hi - sad to be sure, but if that's the way he wants to spend his days, where's the problem? your $20? i think you can hazard a bit of a guess by the age of a performer. and i'm not sure it's his wife propping him up, or at least didn't see anything suggesting that. jones isn't one of my favorite drummers, but i'll certainly always value his part in the coltrane quartet. and when i saw him last year with cecil taylor, he seemed on top of his game. if someone gives me a lifetime of good music, i'll gladly go to spend time with them even if they can't play it like they used to. kg np: the residents - demons dance alone dvd _________________________________________________________________ FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar get it now! http://toolbar.msn.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/
on 4/27/04 3:16 PM, Kurt Gottschalk at ecstasymule@hotmail.com wrote:
if someone gives me a lifetime of good music, i'll gladly go to spend time with them even if they can't play it like they used to.
kurt -- i'll remind you that you said this. skip h
Found at Organissimo forums
I thought I'd pass this along. The following email is from a poster on the Mike Watt list who got it from a poster on the Latin Jazz list. I hope Elvin is doing >bettter.
From the latinjazz@yahoo.com e-group:
This might be beyond Latin Jazz, but this is the only egroup that I think might be interested in the description of my experience during a recent 4 days stay in the SF for a meeting. I was able to go to Yoshi's to see Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. I am not that familiar with his work, but knowing he was John Coltrane drummer and more recently worked a lot with Candido with his poly-rhythm stuff that I wanted to check him out. First of all, Yoshi's is a great modern place to see a Jazz band, good acoustics, pretty big as well. The only problem is that it is in the middle of a mall-like complex and after the last set we were stranded, without a cab or even a person to help us out to get back to SF. I tried to ask for somebody at Yoshi's to actually call a cab for us or help us out, and he looked at me like "Are you from another planet?" (and he was the last person there, once he left, we were truly alone). Took us an hour to actually get back to a BART (subway) station to head back to SF. But that is beyond the point.
I was really eager to see Elvin Jones, waiting to see the Black Thunder pounding those drums. The scenario was perfect, no mikes over the drums so I though "wow, he can really pound those drums, eh?". Well, the band came out (2 saxes, pianist and bassist) and the place went crazy but...no Elvin...and no Elvin...and no Elvin. After about 5 minutes of constant applause, Elvin Jones came out, couldn't walk and had to be helped by his wife and the band members. We were a group of physicians and nurses and we all looked at each other with the same expression in our faces "he is dying of heart failure". His wife gave him the sticks and the band started playing a bebop-like tune. It was quite an experience seeing him playing that night. The stick in his right hand (hitting the cymbal) kept slipping back and he needed to reposition it. He was certainly off, considering the timing of the tune. I couldn't see his left hand, but I could not hear any beats. Similarly with the hi-hat, I did not hear it all night long. As the performance continued, he looked more ill...in fact, he closed his eyes once, and grabbed his stomach as if he was in pain, and everybody in my group got up because we though that he was going to fall. He finally woke up and continued playing. He took one solo all night long, and basically what he did was to drop the sticks on the drum one at a time, at a very slow speed. He did not have the strengh or energy to lift up the sticks from the drum fast enough. The band sounded great thought. I guess he is like Art Blakey and surrounded himself with the best young players available. The bassist kept the rhythm going all night long, working super hard and the pianist would take very long solos, as both sax players. Elvin could still swing at a very low speed, but was well complemented by the bassist and pianist. At the end of the performance, his wife whose name I couldn't catch, came out and said that Elvin Jones was very ill, dying from heart failure. She also said that he had not eaten anything that day but that she had fired his prior 3 physicians when they said that he was dying and decided to take care of things herself, booking him continuosly until July (she also went on and on talking about medical insurances, doctors, etc) Elvin did not said a word all night long, and I actually wondered if was still coherent enough (which is a common, late event in patients with heart failure). He stayed there, sitting by his drums for about 20 minutes after the performance was over. We all gave him a standing ovation, I guess is the way of thanking him for what he has done. He did wave goodby as he was helped out of the stage. We sent him our cards as there are some options for patients with advanced heart failure (which we happen to especialize in our group).
