Today is a public holiday (Anzac Day) and we are here to commemorate the efforts of our past generations in war. I’m not a big fan of the hype these days – the commercialization prevails, the black-and-white nature of the narrative (we’re fine, they’re evil) obscures the reality of war and the political intrigue that usually accompanies it. In Australia’s case, we’ve been involved in several wars, the product of unnecessary colonial master-servant arrangements (we are servants) and/or absurd alliances with the warmonger US. But the soldiers did have a hard time doing it, and I have sympathy for that — and a personal connection to my grandparents and my parents. But, on a pragmatic basis, my blog is taking a day off so I can use the time to get some work done with an impending deadline. We can listen to jazz today and wonder if humanity will know that the war currently being prosecuted in Ukraine is a reasonable way to conduct our affairs and reconcile our differences.
You can find out more about today by checking out this blog post – 100 years ago today, in France… (25 April 2018).
Music – Coleman Hawkins
Here’s what I’ve been listening to this morning at work.
Coleman Hawkins – was one of the greatest tenors, and he undoubtedly made it a jazz instrument.
He is known for developing a unique style of saxophone improvisation, rather than following the standards of his era in replicating the tones of the clarinet.
He also uses a lot of vibrato, enriching the bottom end and smoothing out the highs of the second octave.
This song – body and soul – is a jazz piece written in 1930 that Coleman Hawkins recorded with his orchestra on October 11, 1939.
An interesting feature of his version is that he plays two choruses, but improvises (hence the implied melody) rather than copying the written melody.
Observers believe that this version of the swing genre, out of the period, marked the beginning of bebop.
Like many talented players of his era, he died of liver failure in 1969 after a period of heavy drinking.
I would love to witness his life in person, but only his extensive record spans 1927 to 1967.
An amazing artist who taught me a lot about how to play the saxophone.
Enough for today!
(c) Copyright 2022 William Mitchell. all rights reserved.
