Well, I would hate to make a sweeping generalization such as "those that
have tried have all failed very badly, in my estimation" based on a
single person's interpretation. Only when you've heard a significant
number, could such a statement have any validity.
I personally think any of Coltrane's originals can stand up to
reinterpretation (just as most pieces of music can) and if they don't
match the original, that's fine. They can't because the original
depends on the tone and personality of the original artist. That
doesn't mean that the reinterpretation fails for people who haven't
heard the original.
Elvis' songs could all be reinterpreted and prove they have life beyond
Elvis. John Howell's point is that none of them seem to have made that
leap, that nobody seems interested in the songs themselves. Thus the
songs themselves haven't much life, whereas Elvis's performances have
great longevity.
I think that in another 10 years we'll see a lot more new versions of
Coltrane's music, as newer people who don't have the same reverence for
the original recordings see past Coltrane's performance of them into the
soul of the music and take it out of his shadow and breathe new life
into them as works of music. People of my generation (I'm 55) have too
much reverence for Coltrane himself and hold any interpretation of his
music to a much higher standard than we hold a lot of other jazz classics.
David H. Bailey
Darcy James Argue wrote:
Hi Chris,
I have not heard Kenny Wheeler's version -- in fact, I wasn't aware he
had arranged it. I'll have to check it out sometime.
I was thinking more of Branford Marsalis's recording. I generally like
Branford, even on those occasions where he is shamelessly stealing from
Coltrane. But his version of _A Love Supreme_ is pretty weak.
Cheers,
- Darcy
-----
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Brooklyn, NY
On 3 Apr 2008, at 12:28 AM, Christopher Smith wrote:
On Apr 3, 2008, at 12:13 AM, Darcy James Argue wrote:
All I am saying is that a works suitability for reinterpretation
(whether its arranging, covering, remixing, making mashups, or
something else entirely) bears absolutely no relation to its quality.
Few people have tried to cover Coltrane's _A Love Supreme_, and those
that have tried have all failed very badly, in my estimation.
Even Kenny Wheeler's version? It's pretty good, IMHO.
Though I completely agree with the sentiment.
Christopher
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