I am not sure I can actually describe the feeling I had that night. The music was good, and seeing him on the drums made me happy and sad. Happy because I got to see him before the inevitable. Sad because somebody like him should be at home, spending the last few days of his life surrounded by family and friends. I know he also needs our support (income as his wife put it). I haven't heard anything about his health in the news, and patients with heart failure have good and bad days, but I can actually say that he is in bad shape, weakened by his illness (already cachectic). I will forever have the image of an elderly Elvin Jones playing the drums that night.
Dr. Jazz Dr. Jazz Operations 24270 Eastwood Oak Park, MI 48237 (248) 542-7888 http://www.drjazz.com=20
-- * David Beardsley * microtonal guitar * http://biink.com/db
That's a heartbreaking testimony, to say the least. I've got mixed feelings about the whole thing. I really hope it's Jones' wish to be playing until his last breath what has pushed him to remain on stage. You never know. What's true is that seeing one of those monsters blurring it's a sad experience. I remember seeing Sunny Murray two years ago and I thought he wouldn't be drumming for too long. Little did we suspect that his rhythm section mate that night, Peter Kowald, would die a month later. Best, Efrén del Valle n.p: Keiji Haino "Koko" (PSF) --- David Beardsley <db@biink.com> escribió: > Found at Organissimo forums
I thought I'd pass this along. The following email is from a poster on the Mike Watt list who got it from a poster on the Latin Jazz list. I hope Elvin is doing >bettter.
From the latinjazz@yahoo.com e-group:
This might be beyond Latin Jazz, but this is the only egroup that I think might be interested in the description of my experience during a recent 4 days stay in the SF for a meeting. I was able to go to Yoshi's to see Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. I am not that familiar with his work, but knowing he was John Coltrane drummer and more recently worked a lot with Candido with his poly-rhythm stuff that I wanted to check him out. First of all, Yoshi's is a great modern place to see a Jazz band, good acoustics, pretty big as well. The only problem is that it is in the middle of a mall-like complex and after the last set we were stranded, without a cab or even a person to help us out to get back to SF. I tried to ask for somebody at Yoshi's to actually call a cab for us or help us out, and he looked at me like "Are you from another planet?" (and he was the last person there, once he left, we were truly alone). Took us an hour to actually get back to a BART (subway) station to head back to SF. But that is beyond the point.
I was really eager to see Elvin Jones, waiting to see the Black Thunder pounding those drums. The scenario was perfect, no mikes over the drums so I though "wow, he can really pound those drums, eh?". Well, the band came out (2 saxes, pianist and bassist) and the place went crazy but...no Elvin...and no Elvin...and no Elvin. After about 5 minutes of constant applause, Elvin Jones came out, couldn't walk and had to be helped by his wife and the band members. We were a group of physicians and nurses and we all looked at each other with the same expression in our faces "he is dying of heart failure". His wife gave him the sticks and the band started playing a bebop-like tune. It was quite an experience seeing him playing that night. The stick in his right hand (hitting the cymbal) kept slipping back and he needed to reposition it. He was certainly off, considering the timing of the tune. I couldn't see his left hand, but I could not hear any beats. Similarly with the hi-hat, I did not hear it all night long. As the performance continued, he looked more ill...in fact, he closed his eyes once, and grabbed his stomach as if he was in pain, and everybody in my group got up because we though that he was going to fall. He finally woke up and continued playing. He took one solo all night long, and basically what he did was to drop the sticks on the drum one at a time, at a very slow speed. He did not have the strengh or energy to lift up the sticks from the drum fast enough. The band sounded great thought. I guess he is like Art Blakey and surrounded himself with the best young players available. The bassist kept the rhythm going all night long, working super hard and the pianist would take very long solos, as both sax players. Elvin could still swing at a very low speed, but was well complemented by the bassist and pianist. At the end of the performance, his wife whose name I couldn't catch, came out and said that Elvin Jones was very ill, dying from heart failure. She also said that he had not eaten anything that day but that she had fired his prior 3 physicians when they said that he was dying and decided to take care of things herself, booking him continuosly until July (she also went on and on talking about medical insurances, doctors, etc) Elvin did not said a word all night long, and I actually wondered if was still coherent enough (which is a common, late event in patients with heart failure). He stayed there, sitting by his drums for about 20 minutes after the performance was over. We all gave him a standing ovation, I guess is the way of thanking him for what he has done. He did wave goodby as he was helped out of the stage. We sent him our cards as there are some options for patients with advanced heart failure (which we happen to especialize in our group).
