Date:	26-Nov-1998 09:45:29
From:	Ted Hauser
	This may sound strange, but it took me a while to warm up to Bill Evans. I first started listening to him in college in the early '80s (his later stuff), but it wasn't till I heard WALTZ FOR DEBBIE and EXPLORATIONS did I think, "This guy is great -- now I understand what everyone is talking about!" I also found it difficult to get onboard with John Scofield. Though I'm a fan now (saw him in concert, own HAND JIVE and A GO GO), his playing initially hit me as disjointed and his solos herky-jerky.

 

Date:	27-Nov-1998 14:23:54
From:	Robert A. Rouda
	When I was in college, I thought Monk was kidding.I took to Ornette before Monk. Now, beside from the technical stuff which is pretty nice, mostly he make me happy, almost makes me want to dance. His ballads are actually beautiful.Monk's Mood w/ Coltrane is quite a treasure, I believe.

 

Date:	28-Nov-1998 09:44:37
From:	Chris Genzel (stamil@t-online.de)
	Miles Davis is. Really; I rarely get his albums on first listen. They're fascinating, but only after I listened to them a few times I am convinced that they're really *good*. (Still couldn't convince myself to like the "Man With The Horn" track, though.) Herbie Hancock & Bennie Maupin discographies at: http://home.t-online.de/home/stamil/

 

Date:	29-Nov-1998 09:28:17
From:	Jonathan Kranz (jonkranz@mediaone.net)
	I like this thread: It's kind of like a "true confessions" column for jazz heads. My true confession: It took me a long time to dig Sonny Rollins. One day about four years ago, I was driving home listening to a Eric Jackson's jazz program on WGBH. He spun an amazing version of Miles Davis' "Four" that unwound with one brilliant invention after another. The tenor, of course, turned out to be Sonny -- I've been hooked ever since. And I understand exactly what Michael means about Bill Evans. I got clued in when a pianist friend of mine told me to get "Everybody Digs Bill Evans." That did it for me. Just yesterday I bought a Cecil Taylor album from the late 50's, "Love For Sale." Taylor can be rough going, but this album is terrific and -- surprise -- swinging. (And it features one of the most bizarre album covers I've ever seen for a record by an avant-garde musician: a shadowy photo of a john -- in a rain coat -- lighting a cigarette for a street walker. Who thought this one up?)

 

Date:	04-Dec-1998 14:05:48
From:	Mike B.
	It took me awhile to warm up to Scofield too. Still not a big fan, but I loved his work on the Joe Henderson album, "So Near, So Far (Musing for Miles)." He's also good on Hebderson's "Porgy and Bess." Henderson seems to bring out the best in him. I was not that big on Lee Kontiz until recently. But I heard an album called "Leewise," which is half (Danish) nonet and half duets. Really great album. I want to get "Rhapsody," which sounds like a really intereting album--guest appearances by Joe Lovano, Bill Frisell, Clark Terry, Jimmy Giuffre, etc. Mike

 

Date:	17-Dec-1998 17:30:19
From:	John MacLeod
	Monk took a bit of acquiring for me, and he's now my fave. But what I REALLY had to work hardest at getting was free jazz -- and my fave taste I "acquired" through that "ordeal" is the Art Ensemble of Chicago, my desert-island free-jazz pick. (Although Albert Ayler runs pretty close...)

 

Date:	22-Dec-1998 01:33:15
From:	Peter Kenyon (kenyonp@cbs.curtin.edu.au)
	Yes, this is a good thread - I agree with Jonathon Kranz. I took a long time to come to terms with Mingus. I bought 'Ah Uhm' on vinyl years ago, and rarely played it. Then recently, I got hold of the Complete Mingus Columbia CD set (having sold off my vinyl some time ago), and all of a sudden I got it. This is simply brilliant music. Now, in the interim, I was steadily moving into Hutcherson and Dolphy and the early/mid-sixties Jackie McLean, so perhaps I needed to make that journey to hear what Mingus was up to. I am now searching out as much Mingus as I can find.

