A Smattering of That Jazz
Aside from a recent trip to see the amazing local free jazz marching band Killsonic, I haven’t really kept up with jazz. The truth is that jazz is soon becoming what Nina Simone called “black classical music.” In other words, it’s just as a complex, avant-garde, and innovative as anything else out there coming from the Western musical canon.
A quick listen to Colin Stetson gets me interested. Above he must be holding a baritone sax, much larger than the traditional tenor sax. He gets some interesting sounds out of it and a whole host of wind and brass including flute, clarinet, and trumpet. He’s played with Tom Waits and the Arcade Fire. And he gets close to the manic energy of Bud Powell with a bit of the frantic saxophone arpeggiation that Philip Glass used to feature in his band.
Letter to HST - Colin Stetson
