Members davd_indigo Posted April 22, 2017 Members Share Posted April 22, 2017 I only became truly aware of this guy a few days ago. The word "genuis" gets thrown around carelessly - so I won't do that here. But for doG's sake, this guy's musical visions leave me in awe. I'm wondering how he can escape being larger that life. If he were only a vocalist/singer, he'd maybe be the next Al Jarreau. Or if he only created arrangements, maybe he'd be the next Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn. If he were only a pianist.... One thing that blows my mind is how he loads up (clutters) his arrangements with so much sh*t - and they work amazingly well. Someone called him the new jazz messiah. Maybe an understatement? [video=youtube;pvKUttYs5ow] [video=youtube;4v3zyPEy-Po] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members davd_indigo Posted April 22, 2017 Author Members Share Posted April 22, 2017 OK, I couldn't help myself. Here he is in a conventional setting. I just cannot believe his range - both stylistically AND vocally. [video=youtube;DdGszmpQMd8] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted April 23, 2017 Members Share Posted April 23, 2017 There's a few clips that offer insight on how he has scaled harmochromatics from light to dark. For sure makes for interesting results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members davd_indigo Posted April 23, 2017 Author Members Share Posted April 23, 2017 There's a few clips that offer insight on how he has scaled harmochromatics from light to dark. For sure makes for interesting results. Well there's another amazing young guy who's transcribed some of JCollier's songs. On YouTube with flash card style scored music displayed while the track is played. The guy doing these transcriptions seems to be named June Lee, a music theory graduate student in Indiana. But by doing his amazing transcriptions, he opens up their mysteries to us. I know this ain't Rock & Roll, but I think Jacob Collier is going to be something like a new Mozart. As I understand it, he grew up in London, born in 1994. Classical music teachers for parents. 1st album he bought at age 10 was Talking Book by Stevie Wonder. He said he sang Bach chorales with his sisters. This guy is like some fictional amalgamation. I'll shut up now. [video=youtube;DnBr070vcNE] [video=youtube;SI3UDcY4hi4] [video=youtube;UNpbpJu33vk] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted April 24, 2017 Members Share Posted April 24, 2017 Environment. Environment. Environment. Yeah doaz is the clips. I like this Snarky Puppy stuff. They play this giant groove stuff with big ensembles. Could be the new symphony orchestra. [video=youtube;eqY3FaZmh-Y] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockViolin Posted April 24, 2017 Members Share Posted April 24, 2017 Dang. Somebody turned on all the lights. I think he's brilliant! I've never seen anyone carve the distance of 1 1/2 steps into 5 distinct microtones of seemingly equal distance before, as in the interview clip. Mad Skillzzz. I've read that he went to school at The Royal Conservatory.So cool and relaxed. I could maybe see adding some more fire to the pallet...let the flame thrower lead the way here and there rather than the calculator- even if it, as you say, isn't rock and roll. A little close harmony goes a long way too, for me. But that's being picky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members davd_indigo Posted April 25, 2017 Author Members Share Posted April 25, 2017 Dang. Somebody turned on all the lights. I think he's brilliant! I've never seen anyone carve the distance of a half step into 5 distinct microtones of seemingly equal distance before, as in the interview clip. Mad Skillzzz. I've read that he went to school at The Royal Conservatory. So cool and relaxed. I could maybe see adding some more fire to the pallet...let the flame thrower lead the way here and there rather than the calculator- even if it, as you say, isn't rock and roll. A little close harmony goes a long way too, for me. But that's being picky. Maybe a valid point about overdoing the close harmony. But he has more options as to what paths he chooses to pursue, than any artist I can think of. The boy got game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nice keetee Posted April 26, 2017 Members Share Posted April 26, 2017 Dang. Somebody turned on all the lights. I think he's brilliant! I've never seen anyone carve the distance of a half step into 5 distinct microtones of seemingly equal distance before, as in the interview clip. Mad Skillzzz. I've read that he went to school at The Royal Conservatory. So cool and relaxed. I could maybe see adding some more fire to the pallet...let the flame thrower lead the way here and there rather than the calculator- even if it, as you say, isn't rock and roll. A little close harmony goes a long way too, for me. But that's being picky. Gentle Giant vocalists something similar? 1976? probably goes back a few hundred years for those capable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockViolin Posted April 26, 2017 Members Share Posted April 26, 2017 Gentle Giant vocalists something similar? 