[Dixielandjazz] Lisatening to music

[Steve barbone]

"Cees van den Heuvel" <heu at bart.nl> wrore
 
> Playing jazz music = sex!

Not the way I do either. Are you sure you're doing them right? :-) VBG

Great thread Jim. I think most musicians listen intently to most forms of
music. Charlie Parker would stop outside the various clubs in NYC and say to
you. "Do you hear that? Do you hear what those guys are doing?" And playing
would be a country western band or other such group.

If you asked Artie Shaw who he learned from, he would say, "the guy next to
me." And if you talk music with our Guitar or Bass player, you will get an
earful about classical music, the beauty of Brahms and why the current
orchestras are ruining the improvisational songs of 18th century composers
by writing everything out and leaving absolutely no room to improvise
contrary to what composer intended.

I still remember one night in the 1950s, returning from a gig with bassist
Jack Fahey. (he was a regular at Nick's) I was driving and we tuned the
radio into Symphony Sid, who was playing some great jazz into the wee hours
of the morning. We drove past our respective houses and further out onto
Long Island for two more hours just listening, before returning as the sun
was coming up. It was a magical time. He passed away shortly thereafter.

Like Russ G., I listen and drive at the same time. Seems that the visual and
aural are disconnected in this instance and like him, now like to catch a
classical station on the way home from gigs. When the drive home is an hour
or so it gives me a chance to "come down" from the gig with some different
sounds. Otherwise, when getting home, I cannot sleep because I'm still wired
with flowing endorphins.

Downside is that when I'm out with the wife, or friends socially, I'm tuned
in to the background music, miss out on a lot of the conversation and am
sometimes perceived as "stand-offish".

My wife always explains to friends that I am a jazz musician and hear music
very differently than most people we socialize with. She is right. How lucky
that she has understood and put up with that for 42 years. (among other
things)

Cheers,
Steve Barbone