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Don Pullen Is a Musical Polyglot

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Don Pullen Is a Musical Polyglot I I JU THELONIOUSI1OilK play Every month we a musician a series of records enough of his playing recently, but "lt Don't l,lean A Thing lf It Ain't which they're asked to identify and comment on about two orthree years ago I did GotThat Swing" f rom Plays Duke - with no prior knowledge of what they're catch him in a club in NewYorkand Ellington(Riverside) about to hean he played "Sweet Georgia Brown" Yonk What can I say? Yonk is my and itwasn't like anything l'd ever favourite pianist He was a true heard before. lt was coming f rom a original, someone you can't really totaliy different space, and l'd lrke to lmitate because his style is so per- hear it again and againlusttofind out sonal lf l'm playing a Xonk tune I whatthe hell hewas doing His might use certain inflections, but orlginality was fantastic, and then the what I try to do is interpret the tune set was over And Andrew has never rather than Yonk I don't approach been afraid to use the fact that he it lrke htm because any kind of imt- come from outsrde the States. [Hrl tation seems exactly that Yonk was born n Hartr ] A lor o'nusicia"s was very daring, and took chances, thinkthey have to abandon their and people of his generation didn't backgrounds and totally involve quite understand him because his tl-emse'ves iT what is l^aoper ng rr mind was different and he stayed America Butthat's notthe case. You very much in his own space They know, l'm always reaching out, were adventurous times, but he hunting for something, taking was somewhere else again and he musical nspiration from any source. stretched the music even further lt Ard I wan oeopre to or tg rl-e r own Look years lor hin ro gel .ecogni- cultures, their own feelings into my tion and then all of a sudden every- music. There are always new body was a Xonk fan. I also like his challenges l'm notcontenttojust simplicity. - He seems to be abie to stand still strip something down and make it appear simple, but there's always a BUDPOWELL subtelty and complexity to it And "Embraceable You" f rom The my appreciation of him is grow- still Greatest Jazz Concert Ever lng - every time I hear him I hear (Prestige) something different, something don pu llen That's Bud Powell, but l've neveT more fascinating. tested by Philip Watson heard that album. Do you thi nk th e re i s a ny si mr I a rrty It's th e famou s M a ssey Ha I I conce ft . between him and Ellington? Pianist, organist and composer Hamiett Bluiett 5I year-old Bud Powel l's h r st da te a ft et beinq Yes. Theywere both geniuses. I know Don Pullen is a musical polyglot. Pullen is perhaps bestknownfor re I ea sed from C reed m o re it's an overused term, butwhen you Raised in a Virginia on diet of his ten-year collaboration with sanitarium He was said to be stone hear Xonkor Duke you can define it gospel, blues, souland R&B, he tenor saxophonist George d runkfrom the X rst number on. yust by hearing whatthey do immersed himself in, and remains Adams. From I979 they co-led a That may have been the case, but he influenced by, the NewYork post-bop power quartet which was still a fantastic pianist; in his A}IDREWHILT avant-garde of the 60s. But stands as one of contemporary time hewaslhe piano player- "Samba Rasta"from Eternal Pullen has also usedjazz as a jazz's most successful Iong-term everyone had to listen to Bud Spirit(BIueNote) springboard to music as diverse units. ltwasas a pianist that because everyrhing was corring l've no idea. Who was it? asflamenco, calypso, and Arabic Pullen signed to BIue Note in from him Bud grasped the bebop It's And rew Hil I with Bobby and lndian folk forms. His most 1988, butmuchof hisrecent concept like no other pianist and ran Hutcherson, Greg Osby, Rufus Reid recentalbum, Kele ITou Bqns work has beenon organ, playing awaywith it And his influence on and Ben Riley (Blue Note), mixesjazzwith with John Scofield, David pianiststoday is amazing We all have l've never heard him with that group. I African and Brazilian rhythms llurray, l,laceo Parker and Kip some Bud in us and we have to Ihinkthe rhythm section should have and vocals.Although he has Hanrahan. "l thinka lotof people acknowiedge the factthat he been rayirg into rhe Lat,n th,ng recorded "nore several solo albums are afraid to hire me on piano,,, originated a lot of the thingswe