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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jazz art from one of advertising's most familiar voices, August 1, 2000
This review is from: Best of Word Jazz 1 (Audio CD)
To those just finding Nordine's 50s recordings, his incredible voice will be surprisingly familiar. His work as a voice-over announcer over the past several decades has made his resonant baritone a fixture on TV and radio. What's really amazing is that the quirky presentation he uses in his commercials - the inflections and pacing - is equally, if not more, effective in this poetry/spoken word context.
Backed by the Fred Katz group, Nordine tells spellbinding stories and recites beat-era oddities in a style that is unduplicatable. Whether it's the outsider tale of "Flibberty-Jib" (which was reused years later as the soundtrack to a groundbreaking animated commercial for Levi's), the social commentary of "The Vidiot," the Twilight Zone tale of "What Time is it?," or just the 'wonder wanderings' of "Adult Kindergarten" or "The Sound Museum," Nordine always has something interesting to offer.
Katz recorded a few very hard-to-find LPs of his own, as well as appearing in the film "Sweet Smell of Success" as a member of Chico Hamilton's band. His group backs Nordine here with light jazz that supplements the 50s beatnik/downtown atmosphere. This collection cherry-picks tracks from several volumes of Word Jazz recordings, all of which are tough finds on the collector's market. These are truly one-of-a-kind recordings that capture an artist's singular vision of spoken-word art.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Astral Projection Without Trying!, February 5, 2000
This review is from: Best of Word Jazz 1 (Audio CD)
Listening to Ken Nordine is an experience similar to that sleep stage when you can't really tell if you're dreaming, or actually visiting a mysterious fantasy land. Ken takes words where you don't expect them to travel -and you wonder if you're hearing music, a short story, an angel lamenting, or colors you can actually see. All via a CD. I first heard Word Jazz years ago, and yet it sounds like a new born baby every time I give it another listen. I shut off the lights, put on some head-phones, sit back, and listen. It's a jazz concert though a mind's eye I never knew I had . . . all through the literally hypnotic voice of our ol' pal, Ken Nordine.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonder Wanderings, April 14, 2000
This review is from: Best of Word Jazz 1 (Audio CD)
I first discovered the eccentric "Wonder Wanderings" of Ken Nordine when I came across my dad's LP "Word Jazz" burried in the hall closet. I carried it to my room, blew off the dust, placed it on my stero and sat entranced. . . I was lost in the world of Ken's museings. Many years later I accidently found this gem, "The Best Of Word Jazz, Vol. 1". I stood there, amazed... Nordine was still in print! I grabbed the CD (the only one on the shelf) and purchased it. They were all there: The Mysterious Stranger of "Flibberty Jib"; the Be-Bopping Baby of "My Baby"; the TV addict of "The Vidiot"; and MORE. Some I had never heard "Down The Drain" (sitting showers that take you to the Caribbean); "Reaching Into In" (how DO you GET INTO In? ). I was, and still am, in heaven, If Black Gold could talk it would have a Voice such as Ken Nordine's. I Wonder Wandered with him and haven't returned...
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