Catching up on recent posts. Great clips all. Thanks! And, welcome new contributors climt and vanya_42nd; looking forward to your posts and clips.
pjw, I particularly liked Dexter’s “Tanya” and I agree that his solo is a masterpiece. One of my very favorite tenor players and I had the privilege of hearing him at The Vanguard several times after his much heralded return from Europe. Beautiful player with that great robust tone and, for me, walking the perfect line between the classic traditional and modern tenor styles. Fittingly, he was one of Coltrane’s main influences. Speaking of Trane, styles, masterpiece tenor solos and KOB:
One of the many things that make KOB a very special recording and Miles a very special band leader is the seldom pointed out fact that the band on KOB is composed of players with disparate styles. Yet another testament to Miles’ genius, he put together a band that, unlike most classic recordings which typically feature players with generally similar styles, a look at KOB’s lineup shows a different approach. You have Bill Evans’ understated and introspective style, Cannonball’s is very exuberant and bluesy, Coltrane is always searching and forward looking combining tone with edge and beautiful gentleness, and Miles is....Miles, enigmatic and cool as hell (🤔). On that record is one of my favorite tenor solos on record. Favorite for its utter simplicity and perfection for the moment in the music:
https://youtu.be/PoPL7BExSQUSome comments on drug use and Jazz musicians to hopefully put the subject in better, or at least different, context:
First, it should be pointed out that it was not unique to Jazz musicians. Many Classical musicians have also been drug and alcohol abusers throughout history and this continued until more recent times when musicians in all genres have been more prone to abstain. Drug use in Jazz , particularly marijuana, was quite prevalent among Swing players (pre-bebop/Bird).
While it is true that some players started using heroin in an effort to emulate their hero Charlie Parker, the reason for the prevalence of drug use is more complicated than that; and, of course, one should look at what drove Bird himself to abuse drugs and alcohol. To understand the phenomenon one has to understand the creative mind. Musicians in general are always searching for the new and for better ways to be creative and emotionally expressive. To one degree or another, they also tend to have compulsive personalities which explains the incredible degree of dedication devoted to their craft in order to achieve the level of excellence that the greats achieve. As much attention as the “social” aspect of many musicians’ lives gets, in many ways it is a solitary life. Bird, Coltrane and most of the greats would practice seven hours or more a day! Much of this is also a reflection of the fact that most performers are of a certain personality type that both seeks the attention and adulation that performing provides and, at the same time, causes anxiety; a dichotomy. In spite of the high level of confidence and bravura that many performers project, many suffer from insecurity as individuals and as performers. It is not an easy life even for the financially successful ones and many have resorted to self-medication. Not to be overlooked is the physical stress leading to physical pain that playing a musical instrument for many hours each and every day often causes.
It is also a dichotomy that there is, in fact, a creativity enhancement component to the use of mind altering substances. Many passive listeners who have indulged on any level know that, FOR SOME, it can enhance focus, reduce inhibitions and cause one to experience music in a new and different way. Imagine the possible appeal for the creative musician who literally lives for new ways of self expression. Alex touched upon some of this with his references in a prior post. The dichotomy is that for many the seduction can lead to abuse and ultimately total lack of control (addiction) and all the horrible negatives that come along with that. Usually, a counterproductive choice as concerns creativity. Even if Bird did, in fact, open some new creative vistas by using heroin, how might that level of creativity compare to what he might have achieved had he been straight and lived another 34 years?
For me, moral of the story is “don’t blame Bird”.
https://youtu.be/6Wa7El-k3jQ
