Short bios of Ethan Iverson usually include the phrase, “avant-garde jazz pianist.”
The concert footage of Woodstock turned up on TV with some regularity when I was a child, so the first thing that I ever saw or heard that resembled “avant-garde jazz” was Jimi Hendrix playing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It was an epiphany. One could easily make the case that my entire life trajectory was dictated by this moment.
On most Fourth of Julys I take another look. It holds up. A perfect action, perfectly executed.
An iconic American performance, the moment the avant garde and pop culture inextricable spoke to an enormous audience’s allegiances and anxieties.
A huge influence on so many! Always one of the things I loved about him was his embracing of pure sound. I remember him speaking admiringly about Pharaoh Sanders etc and going “Oh yeah” hearing his climatic end of Third Stone From the Sun, etc… Have a good 4th in any case.