Hello all!
Would anybody out there have any idea where I might find info on Gary Peacock? He has been my favourite bassist since day one, but I find it very difficult to locate info specifically on him (ie technique, approach, etc.). Everything I find usually begins well enough, but quickly deviates into a discussion on Keith Jarrett.
Any help is welcome.

cb

Here's (http://www.activemusician.com/store/product.asp?sku=HL.00641460) where you can get an instructional video that he did. His sound is pretty bad on much of it, as it is being picked up by his lapel mic. His approach is a little scattered, but it's neat to see him hang out and talk about bass, music, etc.

www.google.com is a great search engine in case you haven't tried it yet.

Peacock is my favorite of the post-LaFaro bassists, but I've always found him to be something of a shadowy figure. What I know about him is that he played on Albert Ayler's early recordings, like "Spiritual Unity." Even if you don't like Ayler's music, Peacock's playing with Sunny Murray's free drumming is remarkable. He also recorded with Bill Evans, on the album "Trio 64." He seemed to have fallen off the planet during the mid 1970's -- the AMG website says that he was studying biology. Later, he re-emerged on some ECM recordings and then started recording with Jarrett.

You can get a discography and a little bit of biography on the AMG website, www.allmusic.com (http://www.allmusic.com).

I'm a big Gary Peacock fan also. I thought his video offered very valuble insights into his concepts and playing, and would reccomend it. It does take a few veiwings, as he says a lot in a small amount of time.

Trio 64 is one of the most amazing trio records ever.

If you haven't allready, check out the stuff with Paul Bley. Also, his duo records with Ralph Towner are absolutley beautiful.

He is from the west coast. the earliest lp I own with him is a Bud Shank LP that is a soundtrack for a surf movie. Then there is a Prince Lasha/Sonny Simmons lp.
He moved east and played with a lot of musicians in '60s, Bley, Lowell Davidson, Milford graves, Ayler, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Roswell Rudd, Don Cherry and many others. Most of it is still in print on ESP records. He even made an lp in Amsterdam with Misha Menglberg and Han Bennink.
Durring this time he studied with virtuoso bassist David Izenzon.
In the '70s he moved to japan to study budhism (sp?) and a made a few records there with Japanese improvisors, I have one of them.
When he came back he started recording for ECM. He formed what became the Jarrett trio for his lp "Tales of Another". Keith actually wanted to do his standards project with Paul Motion, who said no.
He always sounds great, the only cd I have ever not liked by him was an limp, boring duo with Bill Frizzle.
I saw him last year in Berkeley with Jarrett and he sounded amazing.
He has some hearing troubles at this point and uses an an inner ear monitor.

I am also a huge Peacock fan. I think the instructional video is a great way to learn some of his concepts. He gives a lot of information. I watch it now and then and just work on bits and pieces. If you watch the video from beginning to end, it can be over whelming. I know he is very into ear training. He is an advocate of being able to sing what you play and play what you can sing. He is interviewed on the dvd about Keith Jarrett the art of improvisation. He talks about just letting the music happen. He lives upstate NY but is reclusive. A few years ago he had some health problems. I think he is doing well now.

I went to see him with Ralph Towner at Sweet Basils in the early 80s. They sounded great. I brough along my Gary Peacock solo album along and he signed it. He was talking to a couple of other bassists at the table with him about the bass he used on the album, a Czech bass that he was playing on the back of the album cover. It was cool for me as a 21 year old to hear these famous guys talking about different basses and hanging out. Did I say he sounded great.

gary peacock & the info he lays down in that homespun dvd is worth the purchase & a must for all bassists. it's somewhat advanced, with a fair dose of theory...& as dperrott stated above, it's "best to take it in pieces". it's an excellent lesson from a contemporary of lafaro, gary peacock can do it all to...so get it.

do the following items intrigue you about gary peacock (like they do me)...that you want to know more...or why about this master bassist:

1.peacock's abilities, technique & style, are similar to scott lafaro's. while they are contemporaries...it's interesting that a cat from rural idaho could parallel a cat from north jersey.
both bass geniuses...from totally different environments.

2.peacock's sound is so full on the 2 duet cd's with ralph towner, yet somewhat thin & tinny, on the "at the blue note" cd & the "trio concert" 1996 dvd, both with keith jarrett. (especially his solos). why is his sound "thin" ? aside from the recording aspect, he is possibly the only player i'm aware of that uses an "english" carved bass, vs the more popular other european basses. is this a reason?

