic. I used to play the game when it first came out but since then the game has now gone free to play (with reduced xp unfortunately if you play free) and has a couple of interesting expansions like Rise of the Hutt Cartel and something involving the Jedi Revan from StarWars Knights Of the Old Republic. Anyways check out this new expansion trailer here. I thought this trailer was badass. It shows that there's going to be a new faction in the game that doesn't seem really Sith nor Jedi, even using the neutral yellow colored lightsabers to confirm this. I really liked in the trailer how it shows how this two kids, royalty it looks like, were trained as youth to become warriors and later when they've grown up it shows them conquering planets, killing both Jedi and Sith alike, and then bringing home lightsabers from a Jedi and a Sith to their father who is most likely the Emperor of this new faction. Then one of the sons attacks his father in an attempt to kill him but the other son stops him using a force push and ends up getting sliced in the side by the attacking brother. Then the father is all like 'come with me my son.' It just breathes epicness and tugs on the emotional heartstrings as well. How could a father let his son kill his other son? So there's that game. I'm most likely going to subscribe to Swtor when this expansion comes out. It'll be out in October 2015. 

     I'm a big Star Wars guy when it comes to the games. The movies are ok but I prefer the stories in the game, although they aren't official canon. Star Wars Battlefront 3 is going to be great from the looks of the game play they showed at E3. Check it out here. This game-play footage really shows off what the game will be like on release. From the looks of it, it seems they've kept the same playing style as Battlefront 2 but made the game better with today's enhanced graphics. Every little detail in the video looks pristine and crisp. Imagine playing this game on PC on the best graphics settings possible, it will look beautiful. Parts that really stood out in this game-play footage was the part where he's just running and all of a sudden he sees a trooper get force choked, and Darth Vader walks out into the battlefield! And then Luke Skywalker walks out and starts to attack Vader! So that kind of shows that you will be able to play as heroes like Jedi and Sith Lords. The game seems to me to be an updated version of Battlefront 2, which is all a great Star Wars video-gaming fan can dream for. 

     Then, there's the Final Fantasy VII remake. Check out the trailer here. I don't feel like Final Fantasy VII needs a remake but it will be interesting seeing how the game will look with today's enhanced graphics. I wonder if they will change anything about the game that is really different. They could make it like a modern Final Fantasy game, which are actually pretty terrible in my opinion. It's something to be excited about because the original was pretty much the game of my childhood. Final Fantasy was my Ocarina of Time, even though I played Zelda as well. Playstation one was my life as a kid. I enjoyed playing all those rpgs like Final Fantasy Tactics, FF8-9-10-. Legends of Dragoon, and Xenogears. Great times! 

     Lastly, the announcement of Fallout 4. I personally haven't played any of the Fallouts but my brother has and I often watch streams on twitch.tv of people streaming Fallout 3. I just find it to be a really entertaining game to watch. Plus, its one of the best kind of dystopian game series out there!

     Lastly, there's tons of stuff but too much to write about in one sitting. My friend from work made a list of all the games from E3 that he's planning to get. They include so many games but most of them are shooters or action oriented shooters based on tactical game play and decision making. Unfortunately I haven't heard anything really good coming from Nintendo at E3. All I've heard about is a Super Mario Maker game where you can make your own Mario levels and play them online with people and a really bad looking game that looks inspired by Metroid Prime. I wish they could have announced that they were making an American version of Xenoblade Chronicles X, that would have been sick! But we didn't get any news about Xenoblade at all. One of my good friends seemed dissapointed with Nintendo this year, reasonably so. There's way more games but I just haven't gotten to watching the footage or trailers yet. But this is definitely a great time to be a gamer. All the technology and the graphics are all just top notch. What a time to be alive!