 

Date:	23-Jan-1999 14:43:50
From:	Darrell (dahigson@xtra.co.nz)
	My experience has been almost the same as Peter regarding Mingus....I'm now 38 and I remember about 15 years ago borrowing jazz vinyl from the library and trying a Mingus album. I forget which but it was all above me. I thought it disjointed, jerky, lacking melody and very strange music. I continued borrowing jazz though and loved Bobby Timmon's Moanin' and Art Blakey Tunisia and a few others that had more impact on me..... Then about five years ago I heard Mingus again and it all fell into place for me....Now I'm hooked on a man's music that is incomparable (I mean that!) I have not heard another jazz artist that has his depth of innovation and sheer briliance of composition. Sure there are others who may play better (some of his albums are a bit loose to say the least) but no one else has that little something that hits you right between the eyes on each and every listen. I have yet to hear the new box set (birthday present in February) but I've seen it, love the packaging and I can't wait to hear it!! regards Darrell

 

Date:	02-Feb-1999 17:50:09
From:	Lyman Medeiros (bigbass@hotbot.com)
	It took me a while to really get Chick Corea. If you don't like fusion, it is easy to dismiss him because that is what he is most popular for. But man, his straight ahead is just burning. From "Now He Sings ..." to "Origins" Chick is a real innovator. Another acquired taste (not for me but for most other people) is Steve Coleman's group the Metrics. It is an improv type group that features 3 MC's (rappers). Give it a chance, you'll dig it.

 

Date:	02-Feb-1999 17:50:46
From:	Lyman Medeiros (bigbass@hotbot.com)
	It took me a while to really get Chick Corea. If you don't like fusion, it is easy to dismiss him because that is what he is most popular for. But man, his straight ahead is just burning. From "Now He Sings ..." to "Origins" Chick is a real innovator. Another acquired taste (not for me but for most other people) is Steve Coleman's group the Metrics. It is an improv type group that features 3 MC's (rappers). Give it a chance, you'll dig it.

 

Date:	18-Feb-1999 17:00:16
From:	Howard (howard.peirce@sdrc.com)
	I tell you, I'd always been a post-hardbop/avant garde kind of guy, but I few years ago I discovered classic small-group swing. Right now, I'm seriously into Henry "Red" Allen, and Coleman Hawkins gets a lot of play. The more I listen to this stuff, the more blown away I am by the inventiveness of this music--what these guys were able to create from very limited resources. And the expressiveness--bop is very technical, but the tonal expressiveness is limited; a-g is very expressive tonally, but sometimes it's like music with only one chord (a chord that includes all available pitches, but only one chord). Classic small-group swing has everything I love about jazz: tonal expressiveness rooted in form, very free rhythmically but always swinging, pure melodic expression, within a limited set of pitch materials. Check out "World on a String" with Red Allen, Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey, J.C. Higgenbotham, Cozy Cole, and a couple others I can't remember (Oscar Pettiford?)

 

Date:	27-Feb-1999 19:23:18
From:	Harry Watnik (bighw50@go.com)
	Hi I'm a big fan of Red Garland elvin Jones Sonny Stitt Clifford Brown John Coltrane (blues) Miles Davis Django Rienhardt Booker Ervin Sonny Rollins Oscar Petersen art blakey would like to talk about em send me a line thanks Harry

 

Date:	31-Mar-1999 16:22:01
From:	Dr Dave (derickson161@earthlink.net)
	Warne Marsh--What was up with those overdub experiments? Von Freeman--Where did he get that tone? Sounds like it's coming through a box of Kleenex... James Moody--What's the matter, does he have to go to the bathroom? Why is he rushing through the changes like that? Now I hear Marsh's logic, Freeman's willingness to go anywhere on the horn to express himself, and Moody's exhilaration. Well, most

 

Date:	30-Apr-1999 02:12:46
From:	C. Glatzel (carlg@bantudesign.com)
	I would have to go with some Avant Garde players. Albert Ayler, Ornette Coleman, Pharoah Sanders and Sam Rivers. You can be on the outside looking in for a long time if you don't sit still and pay attention. Listening comes easier to some than oth

 

Date:	08-May-1999 09:35:53
From:	Brad
	Favorite acquired tastes. Olives, feta cheese, and dark beer.

