Coltrane's "Giant Steps" Performed by Robot

Happy Birthday, John Coltrane

September 23 is the birthday of John Coltrane, born in Hamlet, North Carolina (1926). When asked to describe his style, he said, "I start in the middle of a sentence and move both directions at once."

Coltrane is, at heart, a Philadelphian, having moved here after high school. It remained his base of operations even as he began to tour the country playing for Eddie (Cleanhead) Vinson, Johnny Hodges and Dizzy Gillespie. His home at 1511 N. 33rd has been designated a landmark, and although it is not open to the public, it is a nice reminder of a time when musical celebrities remained part of the neighborhood. In an age of gated communities, 24 hour papparazi, bodyguards and stalkers, it is hard to imagine someone keeping it real in Strawberry Mansion. Maybe Britney Spears ought to consider relocating to Frankford.

(A Giant Step - John Coltrane's Philadelphia house designated historic site)

It is hard to describe Coltrane's influence on later players, partly because his genius was so inimitable. Like Charle Parker before him, Coltrane played so spectacularly that his style couldn't be repeated. He does continue to inspire players by his spirit, both as a constant experimenter, one who constantly tried different things, expanding what was considered possible, and also by using jazz as a means of spiritual discovery. Some of his most important works--"Love Supreme," "Ascension," "Om," "Meditations" and others--all explore the lasting questions of God, love, and the longing of the soul.

The New York Times writes, "At a certain point, about 1961, Coltrane’s name became shorthand for the idea of cultural rarefaction. You might remember Coltrane references in movies like Woody Allen’s “Alice” or Spike Lee’s “Mo’ Better Blues,” or from books like Ken Kesey’s “Sometimes a Great Notion”: they propose Coltrane as a kind of sacred mystery, an unparsable source of enlightenment. But he was a down-home character too, and the raw country sound was always with him. "

Enjoy this down-home enlightenment:

Listen to "Blue Train," the title track from his 1957 album, the only one he made for legendary Blue Note Records. Trane is joined by an impressive set of musicians including Lee Morgan (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Kenny Drew (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), and Philly Joe Jones (drums). Warning: this is a ten minute song.

Listen to "Nutty" from the historic collaboration Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane.

Visit johncoltrane.com

Jazz in an Unexpected Place: Bengalis in Boston

"When she went upstairs to change, Shukumar poured himself some wine and put on a record, a Thelonius Monk album he knew she liked."

--"A Temporary Matter" from Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.

This story will break your heart and then punch you in the gut. It is the first and perhaps most affecting story in an excellent collection. Without giving too much away, it is the story of a young couple, a nightly power outage, dinner conversations, and the difficulty we have in communicating the difficult.

Thelonious Sphere Monk at All About Jazz:

Thelonious Institute offers a jazz curriculum, library, and a whole bunch of audio "snippets."

Other bits of goodness:

In classical mythology, Thelonious is a son of Mercury (featured in Ovid's Metamorphoses.)

The coffee-shop that is frequented in the show Seinfeld is called Monk's after Thelonious Monk. Apparently there was a Thelonious Monk poster hanging in the room Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld would write the script.

Listen to these:

"Blues Five Spot" (Also known as the "Five Spot Blues," it takes its title friom the famous New York Club where Monk had a long lasting residency. It is the place that made Monk a star while he in turn made it into the premier jazz club in America. Do not confuse it with this place. This version features full backing band.)

"I Should Care" (a short piano only track from his album Solo Monk.)

Another favorite, but I don't have it handy, is "Straight, No Chaser."

More from Joe Z.

On my way home today I was listening to local radio station 88.5 WXPN when all of a sudden came on this great tune. When it finished, the DJ identified it as "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" by the Cannonball Adderly Quintet. The piece was written by his keyboardist, Joe Zawinul.

Even if you don't like jazz, you'll love this one. You can smell the cigarette smoke in the air. Great intro, too.

"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy"


For serious jazz fans, you might also like this one:
"Birdland" by Weather Report

This song is a pretty good example of "fusion," a style I am typically not crazy about, but this has a catchy melody line. One critic says, "'Birdland' is a remarkable bit of record-making, a unified, ever-developing piece of music that evokes, without in any way imitating, a joyous evening on 52nd St. with a big band."

An interesting sidenote: "Weather Report started out as a jazz equivalent of what the rock world in 1970 was calling a "supergroup." But unlike most of the rock supergroups, this one not only kept going for a good 15 years, it more than lived up to its billing, practically defining the state of the jazz-rock art throughout almost all of its run." For more on supergroups, see the R.L.P.A.

Joe Zawinul was born in Earth time on 07 July 1932 and was born in Eternity time on 11 September 2007

Joe Zawinul, a white European who mastered the music of Black America, passed away today at the age of 75. Seen as a pioneer in jazz-rock fusion, electronic jazz, and the father of the Jazz Synthesizer, he made his mark working with Miles Davis.