    

    

Ornette Coleman, The Art of the Improvisers

Ornette Coleman just died last week but I'm still listening to this cat. He's a great inspiration for an aspiring musician like myself. This album features Ornette Coleman on sax, Don Cherry on trumpet, Charlie Haden (on 1959 and 1960 tracks) on bass, Billy Higgins (on 1959 tracks) on drums, Ed Blackwell (on 190 and 1961 tracks) on drums, Scott LaFaro (on 'The Alchemy of Scott LaFaro') and Jimmy Garrison (of Coltrane Quartet fame on 'Harlem's Manhatten') on bass.  It should be noted that the group of Coleman, Cherry, Haden, and Higgins is one of the most popular periods of Coleman's career, and it was a critical time for Ornette's music and for the jazz world. In addition, that lineup is my favorite Ornette Coleman band and I would say they did the best job playing his music. Although Coleman would go on to work with many other musicians it was these guys that got to really know and understand Coleman's musical freedom of expression.

     The first song is 'Circle With A Hole In The Middle', an abstract name for an abstract tune. It starts with a kind of bop motif played by the sax and trumpet at the same time. It goes by so fast and sounds pretty technical. Then Ornette goes off into some great alto saxophone solo, accompanied by a kind of free-form bass and drum playing, although the bass sometimes plays some walking bass lines in between melodic droning notes. The tone of the saxophone here kind of reminds me of Eric Dolphy, another great alto saxophonist who played with an almost free-jazz vibe. After the sax solo, Don Cherry comes in with a trumpet solo. I wouldn't say that Cherry is technical in a technical sense, but his phrasing and musical vocabulary on the instrument certainly are original and inspired. He sounds like himself and nobody else. After the trumpet solo, they repeat the motif from the beginning, its super fast and boppish. Short and sweet tune.
     The next tune is 'Just For You', which sounds like a sweet ballad. It's a slow mammoth of a number, especially the slow walking bass part. Ornette's saxophone tone here is a bit rounder here. I could see the Art Ensemble of Chicago playing a tune like this. It's still a structured kind of blues and bop inspired tune but it has the makings of free-jazz all over it and this song was recorded from 1959 to 1961, very early for free-jazz. All the songs on this album were recorded from 1959 to 1961. Although it was recorded earlier, this album wasn't released until 1970. All the compositions were written by Ornette Coleman. Anyways, this song doesn't really have a main melody or theme, but many, and they are slow, melodic, and sweet. Another short tune as well.
     Next is the 'Fifth of Beethoven'. It features a head played by both sax and trumpet at the same time at an upbeat tempo but not as fast as the first tune. It sounds like bop to me. This later became a tune that Coleman played at his gigs later in life, even before his death recently. After the head, Coleman takes off on an adventurous alto sax solo. His playing has lots of bebop references, especially Charlie Parker type stuff, but there is something that is inherently bluesy about Coleman's playing that hits you when you hear him playing saxophone solos. He has good phrasing in his solo, stops at certain moments, and then begins again. Then, Cherry comes in with a trumpet solo. Cherry sounds like a bebop player in his solo, but one who can't play as fast or technical as Dizzy Gillespie. In his solo, he sticks to short bop lines, stringing many together. His trumpet tone is pretty clear and concise but still has a throaty ruggedness to it. After the trumpet solo, there is a drum solo that is on point. After that they play the head again. It's a really interesting melody with cool phrasing that you really have to work to get spot on playing with sax and trumpet together.
     The next tune is 'The Alchemy of Scott LaFaro', named for the bass player who plays on this track. There's an opening fast head, and then some crazy bass stuff. Then the sax goes into a solo while Scott LaFaro plays some real fast walking bass lines, you know, the kind of bass lines that everybody hears in jazz all the time. But he plays it so fast and his bass tone sounds so good. It's thin but very clear in the mix. In the alto sax solo there's a point where Coleman hits a really high note and it almost sounds like squeaking. In fact, he squeaks a few times in his solo! It's pretty great although for the most part his solo is comprised of bop and blues runs. This one sounds like more of a free-form piece because the drums interact with the sax lines, hitting the snare here and there for extra emphasis of beats and stuff. After an extended sax solo, the trumpet really goes at it. Cherry starts off playing really fast technical phrases but soon ditches them for more simpler lines at a fast speed instead. Then there's this part in the song where everything gets quiet and there's just sax and trumpet lines, sounding like today's kind of free-jazz. They're playing together and playing off each other, and it's really a moment to remember on this record. It goes on for quite a while before the head comes back in, signaling the end of the tune.
