FEATURE ARTICLE: MILES AND ME
On occasion for this newsletter I put in articles/interviews that I think would be of interest. I wrote the following article about my relationship with Miles Davis as part of a major festival and book dedicated to him taking place in Paris, where I will be performing the music from “On the Corner” in December at Le Cite de Musique with John Abercrombie, Badal Roy and several French musicians.
With Miles in Belgrade 1973
MILES AND ME
by David Liebman
When a discussion about Miles Davis comes up, my thoughts vacillate between subjective and objective points of view. Being a jazz musician who has studied the legacy deeply, my knowledge of Miles’ music is vast as a result of his having been such a towering figure for forty years of jazz history in so many ways. On the other side, my feelings concerning the man are based on being part of his group and our interaction for a period in the 1970’s as well as sporadic contact until he died. It goes without saying that his effect upon me has been enormous. Therefore this overview of Miles Davis is both personal and analytical. I begin by recounting my first gig with the Prince of Darkness.
IN THE BAND
When I found myself on the bandstand with Miles in January, 1973 for the first time I was figuratively speaking being split in half. At the time, I was a member of drummer Elvin Jones’ group for a year and a half. Elvin was very significant in my life years before I played with him in his position as a member of John Coltrane’s “Classic Quartet.” I saw the group live many times during the 1960’s in the clubs of New York as a teenager. It was Trane who directly inspired me to become serious about jazz and to recognize that this music (and art in general) went beyond entertainment and ordinary surface values. When I got the gig with Elvin in 1971 assuming saxophonist Joe Farrell’s chair it was beyond a dream come true. I was playing with one of the master drummers of all time in my idol’s position. Obviously this was a major event for me changing the course of my life.
I had informal contact with Miles through musicians like Chick Corea and Dave Holland, the three of us residing in the same Manhattan loft building during the early 70s (he actually came over for dinner one night); also through musical peers drummer Lenny White, conga player Don Alias and of course my saxophone bud from Elvin’s group, Steve Grossman who had already been with Miles for a brief period. In the summer of 1972 I participated in one of the “On The Corner” recording dates. At the end of the session Miles passed by me in the control room and in that infamous raspy voice said: “Join my band!” I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not, but in any case I replied to the effect that I was with Elvin and wouldn’t leave him, bringing to an end our brief exchange.
A few months later I was playing with Elvin at the Village Vanguard, our regular gig in New York. Miles came down and hung out a talking to me about his music with great enthusiasm (he had just released “In Concert”) and urging me to join his group. Elvin was muttering something like: “What’s he doing here?” By the end of the second night when he returned again I told him it was up to “Emperor” Jones (as Elvin was known). Around four in the morning Miles called to say that Elvin agreed meaning I was to play with Miles that coming Friday night at the famous Fillmore East Theater early in the evening (which re-opened for that one night and then closed forever), return to the Vanguard to finish the engagement with Elvin and the next week in Boston at the Jazz Workshop. After that I would become the saxophonist in the Miles Davis Group. To finish this incredible tale, the next night when I showed up at the Vanguard, Elvin hugged me and said: “If Miles Davis wants you, you have to go.” End of story!
So on Friday night, Jan 12, 1973 I got on the bandstand with Miles Davis at the Fillmore East, all plugged in (my horns-tenor, soprano and flute were all drilled to accommodate microphone pickups that day for amplification), not knowing anyone in the band except tablaist Badal Roy who was with me was on the “My Goals Beyond” recording with John McLaughlin in 1972 and drummer Al Foster from jam sessions in my loft. That I had no idea what I played or what was happening on the bandstand that night would be an understatement. The energy, volume and sheer textural density was overwhelming. After the gig I returned to the Vanguard in time for the remainder of the first set. It felt like I had gone from the future back in time; from the 21st to the 20th century on the most significant night of my professional life. I was to become part of history playing in the same position as Coltrane, Bird, Wayne Shorter and others alongside the most important musician of the past decades whose sidemen by and large became significant forces on their own. That was the “baggage” which was undeniably part and parcel of being in the saxophone chair with Miles Davis.
For the first few months before he cut the band down, the instrumentation was tablas, electric sitar, guitar, organ, drums, congas, bass, myself and Miles. Playing mostly concerts and relatively short sets it took me months to truly “hear” what was happening and what my place was in the music. You had to figure out what to do on your own. There were no written charts and Miles said almost nothing to me or anyone else from what I could observe about the music. What we played has been well documented on tape and many live bootleg recordings that are available including on U Tube. It should be noted that with this group live performance was the main event. In fact, in some ways one could say that hearing any of Miles’ groups live was the best way to understand the essence of what was going on musically throughout his entire career, not withstanding some landmark studio recordings. With the level of musicians Miles had in his groups throughout history the live experience was always amazing.
