Art Taylor

[Guest akanalog]

i never really cared for cobb's playing.

i just heard art taylor's blue note album "at's delight" for the first time. i wasn't expecting too much, figured it would be a rote hard boppish session, but i was pleasantly surprised. i was very impressed by this album. i always thought of taylor as very good, but missing that special something-but i think he offers more than i initially suspected.

i am still not crazy about cobb, however.

i just saw him recently at smoke, actually. it was good to see he is still doing his thing and he did seem more forceful, but back in the day i think i find his touch a little light.

i also don't love higgins for the opposite reason-i find him a little heavy sometimes.

[AllenLowe]

Dick Katz once told me that he didn' like taylor because he tended to rush the time - and sure enough, I remember listening to one of those Live at the Bohemia recordings - and on one cut he practically doubles it -

[porcy62]

Go figure.  I'm just not a Taylor fan really. . . I'd rather hear Cobb.  Res gustibus non disputandae sunt.

I like A. Taylor and the correct quote is "De gustibus non est disputandum".

I couldn't resist to correct someone in an english based forum!

Edited January 19, 2005 by porcy62

[Guest youmustbe]

Yeah, AT did rush, maybe more correct to say, his time wasn't always steady.

When he was with Bud, in the trio, when Bud would start meandering, AT would drop a bomb or two, in the wrong placer to wake Bud up.

When Ed Thigpe was on drums, Ed would actually yell 'Bud", and Bud would snap out of it.

[Guest youmustbe]

oops...Thigpen, of course.

BTW Philly Joe and Max used to get a lot of grief, and rightly so, for being loud and drowning out the soloists, but after all these many years, they sure sound GREAT!!

[mikeweil]

Of course AT had chops, but wasn't nearly as variable in his soloing as Philly Joe or Cobb - AT's solos are more or less a series of technical phrases. He was more assured of the technical side of drumming than Cobb, but I miss the springy light beat that Cobb had, and the elegance, together with the drive. Just a matter of taste, of course.

I generally prefer drummers who try something else than just aligning drumtechnical patterns.

The Monk album king ubu mentioned, BTW, is my favourite AT - I like him best with Monk.

[Jazz Kat]

Who was it on here who said, solos for drummers are not , a 'bonus?'

I will have to agree with you. Espcially if you're a jazz drummer, you might not know when someone in the group will tell you to solo. My first gig, we were playing All Blues, after the bassist took a solo, he shouted out to the guitarist, "Let's give it to the kid!" (meaning me, on drums) If i had no training soloing, i would be very lost. Soloing is a big part of jazz drumming. Let's face it, if a jazz drummer never soloed, it probaly will get boring. Or at least, the drumming.