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Some Love For Jimmy Garrison


JSngry

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Jimmy Garrison was and is an active negation of the notion that virtuosity is linked to competition--and, moreover, a counter to the lingering idea that "free music" (particularly of the "energy music" variety) is predicated on self-indulgence. I'm of the sense that even virtuosity/technique predisposed musicians will (and, in my experience, almost always do) hold Garrison in high regard due to a basic understanding of just how much it takes to play the "Garrison role" precisely, tastefully, and with conviction.

That's how Workman (another bassist I love) lost the Coltrane gig, yes? Coltrane was of the mind that he didn't want someone mirroring Elvin--or, rather, that there was no need for two instruments to occupy the same rhythmic and energetic space. I actually have a hard time imagining too many bassists who could slot into a band with, say, Trane, Pharoah, McCoy, Elvin, and Rashied and check their egos at the door...

Reading Ron Carter's pseudo-dismissal of Garrison in his interview with Ethan Iverson is just ridiculous in that regard. Ron--mercurial, active, and buoyant--is almost Garrison's opposite, and Ron was perfect for Miles's really liquid group concept in the 60's... but Trane's 60's music, which was (especially in later years) exploding with rhythmic activity, really benefited from a solid anchor, a sense of depth in the low register. McCoy wasn't just pure flash--he connected the dots between Elvin and Trane's rhythmic density and Jimmy's unhurried profundity. Hear the difference when Alice takes over the piano chair--much less stable, sort of like the constantly shifting Heraclitan river (whereas the "classic quartet" was this spectacular, eloquently stratified structure whose floors were in a constant state of remodeling). What keeps that final music together--insofar as I'm concerned, anyway--is Jimmy. There's something always there--as pointed out above, always "felt"--that tethers the music to a sense of comprehensible reality.

As far as technique is concerned--anyone down on Garrison should listen to the hookup with Ed Blackwell on Ornette on Tenor. Jimmy is as supple and dense as Haden (maybe denser) and almost as mobile as LaFaro on a walk. Or dig the master take of Chasin' the Trane, which is still the ultimate burnout piece--Garrison is a heavy and rock solid swinger--even at fast tempos--and never gets so preoccupied mixing it up with Elvin that he loses the thread of Coltrane's narrative. Jimmy is the perfect energy bass player in that he prioritizes ebb and flow over phrases and gestures.

None of this is to say that Garrison was ponderous or inflexible. Some of the trouble I've had with the crop of "heavy free jazz bass players" of the past two or so decades is this weird preoccupation with unrelieved walking (albeit at fluctuating tempos). Garrison does twice or three times as much with a couple notes surrounded by space than most bass players do with a stream of regular notes (let alone a stream of jittery phrases). I was just listening to Cosmic Music--it's very clear there that Garrison is essentially performing the role of this improvised solo/dialogue with the rest of the band's soapboxing, and the clarity and simplicity of his through-line really clarifies some of the band's ideas for me.

There's always the story of how Coltrane wanted Richard Davis in the band before Trane split, and I can get that, too--even though Davis is slippery where Garrison is dry, he's still an anchor sort of bass player (heavy sounds and all that). If I want hyperactivity and craziness, I can go for Harry Miller, Johnny Dyani, Peter Kowald, and, for that matter, Scott LaFaro in the right moments--otherwise, I'm glad that Garrison was where he was at when he was there. It just sounds like that was what needed to happen.

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Unless the discography got revised before I last checked, it was Garrison on Chasin' the Trane: Coltrane Discography

John Coltrane Nonet

Garvin Bushell (ob, cbasn -2) John Coltrane (ss, ts) Eric Dolphy (as, bcl -1/3,5,7) McCoy Tyner (p -2/4,6,7) Ahmed Abdul-Malik (oud -2) Reggie Workman (b -1/4,6) Jimmy Garrison (b -2,5,7) Roy Haynes (d -1) Elvin Jones (d -2/7)

"Village Vanguard", NYC, November 2, 1961

1. Chasin' Another Trane Impulse IZ 9361/2

2. India MCA/Impulse MCAD 5541

3. Spiritual -

4. 10572 Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise Impulse A 10, AS 9200-2

