I fell out when I heard the pianist playing some Art Tatum, that thing that he does. You’re talking basically a very simple harmony. That whole idea of giving you all the information you need harmonically, melodically and rhythmically, it just amazes me how they can do that in that context. I didn’t know what to do with those two chords, man! So the best I could do was to play some jazz over it, and in that band it worked, until he could get back to the piano and show me what to do with the montuno. My first job playing Latin music was with Machito, and I remember the first time Mario Bauzá threw something like that at me. But they are so comfortable with that style, man. That’s two players that really are comfortable playing in Latin Jazz. Bebo & Chucho Valdes, “Peanut Vendor” (from PAQUITO D’RIVERA PRESENTS CUBA JAZZ, RMM, 1996) (Bebo Valdes & Chucho Valdes, piano Moises Simon, composer) But I didn’t… Man, I like this picture, too.Ģ. I was ill, and she substituted for me on a thing that I was doing for David Parsons Dance Company, and did a brilliant job. She’s one of the few people I’ve asked to play my work. I’ll be darned! Geri is one of my favorite people, and one of the people’s whose work… I’m embarrassed now. It seems like a group that’s played together a lot, and they know each other. Oh yeah? Really? That kind of stuff! I also liked the rhythm section very much. I find that very interesting, because it goes off into some very different spaces that I wouldn’t think to do. It’s someone who’s harmonically oriented, and really is handling the piano like a horn in some respects, because he’s playing that kind of horn-like improvisations. Because I had to listen to a lot of people to present them in the different things that I was doing. So I’ve been listening mostly to things that I did. I haven’t been listening to other people for a long time now, since I had my stroke. Geri Allen, “Dance of the Infidels” (from THE LIFE OF A SONG, Telarc, 2004) (Allen, piano Dave Holland, bass Jack DeJohnette, drums, Bud Powell, composer) A great artist and ambassador for the music, much missed.ġ. His responses show how open-minded he was, how oriented to the here-and-now. ( I posted it on this website three years ago to the day.) Five years later, he consented to have me come to his Bronx apartment to sit for a DownBeat Blindfold Test, of which I post the uncut version below. Billy Taylor a bit towards the end of the ’90s, after Bret Primack asked to write the liner notes for a live recording by his trio-unfortunately, it was never released.
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