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Jacques Coursil (1938-2020)


clifford_thornton

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According to his friend, writer Adam Shatz, the French-Martiniquan trumpeter and linguistics professor/theorist Jacques Coursil has passed at 82. 

He recorded as a leader for BYG and as a sideman with Frank Wright, Burton Greene, and Sunny Murray (along with unissued music with Marion Brown for ESP). He also studied with Bill Dixon. In 2005, he returned to recording with a CD for Tzadik and released several albums in succession.

I always appreciated his sound and approach, and he seemed like a really interesting person though I never got the chance to meet or correspond with him. RIP.

Edited by clifford_thornton
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Damn, another important voice quitens. I love the BYG leader dates and his other appearances on that label. Of the more recent recordings the Tzadik I have is really strong and 'Trail Of Tears' is a powerful statement, musically and otherwise.

I didn't know about the Rogue Art, not sure how I missed that as I'm on their mailing list

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https://next.liberation.fr/musique/2020/06/26/mort-de-jacques-coursil-jazzman-genial-et-figure-meconnue-de-la-modernite-noire_1792481

21 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Damn, another important voice quitens. I love the BYG leader dates and his other appearances on that label. Of the more recent recordings the Tzadik I have is really strong and 'Trail Of Tears' is a powerful statement, musically and otherwise.

I didn't know about the Rogue Art, not sure how I missed that as I'm on their mailing list

The Rogue Art is awesome, definitely recommended.

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I was lucky to hear and meet Jacques last November in Baltimore. He was in town for a conference called Paris/Algiers at Hopkins. The first day focused on the BYG days. Shepp, Moncur, Burrell, Cyrille and David Murray were also there. Burrell, Coursil and Murray also did solo sets at An Die Musik each night. Coursil did a short set. A bit of poetry, a bit of trumpet.

The second night was historical. Archie and Grachan joined the two Davids for a 20-minute jam. Jacques did not join them. Archie was on fire!

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An outstanding player. Great technique, beautiful sound, good ear for melody. Loved his early ESP / BYG work, some of the best and original trumpet playing in the "freer" idiom. It was great to see him reemerge in the XXI century, "Minimal Brass" (Tzadik, 2005) is a beautiful, innovative work. Still need to get that Rogue Art release with Silva - will actually go ahead and order it right now.    

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  • 2 months later...

This is on Discogs with a 2020 date and no copies for sale yet.

"The HOSTIPITALITY SUITE developed from a sonic live deliberation during SAVVY Contemporary’s 2018 project WHOSE LAND HAVE I LIT ON NOW? Contemplations on the Notions of Hospitality. In our effort to reflect on the complex entanglements between hostility and hospitality, Jacques Coursil together with Marque GIlmore proposed a phonic scope and a sonic scape. Choosing the path of music, and jazz for that matter, seemed to be a possibility of negotiating those spaces between guest, host and ghost. An extended conversation developed and found its way on this record."

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5 hours ago, mjazzg said:

This is on Discogs with a 2020 date and no copies for sale yet.

"The HOSTIPITALITY SUITE developed from a sonic live deliberation during SAVVY Contemporary’s 2018 project WHOSE LAND HAVE I LIT ON NOW? Contemplations on the Notions of Hospitality. In our effort to reflect on the complex entanglements between hostility and hospitality, Jacques Coursil together with Marque GIlmore proposed a phonic scope and a sonic scape. Choosing the path of music, and jazz for that matter, seemed to be a possibility of negotiating those spaces between guest, host and ghost. An extended conversation developed and found its way on this record."

It's apparently available from the label directly: https://www.savvy-contemporary.com/en/pillars/savvy-records/jacques-coursil/ 

Edited by Д.Д.
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On 15/09/2020 at 3:14 PM, clifford_thornton said:

That's it. Glad to know they are selling copies!

Order placed. Thanks for highlighting it's existence.

The LP is evidently not taken from the performance below but unclear if it's from another performance or from a studio. I'm sure LP sleeve will reveal all on arrival.

 

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I was at the Baltimore event in November that Betrand attended. JC's set was magical. He had a projection behind him - it may have been history's first good PowerPoint presentation - that alternated rather beautiful textural images and fragments of Edouard Glissant's poems. Coursil declaimed these with drama and not a bit of wryness. In between those texts, he paced around the stage, muttering flugelhorn lines. It was about 25 minutes, I guess, and it was gripping. So glad to have caught him.

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