Arthur Blythe RIP...

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

"Early this morning the great Arthur Blythe passed. As many of you know he was a gentle soul and a musical genius. He had been fighting Parkinson's disease for several years. His spirit will live on in his unique music, which he humbly gave to our universe. His Beautiful wife Queen Bey has been there for Arthur and I know he would want us all to be there for her now. R.I.P. Mr. Blythe." - AB's Facebook page.

RIP indeed.

BN.

[Ian Thumwood]

I had no idea that Arthur Blythe had been ill and it has come as a big shock to learn of his passing.

It is strange that I went to a gig only a couple of months ago and someone performed on of his compositions and this made me think that I had not been aware of him for many, many years. Reading some obituaries, I had not realised how old he was because, for me, he seemed to belong to the generation of musicians who came immediately before Wynton Marsalis and were still edgy enough to be able to be considered part of the avant garde. When I was first discovering jazz it was his records which seemed to be lauded more than any other contemporary player yet his work never struck me as difficult or inaccessible and his sound largely added to his appeal. Looking through the line up for Vienne that was released yesterday, I would have to say that it is increasingly noticeable how jazz has evolved from the point at which I started listening to the music so that players like Arthur Blythe almost seemed to be producing something entirely different and to a vastly changed set of ideals as is the case these days. Increasingly it seems that the generation of musicians who emerged in the 1980's like Blythe were almost the last one to really carry some clout.

Without Blythe there would be no room for players like Steve Coleman or Greg Osby who were very much the up and coming generation and contemporary when I started to listen to newer styles of jazz. It is a shame that the qualities which made the likes of Blythe so special do not seem to be so respected these days and maybe indicative of the fact that jazz is becoming an increasingly white music. This is why so much of the newer players don't seem to play with the kind of balls that Blythe had.

Although I loved his work with Gil Evans, I always associate him with this tune which is probably one of the most original re-working of Monk - amazingly radical yet very approachable. The freer jazz that emerged in the mid 1960's always seems to be cited as a highpoint in jazz creativity yet, to my ears, the fruits of these experiments did not fully take shape until musicians like Arthur Blythe arrived on the scene. This is pretty much a template of what Great Jazz should sound like.

[Serial_Apologist]

I must check my store of programmes, but when I saw him at one of the later Bracknells, he was fronting alongside David Murray and Chico Freeman, if my memory serves me.

[Tenor Freak]

Probably my favourite alto player - loved his sound and energy. Alyn played "Down San Diego Way" for me a few years back - a recording I first heard on Charlie Gillett's show on Capital Radio back in the 80s. I recall he often used a tuba for bass (Bob Stewart normally). He also played on a Buescher True Tone (a 1920s model) and not a Selmer. Here's how I'll remember him:

RIP Arthur Blythe

[Tenor Freak]

Also love this one...and own it on vinyl which I will play tomorrow...

[Ian Thumwood]

Bruce

On another thread you made a comment about Columbia not really knowing what to do with Blythe after they signed him and you described some of his records as "clunkers." I believe he made 9 albums for this label but BGO have recently rereleased the first four including "Lennox Avenue Breakdown" which is something of a classic. There are 4 albums on this double CD, the second disc of which is pretty good albeit the pairing of LAB with "In the tradition" makes a truly formidable impression. It is a bit sad that this kind of stuff has gone out of fashion but there was a point in the 1980s where I think the avant garde really came in to fruition. Having picked up an earlier Andrew Hill 4-cd set from the same era, it strike me just how potent jazz was back then, the group with the tuba strongly recalling Henry Threadgill, one of the view players from that era right at the cutting edge of jazz.

I have to say that "In the tradition" might be a bog-standard quartet session that included some hackneyed standards like "Caravan" but it just seems impossible that a studio album with such a hell-for-leather approach would be released now. It may be a cliché, but it sounds like a live set. Blythe's sound is terrific and I think his sunny tone probably makes accessible what is often quite near the knuckle. If I am not mistaken, CBS have not had a jazz act on their roster since the early 2000's when they ditched "The Bad Plus" and it is shocking that a major label could be quite so adventurous back then. It might be a statement I keep referring to but this is squarely in Jazzrook's bag .i.e no compromising, full-on jazz. It is curious that this thread hasn't had more contributors yet maybe symptomatic of the fact that the unusual line ups including tuba, cello and electric guitar would have been off-putting to fans of more orthodox stuff.

