Jazz greatest Trombone player Jack Teagarden: Mis’ry and the Blues

For a while now I’ve been meaning to do a review of Jack Teagarden’s masterpiece Mis’ry And The Blues, but I never seemed to know what to say about it. It’s hard for me to find any flaw within this beautiful work of art, and it is hard to put to words the emotions created by musical masterpiece of this album. For this reason I have kept myself from reviewing Mis’ry And The Blues, but I feel it is high time this album gets credit for how truly amazing it is. Although their is little I can say Mis’ry And The Blues that doesn’t amount to praise, I feel that it is important to bring to light the reasons this album is so breathtaking.

Like most of Jack Teagarden albums Mis’ry And The Blues combines elements of dixieland, Blues and, Texan swing (it’s difficult to define what makes Texas swing, but very easy to hear it). This blend creates a special sort of sound that can be both relaxing and, exciting at the same time to listen to. What sets this album apart from many of Jack’s other albums, though it’s strong use of Folk music he grew up with. This use of Folk music creates a even warmer and familiar atmosphere that benefitsTeagardens band as well as the listener immensely. Their is a nice variety of types of songs from sad blues, to uplifting Dixieland melodies; this album has a little of everything on it.

The ensemble Jack has put together for Mis’ry And The Blues at first glance doesn’t seem to be a big surprise. It has a the typical front-line (trumpet, trombone, clarinet), back-line (piano, bass, drums, and on one track a organ) set up commonly found in dixieland groups. What really is surprising is how the ensemble operates together and, who Jack has playing with him. The first thing that is shocking is you’ll notice that most if not all the names of the players he is playing with are not extremely famous or well known musicians. Despite their lack of fame, however these are some of the finest musician’s ever and, rival the players in some of the masterful groups set up by Louis Armstrong. The outstanding and, sophisticated sound of Don Goldie on Trumpet and, HenryCaesta on clarinet could serve by themselves as star and, create strong albums. Together with Teagarden they create amazing team with a professional sound, that can only be found in a top level group. The back-line is equally strong with the stride master Don Ewell on piano and, as well as Barrett Deems on drums and StanPauls on bass. Combine that with Tea Gardens smooth, lyrical and, outstanding playing and, you have the making of a all star group.

What is so amazing about the group though is not only are the players outstanding in their own right, but their ability to work as a band unit is amazing. This album clearly shows that these musician had been playing together for years and, know each other in a extremely musically intimate way. Each is able to play off the other and, match to each others sounds making the music sound effortless. The front-line always knows when to add in tasty, complimentary fills and, key off each others playing to create a united sound. The back-line is always heightening the mood of the piece and, provides the perfect flavor by listening into what soloist is doing and, matching them to make the music seem seamless and, flowing. Together the musician’s skills and their ability to present their skills in Mis’ry And The Blues are at a peak.

The biggest thing that makes this album a masterpiece is the music presented. Many of the pieces are obscure, however it is clear by Teagarden’s presention of the the material that they are just as well written as the well known pieces. The pieces in the album were clearly chosen with great care to match the dynamics of the band members and, to show off their talents. Teagarden also makes sure to a have a variety of moods represented within the album, their are slow blues like the title track “Mis’ry and the Blues,” uplifting folkish pieces like “Peaceful Valley,” and, exciting classics like “Original Dixieland One-Step.” It is definitely clear that Jack is using many of his favorite Folk tunes, many of which he knew by heart and, it shows in the performance of them his knowledge. The obscurity of the many of the pieces adds to the interest they attract, and are the perfect choices for Jack Teagardens band.

If you’ve never heard this album before then prepare yourself for a treat when listening to this album. If you’ve never heard JackTeagarden at all before then be prepared to have your mind blown. Mis’ry And The Blues is simply a masterpiece and, definitely is one of my all time favorite albums ever. It is a must buy album classic that matches thebrilliance of many of the better Armstrong albums. It has Teagarden at one of his personal bests and, shows just so how much a effect he had on the role of the Trombone within Jazz. It might be a little tough to find, but it is definite worth going at of your way to pick this album up. Mis’ry And The Blues definitely falls into the category of a life changing album, that needs to be heard.

