Jazz for aficionados

If 20 minutes of bass and 10 minutes of all else is the best  expression
of that  work or that time works for me .

acman, I was expecting to hear "The Monster Mash" when that started!

Today's listen (a jazz blasphemy)

Neighbors arguing loudly (all day)

Stefanovski, Tadic and Spassov: "Ne si go prodavaj..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_ccWKhFXDE

Vlatko Stefanovski (Macedonia) & Miroslav Tadic (Croatia - Serbia) - Jovano Jovanke
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyFwwIHw6nw

Esma Redzepova (Macedonia) - Caje sukarije
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcaHAL38j4M

Ederlezi: Time of the Gypsies - Goran Bregović (Bosnia), Emir Kusturica (Serbia)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZf00ad3G6o
I am gypsy woman today, oooopa, ožeži (hit the music)

A couple of thoughts re the issue of drum and bass solos offered in part because I am not sure that the sentiment of my first post on the subject was clear. “Drummers don’t get enough love”.

I like bass and drum solos....good ones. And I completely agree with Schubert’s sentiment:

**** If 20 minutes of bass and 10 minutes of all else is the best expression of that work or that time works for me ****

It is true that drum solos, and to a lesser extent, bass solos are sometimes not on the same level of musicality as horn and piano solos. There are reasons for this. First, it is much more difficult to improvise an interesting solo with only rhythm, only one of the two most basic foundational elements of music...rhythm and melody (melody can imply harmony). However, it doesn’t mean that it is not possible and some drummers do it very well. The mentioned Joe Morello and Philly Joe are great examples. In the case of bass solos it has only been fairly recently that bass players have reached the level of technical virtuosity that one takes for granted from horn and piano players; but, once again, there are and have been players who, IMO, are every bit as accomplished in this respect as horn and piano players. Eddie Gomez, Scott LaFaro, George Mraz and others come to mind. Practically every tune on many of Bill Evans’ famous live trio recordings features a bass solo. So, I guess what I am trying to say is that there is no set rule, IMO, about the “appropriateness” of having drum or bass solos on every tune. If the drummer or bass player can add to the music at the same level of musicality of the other musicians....why not?

Of course, the problem is when the drummer or bass player is not on the same level as soloist as the other players. Now this topic gets tricky. The notion of every player on the bandstand playing a solo is rooted in a very basic tenet in small ensemble jazz....everyone gets to tell his/her story. From the musician’s standpoint and “artist mindset” this goes to the basic idea that jazz is an interactive and communal musical endeavor and, to the chagrin of the audience, the audience necessarily takes the back seat to this mindset. The “purist” jazz player, correctly or not, expects the audience to accept his “story” without necessarily having to worry about the audience’s expectations or preferences. Interestingly and ironically, we find this purist attitude mostly among the LESS experienced and less accomplished players; as pryso points out, the “local jazz players”. It is a kind of musical immaturity on the part of the players and more experienced and confident players know better and understand when a crappy drum solo will only detract from the communal story. Personally, I don’t remember ever going to see a major jazz act when the drummer soloed on every tune, or even close to it.

I guess the takeaway is that, just as the experienced players try to be more realistic about all this and consider the audience, it’s probably also of value for the audience to put the practice in better context and perhaps be more tolerant. In keeping with the often cited truism that the best place to perfect the craft is in front of an audience, if not given the chance to actually do it in front of an audience we would never have a good drum or bass soloist.