As I point out several times in this article Miles was the quintessence of a true jazz musician in that he trusted, invested in and savored the moment meaning spontaneity was everything. From my standpoint this was the saving grace during this period since the actual content of the music was not something I was impressed with, sounding to me disorganized, chaotic and VERY loud. To be honest and risking sounding a bit pompous, though I was grateful and honored to be standing next to a legend and all that implied, I couldn’t help but think about how wonderful it would’ve been to play some of the challenging and sophisticated music from Miles’ past, particularly the “Miles Smiles” quintet-anything but this cacophony!! However, I must admit that hearing the music over the decades, what we played sounds better than it did at the time. Maybe this kind of retro-appreciation is a natural by-product of the passage of time or just me, but slowly I could hear what Miles was trying to accomplish. Though the artistic and aesthetic merits can be analyzed ad infinitum there was no doubt that he had a concept in his head.
THE MUSIC
There are some artists in any field who because of their prolific nature over an extended period of time, any analysis of their work necessitates it be described in terms of various periods. Painters like Monet, Van Gogh and Picasso are examples of this while in jazz there are Coltrane, Wayne Shorter and Miles to name a few who clearly demonstrate this point.
With Miles it begins with the Charlie Parker/Birth of the Cool bebop era in the 1940’s followed by the various quintets during the 50’s and 60’s which includes the Gil Evans collaborations. All of these stages are replete with their own specific musical attributes and stylistic characteristics. Most important for the purposes of this writing there is the seminal dividing line in the Miles Davis legacy occurring in the late 1960’s simultaneously on several musical fronts leading to the “electric” period:
-shift from acoustic to electric setting especially the use of electric bass rather than upright
-concept of jazz-rock based on ostinato bass lines which meant at the time jazz-like soloing played over a rock type rhythmic feel
-choices of sidemen who were not jazz musicians as such coming from other styles such as bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Ndugu Chancellor, etc.
-use of percussion and “world music” instruments (Airto, Badal Roy, Mtume)
-less or no “tune oriented” compositions replaced by ongoing vamps with the consequent effect of more limited harmonic movement
Even in this so-called electric period which remained Miles’ modus operandi for the remainder of his life there are dividing lines. For example between the early recordings “Filles De Kilimanjaro/Miles In The Sky/Silent Way” which retain a jazz sensibility to the cacophonous “Bitches Brew” and rock-jazz “Live at the Fillmore” with Jack DeJonette, Chick Corea, etc., (incredibly a band that was not too well documented in the studio); as well there are stylistic differences between the “Live-Evil” band with Keith Jarrett, John McLaughlin and the “Dark Magus/ On The Corner/Get Up With It” groups that I was part of; then there are the “Agartha/Pangea” live recordings which delve even further into sound and color; finally the 1980’s decade where the direction was towards a more pop oriented sound.
The period when I was with Miles (1973-74) continuing through 1975 when he took a “sabbatical” can be seen as an expansion of the musical elements described above evolving towards more and more abstraction as time went on. ( In my opinion when Miles returned to performing in the 1980’s many of these innovative musical aspects were watered down resulting in a less distinctive and more generic style, albeit more palatable to a new generation of listeners. Interestingly though, Miles’ playing itself still remained brilliant at times. In any case this is in itself a separate and controversial topic on its own.) Some of the musical developments during my period with Miles were further developments of the earlier innovations, emphasizing the incredible speed of change that was occurring during this period.