From the Wires:

Jazz legend Joe Zawinul dies at 75

By VERONIKA OLEKSYN, Associated Press

Joe Zawinul, who soared to fame as one of the creators of jazz fusion and performed and recorded with Miles Davis, died early Tuesday, a hospital official said. He was 75.

Zawinul had been hospitalized since last month. A spokeswoman for Vienna's Wilhelmina Clinic confirmed his death without giving details. His manager, Risa Zincke, said Zawinul suffered from a rare form of skin cancer, according to the Austria Press Agency.

Zawinul won widespread acclaim for his keyboard work on chart-topping Davis albums such as "In A Silent Way" and "Bitches Brew," and was a leading force behind the so-called "Electric Jazz" movement.

In 1970, Zawinul founded the band Weather Report and produced a series of albums including "Heavy Weather," "Black Market" and "I Sing the Body Electric." After that band's breakup, he founded the Zawinul Syndicate in 1987.

Zawinul, who was born in the Austrian capital, Vienna, and emigrated to the United States in 1959, is credited with bringing the electric piano and synthesizer into the jazz mainstream.
This past spring, he toured Europe to mark the 20th anniversary of the Zawinul Syndicate. He sought medical attention when the tour ended, the Viennese Hospital Association said in a statement last month.

Austrian President Heinz Fischer said Zawinul's death meant the loss of a "music ambassador" who was known and cherished around the world. "As a person and through his music, Joe Zawinul will remain unforgettable for us all," Fischer said in a statement.

Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer praised Zawinul's "unpretentious way of dealing with listeners" and said he wasn't "blinded by superficialities."

"Wherever he performed, he impressed with his playing," Gusenbauer said in a statement.
Zawinul's son, Erich, said his father would not be forgotten. "He lives on," Erich Zawinul was quoted as saying by APA.

Zawinul played with Maynard Ferguson and Dinah Washington before joining alto saxophonist great Cannonball Adderley in 1961 for nine years, according to a biography on his Web site. With Adderley, Zawinul wrote several important songs, among them the slow and funky hit "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy."

Zawinul then moved on to a brief collaboration with Miles Davis, at the time Davis was moving into the electric arena. It was Zawinul's tune "In a Silent Way" that served as the title track of Davis' first electric foray.

Funeral plans were not immediately released, but Vienna Mayor Michael Haeupl told reporters he would be given an honorary grave in the capital.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_en_mu/storytext/obit_zawinul/24414691/SIG=10tmhgr1u/*http://www.zawinulmusic.com

TRANE-ING MISSION: Two events celebrate John Coltrane

By SHAUN BRADY
For the Daily News

JAZZ LEGEND John Coltrane was once quoted as saying, "I know that there are evil forces in the world, but I want to be a force for good.

"A force for real good."

Four decades after Coltrane's death, that sentiment is being celebrated by two events in the city that he called home for much of his life. Over Labor Day weekend, the Tranestop Resource Institute will host the second annual John Coltrane Jazz Festival at Awbury Arboretum in Germantown; later in the month, altoist and bandleader Bobby Zankel will premiere his four-part suite, "A Force For Good" at North Philly's Church of the Advocate.

Though timed to coincide with his Sept. 23 birthday, both commemorate the 40th anniversary of his passing (the anniversary of which occurred on July 17 with shamefully less fanfare than Elvis Presley's decade-younger anniversary a month later).

The Tranestop Resource Institute, founded in 1979 by Arnold Boyd, who died suddenly last November, is a "nonprofit organization with a mission to advocate, support and preserve African-American music; in particular, African-American classical music, which is jazz and all its derivatives," according to TRI executive director Rosalind Plummer-Wood.

Besides the festival, the institute hosts a series of community concerts throughout the summer.
"The reason it was named Tranestop," Plummer-Wood continued, "was because Philadelphia was a stop on Trane's spiritual and musical development, and the organization was actually established in honor of the spirituality and the discipline of John Coltrane. Our concerts have an educational thrust, to get the word out to audiences that we might not ordinarily have and turn them on to the spiritual and intellectual benefits of being exposed to jazz."

By holding the higher-profile festival each year, explained Raymond Wood - Plummer-Wood's husband and chairman of the executive board at TRI - Tranestop aims to raise the profile of the organization and of Coltrane's Philadelphia presence.

"We hope that the festival makes known that John Coltrane has more than a mural - he has an existence in Philadelphia at a festival level that is nationally recognized," Wood said.

