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What's your Branford to Wynton Ratio?


BeBop

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I've never heard much Branford. I was given his album Requiem when it was new, but never got around to opening it, I suppose because the reviews weren't great.

I bought Wynton's Village Vanguard box (7 CDs for something like $35) ten years ago, and I've heard I think five of the disks. I'm pretty sure I could get a CD of good music from the five that I've heard.

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I was actually thinking about this Ratio because I recently broke down and bought Branford's "Mirth and Melancholy" (with Joey Calderazzo). I'm a sucker for duo recordings - tenor/piano, tenor/bass, tenor/drums. On the other hand, the duo album with Branford and Ellis, "Loved Ones" never really did it for me.

I'll give this one a few listens and pass it on.

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Leader Dates

Branford: 9

Wynton: 0

Ratio: Not Meaningful

Just messing around today.

I was a classic Wynton hater, like a lot of jazzers my age. We resented him, and a lot of it was jealousy. Then a few things happened: I was in a movie theater and they played Hot House Flowers-w/o me knowing who it was, so no prejudice. I really dug the playing and the string writing. I didn't buy it. Then I met him twice at JALC rehearsals, and he couldn't have been nicer. He wrote a great chart for an Ornette Coleman show for one, and played a really nice flugel solo on the other. The way he ran the rehearsal professional-no ego. Is he my favorite trumpet player? No, he is not. But I have a lot of respect for Wynton. Branford's playing I always liked. He had a nice feel and great time, and a beautiful sound on soprano. I actually bought the CD Eternal (also Renaissance) and heard his group in Newark-and enjoyed all. I guess I lean a bit toward Branford.
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I was gifted Branford's first LP on issue. It was a bit light for my tastes at that time and I never went further.

Like kh I have the VV box set (what is it about box sets on this board...). With the best will in the world, I found what I got to quite dull, with little tension or drama. When I listen to it now I ask myself what are the goals of the music, and I genuinely don't know.

Wynton's projects are evidently more highbrow and complicated than Branford's. Branford is an honest, light music player, but with his last as with his first I miss bite, and also after a little admittedly pleasant listening I start to get bored with a lack of harmonic and rhythmic tension. Tension, not complexity (too strong - complicatedness [?]).

And no real beauty of expression in either - not a moment that you can take to heart.

Edited by David Ayers
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20 YEARS ago in cleveland, i was sitting in a tiny generic long gone 40 seat jazz dive (the much lamented bop stop) late at night, when an amiable wynton, after a downtown show, walked in and put his horn case on the bar.

he sat in for a while, and bought a few musicians beers. the sets were alternately rough and great. i realized then that wynton that night wasn't the guy in a suit, but just another jazz cat.

Edited by alocispepraluger102
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Don't have an interest in my "ratio," but Wynton after a certain rather early point is IMO a train wreck (aesthetically, both as a player and a composer, and as a social-musical figure, but perforce someone whom one has to keep track of to a certain degree, if only to be aware of how bizarre it all is/has become), while Branford in my experience is pretty much a cipher musically -- OK at best, but so what? -- though he is capable of saying some really stupid things in a jive ex cathedra manner.

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I have the Wynton Christmas LP which I bought back when I had maybe a dozen jazz albums and mostly bought it to have jazz Christmas album. I don't think I have him on the side for anything though I may someday pick him up on a Blakey.

I have Branford on 4 though I don't see listening to Sting's Dream Of The Blue Turtles or Miles' Decoy again. I like his appearance with the Grateful Dead on 3-29-90 which is probably my favorite guest appearance for the band.

So the final score on leader 0/1. Sideman & leader is 4/1. Branford wins.

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Without getting too deep into the merits of each brother (setting aside the rest of the clan), it's interesting how different the Ratio is here as opposed to in what I perceive to be the "general jazz market". My impressions of the market are skewed, of course. I'm mainly looking through used CD bins to kill a few minutes between this and that. So I'm seeing (1) what sold into the market and (2) is now being re-sold.

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