5. 10576 Chasin' The Trane Impulse A 10, ASH 9278-2

6. 10573 Greensleeves Impulse AS 9325

7. Impressions Impulse IZ 9361/2

* Impulse IZ 9361/2 The Mastery Of John Coltrane, Vol. 4 - Trane's Modes

* Impulse A 10 John Coltrane - Coltrane "Live" At The Village Vanguard

* Impulse AS 9200-2 The Best Of John Coltrane - His Greatest Years

* Impulse ASH 9278-2 The Best Of John Coltrane - His Greatest Years, Vol. 3

* Impulse AS 9325 John Coltrane - The Other Village Vanguard Tapes

* MCA/Impulse MCAD 5541, DIDX 204 John Coltrane - From The Original Master Tapes

Also, right about Art Davis, but you're wrong about Richard Davis: Richard Davis Interview

Edited by ep1str0phy
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Are we talking about the same Chasin' the Trane? When I bought Live at the Village Vanguard (Impulse A 10) 50 years ago, it was Workman and it's him whom I hear (and is listed) on the CD version of that LP as well. I think that discography is just wrong in this respect.

Didn't know about Richard Davis - thanks for the link.

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Jimmy Garrison was and is an active negation of the notion that virtuosity is linked to competition--and, moreover, a counter to the lingering idea that "free music" (particularly of the "energy music" variety) is predicated on self-indulgence. I'm of the sense that even virtuosity/technique predisposed musicians will (and, in my experience, almost always do) hold Garrison in high regard due to a basic understanding of just how much it takes to play the "Garrison role" precisely, tastefully, and with conviction.

That's how Workman (another bassist I love) lost the Coltrane gig, yes? Coltrane was of the mind that he didn't want someone mirroring Elvin--or, rather, that there was no need for two instruments to occupy the same rhythmic and energetic space. I actually have a hard time imagining too many bassists who could slot into a band with, say, Trane, Pharoah, McCoy, Elvin, and Rashied and check their egos at the door...

Reading Ron Carter's pseudo-dismissal of Garrison in his interview with Ethan Iverson is just ridiculous in that regard. Ron--mercurial, active, and buoyant--is almost Garrison's opposite, and Ron was perfect for Miles's really liquid group concept in the 60's... but Trane's 60's music, which was (especially in later years) exploding with rhythmic activity, really benefited from a solid anchor, a sense of depth in the low register. McCoy wasn't just pure flash--he connected the dots between Elvin and Trane's rhythmic density and Jimmy's unhurried profundity. Hear the difference when Alice takes over the piano chair--much less stable, sort of like the constantly shifting Heraclitan river (whereas the "classic quartet" was this spectacular, eloquently stratified structure whose floors were in a constant state of remodeling). What keeps that final music together--insofar as I'm concerned, anyway--is Jimmy. There's something always there--as pointed out above, always "felt"--that tethers the music to a sense of comprehensible reality.

As far as technique is concerned--anyone down on Garrison should listen to the hookup with Ed Blackwell on Ornette on Tenor. Jimmy is as supple and dense as Haden (maybe denser) and almost as mobile as LaFaro on a walk. Or dig the master take of Chasin' the Trane, which is still the ultimate burnout piece--Garrison is a heavy and rock solid swinger--even at fast tempos--and never gets so preoccupied mixing it up with Elvin that he loses the thread of Coltrane's narrative. Jimmy is the perfect energy bass player in that he prioritizes ebb and flow over phrases and gestures.

None of this is to say that Garrison was ponderous or inflexible. Some of the trouble I've had with the crop of "heavy free jazz bass players" of the past two or so decades is this weird preoccupation with unrelieved walking (albeit at fluctuating tempos). Garrison does twice or three times as much with a couple notes surrounded by space than most bass players do with a stream of regular notes (let alone a stream of jittery phrases). I was just listening to Cosmic Music--it's very clear there that Garrison is essentially performing the role of this improvised solo/dialogue with the rest of the band's soapboxing, and the clarity and simplicity of his through-line really clarifies some of the band's ideas for me.

There's always the story of how Coltrane wanted Richard Davis in the band before Trane split, and I can get that, too--even though Davis is slippery where Garrison is dry, he's still an anchor sort of bass player (heavy sounds and all that). If I want hyperactivity and craziness, I can go for Harry Miller, Johnny Dyani, Peter Kowald, and, for that matter, Scott LaFaro in the right moments--otherwise, I'm glad that Garrison was where he was at when he was there. It just sounds like that was what needed to happen.