Hats list of top video/arcade games: part 6

25. Ninja Gaiden Two: Ninjas seem to be one of the most awesome characters ever. They are full of interesting tales in a variety genera’s so long as your not to worried about sticking to the facts. This is definitely proven true within series Ninja Gaiden, not only does the game feature some of the best platforming, power ups and music the NES has to offer; it also offer a creative challenge that is hard to match even by today’s standards. In this sequel to the first Ninja Gaiden, once the player takes the role of Ryo as he searches for his captured girlfriend by fighting your way through droves of evil Ninja’s in a variety of stages. Ninja Gaiden Two is the only game I know of to include constant wind effects in a game, and is one the few games to feature battle on a moving train. Definitely a classic in many respects, this game clinched early on that ninja games are usually awesome and tough.

24. Super Smash Bros Brawl: Nintendo is truly a not only one of the best gaming companies, but also has some of the greatest game designs of all time. Yes I know that technically it was Hal Labs and, Sora that created games for the Smash series, but it might as well have been Nintendo as far as a player is concerned. The Smash series is proof of Nintendo’s ability to create multiple mascots and series that appeal to most video game players (or at least to those brought up with them). In this second sequel to the original Super Smash Bros. the concept is basically the same and, continues to add to the appeal of the series. The premise is easy, place a bunch of characters from various Nintendo games (and products) together to duke it out. What makes this game special is that instead of using life bars it uses a percent system, the higher one’s percent gets lighter the character gets and the harder it is to stay on the screen. The object of the game is knock the opponent from the screen. Brawl increases the character variety, music, the graphics, adds new stages (though I liked melee’s stages better), but what makes the game shine is the sheer variety of easy to pull off move sets and that the game the was more accessible then Melee. Despite this the game advances it still suffers from character unbalance (I’m especially disappointed ((but not surpised)) with their treatment of Sonic) and, some of its stage choices are questionable. Perhaps I like this game so much because of the mass of play it get, but still I feel it was a definite improvement in some area upon Melee and the original Smash Brothers game.

23. Resident evil 4: If you want a scary game, gory, action packed and, at the same time incredibly well designed game this is definitely the game for you. Leon S. Kennedy a secret service agent who is sent to a village in village in Eastern Europe to rescue the president’s daughter from a cult parasitically controlled people know as the “Los Ganados.” These people at first seem like mad villagers, however it quickly becomes apparent they are much more sinister and dangerous when you enter town. This game is difficult, but not as tough as other resident evil games due to thankful change in controls, action base of the game and, focuses much more on the monstrous insect like parasite then zombies. As I mentioned before the change in control style is impressive, as is it’s use of the over the shoulder style of game play, with a first person mode if desired while firing. This game is full of the classic horror element such as narrow spaces, darkness, gruesome images and, lumbering monstrous evil that make it my favorite within the Resident Evil Series and the survival horror genera.

22. Dig Dug: Speaking of gruesome games, if you really think hard into Dig Dug it is easy to see why there is no modern remake of the this game with a improved graphical style. Dig Dug is a about a man in a white jump suit tunneling around in an attempt to destroy all the creatures within the tunnel. Dig Dug (the main character) most either drop rocks or use your pump to inflate to death fire breathing dragons and, orange shade wearing balls. This game is as strange as it sounds, and as entertaining and addicting. Thankfully it’s primitive graphic disguise the creepy under tone within the game, because this is a true arcade classic that I’d love to play over and over again.

21. Star Fox 64: This is sort of game that every Star Wars star ship game wishes it could be. A clear improvement on the original Star Fox, Star Fox 64 did everything the first game wishes it could have done (but was limited by graphics), creating the perfect aerial dog fighting game. Everything about the game was at it’s peak: the spunky slightly corny dialogue, the action, the waves of enemies, the rival team lead by Star wolf, the presentation of the game, the exciting music and, the freedom of movement that made you feel as though you were in the action. Part of what I feel made this game so good was the creative use once again of limited graphics of Nintendo 64, to create a game that used every bit processing power it had and, was exciting to play. I wish they’d create another game using the same level of care they did with this game. This game puts even the game Rogue Squadron to shame, yes it’s that well designed!

King of Bandits Jing: A steal of a deal

Humorous, strange and, action packed are three words that most accurately describe the manga King of Bandits Jing. Filled with fun and excitement, and unlike most shonen manga is the sort of manga that doesn’t take itself to seriously. It goes for a more fun then serious tone and delivers on fun, rather then a sophisticated storyline. The story is short and simple, but at the same time clever; creating amusing series that sets it’s own limits. Though it’s style prevents from being bestshonen to pick up, it’s original and, entertainment allows it to stands out from a crowd derivative titles that exist.

