How to understand which jazz solos are good?

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Rodland
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18 Jun 2019, 2:26 pm

Jazz is one of my favorite music genres but I have never quite understood why some solos are called good and others are assumedly thought to be less good. Why Charlie Parker is the legend and not the guy who plays other sax solos on the same record. How could I learn to understand it?

My ability to concentrate is ridiculously bad, I need some aides (like scores) when listening long and complex pieces of music. I wonder if this hampers my ability to understand jazz solos as well.



Fnord
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18 Jun 2019, 2:27 pm

When it comes to jazz, if you like it, then it's good.


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Sweetleaf
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18 Jun 2019, 3:23 pm

Well I don't like jazz very much so never spent much time listening to it, but I think a lot of that comes down to opinion if its anything like other kinds of music. I mean I like the band Pink Floyd(not as into them as I used to be but still like them) and a lot of people say Dark Side of the Moon was their best album and I disagree because that's my worst favorite album of theirs. I mean I guess I think it is possible to write a song that's complicated

That stuff about using aides to to listen to music seems exhausting...you can't just listen to it and enjoy it? Or are you a musician who struggles with understanding music composition? It would make more sense to me in that case...but for just listening to enjoy seems to be a lot of effort.


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thewrll
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18 Jun 2019, 8:49 pm

Fnord wrote:
When it comes to jazz, if you like it, then it's good.


True Dat.


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elbowgrease
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20 Jun 2019, 8:12 am

I like it when a musician or band can play a standard and both make it their own and still be recognizable as the original piece. I think it's hard to do both. A lot of people get so carried away with the solo that it just loses what made the song good in the first place.
If that makes sense.
I think it's hard to do both.
I haven't listened to much bop, honestly. I usually lean more towards cool jazz or progressive/avant garde.
Short list of recommendations,
Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Joe Pass, Pat Martino, Ornette Coleman, Gerrie Mulligan and Chet Baker, b*****s Brew.