I got to think of this tune because I just bought a LP on Bandcamp inspired by @roused's long interview with the young guitarist Mike Seal. On the album you can hear a rendition of John Coltranes song: Naima.
John Coltrane, one of the most important musicians in the transition Jazz music took in the sixties when it went from being popular music to art-music, called his fifth album as band leader Giant Step, an album that is characterised by a very fast tempo - try listening to the title song.
The album is John Coltrane in his prime doing his trademark semiquavers and elegant harmonics, but then one song stands out - Naima. The bass only plays one note - a pedal point - and the tune is simple and slow with the rich harmonic accompaniment by the piano player Wynton Kelly. The song was inspired by the new modal jazz experiment that Miles Davis and Bill Evans had made on Kind of Blue, an album you know even though you don't think you do, and it was a turning point for Coltrane.
I listened a lot to these old jazz records when I was a teenager. I was playing with some friends and even though we was complete amateurs we really lived as if we would become big jazz stars - I played a reasonable piano, but had bought an old Selmer tenor saxophone and was using all my energy on that. Naima was always on the repertoire, not only because it was beautiful, but also because it was slow and simple :)
Well no more talk - here it is:
Honestly, am hearing this name for the first time as am not a big fan of jazz although I listen to reggae atimes, Bob Marley is my favorite (Babylon sodlja). Love your post on John anyways
I like Bob Marley and the Whalers a lot too. But I listen to all kinds of music. So, how do you feel about Fela Kuti, Nigeria's grand old music king? He was a jazz musician even though he transcended into his own kind of fusion music in his later career.
wow your music was awesome dear.i like it.
Wow very good. music jazz bandcamp post. Your post is so good to me that I like the choice and vote
music jazz bandcamp post? this sounds like a Spam-bot using the tags that way... I flag SPAM...