3.he married annette peacock...a beautiful, unique & talented singer / songwriter / artist, but for only for a real short time, before she moved on, with pianist paul bley...approximately within a years time. yet she has kept peacock's name all these years, like carla bley has kept paul bley's name.

4. at the very end of the homespun dvd, gary plays a familiar & catchy "standard" tune...that is not listed on the dvd, & i cannot remember the name of. does anyone know this song title? thank you ahead o time.

Hi,
New to the forum, really cool!
I studied with Gary for a year and a half. This was in Seattle in 1985 or so. He has been a huge influence on my playing, on my life, on my bass teaching, and music, of course.
We approached the bass quite obliquely at times (sometimes the bass didn't come out of the case) but other times it was all about "tips n' tricks". You had to "earn" that, though.

Lots of ear training, singing, and also I brought him my compositions, which he was way more interested in than bass playing.

I'll try and add some stories from time to time.

best,

John

I love the story my friend told me... he knew Gary from the Pacific Northwest for quite some time. So Gary winds up in "the trio", and my friend asks him, "So...what's it like working with Keith and Jack?"... expecting some kind of spiritual epiphany from Gary. His answer... "Pretty f***in' great!" :D

1.peacock's abilities, technique & style, are similar to scott lafaro's. while they are contemporaries...it's interesting that a cat from rural idaho could parallel a cat from north jersey.
both bass geniuses...from totally different environments.

Dig out the old interviews. You'll find thtat he admits to having the same bad "diet" that fueled many musicians of the early '60's era. Yeah, they drank from the same well.

That wast then, and this is now, though.

I love Peacock's bass playing, especially his work with Murray and Ayler (the Spiritual Unity LP among others). A friend of mine studied with him a few years back. One thing that Gary stressed was ear training. Apparently he will take a note-say C for example-and then practice hearing it in different positions in the scale (first as the root, then as the second, or the minor seventh, flat fifth etc.). I will have to pick my friend's brain to get some more information...

I also went to see the Standards trio about six years ago in Toronto at Roy Thompson Hall and was completely disappointed with the thinness of Peacock's sound. It only took me a few more trips to that venue before I realized that a giant concrete hall does not do nice things to the tone of a double bass. Apparently it has been renovated and the sound has improved.

I love Peacock's bass playing, especially his work with Murray and Ayler (the Spiritual Unity LP among others). A friend of mine studied with him a few years back. One thing that Gary stressed was ear training. Apparently he will take a note-say C for example-and then practice hearing it in different positions in the scale (first as the root, then as the second, or the minor seventh, flat fifth etc.). I will have to pick my friend's brain to get some more information...


Yes, that technique is a significant part of his exposition in the video described above. Well worth a look.

When I was studying bass with George Cass, Gary Peacock was playing piano at a little club on the Skyway going up to George's pad in Paradise, CA. That was in l973 or 74. I went in and listened to him for a little while one night and told George about it and he said something like, 'well you know he's really a bass player".

The tune at the end of the video is "Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans" if memory serves. Also, I found out recently that Gary Peacock depped for Ron Carter in the "Miles Smiles" band for some west coast dates Ron couldnt manage - wonder if there's any recordings anywhere:hyper:

thanks for the heads up jay. i actually played it at a recent holiday party gig...called right out of the volume II real book, by my pianist. imagine my surprise!

heads up...jarrett / peacock / dejohnette at carnegie hall,
june 21-07.

these days, they're playing in europe alot...good they're still performing, especially after keiths & garys recent health issues.

never caught this trio before & i'm already there.

Peacock is amazing.
Its really cool to see how his playing and tone have changed from the very early free form stuff with Albert A , to the modern stuff with Keith.
Great player , great tone , great improviser.

I used to have a quintet album Gary did with Harold Land......he just plays straight ahead, actually a bit like Leroy Vinnagar on it, but with more of an edge. This was when he was studing with my Red Mitchell. Similar to some of Scotties work as in the Pat Moran Trio stuff. He was similar to Scott in a couple of ways.....I heard when he first moved to NY, he spent a bunch of time driving cabs. Bill Evans told me this by the way.
He was studing with Red about the same time Charlie Haden was.

He is from the west coast. the earliest lp I own with him is a Bud Shank LP that is a soundtrack for a surf movie.

