Joe Cool's Blues

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
Personnel-wise this is a Marsalis family affair; and how delightful it must be for both Wynton and Branford to engage the talents of so adept a family member as their father (and fellow Columbia recording artist), pianist Ellis Marsalis. With Branford on tenor saxophone, and younger brother Delfeayo on trombone, an Ellis-led ensemble features a delightful turn by New Orleans vocal treasure Germaine Bazzle on the playful "Little Birdie." Otherwise on the CD, Wynton's regular septet shares the selections on a 60-40 basis with Ellis's trio. The musical subject matter dovetails neatly with Wynton's ongoing jazz-education work with children: the selections are from the songbook of Charles Schultz's Peanuts characters, including odes to "Linus & Lucy," "Peppermint Patty," "Snoopy & Woodstock," and of course "Charlie Brown," pictured on the cover merrily engaging the jazz bass. The music is delivered with loads of humor, but lest one get the impression of total frivolity, these songs stand up solidly as jazz vehicles. --Willard Jenkins

Joe Cool's Blues, Music, Wynton Marsalis & Ellis Marsalis, Contemporary Jazz, Jazz, Jazz Music, Neo-Bop, Pop, Post-Bop

Average customer rating:

an excellent exploration of excellent jazz classics

Flat soda in new bottles

Lest Anyone Think I'm a Fan

For all ages!

The Best Jazz CD for Kids. Just Plain Excellent Jazz

Joe Cool's Blues
Wynton Marsalis & Ellis Marsalis
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Styles | Music
Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Children's Music | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000002AYO
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Tracks:

Linus And Lucy - WYNTON MARSALIS SEPTET
Buggy Ride - WYNTON MARSALIS SEPTET
Peppermint Patty - Ellis Marsalis Trio
On Peanuts Playground - WYNTON MARSALIS SEPTET
Oh, Good Grief! - Ellis Marsalis Trio
Wright Brothers Rag - WYNTON MARSALIS SEPTET
Charlie Brown - Ellis Marsalis Trio
Little Red-Haired Girl - WYNTON MARSALIS SEPTET
Pebble Beach - Ellis Marsalis Trio
Snoopy And Woodstock - WYNTON MARSALIS SEPTET
Little Birdie - Ellis Marsalis Trio
Why, Charlie Brown - WYNTON MARSALIS SEPTET
Joe Cool's Blues (Snoopy's Return) - WYNTON MARSALIS SEPTET

Amazon.com essential recording

Personnel-wise this is a Marsalis family affair; and how delightful it must be for both Wynton and Branford to engage the talents of so adept a family member as their father (and fellow Columbia recording artist), pianist Ellis Marsalis. With Branford on tenor saxophone, and younger brother Delfeayo on trombone, an Ellis-led ensemble features a delightful turn by New Orleans vocal treasure Germaine Bazzle on the playful "Little Birdie." Otherwise on the CD, Wynton's regular septet shares the selections on a 60-40 basis with Ellis's trio. The musical subject matter dovetails neatly with Wynton's ongoing jazz-education work with children: the selections are from the songbook of Charles Schultz's Peanuts characters, including odes to "Linus & Lucy," "Peppermint Patty," "Snoopy & Woodstock," and of course "Charlie Brown," pictured on the cover merrily engaging the jazz bass. The music is delivered with loads of humor, but lest one get the impression of total frivolity, these songs stand up solidly as jazz vehicles. --Willard Jenkins

Customer Reviews:

an excellent exploration of excellent jazz classics.......2006-02-27

I have seen a number of negative reviews for this album and let me say first off that the originals were excellent songs to begin with . They were part of what made the orginal charlie brown movies so excellent. next let me say that anyone who does not see the sublime playing in this albulm is blind. I have seen reviews suggesting that that this albulm lacks key elements like "dynamic" and "swing", which is a blatent lie. Without overdoing any one effect wynton and ellis manage to capture very well the feel of swung jazz as well as what is often very subtly beautiful dynamic changes. Also I have seen people saying that it is lacking in creativity, that Ellis is simply ripping off past musicians, which is also a lie. certainly Jazz being an oral culture, imitation is an often and often vital element. without at leastsome imitation jazz would not be. It is true that stylistically often the solos in this albulm can be very similar to other works, but certainly no more so than many other jazz albulms which are not under fire for lacking creativity.

All in all this an interesting and skillful interpretation of excellent jazz standards.

Flat soda in new bottles.......2005-05-01

More retro wallowing from Wynton and Company.

Music does not thrive when it becomes encased behind glass in a museum, but that's what Marsalis is intent on doing, in this and every album since Black Codes. The pity is there is a small amount of jazz being made in the world today, mostly in Europe, that isn't warmed-over recreations, but it's not being heard in the U.S. because of both the Marsalis Mafia and the tepid climate at all the record labels, even the self-proclaimed "indy" ones. There hasn't been one new idea on the major jazz record label (in the U.S. at least) in 25 years. People who think they're so hip to be listening to this music instead of Sting and Cheryl Crow just haven't realized this yet.

