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John McLaughlin's "The Heart of Things"


Larry Kart

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I didn't say no good. But I've already got 2000 jazz records. How much more can I listen to? I like other music too. I'm not interested in discussing where artists fit in. It's all music to me. When I use the term jazz, it encompasses all improvised music from Armstrong to Zorn.

I agree with your definition but it clearly goes beyond Zorn - but maybe you used him as an example due to his last name.

I also like other types of music - and I also have somewhere around 1200 or 1500 jazz recordings - maybe I used to have more - who knows the amount and I am no collector - thank jah for that - but I have similar problems trying to find a great rock record - and I am also not as thrilled with the more recent recordings I have sampled from the area of eai (electronic acoustic improvisation)

where I thoroughly agree with you is it gets very difficult to find the *great* jazz records once I don't buy as many as I did 12 or 15 years ago, when I was really listening and buying much more than I do today. I would very much like the newer recordings I buy to count but over the past year I have found much more dissapointment in the quality of the music and even moreso often in the recording quality - with the latter issue being an embarrasment to the label/artist or whoever seemingly continues to fuck up what might be worthwhile sessions.

I think part of it is that there are too many recordings, and that the great out/avant labels like hatART, FMP, emanem, or even okkadiskl are either old, defucnt or concentrating more on re-issues while clean feed has no filter on recording quality/music quality.

plus the ECM recordings seem to increase the reverb with each passing year with the music having less a relationship to what it might actually sound like when they play it.

nice to see artist like Brotzmann release some fine sounding music on some different labels, or hearing the fine DKV 7 CD box sound like the actual band.

what I have found out is that if I pick the shows I want to see with some thought - usually looking for a band with a great drummer (and in NYC, that isn't very difficult) - then the result has been that over the past 3 year or so, I have seen dozens of very good show, and at least 10 to 12 different shows that I would consider *great*, *amazing* or *even historically great*

so the music is there to be recorded and presented - I think that part of the equation has been an issue.

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By and large I will avoid talk of race, religion, and politics when it comes to jazz. It is, first of all, a personal preference; but, second, I (at least) don't see much relevance here. To be sure, jazz has offered commentary on racial politics. How could that not be when you consider how significant the civil rights issue was in the last century? Ellington, Mingus, and Roach had things to say; and what's more remarkable is that a lot of it remains listenable. Artists today trying to preach a political message are (IMO) unlistenable.

Jazz is mostly instrumental music--at least in terms of what I like to hear. But however artists choose to state it (music alone or music with lyrics), in general nothing dates music faster than political statements.

Just like to consume the music on your own terms eh. Well who could begrudge you that? Personally I like music with lots of Fourths!

The Black Power interval.

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There was an interesting interview on the BBC last autumn with pianist/composer Frederic Rzewski. He'd been heavily involved with politically radical music in the 70s - including a piece called 'The People United Will Never Be Defeated' (you can't get more 70s than that!) - but had become much more sceptical about the impact of music on politics.

The way he put it was the music hardly ever had an impact on politics; but politics was constantly impacting on music (which, I suppose could be rephrased as 'Art is not a hammer, it is a mirror').

Edited by A Lark Ascending
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  • 8 years later...

I'm just seeing that a cheap copy of this live album is available from Dusty Groove at the moment (just $5).  This is DIFFERENT than the studio album that's just called Heart Of Things.

But it is a legit live album on French Verve (don't think it ever came out stateside) -- and I much prefer it over the studio date of the same title (I found a similarly priced copy from Dusty about 2 years ago).

Gary Thomas is particularly strong (admittedly, my whole reason for buying the disc).  He's on tenor on all but two solos (on soprano for those), but one of the two tunes he's on soprano, he gets a second solo on tenor (iirc).  Fans of Gary, buy with confidence.

 

John McLaughlin: Heart Of Things – Live In Paris

https://www.dustygroove.com/item/521957

https://www.discogs.com/master/437816-John-McLaughlin-The-Heart-Of-Things-Live-In-Paris

https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-heart-of-things-live-in-paris-mw0000070500

PS:  Four of the total of six tracks are on YouTube in full, and can be most easily found on the Discogs page for the album.

Edited by Rooster_Ties
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