DownBeat.com NOVEMBER 2008NOVEMBER U.K. £3.50 DB1108_001_COVER.qxd 9/24/08 10:35 AM Page 1 DOWNBEAT TONY WILLIAMS ANAT COHEN STEVE SMITH UNHERALDED DRUM LEGENDS NOVEMBER 2008 DB1108_002-005_MAST.qxd 9/18/08 3:35 PM Page 2 DB1108_002-005_MAST.qxd 9/18/08 3:35 PM Page 3 DB1108_002-005_MAST.qxd 9/23/08 9:07 AM Page 4 November 2008 VOLUME 75 – NUMBER 11 President Kevin Maher Publisher Frank Alkyer Editor Jason Koransky Associate Editor Aaron Cohen Art Director Ara Tirado Production Associate Andy Williams Bookkeeper Margaret Stevens Circulation Manager Kelly Grosser Intern Mary Wilcop ADVERTISING SALES Record Companies & Schools Jennifer Ruban-Gentile 630-941-2030 [email protected] Musical Instruments & East Coast Schools Ritche Deraney 201-445-6260 [email protected] Classified Advertising Sales Sue Mahal 630-941-2030 [email protected] OFFICES 102 N. Haven Road Elmhurst, IL 60126–2970 630-941-2030 Fax: 630-941-3210 www.downbeat.com [email protected] CUSTOMER SERVICE 800-554-7470 [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS Senior Contributors: Michael Bourne, John McDonough, Howard Mandel Austin: Michael Point; Boston: Fred Bouchard, Frank-John Hadley; Chicago: John Corbett, Alain Drouot, Michael Jackson, Peter Margasak, Bill Meyer, Mitch Myers, Paul Natkin, Howard Reich; Denver: Norman Provizer; Indiana: Mark Sheldon; Iowa: Will Smith; Los Angeles: Earl Gibson, Todd Jenkins, Kirk Silsbee, Chris Walker, Joe Woodard; Michigan: John Ephland; Minneapolis: Robin James; Nashville: Robert Doerschuk; New Orleans: Erika Goldring, Willard Jenkins, David Kunian; New York: Alan Bergman, Herb Boyd, Bill Douthart, Ira Gitler, Eugene Gologursky, Norm Harris, D.D. Jackson, Jimmy Katz, Jim Macnie, Ken Micallef, Jennifer Odell, Dan Ouellette, Ted Panken, Richard Seidel, Tom Staudter, Jack Vartoogian, Michael Weintrob, Kevin Whitehead; North Carolina: Robin Tolleson; Philadelphia: David Adler, Shaun Brady, Eric Fine; San Francisco: Forrest Bryant, Clayton Call, Jerry Karp, Yoshi Kato; Seattle: Paul de Barros; Tampa Bay: Philip Booth; Washington, D.C.: John Murph, Bill Shoemaker, Michael Wilderman; Belgium: Jos Knaepen; Canada: Greg Buium, James Hale, Diane Moon; Denmark: Jan Persson; France: Jean Szlamowicz; Germany: Detlev Schilke, Hyou Vielz; Great Britain: Hugh Gregory, Brian Priestley; Israel: Barry Davis; Japan: Kiyoshi Koyama; Netherlands: Jaap Lüdeke; Portugal: Antonio Rubio; Romania: Virgil Mihaiu; Russia: Cyril Moshkow; South Africa: Don Albert. Jack Maher, President 1970-2003 John Maher, President 1950-1969 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Send orders and address changes to: DOWNBEAT, P.O. Box 906, Elmhurst, IL 60126–0906. 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Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106. MAHER PUBLICATIONS: DOWNBEAT magazine, MUSIC INC. magazine, UpBeat Daily. POSTMASTER: SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO: DOWNBEAT, P.O. BOX 906, Elmhurst, IL 60126–0906. CABLE ADDRESS: DOWNBEAT (on sale October 21, 2008) MAGAZINE PUBLISHERSÁ ASSOCIATION DB1108_002-005_MAST.qxd 9/18/08 3:35 PM Page 5 DB1108_006-007_INSIDE.qxd 9/23/08 9:09 AM Page 6 DB Inside 50 Departments 8 First Take 10 Chords & Discords 13 The Beat 14 The Archives November 4, 1976 19 The Question 21 Vinyl Freak Gene Krupa DOWNBEAT ARCHIVES 22 Backstage With ... Jack DeJohnette 44 Tony Williams 24 Caught Bridge To The Beyond | By Ken Micallef 26 Players Despite being one of the most influential drummers of the 20th century, Marcus Gilmore Williams never felt he got proper credit for his innovations behind the kit. More than 11 years have passed since he died at a far too young age. With this per- Elvin Bishop spective of time, we focus on three albums on which he participated or led— Joanna Pascale Filles De Kilimanjaro, Believe It and Wilderness—as a guide to his musical pro- gression, talking to drummers and collaborators about the true extent of Adam Rudolph Williams’ rhythmic ingenuity. 