Jazz for aficionados

Frogman, for sure, when I wish to listen some gentle or subtle trumpet playing Dizzy is not my first (or second) pick and I agree with you on that matter. All the players you have mentioned had more to say on that subject.
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 But it seems to me that article you posted proves my thoughts about it...
...'his amazingly sophisticated harmonic insight...his stunning ability to improvise brilliantly at any tempo...instead the limelight was thrown on the one aspect of his playing in which he placed little importance....he always regarded tone as comparatively minor consideration....he had no choice, but to give priority to sound he made'

It  certainly would be interesting to hear more recordings where he 'had no choice' but to give 'priority to the sound', but it seems that he did not cared for that aspect of his playing,for whatever reason.
That was my thought and I simply said that I believe that, by judging on his displayed technique, he could achived that aspect as well, if he only wanted.

Alex, what we are talking about are not necessarily artistic choices; and, in the case of Dizzy, I don’t believe they were. Moreover, we may be misinterpreting, what the author of that quote is saying. Some jazz players cultivate the ability to sound loose or with a "casual" attitude in their tone for artistic expression. Miles was that kind of player; he could sound beautifully in control with excellent intonation and relaxed tone and if he wanted to other times sound the way a beginning trumpet student might sound. He was in control. Other players simply didn’t learn to play their instrument in a way that allows the tone to be fully developed and with good intonation. This is rudimentary in the physical act of playing a wind instrument. Dizzy was a completely self-taught player and he put emphasis on fast playing and high playing. While this fact, unto itself, may sound impressive, it is rare the self taught wind player that doesn’t develop some terrible playing habits. There are ways to accomplish the speed and range and still not develop the other traits in one’s playing. In fact, by starting with the "fast and high" pproach it makes it almost impossible to accomplish them.  First thing any good teacher tells a student: "Play it very slowly". Moreover, his ability to improvise the way he did has nothing to do with the issue of finesse and control. In fact, it is a cliche among players that, generally, the ones who play a million notes are the ones likely to have issues with finesse and control. I have no idea whether Dizzy wanted to be able to play with the finesse and control of someone like Miles. You seem to be suggesting that he could at any moment, if he wanted to. No way! As with any other player on any instrument, if he really wanted to, sure! But it was going to require a complete rethinking of his embouchure, the way that he blows and other considerations. Reversing old playing habits could take a couple of years.

All of this may sound very calculated and in conflict with the creative spirit of jazz playing, but it is a reality that every player experiences whether studying an instrument formally or not. Many great jazz players, even if they did not attend Juilliard like Miles did for a while, started with teachers that, at least, pointed the way. There is a tendency to think that jazz players simply stick the instrument in their mouths or hands and magic happens. It’s much more than that.

"I spent my first week in New York looking for Bird and Dizzy. Juilliard was only a smokescreen, a stopover, a pretense I used to put me close to being around Bird and Diz."

Those were Miles very own words; Diz didn't go to St. Louis looking for Miles, he came to New York looking for Bird and Diz; that was from the start, which tells a lot.

Dizzy G, was the ultimate "jazz musician" who could innovate like nobody you ever heard; that's how he was able to consistently play "jazz" that sounded fresh and brand new from the 40's until his death. He never sounded "stereotypical", meaning clinging to certain riffs that he repeated, but each time he reworked his old tunes until they sounded new.

While Diz never left the "jazz compound" he pushed and re-invented his music in such a way that it was always new and fresh.


Throughout most of my "jazz life" I was equally a Diz and Miles fan; that is until Miles trolley jumped the tracks, and I no longer liked his music. Trying to quantify Miles new music would give me a a "brain-ache", therefore I won't, but leave it at the fact I could live without it.


Enjoy the music.

Frogman, I really appreciate your 'inside' comments, there is no reason why I should not believe you. It would be interesting if somebody could come up with some material where perhaps Dizzy was faced with question or comment about it, meaning why he emphasized one 'style' of playing over another

"Some days you get up and put the horn to your chops and it sounds pretty good and you win. Some days you try and nothing works and the horn wins. This goes on and on and then you die and the horn wins." - Dizzy Gillespie 

"How do I know why Miles walks off the stage? Why don't you ask him? And besides, maybe we'd all like to be like Miles, and just haven't got the guts." - Dizzy Gillespie