[Dixielandjazz] Bean and Body & Soul

[Stephen G Barbone]

> <richard.flecknell at ntlworld.com> wrote:
>
> Due to backlog of email report on Hawks solo is delayed.
> I wanted to be able say it was not the masterpiece claimed, but now  
> having fallen off the fence (I'm clinging by my fingertips to it and  
> about to fall off), and listening on a repeat loop for 2 days I'm  
> 'bout to give my humble verdict. Not worth the salt but fun. I still  
> prefer sax player in ODJB to Hawk, talk about advanced.
> I'll explain later.

Opinions are what makes horse racing. I am firmly in the camp of those  
who say Bean's Body & Soul was a masterpiece.  And In its exploration  
of harmonic structure it is considered by many to be the next  
evolutionary step in jazz recording from where Louis Armstrong's West  
End Blues in 1928, left off. You can see a transcription of the solo  
at: :

http://www.lucaspickford.com/transcolemansoul.html

Here are two other opinions:

Historian Ted Goia calls this "the most celebrated saxophone solo in  
the history of jazz" and "a landmark, breakthrough performance" that's  
been "studied by generations of musicians and is loved by countless  
jazz fans." Of course, not every listener will care to analyze  
pedagogically a musician's chordal navigation. Moreover, what Gioia  
describes as Hawkins's "ponderous tone" and "baroque arpeggios"  
assembled in "rigidly logical" construction may strike today's ears as  
mechanistic and old-fashioned. Even so, "Body and Soul" deserves its  
due. No trailblazer in tenor sax balladry cut a wider swath than  
Coleman Hawkins.  (Source: Jazz.com)

This one from is from Tom Moon, All things Considered PR: "That year  
marked a moment of transition for jazz . . . Hawkins' "Body and Soul"  
replaced blues-based riffing with brisk arpeggios, sharp-cornered  
phrases and endless lines that were the jazz equivalent of run-on  
sentences. He danced at the upper extremes of chords, foreshadowing  
the altered harmonies that later were so important to bebop. But he  
was hardly academic. His spry, seductive tone gave every phrase an  
unmistakable passion."



"Right away, the Hawkins version of "Body and Soul" became one of the  
essential documents of jazz. It was not only a hit on jukeboxes until  
the 1950s, but also a textbook lesson in ballad playing. Its blend of  
technical mastery and tender lyricism proved that it was possible to  
modernize well-worn Tin Pan Alley standards."

"Despite the enormous popularity of the original recording, Hawkins,  
who died in 1969, never played it exactly the same way again. He knew  
that the ideas in that solo had become part of the jazz vernacular.  
But he was more interested in creating something new than simply  
repeating himself. He eventually developed a solo piece titled  
"Picasso," which incorporated some of the melodic ideas from "Body and  
Soul.""

"Saxophonist Joe Lovano says that Hawkins' dedication to improvisation  
is a legacy perhaps even more important than the endlessly studied  
notes and inflections of the original recording."

"That really taught me a lot about trying to learn how to improvise  
and to be creative with the material and not be a repeater," Lovano  
says, "because throughout his whole career, he didn't repeat that  
solo. That was it. He recorded it once, and then, every time he played  
that tune, it was a new expression on it, you know? And that's what  
really separated him from everybody else, because he was so free on  
his horn and so creative."

Cheers

Steve Barbone

www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband