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Post by bassman on Sept 13, 2023 15:03:27 GMT
Just one more thought on DG's question posted the other day ... (quote) <<< In the Zimmerman book reviewed above, the pianist Steve Kuhn said this: “…my feeling about it is that jazz as I know it - and I’ve been listening to it all these years - I think it's probably run its course. [ ... ]” Agree or disagree? >>> ____________________________ The reason why most of us hesitate to actually elaborate on this is, I suspect, the fact that everything has been said about it. It has been said in Eric Nisenson's "Blue - the Murder of Jazz" (Da Capo Press 2000), and most of it still holds true.
The book ends with the lines, "[ ... ] I must confess that, like many, I often believe that jazz may be seeing its final days as the century in which it was born comes to an end. But when these concerns get to be too depressing, I go to my stereo and play Coltrane's "Spiritual", or Miles and Gil Evans's Porgy and Bess or Ellington's Far East Suite or even, for that matter, Jan Garbarek's Visible World, and like so many times in the past, jazz makes me a believer all over again." (Seems like he's putting a lot of hope into the ... past.)
"As the listening culture has changed", the blurb asks, "have spontaneity and improvisation been sacrificed?" (I would argue there's still a lot of improvisation and spontaneity around in 2023, but do I have to call it jazz?)
Anyway, there's nothing wrong about collecting records from a glorious era, is there?
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dg
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Post by dg on Nov 9, 2023 18:54:48 GMT
THE NATION is a progressive American magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. I was surprised to see that the November 13/20, 2023 issue had a picture of Louis Armstrong on the cover and a long article called “Louis Armstrong’s Last Word” by Ethan Iverson, himself a pianist, composer and Blue Note recording artist. It heralds the opening, this past July, of the Louis Armstrong Center, with an enormous archive, and just across the street from Armstrong’s home, where he resided from 1943 until his death in 1971, and which itself is a memorial/museum now owned by Queens College. The article has much new information about Armstrong and one of its main thrusts is to dispel the conventional wisdom that Armstrong achieved little after his peak creative period of the 1920’s and ’30’s. It highlights the trio of books written by Ricky Riccardi, whose books tell the story of Louis’ life in reverse order, starting with “What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong’s Later Years” and then “Heart Full of Rhythm: The Big Band Years of Louis Armstrong.” The third volume, in final draft and as yet unpublished, is slated to be called “Stomp Off, Let’s Go: The Early Years of Louis Armstrong.” Like many of my generation, my collection of Armstrong’s work is dominated by his astonishing work with the “Hot Fives”and “Hot Sevens,” with little from later periods, but I plan to reevaluate this situation. The critic and historian Gerald Early is quoted: “One shudders to think that perhaps two generations of black Americans remember Louis Armstrong, perhaps one of the most remarkable musical geniuses America ever produced, not only as a silly Uncle Tom but as a pathetically vulnerable, weak old man.” This notion was perpetuated by many in the jazz community, including even Miles Davis. But then, on the other hand, Davis also is quoted: “You can’t play anything on a horn that Louis hasn’t played - I mean even modern.” It appears that the article in The Nation is now available online for free viewing. www.thenation.com/article/culture/louis-armstrong-archive/
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Post by bassman on Nov 10, 2023 9:55:24 GMT
Ethan Iverson hits the point when he calls Armstrong “a scientist of rhythm and harmony“, putting special emphasis on his “behind-the-beat phrasing“. Indeed, this is what relaxed jazz rhythm is all about. Think of Wynton Kelly, Johnny Smith, Miles, Trane … I just would like to add a few lines about Armstrong’s small group recordings. Quoting Dan Morgenstern, from liner notes to "The Complete Decca Studio Recordings of Louis Armstrong and the All Stars" (Mosaic Records): "Some misconceptions are so deeply rooted in the minds of those responsible for the formulation of what is called jazz history that they have become almost impossible to clear up. Thus Louis Armstrong's official, critically certified artistic fame still rests chiefly on his seminal 1920s recordings with the various small groups known as his Hot Five, Hot Seven and Savoy Ballroom Five [ ... ] But the small-group recordings, made between 1925 and 1928, were strictly studio units [ ... ], and from the time he left King Oliver's band in the fall of 1924 to join Fletcher Henderson until the formation of the All Stars in the fall of 1947 - for no less than 23 crucial career years - Louis Armstrong made his day-to-day living playing with big bands, including his own. [ ... ] The fact is that Louis Armstrong did not head up any working small group until he took charge of the All Stars. [ ... ] " Some folks favour the early All Stars setup, starting in 1947, with Jack Teagarden, Barney Bigard, Earl Hines, Arvell Shaw, and Cozy Cole. However, I have developed a special liking for Armstrong’s mid-1950s group which included Edmond Hall on clarinet and Barrett Deems on drums. I know I have said this before: It’s the “Musical Autobiography“ sessions made between December 11, 1956, and January 28, 1957 that can always brighten a dull day. Wild Man Blues, Weary Blues, Mahogany Hall Stomp, Cornet Chop Suey … you name them. Timeless, flawless, feel-good music of the highest artistic order.