Amen. By coincidence I was listening yesterday to a concertg version of Bye Bye Blackbird from 1963 with Jimmy well forward in the mix. His playing behind McCoy's solo is astonishing, particularly in terms of his rhythmic inventiveness, rarely playing straight fours for very long and with amazing flexibility. Far more than the odd syncopated delay or anticipation of the beat, and there were very few bassists in 1963 who could do this while maintaining the rhythmic stability and hook-up with the drums. Masterful musicianship! I've always had the sense that Rudy van G's studio recordings did no favours to Garrison, and in this (and a number of other live recordings, including Chasin' the Trane, you can really hear what he could do.

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Are we talking about the same Chasin' the Trane? When I bought Live at the Village Vanguard (Impulse A 10) 50 years ago, it was Workman and it's him whom I hear (and is listed) on the CD version of that LP as well. I think that discography is just wrong in this respect.

Didn't know about Richard Davis - thanks for the link.

The credit on AS-10 is incorrect. The notes for the Complete VV correct this.

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Amen. By coincidence I was listening yesterday to a concertg version of Bye Bye Blackbird from 1963 with Jimmy well forward in the mix. His playing behind McCoy's solo is astonishing, particularly in terms of his rhythmic inventiveness, rarely playing straight fours for very long and with amazing flexibility. Far more than the odd syncopated delay or anticipation of the beat, and there were very few bassists in 1963 who could do this while maintaining the rhythmic stability and hook-up with the drums. Masterful musicianship!

It's dancing, that's waht it is. That whole band was dancing, and it all builds from the bass up. Elvin works because he's got something to bounce off against and to land back on to, and that something is Garrison. Same with McCoy, the bass is the rhythmic Ground Zero for that band (and for more others than you can shake a box of trees at).

Dance music"? well, yeah, actually it is, but there's that language trip again. But dancing music? Oh heck yeah, by any definition, that was/is dancing music.

Take a day/week/month/lifetime and listen/hear/feel music from the bottom up. It really is a whole different way.

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I agree. Music that dances. Garrison holding it down and together. The music was different with Steve Davis, Reggie Workman . . . . The way that Jimmy was melodically and rhythmically inventive and had the stamina to stay right with the others. . . so bloody impressive.

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Another ear opening thread. I'm still trying to absorb the interaction of Trane, Tyner and Jones. Now I'm looking forward to hearing this group from the bottom up.

It might be akin to watching the planets revolve around the sun from the sun's POV instead of the planets'...maybe? Maybe not?

Point being simply that every music has an axis around which all moving parts revolve, and in a lot of jazz (or just a lot of music, period), that axis is the bass. Not just the harmonic axis either, but the rhythmic one as well. Especially the rhythmic one.

Bass is the place!

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"RC: You know, I just listened to The Real McCoy, maybe for the first time since I made it. I had the original album still wrapped in cellophane. (I probably should have not taken the cellophane off: I could have gotten a fortune for it on eBay.) But someone was telling me that it was one of the great records, so I took off the cellophane and listened to it. I was taken aback. Wow! We really got to it there. I was like: let's try to get there again!"

:g

Edited by freelancer
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Reading Ron Carter's pseudo-dismissal of Garrison in his interview with Ethan Iverson is just ridiculous in that regard.

I was a little embarrassed for Carter when I read that. ethan iversion ron carter interview

Modesty seems not to be his strong suit:

"EI: The phrase "The Sound of Jazz" is bandied about sometimes. Well, for me, "The Sound of Jazz" is Ron Carter playing four beats in a row.

RC: I wouldn't disagree."

Edited by Simon8
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Another ear opening thread. I'm still trying to absorb the interaction of Trane, Tyner and Jones. Now I'm looking forward to hearing this group from the bottom up.

It might be akin to watching the planets revolve around the sun from the sun's POV instead of the planets'...maybe? Maybe not?

Point being simply that every music has an axis around which all moving parts revolve, and in a lot of jazz (or just a lot of music, period), that axis is the bass. Not just the harmonic axis either, but the rhythmic one as well. Especially the rhythmic one.

Bass is the place!