- increased use of electronics resulting in a thicker and varied textural density; wa-wa pedal on the trumpet; use of the Yamaha organ; chorus and delay on my saxophone; Mtume’s drum machine, Pete Cosey’s percussion instruments
- more “accidental” harmonic dissonance; two and for a period three guitarists playing together (Reggie Lucas, Pete Cosey, Dominique Gaumont); non- tonal organ chords played by Miles
- even less use of formal compositional devices, forms and melodic statements with instead an almost total reliance on simple and extended vamps (in terms of duration during a typical set) as well as a continuation of Miles’ penchant for ongoing segues between tunes
- increased rock/ funk underpinning in which rhythms overlapped and were spread out between various rhythm section instruments (Sly Stone concept)
- solos that were not so much developed as they were episodic or short vignettes
Miles’ playing, though fundamentally retaining the main ingredients of his basic style changed in some dramatic ways. The use of the wa-wa pedal and pickup on the trumpet meant that the very unique and incredibly individual trademark sound that Miles Davis had on his horn since time immemorial was transformed, arguably gaining something unique in the process. Whether it was the effect of how he heard himself through the pedal or other contributing factors his playing became even more rhythmically pronounced as well as very focused in the middle of the beat. (The best jazz musicians treat the pulse with a loose and flexible attitude pushing and pulling the beat at will. I have always thought that Miles’ sense of pulse was among the most accurate of any jazz musician in history.) His “jabbing” rhythmic style (not unlike boxing, something Miles was very into both as a participant and observer) was interspersed with flurries of notes consisting of indistinguishable pitch runs and occasional long tones thrown in. All of these stylistic mannerisms were played in a dry sonic context without reverb or delay heightening the stark nature of Miles’ rhythmical approach even more. His note choices ranged from very diatonic/in the key lyrical phrases combined with blues scale motifs to completely out of tonality asides. Of course whatever came out of his horn still retained a melodic contour with on occasion nursery-rhyme type melodies thrown into the mix. All of this as always in Miles Davis’ case was executed with élan, bravura and a unique sense of space and timing which remain historically the most distinct aspects of his overall style. There is no doubt in my mind that Miles was thinking within a certain set of parameters concerning his trumpet playing during this period.
Finally there is the way he framed all of this as a bandleader of the various groups during this electric period. Prior years had seen Miles play a solo, leave the stage, returning often in the middle of someone else’s statement to start up again (usually the piano solo). During my time he was an ever present force on stage, something which had its effect on the sidemen. Not only did he not leave the stage but he would stand with his back to the audience, staring at all of us through gigantic dark sunglasses nonetheless!! Marking the beat physically with his body, nodding in the direction of someone to solo, he might unexpectedly cue the band to execute uneven “stop” time episodes in the midst of a phrase, a traditional device from older jazz styles. And there was the Yamaha organ which was a kind of precursor to the whole keyboard technology about to be unleashed in the next few years. Miles would splash down clusters and triads at will thereby orchestrating the live performance even further. As mentioned above, vamps and ostinato bass figures melded together and overlapped. Though there was a loose format to our live performances there was little predictability meaning the music could change drastically from night to night. To sum it up, Miles was a real and looming force on the bandstand whether he was actually playing or not.
THE UNSPOKEN-BEYOND THE MUSIC
It is commonly accepted that among the arts music is the hardest to describe in real and measurable terms. We cannot hold music in our hands, not withstanding a manuscript which is meaningless until it is heard. The effect of music can barely be quantified in universal terms because of its subjective nature. Among musicians themselves generalizations about music are usually suspect and as the saying goes one cannot account for taste. We try to assess and describe music verbally in our various roles as interested listeners, musicians, teachers and journalists, but in the final analysis what sounds like something to one person may or may not have any bearing on another listener’s opinions. (Just go to any web site where people comment on a U Tube performance for example.)Yet we know and feel in our hearts and souls that there is something spiritual, universal and meaningful in great music which is valuable to recognize. The same can be said when you stand next to greatness, especially in a live performing situation where everything is focused on vibration, nuance and present time. These fleeting moments and the subtle lessons incurred constitute the unspoken and implied elements of any art, but even more so for those mediums in which performance IS the form itself (theater and dance as well as music). I had a golden opportunity to observe greatness in action and learn from it, only a few feet away from me on a nightly basis.
When Miles went on stage there was no past or future. As mentioned, it was all about present time, the essence of true improvisation and what most of us as jazz musicians strive for daily when playing. I have recounted to students and interviewers how concentrated Miles became in the moments before we hit the bandstand. Quiet, subdued and seemingly deep in thought, the whole band could sense his vibe before we walked out. It wasn’t so much dramatic as it was penetrating and you could feel that serious business was about to commence. (I felt the same with Elvin Jones, but in his case it would begin when the stick hit the cymbal.) For me, it was a lesson in owning and trusting the moment, two intangible aspects of playing that I have tried to absorb into my own musical personality.
Another point concerning Miles’ playing and bandstand persona was his complete confidence in whatever gesture he made whether in his own playing or something having to do with directing the band. One never felt a second of doubt. This meant that anyone within playing range could by osmosis, transfer Miles’ strong sense of conviction and self in their own playing. I certainly doubted myself to some degree at this stage of my life, but with his energy going on in such close proximity there was no chance to think about it, something that is particularly true in the recording situation which has its own and unique set of variables differing from the live arena. You realize that when the light is green anything you play may be heard anywhere, anytime and forever-the ultimate judgment day! This posterity aspect of recording can easily develop into a nerve racking experience depending upon one’s personality. But once again with Miles Davis you just had to concentrate and be on his case-watching, listening and ready to jump into the fray when called upon.
