Modal Jazz Music - Can you explain it for a novice like me? - Music

TheDude85

Gender: Male
Location: Michigan

@Kool Keith Sweat -Thanks for the link. Is that from a specific album?

@PurpleHazel -I appreciate your thoughts. It is clear that the Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" ensemble are a really tight combo, who really gel together. Perhaps the style of music may be too advanced for my ear. I look forward to hearing the Blakey Combo if I can get my hands on it. Thanks for the recommendations Smile

@manurock - Nice to meet another newcomer to Jazz music. There's a vast world for us to explore, Huh?

Kool Keith Sweat

TheDude85 wrote:

@Kool Keith Sweat -Thanks for the link. Is that from a specific album?

It's from a CD single called Rehearsal Extract 10' 26 from the Joseph Holbrooke trio; it's a composition from Coltrane and at least appeared on 1962s Coltrane, if you wanna hear how he played it. It begins modally, stating the mode just like Miles Davis might, but evolves into an entirely different beast. Modal playing was one possible avenue of freeing up improvising musicians in the '50s and '60s. The members of this trio would go on to become major figures in the avant garde, both jazz and classical spheres.

I would suggest not fretting about compositional/notational aspects of the music, and instead immersing yourself until you get a feel for the language.

Kind of Blue is still the best selling jazz album (!!!) and serves as the entry point for many (myself included). But, if you don't dig it, there are many others, and I would just move on.

PurpleHazel

TheDude85 wrote:

I look forward to hearing the Blakey Combo if I can get my hands on it. Thanks for the recommendations Smile

You can check it out on Spotify (or another streaming service). Everything I recced is on there.

Graeme2

Gender: Male
Location: The Upside Down

Kool Keith Sweat wrote:

It's from a CD single called Rehearsal Extract 10' 26 from the Joseph Holbrooke trio; it's a composition from Coltrane and at least appeared on 1962s Coltrane, if you wanna hear how he played it. It begins modally, stating the mode just like Miles Davis might, but evolves into an entirely different beast. Modal playing was one possible avenue of freeing up improvising musicians in the '50s and '60s. The members of this trio would go on to become major figures in the avant garde, both jazz and classical spheres.

I would suggest not fretting about compositional/notational aspects of the music, and instead immersing yourself until you get a feel for the language.

Kind of Blue is still the best selling jazz album (!!!) and serves as the entry point for many (myself included). But, if you don't dig it, there are many others, and I would just move on.

Kind of blue was one of the first jazz albums I bought when I was young but I just didn't get it at all. It wasn't the right place to start for me at the time. My gateway was through hip hop and funk and seeking out compilations like Blue Break Beats on Blue Note. That got me into the funky side of jazz and then the rest and eventually Kind of Blue. Find the style of jazz that works for you and that will be your gateway. I was listening to Kamasi Washington the other day and was thinking and hoping that he could be turning many of his young fans, who know little about jazz, towards investigating jazz as a whole.

PurpleHazel

Agree that different gateways will work for different people, and that if everyone could be matched up with the best-fitting gateway, a lot more people would like jazz.

I think some of the catchier hard bop from the Blue Note label is one of most accessible gateways, but there is no one size fits all. For some it may be Mahavishnu Orchestra, for others it may be free improv. Miles, either Kind of Blue or electric, is probably the most common.