voices I miss
Geri Allen (1957-2017, piano), Charlie Haden (1937-2014, bass), Paul Motian (1931-2011, drums), “Lonely Woman” (Ornette Coleman), 1988
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lagniappe
reading table
passing through one day—
they let me listen
to their phonograph—Taneda Santoka (1882-1940), translated from the Japanese by Burton Watson
passings
Geri Allen, pianist, June 12, 1957-June 27, 2017
With Kenny Davis (bass), Kassa Overall (drums), Maurice Chestnut (tap dance), live, South Korea, 2011
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With Charlie Haden (1937-2014, bass), Paul Motian (1931-2011, drums), “Lonely Woman” (O. Coleman), 1988
more
Paul Motian (drums, 1931-2011), Charlie Haden (bass, 1937-2014), Geri Allen (piano, 1957-), “Lonely Woman” (O. Coleman), 1988
passings
Paul Bley, pianist, November 10, 1932-January 3, 2016
Live, 1970s?
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With Charlie Haden (bass), live, New York, 2000
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With John Gilmore (tenor saxophone), Gary Peacock (bass), Paul Motian (drums; or Billy Elgart, side 2, tracks 2-3), Turning Point, rec. 1964/1968
Side 1
Side 2
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Live, Norway (Oslo), 2008
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reading table
I held a Jewel in my fingers –
And went to sleep –
The day was warm, and winds were prosy—
I said ”Twill keep” –I woke – and chid my honest fingers,
The Gem was gone –
And now, an Amethyst remembrance
Is all I own –—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), #261 (Franklin)
More of Ornette.
Ornette Coleman (alto saxophone) with Don Cherry (cornet), Charlie Haden (bass), and Billy Higgins (drums), The Shape of Jazz to Come, 1959*
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radio
WKCR’s memorial broadcast continues until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.
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*Track list (courtesy of YouTube):
00:00 Lonely Woman
05:01 Eventually
09:24 Peace
18:25 Focus on Sanity
25:18 Congeniality
32:07 Chronology
passings
Charlie Haden, bassist, composer, bandleader, August 6, 1937-July 11, 2014
Old and New Dreams (Charlie Haden, bass; Ed Blackwell, drums; Dewey Redman, tenor saxophone; Don Cherry, pocket trumpet), “Happy House” (O. Coleman), live, Norway (Molde Jazz Festival), 1979
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radio
Thank God, once again, for college radio. Beginning tomorrow at 2 p.m. (EST), WKCR (Columbia University) will air a memorial broadcast. Two hours? Three? Nope. They’ll be playing Haden’s music, continuously, until 9 p.m.—Monday.
Ornette, at 84, still plays some of the most haunting blues I’ve ever heard.
Ornette Coleman (alto saxophone), with Henry Threadgill (alto saxophone), David Murray (tenor saxophone), Savion Glover (tap dance), et al., live, New York (Prospect Park), 6/12/14
*****
With Don Cherry (trumpet), Charlie Haden (bass), Billy Higgins (drums), The Shape Of Jazz To Come, 1959
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art beat
Bruce Davidson (1933-), East 100th St., New York, 1966
Happy (83rd) Birthday, Ornette!
Ornette Coleman Quartet (OC, alto saxophone; Don Cherry, pocket trumpet; Charlie Haden, bass; Billy Higgins, drums), live, Spain (Barcelona), 1987
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musical thoughts
How can I turn emotion into knowledge? That’s what I try to do with my horn.
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It’s not that I reject categories. It’s that I don’t really know what categories are.
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You take the alphabet of the English language. A to Z. A symbol attached to a sound. In music you have what are called notes and the key. In life you’ve got an idea and an emotion. We think of them as different concepts. To me, there is no difference.
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The violin, the saxophone, the trumpet: Each makes a very different sound but the very same notes. That’s pretty heavy, you know? Imagine how many different races make up the human race. I’m called colored, you’re called white, he’s called something else. We still got an asshole and a mouth. Pardon me.
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I don’t try to please when I play. I try to cure.
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radio
All Ornette, all day: WKCR-FM (Columbia University).
My favorite drummer?
There are days I’d say this is the guy.
Among the many things I love about his playing, which dances, always, is the balance of simplicity and complexity—it’s never more complex than it is simple, never simpler than it is complex.
Old and New Dreams (Don Cherry [1936-1995], pocket trumpet; Dewey Redman [1931-2006], tenor saxophone; Charlie Haden [1937-], bass; Ed Blackwell [1929-1992], drums), live
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Art is not in some far-off place.
—Lydia Davis, “Extracts from a Life” (The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis, 2009)
Happy (82nd) Birthday, Ornette!
Ornette Coleman Quartet with guests Joshua Redman (tenor saxophone), James Blood Ulmer (guitar), Charlie Haden (bass), live, Netherlands (North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam), 2010
Part 1
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Part 2
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Part 3
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Part 4
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Part 5
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lagniappe
radio
WKCR-FM (Columbia University): all Ornette, all day.
music clip of the day 