nature, nurture, jazz, and genius
The other day, a friend asked for opinions.
What musicians playing today are on the same level technically and creatively as the musicians I am just picking out of thin air. Here are just a few names that come to me in the next 30 seconds:
Here's my answer. There are plenty of people who are that talented. But by asking that question we end up focusing on the wrong component. Those people spoke to their time, and we're in a different time.
We get this line of thinking all the time. The question isn't "where is our Michelangelo?" or "where is our Leonardo?"; the question is "where is our 1500s Florence?"
Similarly, the problem is never lack of talent. We have more talent now than we did then, for the excellent reason that we have more people now than we did then. The problem is that we are not in the time and place that produced those people. So, there's a Grachan Moncur III out there, but I've never heard of him, and neither have any but a tiny percentage of people who recognize Frank Sinatra and Miles Davis.
Maybe the best question of all is, "Aren't you glad Miles and Duke and Basie came along when they did?"
What musicians playing today are on the same level technically and creatively as the musicians I am just picking out of thin air. Here are just a few names that come to me in the next 30 seconds:
Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie John Coltrane,Miles Davis,Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lester Young, Art Tatum,Bud Powell,Earl Garner,Buddy Rich, Max Roach, Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, Jack Dejonette, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter,Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery, George Benson,Freddie Hubbard, Clifford Brown, Ron Carter, Paul Chambers, Jaco, Ray Brown, Stan Getz, Joe Henderson, Ornette Coleman, Dolphy, Zawinul, Mcglaughlin, Charlie Christian, Ben Webster,Michael Brecker,Billie Holiday,Woody Shaw, Joe Jones, ..and my 30 seconds are up...Anyone on this level today??
Here's my answer. There are plenty of people who are that talented. But by asking that question we end up focusing on the wrong component. Those people spoke to their time, and we're in a different time.
We get this line of thinking all the time. The question isn't "where is our Michelangelo?" or "where is our Leonardo?"; the question is "where is our 1500s Florence?"
Similarly, the problem is never lack of talent. We have more talent now than we did then, for the excellent reason that we have more people now than we did then. The problem is that we are not in the time and place that produced those people. So, there's a Grachan Moncur III out there, but I've never heard of him, and neither have any but a tiny percentage of people who recognize Frank Sinatra and Miles Davis.
Maybe the best question of all is, "Aren't you glad Miles and Duke and Basie came along when they did?"
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