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.
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Double Bass Gary Peacock info?
- Thread starter Chad Ball
- Start date
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.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
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
- Dec 13, 1999
- 11,736
- 8,941
- 70
- Disclosures
- Chuck Sher publishes my book, WALKING BASSICS:The Fundamentals of Jazz Bass Playing.
Me and my buddy Jeff Silverbush are going tonight, 8:30 set. I'll let ya know.
- Dec 13, 1999
- 11,736
- 8,941
- 70
- Disclosures
- Chuck Sher publishes my book, WALKING BASSICS:The Fundamentals of Jazz Bass Playing.
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?
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?
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
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?
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?
- Dec 13, 1999
- 11,736
- 8,941
- 70
- Disclosures
- Chuck Sher publishes my book, WALKING BASSICS:The Fundamentals of Jazz Bass Playing.
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.
Definitely sounds like it would have been great to catch teh whole week.
- Dec 13, 1999
- 11,736
- 8,941
- 70
- Disclosures
- Chuck Sher publishes my book, WALKING BASSICS:The Fundamentals of Jazz Bass Playing.
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.
- Dec 13, 1999
- 11,736
- 8,941
- 70
- Disclosures
- Chuck Sher publishes my book, WALKING BASSICS:The Fundamentals of Jazz Bass Playing.
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.
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 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.
