Experimental/free etc music

[Mick-7]

So many people's exposure to "free jazz" is limited to hearing groups of "free" musicians who play together without listening / reacting to one another, absorbed in their own worlds which mostly results in the typical cacaphony associated with the genre. These people can't, as you say, play anything they can imagine.

If people would only dig a little deeper, there are many fine improvising musicians that are quite capable of playing really free. There are varying gradations of "free" playing - sometimes there will be free-ish interludes within pieces that have some structure.

In the early 2000s, a friend hipped me to a David Binney record called South - not all of it free by a long shot but as I checked out some other work by Binney and side men / those within that circle (Brian Blade, Adam Rogers, Craig Taborn, Donny McCaslin etc.), I discovered ways of playing that I'd never imagined.

Really it's sort of a continuation of what Miles's second quintet was doing and then what Wayne Shorter's last group did. In the middle of that there were guys like Dave Liebman, Dave Holland, Ritchie Beirach, John Abercrombie and others on ECM.

These are just a few of the many musician who are capable, who play with great creativity and empathy, who listen and react in the moment.

Yes, that second wave (or whatever wave it is) of modern jazz players you mentioned, Binny, Rogers, et. al., and other guitarists such as Bill Frisell and Ben Monder, can play pretty much any genre of music well.

Binney and Rogers had a fusion band in the mid-90's named Lost Tribe, released 3 albums I think. Adam Rogers solo on this track is remarkable:

[Spirit59]

Yes, that second wave (or whatever wave it is) of modern jazz players you mentioned, Binny, Rogers, et. al., and other guitarists such as Bill Frisell and Ben Monder, can play pretty much any genre of music well.

Binney and Rogers had a fusion band in the mid-90's named Lost Tribe, released 3 albums I think. Adam Rogers solo on this track is remarkable:

Nice solo indeed.

I have their Soulfish record. Rogers' solo on Whodunnit is pretty nuts - so is the head!

[ombudsman]

Asking this here is maybe not a great strategy, some exceptions notwithstanding, unless you're also going to go to a free improv page and ask them about the cultural relevance of straight ahead takes on standards from the 80s til now.

But if anyone is looking and wants something guitar centric I suggest Coco Bolo Nights by Hans Reichel.

[L50EF15]

Some abstraction getting used to my new guitar, a Yamaha C40 classical I bought at my local Guitar Center yesterday. It was too good a deal to pass up:

The second one treads more conventional ground, trying out the same kinds of voicings I play on my various steel strings, archtop and flattop:

[guitarvegas]

Been running into wall after wall with "These Foolish Things" today, so I broke away and did something free.