Idle Thoughts of an Idle Mind

by Anthony Medici in Album Reviews, Opinion Posts, Uncategorized

Sometimes the mind just gets to wandering and wondering:

*** I was channel surfing the other night and came across several shows featuring music (I think it must have been a PBS fund-raiser night, when they play all the stuff you love but which they don’t play any other time of the year). There was a show on Jimi Hendrix; another on Luciano Pavarotti; and yet another on Pete Seeger. I watched each with deep pleasure. As different as they each were from one other, I began to mull why I found them all so compelling and enjoyable.

One answer of course is that I am really easy to please (probably not). Or that I have promiscuous musical tastes (there’s something to that). But upon further reflection I think the reason each was so compelling is that these artists approached their music with the utmost belief in themselves and what they were doing. They had a commitment to the music. And it is this profound sense of belief that transmits itself to the listener (and viewer). Whether it is Pete singing “Guantanamera,” or Jimi performing “All Along the Watchtower,” or Luciano singing the aria from “Turandot,” each achieves greatness from the power of their musical conviction.

*** I was reading the “Before and After” column in a recent issue of “Jazz Times.” In this one, Larry Coryell was commenting on musical selections featuring guitarists. The moderator, Larry Appelbaum, is the host of an excellent DC area public radio jazz show, works at the Library of Congress as a music curator, and happens to be the one who discovered the Monk-Coltrane Carnegie hall tapes. His jazz credentials are impeccable. But I was more than a little surprised to find all but one of the guitarists featured in the article were white. Missing was my favorite guitarist, Grant Green. Ditto Charlie Christian. Heck, even George Benson, who once played serious jazz. But looking at the history of jazz guitar, it does seem true that most (certainly not all) jazz guitarists are non-African Americans, especially in contrast to the great sax, trumpet and drum players for example. Not sure why this is. My own speculation is that the guitar has not been central to the jazz tradition, and was not typically a solo instrument, and so was not a compelling choice for young African Americans seeking to distinguish themselves in jazz performance. Which doesn’t quite explain why so many white musicians have gravitated to the jazz guitar. A very curious aspect when you think about it.

*** Saw an interview recently of Wynton Marsalis on late night Bloomberg channel. Typical of Wynton to appear on a channel devoted to business news. After all, Wynton is a business in himself. But, to give credit to Wynton, it probably is a good idea to take the discussion of jazz to new venues. Where else are you going to attract new listeners? Anyway, Wynton was promoting his new book, “Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life.” From the blurbs, it seems the book is about how the example of the jazz combo can be used to improve your life. Well….perhaps. It certainly has improved Wynton’s life. The Marsalis “brand” is a lucrative one. I do have a question though: If jazz can improve one’s life, how come for the majority of jazz musicians, it has proved a very tough life indeed?

*** Recent listening: Andrew Hill’s “Black Fire.” Perhaps Andrew’s greatest album, among many great ones, and certainly a masterwork. John Carter and the Bobby Bradford Quartet, “Flight for Four.” When is this going to see CD reissue? A great album.

*** Richie Beirach: As great a musician and pianist as Bill Evans. Don’t believe me? Give him a listen. Vastly underappreciated.

The wandering mind must rest.