Hey Damon is that the barefoot adventurer soundtrack? I was watching that movie last night and was very suprised to say the least. What is the title of the album

you can definitely hear the change in garys playing & sound from the mitchell / ayler days to his work w/ keith & jack.
possibly due to a different bass & strings than he uses now, different time & place, different mindset...the whole psychological thing.

i love the guy & the more i catch his homespun dvd...there's something else to try. his approach to the physical aspect, has my interest now, along with his take on key / tone centers, such as "all the things you are". i wish he would have gotten into "thumb position" even a little bit, & maybe a little less on "solfegio". but it is what it is.

the jarrett trio dvd's (& cd's) are obviously a revealing testament of gary's playing...but on a number of the songs,
it's like the engineers at the live venues & at ECM forgot about him...which is friggin unbelieveable.

part of the difference between they way GP sounds w/ Ayler and Jarrett is down to who he's playing with. OBviously he has also developed a lot during that time, but if you listen to recent recordings of him with Paul Bley or Marilyn Crispell they have much more in common with the Ayler stuff.
I often think its a bit of a shame how safe GP and JdJ play in the Jarrett trio, although its still great playing... there are moments when KJ clearly cuts GP off mid-solo as well.

ps: welcome back Paul!

part of the difference between they way GP sounds w/ Ayler and Jarrett is down to who he's playing with. OBviously he has also developed a lot during that time, but if you listen to recent recordings of him with Paul Bley or Marilyn Crispell they have much more in common with the Ayler stuff.
I often think its a bit of a shame how safe GP and JdJ play in the Jarrett trio, although its still great playing... there are moments when KJ clearly cuts GP off mid-solo as well.

ps: welcome back Paul!

Thanks Olie:)

olie...i cant recall keith cutting gary on either the "open theater" or "orchard hall" concert dvd's, or the live "blue note" cd's. of course they're all from early to mid 90's, which may explain it.

possibly you're citing more recent concerts, since gary has dealt with his cancer. maybe there are nites that are more difficult for him & all 3 cats do what they have to do. i dont know them personally, but cant imagine keith cutting anyone.
just my opinion olie...i'm not cuttin you, believe me.


paul...you mention comparisons with scotty, which i also agree. do you think gary was more comparable to scotty 40 years ago...or more so today? and in what ways do they compare?

olie...i cant recall keith cutting gary on either the "open theater" or "orchard hall" concert dvd's, or the live "blue note" cd's. of course they're all from early to mid 90's, which may explain it.

possibly you're citing more recent concerts, since gary has dealt with his cancer. maybe there are nites that are more difficult for him & all 3 cats do what they have to do. i dont know them personally, but cant imagine keith cutting anyone.
just my opinion olie...i'm not cuttin you, believe me.


paul...you mention comparisons with scotty, which i also agree. do you think gary was more comparable to scotty 40 years ago...or more so today? and in what ways do they compare?

Even when Gary played with Bill, he was playing much more over the bar lines than Scott, if you remember Bruce. He always had an affinity to do that. I had problems listening to some of his solos just because of that...once I understood over the bar playing, and displacement it was no problem....very exciting. There's that great tape out of Bill on Marian McPartlands Piano Jazz program from public radio where Bill explains displacement on All Of You. I'm assuming you're all familiar with this...if not, it would make a great topic.
I think Gary can be compared to Scott mainly for his right hand, two fingered plucking style. Although Gary never played in the thumb positions as much as Scott, this is a technique they both learned from Red Mitchell while studying with him.
Mainy great bassists can be tracked back to Red either by direct study, or just as an infuence....many TBers just aren't aware of the huge scope of influence Red provided for jazz Bassists! SORRY. I promise not to go off on Red, but listen closely to Don Thomson sometime.

re Jarrett interrupting one of Gary Peacock's solos, one example that comes to mind is 'Chelsea Bridge' on 'Whisper Not'.

re Red Mitchell's influence: Paul, have you heard the Lee Konitz album 'Its You'? Beautiful trio record with Ron McClure and Billy Hart, but theres one track (I can't remember which one now, maybe 'Angel Eyes'?) where Ron McClure sounds exactly like Red, to my ears at least...

re Jarrett interrupting one of Gary Peacock's solos, one example that comes to mind is 'Chelsea Bridge' on 'Whisper Not'.

re Red Mitchell's influence: Paul, have you heard the Lee Konitz album 'Its You'? Beautiful trio record with Ron McClure and Billy Hart, but theres one track (I can't remember which one now, maybe 'Angel Eyes'?) where Ron McClure sounds exactly like Red, to my ears at least...

