| Volume Two: 10 March 1997 | ||
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This page is currently in deep mourning over the recent passing of Tony Williams.
For someone raised on the progressive drumming of Neil Peart and Bill Bruford,
Tony Williams was, at first, an anomaly -- a jazzer in the true sense, but a
player whose genius was both accessible and sublime. For those not
particularly familiar with the nuances of drumming (and, as a bassist-by-trade,
and a true hack with a pair of sticks, I count myself in this group), his
playing was inspiring. A closer listen to the man's playing, however, is
simply transcendental...propulsive, energetic, laid-back, serious, funny,
reflective. Always amazing.
On a personal level, he opened my eyes to the possibilities of the drums in a jazz context. Listening to him on Miles Davis' "Four" and More and My Funny Valentine (now packaged together as The Complete Concert) radically changed my notion of how bass and drums should talk to each other, and, in fact, to the rest of the band. Listening to All Blues should really be required listening for anyone picking up a rhythm instrument. On that tune, Tony Williams, a teenager at the time, clicked with Ron Carter in an inhuman way, laying down what is probably the most impressive bass/drums performance of the era. Miles Davis played at a consistently mindblowing level throughout a long, long career. None was better than the one captured on The Complete Concert recordings. Tony Williams went on to a successful career as a drummer of the first order, most notably in the Tony Williams Lifetime, which brought his jazz roots together with the funk and fusion of the 70's. More of the details of his career are available in his biography on the Jazz Central Station site. We've lost a great one.... News about the site...I'm about a third of the way through the changes I promised the world a couple of months ago. I guess that's about par for the course in this medium, which isn't any kind of excuse. There are a few new things here to take a peek at: I've put up a short little blurb on sabermetrics, along with a discussion of the genius of Bill James, along with a couple of articles from the man, himself. There's also some information on the greatest band you've never heard of, the Lost Souls. |
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