The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 26, 1985 - Page 7
On Coltrane 's
jazz revolution
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By Aaron Bergman
Revolutions must begin when an
idea has been taken to its natural con-
clusion, or proven invalid. Rarely is
the transition between ideas a smooth
one, though it may appear to be so in
retrospect. For example, Copernicus'
*
Music, too, is constantly faced with
revolution. Jazz, because of its
heritage of constant self-reevaluation
is perfectly suited to represent this.
Jazz's most significant period of
revolution was the avante-garde
movement of the 1960s. Perhaps the
most significant figure was John
Coltrane, though others may suc-
cessfully argue that Ornette Coleman
was more influential.
Coltrane changes jazz on a number
of different levels. The first was
purely structural. He changed its
geometry. He found he could no
longer fit his ideas into standard
notation. His new chords could not be
arpeggiated into triplets or even
groups of four or six. Sometimes he
needed five of seven notes to properly
develop them.
The number of notes he used was
also radical. he used more of them
than anyone before him. This aspect
seems to be a logical development.
Swing music was based on melodic
improvisations of quarter notes.
Bebop was based on harmonic im-
provisations of eighth notes. A vante-
garde jazz was based on har-
monic/melodic (harmolodic) im-
provisations of sixteenth notes. This
created a virtual "Sheet of Sound."
Although Coltrane eventually aban-
doned this form, it allowed him to
break away from the bebop masters,
such as Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie
parker, under whom he apprenticed,
and to create his most significant
works.
Structural freedom allowd him to
explore his emotions to a greater
degree than his predecessors. In a
way; he used spirituality as a tool of
revolution. By the sheer candor of his
playing, he forced his audiences to
take a deep look inside themselves.
One of his last albums; A Love
Supreme, recorded around 1967, may
best, demonstrate this to those un-
familiar with his work. It features
some of the finest instrumentalists in
the history of jazz. 'Trane played
tenor sax; McCoy Tyner was on
piano; Jimmy Garrison was on bass;
and Elvin .Jones was on drums.
The music'is neither beautiful nor
ugly. Rather it reaches beyond sur-
face aesthetics, and pushes toward
spiritual sublimity. It is religious in
the finest sense of the word. Coltrane
tried to achieve unity with the world
by examining all aspects of his inner
being.
A Love Supreme is not revelatory
because of blind acceptance of faith,
but because of constant probing and
questioning within the context of
devotion. The names of the four
movements suffice.
Acknowlegement. Resolution. Pur-
suance. Psalm.
'Trane was a troubled man. The
struggle against discrimination
during the civil rights movement took
its toll on him, both emotionally and
physically. However he remained
content that his search was one of
righteousness. Perhaps his striving
for righteousness was his greatest
contribution to the revolution in
music.
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theory that the earth revolves around
the sun and not vice-versa is taken for
granted today. However, it was con-
sidered heretical, even blasphemous,
when it was first presented. The
moral resprehensibility of slavery is
obvious, but it took a devastating civil
war merely to end its legality.
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Winston
's heavenly
piano to grace Hill
()t~
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call 764-0558
George Winston is one of those few
musicians who, when mentioned in a
conversation, often sparks a sentimen-
tal glint in someone's eye. He is also one
of those musicians whose recordings,
when spun on the air, cause a flooding
of inquiring phone calls to the radio
station.
On Tuesday night at Hill Auditorium,
Winston will warm Ann Arbor with his
unique classical jazz. Actually, though,
it's not really classical and not really
jazz, but lofts in its own heavenly
realm. Winston's music is utterly
serene and natural, delicate and sen-
sitive: as meditative as a mantra, and
as absorbing as sudden changes in
season.
To date he has four albums: Ballads
and Blues 1972, Autumn, Winter into
Spring, and December. And he's
rumored to beworking on at least one
more - you guessed it: an album on the
missing season, summer. After that, he
may venture to make an album on
outer-space and on fantasy and fairy
tales, both of which seem journeys for
which Winston's imagination is well
suited to depict.
Born in Michigan and raised in Mon-
tana, Winston was nourished on early
sixties pop and blues. He began playing
piano after highschool, then an organ
and electric piano, but later shifted
back to the basic acoustic piano. His
first recording was in 1972, followed by
an eight-year, professional silence from
music; his impressionistic season
recordings flowered in the eighties, to
fabulous response.
Many a listener attests to the hyp-
notic, transcendental quality of Win-
ston's music. His concert at Hill should
be some relief from the late-semester
blues at least, and at most, you might
find yourself in a trance. The show
opens at 8:00; tickets are on sale at the
Michigan Union Box Office.
-Andy Weine
mtcbtgan BMW
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