Are you basing your opinion of Don's playing entirely on this one gig?
Cheers,
- Darcy
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[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Brooklyn, NY
On 03 May 2007, at 5:03 PM, dhbailey wrote:
Darcy James Argue wrote:
Substantial, specific criticism is not the same as knee-jerk
dismissal.
Don devoted his life to playing uncompromising and person music in
the face of considerable hostility and hardship. Whether you like
his music or not, he's an influential figure in the evolution of
the music and deserves respect as such. It's ridiculous to say
that the guy responsible for teaching Dave Holland (who is in many
respects a modern-day Don Ellis figure) how to play complicated
time signatures "wasn't into meter," even in jest.
I mean, whatever you might think of, oh I don't know -- John Cage,
let's say -- it would be idiotic to say that "he was barely into
composing."
I can accept that. But having heard Don Cherry perform live, I can
say that the assessment, at least from what I saw/heard, that he
was 'barely into playing the trumpet' was certainly a valid
impression.
I would certainly not paint Ornette Coleman with the same brush,
but Don Cherry showed no concern for tone, no concern for
intonation, no concern for pitch, no concern for the audience, no
concern for anything other than standing on stage and playing
anything he could get out, and then presumably collecting his check
and heading home after the performance.
And I've heard nothing of his on record which would change that
assessment.
But then he's in the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz and I'm not
(well, actually I am but it's a different me), so obviously there
are many people who don't share my poor view of Don Cherry's
trumpet playing ability.
--
David H. Bailey
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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