Yea Olie....I haven't heard that one, but I read an interview with Ron once where he said Red was directly responsible for a huge amount of his playing....something in the 90% area!
Good point man!
The planet is crawling with Red inspired bassists and some don't even know it!

paul...i've never heard those terms "over the bar" & "displacement", but in the context of gary, scotty, bill evans & yourself, i think i know what you're talkin about.

but you're right, it probably deserves it's own thread...so i'll probably kick it if no one else does.

do you know how long gary was with bill evans?
what was the reason for their split?
this must be when you took over the evans bass chair? />)

paul...i kicked that "over the bar" thread in the "jazz technique" forum...fyi.

i've always thought scotty (w/ evans), tends to play more notes in his solos than gary, which i'm sure is a different thing than "otb".

but i've nothing with gary & bill evans to check out, only gary w/ keith & jack. so any gary w/ bill evans cd recommendations are appreciated.

i agree, scotty plays more thumb than gary...but to me gary is a bit more melodic. of course he's had 40+ years experience at it.

Bruce Garywas on Trio 65. I played with Bill in 64 right after Chuck left.

Talking with him in the alley after sound check at a gig of his I lit last summer I found out he's vehemently opposed to wiping the strings off. He figures wiping them grinds lots of gunk into the string negating the benefits of removing any filth. I pointed out that slacking them would squeeze some gunk out when the string relaxed and he thought that was a very good idea. Then I made the mistake of suggesting wiping them down when they were slack and he sez, "WIPE THEM?" and I get the "weren't you listening to what I just got done saying boy?" glare. The man certainly is very passionate.

Talking with him in the alley after sound check at a gig of his I lit last summer I found out he's vehemently opposed to wiping the strings off. He figures wiping them grinds lots of gunk into the string negating the benefits of removing any filth. I pointed out that slacking them would squeeze some gunk out when the string relaxed and he thought that was a very good idea. Then I made the mistake of suggesting wiping them down when they were slack and he sez, "WIPE THEM?" and I get the "weren't you listening to what I just got done saying boy?" glare. The man certainly is very passionate.

We all get older....

There's a nice interview with Gary in the new issue of ALL ABOUT JAZZ NY.

He doesn't talk about what strings he uses at all...

paul...i checked amazon for the spin on the bill evans trio 65 cd...& found that gary played on...trio 64. i believe israels is on trio 65.

ed i'm @ david gages sat & would like to pick up a copy. is that publication sold on the street at newstands, at jazz clubs or subscription?

israel is on 65

i really hate to disagree with you, mr. warburton:crying:

Trio 64. on Verve. Great LP.

yeah
i got 'em mixed up.

ed i'm @ david gages sat & would like to pick up a copy. is that publication sold on the street at newstands, at jazz clubs or subscription?

It's FREE and you can pick it up at most jazz clubs, some record stores. It's also available as a pdf download at their website.

i may have mentioned this before, but a drummer friend of mine from the LA area played a gig with Red and Gary switching between piano and bass (probably in the late 50s?). Wow!

i may have mentioned this before, but a drummer friend of mine from the LA area played a gig with Red and Gary switching between piano and bass (probably in the late 50s?). Wow!

I did something on a lower scale with Red back in the 60's. We were both playing jazz cello and one night when I was in L.A. We did a Red playing bass, cello and piano, and me playing cello and bass. What an experience! He was using a 5 stringer....just before the 5th tuning switch.

I think Gary is one of the most natural phrasing, melodic (but at the same time intensly rhythmic) players I've ever heard. It's just like listening to somebody who is really speaking through their instrument. I have always loved the solo on "All of You" that he took - I forget which live album - I think "Standards in Norway" from around 2000 but I am not sure. It's like after the 2nd or 3rd phrase he has this total command of everything - this complete reassurance to the listener that just based on this minute (it's a very short solo) that it's all in hand, this trio has it together in a very total way, and the bass player is a very full part of that.

that's a very interesting interview in "all about jazz ny".
as much personal info as i've ever heard from gary, which
is almost never.

if i got this right...his timothy leary experience contributed / resulted in gary walking away from his bass for about 10 years...around 1964, which would be the last year of his bill evans gig...approximately.

