[Dixielandjazz] Free Jazz & New Orleans Jazz Roots

[Marek Boym]

I don't know whether to admire people who can listen to Ornette
Coleman for more than 2 minutes, or to consider them masochists.

cheers

On 09/11/2009, Stephen G Barbone <barbonestreet at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> On Nov 9, 2009, at 5:01 AM,
> dixielandjazz-request at ml.islandnet.com wrote:
>
> > "Jim Kashishian" <jim at kashprod.com> wrote
> >
> > I had the opportunity (for lack of any other way of describing it!) of
> > dabbling in free jazz during the years that I was playing 7 nites a week,
> 12
> > months a year with a house band.  Our Dixie band played one nite a week
> when
> > the house band rested...but, I played every nite.  Anyway, the house band,
> > with top notch musicians, did go into free on occassions (this would have
> > been late '60's/early '70's.
> >
> > It was interesting, to say the least.  The most enjoyable moment was when
> > the whole band, without signals & without any particular reason, would
> > suddenly "come together" again & drive together.  Thrilling, since it just
> > "happened", which means that there really was some kind of togetherness
> all
> > through the free period.  A feeling, I guess you could call it.  There
> > certainly was a necesity to keep in touch mentally with the rest of the
> > band, although it would seem from outside that there was no connection at
> > all.
> >
> > A connection with NO jazz?  Dunno about that, although I was able to do
> it,
> > with all my experience in earlier jazz.
> >
>
> Amen;
>
> The most together band I ever saw/heard in my life was Ornette Coleman,
> Charlie Hayden et al in a quartet at the Five Spot in NYC circa 1959-60. It
> was at the beginning of the Free Jazz genre. I didn't  understand it then,
> but I could hear that they were all tuned in to each other.
>
> Perhaps the connection to NO Jazz is that in order to play it correctly and
> get into a groove, you have to listen intently to your band mates, what they
> are playing, what chords/substitutions they are using, etc., etc. And then
> you have to fit your part into the mix until it is your turn to lead via
> solo. They they must follow you. Quite a few Dixielanders went on to Free
> Jazz / Avant Garde.
>
> You can hear it on the Henry Threadgill mp3 that started this thread. After
> them melody statement, Threadgill and the bass go off on their own, while
> the drummer attempts to play a rough edged drum back-up that is almost a
> sort of parody of NO drumming. What I think he misses is the impeccable time
> necessary to carry it off.
> Just my opinion.
>
> I suspect that only a few of us know about, or have listened to Henry
> Threadgill. He is very far out on the avant garde scene. But he was
> commissioned to explore the work of Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton.
> Tracks on the recording are Ragtime Dance, Buddy Bolden's Blues, King Porter
> Stomp, Paille Street and Weeping Willow Rag. Funny how most of the numbers
> were composed by pianists, but there is no piano in Threadgill's trio.
>
> You can hear snips from each song at: (The original record "AIr Lore", sells
> for $100 or so to collectors)
>
> https://soundsbox.com/album.php?al=4427#samplePlayer
>
> Note the chord changes on Ragtime Dance . . . Bill Bailey?????
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
> www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband
>
>
>
>
>
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