The location of the festival is especially appropriate, the couple stressed, not just because of the natural setting of the Arboretum but because it sits directly opposite the SEPTA R7 train stop.
This year, the festival is divided into a soul/blues day, headlined by R&B master Jerry "The Ice Man" Butler, and a jazz day headlined by Philly saxophonist Odean Pope and his 12-member Saxophone Choir.

The festival will feature appearances by the Philly Blues Messengers, the Barbara Walker Story, vibraphonist Khan Jamal and the Groovin' High Quintet, saluting Dizzy Gillespie.
Pope knew Coltrane as a young man when both lived in North Philly, and he credits the older saxophonist with landing him his first major gig.

Coltrane was playing a two-week stint with organist Jimmy Smith at the now-defunct Spider Kelly's club on Columbia (now Cecil B. Moore) Avenue when he was invited to join Miles Davis' group. Coltrane recommended the 16-year-old Pope to finish the engagement in his place.
"I guess he thought I was good enough to make the gig in his place," Pope recalled, "but I was really scared to death. But from that point I started getting a little better recognition, and it opened up some doors for me."

Pope declared that despite Coltrane's musical innovations, his influence has been primarily in the discipline which Pope witnessed firsthand.

"He was very consistent, and he always stressed to me how important it was to practice every day," Pope said. "Now, if I don't play every day I feel very let down, and I'll be very grumpy and kind of hard to get along with."

Pope's latest Saxophone Choir CD, "Locked and Loaded" (HalfNote), features his arrangements of two Coltrane tunes, "Central Park West" and "Coltrane Time." For this show, Pope promises a few Coltrane pieces as well as a surprise alongside his own originals.

"That was his forte," Pope said about paying tribute to Coltrane by playing new music. "He was about trying to keep the music new and always trying to bring something new to the table."
Bobby Zankel agrees. While his new piece, "A Force For Good," incorporates several Trane-inspired techniques, the composer said that he uses them in a highly individual way.

"My idea of an homage is to take somebody's way of thinking and to expand on it," Zankel explained. "A great teacher is not one who creates imitators, it's one who creates people who are able to advance their approach. I'm trying to do it humbly, but that's what I'm trying to do: take the spirit of the music and the musical train of thought, to make a play on words, and apply it in a personal way."

Zankel will premiere the work with his big band, the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound, plus guest appearances by Pope, percussionist Mogauwane Mahloele and vocalist Ruth Naomi Floyd, who will recite the poem from the final section of Coltrane's "A Love Supreme."

The event, co-presented by West Philly's Ars Nova Workshop, will take place on Coltrane's birthday at the Church of the Advocate, a center for political activity during the civil rights era, where Coltrane himself played one of his final performances in Philly.

But besides those ties, Zankel said, its mere location in the neighborhood has iconic resonance.
"There's so little music played in North Philadelphia now," Zankel said, "when that was one of the most fertile areas, probably in the whole country, for producing great American musicians. It's unbelievable how many people in the so-called hall of fame, or who have contributed hugely to the history of American culture, came within walking distance of that church."

Zankel also stressed the spiritual influence of Coltrane's music, especially during his own youth. "1967, when I got out of high school," he said, "was an unbelievably turbulent, painful time. People talk about the summer of love, but most people were just going insane from the confusion created by the war. That was really the reality of the time. So the thing that really, in a sense, saved my life was the music that was happening at that time.

"The music from the last period of Trane's life just made me feel that there's a spiritual aspect to life that made me want to create beauty amidst turbulence."

That influence persists in the way that Zankel's Buddhist faith pervades much of his own music.
"He was making these records talking about a love supreme and all these spiritual ideas, and it really felt like he was a priest in a sense - in Buddhism we call it a bodhisattva, someone who's trying to elevate people's lives. When you read the small amount of writing we have in Trane's own words, that was very specifically what he was trying to do.

"He wasn't simply trying to entertain people, he wasn't simply trying to amass a fortune, he wasn't simply trying to be groovy and create ambience for bars," said Zankel. "He was trying to lift people's awareness of the spiritual nature of life and the goodness and potential of humanity. I was a long way from that when I started as a person, but it was really something to aspire to and it always made me feel like that was what music was about." *

Send e-mailto http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/mailto:bradys@phillynews.com.
Second annual John Coltrane Jazz Festival, Awbury Arboretum, 800 block of E. Washington Lane, 1-8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, free, 215-438-3178,

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/mailto:thetranestop@comcast.net. Bobby Zankel and the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound, Church of the Advocate, 18th and Diamond streets, 4 p.m. Sept. 23, $25, http://www.arsnovaworkshop.com/.

Original source:

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20070827_TRANE-ING_MISSION.html

Max Roach, Rest in Peace

January 10, 1924 to August 16, 2007

See Slate's article: Why Max Roach was the greatest jazz drummer.

http://www.slate.com/id/2172543/fr/flyout