Greenburgh Public Library Blog

LPs started in 1949/'50 and many of the acknowledged top sellers were recorded in the late '50's to '70s, but there is one selection that collects '20's Louis Armstrong (the Hot 5's and 7's), and a few that are later discoveries of great live performances unreleased at the time. Some musicians appear on more than one album though they are not always the leaders of the sessions. Miles Davis is on four and John Coltrane is also on four.  

The LP changed recorded music and jazz because longer performances became possible. 78's limited musicians to 3 minutes or so.  Now, with the advent of the Long Playing record, musicians and their producers could record uninterrupted 20 minute pieces if they wished. John Coltrane did this quite successfully.  A Love Supreme is in four parts and takes up a complete two sided LP. It is the 2nd best selling jazz LP ever. Miles Davis's Bitches Brew, is a double LP that is essentially made of edited long form pieces "cut and pasted" by Miles and his producer Teo Macero. This illustrates how McLuhans "the medium is the message" applies to jazz.  Thematic extended pieces are written and become recorded because the medium allows for them.  

During one of our sessions one of our patrons pointed out how simple and memorable the riffs were in So What, the first cut from Miles Davis's # 1 all time LP Kind Of Blue. Certainly, some of the music from these commercially popular recordings is direct and catchy.  But some of these recordings, counter-intuitively, contain challenging, emotionally charged, and complex performances that certainly must have surprised those who expect commercial success to require a watered down product. Coltrane, Davis, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie were not making "bubble gum" music and they reached a mass audience through the LP.

On Sunday, December 30th at 2:30 PM in the Small Conference Room, Jazz Conversations will close out the year with the final eight LPs of the top 25. So far these recordings have inspired some of the liveliest conversation to date.

In 2019, the group will explore the music of Roy Eldridge, Benny Carter, Earl Hines, Lester Young and Keith Jarrett among others. Most of the time, Jazz Conversations takes place on the last Sunday of the month in the Small Conference Room. No reservation is required. Some people come only to listen and watch, others to join in the discussion. All are welcome.