Learning is a long term process. One doesn’t just cognize an idea or concept and expect the light to go on the next day. This is especially true for music where it takes a certain amount of time for the instincts and mind, body and ear to get it all together in some consistent, well balanced package. We learn something new using all of these techniques at hand from the technical to the emotional to the intellectual, employing different and appropriate aspects of these learning tools in varying proportions and sequences depending upon one’s learning methodology combined with the scope of the material in question. The goal remains the same: to unify the mind, body and spirit in order to make a meaningful artistic statement. The lessons I learned from being around Miles Davis took a decade or more to firmly take root. This pertains to everything from instrumental grafts that I have incorporated on the soprano saxophone gathered from observing Miles’ trumpet style, especially in the rhythmic realm; the being in the moment aspects I have alluded to; focusing the other musician’s energy as a function of leading a band; and gaining the confidence necessary to enable musical events to occur with spontaneity and regularity. In the 1980’s I would find myself thinking of Miles in the middle of a solo which might alter or inspire a fresh direction as needed. It still happens on occasion, but obviously less so as that period of my life recedes with the passage of time.
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
Without going into too much detail, suffice to say that Miles’ public and personal demeanor were in some ways similar but in other aspects vastly different. To my mind, it appeared that Miles’ basic shyness led to a desire to be left alone. Miles was more than a jazz trumpet player; he was a symbol of many things to different people and unless he limited access he would’ve never been left alone to think about music. This apparently contributed to the popular image of Miles as aloof or at times mean spirited. Though he had various addictions, illnesses, distractions, etc., there was no doubt in my mind that music always came first.
Miles was a macho type of person and respected that kind of persona. Speaking for myself there is naturally, as a product of upbringing and environment, a “New York aspect” to my personality which he seemed to empathize with. As well, because of childhood polio and its subsequent effects on my leg, I think Miles respected my energy and persistence in spite of any handicap. This was highlighted during my time with him because of increasing problems he was having with his own legs as a result of a car accident. I am not implying that we were buddies in the typical sense but there was some good and positive rapport for sure. (Apparently, he trusted me to recommend saxophonist Bill Evans when he began to play again in the early 80’s.) Personally, we got along quite well and spent time hanging out on the road since for the most part he didn’t like to be alone. He was well aware that I (and drummer Al Foster) were “jazzers” who knew in detail about his musical past which seemed to contribute towards a particular bond. In any case, there were numerous examples of his generosity and personable behavior, for example when he called me offering financial help during some hard times I was going through nearly ten years after I left his employ. Of course there were rough episodes to be sure, especially when his natural penchant for drama (an aspect of his playing which was undeniable), combined with the need to relieve a feeling of “ennui” or general boredom with life during this period, could at times lead to some “problems” to say the least. Also his health was fragile and he was at times heavily medicated during this time.
In the final analysis, having performed and traveled with Miles Davis was a major contributing factor not only for my career, but towards molding who I am both musically and as a human being. Though I didn’t know Coltrane personally it appears that the two of them had in common their love and respect for the serious work of creating highly sophisticated and eternal music.
As Miles once reminded me in dramatic fashion, being with him made me in some ways part of the jazz blood line back to Louis Armstrong. Consequently, I have tried to maintain the integrity and honesty which I observed and felt through my experiences with Miles and Elvin Jones. I had the best possible training a person could ask for-a real time apprenticeship with masters of the art-the Prince and the Emperor-a privilege and honor that I have gladly accepted with a concomitant sense of responsibility during my allotted time on this planet. For that opportunity I am eternally grateful.
Stroudsburg, PA USA
Fall/Winter 2008-09
RECENT EVENTS
DUO TOUR WITH MATUESZ KOLAKOWSKI: Some years ago while on tour in Poland with trumpeter Piotr Wojastik I met Matuesz who was then a sixteen year old pianist. We began to correspond with him sending me clips of his playing for comments. Last year, we did a gig at the Jazz Standard in New York, the first time we met, playing standards. I was totally impressed by his breath of knowledge (especially harmonically), his technique(classical chops of course) and as well a very cool demeanor for such a young guy. A recording of that night was released in Poland and I went over to do several concerts with Mateusz. He is the real deal, having recently won some sort of classical contest playing the extremely difficult Prokofiev Second Piano Concerto. Quite an impressive talent who will be known in the near future I’m sure.
