Jazz for aficionados

Actually, pjw, I didn’t.  It was an honest question; would not have asked it otherwise.  It wasn’t clear to me from what you had written what your feeling about it was.  In fact at first I thought that you might have been implying that Morello wasn’t deserving of the accolades. Thanks for clarifying.  Personally, I don’t put too much stock on those “best” lists.

frogman

All of the "best" lists I have read, in jazz as well as other genres, are in my POV way off.

As pryso stated upthread Morello is his favorite but does not claim he is the best. I feel the same way about my favorites. In other words I will never get into a debate over "who" is "best" at "what instrument" I enjoy my favorites.

Mary_Jo,

Sretan Božić i sretna nova godina

Cheers

Hvala ti rok, that is very kind of you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too.

A song for you
https://youtu.be/e_1nagBrG54

We all have different aesthetics when it comes to drumming and drummers; here is my ultimate drummer;


          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2z7R2UI27E


          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXaIo6IxBWw

Rok, yes, without a doubt. While some piano and bass players are very flexible and can play well in a variety of styles, some are (were) great in one or a narrow range of styles, but were weak in other styles. Dave Brubeck or Hank Jones (just two examples that come to mind) would have sounded all wrong had they replaced Herbie Hancock in Miles’ 60’s quintet. Milt Hinton would have sounded just as out of place in Coltrane’s quartet instead of Chambers

This is not just a subjective thing. It is also an obvious generational thing. As great as players like Brubeck and Jones were they did not have the modern harmonic approach, nor were capable of playing that way, that players like Hancock did which is one of the things that made Hancock a great fit (appropriateness) for a musical setting like Miles’ where they always stretched the harmonic boundaries; as opposed to the much more traditional and “inside” harmonic language of Brubeck and Jones. On the other hand, it’s doubtful that Herbie would have sounded quite as appropriate playing in Brubeck’s quartet. It was Brubeck’s particular style and feel that, along with the other CHOSEN players, defined Brubeck’s sound. Or, do we think that Brubeck could have played Herbie’s “Watermelon Man” with the kind of funky swagger that Herbie plays it with? Doubtful.

Same applies to bass players. Can one imagine Bill Evans’ trio without a bass player like LaFaro, nor those after him, which were improvisers on a level far beyond that of most bass players up until then; and, who because of that ability were able to help develop the “conversational” style of piano trio playing which has become pretty ubiquitous?

All this is why there is “best” anything in Jazz. Context is very important. Like our OP, I like Art Blakey, in the context that he was strongest in: band leader, or the usually upfront drumming style that he played with. He wasn’t one to make the kind of “stealth” or more “behind the scenes” musical contribution that works best with some music.

Would this music have as much impact with Blakey instead of PhillyJo? Would certainly have a different feel; which would then impact all the other players and their own contributions:

https://youtu.be/NjMl1tjXJNQ

What about here, instead of Tony Williams? Personally, I don’t think it would work at all:

https://youtu.be/RhmSYvilvJ8

Classic, and often mentioned, example of a player thrown into a context that he was not ready for. The great Tommy Flanagan totally out of his element; to the degree that he can barely keep up and then just stops improvising and just comps to the end of his chorus:

https://youtu.be/30FTr6G53VU