Again, A Bad Day for Tenor Sax Fans

This hasn't been a great week musically. Earlier in the month I wrote that I am almost afraid to read the jazz news these days. Then in comes the report that David S. Ware passed away from kidney failure on October 18. Another player I will not get the chance to hear live; fortunately his recorded legacy is substantial. 

Never a mainstream player, he hit the scene in the late 70's with the Cecil Taylor Unit and I first heard him playing his own music on Birth Of A Being (1977), an LP I came across while going through my collection in storage last summer. He is classified in the press as a "free jazz" player although I find that classification a misnomer that is often used pejoratively. For example, his allmusic.com biography makes the following statement which I find idiotic: "unlike a good many free players, Ware does not base his style on any particular technical shortcoming or theoretical misunderstanding." I don't know who these other players are the writer is referring to. I don't know of any free jazz players who base their playing on technical shortcomings or theoretical misunderstandings. Pure bunk, I'm sorry. 

Regardless of classification, though, David definitely had his own conception of improvisation; his New York Times obituary quotes him as saying “I’m not interested in chord changes”. The press is full of hype about him although I doubt it ever paid off big in material terms. The best place to find out about David is on his own web site, davidsware.com. 

David, may you rest in peace. Thanks for not compromising your musical values.

Oh yeah, his death distracted me from writing about the other reason this week has not been great for me musically. Despite all the anticipation and buildup, this year's Felabration in Lagos has been a disappointment. It has been impossible to find out exactly who is playing when and as a result I missed out on most of the music. I went over to the Shrine three times this week and struck out each time. Next week the schedule gets back to normal and I am hoping to catch Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 at their regular end-of-month gig next Saturday to make it up.