Steve Coleman Archives Forum

3 of my favorite Coltrane-songs:
„Blues Minor“ (Africa/Brass) – I love the very clear Coltrane-lines full of tension and vast motions in front of the big band
“Pursuance” (A Love Supreme)
“Dear Lord” (Dear Old Stockholm) – I feel: A nice ballad with a strong spiritual content
But I like other songs too.

Furthermore I listened to:
“Drop Kick” - and I read Vijay Iyer’s text about this song (mentioned by Charles) again

Steve Coleman and Mystic Rhythm Society
25/07/04 Bari, Italy

listening to "Giant step", the whole album....
This is a great classic, but still really good... For me that's the album representing Coltrane the most... along with "A Love Supreme"

„Crescend“, „Giant Steps“, „A Love Supreme“ … I really like that too.

Today I was crazy about …
… James Brown:
„Papa Don’t Take No Mess“, „Super Bad“, „Stone To The Bone“, „Talkin’ Loud And Sayin’ Nothing“ … (CDs: Jungle Groove, The Payback …) …

… and later: King Sunny Ade “Juju Music” (CD): a Nigerian party-music with a curious electric Hawaiin guitar – very simple melodies, fine rhythms, a nice atmosphere …

… sometimes I really like such things … no challenge!!

But I also listened to Art Tatum and
03/05/03 Mermaid Art Center,Bray Jazz Festival, Bray, Ireland
available in the FTP

I enjoyed that too.

Once I heard Wynton Marsalis say in the TV: “Jazz doesn’t come to you – you have to go to Jazz.”

I think that is right (at least a bit) and I keep this challenge alive since many years.

But on the other hand: I also like some music that comes to me.

(In fact I think both things are mixed: Coleman’s music comes to me too – in a high degree! But his music is mostly more than I can grasp. Sometimes I like uncomplicated things. It helps me to hear the complicated things in a fresh way. I think changing is good.)

I think S. Coleman's music is "complicated" in a theorytical point of view, but to me, his music and the feelings it gives me let me forget that "complicatedness"...
Earlier, I listened to Medeski, Martin & Wood

Manfred, you wrote :

I listened to:
the “Master Drummers Of Dagbon”
(Steve Coleman recommended the book “African Rhythm and African Sensibility. John Miller Chernoff“:
http://www.m-base.com/cnmat_ucb/Music_Improvisation_164.html
I read it. It is about the Dagbon Drummers - Ghana. I like the book and this music and I listen to it rather often.)

I also listened a bit to the music of the Aka Pygmies (to this music I listen very rarely – but I like it and I think it is a “complete” music).

Joined : 11 Sep 2006 Posts : 137

Manfred, you're the greatest! You are the heart and soul of this forum. Glad to have you call me out like that. I like it.

As complicated as BP seems to be, it really isn't as deep as one might think. Well, for most of us this would be tough, but for Smitty this is incredibly simple. Smitty has one of the very best set of feet that the drumming world has ever heard. In BP, he only used his right foot for the bass drum, so he's got a very fast foot and knows how to use the "up" action of the peddal for his benefit when using the "down" action of the peddal. What gives the "reprise" ambience, is the lazy left hand on the snare. I say lazy not in a negative sense, but in a way that honors Smitty. This laziness is also called "grace notes". They are the residual bounces of stick to snare....all the great drummers do this as well as some of those that are not so great!

I've been out of touch with Coleman for some time now, but if you'd like to know the time signature, I'll get that figured out if you'd like. If anything is impressive about this track, I'd say that its how Washington on bass (I believe its him) is able to work within and around the bass pedal of Smitty. What Smitty does is very cool with the bass drum, but what's even more amazing is how Washington is able to understand the bass drum work and works that rhythm in his own amazingly funky way. Washington is one of my all time favorite bass guitarists. As I listen to BP, I'm simply amazed at his interpretation of this tune. Washington is truly phenominal.

Harry, thanks for reviving this incredible piece of work. I like Black Phonemics more than the reprise because it gives us insight as to how each of these musicians interpret the schematics of Steve's idea of this track. Awesome!

Windows Media random play.....Ah, a nice transition from BP to Terra Nova! I love Terra Nova as well as much of the work from Drop Kick. If you want to hear a master of the left foot, its Smitty on this track. Smitty is a left foot God....there is none greater than Smitty on left foot. If anyone knows anything about drums, they know that Smitty was one of the very best that ever recorded his efforts. The clarity and preciceness of Smitty left foot is unchallenged. As we all know, these sessions are basically recorded live, something that many "rock" bands don't understand.

Peace

Free

I listened to:
the Fnac-2006-concert
available in the FTP: “Videos”

I feel: The sound and the rhythms are very compact and very floating – especially due to Tyshawn Sorey’s playing. He melts the ground and floats like a flood – no easy thing to listen to – but great! That’s the way I feel.

I think about what Coleman wrote in Wikipedia:
“… Energy (the potential for change and change itself … ) … the various states of Energy … the concept of Change … it is the Change between the various musical structures that is the important element ... it is the movement that is important.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Coleman

Joined : 03 Apr 2006 Posts : 254 Localisation : Paris

Hi all, Im back Smile

Watchin the Five elements Rhythm Edition concert at the New Morning in Paris earlier this year !

I just uploaded the file tot the FTP,

Enjoy Cool

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wow cool !! I'm getting it straight away !!! thanks !

Joined : 03 Apr 2006 Posts : 254 Localisation : Paris

im trying to get the 2nd set ready soon but I have technical troubles atm.
will let you know when it will be available.

Very nice concert, creative as always and with some strong Thomas Morgan acompaniment as well Shocked

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