KOREA:My first time in Korea was for just two days with pianist Hey Rim Jeon, bassist John Lockwood (Boston stalwart) and Terri Lynne Carrington. Happily I can report that despite my article in the last newsletter about the graying of the jazz audience, this festival outside of Seoul was attended mostly by young people. So the following may also true-that in countries where jazz is relative new, young people are naturally attracted to it, most likely for its newness and hopefully for its energy and message. I must say the programming was excellent the day we played: Dee Dee Bridgewater with a big band, guitarist Scott Henderson with Jeff Berlin on bass and Dennis Chambers on drums, our band and one other completely different group. Thoughtful programming, something I don’t see that often.
DIFFERENT BUT THE SAME: I really enjoy this group with Jim Black on drums, Tony Marino on bass and Ellery Eskelin on tenor. I stick exclusively to the tenor in this group and am in awe of how Jim plays. He combines elements of rock and jazz, odd meter stuff, great technique and imaginative use of coloristic effects. We have a great time and the music changes nightly. Ellery has truly developed a style of his own incorporating avant garde techniques with a solid background in the traditional jazz language. European audiences and especially the German public really love this way of playing-edgy, but grounded with hints of lyricism sprinkled throughout the intense energy.
BOX SET AVAILABLE OF MILES-GIL EVANS COLLABORATIONS
I am very proud of this three CD set put out by Jazzheads Records (jazzheads.com) of the three great works that Miles and Gil did in the late 1950s. When I recorded Sketches of Spain eight years ago there was no talk of releasing anything, but conductor (and head of the jazz program at Manhattan School of Music) Justin DiCioccio who conducts the music with students from the Manhattan School of Music persuaded me to put the live performance out on the school’s label. A few years later, we followed with “Miles Ahead” and just last year recorded “Porgy and Bess.” I have often spoken about how certain aspects of Miles’ trumpet playing influenced me directly on soprano sax, especially matters of phrasing and nuance. With these three projects, though I certainly was attentive to what Miles played, the challenge was to balance being true to the music as it was recorded and yet at the same time to transcend it and feel the music on my own. Justin is a great conductor who brings the best out of the students and truly understands matters of orchestral balance and rhythmic accuracy. The word “student” hardly describes these young professionals, the cream of the crop of Manhattan’s student body, who so enthusiastically took part in three different configurations of performers over the course of this decade. Of course having a classical conservatory right there in house means that we were able to take care of the more exotic instruments that Gil used so well: French horn, tuba, oboe, bassoon, a variety of flutes (no saxophones), clarinets, harp and percussion. With occasional interludes and the like, I feel we achieved the balance between respecting the original, yet setting the music in present time.
JUNG-ROBERT FRANK-SHAKESPEARE
Recently availed myself and the family to one of the great things about New York, its cultural sights. I'm a big fan of Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist. His book "Memories, Dreams and Reflections" remains one of my favorites and inspired an entire solo recording in the '80s. Recently his family allowed the publishing and translation of his Red Book which is on view at the Rubin Musuem (coincidentally next to the actual auditorium where Phil Markowitz and myself are doing a duo concert on Nov 20 which will feature my composition "Jung"). It is in essence his diary with drawings and detailed dream description/analysis. He was a first class painter as seen from the art work in the book. Fascinating to read some of the pages.
Robert Frank-The Americans:By chance, another Swiss man, this time the still living photographer Robert Frank who in the 1950s recieved a Guggenheim grant to travel around America and photograph. This 50th anniversary showing of the book "The Ammericans" at the incredible Metropolitan Musuem of Art features the photos up to peruse, all in black and white depicting another side of the U.S. that was not ready for prime time during the supposedly copasetic Eisenhower years. True reality pics which were very influential in the field of realistic photography.
Hamlet-For her 18th birthday, my daugher wanted to see the movie star Jude Law in this Broadway rendition of the Shakespeare classic. I can't pretend to understand much of the dialogue over the three plus hour course of the play. (I think Shalespeare makes free jazz seem easy to decipher!!) Nonethe less, the power of the drama and the fine acting reminds one of why Shakespeare is still with us so many hunreds of years later.
