A word on a term that has been frequently misinterpreted to simply mean „playing fast.“ Coltrane himself explained that the „long, rapid lines that Ira Gitler termed ’sheets of sound'“ referred specifically to his tendency to play three chords to each one played by the rhythm section. „At that time the tendency was to play the entire scale of each chord. Therefore, they were usually played fast and sometimes sounded like glisses [glissandos]“.
~ Ashley Kahn, in: John Coltrane: Side Steps, booklet, p. 13
Und jetzt hör ich die langen Red Garland Sessions vom November & Dezember 1957, über die ich nicht detailliert schreiben werde… mehr schöne Soli von Donald Byrd, Coltrane eben am Beginn der „sheets of sound“ Periode, gegen Ende seiner äusserst lehrreichen Monate mit Monk, dazu eine groovende Rhythmusgruppe (Garland, Bassist George Joyner und Art Taylor).
Für redbeans hier noch, was Kahn (ibid, p. 12) über Garland schreibt:
Unlike Coltrane, Garland arrived in ’55 [in Miles Davis‘ Band] with a mature musical personality intact. His piano sound boasted a tasteful modern elegance. He charted a middle ground between Bud Powell complexity and the sparser, bluesy touch of Horace Silver. Adopting a technique pioneered by Milt Buckner and Nat Cole, he developed a distinct, electrifying approach to block chords–both hands striking the keys simultaneously, creating a seven- or eight-note chord, and repeating the maneuver up and down the keyboard. Garland liked to use dramatic cadences yet could be gentle and introspective. His style helped define the group that vaulted Miles into mainstream embrace, and eventually influenced countless pianists.
Das find ich ziemlich schön auf den Punkt gebracht… Anspieltips für Garlands eigene Musik: „Red Garland’s Piano“ und „Groovy“ mit Chambers/Taylor oder die Doppel-CD „At the Prelude“ mit einer späteren Version des Trios.
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"Don't play what the public want. You play what you want and let the public pick up on what you doin' -- even if it take them fifteen, twenty years." (Thelonious Monk) | Meine Sendungen auf Radio StoneFM: gypsy goes jazz, #158 – Piano Jazz 2024 - 19.12.2024 – 20:00 | Slow Drive to South Africa, #8: tba | No Problem Saloon, #30: tba