Masters of Introspection
Frank Sinatra autographed photo and card from the summer of 1942
Masters of introspection are Miles Davis and John Coltrane together with a noteworthy influence from recordings, Frank Sinatra, not knowing if they also heard him perform live while surmising they did. Talking on the phone with David Amram a few nights ago, he recalled how Art Blakey, a key drummer in the subgenre known as hard bop, had shared with him the opinion that Frank Sinatra was the greatest jazz singer related to his rhythmic feel and overall feeling, a sentiment shared by myriad jazz greats. Some new musical introspection from myself, sharing the love of the above for Sinatra, and the opening Alap from raga form, are Green Garnets for meruvina, and Polka Dots and MoonBeams improvised at the piano. My sense is that the original person or people who gave my comment a NYT Picks had a broader cultural sense, sophistication and understanding, and then sometime later, perhaps a reactionary jazz specialist, determined to maintain academic fictions, objected to a view that doesn't conform to false stereotypes and had it removed. On the other hand, perhaps the removal of NYT Picks had nothing to do with me. Mine was by far the most original and unconventional comment.- Michael Robinson, August 2022, Los Angeles
© 2022 Michael Robinson All rights reserved
Michael Robinson is a Los Angeles-based composer, programmer, jazz pianist and musicologist. His 177 albums include 151 albums for meruvina and 26 albums of piano improvisations. Robinson has been a lecturer at UCLA, Bard College and California State University Long Beach and Dominguez Hills.
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