saw the trio last nite @ carnegie, fantastic show.
about 2.5 hours of inspiring music, 3 encores, on
their 25th anniversary together.

gary's playing...he's 1 of the best...and his sound was
there all nite, which surprised me vs his thinner sound on
previous jarrett dvd;& cd's.

i could be wrong but i believe he was playing a different bass
(3/4) than his usual samuel allen (7/8??).
his sound was full, round & really cut thru. no thinness at all
from where i was sittin.

gary peacock, paul bley & paul motian @ birdland, wed 8-22 thru sat 8-25, in what will obviously be more free & "outside"
than the jarrett standards trio. while they haven't been together as a trio for 25 years, i believe their friendship & musical relationship began in the late 50's, early 60's.
and, all 3 are still playing their azz's off...gary was definitely on @ the june carnegie hall jarrett concert. he is an amazing bassist & person & if you haven't seen him...you should.

Also, I found out recently that Gary Peacock depped for Ron Carter in the "Miles Smiles" band for some west coast dates Ron couldnt manage - wonder if there's any recordings anywhere:hyper:
Jay (If you're still out there - I just realized your post was from last December)- I don't know if there are any recording with Miles, but there is a Miles-less set from the Vanguard that's been kicking around for quite awhile. I used to have the whole set on cassette, but that was stolen a few years ago. All i have now is an mp3 of "Just In Time", although I think I'm going to be able to get the whole set back. The story is that Miles had to cancel because of health reasons (hip surgery), and so Max Gordon gave the week to Wayne. How Gary came to be on it I don't know, maybe Ron took another gig when Miles cancelled, or maybe Wayne, Herbie and Tony just wanted Gary to do the gig instead of Ron, although that is rank speculation on my part. There has been a longstanding rumor in the jazz world that Tony wanted Gary in the group from the beginning (he's on Tony's first two records as a leader, "Lifetime" and "Spring"), but Miles decided on Ron. Anyway, while the fidelity is pretty bad, the music is pretty sick.

wow, I'd love to hear that. How did you get hold of it?

It's just one of those things that make the rounds in NY, gets passed around from guy to guy, very often traded. In this case, an old student of mine had it, and kindly turned me on to the one tune, while promising the rest of the set at a later date. When I first heard it in the '80's, it was on one side of a cassette, while the other side had a Horace Silver WABC radio broadcast with Joe Henderson and Woody Shaw at the Half Note. The Horace thing eventually came out, while the Wayne thing has always stayed underground, probably because of the fidelity. So the moral of this story is (like so many others), it's not what you do, it's who you know.

if anyone catches this trio (gary peacock, paul bley, paul motian) this week @ birdland (wed, thurs, fri & sat), please post something. thanks

if anyone catches this trio (gary peacock, paul bley, paul motian) this week @ birdland (wed, thurs, fri & sat), please post something. thanks
Me and my buddy Jeff Silverbush are going tonight, 8:30 set. I'll let ya know.

SO-
Meet Jeff at Birdland at about 7:30, he's got a nice table not on the floor but one tier up and pretty much center stage. We hang, eat dinner and ******** as the joint starts to fill up. And it was pretty much a sold out house for the first set on Thursday. Buncha musicians in the house - Frank Kimbrough, Rufus Reid, Masabumi Kikuchi I recognized, there were a bunch of cats that I was pretty sure were musicians from who they were hanging with or talking to or general demeanor (de meaner, de more musical?) but that I didn't recognize. Anyway, gets to be 8:30ish and the lights go down and Valenti makes the usual "shut up and don't take pictures or let your cell phones ring" annoucement and introduces the band. Yer regular greybeard convention - Paul Bley's walking with a cane. They get on the stand and Gary's having amp problems, the power goes out. So there's some mucking about trying to get that going. Just hearing his bass acoustically from basically two tables depth right out front, I was VERY surprised at how small the sound was. The couple of times I played there, I just used a mic and one encore, I had already pulled the mic off and just played acoustically and still got the bass out in the house. And sure enough when the sound comes back on, the soudn that Gary's getting doesn't make me happy - real 70's amp sound. And I LOVE the sound he gets on a bunch of different records. Oh, well.
While they been trying to get the amp to come on, Paul Motian has started playing lightly on the ride (sticks) and has gradually gotten more and more active on the kit, by the time Gary has some sound now, Bley has started playing as well and now we're into the first piece. {Everything they played the first set was pretty much free} There's a lot of adjusting and getting comfortable, Bley and Peacock kind of blowing over each other's lines. The piece moves into a drum solo and Motian's phrase is so final that it actually becomes the end of the piece. House goes wild. The start the second piece (Bley does actually) and it really begins to get somewhere, Motian playing brushes, a lot more interplay and actual smiles from Gary. And that was pretty much how everything else went- Bley would open really strongly, pull everybody else into the piece and then back off and start letting stuff develop. I will say that these guys are much more comfortable than I ever would be with real disparities in "time stream agreement", they seem to be very happy with building tension as much through opposing time feels (sometimes 3 opposing time feels) as with harmonic and melodic tension. I would have caved and just gone with somebody, but these guys would allow the phrasing to gradually (VERY gradually) resolve into a new time stream and then they'd start ****ing with that. It was all pretty exhilarating.
They ended the set with PENT UP HOUSE, but as soon as they got out of the head it was back in the free bag zone, but improvising off the melodic fragments rather than kind of open free bag.