Absolutely! I always listen to recordings from a fresh perspective after hearing music live. In jazz the bass always has more presence in person. That is either the fault of under recording the instrument , my lazy listening or both. Regardless this thread will change my perspective, especially regarding hearing Jimmy Garrison.

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Are we talking about the same Chasin' the Trane? When I bought Live at the Village Vanguard (Impulse A 10) 50 years ago, it was Workman and it's him whom I hear (and is listed) on the CD version of that LP as well. I think that discography is just wrong in this respect.

Didn't know about Richard Davis - thanks for the link.

The credit on AS-10 is incorrect. The notes for the Complete VV correct this.

And it was Reggie Workman himself who identified Garrison as the bass player on "Chasin' the Trane."

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Another ear opening thread. I'm still trying to absorb the interaction of Trane, Tyner and Jones. Now I'm looking forward to hearing this group from the bottom up.

It might be akin to watching the planets revolve around the sun from the sun's POV instead of the planets'...maybe? Maybe not?

Point being simply that every music has an axis around which all moving parts revolve, and in a lot of jazz (or just a lot of music, period), that axis is the bass. Not just the harmonic axis either, but the rhythmic one as well. Especially the rhythmic one.

Bass is the place!

Absolutely! I always listen to recordings from a fresh perspective after hearing music live. In jazz the bass always has more presence in person. That is either the fault of under recording the instrument , my lazy listening or both. Regardless this thread will change my perspective, especially regarding hearing Jimmy Garrison.

I think it's just that we're so conditioned to listen to "the soloist" that we forget to realize that it's still a group music (except, of course, when it's not, but...you know.). "Solo + accompaniment" is not the same thing as "group music" in neither the creating nor the experiencing.

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I didn't want to jump in and just start bashing Ron Carter--I do think he's one of the great bassists of his generation, particularly in his idiom (i.e., the second quintet freebop thing). On the other hand, beefs are beefs, and I'd be lying if I said that I understood precisely why a player of that status and caliber felt the need to drag on Garrison. I did and does strike me as another instance of a virtuosic musician calling out another musician on "failing to meet" supposedly objective standards of brilliance--which, as we know, is often "beef" more than it is "reality."

I like The Real McCoy--and Ron's hookup with Elvin is unimpeachable insofar as it operates under its own premises (just like the Elvin hookup with Richard Davis, for example--there's nothing else like it). I do like Jimmy/Elvin "better," honestly--or, rather, it's a different thing that just gets me deeper (both feel wise and emotionally). A/Bing the version(s) of Chasing the Trane with Workman and Garrison, for example, convey just what Jimmy brought to that band--Workman is a great player, but his uptempo playing (at that time, at least) comes across as a lot more slippery, a lot less rhythmically "direct" than Jimmy's.

Garrison is as stable as it gets without getting stiff. Jimmy strikes me as the rubicon point beyond which things get toooo stiff (see plenty of modal jazz in the wake of Coltrane) and before which things just aren't heavy enough. Speaking to something Noj said--I do think there's a very real and serious relationship between Jimmy/Elvin and, say, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, Jones and Bonham, etc. etc. (free rhythm section example: Dyani and Moholo, post punk rhythm section: Kim Deal and Dave Lovering if you want to go there).

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Ron Carter has definitely earned a lot of the shit he's gotten, although more musically than for what he's on record as saying. I mean, people talk, and some aren't bashful about what they say in public. A lot of it's ego, a lot of it's conviction that their way to play is THE way (and any bass player who doesn't feel that way is automatically somebody I have qualms about, it's just the nature of the role), and a lot of it is is just bullshit walking and bullshit talking. C'est la vie.

But make no mistake - Ron Carter has contributed some of the godawfullest bass playing on record (among players of his ability/skill set, of which there have been many, but not a lot, if you know what I mean) as well as some of the most brilliant. It's that dichotomy that is so frustrating. Any producer who doesn't have the balls (or even ears) to say, "look motherfucker, tune that shit up" is going to get what they deserve in return, but a player who is so...variable (compare to Rufus Reid, who is ALWAYS the same way out of tune, so...ok, that's your zone, LIVE there, right?), that player earns the plaudits as well as the pans. Barring any weird shit like playing outdoors in sub-zero weather and 87% relative humidity, it's entirely within their own control.

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