 

Date:	12-May-1999 00:06:03
From:	Dave
	Eric Dolphy Ornette Coleman

 

Date:	18-May-1999 23:51:39
From:	Wilcox
	Big Band Jazz. I've been listening to jazz for 20 years and only recently have I really appreciated big bands. Once I tuned into Ellington, and Basie, I began to hear Gil Evans and Bill Holman. Most recently, I've discovered J.J. Johnson's "Brass Orchestra" and Joe Henderson's "The Joe Henderson Big Band." Another real find was "Lickety Split: the Music of Jim McNeely" by the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. All great stuff!

 

Date:	20-May-1999 19:36:05
From:	Zimbo
	He's not Jimmy Raney or Kenny Burrell or Chuck Wayne but Hound Dog Taylor is my acquired taste. When you come to appreciate him you know you've reached a rare plateau of musical awareness. I had a dream the other night that Hound Dog and Bill Evans, the pianist, recorded a blues album together and Bill was dancing while he was playing, having pushed away the piano bench in one sweeping motion. They were playing "Got My Mojo Working" - it was a smoking session - but Rudy Van Gelder's tape machine was all gummed up, and he was very upset! Hound Dog was laughing, playing his very mean slide quitar. . . humpa action solo . . . you shoulda been there!

 

Date:	23-May-1999 13:32:33
From:	Max DeLucas
	Zimbo- you sure that was a dream and not a date actually produced by Rudy van Gelder for Mirage records?

 

Date:	25-May-1999 19:46:13
From:	Ned
	Attila Zoller, the Hungarian guitarist who recently died. His own records are real good ("Overcome" with Kirk Lightsey and "Common Cause" with Ron Carter & Joe Chambers). The two albums that are extraordinary are "Thingin" with Konitz & Don Friedman on piano; the other one is called "When It's Time" with Konitz, Larry Willis, Santi Debriano and Yoron Israel. Zoller is a little different from other guitarists with the deep euro & classical influences - the more I listen to him the better he gets.

 

Date:	05-Jun-1999 01:27:42
From:	Jim
	Pre-bebop jazz. Like a lot of people nowadays, I came up listening to Miles, Coltrane, Bird, etc... The pre-bebop stuff always sounded either corny or rhythmically and harmonically simple. But I knew there was much more to it than that. It took years, but now I've gravitated to the point where I actually prefer some of that music. There is so much beauty in Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Duke, Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, Louis Armstrong, the list goes on and on and on. And when you REALLY start listening, you realize there is nothing simple about that music at all. It's full of rich subtleties, totally rewarding, and free from a lot of the cliches of bebop and the austere self-seriousness of the following styles (although I still listen to those). But sometimes I think that the early stuff is the real deal.

 

Date:	06-Jun-1999 01:49:27
From:	simone wilkie
	The Chicago Bongo Quartet's first CD "Maynard's World" is simply awesome. I like their picture on the cover with goatees, berets, and matching shirts!! My favorite cuts on the CD is their jazz version of "Don't Be Cruel" that slides into a medly with "Embracable You" and then "Red Cross." They rock, they rumble, and they're so cute - they could be a whole lot of trouble!! Right now they're on an impromptu laundromat tour of Wisconsin - great reviews in Madison!!

 

Date:	06-Jun-1999 19:48:21
From:	Kathy K.
	JIM: I've pretty much come to the same conclusion. I appreciate the later more innovative music but when I hear Ben Webster my whole being leans in the more sensual/emotional direction. I'm sure ultimately Dolphy & Webster are complimentary but sometimes I just want to kick back with a bottle of wine and enjoy life. The richness and complexity of the music comes around in its self-effacing, casual way. Great stuff!!

 

Date:	23-Jun-1999 18:39:11
From:	Beatty
	Hey Jim, I know your reactionary rantings are an (unfortunately quite obvious) ploy to lure Patrick back to these threads.

 

Date:	25-Jun-1999 14:34:50
From:	susan (srosmarin@lanlaw.com)
	re: acquired tastes - believe it or not, Michael Brecker was an acquired taste. Yeah, I liked Steps Ahead, but recently - when he plays with Joey Calderazzo, I just flip out. He is probably one of the best modern players around. And his brother ain't bad either!