RECOMMNDED U TUBE CLIPS
Herbie Hancock with Jack DeJonette and Dave Holland absolutely burning in a time, no changes style. True masters playing at the top of their form in a style that they were so important in creating.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwT5bRUeGAU&feature=related
Keith Jarrett burning, both comping and soloing on “East of the Sun’ with Charles Lloyd.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01CQgotKp4g&feature=related
Spinal Tap on jazz-the ultimate parody with some truth in it-hilarious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wscZhvj_lH4
Trane: From France during the Antibes Festival-a burning “Impressions.”
http://www.cymbalholic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35624
Trying a G soprano in Copenhagen
ITINERARY
NOVEMBER: “Sketches of Spain” with the Manhattan School Orchestra at Manhattan School and Dizzy’s Club, NYC; Dave Liebman Group at Roberto’s Woodwind Store, NYC; Dave Liebman Group at Keystone College, Scranton, PA; Duo concert with Phil Markowitz at the Rubin Museum, NYC; Dave Liebman Group at the Falcon, Marlboro, NY (opening of new venue).
DECEMBER: With Lewis Porter Quartet, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ; with Uli Soykal at Porgy and Bess, Vienna, Austria; Duo with Richie Beirach at Casa de Jazz, Rome, Italy; Jazz Werkstatte Cafe, Berlin, Germany; Altes-Pfandhaus, Cologne, Germany; “On The Corner” rendition with John Abercrombie, Badal Roy, Eric Champard, Andy Emler, Lynley Martin at Le Cite De Musique, Paris, France.
From the 70s-Lieb and Richie
Six days driving around the Sahara camping out, living in the sand, witnessing changes of landscape ever few hours; sand always in your body, mouth and mind; blazing sun; hours of a four by four truck bouncing up and down over all kinds of topographies-small and large dunes deserts, miles of rocks only, mountains like Wyoming, an endless deserted beach; the truck undergoing a major breakdown but somehow getting out of the situation in a timely fashion with the guide (Sidi) walking several miles while we sat under a lonely tree for shade; five hours later a “taxi” arrives to take us to the next stop and somehow in this little village, the truck was fixed and driver Lemrabot showed up in the middle of the night ready to go the next day; daily malaria pills, yellow fever shots, avoid all water, etc; Sidi and Lemrabot could somehow drive for hours without any landmarks and find their way finding tracks of another vehicle in the sand; tall, thin men dressed in blue robes with handsome faces; beautiful women all wrapped in colorful draped fabric; the cheche which covers the head and face and is a necessity in the blowing sand (and takes several lessons to learn to wrap on one’s head); vocal music, especially Dimi Mint Abba, the leading female singer that is played incessantly everywhere with a definite blues vibe lying somewhere between African(Senegal is directly south of Mauritania) and Middle Eastern type Arab music; by chance coming upon a political rally in the city of Atar with singing and incredible dancing accompanied by hands on pots or the ground, dishes,etc., and a kind of out of tune ukelele-guitar; men and women seated separately, dancing with amazing grace like birds and gazelles; no alcohol or drugs present, only a joyous vibe between the people and total acceptance of our presence; the hot African “armatam” or continental wind blowing from inner Africa to the west; the full cosmos at night with Orion and the Dippers dancing in front of our eyes; several nights accompanied by a full moon providing our only light (besides flashlights); no hot water, no toilets or showers to speak of; driver and guide doing nightly prayers; the most friendly people to us and each other; even at the ever present police checkpoints a hand is extended and a polite “bonjour” offered; in the midst of a desert landscape, suddenly some green grows (calotropis-don’t touch-poisonous) meaning there is water and people can and do live nearby; nomads wandering with their camels (every family must have a nomad representative to keep the tradition alive); driving in a whiteout meaning a minor dust storm, having no idea how the driver could even see the road; fact:sand is actually white but the sun’s effect on the iron in the sand turns it brown; completely undeveloped and deserted beach where we slept one night after eating the best grilled fish (capitaine) ever; great conversations and hang with Ric and Jean Jacques as well as with Sidi and Lemrabot; early to sleep, early to rise and then drive just for the sake of driving with continuous bumping for hours; constant stopping to build a fire and drink cups of sweet mint tea, even at gas stations; me dancing with the mother of a clan who came out of nowhere one morning where we slept in an “auberge” a sort of “hotel-motel” (not really) and immediately started playing the boxes and furniture while singing; dunes, both high and low that can move by 10 feet from season to season because of the wind. often shaped like crescents (symbol of Islam); a kid with what looked like muscular dystrophy crawling across the sand; ancient caravan routes, cities from seventh century; heat that only is a hint of what it is like in a few months (130 in the shade); standing in front of a large dune in the “white valley”; tents and concrete huts (for storage of food) in