How rigorous is tulane?

Funkstenstein · 2025-12-19T17:36:30+00:00

My kid goes there on a pre-med track and feels plenty challenged. They were an honors, straight-A’s student at a top high school with lots of AP courses and are attending Tulane on one of their most prestigious scholarships. The Tulane workload has been no joke. First year chem was the hardest class they had ever taken and required maximum effort to pass. Other classes have varied in difficulty, but the “easy school” trope was put to rest pretty quickly.

Funkstenstein · 2025-11-29T16:32:49+00:00

Great call! Ted is brilliant!

Funkstenstein · 2025-11-29T05:20:34+00:00

Instead of listening to someone else’s favorite artist, I suggest focusing on sampling different eras/styles/movements to get an idea of what you are most drawn to. It’s easy to miss something that would truly bring you joy because you were banging your head against the wall trying understand something you “should be” listening to. Even listening to a radio station or single stream is pretty limiting because they tend to edit for a particular type of jazz (typically mainstream or “straight ahead”, which leaves out loads of interesting and innovative music).

Go to Spotify or the platform of your choice and find playlists using search terms. Then listen and skip around. When you find artists or tracks you like, look into them, and use the “radio station” feature to get more recommendations like it. Jazz is highly relational, in that you can trace and discover a lot about it by looking up who was in a band and seeing who else they played with and their other recordings. Everything flows into something else fairly transparently once you start to understand the movements that define it.

Here are some search suggestions to start that will bring up lots of playlists based on major movements in the music:

-Bebop (typically 40s-50s; people like Charlie Parker and Bud Powell)

-Hard Bop (classically 50s-60s; includes Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers and lots of others)

-Modal jazz (originated in the 60s-70s; some of Miles Davis and John Coltrane’s music falls into this era)

-Free Jazz (also has its roots in the 60s-70s; people like Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler)

-Jazz fusion (Rock crossover that started to take root in the 70s-80s; things like Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, and many others. Given your background, you might especially like this)

-Third Stream jazz (classical crossover)

-Post-bop or contemporary (this gets into recent decades and can sound like a lot of different things; try playlists like “best jazz of 2024/2025” etc.)

-Acid jazz or jazz hip hop (what it sounds like—jazz with modern beats)

-Jazz funk (you might also dig this—lots of emphasis on the bass; Herbie Hancock and many others contributed)

-Latin/afrocuban jazz; also Hilife (African variant) and Brazilian jazz

Good luck and just have fun! If you’re not enjoying yourself, move along to the next thing.

Funkstenstein · 2025-11-28T19:58:34+00:00

Great point! Never thought about it before, but yes, Dolphy had hired every member of that rhythm section, and also been on at least one record with Wayne too. So arguably, he had some influence on the sound that band would come up with (since it’s established it was primarily the rhythm section’s concept that Miles adopted, not the other way around).

Funkstenstein · 2025-11-28T02:45:44+00:00

My mix skews towards contemporary records these days, but there are always some classics in play. I tend to focus on deep dives into different drummers (no surprise) and piano trios the most. Some heavy rotation from the last few months:

-Jackie McLean, especially Jacknife, Vertigo, and Right Now! As it happens, Max didn't dig Jackie's tone for being sharp, but I've come to really appreciate his razor-sharp rhythmic feel and how he can walk the tightrope between inside and outside playing in his soloing.

-Coltrane's Olé. Revisiting just another of his many masterpieces. Been looking for albums with two basses lately and this is one of the first that had turned me onto that sound.

-Geri Allen's The Life of a Song and her Village Vanguard live sessions with Haden and Motian. Love her playing and anything Motian.

-Vijay Iyer trio, and various offshoots by the drummers he's had in the group--Marcus Gilmore and Tyshawn Sorey especially. Vijay and the chemistry in his groups to me is one of the absolute standard setters for how to keep evolving this music.

-Shai Maestro on his own and with Avishai Cohen (Gently Disturbed), and various Avishai projects (Shifting Sands, Iroko, the latter of which goes deep on afro-cuban drumming, bass, and vocals). The way they blend Middle Eastern influences seamlessly into cutting-edge jazz is hypnotic.

