Thursday, December 27, 2012

Where it Began for Me

As a saxophone student, John Coltrane's music on Atlantic Records was my source of practice material. But when I heard the trance groove of "Village Blues" recorded October 21, 1960 and released on Coltrane Jazz, I turned my attention to drummer Elvin Jones. There was a feeling in the music that spoke directly to me and opened a portal into the heart of the sound. This was music making beyond technique and notation. This was music performed as a vehicle for transmission of feeling from human to human, sage to seeker, artist to apprentice. Time in Elvin's hands morphed from sequence to syrup, pattern to power, metronome to motion. Listening to Elvin silenced my desire to learn how to make music. Instead, I wanted to be music.

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