do they - diddt reallycapture the and had stints with Art BIakey, he explains. "They think !'m too today flavour of it. I haven't real ly heard Charles l,lingus, Nina Simone and unpredictable, too risky." How doyou feel aboutthe tragedy of 44 The Wire good his lrfe? It's th e msn who cl ai med h e invented Chucho Y aldes U eader of the Cuban atthattime, and we had some Well, he lived it.lwish he'd stayed jazz: Jelly Roll Mofton. band lrakerel. times Imisshimalot. around longer. lwrsh l'd known him I love this early music because It's actually Brazilran multi- Butdoesn't Mingus have a reputation better, and got to spend some time there's so much going on i nst ru menta I ist H e rmeto Pa scoa l. fo r treltinq hi s st d em en ba d I y? he had a sense of with him Bur I thirkall of usdo the melodically, harmonical ly, Yinguswas crazy: bestwe can atthat moment The technical ly. You've gotto realise that humourwhich was really out lf he conditions at thattime were difficult, all these early pianists were totally could spota weakness in one of his especially being black in America, but self-taught. And I have always sidemen, hewould exploitit He we all handle itthe bestway we know thought itwas they who were the would stop the band and tell him he how, and some of us may not handle greatest influences on the earlyjazz was not playing rightand thatwould it as wellaswethink bands because they played so much sometimes lead toa scene Buthe Theyarethe fathersof the music- never real ly interfered with me Xy TIBERACE and those before them who were not agreementwith myself wasthatif he "Rhapsody In BIue" f rom Silver recorded. The interesting ihing about interfered with theway lwanted to Anniversary: Highlights From The pianistsfrom this era isthattheY play, lwould leave Sowhen he did, I FabulousCareerof l'lr played the piano orchestrally you left. We used to play this song by Sy Showmanship (Eill/l'lusic For can even hearwherethe horn Johnson called "For Harry Carney" play Pleasure) plavers could come in I don't know him l didn'treally like and I hated it, so I would it on the ls that Gershwin himself? How the beginning because itsounded strings insidethe piano Yingus about Art Tatum - he used to play TARRYYOUNG too much like hewas playing hated thatsowe had constant runs and slide down the scales like "Zoltan" from Unity (Blue Note) exercises or scales, butwhen he got arguments about itand one night he that? ls that Larry Young? Larry was the into it, and itdeveloped, I really liked tore upthe music on the stand and ThrnkLasVegas. Silver I ame? Glass alternative to Jimmy Smith. .Jimmy the power And lwas really fired me, and then came back I 5 pianos? Candelabras? was the originator of the modern impressed with histechnique and minutes laterto say he'd changed his Oh, my man, Liberace. Liberace was way of playing organ; he created a sound. mind. Buta little later, in Canada, we the Little Richard of his particular new sound, and Jimmy will funk Wh at axracts you to Brazi I ia n music? had another run in overthe same quit. area of entertainment- hewas you to death because when JimmY Well, I f irst became interested in it tune, so I flamboyaniand did a lotof things lays it down, Jimmy lays it down when ltoured Brazilin I 973 with people thoughtwere shocking. He Larry knew all about Jimmy's style, Xingus And for my lastalbum I CECILTAYLOR decided he was goingto be but he was the only one reallY wanted to play with Brazilian "Forthe Rabbit" f rom For Olim outrageous, and ittakes guts to dare doing something different with the musicians and see how Brazilian and (SoulNote) to do something different, to go out organ. His melodlc concept was African rhythms worked together ilmmedistelyl That sounds like on stage in whatever he wanted to more like that of a plano player. since they both come from the same Cecil. Well, what can I say about guitar groups; Africa, as doesjazz. ltwas Cecil? Cecil s rol a musician; wear I likethat kind of wildness. Larry didn't use in his source - )au There's a great story about his I always thought ihat his sound and really just an experimentwith rhythm he has invented his own individual version of Chopin's "Xinute Waltz". concept would have come over asthe meeting point. But l'd liketo way of playing and that kind of cre- Apparently, he cut it down to just 3 7 more clearly if he had A lot of the hear more of Hermeto Pascoal; I'm ativity is unique.
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