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In Reply to: Recorded in one day posted by El Monte on April 7, 2007 at 19:13:03:
Never heard a great jazz record that WASN'T recorded live in the studio . . .
Follow Ups:
Great discussion. This is one of the awesome things I am just now discovering about this genre (in addition to the genre itself) is how much like life it is - it's best when it just happens, I guess.Can anyone recommend any readings on the theories and concepts behind just this sort of thing - preparing for music that is in the moment :-)? Something for someone who just enjoys the tunes (i.e couldn't come up with one if his life depended on it). TIA.
My main objection is the how much of an oversimplification your statement is. You make it sound like the moment is *all* there is. But much jazz takes a lot of thought and preparation and even though the moment of performance is critical, the preparation exists inside and informs the moment and results in something that is greater than the moment.There are also plenty of highly composed jazz compositions that require preparation, care, and respect for what was written. And it's also true that a great classical soloist must be in the moment along with developing a useful relationship to the composed piece.
I was really inarticulate.What I meant to say is that any given jazz PERFORMANCE that is worth a shit happens IN THE MOMENT--that doesn't mean a band that has been working together or rehearsing together doesn't have a BIG advantage! But when the PERFORMANCE is captured it has to be in one take--you can't overdub the bass solo four weeks later in a different studio and have it come out OK.
...jazz is "all" about the moment. You didn't make any further distinction. But I'm certainly willing to accept your additional comment as representing the way you feel. OTOH that's true of any musical performance worth its salt. You can't play the Hammerklavier while mentally making a shopping list!
I can't say what went down with that Pepper recording, but plenty of small group recordings which were made in one session actually had a lot of pre-recording preparation. In addition to live recordings, many studio recordings were done either during or after tours. The groups had a chance to hone their versions of standards and/or originals. Rehearsals may have preceeded recording, and numerous great small group jazz recordings are NOT one-take-we're-done affairs. But OTOH I think many recordings which turned out to be fantastic (like for ex. Sonny's "On Impulse", Gene Ammons' semi-jam session recordings with guys like McClean/Pepper/Idris/Byrd, many of Sonny Stitt's albums etc.) probably were made with virtually no rehearsing and little preparation before the guys got to the studio.Larger ensembles are obviously different, and the more complex the music the more preparation/rehearsing it takes. Its one thing to record Oliver Nelson's smokin' but relatively simple charts for some of those Jimmy Smith albums, another for Sketches Of Spain. Duke, Basie, Woody, Stan, Ray Charles, Mulligan etc. all had working bands which got the music together at both rehearsals/gigs. Duke and others did bring new music to recording sessions, but the bands were well honed ensembles pre-recording.
Ornette's groups didn't just get together in the studio for a recording one day, nor did 'Trane's, Miles' '60's/70's/80's groups. Many recordings made in one session were played by musicians who played together often, were very familiar with each others' conception, and often included blues and/or standards. But its also true that the guys on, say, many Bluenote recordings were just plain amazing artists capable of meeting at the studio and burning from the git.
Randy Brecker told me a story about his Denon recording "In The Idiom" with Joe Henderson (which is a hard core jazz recording, and killer). The music was difficult, abnormal forms on some tunes, unusual chord changes, tricky heads. After Henderson agreed to make the recording, Randy told Joe the music wasn't easy and sent the music out to Henderson in California a couple months before the session so he could familiarize himself with it. Now comes the actual recording session, and Randy is on the edge of panic because he just found out that Joe had never looked at the music. The end result? Henderson played the living shit out of Randy's music with no preparation whatsoever prior to the session.
...but even that "moment" is pregnant with preparation: all the years of practice, performance, listening to other musicians playing alongside him, woodshedding, and honing his chops so that such an amazing thing can happen. His ability to accomplish that seemingly spontaneous feat was probably quite hard-won (and richly deserved).
Years ago I was assisting an editor who has a very well deserved reputation as one of the best around. He has the ability to take ordinary footage and suspend time with it... heighten moment's and give the viewer a 3 dimensional look at them (or at least it feels that way).Watching him work it was like he wasn't even doing anything. He seemed a bit awkward at the controls (Avid) and like he wasn't even paying full attention and then he'd play what he'd just done and it would be amazing. Not always of course but quite often.
One of those times I was watching and I was thinking about how it didn't look like he was really doing anything and he turned around and said... "It's not as transparent as it looks. It's the result of years of practice and experience."
John Coltrane would talk about that too. Hell he was even practicing while he was doing a show.
Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
...and for me it's even a particularly apt metaphor because I'm a documentary filmmaker. In fact tomorrow I start editing my main current project...on an Avid!
Good luck with that. I still haven't seen Paper Clips (which I've seen you make mention of) but it's on my Netflix list.
Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
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