Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

VinnyViolin wrote:To further exercise my gift for diversions even more ...
(You have probably already seen these, but just in case not),
I thought as a fellow American you might enjoy some of these clips from the John Lewis Show
http://youtu.be/voe0LVKWzuk
http://youtu.be/T6mYAN-UNdw

you know... i was HOPING it was THAT John Lewis!

whoa....i never knew anything aout that show. whatta hoot! totally weird seeing JL in that funky 70's garb instead of his usual natty three piece suits and tuxedos.

can't wait to check out all the episodes that are up.

thanks for hipping me to that!!!!

I thought he was THAT John Lewis as well .... he did look a little different from other pictures I'd seen of him. Then I was wondering, with all these great guests, he must of had "Bags" on for an episode too .... but no.

So I looked up the show and found out it is NOT that John Lewis!

He is a drummer/pianist who has played with some great musicians, but not in the MJQ. Quite an entrepreneur apparently, and a pal of Miles Davis's.

Still I think it a great show, getting to hear interviews with musicians that rarely get to talk on TV!

"Vous etes swing!"

AHA!

you know....i was wondering because this guy is a little skinnier than THAT John Lewis.

a few years back MJQ was performing at The Sheldon in St. Louis and he and Bags were each doing a clinic in the afternoon. JL was just a wonderful, warm, and beautiful person and he gave a great clinic.

Bags on the hand (and of course i'm a fan of his playing) came off quite dickish and dismissive.

the gal sitting next to me asked him about playing w 4 mallets and accompaniement (i guess she wasn't that familiar w his style) and he just about yelled at her..."that's a bunch of crap. the vibes is a single line melody instrument. anything else is just BS". and there were several other instances like that.

disappointing that he came off like a jerk but i still enjoy his playing. he's definitely on the short list of all time great blues players.

Sounds like an awesome clinic! Maybe Bags was just having a "Buddy Rich" kind of mood that day?

http://youtu.be/omID1prJHFo

AH...THE INFAMOUS BUDDY RICH BUS RANT! ALL TIME CLASSIC THERE!

you know...i wanted to give bags the benefit of the doubt, but not long after that clinic i read an interview of him by dave samuels in Modern Percussionist.

this is back when samuels was playing in spyro gyra and was using a malletKAT and pickup systems on both his vibes and marimba.

he asked milt if he'd ever messed w the malletKAT...."ahhh, that's not a real instrument. it's for fakers!" later samuels asked about pickups and bags was similarly dismissive going off on a rant about how "jazz is strictly an acoustic music".

hmmmm....seems to me that as soon as put mics in front of instruments to AMPLIFY them for an audience to hear 'em, well it ain't exactly "acoustic" anymore.

on the one hand i did think it was possible he was just yanking samuels' chain and giving him $hit knowing DS's take on those things.

but then...this WAS in Modern Percussionist magazine where a lot of folks (guilty of those same crimes) would be reading it.

He sounds like a pretty salty character in any case!

I think you have a point about the mics and amplification, and for that matter, recordings in general.

It is crossing another line when going from pickups on an otherwise acoustic instrument to midi playback of sampled sounds. Whether that defines or excludes an instrument from a genre is probably endlessly debatable.

Frank Zappa's "Jazz From Hell" may have been some sort of commentary on on that taken to extremes.

I've heard Miles Davis, Roy Haynes and others debate whether the term 'jazz' is even appropriate for referring to the music they play.

I think I'll stick with The Duke's maxim "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"

"I think I'll stick with The Duke's maxim "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"

can't go wrong there. have you seen "American Hustle"?
there's a very nice tip of the hat to the classic "Ellington at Newport" album.

i do agree w you about midi/sampled instruments. not close to the same thing. i have some great vibes/marimba/steel drum sounds in my malletKAT but the dynamic range, while pretty good will never come anywhere close to the actual instruments.

and that's not even getting into how the overtones change when playing lightly and when digging in on the acoustic instruments.

ah...there's that compromise thing again.

I'll have to checkout that "American Hustle"!

Looking forward to the new tune you are cooking up on that fretless Zebra!

In the digressions and diversions category ... I stumbled upon this old Ray McKinley Orchestra tune fro 1946 ... an Eddie Sauter arrangement I think, with Mundell Lowe on guitar, "Tumblebug" http://youtu.be/gVDpPGzwFqM
thought you might enjoy it. They sound a bit 'ahead of the times' on this one.

you and your damn diversionary tactics!!!!

hey, that's a nice find. and VERY forward thinking writing as you said.

pretty "forward" gtr playing too...love that glissando bit! i had no idea mundell lowe was recording that far back.