     Then, we have 'Moon Inhabitants'. A great science fiction name for a tune. It has another bebop type head that is pretty fast but is so syncopated and rhythmic, it kind of reminds me of Thelonious Monk, just the extreme rhythmic aspect of it. Then Ornette plays a short and sweet solo with lots of bop lines, but also incorporating some nice melodious lines as well. Then Cherry comes in on trumpet(on all these tracks he's playing either pocket trumpet or coronet). During Cherry's trumpet solo Ornette is play sax lines. Pretty free aspect. Then there's this break in the song where the bass plays these weird kind of out of tune notes, trading licks with the drummer. Then the head repeats, ending the tune.
     Next, is 'The Legend of Bebop'. It has a nice mellow head played in unison with the sax and trumpet. It sounds like something Charlie Parker would write and play. The sax solo here is bluesy and the tempo is at a slow pace, maybe something like 80-90 beats per minute, something like that. After a while Coleman starts playing some fast lines, ripping on the sax with a great tone. His tone sounds very warm and classic on the alto saxophone. Afterwards, the trumpet lays down a solo under the slow rhythm section. After the trumpet solo, they repeat the head, ending the tune.
     Then, the next tune is 'Harlem's Manhatten'. Like pretty much all the other tunes, it features an opening head that is bop influenced, and then the saxophone goes off in a solo. At this point in Coleman's career I think he still wrote out charts with chord changes above the music. You can tell because of the way he and the other musicians improvise on the music. What's astounding about the sax playing isn't really the lines or the technique, but the phrasing and use of silence. He stops at such precise moments, and then starts playing again, giving you a chance to absorb the music you just heard. At some point there's a switch from alto to tenor saxophone and you can tell it right away because the whole tone of the saxophone changes. Then Cherry comes in with a cool kind of instrument known as the pocket trumpet. It's basically just a really small trumpet that has a charismatic kind of tone. The tone is really noticeable and you can tell the difference from a regular trumpet quite easily. His solo is melodic at heart but he does have some 'hot licks' thrown in there as well. Then Coleman comes back with his tenor saxophone. His tenor sounds pretty similar to his alto sound, except a bit lower in tone.
     Then, we have 'Music Always'. These last two tunes might not be on the original vinyl versions of this album but I have the remastered CD version so I think these last two tunes are add on tunes that didn't originally appear on the album. Anyways, this tune is very mellow, the sax solo and the rhythm section. I could imagine this song being played in a cafe or at a cool coffee place. Not Starbucks, but some hole in the wall coffee place that plays jazz. It would just fit the environment well there. The rhythm section here is pretty conservative; with the bass mainly playing walking bass lines and the drums just play cymbal and snare hits. But this gives plenty of room for the improvisation of the sax and trumpet. 
      Finally, the last tune on my CD version of this album is called 'Brings Goodness'. It opens with a bop head that is played at a moderate tempo. Again, the rhythm section is conservative, leaving the improvisers free to play.
    Lastly, I would say that although this album has some major bebop influences and isn't totally wild and free-jazz, it is very musical and soulful. Most of the solos here aren't about fast technical playing but are about really feeling the spirit of the moment, and that's what jazz is really all about, not just licks and grooves. I've listened to this album twice and I just bought it from the record store just the other day. I think my favorite song on the album was 'Just For You'. I really dug the groove on that track, it just seems to have a somber vibe that is very relaxing yet musically appealing at the same time. It sounds as fresh today as it probably sounded in 1970 when it first came out. This is the kind of jazz that has gotten lost amongst the smooth-jazz and fusion type jazz that is so prevalent today. One can only hope that it will never be forgotten.