 

Date:	02-Jul-1999 12:23:50
From:	Wexell
	I think if you listen to people like Dave Grisman and John Carlini you'll realize that they are often playing jazz. This bluegrass/jazz cross is very interesting with a very high level of musicianship. If you've heard Steve O'Connor with Yo Yo Ma or if you've heard Peter Ostroushko you're hearing a lot of jazz - they may be too modest to call it that but these guys are a lot more interesting and better players than an awful lot of "jazz musicians." Check it out

 

Date:	10-Jul-1999 15:28:59
From:	Rick Newman
	C. GLATZEL - What Sam Rivers CD would you recommend and what Ayler?? Go easy on me. Thanks - just beginning to listen to avant-garde/free musicians.

 

Date:	18-Jul-1999 14:23:15
From:	Wanda
	I agree with Wexell. Vassar Clements is another bluegrass musician who comes to mind "Hillbilly Jazz" is the title of one of his CDs. Also, Western Swing music is an obvious cross between country and jazz with some very good players, including some jazz big band names you can find on the CD player lists.

 

Date:	25-Jul-1999 22:47:09
From:	Sheldon
	I have been trying to play two CDs at the same time or a CD and a taped cassette and trying to figure out compatable combinations. So, in one hours time I can hear twice as much music. Perhaps, it will take time. Perhaps, it will take training. I will be patient. I believe I am on the evolutionary cutting edge of human development in the auditory sphere - willed evolution, one of my friends calls it.

 

Date:	31-Jul-1999 10:05:38
From:	Earl
	Harold Danko is one of my favorite acquired tastes. Subtle player. I like to listen to players who are chosen by the great masters - they were chosen for a reason. So, if you listen to Charlie Parker why did he keep choosing Lucky Thompson and Flip Phillips? If you listen to Eric Dolphy why did he choose Mal Waldron and Richard Davis? If you listen to Billie Holiday - why Jimmy Rowles? Benny Carter- why Richard Wyands? etc. etc. So, it follow through with this idea. Lee Konitz chose Harold Danko for many recordings - there must be a reason, so listening I focus in on Danko instead of Konitz, and then follow through by picking up a few Danko recordings. This is my method of acquiring new tastes - it consistently works.

 

Date:	04-Aug-1999 07:49:24
From:	Colin
	I agree with Earl. This is a bit like the 'Rock family Tree' kind of thing. If you listen to the sidemen, then you can follow all kinds of paths to glory and discover many new artists who you might not have bothered with. Does anybody know anything about a '54 LP called Bridland All-stars play Carnegie Hall? It features Basie, Bird, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Lester Young etc. Can anyone provide more background to the sparse sleeve notes? It was issued in about '77.

 

Date:	15-Aug-1999 18:19:53
From:	Robert Wilkens
	Sheldon: If you wear a cymbal on your head you will probably be picking up the multiple rhythms of the bass players and drummers - it could be a very complex all-body experience! Worth a try I'd say - talk about evolution!

 

Date:	17-Aug-1999 19:29:54
From:	Sally
	Sheldon & Robert: I would think a bald or well shaved head would be more effective with the cymbal - I'm thinking about ease of transmission of vibrations. Yes? You must be talking about a large high hat type cymbal I'm assuming. Another idea would be to use the large cymbal on the shaved head and stand barefooted on a large gong that has been placed on level bedrock - vibrations could then extend into the depths of the earth and out into the outer realms of the heavens. It would be so-ooo cosmic! If you wanted to be real cool you could try this with a couple of outdoor bands. You know there's a concert venue in upstate New York called Opus 40 that is in an outside stone quarry that a guy spent 40 years sculpting into one large conceptual/environmental scupture garden. I've been there for concerts (saw the Gary Burton Quartet). It's in between Saugerties and Woodstock. This might be the place, Sheldon. You might as well do it right - maybe film it. Yes?

 

Date:	22-Aug-1999 11:43:44
From:	Artie
	Wingnuts.

