Jazz feuds

[Jazzrook]

There's a fascinating 8-page article on Cecil Taylor in the current WIRE magazine(April 2016).
Apparently CT "has a seething hatred for Charles Mingus and Miles Davis calling the latter 'the Mean Devil'. He claims that when his group toured with Davis's in 1969, he overheard the trumpeter telling his bandmates: 'Don't listen to him; he's bullshittin'. He also recalls seeing Davis spit on the sidewalk as the young Taylor approached to say hello. When Miles spat on the ground Cecil said: 'I'm gonna get you mfckr'".
Depressing that such a level of animosity could exist between two great musicians but at least CT & Ornette seemed to get along pretty well.
Here's Cecil playing at Ornette's memorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF9ZbULKOXQ

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

There's a fascinating 8-page article on Cecil Taylor in the current WIRE magazine(April 2016).
Apparently CT "has a seething hatred for Charles Mingus and Miles Davis calling the latter 'the Mean Devil'. He claims that when his group toured with Davis's in 1969, he overheard the trumpeter telling his bandmates: 'Don't listen to him; he's bullshittin'. He also recalls seeing Davis spit on the sidewalk as the young Taylor approached to say hello. When Miles spat on the ground Cecil said: 'I'm gonna get you mfckr'".
Depressing that such a level of animosity could exist between two great musicians but at least CT & Ornette seemed to get along pretty well.
Here's Cecil playing at Ornette's memorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF9ZbULKOXQ

Taylor could certainly hold a grudge. Kenny Dorham apparently met him long after the Coltrane/Taylor/Dorham "Double Clutching" date and said he now understood what CT was about. Taylor's response was, "Go fk yourself! You wrecked my record!" I think Cecil "ruined" that record but hey...

BN.

[Ian Thumwood]

Can't imagine any other musicians more likely to provoke a feud than Miles and Mingus although CT's interviews frequently seem to involve an element of bitchiness. I don't think feuds are anything new to jazz and they still exist with the likes of Steve Coleman / Ravi Coltrane and Stanley Crouch and most other people!

I rather like the idea of jazz rivalries with the Prez / Hershcal Evans one being a particularly famous example.