I am not sure I can actually describe the feeling I had that night. The music was good, and seeing him on the drums made me happy and sad. Happy because I got to see him before the inevitable. Sad because somebody like him should be at home, spending the last few days of his life surrounded by family and friends. I know he also needs our support (income as his wife put it). I haven't heard anything about his health in the news, and patients with heart failure have good and bad days, but I can actually say that he is in bad shape, weakened by his illness (already cachectic). I will forever have the image of an elderly Elvin Jones playing the drums that night.
Dr. Jazz Dr. Jazz Operations 24270 Eastwood Oak Park, MI 48237 (248) 542-7888 http://www.drjazz.com=20
-- * David Beardsley * microtonal guitar * http://biink.com/db
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Efrén (et. al): Precisely. When I saw Sunny Murray play with Sabir Mateen a few months ago, he seemed as full of the old fire and excitement that he had in thr 1960s as he ever did. Sometimes a person recovers. But Kowald's death points out why you have to see your favorite musicians every time you can. It may be the last time. As for Elvin, Keiko's rap about working to pay for health insurance is why the rest of the world, including Canada, looks with a jaundiced eye on the U.S.'s richest country in the world claims. If more money was spent on Medicare like it is in most other countries, someone playing until he dies on stage to pay for medical treatment wouldn't be the norm. Ken Waxman --- Efrén del Valle <efrendv@yahoo.es> wrote: > That's a heartbreaking testimony, to say the least.
I've got mixed feelings about the whole thing. I really hope it's Jones' wish to be playing until his last breath what has pushed him to remain on stage. You never know. What's true is that seeing one of those monsters blurring it's a sad experience. I remember seeing Sunny Murray two years ago and I thought he wouldn't be drumming for too long. Little did we suspect that his rhythm section mate that night, Peter Kowald, would die a month later.
Best,
Efrén del Valle n.p: Keiji Haino "Koko" (PSF)
--- David Beardsley <db@biink.com> escribió: > Found at Organissimo forums
I thought I'd pass this along. The following
is from a poster on the Mike Watt list who got it from a poster on the Latin Jazz list. I hope Elvin is doing >bettter.
From the latinjazz@yahoo.com e-group:
This might be beyond Latin Jazz, but this is the only egroup that I think might be interested in the description of my experience during a recent 4 days stay in the SF for a meeting. I was able to go to Yoshi's to see Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. I am not that familiar with his work, but knowing he was John Coltrane drummer and more recently worked a lot with Candido with his poly-rhythm stuff that I wanted to check him out. First of all, Yoshi's is a great modern place to see a Jazz band, good acoustics, pretty big as well. The only problem is that it is in the middle of a mall-like complex and after the last set we were stranded, without a cab or even a person to help us out to get back to SF. I tried to ask for somebody at Yoshi's to actually call a cab for us or help us out, and he looked at me like "Are you from another planet?" (and he was the last person there, once he left, we were truly alone). Took us an hour to actually get back to a BART (subway) station to head back to SF. But that is beyond the point.
