The Sight of Sound

Anthony Braxton Composition Figures

I've been spinning a lot of Anthony Braxton lately.  To me his music is quite physical to the point that it can be visual.  I have a background in art which lends me to be a visual person for the most part.  I originally gravitated to Jazz because it seemed to contain a visual aesthetic to me.  Which makes sense because one of the first Jazz albums I ever listened to was Charles Mingus' The Clown.  It contained "these greens and yellows, and all of these oranges."

It's not just in The Clown, but I have always connected Avant-Garde Jazz with Post War / Post Modern Art.  Conceptually and metaphysically this makes sense.  Musicians like Steve Lacy and Ornette Coleman have always made a big visual presence in my imagination.  Lacy, for example, seems to construct shapes with every lick he plays on the Soprano.  And obviously the name of this blog is derived from Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come, but along with musical notes I hear shapes too.  

Can sound be seen?  Can sight be heard?

Here are a few Jazz pieces that create colors, lines, and shapes in my mind.  Some are mathematical and controlled, while some are chaotic and organic.  You can decided for yourself.

1959: The Year That Changed Jazz, Part Two of Two

I'm always trying to create similarities between free jazz, and specifically Ornette Coleman, with Minimal and Conceptual Art. Just like Ad Reinhardt's famous quote, "art is art, everything else is everything else." For Ornette, the same could be applied -- sound is.



Ornette played in the moment. He was only concerned with sound and wasn't restricted with chords or specific keys. Nothing else mattered, not the past, not the future, but the moment in which sounds were made. Before 1959: The Year That Changed Jazz concluded, they discussed how The Shape of Jazz to Come changed jazz mostly for the second half of the 20th century out of any of the other three albums featured.

Lou Reed shared that he couldn't "understand a negative reaction" to Coleman's playing. I often argue that The Velvet Underground seemed more inspired by Ornette Coleman than perhaps other Rock and Roll music. "Not a day goes by when I'm not humming 'Lonely Woman'," Reed said.

Coleman always wanted to immediately create something new. He was never satisfied with the norm, and for that, his music was so important for the next stages and sculpting of jazz. He's influenced rock, neo-classical, and a whole movement of jazz musicians through the 60s, 70s and beyond. Seeing Coleman perform and having the opportunity to shake his hand back in 2008 was one of my greatest joys.
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Jazz did a lot for America, and the mid-20th century was such a relevant era. 1959 focused a lot on the crucial times during the civil rights movement. Even garnering the success of these musicians, they were still often confronted with unequal opportunities. This film did an amazing job arguing that jazz played a major role in the strive for equality. One of the best lines was from Stanley Crouch when he said, "Obama doesn't know it, but jazz is the reason he was elected."

1959: The Year That Changed Jazz, Part One of Two

Last Friday I sat in the Whitsell Auditorium through the re-screening of Cool. I was giddy and excited to see 1959: The Year That Changed Jazz. Featuring highlights on Kind of Blue, Time Out, Mingus Ah Um, and for me most importantly The Shape of Jazz To Come. The audience was provided with the insight of individuals consisting of jazz writers, critics & historians Ashley Kahn, Stanley Crouch, Nat Hentoff, producer George Avakian, Charles Mingus' wife and the Mingus Big Band's art director Sue Mingus, the Village Vangaurd's Lorraine Gordon. While also featuring musicians Lou Reed, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, Joe Morelo, Charlie Haden, Jimmy Cobb, and the voice of Ornette Coleman from a 2009 interview. The movie was divided into five sections; one segment for each album, and the fifth for how each artist responded to the times and how the times responded to each artist.

Last year, Fred Kaplan published a book titled, 1959: The Year Everything Changed. Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus wrote about here. This looks like a must for anybody even remotely interested in Mid-Century America. It's certainly on my list.

