As many of you know last year my company, Quango, re-branded the now internationally recognized Portland Jazz Festival. In doing so we have had a glimpse into the inner-workings of a handful of Jazz artists and officianados. With that said it has also prompted me to keep up with my Jazz education.
Playing saxophone for many years, some of which were in jazz bands, I have always wanted to pursue my expanded jazz education, but had really not had the exposure that I have acquired in the past two years with the PDX Jazz account. With that said my glimpse into the avant-garde jazz movement has been somewhat limited; having only really attended a Wayne Horvitz show some time ago that the Creative Music Guild put on here in town; at the time, I ‘got it.’
Fast-forward a year and I am watching Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, respectively at two different shows. Both in the company of the late Coltrane have been said to be key in the birth of the avant-garde free jazz movement. The first show Friday night was Coleman, and what I had once ‘got’ I had quickly lost in a deep desire to be one of few running out of the Arlene Schnitzer hall. There were planned squeeks and squaks. Arrhythmical, and unsettling. When all was said and done I was convinced that avant-garde jazz was just not for me.
Sunday rolled around and I was on my way to closing my education in free-jazz with Cecil Taylor. I was prepped for the show by a great local teaser in a duet from Rob Scheps and Glen Moore; both are amazingly talented and digestible local jazz talents. Intermission took place and I found myself talking to my friend and Creative Director here at Quango, Dave Anolik. ‘Cecil is way out there’ he said. ‘He is from f’ng Mars.’ As Dave elaborated on how Cecil was going to manipulate the bones in my ears I grew more and more uneasy. Was Cecil going to be harsher on my ears than Ornette?
Enter the great Cecil Taylor. And I say great, because after one quickly-passed hour he was in my mind the most amazing show I had seen all year. Cecil was not too far out there; no, he was just a better communicator. There were less distractions as Cecil was playing solo, and what he did was take me on a ride that would allow me to tap into the many thoughts that had been secluded for so long. As my fiance would describe Cecil is like one of those 3d posters that you have to relax your eyes to, in order to see the entire picture. I relaxed my eyes, then my ears, and then let me brain travel with Cecil.
On a side note I really believe the reason Cecil was so much better for me than Ornette were the following:
a) he was a solo, so there were less distractions of people trying to be on their own.
b) he never played technically wrong or poorly on purpose for some assumed cerabral experience
c) he is just that much better of a communicator. He reached me, the non avant-garde jazz listener and I ‘got it.’
Welcome to Mars.
