Ahmad Jamal and It Could Happen To You

Ahmad Jamal's Trio has an interesting approach to the standard "It Could Happen To You" here. Drummer Vernel Fournier adds a bit of a Latin beat to accompany Jamal, whose piano solo, which is deceptively simple, adeptly incorporates heavy chords and glissando to great glee. Perhaps Jamal's trio with Fournier on drums will become my next jazz trio obsession. 

Valse Hot

A jazz-waltz kind of week...

Bill Evans and Tony Bennett

Although I am not a big fan of Tony Bennett, I always enjoyed the way in which Evans accompanied vocalists. I think his best work with a vocalist was a too-brief LP with Swedish jazz singer Monica Zetterlund, Waltz for Debby, but with Tony Bennett, we are treated to a more intimate setting with just piano and vocals. 

Midnight Moods

Long one of my favorite numbers that Bill Evans recorded frequently, it has recently come to my attention that Joe Zawinul composed it. I should have guessed it from the bluesy nature of the tune, but I love the melody so much that I assumed it was composed by Evans himself.

Cannonball and Bill

I keep coming back to recordings featuring both Bill Evans and Cannonball Adderley. Adderley was probably my favorite alto saxophonist in 2010 and 2011, but I have not listened to him much since then. Other alto greats, such as Ornette Coleman, occupied my attention. But Adderley's soulful alto is the perfect counterpoint to Bill Evans. Adderley's sound pushed Bill to a bluesier direction, conspicuous in his too-brief solo here. 

Israel

My Bill Evans phase over the last two or three weeks brought me back to "Israel." Evans loved "Israel" and "Nardis," two compositions forever associated with Miles, and I believe the lyrical trio format of Evans better suited the compositions, particularly the minor blues of "Israel" with Scott LaFaro on bass. Nevertheless, it is never a bad idea to revisit Birth of the Cool. 

Springtime

Remember when Eric Dolphy played flute for Coltrane's Ole Coltrane? This extended composition, "Springtime," returns to Spanish themes with an irresistible bass groove. Eric Dolphy's solo starts off bumpy, as if unsure of himself, but wows with his utterly unique snarl. Dolphy speaks through his horn in a way very few musicians can emulate. 

Bill Evans Does MASH

The wonder of jazz has always been its ability to 'perfect' popular tunes. Like the elevation of "Someday My Prince Will Come" or "My Favorite Things," Evans, like the best jazz masters, is not averse to using popular material and integrating it creatively in a jazz idiom. Apparently Evans was a big fan of the TV show, too. Anyway, Elliot Zigmund's drumming is masterful as the song shifts between keys while Eddie Gomez keeps things going forward.

My Funny Valentine

Happy Valentine's day, from Bill Evans and Jim Hall.

Rambling Thoughts on Gobineau, Haiti

While discussing with a friend Gobineau's racial theories and beliefs in degeneration (and its positive benefits, surprisingly), I was reminded of Gobineau's thoughts on Haiti. For Gobineau, the explanation of why societies collapse was rooted in degeneration. To him, degeneration occurred when a people no longer have the same intrinsic value as they previously possessed (Gobineau 25). He also stated that there were two laws: repulsion and attraction to the crossing of blood. Naturally, Gobineau takes it for granted that there are distinct (and unequal) human races and the white or Aryan race is at the apogee. Furthermore, his approach to history is built on a model of civilization in which the ten greatest civilizations were founded by white Aryans who mixed with blacks (who cannot initiate civilization on their own), Semites, and "yellow" Asiatics, leading to degeneration and decline (211). This path to degeneration progressed as more hybrids formed with different strengths and weaknesses over time (210).

Nonetheless, Gobineau admitted that every mixture or example of miscegenation is not harmful, such as the artistic genius of black-white mixing or Malayan yellow and black miscegenation producing a race more intelligent than either forebear (208). Indeed, Gobineau even wrote that the happiest blend for human beauty is the marriage of black and white (151). Yet, he also argued that it was impossible to fuse different races in a civilization because of racial antagonism and difference in culture (179). As evidence, he cited the failure to communicate civilization to savages in Algeria, India, and Java under colonial rule (171). Furthermore, so-called "savage races" stay savage, even when imitating superior races (173). Of course, class was also part of this, thus Gobineau viewed the French lower classes as an abyss over which civilization is suspended (101). Hence, Gobineau supported monarchy as the best form of government, organizing society under a rational individual to lead collective will and unite interests (159).

Now that we have arrived at some idea of Gobineau's views on history, racial miscegenation, and civilization, with degeneration as the driving cause of a society or civilization's fall, let us examine his thoughts on Hispaniola. Because of his fusion of race and civilization, he saw the island of "San Domingo" as one in which European models were inapplicable for the inhabitants (46). Contrasting the Dominican Republic with Haiti, Gobineau saw the "mulattoes" of the eastern part of Hispaniola as being able to reproduce European customs to a certain extent (48). Considering his aforementioned acknowledgement of some of the benefits of racial mixing, one should not be surprised that the Dominican Republic was an example in which racial mixture produced an uplifting affect (208).