It was definitely Gary's gig, I could have lived with a little less bass in the mix, but that could just be personal preference. There's some "bassistic" stuff he's doing, but most of his playing could be a tenor player or a piano player, he's definitely playing lines that his ear defines, not the instrument.
Motian sounds great, Bley sounded pretty great. It would have been interesting to hear this lineup if it had been Bley's gig.


And on a more personal note, as we were leaving I saw Paul Motian talking with Masabumi at the bar, so I got to go over and tell them both how much I been digging that TETHERED MOON PLAYS KURT WEILL record. That felt good.


Any specific questions?

Interesting, informative, insightful and above all INTELLIGENT! Thanks for the review,Ed.

glad you enjoyed the trio...thank you for putting me in the club with you...which is where i will be 8:30 tonite.

i know gary has been using his 3/4 german flatback instead of the 7/8 samuel allen, which is the bass & sound you refer to on all his records. the flatback sounded great @ carnegie back in june...obviously a different place. gary said that playing between 2 percussive instruments & finding that balance, so his mic is not picking up keith & jack is a challenge. but i'd rather hear him too loud than barely, which has occured on some of the live jarrett stuff.

your analogy to gary as a tenor or piano player & playing with his ear...is right on. and the "free bag" that these guys play...offers him more opportunities to be less "bassistic" as you say, than playing standards with jarrett.

thanks again ed...pretty psyched for tonite...i'll post tomorrow. and i will have to get that kurt weil cd

well...sat nites 8:30 show was less about the music & more about the musicians...because the fire alarm went off 2x during the set...the 2nd time basically ending the set when paul bley (who uses a cane) got up & said "that's it...i'm outta here"...then the fire trucks show up...followed by the announcement of a false alarm triggered by the floor above...
or the building next door??? they better get that system fixed.

so i'm sittin @ the bar @ 6:30. paul bley is the 1st of the trio to arrive & asks no one in particular, if anyone knows the mag "the new yorker"..."the 1 with the comics in it, we're in it & i'd like a couple copies". i ask the staff for the closest news stand & run out only to find nothing. but my effort earned me a few minutes to talk with paul...(everybody should have this opportunity 1x in their life). what a unique cat he is...i ask if annette peacock has been in yet this week...he say's "no, but if she does you can bet me & gary will have her cornered", & we proceed to talk about her beauty, talent & magnetism.

then gary arrives, joins us & says "you know bruce, paul is the 1st, the original free jazz pianist...doin it before many others...i learned alot from paul about this music". those 2 have been friends over 50 years...then paul motian is the last to show up...it's pretty cool seeing these 3 friends & master musicians talking & jokin around...which translates into original & inspiring music on the bandstand.

gary kicks off with an introspective solo (no power problems ed...yet), paul & paul join, but there's always alot of listening, sometimes less playing. then paul starts ornettes "turnaround" which at times sounds like anything but...gary & motian have great solos. i guess into the 3rd piece the fa goes off...they return & play another unknown piece or 2...then paul bley starts "all the things you are"...but it's paul so it's way out...and stays that way thru-out...but you know it's in there because paul & gary can bring it back in...then loose it ...whenever?? these guys are that good. it's a trip to see them create so much...so effortlessly...and to see the smiles on their faces during or right after a song...they know when it's good...& that's most of the nite. right near the end of "all things" the dam alarm goes again...exit paul stage right...etc...etc...

funny stage incident...paul bley between songs, turns around to the table behind him...the lady hands him her glass of water. only paul bley would ask that...and we'd all oblige him.

any questions?

