AllenLowe

Well ok; in my entire time here I have never seen a member of Organissimo Forums show up at one of my gigs. Some of you live in or around NYC. You can't hide forever. And, though I hate to admit it, I won't live forever So here's your chance; we will have an 8-piece band at Dizzy's this Wednesday night; the program is called Really the Blues? First set 7:30. Allen Lowe - tenor Frank Lacy - trumpet and trombone Aaron Johnson - alto Lewis Porter - piano Kenny Berger - baritone sax Alex Tremblay - bass Ray Suhy - guitar Rob Landis - drums

"(On America: The Rough Cut) Allen Lowe is the great contemporary jazz outsider....especially aided by the great guitarist Ray Suhy. The blues is fundamentally modernist, because it’s a framework for making old ideas new...Lowe is stylistically close to Mingus because they share similar values: they see the story of American popular music, especially the music made by Black musicians, as a continuing story of modernism before there was any kind of codified jazz. Mingus played modern jazz that was really modernist gospel music, and Lowe plays modern jazz that is really New Orleans brass band and march music, or hymns, or country music, even heavy metal. "Both musicians also work through specific personal experiences and forms of expression. a series of books and accompanying musical anthologies that make for a strong argument that American music should have some sense of roughness and irreverence. His work represents a Whitman-esque rejection of “the polite trappings of (primarily but not only white) society. "His experience has also yielded In the Dark, 31 tracks across three CDs that came from his nights struggling to sleep and even breathe. He calls it, “a commemoration of the worst time of my life.” It’s a remarkable document, which sprawls across blues, song forms, free playing and all sorts of rhythmic styles, and yet remains focused. Each track is satisfying; there’s not a dull moment.Part of that is Lowe’s compositional style, where everything sounds familiar even as the themes and personality are new. The mid-sized band includes inventive and energetic players including Lewis Porter (piano) and Aaron Johnson (alto) whose explosive energy makes him the de facto lead voice." -George Grella NYC Jazz Record

this is very interesting to read - I have seen Richard Davis only twice in my life in person, and both times he got lost on tunes with chord changes. You gotta figure Sonny would notice this.

Allen Lowe & the Constant Sorrow Orchestra - In the Dark/America: The Rough Cut (ESP-Disk’) FROM THE BIG TAKEOVER 26 April 2023 by Michael Toland Saxophonist Allen Lowe has lived one hell of a music-obsessed life. Outside of his own albums, which stretch back to the mid-eighties, he’s curated jazz festivals, worked as a freelance audio and mastering engineer, written a half-dozen books about music, and worked with a murderer’s row of musicians in both the bop and avant-garde camps: Matthew Shipp, Julius Hemphill, David Murray, Roswell Rudd, Marc Ribot, Doc Cheatham, Don Byron, and tons more. Plus he co-founded the brilliant twenty-first century free jazz outfit East Axis. He also had to go through fourteen cancer surgeries, one of which left him with a near-debilitating case of insomnia, topped off with neuropathy. During that period, he dealt with it as musicians would: since he couldn’t sleep anyway, he might as well make music, and his prolific rate of composition resulted in two new albums: In the Dark, which directly addresses his health, and America: The Rough Cut, a state of music declaration. With Lowe backed by keyboardist Lewis Porter, clarinetist Ken Peplowski, saxophonists Aaron Johnson and Lisa Parrott, trumpeter Kellin Hannas, trombonist Brian Simontachhi, bassists Kyle Colina and Alex Tremblay, and drummer Rob Landis, In the Dark spreads thirty-one songs across three disks. Essaying everything from blues to bop to ballads to even tango, Lowe leads his troop through the tracks with a commitment to his vision, but the flexibility to allow his pals to play the way they need. Tributes like “Poem For Eric Dolphy,” “Memories of Jaki,” and “Goodbye Barry Harris,” as well as tunes like “Velasco’s Revenger,” “Out to Brunch,” and “Nita’s Mom,” show equal devotion to melody and improvisation, not to mention a deep reverence for old-fashioned swing and the blues. Then there are the eight “In the Dark” songs, traversing intense discomfort (“Night Terrors,” “Desperate Circles”) to post-trauma relief (“For Francis,” “For Helen”). In the Dark is a long journey, but a fruitful one. With a different and more varied lineup (primarily guitarist Ray Suhy, Tremblay, and drummer Kresten Osgood) and a more playful tone, America: The Rough Cut is a satirical commentary on the state of American music. Thus the record includes sly nods to country music (“Cheatin’ My Heart”), rock (“Blues in Shreds,” “Metallic Taste”), gospel (“At a Baptist Meeting,” featuring the late, great Roswell Rudd), folk (“Eh, Death?”), free jazz (“Blues for Unprepared Guitarist”), and blues – lots and lots of blues. Indeed, the blues is where the album’s beating heart lies, whether it’s the country blues rib “Cold Was the Night, Dark Was the Ground,” the blues-into-bebop showcase “It’s the End,” or the straightforward expression of “Full Moon Moan.” The intent ranges from gentle pokes to snide attacks, but never falls into bitterness or being mean for meanness’ sake. That doesn’t mean Lowe doesn’t have things on his mind, particularly on “Unprepared Guitarist,” but he’s more interested in making us think than in scoring points. Plus he’s happy to drop the criticism to simply pay tribute to his wife on “Hymn for Her,” a sign that his intent isn’t to sneer his way through the record. Besides, being both the player and the historian he is, there’s apparently no genre at which he doesn’t excel, making America: The Rough Cut a pleasure whether you get the jokes or not.

there was a period of time when Schaeffer was very drugged up and regularly, I have heard, being quite obnoxious. This may have been retaliation for some other slight.

