tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526704657739088406.post5156477071826926571..comments2024-02-01T12:37:55.180+00:00Comments on Mostly music: The Current Face of the BassRonan Guilfoylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02668316692753726447noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526704657739088406.post-18644833943674136772016-10-06T12:50:43.319+01:002016-10-06T12:50:43.319+01:00Great article.
The thing about relentless displays...Great article.<br />The thing about relentless displays of technical virtuosity is...that it gets tiresome and, finally, underwhelming...if it's primarily ego-driven. If the music just happens demand a high level of technical mastery and has "soul", great. What about musical imagination...and the feeling of entering an enchanted, alternate sonic universe? What about feeling moved and inspired by a piece of music? What about that feeling of "personality" informing the music, a la Charlie Haden(the antithesis of chop-meister virtuosity)...or Steve Swallow...or Ron Carter...or Wilbur Ware...or Willie Weeks...or...? I am struggling to articulate the idea that technique in service of musical passion, imagination, and creativity ALWAYS trumps mere virtuosic technique. I think I read a Larry Grenadier interview in which he talked about approaching technique as a matter of being able to comfortably execute the music at a level that the attention is on expression and its nuances...I hope what i'm struggling to articulate makes sense. markfretlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11489974568273675855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526704657739088406.post-57087868250294432092016-06-01T17:12:58.306+01:002016-06-01T17:12:58.306+01:00Speaking specifically about the Michael Pipoquinha...Speaking specifically about the Michael Pipoquinha clip above, I wonder also if part of the reason it is great (apart from being just great music overall) is that it's rooted in a "folk music" and is anchored or even reigned in by that - it has to serve the groove, to paraphrase you, Ronan. That doesn't mean that all folk-related musics groove nor that non-folk musics don't, more that the combination of a rootedness in folk music and great groove with a technical command lead to something particularly satisfying.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13721100629852442063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526704657739088406.post-54221604157394109282016-05-15T14:38:03.067+01:002016-05-15T14:38:03.067+01:00All great points Kevin - thanks for the insightful...All great points Kevin - thanks for the insightful comment<br />Ronan Guilfoylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02668316692753726447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526704657739088406.post-19282971756512681512016-05-15T14:34:54.297+01:002016-05-15T14:34:54.297+01:00Well when I said 'Word of Mouth', I meant ...Well when I said 'Word of Mouth', I meant when is the next great album from a bassist, such as 'Word of Mouth', going to come along. I wouldn't care if it was just a trio album as long as it had some depth to it. Jaco, as Michael Gibbs so rightly remarked, was the full package. Thanks for writing Colin<br />Ronan Guilfoylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02668316692753726447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526704657739088406.post-5508303652183362232016-05-15T13:34:46.555+01:002016-05-15T13:34:46.555+01:00The rise of insular communities such as jazz bass ...The rise of insular communities such as jazz bass nerdism I think is part of a fragmentation of culture into niches that affects even politics. Given the freedom of the internet, we tend to seek out our own kind.<br />Also, there's the anti-commercial bourgeois jazz school culture that exults in disconnection from the popular culture - a strange holdover of 20th C. black "hipness".<br />We musicians should be thinking about what communities we want to be part of. Music is about more than finger movements executed in bedrooms!!!<br />Thanks for the article Ronan.<br />Kevin HigginsDrum Chanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15737188366903515475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526704657739088406.post-64471404192553356462016-05-15T11:35:52.184+01:002016-05-15T11:35:52.184+01:00I have thought about this for a long time when is ...I have thought about this for a long time when is this crop of great players going to produce the next leap forward?<br />I remember Michael Gibbs telling me once that what people forget about Jaco was that he was a complete musician, as well as being a virtuoso he was a composer and arranger. <br />I don't think that there is the money available to record the next Word of Mouth album the LA Phil don't come cheap. But if they wanted to they could always try crowd fundingColin Carrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06012814287275751244noreply@blogger.com