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Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 1d

Evening Vinyl

1940-41 recordings, 1966 pressing.

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Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 2d

Pitchers and catchers report in 99 days.

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Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 3d

Baseball is the greatest game, and it's not even close. It NEVER stops surprising you.

Reposted by Mark Stryker

Raghib @raghibthinks.bsky.social · 3d

“If they ask me, I could write a book…” Those cats are swinging! Well done sir!

YouTube video by jim lowe

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 3d

New acquisition

1965, first pressing. Arrangements by Frank Foster, Billy Byers, Dick Hyman, Mort Garson.

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Reposted by Mark Stryker

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

🧵Jack and Al
I heard Jack DeJohnette live many times, but the first time I saw him in person he wasn’t performing. He was hanging out in the corner of a long-gone Greenwich Village club, Lush Life, checking out a trio gig by pianist Richie Beirach, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Al Foster.

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Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

Ray's nickname was "Floorshow." Here's why: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xCx...

Ray Nance-Duke Ellington

www.youtube.com

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

That's basically Cootie paraphrasing/riffing on Ray Nance's original improvised solo from 1941, which itself was worked out and codified over time.

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

The guitar and alto were in unison and Charlie and Jack were just laying down the beat nice and easy. The dry ping of Jack's cyrstalline ride cymbal in that moment remains one of my clearest sonic memories.

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Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

(I had not heard "Song X" before the concert.) But then the electronic carpet bombing stomped suddenly and out of the rumble, came the rest of the band, swinging beautifully at a human volume, playing Ornette's blues, "Turnaround."

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

Part 2

The first time I heard Jack DeJohnette live was w/ Pat Metheny and Ornette Coleman in 1986 in Urbana. The first sounds of the concert, a kind of overture, were a barrage of Denardo Coleman's electronic drums at an assaultive volume. I thought, "Shit, this is not gonna be what I had hoped."

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

So we're on the same page, which alternative melody exactly are you referencing?

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

H/T @natechinen.bsky.social for a kicker: On Jack’s first night in NYC he sat in at Minton's w/ Freddie Hubbard, whose drummer was (wait for it) Al Foster. Nate relays a passage from Jack’s oral history for the Smithsonian and imagines Foster being impressed and perhaps taken aback by the new kid.

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

Some losses are tougher than others, but losing Al and Jack within five months? Goddman. ... All I can say is that whoever is running this fucking circus better be taking damn good care of Billy Hart and Louis Hayes.

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

Al might opt for minimalism where Jack might choose a maximalist approach. These are just generalities, of course. The decision making of both drummers was both remarkably advanced and unpredictable. I never heard either make a bad choice on the bandstand.

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

It’s interesting to think about the similarities and differences between them. Both were first-rate colorists, masters of texture and dynamics, each able to strike a groove across a dizzying array of idioms. There was more pure bebop in Al’s DNA than in Jack’s.

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

Jack remains in a class by himself, partly because beyond his landmark work as a drummer, he was also an imposing bandleader, composer, conceptualist, and multi-instrumentalist. But Al also belongs in the top tier of post-bop drummers.

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

It's almost impossible to fathom how much aesthetic ground Jack covered during his career, how many diverse bands and recordings he defined with his creativity and unique sound, how many drummers he influenced.

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

That’s how great Jack DeJohnette was and how much respect he commanded from his peers. Now both Jack and Al are gone. They died almost exactly five months apart, Al at 82 on May 28 and Jack at 83 three days ago on the 26th.

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

Think for second about how brilliant Al Foster was, and how much he had accomplished by 1982. Only five months younger than Jack, Al was 39 and at the top of his game. Yet Jack’s presence at his gig had Al gushing like a 12-year-old who just saw his favorite baseball player in the flesh.

Mark Stryker @markstryker.bsky.social · 4d

It was March 1982, and I was 18. On the break, my older brother crossed paths with Al at the sink in the men’s room. Without prompting, Al looked at my brother and said, excitedly, “Did you see Jack DeJohnette is in the club?! I’m so nervous! Jack is my idol!”