Albums like Miles Davis - Porgy and Bess?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Ryan Lux, Sep 5, 2019.

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  1. Ryan Lux

    Ryan Lux Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, ON, CA
    This is probably my favourite “jazz” album, the arrangements are so sublime. I’m also a fan of Gil Evans other work with Miles (Miles Ahead, Sketches Of Spain). But can you recommend other, similar, albums by different artists? I guess this style would be called “orchestral jazz”......
     
  2. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    You may want to check out the band "Snarky Puppy". The album that got me interested in them is called "Sylva" ...

     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2019
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  3. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    From the Snarky Puppy album "Sylva" - "The Curtain"

     
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  4. GregM

    GregM The expanding man

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Have you explored the non-Miles Gil Evans stuff like Gil Evans & Ten? Also try other arrangers or composers who used larger ensembles to see if you like what they did, e.g., Michel Legrand. Lots of artists known for smaller ensembles tried their hands with larger ones and succeeded in amazing ways, e.g., Andrew Hill - Passing Ships, Herbie Hancock - The Prisoner, McCoy Tyner - Tender Moments.

    Above all, do not skip Duke and Basie.
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2019
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  5. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Charlie Parker With Strings ...

     
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  6. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Monk - "Monk's Blues"

    This later version of "Brilliant Corners" on Columbia, is amazing to me ...

     
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  7. Matty

    Matty Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    What makes the arrangements for Porgy and Bess so sublime, IMO, is that Evans doesn't focus on trumpets and saxes the way so many big band recordings do. Instead, the arrangements give lots of attention to the flutes and trombones and french horns and tuba, so that we get a tapestry of diverse sounds instead of strident unison blaring.

    I don't have any suggestions for similar recordings, but I too would love to see any recommendations that folks may have.
     
  8. jfire

    jfire Forum Resident

    Location:
    Missoula
    Check out some of Oliver Nelson's big band stuff.
     
  9. Ryan Lux

    Ryan Lux Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, ON, CA
    This is perfect, didn’t know Monk did an orchestral album. Really brings out the beauty in his melodies.
     
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  10. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    Miles Ahead

    Run, don’t walk!
     
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  11. Coaltrain

    Coaltrain Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bangkok, Thailand
    Whether it's called orchestral jazz or symphonic jazz, this is a genre that I also like. I love the harmonies and textures of different instrumental combinations. In addition to Basie and Ellington, there are many good examples available. I especially endorse Miles Ahead and Gil Evans & Ten, which were mentioned above. Nicholas Payton has re-recorded Sketches of Spain with some twists of his own. Wynton Marsalis' Hot House Flowers is also excellent. Maria Schneider is a creative arranger and composer. Her Allegresse, Sky Blue and Evanescence are worth giving a listen to. Michel LeGrand's Jazz features some of jazz's greatest stars, including Miles, John Coltrane and Bill Evans. There are others worth examining, but this is all I can think of at the moment.
     
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  12. Ryan Lux

    Ryan Lux Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, ON, CA
    Got it, I love it though I find Porgy to be more darkly melodic and emotional. Still, Miles Ahead is great.
     
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  13. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

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  14. Ryan Lux

    Ryan Lux Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, ON, CA
    Why is this album so disliked by reviewers? Monk’s other two orchestral albums are rated very highly (Town Hall and Big Band In Concert), not so Monk’s Blues. To my ears, there are highlights on all of them.
     
  15. Coaltrain

    Coaltrain Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bangkok, Thailand
    Perhaps you all have had enough recommendations for this kind of jazz, but I would like to provide a few more examples to expand on my first post. Terence Blanchard's Jazz in Film employs an all-star group, including Joe Henderson, to cover movie themes with new vibrant arrangements. It's very noirish. The Roy Hargrove Big Band's Emergence is also very creative. Check out Roy's take on My Funny Valentine. The Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band enjoyed a brief spell of popularity in the 70's. Toshiko is a skilled pianist who introduced a bit of Japanese sensibility into her creative arrangements. My favorite albums from this group are Yellow Brick Road and Kogun. Clark Terry re-recorded Porgy and Bess with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra in 2003. Using the original Gil Evans arrangements, the recording is much improved over the original due to technological advances. Listen especially to the highlighting of the tuba part. This may seem sacrilegious, but in some ways I prefer the Clark Terry recording. Miles sometimes plays with a pinched tone that is emotive, but Terry's performance is more lyrical, singing. In any case, it's worth hearing. My favorite orchestral jazz albums are by Quincy Jones: Gula Matari and Walking in Space. I love the bass marimba in Gula Matari's title tune and the female vocals are hauntingly out of this world.
     
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  16. Ryan Lux

    Ryan Lux Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, ON, CA
    Great recommendations thanks! Really looking forward to checkingout the re-recorded Porgy.
     
  17. drad dog

    drad dog A Listener

    Location:
    USA
    You might like Miles soundtrack for the Louis Malle film that has different titles. Not orchestral but in the wheelhouse time wise.

    Quiet Nights was the last Davis Evans collaboration. It got mixed reviews but has some good stuff.
     
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  18. Frangelico

    Frangelico Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Maybe give Clifford Brown with Strings a listen. If you like vocals you could try Shirley Horn with Horns (a little lighter and fun), and also sample some of Sinatra’s Capitol material (mostly his torch song albums) and Ella’s songbooks. The Miles material is closer to classical though.
     
  19. Frangelico

    Frangelico Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    This can’t possibly be sublime - Buddy Rich is the drummer /s

    Love it
     
  20. Ryan Lux

    Ryan Lux Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, ON, CA
  21. Ryan Lux

    Ryan Lux Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, ON, CA
    Absolutely, and lots of quiet dynamics and subtle playing so when the trumpets do lean in, the contract is startling.
     
  22. Frangelico

    Frangelico Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    This is a wonderful description. You succinctly explained the appeal of so much classical music.
     
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  23. Ryan Lux

    Ryan Lux Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto, ON, CA
    Just a note to everyone. I was in a used store and saw the Columbia Masterpieces version of Porgy And Bess and decided to pick it up. Wow, it's so much better than the 90s remaster. Way more bottom end and no harsh trumpets. I had no idea the master tapes sound so different.
     
  24. Raoul97202

    Raoul97202 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland Oregon
    You might check out this Gil Evans album. This version of Spoonful always sounds, to me, like it could have been on Porgy & Bess.

     
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  25. Jason Michael

    Jason Michael Senior Member

    Don't forget Miles's and Gil's first project, Birth of the Cool. Some great textures in the arrangements on that one.
    For something a little more recent, Bob Belden's Black Dahlia makes beautiful use of a larger band and orchestra, also Charlie Haden's Quartet West albums contain some interesting charts.
     
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