Schuller's analysis of Rollin's Blue Seven solo??
Denis Lynch
recording, mentions that Gunther Schuller wrote an analysis of Rollins' solo
on Blue Seven. Not being an academic sort of tome, all it says is that the
analysis appeared around the same time as the recording -- '57, if I remember
right.
Would anyone out there know the reference, or how to search it out?
Thanks in advance.
--
Denis Lynch d...@esl.com
TRW Business Intelligence Systems Voice 408.743.6318
Sunnyvale, CA FAX 408.752.2501
Glenn Lea
The Penguin Guide, in the description of Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Collosus
recording, mentions that Gunther Schuller wrote an analysis of Rollins' solo
on Blue Seven. Not being an academic sort of tome, all it says is that the
analysis appeared around the same time as the recording -- '57, if I remember
right.
Would anyone out there know the reference, or how to search it out?
Gotta be one of the most famous pieces of jazz writing -- it's
mentioned and quoted all over the place -- in the Smithsonian Classic
jazz box, in Len Lyons' book, in The Penguin, the liner notes to the
2-LP reissue "Saxophone Colossus and More". Rollins, when asked what
he thought of the piece, said he was going to stop reading his notices
:) It was first printed in Jazz Review in 1959 but I'm sure it has
been reprinted in one of Schuller's books (perhaps "Musings");
Schuller's books are readily available in public libraries, so a
little browsing should turn it up quickly.
--
Glenn Lea
Ray Foster
>The Penguin Guide, in the description of Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Collosus
>recording, mentions that Gunther Schuller wrote an analysis of Rollins' solo
>on Blue Seven. Not being an academic sort of tome, all it says is that the
>analysis appeared around the same time as the recording -- '57, if I remember
>right.
>
>Would anyone out there know the reference, or how to search it out?
>
You're in luck: I was just going through some old papers yesterday and
ran across some notes for my master's thesis, which was on one of
Schuller's classical works. Anyway, I found the following reference,
which must be the one you are looking for:
"Sonny Rollins and the challenge of thematic improvisation," Jazz Review,
Nov. 1958, pp. 6-9+.
As for how you would find it: the best way would be to check Music Index,
one of two major indexes of music periodicals, which goes back to 1949
(the other one, RILM, is a bit more daunting to use than Music Index, and
only goes back to the late 60s, although it is a bit more thorough). MI is
available in CD-ROM format now. Any college or university with a music
school should have access to at least Music Index, and larger public
libraries might also have access to it. You might also find an article
like this using one of the general periodical indexes, such as Reader's
Guide, but then again you might not.
rwf
--
Raymond W. Foster Internet: fos...@indiana.edu
Indiana University, Bloomington IN USA
Dave Kaufman
There is apparently a little more to Rollins response. He apparently took
the quote very seriously and spent a couple of years experimenting and
relentlessly trying to figure out what was the *logic* of this
*innovative* thematic improvisation. The experience left him very
frustrated and that's when he was quoted as saying that he was going to
stop reading his notices.
Dave K.
Chris N Kelley
> In article i...@gatekeeper.esl.com, d...@esl.com (Denis Lynch) writes:
> > The Penguin Guide, in the description of Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Collosus
> > recording, mentions that Gunther Schuller wrote an analysis of Rollins' solo
> > on Blue Seven. Not being an academic sort of tome, all it says is that the
> > analysis appeared around the same time as the recording -- '57, if I remember
> > right.
> >
> > Would anyone out there know the reference, or how to search it out?
> >
> > Thanks in advance.
> >
>
> The Schuler analysis appeared in a book called Jazz Panorama ed. by Martin williams.
> You should be able to find it in a good library (or maybe DaCapo has reprinted it
> by now). It originally appeared in a periodical called "The Jazz Review" from 1958.
> This would be harder to find, but a university music library should have
> it.
>
> I know it sounds like self-promotion, but you could also consult my book,
> The 101 Best Jazz Albums, which discusses Schuller's analysis on pp. 203-204.
> If your library or bookstore doesn't have my book, please don't tell me
> about it!!
>
> BTW, check out the piece on Rollins in "Jazz masters of the Fifties" by Joe
> Goldberg. Rollins talks about Schuller's analysis of his music and says
> something a bit ironic like "I didn't know what I was doing until I read Gunther
> Schuller.
The article is also reprinted in a "Musings," a collection of short Gunther
Schuller articles. I have a paperback copy, but it's not handy right now.
I'll look and get the info back.
BTW, I took a course in Jazz History from Martin Williams back in 1990, when
he was a visiting scholar at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. I don't
know if you should believe everything you're told, but Williams said that
Schuller's analysis emerged from an all-night smoke and booze-filled
conversation between himself and Gunther. Williams had intended to write the
article, but put it on the back burner, while Schuller literally ran home and
dashed it off.
