Freedom in the Groove

I was thinking about what I wrote about The Moon and the Sun yesterday, and the fairness of writing anything about a book that I haven't finished yet.

But I decided that in a forum like this journal writing about only part of a book is fair, because a journal is capturing my day-to-day reactions, and my reaction to a book can change as I work my way into it. In fact, this is exactly why I almost always finish a book I start, even if I can't stand it. (Molly Gloss' The Dazzle of Day being one such book which I had a really hard time getting through. Unfortunately, I thought it was pretty bad all the way through.)

Some books are pretty consistent from start to finish. Tim Powers' The Anubis Gates, for instance. Okay, it dragged just a little in the middle, but overall it was a page-turner all the way through. On the other hand, his novel Last Call started kind of slow, was excellent in the middle, but a bit disappointing at the end. (But still good overall.)

On the other hand, the first of the six books in Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings is very slow, and I was unable to get through it until I became an adult. The story doesn't really get moving until after the Fellowship leaves Rivendell in book two. But once I finally finished it, I agreed with the majority that this is a classic of the genre, if not of English literature. It's terrific.

Similarly, C. J. Cherryh's Cyteen is quite tedious for the first two hundred pages or so, but the remaining 650 pages are quite good, and although the ending is a bit abrupt, it was still a very rewarding book and worth finishing.

I can't offhand think of a book which goes the other way - starts great, but finishes poorly - but almost any story which ends with "And they woke up, and it was all a dream" qualifies (unless it's a seminal work of the type, or handles that approach with a touch of ambiguity, as in the movie The Wizard of Oz). I guess the only charge against my in media res reviews which I think would be fair is that I could probably save up my estimation of a book at each stage until I'd finished reading the whole thing, rather than writing about it piecemeal here. But that would require me to have more self-control than I apparently have!

That said, I'm now a little more than halfway through The Moon and the Sun and don't really have anything new to say about it.

When it comes to rock music, I've always had a certain appreciation for tightly-arranged multi-instrumental music. For instance, much of Jethro Tull's late-70s stuff, and the orchestral music of Yes and Renaissance. The best stuff on The Who's Who's Next, and of course Sonia Dada. But I'm finding that I don't have the same feeling about jazz music.

For instance, Miles Davis' Miles Ahead, which consists of trumpeter Davis working against an orchestral background arranged by Gil Evans, didn't do anything for me. The melodies are fuzzy and hard to pick out, and Davis just seems overwhelmed by the arrangement and magnitude of the orchestra. On the other hand, I did enjoy Evans' own album Out of the Cool, where the arrangements seem tighter and the various instruments work together much more effectively. It's pleasant to listen to, but seems to be at the limits of the "big band" sound. Somewhere in the middle are the Duke Ellington I've heard, and Oscar Peterson's Verve Silver Collection: Pleasant enough, but they didn't really grab me. (I much prefer Peterson's trio and quartet music I've heard, i.e. Night Train and Plus One, both of which I listen to regularly.)

Also somewhere in-between, and perhaps off to the side, is Citi Movement (Griot New York) by the Winton Marsalis Septet. The fundamental problem here, I think, is that Marsalis' songwriting just isn't quite strong enough to justify a double album of this sort. So it becomes a little self-indulgent, and the group - which includes trumpet, trombone and two saxophones - gets in each other's way too often. I wonder if the septet works better in a shorter album, or if Marsalis writes better with a smaller group. But I haven't tried to find out yet.

I've also been trying out several jazz guitarists, because I figured the power of the electric guitar could be used to great effect in jazz music. But I've been very disappointed in both Pat Metheny and John Scofield. Metheny's 80/81, as I've said before, has some great tracks, but as a double album tends to get lost as it goes on. But Question and Answer, if anything, is even weaker. After listening to it a couple of times I realized that there weren't really any melodies or moments that really roped me in. Scofield's Time on my Hands is a little better, but is similar overall.

What disappoints me the most about the guitarists is that they treat their instruments as if they're just loud banjos or something, and thus they never seem to take advantage of the range or quality of sound potential in the electric guitar. So I'm sort of forced to wonder: What's the point of using an electric guitar? Rock guitarists like Pete Townshend and Robert Fripp seem to achieve a more satisfying result and yet still an almost-jazzy feel on some of their music (for instance, The Who by Numbers, or the fantastic solo on King Crimson's "Sailor's Tale" from Islands). Or heck, listen to the guitar on some of Phish's live music sometime.

