It's an interesting, if tangential perhaps, aspect of American Jazz music that it is an art form that appears to particularly allow for an extremely extended career.
The list of Jazz musicians who did some of their very best work at advanced ages is a long list, and it's not hard to think of examples of Jazz musicians who have been very productive in their 80's and even in their 90's.
And lovers of Jazz are well aware of this, and there is a tremendous culture of respect for your elders in Jazz, which is quite interesting and refreshing given the attitudes that some other crafts seem to show to their craftspeople.
We had a nice reminder of this recently, when we got to hear Greg Adams and East Bay Soul.
Adams, who was a founding member of the pioneering West Coast Jazz group Tower of Power, has been performing for five decades; as his bio attests, he has appeared on an astonishing six hundred records.
And, he's still composing, and recording, and performing, with a great band containing a number of other Tower of Power veterans, including Lee Thornburg and Nick Milo.
I'm no spring chicken myself, so I'm pleased to see any evidence that the old guys can be just as productive and creative and influential and imaginative as they were when they were younger.
Thank you Greg and East Bay Soul, for such a stirring example.
No comments:
Post a Comment