It's Ribot time for a Berne up at the local Witherspoon's

**BLUESNIK'S REVOX** · 27-04-19, 16:13

The Coltrane "Song of the Underground Railroad from the Africa Brass date on JRR was wonderful. (Jrook?) I haven't heard that in a very long time. I always wonder why Trane replaced Reggie Workman with Jimmy Garrison, RW being so strong there and elsewhere. Really powerful player.

BN.

**Serial_Apologist** · 27-04-19, 16:55

Originally posted by BLUESNIK'S REVOX View Post

The Coltrane "Song of the Underground Railroad from the Africa Brass date on JRR was wonderful. (Jrook?) I haven't heard that in a very long time. I always wonder why Trane replaced Reggie Workman with Jimmy Garrison, RW being so strong there and elsewhere. Really powerful player.

BN.

Funny how ones opinions can differ from people one is usually in agreement with: while I love Trane's solo, hearing him venturing out from that underpinning scale, I've always thought the arrangements on Africa Brass to be rather suffocating and surplus to requirements - colourless compared with how Gil was arranging similar materials on Sketches of Spain around that time. Agree though about Reggie Workman - I particularly like his work on "Coltrane Plays the Blues", from a year earlier than AB, when he shows his flexibility in adapting to JC's varied approach to those 12 bars, from retrospective to very forward-sounding. Must look through my literature to see if I can dig out anything on the change to Jimmy Garrison.

**BLUESNIK'S REVOX** · 27-04-19, 17:26

"Blues" was Steve Davis. A good solid player and I think a cousin of Coltrane? Also played on the first My Favourite Things, during which his hand must have nearly fallen off with that repeated figure. I've got nothing against Garrison, just that Workman is always so strong. I remember reading that after Coltrane died and Garrison was scuffing a bit, he was offered a gig playing standards, and had to turn it down because he said he'd forgotten all the changes

**Serial_Apologist** · 27-04-19, 18:01

Originally posted by BLUESNIK'S REVOX View Post

"Blues" was Steve Davis. A good solid player and I think a cousin of Coltrane? Also played on the first My Favourite Things, during which his hand must have nearly fallen off with that repeated figure. I've got nothing against Garrison, just that Workman is always so strong. I remember reading that after Coltrane died and Garrison was scuffing a bit, he was offered a gig playing standards, and had to turn it down because he said he'd forgotten all the changes

Oh of course it was - senility must be setting in.

**BLUESNIK'S REVOX** · 27-04-19, 18:10

Some explanation ...Reggie Workman, 2003:

":You must have been asked this numerously through the years, but with such a kinship, why did you leave the (Coltrane) band?

RW: I'm a bit tired of those questions. I left the band because my father was dying and I had to leave New York and go back home and take care of my family, number one. Number two, John and the rest of the band was growing very fast and John had decided that he wanted to try another voice in his bass chair. He had been listening to Ornette Coleman, who had Jimmy Garrison in the group and Coleman suggested he try Jimmy and he did. That was a great union. Of course, Jimmy was very compatible with everybody in the band."

**Ian Thumwood** · 27-04-19, 19:58

There have been some interesting comments regarding Garrison on the "rediscovered" Coltrane disc that was issued last year. I haven't heard this but the negative comments tended to put me off buying this. There was criticism of Garrison not playing the correct changes. (Basically, there was a suggestion that the tapes had not been issued due to Garrison's errors.) I had read elsewhere a comment that Tyner has never employed Garrison on any of his own gigs - might have been on this board. Surprised that no one has mentioned that Coltrane used two bassists on the record "Plays." Never quite sure why the combination of two bassists had ever materialised. Ellington experimented with this in the 1930s.

It is odd how some people perceive bassists. I knew a semi-pro bassist who was active in the local scene and , I think, studied with Dave Holland at one time. He made the comment to me about Charlie Haden being "a bloody awful bassist" which surprised me because Haden's exploring qualities really appeal to me. He was unimpressed by his technique and perhaps not sympathetic to that style of playing. I had always held Haden in esteem but I suppose some people look out for different qualities in the playing of those musicians who share the same instrument.

Playing with Coltrane must surely have been a stamina thing. It could not have been too interesting a role given 'Trane's adherence to modal jazz which means the musician is either in key or off the key. I don't imagine it would be that interesting musically for a bassist (especially on some of Coltrane's marathon explorations) whereas I would have thought a more liberated approach by the likes of Haden or Gary Peacock would be quite exhilarating.

**Ian Thumwood** · 27-04-19, 20:06

Josephine Davies - really reminded me of the kind of stuff Donny McCaslin was doing his own trio about ten years ago. I love the harmony less ensembles but this it works better with two horns.

**CGR** · 29-04-19, 10:01

Originally posted by Ian Thumwood View Post

...

Playing with Coltrane must surely have been a stamina thing. It could not have been too interesting a role given 'Trane's adherence to modal jazz which means the musician is either in key or off the key. I don't imagine it would be that interesting musically for a bassist (especially on some of Coltrane's marathon explorations) whereas I would have thought a more liberated approach by the likes of Haden or Gary Peacock would be quite exhilarating.

Yep. It applies to all that 60s modal music. Great players can really make it sound good, however for us mortal moderately/minimally talented amateurs & semi-pros, calling 'Impressions' or 'So What' or 'Little Sunflower' etc. at a jam just brings the anticipation of yawns and a minor panic over counting endless bars of minor 11 chords while the sax player noodles endlessly whilst trying to look cool and hip.

**Serial_Apologist** · 03-05-19, 19:55

Just bumping this up the viewing agenda - on in 6 minutes:

Originally posted by Serial_Apologist View Post

Note on Friday 3 May, BBC4
9pm Jazz 625 Live: for One Night Only

An hour and a half of footage, plus Cleo reminiscing on those times, and live performances from Cheltenham in a band led by the great Robert Mitchell.

**Serial_Apologist** · 03-05-19, 21:54

Truly excellent programme, quality jazz presented un-dumbed down - how often can we say that of any of the BBC these days that is not jazz broadcasting? Top-notch playing from Joshua Redman; useful catch-up time for Robert Mitchell, whom I rate very highly among that Jazz Warriors generation that came immediately in the wake of Courtney Pine & co; tremendous footage from the 1960s, some of which I hadn't seen before; Gregory Porter, who has to be tops among male singers, with a great backing band; Jacqui Dankworth telling her mum she preferred her natural curly hair to the 1960s Supremes style presented back in '64!... all professionally hosted without any of the Radio 3 gushy schoolgirl giggliness we've become immured to, by yet another new black female presenter to join Jumoké in the how-it-should-be-done stakes: Andi Oliver, who appears to be known... where have I been?

Of course, the title, "For One Night Only", might be Auntie telling us, "You wanted it? well, chums, this is your lot, count yourselves lucky", but might the call at the end for a series materialise?

It's Ribot time for a Berne up at the local Witherspoon's

It's Ribot time for a Berne up at the local Witherspoon's

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