Over at allaboutjazz somebody reviewed the Wednesday night performance and apparently they played a bunch of standards (with non standard approach), Thursday night there were a couple of things that hinted at other music - one of the tunes copped a little from TURNAROUND, but it wasn't the tune and another tune kind of hinted at a blues tonality - lotta movement to the IV chord, sometimes the vi, but all outside the typical blues "form".

Definitely sounds like it would have been great to catch teh whole week.

Interesting, informative, insightful and above all INTELLIGENT! Thanks for the review,Ed.

Aw shucks now, I'm gonna get the BigEgoHead.

Aw shucks now, I'm gonna get the BigEgoHead.

Before get to thinking you're the next Whitney Balliett (r.i.p.) I couldn't help but notice your review made no mention of what strings or amp Peacock was using. You're welcome.

Before get to thinking you're the next Whitney Balliett (r.i.p.) I couldn't help but notice your review made no mention of what strings or amp Peacock was using. You're welcome.

Whitney Spears, maybe.

REVIEW ADDENDUM: Mr. Peacock was performing on a bass that appeared to have strings and was indeed using an amplifier of some sort. Mr. Bley appearred to be pressing buutons on a large, oblongish black box while Mr. Motian insisted on striking several graduated cylinders with pieces of wood.

It just occurred to me that, as much time as I've spent in the string forum here, I've never, ever checked out a bassist at a gig to see what strings he or she was using. That goes for the amp and even the bass as well. It's just never occurred to me to do that.

I don't know who's stranger, Mr. Fuqua or Mr. Johnson.

gary uses spiro orchestral (reds) all across the board of his german flatback. he used to use weichs, except for an orch E on his 7/8 samuel allen.

his rig was an swr head & swr goliath 4x10 cab.
his seat is metal framed stool with a pipe foot-rest
all around the bottom...cushion seat...no back.

his seat is metal framed stool with a pipe foot-rest
all around the bottom...cushion seat...no back.

No cup holder on it?

I don't know who's stranger, Mr. Fuqua or Mr. Johnson.

It's gotta be Marcus, he's named after a body part....

Mr. Peacock was performing on a bass that appeared to have strings ...

Yes! I totally knew that! Basses with strings are completely bad-ass.

I concur.

Whitney Spears, maybe.

REVIEW ADDENDUM: Mr. Peacock was performing on a bass that appeared to have strings and was indeed using an amplifier of some sort. Mr. Bley appearred to be pressing buutons on a large, oblongish black box while Mr. Motian insisted on striking several graduated cylinders with pieces of wood.

Yes! I totally knew that! Basses with strings are completely bad-ass.

I agree wholeheartedly! The stringless basses just suffer for volume and tone as well!

I agree wholeheartedly! The stringless basses just suffer for volume and tone as well!

Peacock's tone sucks anyway an if wasn't so damn loud maybe Elvis Costello wouldn't have refused to play with him at Carnegie Hall last Yom Kippur.... oh, sorry wrong thread.....

I saw Keith Jarrett's Trio in concert in Montreal on 01 Jul...it was amazing...and yes, Keith scorned the audience...
I noticed Gary had something that his end peg rested on that looked like a simple piece of wood...only it was long and narrow...anybody know what he uses?...I saw a pic of it in the "Out of Towners" cd...

i saw him @ birdland in last august, & wondered the same.
it looks like a wood template that he uses to maintain the same distance & placement of his bass so it's the same gig to gig. i believe he places the endpin into a cutout in the template, so it stays put.

gary really stresses the "physical" aspect & for him to create something that maintains consistency in his physical set-up
doesn't surprise me.

i saw him @ birdland in last august, & wondered the same.
it looks like a wood template that he uses to maintain the same distance & placement of his bass so it's the same gig to gig. i believe he places the endpin into a cutout in the template, so it stays put.

gary really stresses the "physical" aspect & for him to create something that maintains consistency in his physical set-up
doesn't surprise me.