67 Reviews Features 90 Transcription 92 Legal Session 34 Anat Cohen Village Ambassador 94 Jazz on Campus By Dan Ouellette 44 98 Blindfold Test 38 New Orleans: Three Years The Bad Plus 50 Chick Webb, After Katrina Jo Jones, Gene Krupa, Musical Healing? Sid Catlett, Sonny Greer By Ned Sublette and Dave Tough Six Forgotten Beats By John McDonough 54 Steve Smith Rhythm Roots By Yoshi Kato 58 Bobby Sanabria & Mike Reed Master Classes 62 Toolshed 67 Uri Caine Ensemble Gunther Schuller 6 DOWNBEAT November 2008 Cover photography by Tom Copi; taken at a 1967 Miles Davis Quintet show. DB1108_006-007_INSIDE.qxd 9/18/08 3:37 PM Page 7 DB1108_008-009_FT.qxd 9/23/08 2:39 PM Page 8 F i r s t Ta k e By Jason Koransky Tony Williams: Tracking catching up on Williams’ Genius his reading While we were in production for this issue of DownBeat, I had a dis- cussion with someone about Tony Williams being on the cover. He posed the question: “Why Tony Williams?” Good question. Of course, the answer could easily be, “Why not?” After all, his influence on jazz drumming was as profound as any artist’s over the past 50 years. But in the feature on Page 44, we don’t cel- ebrate an anniversary of Williams’ birth or death, or another significant milestone or reissue. Rather, Ken Micallef delves into a few of Williams’ seminal recordings, and learns from Williams’ collaborators DOWNBEAT ARCHIVES and fellow drummers about how profound an are very few people who can play jazz drums a impact he had on the course of jazz. certain kind of way. But just because of that it How did DownBeat cover Williams over the doesn’t mean that I have to go out and prove it course of his career? Soon after he joined Miles all the time because I happen to be one of the Davis’ quintet, DownBeat featured him for the few people who can do it on a certain really first time, including the then teenage drummer in classy level. It doesn’t mean that I have to a roundtable discussion in the magazine’s New spend my life being a martyr. I don’t want to be York office with Art Blakey, Mel Lewis and a martyr and I don’t want to be a museum Cozy Cole, which appeared in the March 26, piece. I don’t want people to come out and hear 1964, issue. me because it’s nostalgic.” Even at this young age, Williams had an The martyr language is interesting. In our astute ability to dissect his playing, and he feature this issue, Wallace Roney said that was quite opinionated about the state of jazz Williams “felt the critics never credited him for drumming. being the innovative jazz drummer he was.” “When I hear the hi-hat being played on 2 Williams did not want his music to exist in a and 4, through every solo, through every chorus, bubble, or become a snapshot of a bygone era. through the whole tune, this seem to me to be—I In the November 1983 issue, Paul de Barros can’t play it like that,” he said. “Chit, chit, chit, interviewed Williams. When asked about what chit—all the way through the tune. My time is direction his music was going, Williams on the cymbal and in my head, because when I responded, “The popular direction. I like MTV. I play the bass drum, I play it where it means like The Police, Missing Persons, Laurie something. I just put it in. When a person plays Anderson.” this way, they don’t play the bass drum, they He then went on to discuss if jazz should get don’t play the hi-hat—well, they say they’re the same institutionalized treatment as classical playing completely free—that word is a drag music does in American society: “[H]ow much too. What makes it different is that they don’t is that really going to do for musicians? I don’t have any bottom.” think society really recognizes classical music, Jump forward more than 10 years, after he anyway. It’s all patronage, and grants, a certain recorded the milestone jazz-rock album Believe class of people. Jazz was originally the music of It. In an interview with Vernon Gibbs that the people in the streets and not in concert halls, appeared in the Jan. 29, 1976, issue, Williams so when you lose that, you suffer the conse- discussed the challenges of mining new veins of quences. There’s nothing wrong with jazz being creativity and creating his own musical identity an art form, but it has a certain roughness and after his historic work with Davis. vitality and unexpectedness that’s important. I “If I felt that playing with Miles was the guess I’m old-fashioned.” best I’m ever gonna play, then I would just Old-fashioned would probably be the last give up,” he said. “The reason it came out so term one would associate with Williams.