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dg
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Post by dg on Apr 2, 2024 21:18:16 GMT
In 3 SHADES OF BLUE: MILES DAVIS, JOHN COLTRANE, BILL EVANS AND THE LOST EMPIRE OF COOL (Penguin Press, 2024, 484 pages) James Kaplan skillfully weaves the early life stories and the careers of the three musicians leading up to the recording of KIND OF BLUE, and then, more briefly, descibes their music and personal paths thereafter. Passing through their lives and work are many of the most important jazz icons who played key roles in their development, such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk.
Kaplan’s bias is clearly stated in a Prologue: “…in the genres of bebop and hard bop, jazz created in the quarter century between, roughly, 1942 and 1967, I find almost all of the jazz that I want and need.”
As in many jazz bios, the lives of the protagonists were sorely affected by the scourges of racism and drug and alcohol abuse. I enjoyed the material on musical analysis but tales of the personal problems of the three artists limited any overall enjoyment of the book. The description of Bill Evans’ last trip, in a car (driven by his drummer Joe LaBarbera) to a hospital, near death with blood gushing out of him, was especially harrowing, as were the years of Miles Davis’ substance abuse and degradation. And one is left wondering how Coltrane’s years in the wilderness of substance abuse affected his sad early death.
Overall, the book could be a good introduction for those not familiar with this era of jazz history. But for those already familiar with the jazz book shelf (the many biographies by and about the major musicians), there will likely be little new here beyond a plethora of additional details gleaned from the author’s interviews with surviving musicians, partners and friends of the three artists and a synthesis of material on the same subjects published in the last few decades by others.
The book could have benefited from a stronger editorial hand. Especially annoying were descriptions of recording sessions without clearly indicating which record albums the tunes eventually appeared on and the placing of all the photo captions in tiny print at the end of the book. _________________________
Haruki Murakami began his life as an author writing at his kitchen table in the early mornings after returning home from work at the jazz club (called “Peter Cat”) he and his wife owned in a western suburb of Tokyo. Music has always played a big part in his life and writing and he is a serious collector of vinyl record albums. He has published two books in Japan (Jazz Portraits 1 and 2) which (I believe) have never yet been published in English translation. This lack of English versions surprises me as his publishers seem keen on maximizing profit from Murakami, even publishing a small book about his collection of T-shirts (THE T-SHIRTS I LOVE, Knopf, 2021) Sadly, I guess this reflects the relative importance (or lack thereof) of “Jazz” in today’s culture (at least in the English-speaking world)
Music lovers might enjoy his book of short stories and essays FIRST PERSON SINGULAR (Vintage, 2021, 245 pages). In addition to some beautiful pictures of monkeys, including a stunning one of a Japanese Snow Monkey, the book has three stories which have music as a major element.
“Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova” begins with a college student writing a (fake) review of the album for a college journal but soon goes off into Murakami territory with the seeming appearance of a real album with that name. In “With the Beatles” and Carnaval” pop music and classical music (Schumann’s piece called Carnaval) are major elements in the story lines.
Murakami’s major novels almost always have an element of music as an important part of the story. So much so that many of his fans have created playlists based on his books. I myself have often sought out a certain piece of music after reading about it in one of his novels or stories.
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Post by DoomG on Apr 6, 2024 14:44:56 GMT
.......As in many jazz bios, the lives of the protagonists were sorely affected by the scourges of racism and drug and alcohol abuse. I enjoyed the material on musical analysis but tales of the personal problems of the three artists limited any overall enjoyment of the book. The description of Bill Evans’ last trip, in a car (driven by his drummer Joe LaBarbera) to a hospital, near death with blood gushing out of him, was especially harrowing, as were the years of Miles Davis’ substance abuse and degradation. And one is left wondering how Coltrane’s years in the wilderness of substance abuse affected his sad early death....... To quote from an essay on West Coast Jazz(5/19/21): ....Having read all 450 pages of James Gavin’s biography of Baker, “Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker” (Knopf, 2002), I came to know that Baker was a man of unusual natural ability but that he squandered much of it by his misguided choices. His life story, an almost constant tale of degradation and selfishness, was one I could not keep on my bookshelf, in company with the likes of Gillespie, Mingus, Davis, Dolphy, Sun Ra, Coltrane and many others who also battled personal demons and setbacks – often worse than anything Baker experienced –with the additional burden of systemic racial discrimination, but led lives of rewarding friendships, societal contributions and accomplishments....
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