However, on the subject of Haiti, Gobineau's "scientific racism" is unleashed. Gustave d'Alaux's articles in the Revue des deux mondes provided the source for his knowledge of Haiti, and it shows (48). He perceived Haiti as an example in which enlightened French and European laws conflicted with the population, comparing Haiti to Dahomey. Haitians, to Gobineau, were lazy and the black majority of Haiti, limited by African ideals of laziness and murder, prevented open-minded mulattoes from maintaining or imitating civilization (49). To Gobineau, the history of Haiti was nothing but massacres of mulattoes versus blacks. Black or African savagery was the true spirit, and Haitian blacks were allegedly opposed to other races through a hatred of foreigners (50). Mulattoes in Haiti, on the other hand, could be tutored and remain on the coasts while blacks in the interior revert to tribes and fight each other (51).

Gobineau's bicolored view of Haiti reflected a problematic reliance on biased sources like Gustave d'Alaux, but also brings to mind something a Haitian academic pointed out about Firmin's work. According to him, Firmin never really disputed Gobineau. Gobineau admitted that there are black individuals, for example, who can be more intelligent than whites, such as African chiefs being superior to French peasants or average middle-classes (180). On the question of racial mixture and degeneration, Gobineau's views were complex, since black-white mixture could produce hybrids with artistic genius or physical beauty. Here, I believe, Firmin and other Haitian writers did disprove the silliness of racial theories on degeneration, since to Firmin, the mulatto is proof of racial equality since his presumed intellectual equality with the white forebear could only happen if the black parent is also as intelligent.

However, what interests me beyond the ways in which Gobineau and Haitian writers used the example of Haiti in their theories of race, is to what extent Gobineau's work may have influenced Dominican writers in the 19th century (for Balaguer, it is obvious, but he represents the 20th century). For example, in Pedro Francisco Bonó's well-known essay on Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as well as some of his other writings, Haiti represents racial exclusivism in which the only mixed-race persons represent civilization. The Dominican Republic, on the other hand, possesses cosmopolitan tendencies and is open to all races, which echoes Gobineau's perception of Haiti as racially exclusive, xenophobic, savage, and despotic. Of course, Dominican writers also drew on other French and European writers when it comes to Haiti, but one cannot help but think Gobineau, whose views on racial miscegenation were nuanced, could be appropriated to defend mestizaje for those in the Hispanic Caribbean while maintaining certain racist or racialist beliefs. If, for example, one reads Dominican writers of the late 19th century in light of Gobineau, Bonneau, St. Remy, or Benjamin Hunt, how does that change elite narratives of national identity, race, and the Caribbean? Is Caribbean mestizaje as problematic as that of the Latin American mainland?

Works Consulted

Bonó, Pedro F, and Demorizi E. Rodríguez. Papeles De Pedro F. Bonó. Para La Historia De Las Ideas Políticas en Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo, R.D, 1964.

Firmin, Joseph-Anténor. The Equality of the Human Races. Trans. Asselin Charles. New York: Garland, 2000.

Gobineau, Arthur. The Inequality of Human Races. Los Angeles: Noontide Press, 1966.

On Green Dolphin Street with Keith Jarrett

Sometimes you just prefer Keith Jarrett's later trio work over his earlier albums from the 1960s and 1970s. And accompanied by such a powerhouse trio, Jarrett tackles standards in a different way. I think I still prefer Charlie Haden as his bassist instead of Gary Peacock, but the trio complements each other excellently here. Jarrett's solo is nothing but delightful.

Someday My Prince Will Come at Montreux

With Eddie Gomez on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Gomez doesn't have the soft melodic side of Scott Lafaro and is reminiscent of Charlie Haden in tone. DeJohnette is more lively than Paul Motian, which I like. So, good and bad in this incarnation of the Bill Evans Trio.

Michelangeli plays Chopin Berceuse Op. 57 D Flat Major

Beauty is a rare thing. Bask in the pulchritude. 

Bill Evans in 1970

Lovely and short video of Bill Evans live with Eddie Gomez and Morell. Gomez's style has really grown on me. He's no Scott LaFaro, but he has a thick sound with its own rich sense of melody. Hearing Bill respond to questions is always a pleasure, too. Jazz as an intellectual process, indeed! 

Someday My Prince Will Come

My approach to jazz, like most things in life, revolves around obsessively pursuing an individual's work and then switching to another musician, writer, or scholar. My most recent Bill Evans obsession was about a year ago, but out of the blue, I was listening to a lot of his live performances in the last week or so. Somehow, this recent bout of Bill Evans obsessive listening, led me to a delightful (and short) anime series called Kids on the Slope. Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, it's a beautiful tale of friendship, romance, and growing up that uses jazz music as the basis for the budding friendship between the two main characters. And the main character is modeled on Bill Evans, performing "Someday My Prince Will Come" to great effect in one of the later episodes, meaning this gem has been in my head on repeat.

Isn't It Romantic?

Isn't it romantic? One of my favorite standards because Ella once sang it, Evans gives this lovely number graceful swing and passion. Chuck Israels, though no Scott LaFaro, plays an incredibly melodic solo, too. Chet Baker also recorded this standard a number of times, including once at a European show.