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Originally Posted by Moss
yeah, I have to admit, I'm more of a strict Bebop guy at this point. Listened to A love Supreme again today as I took a walk and it sounded even better, just amazing. The musician side of me can understand him playing that 4 note phrase in all 12 keys in "acknowledgment". And in "Resolution" there is that amazing repeating phrase interspersed with the mesmerizing improv.
But I did listen to a bit of Temple and the free jazz aspect. In some ways I love it but I dont' really understand it and not sure how to close that gap. I don't think it's just noise but I like to understand what is going through an artists brain a little bit. There are entire sections that are just squeaking and squawking and I love it but at what point is it just a guy making noise in a sax? I compare it a bit to Sonic Youth (who I llove) and the dissonance they create is beautiful. Am I supposed to admire it as just being completely out there? Is it a guy pouring his soul into his instrument? Is there a musicality to it from a pure brainy music theory aspect?
Believe me, I know these are stupid questions but I'm trying to understand it a bit. Maybe I don't need to and just enjoy it for what it is. I don't know.
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It really depends on the artist. Some throw musicality out the window and replace it with passion. A lot of free jazz artists utilize theoretical elements in their improvisations, Coltrane is the best example of this. While some might not be uber theory based, I think that new approaches and ideas (or revamping of ideas, as many free jazz artists do) is one thing to appreciate about the genre. I think free jazz is really the music of the soul and the thing that I love about it is how spiritual it can be, and a lot of artists agree based on tracks from artists like Coltrane, Ayler, Don Cherry, and Charles Gayle. There's no right way to appreciate music though, but the Holy Ghost (as Ayler called it) coming down through music as the musicians pluck it out of the air is what draws me to free jazz.