What a beautiful, subtle observation about Rowles’s accompaniment on Shadow of Your Smile!
Rowles was such a phenomenal player with his distinctive own voice. Take for example his duets with Mraz and the ones with Ray Brown. And he did wonderful things with a bunch of Shorter tunes.
Which reminds me of something I read (and maybe some can verify it):
Rowles supposedly gave Mraz the nickname “Bounce”. After everyone had been calling him Bounce for years, Mraz asked Rowles “Hey Jimmy, why do you call me Bounce?” and not missing a beat Rowles said
“Because you’re one bad Czech” (check). He waited years to use the punchline!
That's the first time I've EVER head the verse of "The Shadow Of Your Smile" and I've played the tune.. many times.
If I could master any one skill as a musician it would be that of an accompanist.. in any context. Jazz, classical, vocal, instrumental, whatever. I'm particularly blown away by players like Wynton or Joe Pass who are master accompanists and iconic soloists. I'm sure there are more but those are two I've listened to a lot in both capacities.
I saw Charlap comp for Dee Dee Bridgewater.. he's encyclopedic AND creative and they work so well together.
I have also seen absolute crack shot accompanists receive score (score.. not reductions) and 20 minutes later accompany classical singers singing opera arias. This is a feat of mind I can't comprehend.
My middle school band director could do it. She could barely reach an octave yet could play absolutely anything, and could sight everything from lead sheet to grand staff to a full score. The musical mind is miraculous!
Thanks for sharing. I neglect Evans as an accompanist but he's great with Tony (and on his records with Jim Hall)/
What a beautiful, subtle observation about Rowles’s accompaniment on Shadow of Your Smile!
Rowles was such a phenomenal player with his distinctive own voice. Take for example his duets with Mraz and the ones with Ray Brown. And he did wonderful things with a bunch of Shorter tunes.
Which reminds me of something I read (and maybe some can verify it):
Rowles supposedly gave Mraz the nickname “Bounce”. After everyone had been calling him Bounce for years, Mraz asked Rowles “Hey Jimmy, why do you call me Bounce?” and not missing a beat Rowles said
“Because you’re one bad Czech” (check). He waited years to use the punchline!
Whether true or not, it ought to be :)
Thank you
Great piece. Thanks.
Wow! What a gift. I posted my homage today too, I interviewed him in 1994. (I am very old!)
That's the first time I've EVER head the verse of "The Shadow Of Your Smile" and I've played the tune.. many times.
If I could master any one skill as a musician it would be that of an accompanist.. in any context. Jazz, classical, vocal, instrumental, whatever. I'm particularly blown away by players like Wynton or Joe Pass who are master accompanists and iconic soloists. I'm sure there are more but those are two I've listened to a lot in both capacities.
I saw Charlap comp for Dee Dee Bridgewater.. he's encyclopedic AND creative and they work so well together.
I have also seen absolute crack shot accompanists receive score (score.. not reductions) and 20 minutes later accompany classical singers singing opera arias. This is a feat of mind I can't comprehend.
My middle school band director could do it. She could barely reach an octave yet could play absolutely anything, and could sight everything from lead sheet to grand staff to a full score. The musical mind is miraculous!
Thanks for sharing. I neglect Evans as an accompanist but he's great with Tony (and on his records with Jim Hall)/