TT 503 pt. 2
My own votes
Yesterday I posted a query: Who would you nominate for the Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame? Over 100 comments came in, and I enjoyed reading them all.
Grouping the omissions is one way to organize the game:
Big Band: Jimmy Lunceford stomped it off. Woody Herman had the best white band of the swing era. Claude Thornhill and Stan Kenton were gateways to the future. Quincy Jones started with the big bands before contributing to every level of American music. Thad Jones and Mel Lewis were the best modern jazz big band.
Drummers: I love the old-time swingers, of course, but in terms of personality the moderns have right of way. Billy Higgins, Philly Joe Jones, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette—I’d add in Ed Blackwell and Paul Motian, but know those are more idiosyncratic choices.
Popular pianists: Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett.
Detroit pianists: Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris, Roland Hanna.
Miles Davis pianists: Red Garland, Wynton Kelly.
A famous rhythm section: Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams.
The baddest: Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw.
Hard bop supreme: Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd, Blue Mitchell, Hank Mobley, Jackie McLean, Sonny Clark.
The lyrical saxophone: Stan Getz, Warne Marsh, Paul Desmond.
Working for a living: Sonny Stitt, Johnny Griffin, Phil Woods, George Coleman.
A melodic herald: Booker Little, Kenny Wheeler, Tom Harrell.
Ornette Coleman associates: Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Blackwell, Higgins.
The odd couple: Paul Bley and Carla Bley.
Bass genius: Jimmy Garrison (it bothers me that Coltrane, McCoy, and Elvin are there while Jimmy is not), Oscar Pettiford, Wilbur Ware, Scott LaFaro, Gary Peacock, Carter, Haden.
Many others to add as well…
Still, the point of this exercise remains, how do you manage scarcity? In the end my three choices are:
Tadd Dameron—unsung creator/teacher of the II-V-I system, an integral part of the language
Horace Silver—architect of blues and hard bop, also very popular
Eric Dolphy—interjected European modernism into the language, invented the bass clarinet as an instrument for jazz, and still could really play the blues
Thanks for looking at Transitional Technology! My stats today reveal round numbers.
A notably ludicrous scam email also came in last week:
Pepper Adams overlooked as usual. He didn’t even get a mention in the omissions list while he belongs in two categories-Hard Bop and Working for a Living.
Eddie Durham , the quiet man.