February 1 2012

The new Sony release "Miles Davis Quintet - Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Volume 1" is a must have.  The second great Miles quintet, with Tony Williams, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter is documented live on two cds and one extraordinary dvd.  The set list is virtually identical each performance, with radically different interpretations of each tune.  Miles would lead into each tune before the end of the last, creating seamless concertos.  Herbie has described what they did as controlled freedom; they would play within the form of the tune, and then go outside.  A look, or a motif, would signal when it was time to return to the form.  Weather Report would later incorporate this technique, as does The Kai Eckhardt Band, with whom I'm recording my latest cd.

Number 40 April 29, 2010

Charles Lloyd at The Palace of Fine Arts as part of SF Jazz this last Sunday was magical.  He is one of my biggest musical influences.  I realized years ago that many of the open voiced major ninth chords I love to play, and which are unusual voicings for a guitarist, come from Keith Jarrett's work with Charles' early quartet.  The current quartet, with Reuben Rogers on bass, Jason Moran on piano, and Eric Harland on drums is perhaps his best since that fine group.  I just redicovered his first recording, "Of Course, Of Course",  with Ron Carter ,Tony Williams  , and Gabor Szabo.  Charles Lloyd was the music director for Chico Hamilton when Gabor was in the band.  I had the priviledge of being in Chico's band in 1979 and 1980, and I was flattered that I reminded him of Gabor.  It amazes me what a direct link there is between musicians.  Along with Wayne Shorter and Cecil Taylor, Charles Lloyd remains at the forefront of pushing the music forward, something very few artists can do at an advanced age.