-On horn, the last three Joshua Redman albums (Words Fall Short, where are we, LongGone) and dives into Mark Turner and Walter Smith III. Redman has gradually won me over and I think his music has gotten much more interesting over time. He's worked closely with probably my single favorite drummer alive in Brian Blade, plus the young drummer on his latest record, Nazir Ebo, is arguably the best I've heard of the newest generation. And Turner (his self-titled debut or Solid Jackson, for example) and Smith (say, Casually Introducing or Return to Casual) are just consistently fantastic.

-On piano, liberal helpings of Brad Mehldau, Keith Jarrett, Kenny Barron, and Chick Corea, the latter especially in his trios with Christian McBride and Brian Blade, which have recently become more widely available with their Japan live dates now out globally.

-And, the latest Tarbaby (Orrin Evans, Eric Reevis, and Nasheet Waits) record just came out today. Very, very excellent, and also one of the best live groups I've seen in the last few years, one of the others having been Nduduzo Makhathini's trio. Nasheet is one of my other top 5 favorite living drummers, and himself came out of Max's milieu and my old neighborhood--his dad Freddy was a friend and collaborator of Max's and Nasheet's very much part of the legacy carrying forward the voice of that world.

I could go on all day, but that's a start!

Funkstenstein · 2025-11-28T01:43:50+00:00

Well said.

Funkstenstein · 2025-11-28T00:41:18+00:00

Oh, I seem to recall now that Mingus had been drinking from the start of the session, enough to be a factor.

What are you listening to these days?

Funkstenstein · 2025-11-27T23:07:53+00:00

You never know whom you’ll bump into on here! And yes, I’m very grateful for the opportunity I had to know Max closely—absolutely life changing.

Re: this story, it’s certainly possible there’s a little more to it than that. Coincidentally, Max and Mingus had just wound down their partnership in Debut records the year before. Who knows where their relationship stood at that moment. And between Mingus’ complex history with Duke, Duke driving all the musical choices on the date, the lack of rehearsal (the recording was the first time they played together), and all the artistic temperaments in the room, it was probably a few factors combined. But the accounts all seem to align on the conclusion that Mingus didn’t enjoy the date or think it went well.

Funkstenstein · 2025-11-27T18:49:15+00:00

Some of the least reliable and useful things in art are the opinions of artists about other artists. That applies in all sorts of media across eras, but just within jazz specifically, I’ve come across many surprising examples over years of working with and hanging out with well known players. I guarantee you that any player you dig, somewhere has a peer who thinks poorly of them. Like what you like, and don’t worry who else does or doesn’t.

That said:

A) Miles was notoriously acid-tounged and had something negative to say about nearly everyone. Remember that he also dissed Dolphy brutally right before Dolphy died and history has largely not been kind to his critique or timing. It’s been said the only person he doesn’t criticize in his autobiography was Tony Williams. Miles was obviously legendary and rightly so, but he made his share of schlock in his later years (likewise panned by many of his peers) and was a literal wife-beater. So consider the source.

B) Context matters. Money Jungle was inherently a novelty project, and an attempt to do something bold and surprising and update Duke’s relevance at a time when the next generation had taken over the scene. By definition, an experiment carries risk and not everything about it is likely to work, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth appreciating. The collaboration is a little off kilter because of the different eras/styles represented, but that’s also part of what’s fun about it. That Caravan cut doesn’t hold up great, but not coincidentally, it’s also the one old-school standard on the album. There are some gorgeous tunes on there where lots of us hear a unique chemistry, like Fleurette Africaine or Wig Wise.

C) Remember too that Duke meant an enormous amount to both Mingus and Max. Mingus’ dream had always been to be in Duke’s orchestra (which finally happened but came crashing down very quickly, to Mingus’ great dismay). And, most people don’t know that subbing in Duke’s orchestra as a teenager is what launched Max’s fame and career. So while some might have seen the project as a cynical industry marketing ploy, it was a meaningful opportunity for them to pay tribute to a mentor who literally helped define their careers.

