This afternoon, been listening to The Complete Arista Recordings Of Anthony Braxton - Disc 1 & Disc 2
Art Blakey - Cu-Bop! I love Braxton, but this is a better soundtrack for making pizzas with the family for Saturday night dinner.
I think you nailed how music works in your comment: "I love the rich warm sound of that horn, snap of the drum, interplay exchange with the piano, etc."
That's very interesting. And repetition is central to most music. And probably we've all experienced trance-like states with repetitive dance music in the proper conditions. And obviously trance ritual music seems to be the oldest kind of music we know about (people appear to be performing it and engaging in trance rituals as depicted in prehistoric cave paintings). But mostly, even when we experience something "trance-like" with this kind of music, in practice, outside of actual rituals we might participate in, I don't think we don't actually go that often into possession type trances, experiencing altered states of consciousness, nor I think to we necessarily have one part of our experience of the music "take over" another. Sometimes, sure, but not most of the time. I think our ability as humans to experience and parallel process simultaneous sensory inputs on multiple levels across our minds and bodies is always a little under played in these kinds of models. I think it's rare, as humans, that we're every having one kind of experience or another, more like were having lots of dynamic, simultaneous experiences constantly. You can be dancing, talking to someone, and hearing the chord changes in the dance music all at the same time, and even be aware of all three experiences all at the same time. And in fact I think that kind of simultaneity is more common in human experience, certainly modern human experience, than kind of flipping between a trance-like state and cognitive awareness like its an on-off switch.
I used to hang out with a group of African friends in the early 1970's, listening to the music of their homelands and drinking whiskey. Each person favored the music of his country over the music of another. One night a fellow from South Africa said to a fellow from Zaire (named Spider), "I don't know, Spider. This Congolese music is so monotonous!" Spider smiled, raised his index finger and exclaimed, "Ah! But the beauty of the monotony!" To me, that summed up life itself. Somewhat monotonous, but ever so beautiful.
I rarely look at old footage of jazz because I find it often takes me further away from the music because it can be distracting, but that footage and the way it was shot was sublime. I loved Rivers growls
Pianist Michael Weiss is trying to reissue one of his earlier recordings that was recorded on analog tape onto vinyl. He's got a Kickstarter going for it and he's coming up quite short. If you want to hear a few of the tunes and possibly order a copy, the link is Michael Weiss | Soul Journey | Analog Vinyl | Jazz
I just found this one in my vaults…. David Binney & Edward Simon: Oceanos and it´s a very fine one...
Great post, thank you. I played guitar in bands for over 20 years and whatever if I`m playing or listening to music, I`ve got to "feel" it first, it has to trigger an emotional response in me. I`ll never forget the initial reaction I had to some albums or artists. I`ll never forget the first time I heard Coltrane`s Vanguard or Gentle Giant`s In A Glass House. Today, music listening is still an immense pleasure, some of the best moments of every day. I can`t imagine my life without these moments and without music.
Paul Motian - Bill Evans Very nice early morning record. Love Bill Frisell’s spacey guitar and Motian’s sparse drums.
Mistaking repetition for stasis, or hearing/focusing only on the repeating element(s) of a musical performance, is the problem. And that problem is in the ear of the behearer. As they say, you can't dip your toe in the same river twice.
Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (Mobile Fidelity UDSACD-2-2149) I guess @Yesternow is not alone enjoying this.
You've inspired me to play this one on standard vinyl. It's fitting for a cool,gray,drizzling rainy morning.
In reference to ATR quote. Had this experience in 2009 for Dead show at Shoreline. When show started the audience got to their feet and collectively starting dancing as one. Quite a experience I’m missed for years. At the time I told myself only Dead in San Francisco does this still exists. Definitely Tribal.