Overall I find the saxophonists more satisfying. I've already gushed by Joshua Redman's Moodswing, which may be the single best jazz album I've yet heard. I've bought his other studio albums, too. His first two albums - self-titled, and Wish - are each okay, but perhaps undistinguished. The title track of Wish is probably the best track between them. Moodswing is his third album, and Freedom in the Groove, although not as strong, is still very good and has grown on me a lot. Redman has a live album that I haven't heard.

I've also bought a couple of Sonny Rollins albums, both of which I like. Saxophone Colossus seems to be one of his biggest works, and it's quite good (although I've only listened to it twice, having only bought it a few days ago), but I like his more recent +3 even more. It has several covers on it (is 'cover' a meaningful word when it comes to jazz music?), but Rollins' own tunes are the strongest ones on here. Rollins has a clear, even, strong sound (this is one of Redman's strengths, too), and this album is basically a collection of 'fun' music, up-tempo and exciting.

I've heard people claim that Rollins and John Coltrane are essentially opposites in their generation of saxophonists (though I'm not sure in exactly what way). I'm not as into Coltrane as some are. I thought Giant Steps was okay, and worth listening to over again, but not in the upper echelon of my favorites. On the other hand, Soul Trane seems to have more of a Rollins-esque sound and was quite enjoyable.

I've also listened to Joe Henderson's Lush Life (a Grammy winner), which I think is okay in sort of the same way that Giant Steps is okay, and David Sanborn's Upfront, which I'm not yet sure what I think of.

I've found quite a bit of diversity in the pianists, as well. I've already mentioned Oscar Peterson. I like Herbie Hancock's first album, Maiden Voyage quite a bit, but his second, Empyrean Isles, with basically the same band, seems rather bland. I feel rather indifferent to Thelonious Monk so far, having only heard Underground, which didn't grab me, and Keith Jarrett's My Song also didn't do a lot for me.

And then there's Chick Corea's Return to Forever, and Hancock's Headhunters. I find the whole "jazz fusion" thing to be rather tedious, and neither of these albums did anything for me. In fact, Return to Forever made me cringe with its treacly arrangements and electronic keyboard sounds. I didn't find Miles Davis' fusion albums, In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew, to be much better. The lack of melody and scattershot structure of these four albums left me unimpressed. (Good thing I found Bitches Brew - a double album - used for only ten bucks!)

But, as I've said before, I like both Davis' Birth of the Cool and Kind of Blue; indeed, the latter is one of my favorite jazz albums. Milestones is somewhat similar to Kind of Blue, but not as strong. And the (as my friend John puts it) "gerund albums", Cookin' and Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet are enjoyable, but didn't really stand out for me. Davis clearly experimented with a lot of styles and ideas throughout his career, and some worked brilliantly while others (in my opinion) didn't. I'm curious to hear some of his 80s work, particularly Amandla, which I've read good things about.

Finally, I should mention The Crusaders' album The Second Crusade, which I'd heard back in college, but never found a copy of until I bought an import through Amazon.com. This double album might better be considered funk than jazz as it's not long on improvisation, but it is really excellent with some terrific melodies and arrangements.

So in sum I guess I would say: Joshua Redman, Sonny Rollins, some Miles Davis, The Crusaders, Oscar Peterson - this is the jazz music I've enjoyed the most and would most highly recommend.

But.

Today I drank some hot chocolate, ate some microwave fast food (mmmm, corn dogs) and some buttered bread, sat on my ass for most of the afternoon watching cartoons, and then went for a long bike ride (through the UW Arboretum, and about another two miles beyond my usual route, up a killer hill), at the end of which I ate a chili dog and some frozen custard, and probably downed half a liter of root beer during the course of the day.

So when I get home from the ride and weigh myself... I'm at 230.5. I lost half a pound during the day.

Weird. Well, if I start dropping below the 230 lb mark over the next week, I'll be pretty happy. if I can end up around 220 lbs or below by the time I wimp out on biking due to the cold, that would be great.

(By the way, it was really brutally humid today. Very, very nasty. Not an entirely pleasant bike ride. I hope it cools off soon. Thank goodness for central air!)

After that I decided to get on the modem and blow the early evening that way.

And now I'm baking some peanut butter cookies for a cook-out I'm going to tomorrow. I may make a second batch tomorrow morning, just because the batter is so yummy!

Michael Rawdon (Contact)