 

Date:	25-Aug-1999 18:28:47
From:	Molly
	I find myself listening to a lot of solo jazz piano as of late. I've really enjoyed the following: Michel Petrucciani - "Solo" Jaki Byard - "Empirical" Mal Waldron - "Update" Bill Evans - "The Solo Sessions" Vol.I & II Paul Bley - "Hands On" Billy Taylor - "Ten Fingers - One Voice" These are all substantive recording that can be listened to endlessly. Enjoy.

 

Date:	28-Aug-1999 10:09:28
From:	Zeek
	MOLLY: Wow, great list!! I'd like to add some of my favorite solo piano CDs: Don Friedman - "Don Friedman at Maybeck" Harold Danko - "After the Rain" (all Coltrane compositions) Kenny Barron - "Live at Maybeck Recital Hall" Chick Corea - "Expressions" (acoustic piano) Thelonious Monk - "Thelonious Alone In San Franscisco" Toshiko Akiyoshi - "Toshiko Akiyoshi at Maybeck" Concord Records has a very large (50 CDs?) in their Maybeck Recital Hall Series. I've yet to be disappointed with this solo piano series.

 

Date:	10-Sep-1999 22:52:14
From:	Nut Job
	beer. and sushi. oh, you meant jazz???

 

Date:	05-Oct-1999 19:02:24
From:	Zippo
	John Lewis (of MJQ fame) recently issued a solo piano CD called "Evolution" that is marvelous. Thoughtful and intense - check it out.

 

Date:	16-Oct-1999 11:18:29
From:	Holly (HollyB@internetwis.com)
	I like all of the Mal Waldron duet CDs. Anytime I see a Waldron duet I pick it up. I especially like his duet work with Steve Lacy, Marion Brown, and Dave Friesen. Maybe it's because Waldron was Billie Holiday's accompanist that Waldron is so good in these contexts - there's such an emotional charge and the subtle interplay is beautiful and complex.

 

Date:	27-Oct-1999 16:16:38
From:	Shecky Adams (chedderplate@aol.com)
	My most favorite acquired taste is Pabst Blue Ribbon

 

Date:	20-Nov-1999 11:48:29
From:	Wally Tadpole
	Cheese Curds.

 

Date:	04-Dec-1999 10:55:31
From:	Ralph R.
	Lennie Tristano - especially the solo piano and the recordings with Marsh & Konitz.

 

Date:	18-Dec-1999 10:24:37
From:	Cee Cee
	Steve Lacy - at first I didn't like the soprano sax but the more I listened the better the music became. Anything he does concerning Monk is tremendous.

 

Date:	25-Apr-2000 12:41:17
From:	bungle (bungle43210@yahoo.com)
	Here's my list of aquired tastes. Enjoy! 1. John Zorn-Live at the Knitting Factory 2. Frank Zappa-jazz From Hell 3. Candiria-Process of self.development 4. Thelonious Monk-ANY AND ALL ALBUMS!!!! 5. Charles Mingus-Ah Um, Mingus Dynasty, etc. 6. Rahsaan Roland Kirk-Dog Years in the Fourth Ring 7. Mr.Bungle-Disco Volante 8. Slayer-JUST KIDDING!!!!!

 

Date:	15-Aug-2000 19:06:53
From:	Max DeLucas
	Sweetbreads!

 

Date:	16-Aug-2000 20:13:16
From:	Fete Drone
	I really feel I ought to like Ornette Coleman, but still don't. Cannot stand free jazz at all, actually. Some day, baby.

 

Date:	29-Aug-2000 21:30:58
From:	Max DeLucas
	The Scotts make this really awful sausage thing called "hegis" or something like that. I never expected to like it but there is a little place down the road that makes it fresh and it's kind of growing on me. I've also learned to enjoy a little tripe now and then, especially when I'm listening to old Chet Atkins records. This concerns me but I'm not losing any sleep over it, believe me.

