by hillary_step 20 Replies latest social entertainment
Miles Davis and John Coltrane together. Looks like Jimmy Garrison on bass and McCoy Tyner on peeanno.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4FAKRpUCYY&mode=related&search=
.....'speaking strictly for me, we both could have died then and there'.
Any golden jazz moments to share?
HS
Here is another - John Coltrane - "My Favorite Things" - Coltrane, Elvin Jones on drums, McCoy Tyner and as ever Jimmy Garrison.
There is a school of thought among jazz musicians that everything important that was to be said in that musical genre was said in the 50's and 60's and that everything since has just been entertainment and embellishment. When you hear such a piece as this, you know why they say what they do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4FAKRpUCYY&mode=related&search=
HS
Preservation Hall
I was invited by a supplier to listen to some Jazz in the French quarter at Preservation Hall in New Orleans LA, No air conditioning etc but the atmosphere was electric. Finished off with a pourboy sandwich and washed down with a hurricane (great drink)
There is great NEW jazz. I don't mean the "smoooooooooth" crap. But it fun to listen to the old stuff. Brings tears to my eyes.
It pisses me off that in the 1950's while I was running around to assemblies there were ground breaking things going on at Newport.
BFD,
Excellent stuff - Billy Holiday - thanks!
Propolog,
I am glad to say that I never allowed the WTS to interfere with my taste, or experience of music. I understand your anger at missing out on so much.
On your other point, there is indeed much exciting new jazz music taking place, I was just listening to Tim Garland's "Shooting At The Moon" today and it is every bit as exciting as 50's Jazz. What I think the musicians mean when they say that everything important ever stated in the genre was stated in the 50's and 60's is that all that followed, apart from Avante Garde and Free Jazz, was merely restating a theme, not recreating one.
Jean Luc Ponty made some interesting comments on this in an interview recently :
When I started playing jazz and I would be hired in Paris for a month or two months in the same club. We’d play ever night. That’s really how I came up to be a strong player. Too bad young people don’t have that opportunity anymore,” he says. “But now there are schools that didn’t exist in my time. So that’s another story. I think generally speaking, it’s like anything else, the technical level of young musicians, the young generation, has gone up tremendously. They know a lot much quicker because they can take advantage of the experience of the elders, like us.
It is true that technically, many of the the young players are quite remarkable. He went on to say :
Ponty says the number of “real geniuses, as opposed to just followers” are far fewer. “There’s a sort of conformity… The young generation might be more conformist than we were, especially in the ‘60s. It was the whole society, it wasn’t just music. The goal was to push the limits and experiment and that was praised. We were able to experiment and develop our own vision. Nowadays, for young musicians, it’s very difficult to find a record deal, especially if they don’t comply to a specific style so that the record companies will know how to market it. We did not have that worry when I started. That has to be taken into consideration.
I also think he is correct in suggesting that conformity is a requirement with the music companies in a way that was not true in the 60's. Back then a lack of conformity, which allowed greater experimentation, was actually encouraged by these record companies. As he notes, it has to do with creativity apart from interpreters of style, though he has faith in the future.
“I see two branches, basically. Those who really conform and learn jazz like we were learning classical music before. They are not really creators. They are more interpreters of styles that they learned and reproduced. But I still hear young people who have their own vision and who are experimental and are able to use the sounds and tool of their generation. In Europe, there is a whole movement that is especially strong in Scandinavia where they play acoustic jazz but mix it with some electronic sounds and some rock rhythms. There are some pretty good things.
“I think we can trust mankind to always produce some individuals who will be able to change music at some point.”
Cheers - HS
stilla..........it's a po-boy. preservation hall rocks. espically on a hot, sweaty new orleans night, when your clothes are sticking to you. it's almost magical. like you've stepped back in time. the music is blaring, no microphones, just sheer energy. everyone's dancing. good stuff.
bfd, look me up if ya come down
here's rebirth at preservation hall. the picture quality sucks, it's very dark in there and hard to film.
proplog, ya ever listen to trip hop? some of it has jazz overtones, mixed with soft techno beats. i can hip ya to some bands if your interested. most of them are from the u.k. good stuff.
