On That Note: Dynamic Duos

A magnificent duo, plus a rhythm section.

Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespe, two of the most influential performers in jazz history, created one of the most significant bebop albums ever which was kicked off with this classic.

I know this is kind of off topic as it is referencing an entire album and The Miles Davis Sextet, but I would add that while Bird and Diz was one of the most influential Bebop albums, Miles Davis and John Coltrane are two monumental names that worked together on recording one of the most influential albums of all time, "Kind of Blue". Make no mistake that entire group was special with Cannoball Adderly, Jimmy Cobb, and Paul Chambers. I can't remember their pianist... Both are incredible albums though, especially when considered in how influential they both were for jazz and popular music to follow.

Edit - Upon further research, Bill Evans was the piano player for this album.
 
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I know this is kind of off topic as it is referencing an entire album and The Miles Davis Sextet, but I would add that while Bird and Diz was one of the most influential Bebop albums, Miles Davis and John Coltrane are two monumental names that worked together on recording one of the most influential albums of all time, "Kind of Blue". Make no mistake that entire group was special with Cannoball Adderly, Jimmy Cobb, and Paul Chambers. I can't remember their pianist... Both are incredible albums though, especially when considered in how influential they both were for jazz and popular music to follow.

Edit - Upon further research, Bill Evans was the piano player for this album.


I still listen to this album regularly. Miles Davis was basically my first love for Jazz. I was lucky enough that my brother purchased a CD box set of Miles Davis which I promptly stole and listened to repeatedly.
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It really influenced my own playing when I was in jazz band in both high school and college. I was never THAT good, but I always had a bit of soul when I improvised, which was due mostly to Miles Davis.
 
While this is a collaboration and not a "dynamic duo" as a group necessarily, Wynton Marsalis is an incredibly important jazz figure in today's jazz scene having recorded the first jazz album to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Music and probably even more so in the Jazz Education as he was a co-founder of the prestigious Jazz at Lincoln Center program which sees some of our nation's most talented school jazz ensembles compete at Lincoln Center. Wynton Marsalis has hosted some big time names to play one time concerts at Jazz at Lincoln Center Galas including Willie Nelson, John Mayer, Ray Charles, Lenny Kravitz and more. Below are two of of my favorites.



 
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While this is a collaboration and not a "dynamic duo" as a group necessarily, Wynton Marsalis is an incredibly important jazz figure in today's jazz scene having recorded the first jazz album to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Music and probably even more so in the Jazz Education as he was a co-founder of the prestigious Jazz at Lincoln Center program which sees some of our nation's most talented school jazz ensembles compete at Lincoln Center. Wynton Marsalis has hosted some big time names to play one time concerts at Jazz at Lincoln Center Galas including Willie Nelson, John Mayer, Ray Charles, Lenny Kravitz and more. Below is one of my favorites. I also particularly enjoy his collaboration with John Legend.



I'll jump on the Wynton bandwagon here with one of my favorite duo jazz albums.

Wynton and his dad Ellis collaborated on this album and brought new life to he Peanuts musical collection. I've loved it since I was in high school.

Here's the opening track from the album.

 
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I still listen to this album regularly. Miles Davis was basically my first love for Jazz. I was lucky enough that my brother purchased a CD box set of Miles Davis which I promptly stole and listened to repeatedly.
51SKiWRuMVL._SY355_.jpg


It really influenced my own playing when I was in jazz band in both high school and college. I was never THAT good, but I always had a bit of soul when I improvised, which was due mostly to Miles Davis.

This was the album that really intrduced me to improvisation. I had a jazz camp at Oskaloosa HS when I was young and they had us transcribe some of the parts of "So What" which was really eye-opening for me. This album is one I regularly tell my Jazz Band kids to listen to.
 
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And now I'll go completely off the rails with jazz. This one probably no one has ever heard of unless you were a trombone player like myself. One of the best trombone duos ever, next to probably JJ Johnson and Kai Winding back in the 50s. (Which I also have CDs of)

This is a much more contemporary jazz album and I can listen to it from front to back in awe.

 
This was the album that really intrduced me to improvisation. I had a jazz camp at Oskaloosa HS when I was young and they had us transcribe some of the parts of "So What" which was really eye-opening for me. This album is one I regularly tell my Jazz Band kids to listen to.

One of the best things about Miles' improv, particularly on his blues albums, is that he often did more with less. You don't have to play every note in the scale throughout the chord progression. I was never technically proficient enough to be an outstanding soloist, but playing with tone, dynamics, and subtlety is something any jazz musician can do.
 
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Such a beautiful song. It's pretty tough not to shed a little tear during it.
This has always been one of the greatest songs for me. I also liked to use it to test the bass response when buying new speakers and sub-woofers. It can can really rattle the room.
 
This has always been one of the greatest songs for me. I also liked to use it to test the bass response when buying new speakers and sub-woofers. It can can really rattle the room.
@SCyclone 's post about it being about heroine addiction got me to do some research on the song. When it was originally created, it was only two verses. Realistically, without the third verse, the song is only a little better than a Katy Perry song or something from the Lutheran Hymnal. The imagery invoked by the first line of the last verse (up until then the lyrics are really straight forward, especially for a Paul Simon song) and the slow crescendo building to the finale really set this song apart from your average, "we can do this together" song.
 
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