the middle of nowhere always with goats and camels around; for some periods of driving no seeming signs of life (glad we didn’t get stuck out there!!); seeing the oldest Koran in western Africa from pre 10th century; original Arabic calligraphy accompanied by the museum guide singing poetry for us in the Chinguetti library (one room as big as one of our bathrooms lined with boxes of texts); seeing the “old” city of Chinguetti which disappeared centuries ago because of the blowing sand; the main city of Nouakchott bordering on organized chaos with no traffic lights or rules, dirty as can be, but somehow working; throngs of men standing around; marketplaces with no one buying anything; goats eating paper and cloth; men taking “baths” in the street with bottled water; every minute someone coming up to you to buy something with nothing much to purchase in any case except more bread; old Mercedes all over the capital with places to fix cars and get tires everywhere (every Mauritanian must know how to fix a car); being entertained by a an extended family with us joining in on some Indian flutes I brought during the evening in the middle of nowhere; every night the three of us playing the wooden Indian flutes I brought during the sunset hours; watching for mosquitoes but seeing none; “salaam malekoum”-a kind of greetings to all in Arabic; truly believing in the expression “Inshallah” meaning “as God wills it,” feeling completely comfortable, pain free and relaxed as if this was a kind of “home” to me in the past; a lot of staring at us but not one bad vibe; the guide and driver know everyone meaning the country is basically an extended family; with Ric and Jean Jacques listing songs we don’t like to play; imagining a Saturday Night Live skit with the premise of jazz musicians on a sightseeing bus tour accompanied by Midwesterners-tour guide is Dan Akroyd, driver is John Belushi, jazz guy is Eddie Murphy with Gilda Radner as his old lady; Will Ferrel and Jane Curtin and are Mr. and Mrs. Midwest (John and Mary); Chris Farley is the bus driver; hilarious situations on the road; etc; finally, promise to return again and play with Dimi next time.
Finally, I gave a three day master class at the Paris Conservatory which centered around a performance of Gunnar Mossblad’s big band arrangement of Coltrane’s “Meditations Suite” which was excellently played by the students. But most interesting was a day spent with the classical saxophonists who study with Claude DeLangle who I highlighted in a newsletter from last year, commenting on his incredible playing on a CD called “the Solitary Saxophone”. My teacher, Joe Allard went to the Paris Conservatory and studied with Marcel Mule, the original teacher who began the classical saxophone department at the Conservatory. It was a great honor to be with Claude and his students, direct descendants of the original sax line.
OM SHALOM:With two performances at the Deer Head Inn and the Bluenote, drummer Mike Stephans, a new transplant to the area where I live in the Pocono Mountains brought his arrangements of Jewish melodies in a new CD release with the great title of "Om-Shalom." Accompanied by bassist Scott Colley and the great Bennie Mauping, we had a lot of fun with tunes ranging from "Dayeinu" to "Bei Mir Bist Du Shon" and and even "Hava Nagilah." It was a real pleasure to look back on my heritage with an up to date point of view. Details on obtaining the disk:The best link to use is:www.michaelstephans.com. Click on WORDS, then on the CD cover for OM/ShalOM. That will take you right to CD Baby. Many track samples are available for listening. The CD costs $19.95, and includes postage and handling.
KEVIN MAHOGANY: I had the distinct pleasure to do a concert with the great singer, Kevin Mahogany at the Berks Festival in Pennsylvania. Billed as a revisit to the Coltrane-Hartman collaboration, we of course did a few of those tunes, but others that Harman or Trane recorded. As Kevin said, the repertoire we chose could be what the two giants might have recorded if they continued working together. Kevin is a true baritone (in the line of Arthur Prysock, Billy Eckstine and Hartman) with a voice as smooth as silk and one of the best scatters I have heard. I look forward to more performances together.
In a small feature a few weeks ago I wrote about the funeral for Mike which took place a few days after his passing in mid January. Since that time I have been asked to write and comment for magazines, radio, etc., and have directed such inquiries to that statement which at the time was all I wanted to say on the matter. I refer interested readers to check it out in the previous newsletter, as well a little composition for violin and piano that I wrote for Mike when he first got ill (available on my web site under Mike Brecker). It has been a very long month between the funeral and memorial service which took place at Town Hall in New York on February 20th. I was depressed in general and quite apprehensive concerning the memorial after Susan Brecker asked me to speak. The article below from Ben Ratliff is a very accurate description of the service which was a wonderful and true representation of Mike’s spirit. I have been thinking about why Mike’s passing personally affected me so much. Everyone will understand the following comments as they are universal emotions representing an attempt to make sense of this tragedy.
