On That Note: Long and Short of It
- Thread starter cyclones500
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When I think of EC and short songs this album immediately comes to mind. 20 Songs on a traditional 33 1/3 vinyl LP was not common. Of course my favorite is Riot Act; the longest track on the record
Lyrical brilliance on display.
Twelve minute live version of Lester Leaps In, at Carnegie Hall in 1949:
Charlie “Bird” Parker alto sax
Lester Young tenor sax
Flip Phillips tenor sax
Roy Eldridge trumpet
Tommy Turk trombone
Hank Jones piano
Ray Brown bass
Buddy Rich drums
Additional context:
Parker looked up to fellow sax player Lester Young while learning to play growing up in Kansas City. Count Basie was one of the groups Parker used to sneak into to see, as a youth, IIRC.
The original recording by Count Basie and the songwriter, Lester Young (and some nice interplay, or still photos, between “Prez” and Count Basie):
A live recording of Lester Leaps In by Parker, I believe also the basis for the same song, next below, on “Bird” (produced by Clint Eastwood):
Finally, the footage below is for a TV show from about the same time as the Carnegie Hall show and with nearly all the same players. The TV recording is “lip synced,” which explains Bird’s eye roll at the beginning, towards Buddy Rich, which, I read elsewhere, the director immediately admonished. After the first song or two, the narrator explains who all is playing and what to expect next. The last number has all the instruments at the Carnegie Hall show, and all the same players with the exception of trombone and trumpet -- and with Ella Fitzgerald “scatting” the song instead of Parker on alto sax. I would add, nice job there by Flip Phillips on tenor sax.
It’s not the same song, but it is kind of amazing you can reconnect almost all the same players nearly 70 years later.
Charlie “Bird” Parker alto sax
Lester Young tenor sax
Flip Phillips tenor sax
Roy Eldridge trumpet
Tommy Turk trombone
Hank Jones piano
Ray Brown bass
Buddy Rich drums
Additional context:
Parker looked up to fellow sax player Lester Young while learning to play growing up in Kansas City. Count Basie was one of the groups Parker used to sneak into to see, as a youth, IIRC.
The original recording by Count Basie and the songwriter, Lester Young (and some nice interplay, or still photos, between “Prez” and Count Basie):
A live recording of Lester Leaps In by Parker, I believe also the basis for the same song, next below, on “Bird” (produced by Clint Eastwood):
Finally, the footage below is for a TV show from about the same time as the Carnegie Hall show and with nearly all the same players. The TV recording is “lip synced,” which explains Bird’s eye roll at the beginning, towards Buddy Rich, which, I read elsewhere, the director immediately admonished. After the first song or two, the narrator explains who all is playing and what to expect next. The last number has all the instruments at the Carnegie Hall show, and all the same players with the exception of trombone and trumpet -- and with Ella Fitzgerald “scatting” the song instead of Parker on alto sax. I would add, nice job there by Flip Phillips on tenor sax.
It’s not the same song, but it is kind of amazing you can reconnect almost all the same players nearly 70 years later.
My entry in that category is this one (cheating a little, it's "only" 7:49!) I always preferred the extended intro over the main section.
Anthrax (1987)
My music listening is highly influenced by my 14yr old daughter these days. Two long ones that come to mind are "November Rain" by GnR (8:59) and then under the multi-part subcategory is "Jesus of Suburbia" by Green Day.
One of my favorites that qualifies on the short end (there are some already posted):
This was recorded before anyone singing or playing were anything.
EDIT: The 2 minute minimum here just barely misses Sublime, really. Some of their best stuff is between 2-3 minutes.
This was recorded before anyone singing or playing were anything.
EDIT: The 2 minute minimum here just barely misses Sublime, really. Some of their best stuff is between 2-3 minutes.
Spoonful 17 minute live version from the 1968 album Wheels of Fire, by Eric Clapton and Cream
Presumably why I only heard their studio version just last week:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonful
8 minute live version on YouTube, including video of the performance
22 minute live version from a bootleg tape, arguably the best, now the album Sun Vanishes: Birth Of The Six Strings God.
The original version of Spoonful by Howlin Wolf (written by Willie Dixon):
Live television performance by Howlin Wolf (on a different song), introduced by Shindig producer Jack Good and the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and Brian Jones (Little Red Rooster, which they talk about, was also written by Dixon):
Willie Dixon played at the Maintenance Shop, which I saw. It was a great performance. It was interesting to hear so many songs he had written made famous by other blues and rock and roll acts, performed, and performed well, by the original artist. Spoonful was the first song of the second set. Just before that, during intermission, the harmonica player that night, Sugar Blue, sat at our table and chatted for a bit. Sugar Blue was best known then for playing harmonica on the most recent Stones’ albums, Some Girls and Emotional Rescue. I see now that the Stones discovered, and hired him, playing on the streets in Paris. He filled in that night for Dixon’s regular harmonica player, who was sick.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richard also saw Dixon perform, as kids, in London. In an interview, Dixon said after the club filled, he asked that they let the kids in the back door. When The Rolling Stones met and visited with Dixon in Chicago, he said they asked if they remembered them. He said of course not. Not only were they little kids then, but also because they were unrecognizable with their long hair.
Ironic that this post on Cream is next to a thread on “lotion recommendation.” : )
Presumably why I only heard their studio version just last week:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonful
8 minute live version on YouTube, including video of the performance
22 minute live version from a bootleg tape, arguably the best, now the album Sun Vanishes: Birth Of The Six Strings God.
The original version of Spoonful by Howlin Wolf (written by Willie Dixon):
Live television performance by Howlin Wolf (on a different song), introduced by Shindig producer Jack Good and the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and Brian Jones (Little Red Rooster, which they talk about, was also written by Dixon):
Willie Dixon played at the Maintenance Shop, which I saw. It was a great performance. It was interesting to hear so many songs he had written made famous by other blues and rock and roll acts, performed, and performed well, by the original artist. Spoonful was the first song of the second set. Just before that, during intermission, the harmonica player that night, Sugar Blue, sat at our table and chatted for a bit. Sugar Blue was best known then for playing harmonica on the most recent Stones’ albums, Some Girls and Emotional Rescue. I see now that the Stones discovered, and hired him, playing on the streets in Paris. He filled in that night for Dixon’s regular harmonica player, who was sick.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richard also saw Dixon perform, as kids, in London. In an interview, Dixon said after the club filled, he asked that they let the kids in the back door. When The Rolling Stones met and visited with Dixon in Chicago, he said they asked if they remembered them. He said of course not. Not only were they little kids then, but also because they were unrecognizable with their long hair.
Ironic that this post on Cream is next to a thread on “lotion recommendation.” : )
