erie
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Originally Posted by asd  Oh...I think I am misreprenting myself here. I am talking here of Soloff and Faddis. Unfortunately I'm a bit too young to have made the boom that was to be made in the jazz trpt world in the very late 70s and a bit too old to survive the post Wynton side show.
As for Faddis, like Marsalis, they recieved high profile gigs before they were ready, but the playing field was extreemly limited. Faddis joined Mingus when he was 18, in the early 70s, and his claim to fame was playing some of Dizzy's more rudimentary "licks" an octave above. People went nuts. Again, in today's world, Faddis would never have been chosen to play with Mingus, but again the playing field was highly limited. Faddis, to be sure would have become a lead player, but not with the instant adolecent success that he enjoyed. As an after thought, Jack Walrath was not at the calibre to play with Mingus during the 70s either, but it menat hiring someone like Ted Curson again.
As for Marsalis, he has had the good grace in RECENT years to admit that he was only playing scales and thus implying that he was not ready to be considered for exposure with Art Blakey.
In the end, it was really Tom Harrell, a very ill, but highly talented young man in the mid 70s, who ended the trumpet enui that has always been atributed to Wynton Marsalis more than 4 years later when recording of him and Herbie Hancock begain to surface and the rest is, as they say, history.
I'm sorry for the misunderstanding.
Wilmer, you know where I am coming from when I make these statements |
Jon came to New York after playing lead with Lionel Hampton's band. He lived with Lew Soloff in those first days. Jon played lead in the Thad and Mel band. In his first years in NYC, he was a lead player. A killer lead player. Sammy Davis had Jon as his lead player on his TV show. Jon is not just a Dizzy clone. I don't remember Jon doing anything more with Mingus than that recorded concert. I did a couple albums with Jon as a lead player. Jon carries the lead trumpet torch quite well.
Wynton was about eighteen went he came to my apartment to play for me. He played Haydn, the Brandenburg and other stuff that escape me now almost thirty years later. I was floored by the skinny kid. Wynton became my sub on Sweeney Todd.......the original one. I didn't know Wynton played jazz. On the trip to Mexico City with the New York Jazz Gang, a bunch of free-lance NYC players, Wynton led a small group of players in a concert/jam session. It was the first time I heard Wynton play jazz. I was impressed.
Back in NYC Wynton started subbing for all the guys. He got to be the "Flavor of the Month" When he joined Blakey, he was there with Valerie Ponomarev for a while. When Valerie left Wynton became Blakey's MD.
The rest is history.
Wynton is not all powerful as some would have you think. He is human. He has bad chop days like every trumpet player. He is an incredible player.
Like him, or don't like him. It's your call.
I like him.
I heard both Wynton and Jon when they were in their teens, they were playing at a very, very high level. They are deserving of all the accolades they got in their youth.
Wilmer