Reviews for Conditions of aging

The average rating for Conditions of aging based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-03-10 00:00:00 Mark Marzigliano Several years ago, I reviewed the All Music Guide to Jazz. That guide is over 1300 pages of information and opinion. The Penguin guide is a bit longer but with a smaller format. Not that you should be influenced by just that factor. Both guides cover over 10,000 separate albums or CDs. Most of them are still available in one format or another. So, it becomes a matter of whether you want to rely on one guide or another. I prefer the All Music Guide. After several years, I have found reviewers such as Scott Yanow, helpful and reliable. But that may only mean that I find that my taste coincides with theirs. One difference that is worth noting: It seems to me that in the All Music Guide the ratings are done on the basis of what is great jazz in general. In the Penguin Guide, it appears that the ratings are more oriented toward what is best in a sub-genre such as free jazz or bop. Both approaches are valid. One other difference that, to me, is significant: The All Music guide comes with charts and essays that help to explain the various jazz genres and great artists. There is no counterpart in the Penguin Guide. 3+*

Review # 2 was written on 2020-07-09 00:00:00 James Stewart A friend got me this for my last birthday and, flicking through it this morning, I was reminded how excellent it is. A very useful, well organised recourse. This also gives me an opportunity to do a Top 10 (as of today) Jazz Albums (not in order): 1. The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady - Mingus 2. Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster 3. In a Silent Way - Miles Davis 4. Live at the Village Vanguard - John Coltrane 5. Smokestack - Andrew Hill 6. The Blues and the Abstract Truth - Oliver Nelson 7. The Trio, Live from Chicago - Oscar Peterson Trio 8. At the Golden Circle, Stockholm - Eric Dolphy 9. A love Supreme - John Coltrane 10. Something by Billie Holiday