2:54 p.m. - 2005-09-23
Why do you think they call it FREE jazz?
I feel that I should elaborate on the last post. Not the bummer airport part (about which, if anyone is reading and at all curious, I'm not nearly so bummed now, since I talked to Miss K on the phone and they're having a great time and they're only gone like nine more days and did you know kangaroos there are as ubiquitous as white-tailed deer are here? And, the Sidney Opera House is fabulous!) but the part at the end.
The Active Percussion Duo is made up of me and Michael, another drumcussionist in town who, like me, leans toward more FAR-OUT type music. We've played a few shows, but not enough yet that our collective persona is very well established. If you're an avant-garde improviser/jazzman, there are three basic personae from which one can choose:
1) The MAD SCIENTIST! This type subscribes to a highly codified brand of music making, often consciously employing elements of math, science, numerology and other systems. The mad scientist often creates and speaks a language that no one understands, and, if he survives long enough, gets tons and tons of grant money. See Anthony Braxton and Cecil Taylor.
2) The Earnest Lyricist. This is the dominant form of avant-garde posturing in use nowadays. Encompassing all skill levels and knowing no socio-economic or gender boundaries, Earnest Lyricism is distinguished by a free yet melodic approach to writing and playing and an absolute, total, complete lack of humor. See John Hollenbeck and about eighteen thousand young sax players in Chicago who wish they were Ken Vandermark.
3) The Scary Crazy Lunatic. Plays totally free energy music for hours at a time but may at times put down the saxophone and scream into the mic or lecture the audience on spirituality, Old Testament style. This is the type of music that John Zorn stole from the most, at least in the early years. See Charles Gayle.
Within these there are several sub-categories, such as the Effete Classicist (see Uri Caine) and the Class Warrior (see Archie Shepp), but the three broad categories encompass almost everyone. Except the Active Duo. I can't speak for the other member or members of the duo, but I'm not erudite enough to be a Mad Scientist and I don't have the energy to jump on the Scary Crazy Lunatic bandwagon. As for Earnest Lyricism...meh.
Therefore, it falls to the Active Duo to blaze our own trail. The world has waited long enough for the Show Business Phonies of the avant-garde. IMAGINE: You're hanging around at your favorite cocktail lounge enjoying your Cutty (neat!) and taking in the vibe, and the free-jazz percussion duo hits the stage, looking natty but a tad dishevelled in their tuxedoes with the bow-ties undone. They make with the "Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen" and a little snappy stage patter, then they're off on a ten minute brake drum duet based on the number pi, then a couple more jokes, everyone's feeling good and relaxed, then a tender ballad that's played entirely on bowed cymbals, then one of the duo does the "In all sincerity, you're the greatest audience ever, give yourself a hand" bit, then the other one lightens the mood with some Tommy Smothers-type stuff. And then a blistering, forty-minute homage to Albert Ayler on cans with little pick-ups attached. And so forth.
It could very well prove magical. And make us rich. And, down the road, cause a lot of friction between Michael and me, leading to nasty lawsuits and percodan addictions. And then a younger generation of Avant-Garde Showbiz Phonies who cop our stuff and don't pay us the proper respect. Then the cheezy reunion/comeback specials and embarassing public drunken spectacles. It's going to be a terrific, wild ride, and I can't wait to get started, which we will as soon as Michael starts returning my calls again.
NEXT WEEK: More imagining a better world.