 

Date:	31-Aug-2000 21:33:34
From:	Max DeLucas
	The very first time I tried a mutton chop it revolted me. So grainy, gamy and chewy. I swore I'd never try that again. Not long after I was invited to a party at which all kinds of wierd meats were served- goat, ostritch, buffalo, enu, and you guessed it- mutton. Given my choices, I slopped a very small mutton chop on my plate. All the while, the host, a jazz lover, is playing some of the most obscure artists you never heard of. One stuck out, name was Bugsy Ipsell (though I'm not sure of the spelling)-, tenor saxophone was his ax. . Anyway, Bugsy was kind of an old-timer but with a refreshing originality. Long story short- I took to Bugsy right away- great sound, intonation, swing- the complete package, a true unappreciated genius, like the sad tale of so many other jazz greats. But here's the thing- the mutton started to really grow on me. It had a depth of flavor one doesn't get from beef and a complexity, well- I was aching for a real nice Merlot. The more I got into Bugsy, the more I enjoyed the mutton. Guess what- I wound up horsing down five of those chops- and I picked out the heftiest ones too! Since then, I've learned to enjoy mutton without needing to listen to Bugsy- his recorded output is saldy limited and I can't listen to the same 3 CDs every time I wnt to eat mutton.

 

Date:	01-Sep-2000 21:33:48
From:	Hal
	I have recently acquired a taste for rubber golashes (sp?), the rubber ones you stretch over your newly shined shoes. They make great noises and you can jump in puddles!!

 

Date:	01-Apr-2001 21:40:12
From:	Rom (Rommei2681@aol.com)
	I'm surprised it took so long for anyone to mention zorn. That's the greatest thing about a John Zorn alblum-at first listen, it's never what you had expected. You usually get dissapointed at first, like "what in the hell is this pretentious crap?" It sort of puts you in that zen-type "beginner's mind", you end up having to abandon all previous notions you had about music, it breaks all the barriers.........leaves you wanting more. I imagine that's what the free-jazz period in the sixties was like. It's definately an aquired taste, but I haven't been dissapointed yet. Enen the alblum that was composed entirely of duck-calls!

 

Date:	17-Apr-2001 10:45:16
From:	Mike Zickar (mzickar@bgnet.bgsu.edu)
	I stumbled onto Steve Lacy's "Ballets" in a university library about 10 years ago. At the time I remember telling myself that "I can't get into this music at this point but I know that some day I'll love it." And that's what happened. I really believe that we grow into music. That any given time, with our current knowledge and preferences and experiences, that appreciating different types of "things" is beyond us. We have to inch up to them. Before being able to appreciate Lacy's more "out" music, I had to tackle Monk, Dolphy, Mingus, and Steve's more "inside" music. At this point I enjoy the "out" music more than the inside. The same set of experiences has happened to me with abstract expressionist art and the gritty voice of Woody Guthrie.

 

Date:	04-Sep-2001 21:14:56
From:	Jon
	You know you're onto something with the Woody Guthrie voice comment. It's somewhat like some of the old blues vocalists, you can glide by them for years and then all of a sudden one these incredible voices just grabs you. Maybe at a particularly open/vulnerable moment, and then a whole musical world opens up. One in which the voice and the guitar and every element just meshes at the subtlest levels. Sleepy John Estess was like that to me. So, was Fred McDowell and Lightning Hopkins.

 

Date:	12-Oct-2001 15:40:14
From:	Corey (coreymwamba@btinternet.com)
	Max, You have to stop eating mutton, you know it does agree with you (or your lady...)! My acquired taste nomination is (I kid you not) Louis Armstrong. This is a long one, I'm afraid... It was when I was young and didn't listen to jazz, so I just didn't get him at first; he was the croaky-sounding bloke on those Bing Crosby schlock things that my dad used to listen to (my dad also listen to Nat King Cole in croon mode as well; I lumped it together with Neil Diamond). I couldn't stand any of it, and I didn't know he played the trumpet. It was just cheesy. When I was sixteen, I started listening to and playing jazz, and I STILL didn't like him. My musical education was all-inclusive, so I listened to and played (vibes) all periods of jazz from early to contemporary. However, although Sidney Bechet reached me straight away, It wasn't until I heard King Oliver's band on Humphrey Lyttleton's radio show (BBC Radio 2) that I got the quickness of thought and clear tone. I still don't think that his own stuff is genius, but his really early music is legendary.