Mtume vs Crouch On Electric Miles

[JSngry]

http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/11/james-mtume-v-stanley-crouch/66462/

[DukeCity]

I watched these the other day. I was a little frustrated at the editing; seemed to edit out some of Crouch's point, while leaving M'tume's points intact.

But I'll give them both credit for having debate styles dripping with condescension. (that means talking down to you).

[CJ Shearn]

Brilliant stuff. I enjoy seeing Crouch get handled.

[Indestructible!]

Thanks for posting this. I have no comment on the Mtume/Crouch debate, but what I really took away from the article was this quote:

"It's hard for critics to let go, to hold their tongue and say, 'This isn't for me'."

Amen.

[flat5]

I appreciated Mtume's comments about electric instruments.

For me, it was thought provoking. I'm a fan of acoustic music.

His insights on Miles and his music were also of value.

He was a part of it and has a very good mind.

[Lazaro Vega]

A key point in the first clip is when Mtume brings up Henry Pleasant's notion of technical exhaustion where, "There's a certain point on any instrument in any and everything that's going to be played within the context and confines of that instrument has already been done." "What more's going to be played on the tenor sax then all those cats that came before?" "If you're going to create new music you must have access to new sounds and colors."

That expansion of the vocabulary was were Roscoe Mitchell was coming from when I asked him about this issue of tradition and where he's coming from. He put it, "There aren't any cracks." As in, there aren't any cracks between the great musical/instrumental innovations of sound in Black American music where there's room enough to develop your own highly specialized, distinctive voice because all of those gaps have been filled in over time given the the great lineage of players.

Crouch's rebutle to that idea here is put in it's place, yet what is worth considering is Jackie McLean's comment, or insight, which said the development of bebop as a music wasn't taken to it's fartherst point, that there was room within the style to delve deeper.

By now, you know, and for the last thirty years, we've heard what can be done with mixing and matching those earlier "underdeveloped" styles.

[AllenLowe]

interesting, and though I don't have the quote in front of me, Varese said similar things - as did Jaki Byard.