Milestones

I guess some of his stuff could be considered ambient. I'm not that big a fan of the soundtracks...or, more accurately, a little goes a long way. I was not too big on "Nashville," "Sign of Life," and "Unspeakable" (I think that's the name). He is such a diverse musician, hardly anyone is going to like everything he does; I do, however, repsect everything he does.

I want to mention "The Sweetest Punch," his take on music by Elvis Costello/Burt Bacharach. Not entirely successful, but I have to say that "My Thief" and "The Long Division" are two of the most beautiful pieces I have heard...by anyone.

Sorry, I was meaning to look for a previous thread, but forgot. Still, sometimes it's good to start anew, especially if the old thread has been long dormant. Plus I'm a relative newcommer here. That Hunter S. Thompson thing sounds a bit weird even for Bill.

My favorites (as leader) are these: Gone, Just Like a Train Have a Little Faith Frisell-Carter-Motian Beautiful Dreamers The trio with Haden and Ginger Baker is very good, with two releases ("Falling off the Roof" is the other)--and here actually Bill pretty much is the center of attention. Another good one is "Grace Under Pressure," which is a Scofield record, but Frisell has an almost equal role on it.

It's interesting to note that Frisell rarely works with piano/keyboard players, though there is a duo CD with (I think) Fred Hersch where they play standards. You have heard the Marc Johnson album where both Frisell and Metheny are prominently featured?

Frisell's music "is wide-open, and it incorporates everything in a single gesture, from the sweetest nostalgia to the harshest dissonance, from desert twang to urban squawk, from fairground Americana to speed-metal, from the Beach Boys to Burt Bacharach to Neil Young to Sonny Rollins to Charles Ives to Henry Mancini to Aretha Franklin to Skeeter Davis to...well, like I said, everything and everybody. His music, at its best, is not about Bill Frisell taking guitar solos. He's not a wanker, and he doesn't have the usual axman's ego. Hell, it's hardly even guitar music at all, except insofar as Bill Frisell is inventing a new use for the guitar, not as a rhythm instrument or as a solo instrument but as the universal solvent of all American music - as a home for every sound he's ever heard." I am going to see Frisell in concert next week--very much looking forward to it. For me, he is near the top of musicians over the past 20 years.

Frisell's music "is wide-open, and it incorporates everything in a single gesture, from the sweetest nostalgia to the harshest dissonance, from desert twang to urban squawk, from fairground Americana to speed-metal, from the Beach Boys to Burt Bacharach to Neil Young to Sonny Rollins to Charles Ives to Henry Mancini to Aretha Franklin to Skeeter Davis to...well, like I said, everything and everybody. His music, at its best, is not about Bill Frisell taking guitar solos. He's not a wanker, and he doesn't have the usual axman's ego. Hell, it's hardly even guitar music at all, except insofar as Bill Frisell is inventing a new use for the guitar, not as a rhythm instrument or as a solo instrument but as the universal solvent of all American music - as a home for every sound he's ever heard." I don't know where I pulled the quotation (it is a professional), but it describes his work better than I ever could, and it indicates why I find him creative and even innovative.

Whitfield and Malone seem like the best of the retro guitarists, very much emulating Wes, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, etc. I don't find them wholly slavish, but they go solidly in that direction, rather than in the more modern and creative directions of Metheny, Frisell, Scofield, Stern, etc.

This is a guy I followed pretty closely for several years. I enjoyed most of his records, but I'm not sure what is truly enduring. I was pretty enthralled with "Patrice," which has remarkable variety--including several tracks with a clarinet player whose name eludes me now. The title track features a vocal group (something similar to Manhattan Transfer), though I didn't really care for that number. I really like "Forever Love," which has a mix of solo acoustic guitar tracks and some remarkably good quartet (guitar-piano-bass-drums) with strings tracks. It's a first-rate ballads album.

I'm sure some of us wonder whether he--like, for instance, Joe Henderson through much of his career--is an artist who is at his best in someone else's group.