Strange that Arthur Blythe seemed to disappear from the scene when, as a teenage fan, his records used to get a lot of attention on the radio, especially the local BBC network.

[Tenor Freak]

Ian

Yes, he was made to do a crossover/smooth jazz thing which to me is not authentic. (Not that I have anything against fusion/smooth jazz etc but Arthur was better firmly in the acoustic idiom.) I give you this example:

[Tenor Freak]

And then there's this:

[Tenor Freak]

Much better to remember him by stuff like this excellent concert from Berlin with Bob Stewart, Abdul Wadud and Bobby Battle. My rusty schoolboy German is just about good enough to translate the announcer saying something like "the man who plays the entire history of the alto saxophone - Arthur Blythe".

[Serial_Apologist]

Trevor Watts has something of the Blythe spirit in his playing - especially the tone.

[Ian Thumwood]

I was totally unaware of the two fusion records Arthur Blythe made - the second downs like a re-hash of Miles' "Tutu." My perception was that he worked with "The Leaders" after the contract with CBS along with Chico Freeman. As I understand , his work prior to signing for CBS was pretty uncompromising and he was firmly in the avant garde camp even if he tone made his music more approachable than a lot of other saxophonist's working in this oeuvre. The 4-CD set of his music I have is typical of the approachable style of avant garde which seemed to come in to fruition in the 1980s and, if you like, was indicative of the time when more outside players really started to build upon the more radical stuff which emerged in the 1960's. There is part of me which still sees the 1980s as the greatest era in jazz with musicians who had emerged in the 1930's recording at the same time as a newer generation were turning things of their head. For me, it felt like an embarrassment of riches for musicians in so many fields within the music were active so that you could hear swing, bebop, post-bop, free jazz and a whole raft of new, original talent at the same time. The only thing that sounded "old hat" in the 1980s was fusion and the decade felt like the malaise of jazz-rock was finally being sloughed off. It is therefore really surprising to hear turkeys like the two, over-produced Arthur Blythe efforts even if you set aside the fact that he came to jazz through R n' B in the first place. Neither of the records sound anything like the albums I have in my collection. Some of the music I am familiar with actually sounds much closer to the stuff that Henry Threadgill would go on to do. (Threadgill being another of those "genuine" jazz musicians who now seems increasingly precious in light of the way jazz has developed since the 2000's.) The 1980's efforts in the fusion field of so many musicians seem pretty lamentable these days and even Miles and Sonny were not above falling victim to this - Davis's work in this decade to see seems just as disposable as the Blythe efforts. Conversely, I would have to say that the music on the 4-cd set of the first 4 Columbia discs have stood up to the test to time really well. They actually sound far better than a lot of recent stuff even though I can understand why the odd-instrumentation including the tuba would not appeal to dyed in the wool traditionalists like Bluesnik. Wondered if Bruce had herd the album "In the tradition" which is a standard quartet date yet the playing has an edge of the seat quality redolent of the best live albums.

What is striking about Arthur Blythe's playing is that there are elements of Sonny Rollin's in his phrasing, especially the way he tackle rhythm. I love this kind of approach to improvisation and I somethings think that there is no clearer sign of what separates the men from the boys than the ability to chop the music up into irregular phrases and blow the whole structural shape of a tune apart by going off on a tangent based upon motifs. It is particularly exciting when players bounce contrasting rhythms against what a rhythm section might be playing as opposed to riding over a groove. It goes give the music the sense of having boundless possibilities.

Another player of a similar generation who shared a great sound is the late Thomas Chapin and I would recommend his work to Bruce too.

[Tenor Freak]

I would like to hear some of that stuff he played with The Leaders - Lester Bowie was part of the front line as I recall. I was listening yesterday to some of Arthur's early stuff which grooves along very nicely. Check out Bush Baby with Bob Stewart on tuba and Ahkmed Abdullah on congas. Very minimalist but they swing along nicely.

I think you are right about the Rollins connection - it seems clear now that Sonny was a clear influence.

Thanks for the Thomas Chapin recommend. I have listened to one piece and he sounds interesting.