DownBeat November 2008 [antikvár]

Hw N«w Joiz Conyoser's Octet has fifUd a ctftain vital role in !an, leroeig in on the hanMrivbig rhythm and deep homonic thinking off the 1960's Blue Hole era wMk creating new music in Hs own voice. -David Adier 'Dal Vivo a Umbría Jazz' a live stereophile recording Jenhertis musk may be AVAILABLE NOW sÁnfíve. Somejans report ^j'^ffih^ fciiplng her CCte on V^lay for weeks at a time Italy^ l/mbria Jazz Fest has Imrtod her band back for sboonsecutiveseasonsl ^ ¦ ' Whafsupwiththat? One HsMntoDal Vivo yfa racorded Hva In Penigla Dec2007 wfll reveal alL BUJO KEVIN JONES available online now! These fine artists more motema.com First Take Tracking Williams' Genius White we were in produciion for this issue of DownBeiil. I had a discussion wilh someone about Tony Williams being on the cover. He posed the question: "Why Tony Williams?* Good question. Of course, the answer could easily be, "Why not?" After all. his inOuence on jazz drumming was as profound as any iinist's over ihe past 50 years. But in ihe feature on Page 44. we don't cel-cbraie an anniversary of Williams' birth or death, or another significant milestone or reissue. Rather. Ken Micallef delves into a few of Williams* seminal recordings, and learns from Williams* collaborators and fellow drummers about how profound an impact he had on the course of jazz. How did DownBeat cover Williams over the course of his career? Soon after he joined Miles Davis' quintal, DownBeat featured him for ihe first time, including the then teenage drummer in a roundtable discussion in the magazine's New York office with Art Blakey, Ivlel Lewis and Cozy Cole, which appeared in the March 26, 1964, issue. Even at this young age, Williains had an astute ability to dissect his playing, and he was quite opinionated about ihe state of jazz drumming. "When 1 hear the hi-hat being played on 2 and 4. through every solo, through every chorus, ihrough the whole lune, this seem to me to be—1 ciin't play it like ihat," he said. "Chit. chit, chit, chit—all the way through the tune. My lime is on the cymbal and in my head, because when I play the bass drum. I play it where il means something. I just put it in. Wlien a person plays this way. they don't play the bass dmm. ihey don't play the hi-hat—well, they say they're playing completely free—that word is a drag tiH>. Whal makes it different is thai they don't have any bottom." Jump forward more than 10 ye;uK, after he rectirded tlic milestone j;iz/.-rock ;ilbuin Believe h. In an interview with Vernon Gibbs lhal appeared in the Jan. 2'). 1976. issue, Williams discussed the challenges of mining now veins of creativity ami civating his owi\ musical identity alter his historic work \\ ith Davis. "If I felt that playing with Miles was the best I'm ever gonna play, then I wtniUl jusl give up," he said. "The reason it came mil so well was lu'Ciiiiso il was iVesh; w hen the Ire.sh-ness wears oil. 1 have to Inul something else lo do or else I'm not stimulated. 1 still ihiiik lliere By Jason Koransfcy Tony WillUriM; catching up hn reading are very few people who can play jazz drums a certain kind of way. Bul just Ijecause of lhat it doesn't mean ihat I have lo go out and prove it all the time because I happen to be one of the few people who can do it on a certain really classy level. It doesn't mean ihat I have to spend my life being a manyr. I don'i want tobe a martyr and I don't want to be a museum piece. I don't want people to come out and hear me because it's nostalgic." The martyr language is interesting. In our feature this issue. Wallace Roney said ihat Williams "felt the criucs never credited him for being the innovative jazz drummer he was." Williams did not wanl his music to e.vist in a bubble, or become a snapshot of a bygone era. In the November 1983 issue. Paul de Barros interviewed Williams. When asked about what direction his music was going, Williams responded. 'The popular direction. I like NíH'. I like The Police. Missing Persons. Laurie Anderson." He then went on to discuss if jazz .should get the same institutionalized treatment xs cUvssical tnusic does in Aineric;in society: "tH|ow much is tliat re;illy going to do for musici;\ns? 1 don't think society really recognizes cla.ssical music, iuiyway. It's all patronage. ;uid grants, a cvnain cliLSS of pci>ple. Jazz \\ ;ls origin;\Il\ tlK music the pcvipte ill tlie suvcis ;uul not in cvMKeit h^üls. so when you lose lhal. you svHTcr ihe a^nse-tjuences, There's iioihing wrvmg wilh j;u? tvinvi an ail fonn, but it has a cenain anightK\s.s aixt v itality and une.xjvcletlness that's imjxMtiUtt. 1 guess I'm okl-tashionot,l." Old-fastuoncd w iniUl Iv the Iasl tonn one would assiviate with W illi.uns. ,\s learn in this issue of IVwnUeai. his iiUluoi>.v siill pushes tvxl.i\'s anisis to pursue iv« ti^^^ lioiN ui then luiisio, OB