This one struck me hardest yesterday. Long ago, when I discovered Ornette Coleman, I listened to nothing but "The Shape of Jazz to Come" nonstop for three weeks straight, just trying to wrap my head around what he was doing with the rough unisons and blurry pitch. It deeply affected me as a musician - my guitar playing today is still full of microtonal pitch bends and hard-swinging rhythmic variation in melody lines.
Listening to that reminds me of a joke you will likely hear multiple times if you play bigband gigs: How do you get 2 _your_own_instrument players to play unison? You shoot one of them. How do you get 2 _other_guy's_instrument players to play unison? You shoot both of them.
Strictly speaking, only the announcements where all on the same day: Zapf died on the 4th, aged 92, Lee on the 7th, aged 93, Coleman on the 11th, aged 85.
I wouldn't call it a dark day. All lived a long and varied life and their passing doesn't come unexpected.
I saw Coleman live a few years ago an Enjoy Jazz in Mannheim and I was impressed of the force he still had on stage at his advanced age. It really felt like this was the place he belonged to.
I wouldn't call it a dark day. All lived a long and varied life and their passing doesn't come unexpected.
I saw Coleman live a few years ago an Enjoy Jazz in Mannheim and I was impressed of the force he still had on stage at his advanced age. It really felt like this was the please he belonged to.
Indeed. At that age, it's expected that it will happen sometime. Since I was born far after the sixties, but love that period in jazz, I try to see as many musicians of that period/generation as possible.
I am very happy/fortunate to have seen him at North Sea Jazz 2010. It was great and powerful. He was also scheduled for Jazz Middelheim 2012, but unfortunately had to cancel at the last moment. One of my other favorites, John Zorn, aptly filled the spot (since there definitely is a Coleman heritage in Spy vs. Spy, Naked City, Masada, etc.).
Naked City covered "Lonely Woman". That was a really interesting take. Fred Frith on bass played the "Pretty Woman" bassline that is earwormed into all our brains.
I am trying to think of who is left of Jazz's "Golden Age" of the late 50s and early 60s that is still with us?
I grew up knowing my Grandfather was a Jazz Band Leader in NYC (He only had one recording and the last copy got destroyed decades before) and sadly he died when I was 7 so I didn't get to grow up to listen to his stories except through my mom and grandmother. He hated Charlie Parker and Billy Holiday, I think it was their drug use and being rude I was told. He did love Colman Hawkins and Dizzy.
Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Benny Golson, Herbie Hancock (a little younger), Chick Corea (noted Scientologist), just to name a few off the top of my head. All of them are still playing fairly regularly, too.
A few months ago in Minneapolis I saw Jack DeJohnette ‘Made in Chicago’ featuring Muhal Richard Abrams, Larry Gray, Henry Threadgill & Roscoe Mitchell. Those guys are in their 70s and 80s now. Show was incredible.