I was really eager to see Elvin Jones, waiting to see the Black Thunder pounding those drums. The scenario was perfect, no mikes over the drums so I though "wow, he can really pound those drums, eh?". Well, the band came out (2 saxes, pianist and bassist) and the place went crazy but...no Elvin...and no Elvin...and no Elvin. After about 5 minutes of constant applause, Elvin Jones came out, couldn't walk and had to be helped by his wife and the band members. We were a group of physicians and nurses and we all looked at each other with the same expression in our faces "he is dying of heart failure". His wife gave him the sticks and the band started playing a bebop-like tune. It was quite an experience seeing him playing that night. The stick in his right hand (hitting the cymbal) kept slipping back and he needed to reposition it. He was certainly off, considering the timing of the tune. I couldn't see his left hand, but I could not hear any beats. Similarly with the hi-hat, I did not hear it all night long. As the performance continued, he looked more ill...in fact, he closed his eyes once, and grabbed his stomach as if he was in pain, and everybody in my group got up because we though that he was going to fall. He finally woke up and continued playing. He took one solo all night long, and basically what he did was to drop the sticks on the drum one at a time, at a very slow speed. He did not have the strengh or energy to lift up the sticks from the drum fast enough. The band sounded great thought. I guess he is like Art Blakey and surrounded himself with the best young players available. The bassist kept the rhythm going all night long, working super hard and the pianist would take very long solos, as both sax players. Elvin could still swing at a very low speed, but was well complemented by the bassist and pianist. At the end of the performance, his wife whose name I couldn't catch, came out and said that Elvin Jones was very ill, dying from heart failure. She also said that he had not eaten anything that day but that she had fired his prior 3 physicians when they said that he was dying and decided to take care of things herself, booking him continuosly until July (she also went on and on talking about medical insurances, doctors, etc) Elvin did not said a word all night long, and I actually wondered if was still coherent enough (which is a common, late event in patients with heart failure). He stayed there, sitting by his drums for about 20 minutes after the performance was over. We all gave him a standing ovation, I guess is the way of thanking him for what he has done. He did wave goodby as he was helped out of the stage. We sent him our cards as there are some options for patients with advanced heart failure (which we happen to especialize in our group).
I am not sure I can actually describe the feeling I had that night. The music was good, and seeing him on the drums made me happy and sad. Happy because I got to see him before the inevitable. Sad because somebody like him should be at home, spending the last few days of his life surrounded by family and friends. I know he also needs our support (income as his wife put it). I haven't heard anything about his health in the news, and patients with heart failure have good and bad days, but I can actually say that he is in bad shape, weakened by his illness (already cachectic). I will forever have the image of an elderly Elvin Jones playing the drums that night.
Dr. Jazz Dr. Jazz Operations 24270 Eastwood
=== message truncated === ===== Ken Waxman mingusaum@yahoo.ca www.jazzword.com - Jazz/improv news, CD reviews and photos ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca
Hi, --- Ken Waxman <mingusaum@yahoo.ca> escribió: > Efrén (et. al):
Precisely. When I saw Sunny Murray play with Sabir Mateen a few months ago, he seemed as full of the old fire and excitement that he had in thr 1960s as he ever did. Sometimes a person recovers.
Well, I'm very glad to hear that. When the concert was over, Murray's condition was the only thing we could talk about. His playing was so erratic.
As for Elvin, Keiko's rap about working to pay for health insurance is why the rest of the world, including Canada, looks with a jaundiced eye on the U.S.'s richest country in the world claims.
This is an issue from American society that has always surprised me. Here there's obviously an abuse and misuse of the free medical services on the patients' part, but in general terms, I think any society deserves free medical attentions, although the quality is sometimes more than questionable. Anyway, it's one of the few things that justify my taxes. Best, Efrén del Valle ______________________________________________________________________ Correo Yahoo! - 6MB, más protección contra el spam ¡Gratis! http://correo.yahoo.es
participants (5)
-
David Beardsley -
Efrén del Valle -
Ken Waxman -
Kurt Gottschalk -
skip heller