I've long favored Miles "Live in Europe," which features George Coleman before Shorter came in. But Coleman is great, as is the whole band. The excitement level is phenomenal. I've really enjoyed the first "bootleg" (1967) with the better-known quintet. I'm curious to hear the new bootleg with the Corea-Holland-DeJohnette band. There's a disc of live material by the first quintet (Trane) as a bonus to some editions of "Round About Midnight." An announcer calls Trane "Johnny" Coltrane!

Let's hear it from the Chris Potter fans. I'm sure most of us have heard plenty of his stuff. I think he's created quite a legacy just for his work with Dave Holland. He's been on some of Dave Douglas' records. He's on Metheny's "Unity Band." He guests quite a bit. Seems like this man has been everywhere. But I have not yet gravitated much to his own work. I do have "Vertigo" and recall pretty much enjoying it. But I don't believe there's anything else in my collection. The new one--"The Sirens"--sound interesting based on the snippets.

I have to say I like the track "What Now" with Scofield. One reviewer said it sounded like Keith Emerson meeting Jimi Hendrix, and sure enough that sounds pretty accurate.

Just wondering what people think of this group. They've been around quite awhile now, and have a decent amount of fame for a jazz group (or jam band). Truth to tell, I have not listened to much besides the two collaborations with John Scofield. There are some good tracks, and to my mind one genuine classic: "Hottentot." But on the whole it's not stuff that truly impresses me. The group seems to keep slipping into a very similar groove on one track after another.

Olivier did win for his performance in "Hamlet," and he did direct the film. I have no doubt their acceptances were a wee bit different!

Seems like I read Olivier was the only one attaining this clearly unusual feat (they were wrong). Benigni may well be the all-time biggest surprise for Best Actor oscar. Who would put Olivier and Beningni in the same category???

I guess it depends on how one interprets this. Benigni did win the Oscar for Best Actor, and he did direct the film (but did not win the Oscar for Director). But wouldn't we still say he directed himself to the Academy Award?

I heard again that Laurence Olivier is the only actor to ever direct himself to an Oscar-winning performance. That's a little surprising. There is no shortage of big name and talented actors who have directed a great deal--perhaps the first that comes to mind is Clint Eastwood. It took a long time for Clint to get much respect as an actor, but there was "Unforgiven" and the more impressive "Million Dollar Baby." I believe Warren Beatty did it twice--acting nominations in films he directed. Woody Allen in "Annie Hall." Was Ben Affleck nominated for "Argo"? There must be several more. Oh, never mind on Affleck: no nom for acting or directing. The latter is a bit strange given that the film took home Best Picture.

Spirits of Our Ancestors by Randy Weston. It's Jamil Nasser and Alex Blake. Would bass and cello count? I'm thinking of Waldron's The Quest and Dolphy's Out There.

I saw Haynes a few years ago and was simply blown away. He may be our best living drummer--as good, or better, than Dejohnette. In my earlier jazz days I deeply dug Max, Tony Wiiliams, Elvin, Art Blakey, and Jack DeJohnette. I came on a little slowly with Roy. Not sure why. All that great work with Chick, Sonny, Getz, Dolphy, Metheny, and countless more. Let's not forget he's done a lot of great work under his own leadership.

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.

Alas, Wynton was never as interesting as Philip K. Dick.

Or maybe it is the burden of creativity. Every genre or art form seems to essentially reach its limit, then the artists go back and re-explore. At best, the new stuff can offer micro-creativity. At this stage, if you are going to be really innovative in jazz, it will likely turn into something that wouldn't be jazz anymore. Or so it seems to me. Then again, jazz did accept (with reluctance by many) the fusion of Miles, McLaughlin, Coryell, Weather Report, etc. But has then there been a true shift/turning point in jazz since? Some would say Wynton and the Young Lions, but you have to say that what they did was simply re-explore the past.

All music has roots and peak periods and great compositions. Doesn't this explain the continued relevance of Bach, Mozart, Chuck Berry, The Beatles, Ellington, Monk, etc etc etc?

Yes, they definitely they wanted to do things differently--that's why they were pioneers. And yet I have to say I've been surprised by how well Coryell, for instance, can play pieces like "Sophisticated Lady," "Body and Soul," and "Theme for Ernie."