From the liner notes for Elvin Jones/Revival: Live At Pookie's Pub;
Dave Liebman tells this story: In ‘86, we were on a train in Italy. We were facing each other in the compartment having some Chianti and cheese. I said, “Can I ask a ridiculous question? How many times have you played, ‘My Favorite Things?’” He said, “I was with John for six years and we played it once or twice a night, so, do the math.” I did a quick calculation. It was somewhere between 1,200
and 1,500 times. Talk about repeating something. And I said, “1,500 times!” He leaned for-
ward in the train seat, right in my face and said, “But we played it like there’d be no tomorrow,
Vinnie, my "favorite" line of yours comes near the end of this loving essay––"I realized that Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and John Coltrane loved playing music, and consequently, loved their lives." So true, one can hear love, joy, friendship, and hope (plus so many other emotions) in the music they created each time they got together to "play".
Thanks Richard. Exactly. It's so easy to hear, but hard to describe.
I've gotta tell you-- I stole the cadence of the sentence and the word 'consequently' from Quentin Tarrantino on a film critic named Kevin Thomas : Tarrantino wrote that "What made Kevin Thomas so unique in the world of Seventies and Eighties film criticism was that he seemed like one of the only few practitioners who truly enjoyed their job, and consequently, their life." Bingo! Simplest idea ever, but hard to encapsulate, and we hear and see examples of it everywhere everyday. Tarantino nailed it, and it was too good not to steal.
From the liner notes for Elvin Jones/Revival: Live At Pookie's Pub;
Dave Liebman tells this story: In ‘86, we were on a train in Italy. We were facing each other in the compartment having some Chianti and cheese. I said, “Can I ask a ridiculous question? How many times have you played, ‘My Favorite Things?’” He said, “I was with John for six years and we played it once or twice a night, so, do the math.” I did a quick calculation. It was somewhere between 1,200
and 1,500 times. Talk about repeating something. And I said, “1,500 times!” He leaned for-
ward in the train seat, right in my face and said, “But we played it like there’d be no tomorrow,
you dig?”
Love it! Thanks Stuart...
Vinnie, my "favorite" line of yours comes near the end of this loving essay––"I realized that Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and John Coltrane loved playing music, and consequently, loved their lives." So true, one can hear love, joy, friendship, and hope (plus so many other emotions) in the music they created each time they got together to "play".
Thanks Richard. Exactly. It's so easy to hear, but hard to describe.
I've gotta tell you-- I stole the cadence of the sentence and the word 'consequently' from Quentin Tarrantino on a film critic named Kevin Thomas : Tarrantino wrote that "What made Kevin Thomas so unique in the world of Seventies and Eighties film criticism was that he seemed like one of the only few practitioners who truly enjoyed their job, and consequently, their life." Bingo! Simplest idea ever, but hard to encapsulate, and we hear and see examples of it everywhere everyday. Tarantino nailed it, and it was too good not to steal.
Thanks again, and thank you Quentin!
another great piece from Vin!
Thanks Ethan!
This is great, thanks for this
Thank Roz! Great to hear from you...