I am no expert, but I started using Apple Music when I got a new Mac, and if I had a choice I would never go near the damn thing. It freezes up, it doesn't recognize CDs in an external drive, it won't play a playlist unless I restart it a few times - a real pain. It's amazing to me that Apple can't get it right.

I did a month of Mondays in Hartford with Bishop back in the '80s, nicest guy I ever met. Amazing to hear him play (Dick Katz said that in Bish's prime "there was no one who sounded closer to Bud"). All we talked about was Bud Powell, who he described as "infantile in every respect except music." I will say that though he could still play, his playing was harmed by his attempts to sound "contemporary," with the use of fourths and modal forms. It's too bad. I will say that Harold Vick, who I heard a lot in the 1970s, is a completely different player on this album (listening on bandcamp); he seems to be aiming for Trane and doing a very nice job of it. Later on he settled into almost a Houston Person feeling, few notes, a lot of tone. I like him much better here.

let me know what price you end up with and I'll see if I can do better; the big problem is that overseas postage from the USA has gone through the roof,

it's all history, and I don't expect other people to have the same degree of obsession as I have with the details, aesthetic and otherwise. The other thing I would note is that I understand that when someone attacks something that you admire, it feels personal. It's not, but I know it's an unavoidable response.

thank you. Maybe we have reached an understanding.

after the back and forth about Jason Moran's JR Europe mess I wanted to post our recording of Castles in the Sand, my JR Europe reference, with me on tenor, Kellin Hannas on trumpet, Ken Peplowski on clarinet, Aaron Johnson alto and Lewis Porter on piano. To me, the key is to ignore re-creation and instead get into the spirit of what those 1913 musicians were just discovering:

once again the point is being missed - I ENCOURAGE re-interpretation; listen to my own music. But that re-interpretation either has to give us a new and interesting perspective, or it has to somehow capture the spirit of the music in a parallel way. As for Sonny, well, bad bands are bad bands. Clearly in the Milestone years he saw his chance to establish a commercial beachhead, which he did; fine, it is his right. But that doesn't mean we as listeners have to accept everything he did. It's called critical judgement; though it is funny, here you are arguing for Jason's right to play whatever he wants, but telling those of us who were not fond of the Sonny Milestone era that we have no right to our opinion. What's wrong with this picture? thank you for taking the time to tell me my multiple and very-specific posts on what is wrong with Moran's interpretation lack "insight" and are pejorative.

it's been a little while, I will go back and check them out.

I have sent him emails - not contentious ones, but about other subjects - that he doesn't respond to, which is ok and expected, though I do consider myself to be a peer. But my larger assumption is based on dealing - and trying to deal - with people at that level of fame. I think it breeds a certain sense of un-touchability, a desire not to have to deal with unpleasant disagreements, and an ability to avoid those disagreements just because you can. And honestly, I don't have the energy to make any more futile efforts; it's next to impossible to get in touch with famous people and I am too old and have enough pride (not a lot but enough) to not want to face predictable rejection.

I am sorry but I feel that this completely misses the point. Of course Jason can play it any way he wants, but that doesn't free him from any judgement that someone may make that he is misunderstanding the music and the idiom. Yes, if he gave an alternative that made sense, that would be a good thing, but he has turned a very free and liberated music into one that is walled in by muddle-class inhibition and a snowflake-like over-sensitivity to racial style and context. I am NOT arguing that it is un-idiomatic; I am arguing that it is dull and denatured and has lost the feeling and essence of the original - which he was trying to preserve in what I think is a very misguided way. You disagree, fine, but you cannot deflect criticism by saying that the artist has the right to do the material his or her own way. No one is arguing for censorship. And I wasn't comparing the musical choices to MAGA - I was simply saying we have this double standard. We hold people's political decisions to certain principled standards based on information and historical perspective, and that is what I am doing musically here. If anyone is put off by my way of arguing - and I have attacked no one here personally - then they can counter my argument. I give my opinion and then I outline my reasons for having that opinion. If you are put off by that, well....you just don't, in my opinion, have a real sense of the necessity of intellectual give-and-take. It's not personal; I think that when someone pretends to be delving into history by merely reproducing a very middle class and "respectable" interpretation of something that was, actually, quite respectable and even middle class - but the middle class of 1913 and not the middle class of 2023 - then there is a problem and I feel like someone needs to speak for these musicians who cannot speak for themselves. Yes, that's my opinion. I am not advocating that anyone be forced to accept it (btw I am about to teach a 16 part course on this for Lincoln Center, and it's free, so anyone who wants to get a better understanding of my perspective is welcome to attend by Zoom). he will never go public with this kind of discussion, which I would love to have. The reason is that he doesn't have to. I am a mere fly spec on the ass of the universe for people like him, who, at that level, do not need to engage with anyine to justify their own positions. All they have to do is give a monologue.

