TARGET OR FLAG

by Bob Pomeroy

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Target or Flag.

If all you know about the state of jazz and improvised music comes from what you hear on the radio, you probably think jazz is

bloodless background music or an historic artifact from a bygone era. With very few exceptions, that’s all you’ll hear on the

airwaves. From what you hear, you’d think that all the exciting, innovative players died out around 1969, leaving only the Kenny

G’s of the world to carry on. You’re definitely not getting the full story. This column exists to point the way to some of the

exciting things that are happening right now!

Take a look at what’s happening in Amsterdam. People like Misha Mengelberg, Han Bennink and Willem Breuker are mixing up

American jazz sounds with European traditions to come up with really cool music. Check out Kevin Whitehead’s excellent

book, New Dutch Swing to learn more than anyone thought there was to know about jazz in Holland.

The people at the MacArthur foundation turned the spotlight on the Chicago jazz scene by awarding Ken Vandermark their

so-called Genius Grant. Vandermark is only one of the great players making Chicago an international center for improvised

music at the dawn of the new millennia. (Target or Flag is the name of a Vandermark 5 CD). Jeb Bishop, Jim O’Rourke and

Fred Lonberg-Holm are just a few of the people making things happen in the Windy City. The AACM tradition is alive and well

with Fred Anderson and 8 Bold Souls keeping that tradition alive. European players like Peter Brotzmann and Mats Gustafsson

have made the city a second home.

There are just a few examples. Exciting things are happening in Lithuania, Siberia, Japan and even Orlando. This column will

strive to bring you news and reviews about what’s happening in the world of jazz and improvised music. Enjoy.

Cecil Taylor in Orlando

Let me finish this first edition of Target or Flag with something I find very exciting. Cecil Taylor will be playing in Orlando with

the Sam Rivers Trio!

Why is this so exciting? Cecil Taylor is one of the true legends of the avant-garde. Taylor has been ahead of the curve for fifty

years. He began his career in jazz after graduating from the New England Conservatory of Music in the early 1950’s. Taylor

received a classical music education, but his interests took him well beyond that tradition. Taylor told an interviewer several

years ago that, “one of the things that turned me off European music is that I’d get scores by Boulez, Stockhausen, Posseur and

Ligeti, and I would look at them and say, `My this is interesting.” I would listen to this music and it didn’t sound particularly

good. I don’t listen to artists who only want to create something interesting.”

While Cecil Taylor’s music is definitely interesting, it also elicits strong feelings. Taylor’s supporters are passionate about the

power of his compositions and performances. Detractors are equally passionate, some going as far as claiming that his work isn’t

really music at all. It is impossible to hear Cecil Taylor’s music and not feel something! Cecil Taylor once told an interviewer, “To

feel is perhaps the most terrifying thing in this society.” If that is true, the Cecil Taylor’s music is some of the most terrifying music

to be found anywhere.

Taylor’s music builds on a jazz foundation, but it’s hard to confine it within that framework. You can definitely hear

echoes of Duke Ellington and Theloneous Monk in his playing. That is only a jumping off point for excursions that have traveled

uncharted territories for over fifty years. Taylor’s music is demanding for the musicians who play with him and it demands

the attention from listeners. Over his long career, Cecil Taylor has continued to stay on the cutting edge of creative music.

One of the things that sets Taylor’s music apart is the sheer physicality of his playing. Buell Neidlinger, who played with Taylor in

the 1950’s into the early 60’s before pursuing an academic career told an interviewer, “that man is capable of playing ten

different notes with ten different fingers, ten different dynamics, ten different attacks and ten different tempi. There is no musician

I’ve ever met, including Igor Stravinski and Piere Boulez, who come anywhere near having the abilities that Cecil Taylor has.”

In addition to being an active performer, Cecil Taylor is also an educator. He has taught at the University of Wisconsin, Antioch

University and Glassboro State College. Cecil Taylor will be artist-in-residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New

Symrna Beach May 21st through June 10th. Serious musicians from around the state will have a chance to study with a true

legend of modern music. Jazz fans will have the rare chance to see Cecil Taylor when he performs on Friday, June 2nd with the

Sam Rivers Trio at Rollins College.