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View Full Version : 1959 - The Year That Changed Jazz



John R Leddy
31-07-2013, 22:30
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dou3aSZmEg0

1959 was the seismic year jazz broke away from complex bebop music to new forms, allowing soloists unprecedented freedom to explore and express. It was also a pivotal year for America: the nation was finding its groove, enjoying undreamt of freedom and wealth; social, racial and upheavals were just around the corner; and jazz was ahead of the curve.

Four major jazz albums were made, each a high watermark for the artists and a powerful reflection of the times. Each opened up dramatic new possibilities for jazz which continue to be felt: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue; Dave Brubeck, Time Out; Charles Mingus, Mingus Ah Um; and Ornette Coleman, The Shape of Jazz to Come.

Rarely seen archive performances help vibrantly bring the era to life and explore what made these albums vital both in 1959 and the 50 years since. The programme contains interviews with Lou Reed, Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, Charlie Haden, Herbie Hancock, Joe Morello (Brubeck's drummer) and Jimmy Cobb (the only surviving member of Miles' band), along with a host of jazz movers and shakers from the '50s and beyond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dou3aSZmEg0

Barry
31-07-2013, 22:32
It was shown on BBC4 several months ago. An excellent programme and one that bears repeated watching.

pjdowns
31-07-2013, 22:33
Received a copy of Miles David - Kind Of Blue today which I had ordered a couple of days ago... great album... along with Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet also a great album and one of my all time favourites :)

The Grand Wazoo
31-07-2013, 22:50
I agree, it's an excellent programme. There's a great part where Brubeck is talking about the bigoted perception of the establishment at the time of the evils inherent in multi-racial bands and how the audience just couldn't care less.

It was shown on BBC4 several months ago. An excellent programme and one that bears repeated watching.

It was actually first shown on BBC4 in 2009.

Barry
31-07-2013, 23:00
Yes, it has been repeated (I think three times - well, I have seen it three times).

pjdowns
31-07-2013, 23:01
Really, this is something I would normally have recorded but clearly missed it :(

The Grand Wazoo
31-07-2013, 23:04
Well, John's You Tube link above is to the whole programme.

Alex_UK
31-07-2013, 23:23
Not watched the programme yet - so not sure if it gets a mention - but another great 1959 Jazz album I would add to the list is Cannonball Adderley - Cannonball Takes Charge - give it a shot if you don't know it - Cannonball played on all bar one track of Kind Of Blue - (which I doubt many would dispute as being the greatest Jazz record of all time...)

If you like a bit of vibraphone (and who doesn't? ;)) then another '59 jazz album worth a pop is Music from Odds Against Tomorrow by The Modern Modern Jazz Quartet. IMHO - YMMV. :)

The Grand Wazoo
31-07-2013, 23:28
If you like a bit of vibraphone (and who doesn't?)
C'mon then Alex, let's you & me start a Spotify playlist:
'Extreme Death Metal songs featuring vibraphone'.......!

Thing Fish
01-08-2013, 01:32
I shall watch this at work tonight.

Alex_UK
01-08-2013, 12:57
C'mon then Alex, let's you & me start a Spotify playlist:
'Extreme Death Metal songs featuring vibraphone'.......!

LOL! Might be more successful than my "Tracks featuring ping-bong balls (http://open.spotify.com/user/alex_steel1969/playlist/4eP53J83CtH5Uw5LuiGKwx)" playlist!!