: "I think that in general audiences appreciate courage. Of course they appreciate musical skill and being able to present a set that makes some sort of sense, that's not all one texture or another. In general I try to give audiences a lot of credit in that they're going to respond to the creativity going on.
"
Thursday, April 20, 2006
It was a bitter-sweet feeling to see this amongst this years list of Pulitzer Prize winners:A posthumous Special Citation to American composer Thelonious Monk for a body of distinguished and innovative musical composition that has had a significant and enduring impact on the evolution of jazz.
Monk, of course is beyond reproach as one of the finest and most unique composers of the past century, and deserves any accolade that could be given him.
He is also quite dead. Where was the Pulitzer committee when Monk was alive? Where were they when the New York City police department revoked his cabaret card on a trumped up narcotics charge and kept him out of the city's clubs for years?
Where was the committee when Monk was written off as "too strange" for jazz, before he was chiseled into jazz's Mount Rushmore?
Amongst jazz artists who were alive when Pulitzer came knocking, Duke Ellington humbly refused the award - the same couldn't be said for Wynton Marsalis who trumpeted (no pun intended) his award from the mountaintop. With so many great composers in jazz and blues today, it high time for the Pulitzer committee to start recognizing worthy musicians while they are alive and able to appreciate the accolades.
There are plenty of Halls of Fame for the honorable dead, let's honor the living while we still can. How about a Pulitzer for Sonny Rollins? Sam Rivers?
B.B. King?
The time is now.
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The Angel on the other shoulder says you already have most of this music already on LP or CD in an easier to digest album format - why do you want to wade through 10 alternate takes if each track? But like most Americans, I pay scant attention to the voice of reason and usually pick up the shiny toy. Altruism isn't exactly a value that music companies cherish, and these boxed sets, running anywhere from $60 to $100 take rampant consumerism to a new level.
It's the perfect corporate coup - take the music from a dead musician who can't complain, the music that most jazz fans already own and put it in a bright shiny box with a few unreleased alternate takes that were probably left in the can for a good reason and turn up the hype machine full blast and voila! It's a guaranteed money maker. The music was already hailed as classic in its original form and inducted into the canon, so critics pretty much have to lavish praise on this newly minted holy relic.
But wait, the Angel screams, exasperated, - they are selling you something you already own at twice the price! Yet I still walk zombie-like to the computer to pre-order. Must have new shiny thing.
..
Originally scheduled to be released in September 2005, the set was delayed for three months because of legal wrangling involving the Miles Davis estate, and in particular,
"A few weeks before the original release date last September he (Wilbon) wanted the credits of Adam Holzman and Bob Belden changed from 'produced by' to 'compiled by.' Understandably, this was not something these two, or Sony, were happy about.
Moreover, the Cellar Door set had been more than five years in the making, and Belden's and Holzman's involvement must have been clear for ages, so the timing of the demand reeked of a hidden agenda...
There are reports that it's driven by Wilburn's personal resentment against some of those involved in the making of the Cellar Door, including Holzman. My own, entirely speculative, take on it is that Wilburn has a love/hate relationship with his uncle and his music. On the one hand he owes his entire income and reputation to his uncle (what noteworthy things has Wilburn done on his own since 1987?
) - on the other Miles hurt Wilburn badly when he sacked him from his band in 1987"
94. I also picked up a copy of the Miles Davis Second Quintet 1965-68 boxed set at fire sale for $34.00, again, a much more reasonable price.
I guess the moral of the story is that people will shell out for the boxed sets if they are presented at a marketable price, and without foolish sniping amongst the compilers.
Parker also writes stories and poems about the characters in his music and looks for the spiritual path in all things musical. He dedicates this album to the Olmec people who lived in the area that is today
Also included as solo bass performances on this disc are "Cathedral of Light" and "Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy" which demonstrate Parker's prodigious bass playing talent, both with speedy abstract bow playing, hypnotic and trance inducing, like a Native-American ritual in its own right, prompting a quizzical "what is that?" from the person I share my office with while I was listening to this one afternoon at work. There are also full band tracks, where Parker's bass anchors The Olmec Group, made up of saxophonist Dave Swanson and a group of young meringue musicians in their early 20's (no, I am not making this up!
)
Parker fans and world music buffs should get a lot of enjoyment out of this mix of the cultural and the spiritual.
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