Shaun de Waal: CDs of the week
Someone of an older generation once told me he felt quite upset that so few younger people would ever fully appreciate the joys of Mozart. I’m afraid I’m one of them, but I feel the same way as he did when it comes to jazz,particularly its greatest practitioners – the orchestral genius of Duke Ellington, the jagged brilliance of Thelonious Monk, the tumultuous power of Charles Mingus.
The vast field of jazz can seem rather intimidating to the uninitiated listener, and its forms and styles can be hard on ears attuned to pop and rock. If, however, you are one of those who would like to start dipping into the vast reservoir of jazz, Columbia’s This Is Jazz series is a good place to start.
There are now over 30 titles in the series, beginning with Louis Armstrong and moving from Benny Goodman’s old-time swing and Miles Davis in acoustic mode to the electrical jazz-rock fusion of Weather Report and the bumptious freedom of The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
The CDs are well-packaged, and sell at good prices – R50 to R60. They contain solid selections of the artists’ work. This is the tip of the iceberg, but you’ve got to start somewhere.
l Five lucky Friday readers can each win a set of the first five This Is Jazz CDs. All you have to do is answer the simple question below, and send it with your name and address to M&G, PO Box 32362, Braamfontein, 2017, or fax to (011) 403-1025, or e- mail [email protected], clearly marking all such correspondence “Jazz giveaway”.
Submissions must reach us by May 11. The winners will be announced on May 15.
Question: With whom does the This Is Jazz series begin?