Beyond interpersonal relationships and the immediate demands of life, there exists another parallel reality which one feels and in rare moments, can recognize. Yet, this vision stands apart and is seemingly far off in the distance. When that personal scenario, is recognized by another person, there is a mutual understanding beyond words. Though this common understanding may be traceable to a common background, shared events, etc., it is still mysterious and as we know, quite rare. I miss Mike as a brother who saw the same things that I did. With his passing, the world is a bit lonelier than it was before. This is something that age brings upon all of us, representing one of those universal passages of life. Therefore, I am just taking note of the obvious. As sad as his passing is to family, friends and fans, I know he was alright with it and at peace. The title tune which he wrote for the Sax Summit recording a few years ago (which I played on wooden flute at the memorial service) has an appropriate title. Michael is now part of a “Gathering of Spirits” in the heavens ---(and can finally ask Trane all the questions we have).
TOM RAINEY:A GREAT MEETING
On the end of the tradition: “…..the most powerful blow to quality popular music would come from the very label that Mercer founded, (Capitol Records) through the success of the Beatles. The industry discovered just how much money could be made from records, and from then on it was interested in little else, and today is interested in nothing else. The Top Forty format was a deliberate restriction of the music available to the public. Since bad taste is, and always has been, more common than good taste (which by definition is more selective), these stations sought a constantly lower common denominator in the music they played. There was no room in this for music by the likes of Kern and Porter and Mercer, much less Mozart and Ellington.
PLAYING DUO: In the last period of work I did a few gigs with pianist Bobby Avey playing the music from a new release titled “Vienna Dialogues”(Zoho) where we performed our adaptations of some of the classical repertoire ranging from Debussey to Handel to Mahler. As well I did a European tour with Marc Copland-thirteen consecutive concerts. Playing duo is one of the most challenging situations for me because there is literally nowhere to hide. Every note is heard clearly without a rhythm section to obscure things and there is real opportunity to play very soft and delicately, especially with a pianist like Copland who has such control of the soft pedal. The intimacy is very concentrated and I think quite personal for an audience to be part of. And of course, in Europe, the concentration from the audience is intense and perfect.
As part of the four day celebration of Coltrane at the Manhattan School of Music where I teach my chromatic approach, one night was dedicated to a panel consisting of Roy Haynes, Rashied Ali, Jimmy Heath, Ira Gitler, Ashley Khan and myself. It was fantastic to have two of Trane’s drummers discussing what it was like to play with John. Roy said that he could do anything that was in his head because John had such secure time. Jimmy Heath told a story of how he took Coltrane home between a matinee performance (late afternoon) and the evening sets to for a home cooked meal in Philadelphia where they grew up together. Trane asked if he could use the practice room and shedded between the gigs, just pausing to eat a bit. The practice stories are legendary and of course shows how Trane made such incredible progress in such a short period. Also I was thrilled to play Gunnar Mossblad’s big band arrangement of the “Meditations Suite” which I will be performing with Sax Summit at New York’s Symphony Space on Tranes’ birthday, September 23, 2007. Getting a student band to play collective free music was quite an accomplishment for these young musicians under the direction of Justin DiCiocchio.
SAXOPHONE BASICS: A Daily Practice Guide: This is a handy, shirt pocket size pamphlet that basically distills the information from my larger book on the subject “Developing A Personal Saxophone Sound” (Dorn Publications) and DVD, “The Complete Guide to Saxophone Sound Production” (Caris Music) into essential guidelines for practicing on a daily level. From putting the horn together to posture, to breathing and warm up exercises, along with a detailed outline of all the overtone exercises one would need for a lifetime in sequential order, this is a good book to have around for daily reference.
THE “NEW” RECORD BUSINESS from “The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More” by Chris Anderson: “When we think about traditional retail, we think about what's going to sell a lot. You're not much interested in the occasional sale, because in traditional retail a CD that sells only one unit a quarter consumes exactly the same half-inch of shelf space as a CD that sells 1,000 units a quarter. There's a value to that space—rent, overhead, staffing costs, etc.—that has to be paid back by a certain number of inventory turns per month. In other words, the onesies and twosies waste space. However, when that space doesn't cost anything, suddenly you can look at those infrequent sellers again, and they begin to have value. This was the insight that led to Amazon, Netflix, and all the other companies I was talking to. All of them realized that where the economics of traditional retail ran out of steam, the economics of online retail kept going. The onesies and twosies were still only selling in small numbers, but there were so, so many of them that in aggregate they added up to a big business.”
JAMES BROWN: Singlehandedly, James was responsible for much of what has been played in any one of several genres for decades. This guy made an incredible impression and for me is still the standard for what a swinging, happening groove should be. Rest in peace Godfather–you sure worked hard enough!! Out this fantastic version of “Mother Popcorn” with James and Maceo Parker burning it up from 1968: