Always love your writing, this had so much palpable passion and your typical intelligence, insight.
I go back a long way to recall my soul satisfying immersion into jazz at about age 19 - although my mother turned me on to some of her great 78(RPM)records before that.
I delved into all styles of jazz and it stretched my curiosity and wonder, my imagination, my awe of where music could take me. A journey of surprise and vast delight.
I don't listen as much these days. Not sure why… don't put on as much music of any kind, although I'm constantly singing.
But, I hit the link to Love Supreme, not heard for decades, and the myriad layers of creative genius shot into me like the best drug imaginable. All enhanced by your vivid, reverent, descriptive, observation of the piece. You guided me.
Thank you!
Elvin Jones. My god… incomparable.
As a young man living near NYC, in New Rochelle, I got to see many greats in the jazz clubs of the 70s. Roland Kirk, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach. Modern Jazz Quartet to name a few. (Milt Jackson once autographed my Converses - I didn't have any paper)
At "Glen Island" in New Rochelle, I saw a quintet including Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Roland Kirk at a daytime show in a large venue that only drew about 30 people. My friends and felt like we at a private party with these legends.
Elvin was a force that day.
Paul, you always come with the best of the cool stuff and this post is a highlight. What a gift.
Thank you very, very much, Paul. Your response is the very kind of thing I hope to generate with these pieces. I want to find people who would love the music and movies I write about if they were to revisit them or pursue them further. As for that series of jazz legends you saw- that's tremendous! I understand who those people are. Very good for you. My God- Roland Kirk with Elvin and McCoy!! That must have been stunning.
I was just reading a letter my Uncle Vernon wrote to his little brother (my dad) in the 90s. He went on and on about how much he liked a recent re-release of a Woody Herman record. "It's so great - really more about the arranging than the playing", he said. I imagine that Vern turned Duane on to the big bands after the war. There was a lot of Benny Goodman, Basie, Ellington, Glenn Miller and Stan Kenton in their collections and conversations. Vernon and Aunt Toddy took us to Disneyland in the summer of 1971, and we watched a Dixieland band in New Orleans Square. During a break, Vernon went and introduced himself to the leader with, "I just saw you guys at Louis Armstrong's funeral!" Perhaps the service was televised. Anyway, all these swing and Dixieland bands were gateways to bebop and cool jazz and he left us plenty of records to discover, including those of the Jazz Messengers, Gerry Mulligan, McCoy Tyner, Ahmad Jamal, The Modern Jazz Quartet, and titles like Kind Of Blue and A Love Supreme. I'm still discovering great records, and I'm glad that we've had ambassadors to show us the way. Thanks for sharing, Paul.
Brilliant Paul.
Always love your writing, this had so much palpable passion and your typical intelligence, insight.
I go back a long way to recall my soul satisfying immersion into jazz at about age 19 - although my mother turned me on to some of her great 78(RPM)records before that.
I delved into all styles of jazz and it stretched my curiosity and wonder, my imagination, my awe of where music could take me. A journey of surprise and vast delight.
I don't listen as much these days. Not sure why… don't put on as much music of any kind, although I'm constantly singing.
But, I hit the link to Love Supreme, not heard for decades, and the myriad layers of creative genius shot into me like the best drug imaginable. All enhanced by your vivid, reverent, descriptive, observation of the piece. You guided me.
Thank you!
Elvin Jones. My god… incomparable.
As a young man living near NYC, in New Rochelle, I got to see many greats in the jazz clubs of the 70s. Roland Kirk, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach. Modern Jazz Quartet to name a few. (Milt Jackson once autographed my Converses - I didn't have any paper)
At "Glen Island" in New Rochelle, I saw a quintet including Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Roland Kirk at a daytime show in a large venue that only drew about 30 people. My friends and felt like we at a private party with these legends.
Elvin was a force that day.
Paul, you always come with the best of the cool stuff and this post is a highlight. What a gift.
I'll be listening to more jazz straight ahead.
Thank you very, very much, Paul. Your response is the very kind of thing I hope to generate with these pieces. I want to find people who would love the music and movies I write about if they were to revisit them or pursue them further. As for that series of jazz legends you saw- that's tremendous! I understand who those people are. Very good for you. My God- Roland Kirk with Elvin and McCoy!! That must have been stunning.
I love this. You write some beautiful music.
I was just reading a letter my Uncle Vernon wrote to his little brother (my dad) in the 90s. He went on and on about how much he liked a recent re-release of a Woody Herman record. "It's so great - really more about the arranging than the playing", he said. I imagine that Vern turned Duane on to the big bands after the war. There was a lot of Benny Goodman, Basie, Ellington, Glenn Miller and Stan Kenton in their collections and conversations. Vernon and Aunt Toddy took us to Disneyland in the summer of 1971, and we watched a Dixieland band in New Orleans Square. During a break, Vernon went and introduced himself to the leader with, "I just saw you guys at Louis Armstrong's funeral!" Perhaps the service was televised. Anyway, all these swing and Dixieland bands were gateways to bebop and cool jazz and he left us plenty of records to discover, including those of the Jazz Messengers, Gerry Mulligan, McCoy Tyner, Ahmad Jamal, The Modern Jazz Quartet, and titles like Kind Of Blue and A Love Supreme. I'm still discovering great records, and I'm glad that we've had ambassadors to show us the way. Thanks for sharing, Paul.