Michael Beyer hits it right on the head with his review. This is tired, re-trodden music that wouldn't have been eyebrow-raising in 1960, being presented today as vital and fresh and new. ("Essential recording"? Come on, Amazon!) We have to remember that Vince Guaraldi's original Charlie Brown music wasn't all that trail-blazing back in 1965--Schulz ultimately had conservative tastes--yet it sounds lightyears ahead of this tepid cocktail served up in what sounds like a swanky lounge overlooking the Hudson River.

Just listen to the "Peppermint Patty" on this album and contrast it with Guaraldi's version from the original Charlie Brown Christmas album, titled "Christmas is Coming" there. Guaraldi's is energetic and played with *dynamics* and tone color, not to mention real "swing" and "groove," those holy words Wynton is always bandying about. This performance is Ellis dusting the keys, then engaging in some very cautious choruses where he never shakes Guaraldi's original ideas and says anything himself. The same is true with the other Guaraldi-homage tunes-"Oh Good Grief," "Linus and Lucy," etc. They're playing the notes, but it's very mechanical, studied, like a wax museum portrait. The Wynton tracks are over-written, designed for the leader to show how he can handle multiple voicings ("Look at me! I'm Duke Ellington!") rather than to illustrate the playful essence of the Peanuts folk, or just plain swing. You can get away with Duke's dense voicings when you have Duke's weightier material, but for these light, simple, childlike tunes the effect is smothering, like dressing a Strauss waltz with the orchestration of Mahler's 9th.

Throughout the improvisation is perfunctory and cautious, albeit with enough technical polish to varnish a museum of bronze busts of Wynton's heroes. I'd love to hear Marsalis and his men stop playing cliches just for once. I've never understood how he can be considered a great or even good jazz soloist--name one Marsalis solo where he equals the inventiness of an Eldridge, an Armstrong, or even a *Ziggy Elman.* On so many tracks he's just imitating his heroes ("Joe Cool's Blues/Snoopy's Return" = first prize in the Roy Eldridge sound-alike contest); his arrangements, meanwhile, steal a lot (well, Wynton would say the same thing if the race were reversed) from such unlikely souces as Chet Baker and other "cool" white groups of the 1950s. But I'm sure all the five star raves here have never heard the original material this is ripped from, and I'm further sure that Marsalis knows and is counting on that. If it's new to you, it must be new.

The simple truth is Wynton, and the rest of the Marsalis family, have no identity. (I recently walked in on someone playing "Cain and Abel" from their "Family" album and thought I was listening to Ornette and Cherry.) They spend so much time talking about the past because they have nothing to contribute to the present. They sure can "hustle" the music, though, or their brand of it. And this is the result: warmed over tunes being accepted as "essential" by a generation that's likely ignorant of jazz history. Wynton knows the limitations of the average audience's hearing and knowledge. That's why he wants to preach as much as play, if not more. The antidote: go listen to some real jazz innovators. They're not hard to find--Wynton talks about them all the time.

Lest Anyone Think I'm a Fan.......2005-03-25

Wynton Marsalis will go down as an interesting figure in jazz music. It's fair to say he's changed jazz music in a seismic way. But has he changed the genre for the better? In general, the answer is no -- and certainly not on "Joe Cool's Blues".

Marsalis' original compositions on this album are competent but lack any fire or startling spontaneity. Meanwhile his father Ellis does very little with Vince Guaraldi's original tunes beyond meek homage.

The best thing about this album is the Wynton Marsalis Septet, who swings through their paces confidently. Overall, the album is clean, sterile, and fairly boring. But that's Wynton Marsalis for you.

On the one hand, Marsalis has done much to take jazz away from the Kenny Gs and Earl Klughs of the world and back to the Duke Ellingtons and John Coltranes. For that, he deserves our thanks. It was Marsalis as much as anyone who drew the line in the sand between "smooth jazz" and "jazz". He made it clear that he considered the jazz of the 80s to be a cultural wasteland, at times placing his own brother Branford in the smooth jazz camp.

So Marsalis made jazz less vapid. Good for him. He also made it more sterile. I can't necessarily argue with his decision to take jazz back to the past, but when he politely honors Guaraldi, Coltrane and Ellington, he also stifles the artistic creativity that has always been at the heart of jazz.

Is it me, or does the concept of Jazz at the Lincoln Center (with Marsalis as artistic director) completely fly in the face of improvisation and innovation? Is jazz now destined to go the way of NPR and classical music, where a board of directors is required and mission statements a must? In Marsalis' mind, a jazz concert should be like going to the orchestra, with the audience completely buttoned up and silent.