1976? probably goes back a few hundred years for those capable? I'm not sure what you're asking me nice keetee. Microtonality? I said I'd never heard anyone do what he did, not that it hadn't been done. GG may have employed such technique, but, not as a demonstrable aspect of the music. Generally their intonation is quite good, but I've heard live stuff that suffered a bit. Haphazard micro tones in other words. String players make rather frequent micro adjustments as a matter of course, as a means of adjusting to one another, or pulling things one way or another. Good ones do it before anybody knows. Unless they want them to know. Singers too I should think. I'd just never heard someone sing them so distinctly, to demonstrate. Mr. Collier plainly has a lot of command over the musical nuts and bolts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockViolin Posted April 27, 2017 Members Share Posted April 27, 2017 I know this ain't Rock & Roll, but I think Jacob Collier is going to be something like a new Mozart. I'm getting Prokofiev somehow. The 'Modern Day Mozart' plaque is going to be hanging on a wall in Paisley Park for quite some time to come, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members davd_indigo Posted April 27, 2017 Author Members Share Posted April 27, 2017 In my comparison to Mozart, I didn't mean a literal comparison to the harmonic language of Mozart's time. I was really thinking of his comand of the tools, nuts and bolts of music - at least Western music. I just went on YouTube and did a quick listen to several Prince songs. Harmonically speaking, Prince was prettly elementary. A great singer, great dancer, great guitarist and so on. Jacob Collier's harmonic language has me scratching my head. His passing harmonies and the intervallic 2nds he stacks in his harmonies are amazing. He's done some very advanced study of music - classical and jazz. I love a lot of R&R and old Black R&B , but speaking objectively, it's very harmonically simplistic. And Collier's arrangements - apparantly all the parts being played by him - are very advanced. His keyboard solo's (even on "The Flintsotnes") are moving in and out of abstraction. I've listened to a lot of Keith Jarrett solos in the last 40 years, and I'm tempted to put Collier on that plane. Maybe I should have compared him to Picasso. But my assessment of Prince is not intended to start a pissing contest. People like Mozart, Beethoven, Bach had developed the internal perceptions (they could hear the harmonic movement/voice leading in their "mind's ears") to write advanced music away from the piano. My suspicion is that Collier can also. That's really the most impressive thing to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockViolin Posted April 28, 2017 Members Share Posted April 28, 2017 In my comparison to Mozart, I didn't mean a literal comparison to the harmonic language of Mozart's time. I was really thinking of his comand of the tools, nuts and bolts of music - at least Western music. I just went on YouTube and did a quick listen to several Prince songs. Harmonically speaking, Prince was prettly elementary. A great singer, great dancer, great guitarist and so on. Jacob Collier's harmonic language has me scratching my head. His passing harmonies and the intervallic 2nds he stacks in his harmonies are amazing. He's done some very advanced study of music - classical and jazz. I love a lot of R&R and old Black R&B , but speaking objectively, it's very harmonically simplistic. And Collier's arrangements - apparantly all the parts being played by him - are very advanced. His keyboard solo's (even on "The Flintsotnes") are moving in and out of abstraction. I've listened to a lot of Keith Jarrett solos in the last 40 years, and I'm tempted to put Collier on that plane. Maybe I should have compared him to Picasso. But my assessment of Prince is not intended to start a pissing contest. People like Mozart, Beethoven, Bach had developed the internal perceptions (they could hear the harmonic movement/voice leading in their "mind's ears") to write advanced music away from the piano. My suspicion is that Collier can also. That's really the most impressive thing to me. I didn't think it was a literal comparison. Having played ocean going tankers full of Mozart I'd say Mozart's harmonic language was fairly simple till rather late - as in the Requiem. And you might listen to several Prince songs and not get the entire scope of his depth, easily. But anyway, where Prince and Mozart especially share a gene is in their ability to take something simple and approach the sublime. With ease seemingly. Volume of output. Capriciousness. He probably didn't need an instrument in his hands to start putting things together as well. Nor does Collier I'm sure. BTW, to the extent that I found the close harmony a bit tiring, it may be partly that it's all a version of the same voice, which has an unnatural quality to it I think. Far short of a pissing match, I think we pretty much agree, Dave. I'm glad you made me aware of Jacob Collier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted April 28, 2017 Members Share Posted April 28, 2017 He uses a harmonizer/keyboard in spots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted April 28, 2017 Members Share Posted April 28, 2017 He does state one truth about harmonic excursions in general. It's where you land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockViolin Posted April 28, 2017 Members Share Posted April 28, 2017 I'm specifically referring here to a demonstration of microtones in the interview. It's just him, no harmonizer. But yes, I noticed the harmonizer use in the music also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted April 28, 2017 Members Share Posted April 28, 2017 II:IO or thereabouts. The distance is a minor third. It's more like a low res gliss. There's a distinct F in there so it's almost G to F in 3 steps and F to E in 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockViolin Posted April 28, 2017 Members Share Posted April 28, 2017 Yeah, you're right. Don't know where I got 1/2 step from, except that on his way he does cut that into several segments as well, or so it seemed. And then laughs and bails before he quite finishes. And it is in effect a stepped gliss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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