Jazz for aficionados
**** I'm sure I didn't play it anymore after that, but somehow I put it on the play list (is this convoluted or what?) I'll let you figure it out.... **** I'm not a big believer in coincidences, O-10. I suspect that the music struck a chord (😉) subconsciously and you knew there was good stuff there. Classic record. In spite of all the hoopla (deserved) around "Bitches Brew", it was "In A Silent Way" that was, as ghosthouse points out, the first major deflection point towards a entirely new genre; or, as someone used to say here and speaking of sartorial acumen, the beginning of Miles' "Sinbad period". More great Teo Macero storytelling on the making of "In A Silent Way" (@ 5:00): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2yK6kXSqB2k Hey Rok, if you're out there, hope all is well. |
Interesting about "In A Silent Way". I'd been listening to Miles for at least 10 years when that was released, but I loved it immediately. Maybe my ears were softened because I already enjoyed non-heavy metal rock? That pleasure continued with "Bitches Brew". But a couple more electronic Miles albums and it wore thin for me and I quit buying his latest releases. A funny story, which I expect was duplicated many times around the country. Around '72 or '73 I attended a Miles concert at our local civic auditorium (my preference for smaller venue performances was no longer possible because of his popularity). When we walked in the curtain was open to expose an array of mics and speakers spread across the stage. When the musicians came out everyone plugged in except the drummer (who already had fixed mics). The audience didn't boo or throw things but at least half walked out by intermission. We stayed and enjoyed the entire performance. Wish I could find a video of Macero at a studio Monk recording session to share. I thought that was a bit embarrassing the way he acted, putting on a black jive routine when greeting Monk. Like ghosthouse I'm not particularly a fan of boxed compilations but I was not aware either of the production of "In A Silent Way" so that would be interesting. |
Is this it? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0k4Y7sDTM2U This one picks up at 2:09 of the previous clip: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=In16H9J72HY Men at work: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OyfEddS41nM Re your reaction to Macero’s greeting of Monk: I don’t entirely disagree, but would point out that Macero was a player before he was a producer and who played with a lot of those guys. He was one of "the cats". Musicians, black and white, have a certain looseness around each other that may seem politically incorrect, but is part of their rapport. It is true that a lot of white musicians appropriated a lot of the "style" of black players both musically and socially. Not as obvious, but it went the other way too sometimes. Notice Macero’s reaction to Miles’ calling him a "white motherf€£%r" in one of the earlier clips...he laughed about it. Btw, the term "motherf€£%r", or usually, "bad motherf€£%r" was and is still an accepted way among jazz players of referring to a really great player....or really great pants 😎. Thanks for the story; wish I’d been there. |
Frogman and Pryso; while a certain language was acceptable "on the street", I think a "black jive routine" was probably unacceptable when introducing someone of Monk's stature. Did anyone notice how uncomfortable Charley Rouse made Monk when asking about the notes. What Monk wanted to say was "You a jazzman, put the horn up to your mouth and blow." Thanks for those clips Frogman. |