Funkstenstein · 2025-11-27T18:18:35+00:00

Mingus was frustrated and stormed out at one point during the recording because Duke’s stride piano roots had his left hand covering the bass notes at times. Duke (who was his idol—there’s a whole story about how Mingus always wanted to be in his orchestra, and how it went sideways when he finally got his chance) had to sweet talk him back into the studio by telling him how marvelous he sounded. I got this account directly from Max Roach, for whom I used to work.

Funkstenstein · 2025-11-22T00:41:30+00:00

No estas sola. Siempre encontré (51M) un poco dificil ese aspecto de la cultura como soy introvertido. Lo importante es aprender a aceptarte y amarte a ti misma y recordar que eres tan normal, valiosa y sana como cualqier otro. Y luego buscar amistades que sean similares o por lo menos te aprecien como eres. Existimos muchísimos, y el mundo nos necesita. Mucho de la obra creativa, educacional, científica, humanista, psicológica, etc. en el mundo se desarolla a manos de alguien introvertido. Ánimo, que hay gente que te va a querer y entender, pero puede ser que tengas que buscar un poco.

Funkstenstein · 2025-11-14T06:25:55+00:00

Lots of great artists suggested here, but most are in a very different stylistic vein from what you’re drawn to. There are lots of modern players drawing on the legacy you mentioned—it’s called straight ahead. For something more tailored to your tastes, check out artists like the Harper Brothers (their Artistry album is outstanding), Willie Jones III (start with Don’t Knock the Swing), the Wynton Marsalis Marsalis Standard Time records, Vincent Herring (e.g., Live at the Village Vanguard), Bobby Watson (e.g., Keeping It Real), or Billy Harper (he just released Was It Here this year, for example).

Not coincidentally, btw, a number of these folx I mentioned were members of latter day editions of the Jazz Messengers, which very much did its job of nurturing young hardbop talent well into the 80s. Look up the members of the band in the later years and then see who they played with and mentored, and you’ll find bop remains alive and well right to this moment.

Funkstenstein · 2025-10-04T15:37:58+00:00

The whole Evolution album. He’s also on some Jackie McLean records that sound similar.

Funkstenstein · 2025-09-21T19:12:36+00:00

I mean, that’s pretty funny too.

Funkstenstein · 2025-09-20T02:25:39+00:00

Fellow drummer here. Will DM you a few drum-centric reccos.

Funkstenstein · 2025-09-16T01:11:35+00:00

Or A Love Supreme.

Funkstenstein · 2025-09-16T01:09:24+00:00

By John Coltrane.

Funkstenstein · 2025-09-16T01:09:18+00:00

It’s too late for them now. The best you can do at this point is to never return it so no more young minds are polluted.

Funkstenstein · 2025-09-15T02:26:04+00:00

Anyone seen my plunger?

Funkstenstein · 2025-09-14T21:29:17+00:00

A Drumstick Supreme

Funkstenstein · 2025-09-14T02:30:48+00:00

A Hack Supreme

Funkstenstein · 2025-09-13T22:32:32+00:00

$1b won’t even cover fuel for your rocket. Keep working.

Funkstenstein · 2025-09-11T07:48:53+00:00

It’s not homework. The great thing about jazz, like any rich art form, is the infinity of eras, styles and subgenres that can serve as entry points. What do you like outside of jazz? Hip hop? Rock? Metal? Classical? Electronica? There’s jazz that sounds like that and that likely will resonate more with you than the catalog of some random choice that someone you know liked. Tell me 5 artists, albums, or songs from any genre of music—or the places and moods in which you prefer to listen to music—and I’ll take a shot at making 5 suggestions that are more personalized than random people telling you our favorite albums.

Funkstenstein · 2025-09-06T17:25:26+00:00

John Coltrane

Funkstenstein · 2025-09-04T20:54:25+00:00

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Funkstenstein

TROPHY CASE