Hey.... but the Yellowjackets *can* get funky....!
>diminish CC. His "Crystal Silence" with Gary Burton and the "Piano
>Improvisations" recordings are really great. But his ideas run in another
>direction from the AJ we all know and love.
That's right - AJ is a style and we enjoy it within the parameters of this
genre. In this style, the GROOVE is king - exotic polyrhythms, odd time
signatures or weird chord changes just get in the way. Doesn't mean we
should appreciate other styles of music any less - but once again, I
maintain that RTF's fusion acrobatics (i.e. those bravura synth-guitar-bass
unison lines that Chick revived with the Elektric Band) have very little or
nothing to do with AJ. Neither can this be said of some other groups like
the Mahavishnu Orchestra. But the funkier side of fusion does have a major
influence. Apart from Hancock, I might cite Ahmad Jamal or Ramsey Lewis. Or
Ronnie Laws (remember that "Always There" discussion...). And there was that
Miles "Bitches Brew" thread a while back...
Actually when I first heard the likes of Incognito, I thought "hmmmm...
fusion's back!"
>Besides, he's a Scientologist. And, what's more, he's a
>
>[transmission terminated]
??? He's a what? Oh, and Chick's devotion to L. Ron Hubbard's religion is
widely known, and I believe he also turned on bandmates Stanley Clarke and
Lenny White to this. I've been a Chick fan since hearing "Spain" on "Light
as a Feather". All this time, I never undertood what Scientology is all
about, but Chick has often attributed this to his success and creativity in
music. As long as it helps a musician improve his art to allow the rest of
us to enjoy his work, all the good --- I have nothing against that. Doesn't
mean I have to read Hubbard's "Dianetics" or whatever or convert.
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jim ayson [ jra@europa.com ] ... quezon city, metro manila, philippines
W3 Business Communications: website design and management [w3bc@tridel.com.ph]
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