One thing the manga does to make it stand out from the pack is it’s art style, a style which is very different from the average shonen artists style of art. The first thing that jumps out to you when you read Jing is how much it’s creator Yuichi Kumakura enjoys to draw backgrounds. It is clear that Kumakura puts special care into most of the backgrounds (with the exception of a few fights with action lines). King of Bandits Jing is filled with sprawling background (especially cityscape’s) which show immense detail, but don’t look artificially computer created and hyper realistic like in such as inmanga as Apple Seed. Kumakura, also seems to enjoy drawing monsters and machines, which shows with ample variety of creatures employed with the stories. The character design really is a mixed sort of design, which has a set of both advantages and disadvantages that comes with them. On the one hand the character’s appearances for the most part are different from othershonen titles. On the other hand the lanky character design and, interesting appearance of the characters limits the facial expression possible and, makes for some what stiff art (though no where as stiff as the art in Fist of the North Star). My overall biggest complaint with the art would be that it seems too mesh to well together, makes it seem as though the character were mostly added into a background later. It’s nice to see art for a change that focuses less on character’s design and more on background. I would prefer; however a more equal balance of focus and quality like that of excellentmanga like Lone Wolf and Cub, it is still nice to though to see extra attention to the backgrounds (especially in a Shonen manga).

Another element that sets King of Bandits Jing apart is that the stories are typically comprised into short stand alone tales, lasting around around half a volume long. These tales are simplistic and, typically involve the confident heroJing (the king of bandits hence the title) and his wise cracking crow Kir hunting for a rare objects. On the way they usually end up helping others in need on the way by foiling a sinister villain of some sort, who is usually protecting or attempting to find the object thatJing is seeking. To defeat the enemy Jing employs his wit, a concealed blade and, the ability merge Kir with his arm to create a powerful blast known as the “Kir Royale.” The plot outline is pretty formulaic, however the Kumakura makes the best of this formula by employing creative antagonists and, interesting treasure for Jing to capture. Throughout, the series Jing most face off against a humanoid clockwork, chicken’s mercenaries armed with huge mallets, a living casino, a killer volcano and, variety of other monsters on his adventures. What is also interesting is the variety of environments the story takes place in including: deserts, mountains, a castle, hills, and various cities just to name a few. Though the story is simple and the concept never changes much or evolves,Kumakura does a great job keeping the story seeming fresh even though it repeats often.

Where story has the most problem is characterization is very weak. Even the heroes lack a real depth of variety, and emotion; ending up as have lacking emotional depth.Jing as hero goes has good basic personality traits, he is heroic, brave, and a bit of a rebel at the same time. He’s the average heroic personality, not to interesting, but his personality gets the job done well enough. Where Jing as a character has the most problems is his lack back story, little is explained in Jing about his life or his relationship with others (though perhaps their may be more on this in the sequel, King of Bandits Jing: Twlight tales). Jings partner Kir has more of a personality then Jing and, it is amusing to watch him wise crack and flirt with the various women in the story, though he too lacks a real back story. The various supporting cast and the villains are pretty standard and, unambiguous or interesting personality wise. The villains typically are evil because they are greedy and/or inhuman, not due ego, need, mistakenperception or, personal trauma. Many have distinguishing factors, however they overall lack a distinctive personality that would be worth exploring. The supporting cast typically have goals such as finding treasure or, to protect others from the villain and, don’t go much farther then that. They are okay, but don’t really add much to the story quality; forcing the plot and interest in the appearance of villain and, henchmen to lead the story. Thankfully King of Bandits Jing keeps it’s story short to cover over some of the weak characterization of the series.

King of Bandits Jing is a great manga despite it’s many flaws, it offers a fun and creative story. It’s very premise, however holds it back from being an excellent manga. However, it is well worth your while if your looking for something quick and easy to read. It wouldn’t be one of the first shonen manga’s I recommend, though its format makes it easily accessible to pick up and is good for all ages. I haven’t read any of the sequel King of Bandits: Twlight tales, but have heard good things about it so I look forward to reading it. If you happen to have some extra cash and, are looking for a entertaining manga then this is the manga for you.