My point with the Trump comparison is that when it comes to politics, we are critical of people who make judgements with insufficient evidence or information. To me there are particular kinds of music, historically based, that require a certain level of knowledge in order to understand how they sound and why they sound that way. I’m sorry if I offended people who liked Moran’s recent things, but the James Reese Europe stuff in particular is so musically misguided that it just needs to be said. Just as I wouldn’t try to judge a classical performance, these old black forms require a more comprehensive understanding of how music was made in those days and why it was made the way it was made And this is not some kind of abstract intellectual point of view, because the original music is still there, still available, and not to listen to it is like preferring Pat Boone to little Richard. The difference is that dramatic.

So it’s a bad idea for me to offer a strong opinion, but it’s OK for you? Attacking what you think is my narrow little world? Well, it’s not really that narrow. I’ve sold a lot of books and my work has been circulated pretty widely, more widely than your post. If you don’t know the music, you shouldn’t talk about it. It’s the Trumpies version of political opinions. Lots of ideas with no information. that older musical world is complicated and ingenious. It’s like all of Jazz, you can’t just listen to a little snippet, and then become an expert. It’s the irony of it all… In the name of African-American heritage, we present watered down versions of that heritage. It’s like a fear of facing the real music, which is just nasty and complicated.

I also note how sterile the recording sounds - basically everything sounds completely isolated, which is probably the way it was done. There is no real space, no harmonic interaction between the instruments, like it was phoned in. Honestly, and this goes counter to some other things I have said, but white audiences of a certain kind love this kind of b.s, think it's socially edifying.

but for reasons that have nothing to do with race; this is an art music. And in the years since it faded from the pop charts even more so.

I found it edifying. Since I've listened to it I have become a MAGA person, since the recording fits the persona of people who are deathly afraid of real blackness.

I am going to say something self-promotional here; Jason is a great pianist, but that album to me represents the worst kind of pseudo-interpretation of older materials. It sounds like just another stiff white version of old-timey music (in spite of some "contemporary" sounding soloists who end up just sounding like they are at the wrong session). Musicians who do these kinds of projects tend to expose themselves as having not really listened to that old sound - black and white - and have ended up with these awful, polite examinations of what should be unruly music. Now the self-promotional aspect of this post - on our new release I do a JR Europe reference of sorts with a thing we did called Castles in Sand, which is miles above anything on that Moran album. It's frustrating to hear people flocking to fame, when the music is what should be essential.

I think it's a cultural sea change - well, it's been going on for a long time - and black writers seem, for the most part, to have moved on. As for you statement about white audiences - I should have spoken up before, but it is an absolute truism, based on my experience of attending jazz events for about 55 years. This is not to say that there are not black audiences for jazz, but the music would have died a slow death years ago without the support of white folks.

Dan and I disagree about a lot of politics, but I know him well enough by now that when it comes to race and music he is only about the music, and doesn't get stuck in pseudo-woke poses. As for white fragility, you've got it backwards - to me the fragility is white folks who just bend to any opposite argument about race, who deny their own personal opinions because they are afraid of causing political offense. They are too fragile to risk dealing with heavy issues in which they might hold an unpopular opinion.

I really take offense at this; I have been teaching, playing, and advocating for this music for about 50 years, at great personal sacrifice; I have recorded over 20 CDs, most of which are related to an examination of jazz's complex history; I have helped numerous musicians, gig-wise and financially; I have given up that career for a period of 20 years to help my son and basically had to, from a professional standpoint, start over again; I have written books on the subject - including all of American music - which are more comprehensive on the subject than that of virtually any other writer, white or black. At this point jazz and black vernacular music is so far from its roots that the music is an art form accessible to anyone, regardless of blood line or racial hierarchy (which strikes me as Nazi-like in its dependence on genetic continuity); some of the worst writing I have read of late on jazz or black culture has been from African American writers, one of whom, in a recent, book informed us that white writers were hopeless insufficient from a racial standpoint and could not understand the music like black writers (and then proceeded to write articles that were completely devoid of any historical, social, or musical understanding). This whole thing reduces those of us who have spent so many years in support of this music to idiotic racial symbols. The truth is, without these white advocates, neither jazz history or the history of the blues would have been preserved in any comprehensive manner. I have just had enough of this bullshit. I support black writers, but I refuse to change my standards based on a false sense of historical reparations (which I also support). I write a lot about this, btw, in my recent book Letter to Esperanza, about the stupidity of ideologically-based historicism with people like Rhiannon Giddens and Daphne Brooks. And don't get me started on Nicholas Payton.