Those of you that are not pet owners may not fully grasp my feelings in this post, which is about my beloved dog, BJ who is now with the angels after almost 12 years with us. But I'm sure most of you can appreciate the feeling of loss of a loved one.
Following up from my previous post, Bill Evans Explained, I’d like to continue with my next subsection: Personality/Identity For me one simple measure of artistic personality is quick recognition without prior knowledge of the artist or recording being listened to. Use Ben Webster as a reference point. There’s no mistaking him. The piano is a more difficult instrument to establish an identity than a saxophone in part because of the nature of the instrument. There is less direct contact and control of the means of sound production. So if you can establish pianistic identity, it’s an important measure of achievement. Even great pianists can sometimes only be deduced rather than…
Following up on my previous post, The Bill Evans Question, I will discuss the aspects of Bill’s playing that raises him above nearly all of his contemporaries. I will also discuss some of the criticisms leveled against him.
Although generally held in high regard by most, Evans has had his detractors even when he was considered the “it guy.” And recently, let’s say in the last 10-15 years, I’m finding less support for his contributions generally, more bashing on the latest jazz water cooler, jazz message boards, and (for some reason) belittling from certain geographies.
A while back I had written about Ronnie Singer. For those of you who don’t know, he is sort of a gap in the jazz continuum that might’ve altered how jazz guitar developed had he lived. Because his sound is similar (he is using the same guitar as Jimmy, the Gibson ES 150 and he uses similar slurring techniques), you might at first mistake him for Jimmy when you listen to him. But his approach is a bit more direct and active and, unlike almost any other jazz guitarists at the time (save Jimmy), much more fluent in the “real deal” vocabulary of bebop and its proper execution. For example,…
My brother Doug was born Aug 29, 1956. I was on a bus tour of Canada this week and was unable to make the entry on Wednesday. But let us take today to appreciate my brother’s contribution to the art of jazz guitar. He is still one of the finest that have ever played, displaying the hallmarks of any great jazz artist – timing, feel, sound and authentic jazz feeling. These are somewhat rare commodities these days. We should also be celebrating his recent comeback to the jazz scene and the great reviews he has been receiving. Long overdue. Welcome back, Doug! At left is a picture of Doug when…
Today Aug 20, 2012 Jimmy would’ve been 85. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 17 years since his passing. Every year I have to pinch myself that I was so lucky to have someone so brilliant in my life, whose work has touched and inspired not only me and my brother Doug but many, many musicians both young and old. I continue to marvel at his genius and hope that more and more people begin to appreciate this under-appreciated, soft-spoken man who just was able to cut through all the bullshit and deliver the truth, whether from his words or his guitar. Those of you who know me and…
Scott was a great musician, guitarist and friend. Haven’t seen him for some time and I learned the distressing news that he had multiple cancers, that he elected to not treat it in the end and to just continue with end of life care. Many people, including me had no idea about what was going on with him aside from some personal difficulties he was experiencing in the latter stages of his life. He is the guitarist featured in the 1993 Louisville clinic videos I have on my youtube page . He is also interviewed in Glen Hodges’ Jimmy Raney thesis work. When I was woodshedding in Louisvlle in 1985…
Teddy Charles was a frequent collaborator and ardent supporter of Jimmy Raney in the 50s and early 60s. They also did work together with Bob Brookmeyer who also recently just past away. And all of them were part of the jazz loft scene in NYC.. Teddy was among the innovative thinker/composers during the day along with Mingus and Miles that paved the way for compositional styles to come, which involved long expositional sections and interwoven improvisations. His style I find echoed in the later work of the late Gary MacFarland. Teddy never made it big and along with many jazz players in the sixties, faded from view. He changed careers and became a…
I was late to discover this unfortunately. Bob died of cardiopulmonary arrest just short of his 82nd birthday on Dec 16th, 2011 in New Hampshire. He was quite active at the end and I interviewed him earlier this year about Dad and life. I kind of picked up on a personal dichotomy; on the one hand he described to me having finally arrived at marital bliss with Janet and a beautiful home in NH and a new record in the works, he nevertheless had political concerns about this country and I thought I picked up on a certain amount of general restlessness. He has made a home in many places…