somebody's suggestion of taylor working like monk, refining and rerefining already established material, is a good one. i've alternately naysayed and been wowed by cecil for years. after seeing 2 of 4 sets by his 24-piece band at the knit last week, i'm about as wowed as i've ever been by him. the first night was a revelation. i have a fair understanding of his language (i can't speak it, but i understand it when spoken, let's say), but to hear a huge (in number and sound) band *all* converse in it was remarkable. (and i'm not referring to his vocalizing, i mean his playing). any section you chose to listen to at any time was playing a part of the whole and something distinctly cecil. (i didn't already post about this, did i?) it was exciting, and it made me feel like i'll never fully understand his music, and if someone wrote a book about his technique, i wouldn't understand the book. after the concert, i was saying to people (most of whom *didn't* like it) that saying cecil always does the same thing is like saying "yeah, i've read einstein - he's that guy that's always writing the smart stuff." there really is more there than can be absorbed, especially live, which is pretty impressive. it's sort of a disservice. the introduction, repitition and evolution of themes in composed orchestral music no doubt stems from tradition, but also serves to help the listener understand where they'll be in 45 minutes or so. it makes it more pleasurable. cecil doesn't have to write stuff that's easier to get, but if he helped the audience along a little, it might help us out. but that in no way means there's no there there. after about 75 minutes (of a single, 2 hour piece) the musicians all returned to the head. without a cue and pretty tightly. they knew what they were doing, and what they were supposed to do. and audience be damned, it pretty much worked. kg np: some new age chanty crap playing at this cafe on e. 5th, and some guy on the sidewalk playing guitar. _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com