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Saturday, October 8, 2016

Where is the jazz?


John Coltrane

Yesterday when I was putting up new links to a few articles, including "RAW's desert island recordings," I noticed something that seemed odd. Here is the list again, which Eric Wagner obtained fairly late in Robert Anton Wilson's life, although I don't have a date:

1. Beethoven's 9th
2, Beethoven's 7th
3. Vivaldi: Four Seasons
4. Carmina Burana
5. Brandenburg Concertos
6. Goldberg Variations
7. Mozart's Piano Concerti
8. Beethoven's Piano Concerti
9. Joplin's rags on harpsichord
10. Iron Butterfly

What seems strange to me when I look at this list is that although RAW wrote about his interest in jazz more than once, no jazz recordings are listed. Did his interest in jazz wane, or did he not happen to think of jazz when Eric asked for the list?

I may as well attempt my own "desert island" list and invite commenters to post theirs. Of course, at any given point in my life, this list would be different, but it is representative of what I like:

1. Beethoven, seventh symphony.
2. Prokofiev, second piano concerto.
3. Shostakovich, fourth symphony.
4. Mozart, 24th piano concerto.
5. Out of Our Heads, the Rolling Stones.
6. Revolver, the Beatles.
7. Bringing It All Back Home, Bob Dylan.
8. New Miserable Experience, the Gin Blossoms.
9. Kind of Blue, Miles Davis.
10. The 1954 Los Angeles Concert, Duke Ellington.

If I hadn't run out of numbers, I'd add albums by Elvis Costello and Karrin Allyson. And I can't believe there's no Stravinsky in my list, or anything by a living classical composer.  It's hard to summarize my interests in 10 items.

8 comments:

Dustin said...

1. Enter the 36 Chambers, Wutang Clan
2. Straight Outta Compton, N.W.A
3. Fly or Die, N.E.R.D.
4. The Doors
5. Edutainment, BOOGIE Down Productions
6. Dr Funkenstien, Parliment
7. Midnight Mauraders, Tribe Called Quest
8. 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul
9 Fear of a Black Planet, Public Enemy
10. Deltron 3030

Roman said...

0. John Cage's 4'33"
1. Beethoven's late quartets
2. Bach's Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr BWV 639 (from the film Solaris; here's a beautiful rendition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEXWM94xwI8)
3. Schubert's Moment Musical Op.94 (D.780) No.2
4. Shostakovich (everything)
5. Chamber music in general
6. Prokofiev's music for Romeo & Juliet
7. Thelonious Monk (everything)
8. Funk (Eddie Bo, Rufus Thomas, etc.)
9. Cream & Jethro Tull
10. John Cage's voice (e.g., Writing for the Second Time Through Finnegans Wake, Roaratorio, etc.)

Eric Wagner said...

I think Bob's musical taste switched to mostly classical in the 1960's. He seems to have had more interest in jazz in the 1950's. This week I have listened to a lot of Wagner, but I don't think he makes my desert island list:

1. Beethoven: Missa Solemnis / Schubert: Symphony No. 8 / Wagner: A Faust Overture conducted by Horenstein

2. A Love Supreme, John Coltrane

3. Furtwangler Conducts - Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 9 / Leonore, No. 3 & Coriolan Overtures, Opp. 62,72b

3. Crescent, John Coltrane

4. Americans Swinging in Paris, The Art Ensemble of Chicago

5. Late Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Solomon

6. Complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Schnabel

7. Shostakovich Symphonies 1 & 15 conducted by Gergiev

8. Peter Grimes, conducted by Hickox

9. Tangent Shores, Jai Jeffryes

10. Pelleas et Mellisande by Debussy, conducted by Karajan

Manic The Doodler said...

1. Sleep--Dopesmoker
2. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band--Lick My Decals Off Baby
3. Black Sabbath--entire 70's catalog
4. John Coltrane--Sun Ship
5. Ornette Coleman--The Complete Science Fiction Sessions
6. Dock Boggs--Country Blues
7. The Mothers Of Invention--Uncle Meat
8. Kyuss--Welcome To Sky Valley
9. The Beatles--The White Album
10. The Rolling Stones--Let It Bleed

tony smyth said...

Jazz? Just discovered this guy. Kris Bowers. First album, damn good. Here's a sample

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mx5rZFAm0g

fyreflye said...

My current but not necessarily all-time pStarseedlaylist:

1. Kirtronica (Jaya Lakshmi)
2. Ananda (Starseed)
3. Bach, Violin Concertos (Freiburger Barockorchester)
4. Beethoven, Symphony 3 (Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall)
5. Sarawasti Dreams (Jaya Lakshmi)
6. Fiorentino Edition: The Early Recordings (Sergio Fiorentino)
7. Lift to the Scaffold (Miles Davis)
8. Ervín Schulhoff, Concertos Alla Jazz (Andreas Delfs & various)
9. Icon:Witold Malcuzynski (Malcuzynski & various)
10.Haydn: London Symphonies, Nos. 93-104 (Dresdner Phiharmonie,
Gunther Herbig)

fyreflye said...

Correction: "playlist"

Cleveland Okie (Tom Jackson) said...

I love these lists and I'm going to be trying some of the music.