I guess I wouldn't mind as much if Marsalis weren't so pompous about it all. If Marsalis and his new best buddy Ken Burns are to be believed, Miles Davis ruined jazz, Herbie Hancock's finest hour was "Rockit", Art Pepper never existed, and Roy Hargrove, Joshua Redman and Christian McBride, et al. contributed nothing to last 30 years of jazz. Meanwhile, Marsalis proclaims himself as the finest trumpeter, composer and bandleader in not only jazz music, but in all of American music. So not only is he making outrageous claims, he can seldom back them up.

I've owned "Joe Cool's Blues" for eight years. As with most Marsalis albums, I'm always dazzled but hardly ever moved. Two stars.

For all ages!.......2002-07-21

I took this CD to my classroom, because I felt that the kids needed to hear other styles of music aside from rap and pop. The kids LOVED IT!! I had never seen kids react to music this way. They were tapping their feet, drumming on their desks and trying to hum along. This album became a regular request item. It's wonderful!!

The Best Jazz CD for Kids. Just Plain Excellent Jazz.......2002-04-26

I highly recommend this CD as a parent who appreciates good music for kids. This is real good jazz; real and good. It is the best jazz for kids CD that I have heard.

It is probably not the best for very young children.

For jazz, I also strongly suggest:

-Vince Guaraldi: Charlie Brown Christmas.

Tracks:

Too Marvelous For Words
My Foolish Heart
Stormy Weather
Little Girl Blue
I Get The Blues When It Rains
Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe
It's A Fine Day For Walking Country Style
Laura
Alone Together
I Wonder What Became Of Me
Something Cool
Moon And Sand
Lush Life
You're Nearer

Average customer rating:

Essential Jazz Ballads
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Tracks:

A Summer Thing - Zoot Sims
I Concentrate On You - Ella Fitzgerald
Ghost Of A Chance - Lester Young
Embraceable You - Sarah Vaugham
Goodbye - Benny Golson Quartet
A Kiss To Build A Dream On - Louis Armstrong
Lament - Slide Hampton
Willow Weep For Me - O'Donel Levy
Daydream - Bill Mays/Sherrie Maricle
Blues For A Day - Dinah Washington
A Child Is Born - Mel Lewis/Thad Jones Orchestra
My Funny Valentine - Hank Jones/Meridian String Quartet
The Thrill Is Gone - Helen Merril

Tracks:

Memories Of You - Zoot Sims
One For My Baby - Joe Williams
Mr. Paganini - Ella Fitzgerald
I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good - Duke Ellington
Blueberry Hill - Louis Armstrong
We'll Be Together Again - McCoy Tyner
Imagination - Carmen McRae
A Sleeping Bee - Hank Jones/Meridian String Quartet
I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You - Stan Getz
Misty - Sarah Vaughan
You Don't Know What Love Is - Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers
Stardust (Live) - Lionel Hampton
A Nightingale Sang In Berkely Square - Dakota Staton

Tracks:

In A Sentimental Mood - John Bunch
I Fall In Love Too Easily - Carmen McRae
Body & Soul - Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis
'Round Midnight - Sarah Vaughhan
Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You - Zoot Sims
St. James Infirmary - Louis Armstrong
Bess, You Is My Woman Now - Roland Hanna
My Heart Belongs To Daddy - Ella Fitzgerald
Tenderly - '65 All Stars
I'll Close My Eyes - O'Donel Levy
You Go To My Head - Teddy Wilson
Out Back Of The Barn - Gerry Mulligan
Little Darlin' - Hendricks/Lambert/Ross

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Earthwire Blue

Manufacturer: Earthwire
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music

Cool Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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General | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000CAA0WQ
Release Date: 2003-01-01

Tracks:

Music For the World
San Jose /Dont Hide
How Long My Baby Been Gone
You Send Me /Talk To Me
Youve Gone Away
All Night Long
Give It A Name Music For the World
Rogers Jam
Low Down Blues Medley

Product Description

This 'earthwire blue' CD was recorded live at earthwire.net, Houston, Texas' groundbreaking internet radio station and performance space (2000-2002), where Guy Schwartz & the New Jack Hippies backed up veteran bluesman and Houstons favorite homeless musician Little Joe Washington for Mike 'the big MF' Farber and Kingfish Keiths 'Hour of Truth & Texas Music' program. Excellent improvisational performances and audio. Little Joes chaotic guitar mash of blues/zydeco/ and jazz make his sparsely melodic vocals stand out over the handsomely steady, workmen-like back beat generated by Guy Schwartz & the New Jack Hippies. This is a rare straight through performance by Little Joe, better known locally for his entertainingly nomadic and quick appearances throughout Houstons clubs where he passes the hat . Its a perfect snapshot of his musical genius and the wonderful gift that earthwire.net gave to its community and via electronics, to the world. Recorded by Guy Schwartz & Marlo Blue Mixed live and Mastered by Michael Farber Produced by Michael Farber for Guerilla Hippies Productions Recorded live to 2 tracks at earthwire.net , February 9, 2002. Copyright 2002 Guerilla Hippies Productions & Little Joe Washington. All Rights Reserved.

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