Dissent or Descent

There's an article in the Boston Globe about Vijay Iyer and his recent AAJ article talking about "maximum creative risk" - not much new added to the conversation that we've already had about the article, an example of traditional media being a day late and a dollar short when compared to the quick to respond blogosphere.

David has a nice post up that adds to the line of thought started by Mwanji about race and jazz. I thought it was interesting considering I had just read this article about Wynton Marsalis where he denounces all rap/hip-hop as "ghetto minstrelsy."

I found this quote from Marsalis particularly relevant:

"Every decade I try to do a record that has a kind of relationship to contemporary culture," he says. "In the 80s I did Black Codes (From the Underground); in the 90s I did Blood on the Fields; now, in this decade, From the Plantation to the Penitentiary. As I say on the rap track, Where Y'All At, 'You got to speak the language the people are speakin'/ 'Specially when you see the havoc it's wreakin'.' Sometimes it's important to speak in the vernacular, both lyrically and musically."

If it's important to speak in the "vernacular" some of the time, I wonder what language he's speaking the rest of the time.

There's a nice post up on Rifftides about the sheer number of discs being produced in and around the jazz/creative music scene and the dilemma of a reviewer in trying to listen to it all. The only publication I know that comes close is Signal to Noise.

My listening has brought another gem in front of my ears, Dissent or Descent by Horace Tapscott, featuring Fred Hopkins on bass and Ben Riley on drums. It's a killer piano trio album with great playing by all three musicians. Originally recorded in 1984, it would certainly be a good addition to that year of the Behearer project. There's a nod to Monk, fitting with Ben Riley on the drum chair, a moving rendition of "Ruby My Dear," which Tapscott chooses to perform solo. The opener "As A Child" is very moody and Tapscott really shines on "To The Great House," which has a really strong rhythmic drive and great interaction with Hopkins. There isn't anything particularly jaw dropping in any of the music, but I could listen to the record over and over. Great interplay and dynamics. There's also something about the mix - it's very even in one sense. You could probably complain that the piano is too low in the mix, but I like being able to hear Riley and Hopkins so clearly.

Here's a short clip of an interview with Ben Riley:

And here's the Monk Quartet doing Ruby My Dear in 1969: