On Apr 3, 2008, at 6:32 AM, dhbailey wrote:
Then it's a pretty poor piece of music, if it depends more on the
personality of the performer than the quality of the music.
Can I offer a different example in jazz?
The Charles Mingus band, even when he was sick and in a wheelchair in
front of the band with a different bassist, still sounded like his
band with all the personality and life that it had when he was
playing. Mingus operated his band as much by force of personality as
by musical direction, and I suspect they all thought he might stand
up out of the wheelchair and charge them if they defied him. I didn't
hear the band when he was dying in Mexico, but according to all
reports, the band kept playing as if Mingus was there. But once he
was dead, the band started playing more like THEY wanted to, rather
than the way Mingus wanted, and it was a pale, wan version of the
band we all knew and loved.
Some music depends more on the performer than other musics, and jazz
is one of those, I think. It isn't necessarily a reflection on the
quality of the music if it needs a certain virtuosity (in technique
or interpretation) to get its point across.
Christopher
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