New light on Miles Davis autobiography

[Gheorghe]

That´s it. Now I can imagine more of it. So....... Johnny "Guitar" Watson is R&B something that seems I haven´t explored. So this is similar to B.B. King ? Since as I said I saw B.B. King once when he was on tour schedule with Miles, without playing together, just one set Miles and one set B.B. King. 

As about changing styles in the 70´s Miles was not the only one who did it. Maybe he was the most famous one, but others from around his generation (a bit younger, a bit older) also changed their styles in the 70´s : Rollins, and even Diz. When I first saw him in the 70´s he didn´t play with a classic be bop quintet, he had an electric guitar, an electric bass and a more rock oriented drummer. Others like acoustic pianist Hampton Hawes also switched to electric piano. But I think this was natural. It´s fine if musicians from the older generation at some point tried out a newer style and mastered it in their very individual way: Like Roy Eldrigde from the swing era went as far as playing boppish "Ornithology" in 1947 and Benny Goodman did some small group bop on "Stealin´ Appels". Really fine, and maybe it was the same when Diz after 1970 did some tunes with a rock rhythm and mastered it. 

And don´t forget Ornette Coleman. His 60´s "free jazz" was part of the acoustic tradition and his 70´s Prime Time was an adaption of his "free style" to funk rhythms........really wonderful how all those guys did their stuff........

Edited July 8, 2019 by Gheorghe

[Big Beat Steve]

11 minutes ago, Gheorghe said:

 But I think this was natural. It´s fine if musicians from the older generation at some point tried out a newer style and mastered it in their very individual way: Like Roy Eldrigde from the swing era went as far as playing boppish "Ornithology" in 1947 and Benny Goodman did some small group bop on "Stealin´ Appels". Really fine,

I'd say that compared to my Miles/Watson examples these changes of the older jazzmen that you mention as examples were just "nuances" and not nearly as drastic (though maybe I am biased because I am into bop just as much as I am into swing - but I certainly don't get much out of jazz rock, for example, particularly whenever jazz rock is touted as "this is what jazz really is" ).

As for Johnny Guitar Watson, Clarence Gatemouth Brown would be more comparable than B.B. King IMO.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Big Beat Steve

[Gheorghe]

11 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

 

 

As for Johnny Guitar Watson, Clarence Gatemouth Brown would be more comparable than B.B. King IMO.

I think I heard the name Clarence Gatemouth Brown once in context with some 70´s Mingus. I think it was he who wrote the lyrics to some "Mingus Blues" which was shouted out by George Adams. Mingus ..... I forgot about him, he also got some of the electrics in his music from about 1977 on. I remember he was even scheduled for a tour with Larry Coryell in late 1977 but it had to be chancelled.......

[JSngry]

There are no bad Johnny Guitar Watson records, period.

 

[Big Beat Steve]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

There are no bad Johnny Guitar Watson records, period.

 

You must be feeling REALLY comfortable in your rut.

 

[JSngry]

It's the rut of truth.

 

[Gheorghe]

And how about "Wah Wah Watson" ? At least that´s the one I know from the famous Herbie Hancock stuff "V.S.O.P" , the first record they did.Anyway this is a bit more Miles related, especially the first part of the concert where they play the music of the "2´nd classic quintet" with Hubbard replacing Davis. 

And the only "guitar" Watson I know, the "Wah Wah Watson" is on the more funky stuff from the other part of the concert. I really love that record which celebrated 3 creative periods of Hancock and his fellow musicians......

And I think I saw Wah Wah Watson live when Hancock did a kind of "Headhunters 2" decades later with saxophonist Bill Evans (also a Miles´ man) on tenor......

[Hot Ptah]

I am looking forward to the Masaya Yamaguchi book. I found the Troupe book to be disappointing and am interested in any new information about Miles.

 

[Larry Kart]

The two Watson compilations I have now -- one early material, one funk tracks from the '70s -- have me laughing and scratching. There's a basic joyousness to his music that's irresistible.

[JSngry]

2 hours ago, Larry Kart said:

The two Watson compilations I have now -- one early material, one funk tracks from the '70s -- have me laughing and scratching. There's a basic joyousness to his music that's irresistible.

Hey.