April 2009

<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> Right. So, these two dudes have pretty much defined the way in which to play their individual instruments. I’ve heard tell of Maynard Ferguson having an enormous range – trumping Diz, who I don’t believe was ever touted for such talents. But considering that no one in their right mind cares about Maynard, save for a few drunken trumpet majors, we’ll consider Diz tops. As for Bird – well Coltrane, at this point is probably more important - but without the Charlie Parker style check at the beginning of his career, who knows where Coltrane would have wound up. Read more

<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> The style of playing that’s most often associated with Ornette Coleman is a difficult one. It isn’t necessarily tied to all too much that came before it. It is, of course, related to bop – its closest predecessor. But in that link, there isn’t all too much that can be figured as similar. Part of bop’s apotheosis, though, was as an anti-dance music. And Coleman’s work is certainly that. But beyond that, the way in which the saxophonist perceives what a solo is and should do is drastically removed from the musics’ forbearer. Read more

<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> It’s really difficult to discuss Sun Ra – or his music – without using some string of adjectives that basically means weird. Of course, if that’s all one has taken away after listening to his work, than the point of it all has been lost. But still, he’s kinda weird. That’s not good or bad. But it probably informed a vast many decisions that he made regarding composition as well as his choice to use an electric keyboard before most folks in the United States knew what that even was. Read more

<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> I’ve been ensnared all too many times in the argument pitting Miles Davis against John Coltrane. And regardless of whether or not there’s an answer as to who was the better player or who impacted the genre to a greater extent, listening to both men play on the same session is more rewarding than the discourse that surrounds either player. Read more