The prog-rock love helped. I'd been listening to Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull, etc since I was 8 or so (not knowing there was a term for it at the time, or a "scene"). I'd always been drawn to the bands that knew how to "jam" or could stretch out beyond the same boring pop/rock formula, and this led me to immediately appreciate Jazz, once I bothered to get into it. It was basically my own curiosity that led me to Jazz, just going down to the 1 CD store in town (which is now gone) and luckily they had a copy of "Kind of Blue" and I picked that up. I guess that was maybe 8 years ago, making me 15yrs old. Now Jazz makes up about 45% of my collection.

Oh, another thing, my love of the piano helped a lot. It's severe lack of use in rock music was always something that bugged me, even as a kid, so to find the number of Jazz pianist/leaders out there was somewhat of a revelation.

You know, he's actually a good trumpet player. I know he has been intersted in recording a Jazz record.

Translation:



Today, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady....tomorrow the world!


cue evil laugh - mwa ha ha ha ha

indeed he is, the trumpet was his first instrument and played it on a few tunes he's recorded. i know he does the trumpet on 'taste the pain' from the chili peppers mother's milk disc and plays on jane's addiction's 'idiot's rule' from nothing's shocking.

i really do hope he gets the chance to put out that solo disc someday. i remember him commenting about the idea back in the late 90s around the time californication was coming out and being surprised that he mostly wanted to play trumpet on it. i guess the label doesn't want him straying too far from what makes money though...

maybe once the chili peppers are finally put out to pasture we'll get to hear flea blow his horn like he really means it.

He plays the trumpet and solos on two of the tracks on The Mars Volta's Francis the Mule.

The Widow
Miranda That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore


I am pretty sure, he is also playing it on Mike Watt's Ball-Hog or Tugboat?

awesome. i'll have to check those out someday hehe

I don't really remember, but it was probably that I heard the name of some albums on the internet and downloaded them. Which is how I got to know about most of the music I listen to.

I do remember which albums I started with though. They were Miles' Bitches Brew and Coltrane's Blue Train. I didn't really grow to love jazz before I heard Monk's Genious of modern music vol.2 though.

well, my family has never been a musical one, so I kind of discovered jazz via electronic music. I kinda knew what Jazz was about, but had no clue how MUCH there was to it. From there, I ventured out and listened to the Davis, Coltrane, Monk (da man!) and others. I've learned a great deal by just looking here, at radiomute.

...also, since I'm a drummer, looking up to Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, among others....I found out more than I could imagine.

I had to get there on my own, since my parents listened to awful awful stuff like the Eagles and John Denver. So curiosity did it, mostly.

Coming from rock, the first real jazz record I heard was Bitches Brew. I really liked the sound of it, but listening to it was also very frustrating because my ears got kinda lost every time (all those sounds, couldn't find any structure, couldn't even hear when a solo started most of the time ).
Masada's Live in Sevilla album was the real 'ear-opener' somehow. I listened to the first track and suddenly it was all very clear to me.

Hold on....you're a drummer?

When did this happen? Now by drummer, you're talking about an actual drum kit and not a computer program, right?


Serisouly, I don't think I have ever come across you mentioning you played the drums.