AllenLowe

Stan Getz was a nice bunch of guys.

Mary Lou WIlliams, in my one brief conversation, was very relaxed and approachable. Dizzy, on the phone, once he realized I was not a complete idiot, was very open. Lenny Tristano scared the hell out of me. I was too afraid to say anything to Miles; plus, the pants he was wearing looked like a Persian rug.

William Burroughs, for one. Bird.

I don't really think it's P.C. to put down Oscar Peterson; after all the guy was one of the most popular jazz musicians ever. Once again, we can't just disagree, we must imply certain motivations. Some of my best friends like him.

ah, Moody was a wonderful man.

Barry Harris, Curley Russell, Bob Neloms; Charlie Haden was extremely nice to me when I was a wee boy of 16; Bill Triglia was always nice after he first yelled at me; Dick Katz, wonderful man; Sonny Rollins, the two times I've spent with him, was extremely nice. Dudu Pukwana smiled at me and giggled a little, but he was very personable. And of course, those times when I talk to myself I am always cordial and willing to answer any and all questions. and should mention Jeff Crompton and RJ Spangler, some of the nicest people in the world. Her on Organissimo we tend to take our own for granted. And I'll add, just because there's someone on here (can't remember who) who gets annoyed whenever I say it, that I never enter my house without first checking to make sure that Jack DeJohnette is not behind the door waiting to kill me.

greetings Ethan; I did say nice things about you, as a matter of fact I recently posted a clip of you playing Charleston (beautifully) on Facebook. but I hate Oscar Peterson, always have and always will; since 1968, to my credit. He was evil.

Iverson is, IMHO, a terrific pianist. In his own work he actually reminds me a bit of Jaki Byard.

I hate to say this, but this is likely one of those things for which Phil Schaap would be a reliable source. He really did know Jones well.

some interesting insight into Rollins' methods; actually, some of the more interesting and revealing things I've read about Sonny.

yes, what happens is that they develop multiple projects not only because their interests vary but also for some practical reasons, to increase their employability.

I also think, based on my own listening experiences after I came 'of age,' (post 1969?) that recordings in jazz are a pretty damn accurate reflection of the music, just like a book is a powerful reflection of the writer.

the difference, I think, is generational; Monk and those guys were really not as influenced by as many sounds as players like Ribot are; not saying they didn't hear a lot of things, but the nature of media expoosure was very different in those days, especially when it came to pop; and for a player of Marc's generation it's not only a matter of hearing but liking; Monk's generation, based on the players I knew, thought of r&b and the blues as something they'd gotten way beyond, technically; and as little but a diversion, while players of Ribot (and my) generation see expressive mastery in much different places.

picked that one up years ago at a used record store in New Haven; it became something of a running joke between me and the store owner, but we were both surprised at how good it was.

I have heard stories of people purchasing the premium Spotify service, yet getting the same low-grade sound. Don't know if they've gotten their act together.

there is a box with all the RCAs; they are inconsistent, but the god-like Sonny emerges in more than one place. To me, if he had followed his, say, 1964 path, we would have seen things to which nothing else in jazz history would compare. To use a comparison, his works would stand like Shakespeare for centuries to come, or Joyce and Proust.

yes. and I would suggest to Sonny that the answer to this problem or whatever it is/was in his mind, is not to surround himself with more and more distraction - mediocre bandmates filling every sonic space - but to go forward bravely into the realm of the multiple-self. Though in going this way he might have ended up like Beckett, playing less and less and expressing himself in smaller windows that, themselves, questioned the very need for expression. One of Sonny's problems may have been his deep competetiveness; looking around he saw there was, post-Coltrane, an actual start system emerging in jazz. And he needed to be part of it for reasons of ego and cash. Can't blame him at all, though I think he could have retained his stardom in other ways. But then, I am not best the person to give other musicians career advice.

I called him "the lunatic who threatened people with a knife."

never saw a picture of Nelson Boyd before this.

yeah, Marc was very interesting to watch in the studio - he was a sideman but never acted like he was just a hired hand; fully committed, came up with some great ideas.

actually I agree; the peak Rollins for me is RCA-era, 1964 +; there's that Scandanavian broadcoast, I think it is; a live version, among other things, of Three Little Words; and a harmonic leap even in the RCA studio recordings (though I've always thought The Bridge was his weakest), ja new post-Trane chordal density that is unworldly. And a virtuosity that is unreal. most tantalyzing image I've had was Bill Triglia's description of what I believe was an early 1960s encounter he had when visiting Fruscella, of Fruscella and Sonny doing duos in the apartment. as for Myers, good guy, good interviews, scattered historically - has anyone here read his book?

well, people made the same complaints about Jaki Byard; but Marc, to me, does it all well; it's integrated into his sound and style. And don't forget that he calls one of his projects The Prosthetic Cubans.

thanks for that; I also want to drop in the sessions Sonny did with Babs Gonzalez and Bud Powell (with Fats N.) which were all before 1950 and both quite astoundingly mature-sounding for Sonny; also the JJ Johnson Savoys, once again before 1950. If he wants to trace Sonny's growth, he's gonna have to go back even a few more years. but once again, I agree that Worktime is the breakthrough.

absolutely agree, Larry, on Worktime; as a matter of fact my 14-year-old ears heard There's No Business Like Show Business and my 14-year-old brain decided then and there that this was something I had to do. and this is the key (I was always bothered by emphasis on the thematic improv idea): "the effect of constant renewal produced by his simultaneous or near-simultaneous expression of multiple points of view is, I believe, the more radical and lasting development, for it enables the soloist to achieve an emotional complexity that before was largely the province of such orchestral masters as Duke Ellington, whose every band member is potentially a musical/dramatic character. Also, it opens the door to a new view of the jazz past, for the improviser can now range beyond the apparent boundaries of style and make use of any musical material that his taste for drama can assimilate."

I like that session, but I think it's far from the new Sonny; he plays great but still very much in the pre-Collossus (sp?) way; one indicator, at least to me, is how I Want to be Happy is way slower than Bud's version. To me the big revelation of that session from when I first listened very closely to it was the way, on More Than You Know, Monk plays the sheet music changes, ignoring how a lot of the boppers were inserting II/V's everywhere.