free jazz reviews

October 24, 2010 9:31 PM

Stef reviews free jazz. Review index.
posted by kenko (14 comments total)

I was going to say "whoah that's some weak sauce". And then I saw the list in the index. And now I say "Whoah, that's a metric fucktonne of awkward listening." And equally awkward reviewing.
posted by awfurby at 9:48 PM on October 24, 2010

Metafilter: A Metric Fucktonne Of Awkward.
posted by mhoye at 9:49 PM on October 24, 2010

Yup, thassa lotta reviews. It warms my heart to know that there are folks this committed to the (relatively obscure) music that they love.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:52 PM on October 24, 2010

AWESOME. This is going to be hours and hours and hours of hotness for me. Many thanks!
posted by koeselitz at 9:54 PM on October 24, 2010

A Metric Fucktonne

I first read this as "metric fucktone."


I bet there are some people on that list that could play a metric fucktone, or at least strive to play one. I think I would like to hear that.

I agree with Koeselitz. Hotness. Neighbor-bothering hotness.
posted by louche mustachio at 10:46 PM on October 24, 2010 [2 favorites]

I like the fact that his two sidebars are filled with photos of hot jazzladies.
posted by The Discredited Ape at 11:00 PM on October 24, 2010 [2 favorites]

I'm not sure what to make of his reviews. On one hand, he clearly loves the music (perhaps a bit too much - almost all of the reviews I looked at gave albums 4 or 5 stars, and I couldn't find any with fewer than 3.5), he is very thorough, and he includes what seems to be a lot of information. His descriptions are very expressive, with a lot of florid adjectives that seem to reveal a deep understanding of the music. Yet by the end of each review, I feel like I haven't really learned anything about the album and have just been subjected to a stream-of-consciousness riff on the music. A bit like, well, listening to a lot of free jazz.
posted by googly at 1:01 AM on October 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm off on a tangent lately and instead of snarking, I'm going to call this useful.
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:40 AM on October 25, 2010

Niiiiice
posted by Henry C. Mabuse at 4:56 AM on October 25, 2010

I dislike the fact that his two sidebars are filled with photos of hot jazzladies.

and i can't believe he doesn't link to destination out. (they link to him though...)
posted by peterkins at 5:19 AM on October 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

I am shocked to find I own some of these albums. When did I become old??
posted by Theta States at 7:32 AM on October 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

I guess I don't understand what he means by "free jazz" (Dave Douglas? David S. Ware? Franz Koglmann??), but he seems to have good taste. I'll just add a fervent recommendation for Tom Varner (he reviews Second Communion, the Don Cherry tribute); if it never occurred to you that the French horn might be a kickass jazz instrument, you owe it to yourself to check him out. Besides Second Communion, I highly recommend The Mystery of Compassion (Soul Note, 1992), Martian Heartache (Soul Note, 1996), and Swimming (Omnitone, 1999). It's not free jazz, though!
posted by languagehat at 7:42 AM on October 25, 2010 [2 favorites]

When did I become old??

Huh. I feel way less "wow, I'm an old man" about the fact that I listen to Alan Silva than the fact that I love Gaucho so much.
posted by mintcake! at 10:53 AM on October 25, 2010

Wow. This is pretty fun stuff. Way to go.
posted by klangklangston at 11:10 AM on October 25, 2010