[78-L] Bird with Stringency

[Julian Vein]

On 07/01/14 18:37, Don Cox wrote:
> On 06/01/2014, Julian Vein wrote:
>
>> Charlie Parker recorded some 14 titles for the "Charlie Parker with
>> Strings" sessions, but most of his live recordings consist of just the
>> same four songs. This must've had a stultifying effect on Bird's
>> string players.
>>
>> This got me thinking about the size of jazz musicians' repertoires.
>>
>> Working from those who left a large body of live recordings, I have
>> noted the following:
>>
>> Large: Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck.
>> Small: Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane.
>>
>> The second group seem to stick to their comfort zones, and appear
>> unwilling to step outside it. I exclude big bands and singers because
>> there are certain constrictions on what they can practically perform.
>>
> It seems very wrong to me to talk about Miles Davis and Coltrane
> "sticking to their comfort zones". They are famous for constantly
> striking out into uncharted territory.
>
> Perhaps Jelly Roll Morton had a small repertoire, but often a musician's
> recorded legacy is only a small selection from his whole repertoire.
>
> Regards
======================
I was talking about their non-studio recordings. What they played in the 
studio may have been dictated to them to some extent. I was using the 
above-named artists as examples of those who made a large number of live 
recordings.

Coltrane's studio recordings had a much wider repertoire, Davis and Monk 
less so. My feeling is that Coltrane and Davis tended to blow on the 
chords (or scales?) and put aside the melody as soon as it had been 
stated. Davis usually played his favourites much faster than he did in 
the studio, therefore denuding them of any charm the melodies many have 
contained. I'm not saying he didn't play brilliantly when he did this, 
but he was just using them as a means to an end.

If you attended one of their concerts this wouldn't have presented 
itself as a problem. It's just that now a large body of their work is 
available for scrutiny, perhaps too much?

      Julian Vein