That is what I figured, but I was suprised at the shape of it as it looked to be only probably about 4 inches wide and about a foot and a half long...but hey, it works for him!

i picked up "my foolish heart", the double live cd from
montreux in 2001. gary's solo on the title song is pretty
cool...dig his ascending lines, which contrasts to what
keith was doing. plus great takes of "four", "green dolphin st"
& 3 or 4 ragtime tunes.
keith mentions a ballad gary was "unfamiliar with,yet his
solo is worth waiting for". hell all garys solos are that good,
so unfamiliar? i'm still wonderin what ballad he's talkin about.
and again, ECM doesn't get gary's live sound...a little too thin
and buzzy...compared to his (& ECM's) studio sound.
still...a pretty good cd with plenty of fresh bass to check out.

jarrett, peacock & dejohnette at njpac, 2-2-08.

Peacock's tone sucks anyway an if wasn't so damn loud maybe Elvis Costello wouldn't have refused to play with him at Carnegie Hall last Yom Kippur.... oh, sorry wrong thread.....

I just read through parts of that thread, I didn't know about it until now. Very entertaining! I totally understand Mr. Peacocks stance.

As for his tone, there are some older records with Paul Bley and others where some of the tracks were made before the arrival of steel strings (at least on Mr. Peacocks bass) and some just after. To me, hearing them is understanding why most players never went back to gut strings. Yes, some of the material recorded in the 1970:s and 1980:s does not sound exactly great, but I think that must be blamed on the engineers, not on the bassists (at least not Gary Peacock).

i agree nils...gary's live sound in large & small venues
is full & round...not the thin buzzy sound i hear, (or
sometimes dont hear) on the live ECM cd's. yet they
get it right on his studio stuff. pretty frustrating ECM
hasnt figured it out after 20+ years of recording gary live.

ed fuqua...when you reviewed garys birdland gig,
and the 70's amp sound he was getting that nite,
you also mentioned you love the sound gary gets on
alot of his records. what specific cd's / records are
you referring to...cause if i dont have them already,
i want to get them. thanks ed.

Thanks for the head's up, I haven't checked in here in a while.
The two I've been spending the most time with are TETHERED MOON PLAYS KURT WEILL and TETHERED MOON REMEMBERING TOSCA.

i believe both tethered moons were done in the studio,
which may explain why you dig his / that sound. i need
to get these "tm" cd's.

here's 2 more studio ventures where gary sounds great.
"amaryllis" w/ pianist marilyn crispell, gary & motian.
"nothing ever was anyway"...same cats as above, doing
annette peacock comp's.

gary peacock trio @ birdland,
wed march 19 to sat march 23,
with pianist marc copeland &
drummer bill stewart.

i anticipate the fire alarm system
is now working correctly.

here's 2 more studio ventures where gary sounds great.
"amaryllis" w/ pianist marilyn crispell, gary & motian.
"nothing ever was anyway"...same cats as above, doing
annette peacock comp's.
Jeff has both of those, so I may borrow them.

gary peacock trio @ birdland,
wed march 19 to sat march 23,
with pianist marc copeland &
drummer bill stewart.

I think this is the same trio (there may have been a different drummer) that had a steady thing at Cleopatra's needle (of all places!) during the early 90s....

Spiritual Unity....his sound is freakin' huge!!!!!!!!!!

Spiritual Unity....his sound is freakin' huge!!!!!!!!!!

peacock's studio sound on "spiritual unity", the "tethered moon" cd's that ed mentioned & the (2) marilyn crispell cd's that i mention above...is freakin huge. so is his live sound...when you are in the house.

his sound on the 1993 "open theater east" dvd isn't bad,
but the majority of live jarrett trio cd's that ECM puts out,
typically miss gary's freakin huge sound.

anyone else going to this sat nites (2-2)
trio concert @ njpac?
always interested in how gary is sounding.
the larger venue...will be interesting.

the 2-2-08 trio concert @ njpac was pretty amazing.
songs like "last nite when we were young" "solar" &
"god bless the child" were extended & took on a life
of their own.

the live sound & balance was expectional, with keith
stating that njpac is "one of THE BEST halls"...anywhere.

gary's sound was about as good as live bass gets & his
playing, especially solos blew a bunch of us away. keith
stopped comping on "you belong to me" because he was
digging garys solo so much. gary had the hot hand this nite.

jarrett, peacock & dejohnette @ the kimmel center in philly
this fri 9-19-08. in mid-october they're @ carnegie hall.