Kind of Blue, jazz's most selling album, started the discussion. Who else but expert Ashley Kahn consulted us about this historic achievement in jazz. Kahn mentioned how the session was just another day at the office for these players. Just a mere seven hour session, all cuts being just first takes with the exception of one, no one, not even Miles himself, expected this album to be so crucial to jazz. Charlie Haden described Davis' playing as completely individualistic and unlike any other trumpeters technique. And just like in the movie Cool, this film discussed Davis' approach to render his language as a continuation of bebop.

We were then transitioned into Dave Brubeck's, Time Out. I don't think I even even have to go into the success of this record -- or that "Take Five" is probably one the must played songs in jazz. During the 50s, the U.S. saw Dave Brubeck as quintessential middle America. With the Cold War at it's peak, his quartet was sent overseas to tour Eastern Europe. In a way, he was used as an ambassador to represent the "cool" and the freedom of America. Brubeck himself pointed out a contrasting hypocrisy here. Many black citizens were striving for their own civil liberties on America's own front.

What I appreciated most was the film discussing the quartet's commercial success, which was mostly to white, middle America. Many individuals considered Brubeck a racist and sell out. However, Brubeck never intended to turn jazz towards any specific audience and his quartet was merely creating music in which he felt jazz should head. I couldn't agree more when Stanley Crouch when stating that Brubeck's quartet was far from racism and commercialism, it just so happened to be what the public latched itself to.

Much of the touring and exposure to Eastern European countries inspired many of the compositions on Time Out. For example, "Blue Rondo a la Turk," the melody was taken from Turkish folk music. Brubeck also shared a lot of great stories about the quartet. We heard about the struggles for stage popularity between Joe Morello and Paul Desmond, the conflicts with racism and segregation for bassist Eugene Wright while performing in the south, and even how Brubeck received the idea for "Take Five's" time signature while backstage observing Joe Morello tapping on his lap in 5/4.

Charles Mingus was no exception when it came to struggles with race and the recording industry. And with a passion and temper as bold as his, it was no surprise to see outlandish displays of anger on stage. But often you may find Mingus' satirical criticism of these issues in his own compositions, especially on Mingus Ah Um. Mingus created a direct response to racism and civil rights with his composition, "Fables of Faubus." A response to Arkansas' governor, Orval E. Faubus, in which Faubus opposed the Supreme Court rulings to enact integration. In fact, he had originally written lyrics for him and Dannie Richmond to share, but to avoid controversy, Columbia Records banned them from the album.

I believe Mingus is the bridge between bop and the avant-garde. He encouraged freedom in improvisation, and like Coltrane, wanted to get to the roots of jazz while creating something new. I believe Mingus' album, The Clown, is his strongest. It's Conceptual, free, powerful, timeless and here to stay.

Coming up I'll post part two for Ornette Coleman's highlights of 1959: The Year That Changed Jazz.

"Tijuana Moods" - Charles Mingus

This is a near flawless performance in my opinion.  I love the whimsicality of Mingus' compositions, and how the band alters the tempos constantly during tracks displaying how tight these guys were.  Mingus is praised for joining highly arranged parts mixed with sections where it sounds like the band is falling down stairs.  In this 1957 (released in 1962) session we can hear early demonstrations of this concept, and even though you don't immediately think of Mingus when you hear the term "free jazz," he certainly was an influence and opened a lot of doors for the avant-garde.

Dizzy Moods starts off calm with well harmonizing ensemble parts and straight forward solos.  Following this is the more roller coaster of a cut, Ysabel's Table Dance, which demonstrates the influence the city of Tijuana had on Mingus; this album was recorded shortly after a trip he had there.

One milestone is that this album solidified Dannie Richmond as a drummer for Mingus.  Prior to this he played sax in the band.  If you are a fan of "Tijuana Moods," check out "The Clown."  Both records pair nicely. 

1962 - RCA.

Charles Mingus -bass; Jimmy Knepper - Trombone; Curtis Porter - Shafti Hadi, Alto Sax; Clarence Shaw - Trumpet; Bill Triglia - Piano; Dannie Richmond - Drums; Frankie Dunlop - Percussion; Ysabel Morel - Castanets; Lonnie Elder - Voices.