(Re)orientation

 

It feels like a good time to put one of these catch-ups together, not least to allow me to take stock of my own various (slow-moving) lines of enquiry, since these keep multiplying and mutating... also, we were away for a few days with decidedly unreliable internet, so my original plan to do some writing during that time went completely out the window. Never mind... I'm here now.

That earlier post in May really represented the first time (at least since I resumed blogging last year) that I had systematically laid out a plan of where I was going, or at least intending to go; before that, I just kept such things in my head and trusted that I wouldn't forget them. At the start of May, that approach no longer seemed very practical - not least because as I get older, I am increasingly failing to convert short-term memory to long-term memory, and... I do tend to forget things more than I used to. (It took me some time to admit this to myself.) So it just seemed sensible to make myself a list, and having done so, to publicise it here.

That list, though, was subject to change the following month when I posted another list, this time with my "most wanted" on it - and (with the help of a couple of longtime "friendly co-experiencers") very quickly acquired most of the recordings on it (and more besides). All that new material brought with it new subject matter for future posts; for example, I knew almost at once that I would want to write about the very first GTM recordings. That then became a new line of enquiry, not just a one-off post: a second instalment will follow very soon... although I'm not sure how far I'll be able to track that particular line before it gets too complicated to follow.

I still have repertoire to write about it - whole albums of the stuff - but I was never in any danger of forgetting about that. Some recent acquisitions though have also got me thinking about recordings - especially early ones - where B. was featured, not as a leader or writer or even a special guest, but as an actual sideman; I'm not completely sure how much material I can find there, but I'm pretty sure there's something in it. 

Getting back to GTM, McC. and I have been talking about the possibility of putting together a sort of "family tree", not of musicians as such, but for B's different musical strategies and systems in the post-collage era; this is not as easy as it might sound: it's not just a matter of writing out a list (already done that, sort of - but that's not the kind of thing we're envisaging here). So I would say that more R&D will be required, but given that it's something I've been wanting to get clear in my head for a little while, I'd also say it's a realistic and achievable target... one of these days ;-)

Having also acquired some more physical recordings recently, several of which are solo saxophone efforts, I have had further thoughts on those - and specifically on For Alto, an album I had not revisited for years; so that's another thing on the expanding to-do list, albeit I may well end up repeating myself a bit when it comes to observations about that particular album*.

The original idea behind June's big band post was to develop another line of enquiry around the overarching concept of the creative orchestra in general - that is, where it particularly entails a large ensemble stuffed full of soloists**. - And, you know, wherein the precise differences lie between that sort of big band and one where the musicians are mostly just lucky to be there and have no role beyond being told what to do and trying their best to do it; clearly there will be differences, but the extent to which these end up being hugely significant... well, that's another matter***. I seem to keep acquiring these large ensemble recordings, one way or another, and they are mostly of the "star-studded cast" variety, but as massively enjoyable as these are to listen to, that doesn't necessarily translate into my being able to write about them. Undecided, at this point...

Of course, the line of enquiry which has been most flagged up in preparatory posts - and most assiduously procrastinated - is that which leads eventually to Ensemble Montaigne (Bau 4) 2013. Little did I think, when I first bought this album on CD and conceived the idea of trying to break it down into its constituent parts, that so many different pieces of background research would be required - and, naturally, I'm taking forever to get that research done. Still, it's gradually taking shape - and the next step along that line will be to examine (in some detail) Comp. 136... which I seem to keep running into lately, whichever way I turn. That, besides leading me closer to the 2013 recording, will also set me up nicely for some more comparative analyses of individual pieces; technically I have already done one of these this year, even if it was presented more as the final (for me... for now) word on the Thumbscrew album than as the first of anything. [I genuinely still don't know the answer to the obvious(ish) question: with my having no formal musical training to accompany my close listening and obsessive interest in the subject matter, is there anything of lasting value to be gained from my attempting such analysis in the first place..?]

Of course there will also be spontaneous posts... and further direct-to-camera moments such as this one... and other things as yet undreamt of,  depending on what I see, read and hear between now and - whenever. But for the time being, the above is more or less what remains in the pipeline at this stage... until that time..!

* I do tend not to re-read my own stuff, especially the older posts; occasionally I have to, but otherwise I try to avoid it. When I do, I am often quite surprised by how much detail I managed to cram in the first time around - and may have since forgotten - so that if I revisit a certain album or concert, etc etc, I may well end up repeating some things I've already said as well as adding newer conclusions. Given that I last wrote about For Alto more than fifteen years ago, whatever I write next about it may well end up being guilty of such unconscious repetition. Tough ;-)

** Obviously, B. did not invent this vehicle: other bandleaders had very much already pioneered it, probably starting with Duke Ellington - indeed I seem to remember that this is precisely one of the innovations with which the latter was credited.

*** One can assume that the differences are primarily a matter for the leader, who can count on greater skill (and possibly familiarity with the music) from experienced soloists; but who may nevertheless encounter fewer egos to keep happy with a band full of (ahem) "spear-carriers". Swings and roundabouts... however, with a bandleader of B's very considerable talents, this may end up being a fairly negligible difference since he can generally rely on fully enthusiastic cooperation from any band under his direction. Hence, also, the differences for the listener may not always be that significant either. (Or are they?! It could take me quite a long time to get a decent answer to that one.)