Gil Evans turned Miles on to Partch

from:

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E27%257E1064778,00.html

here's the relevant paragraph:

Davis also remembered Evans introducing him to the music of John Cage in
1948 and loaning him recordings by the iconoclastic composer Harry Partch,
most likely "Dark Brother" and "U.S. Highball." The first was several
paragraphs of a Thomas Wolfe essay set to sliding microtonal chords and
arrhythmic drumming, the second a montaged epic of America as seen by
hoboes, scored for two vocalist-narrators, modified guitar, and three
microtonal instruments of Partch's own making - chromelodeon (a retuned
harmonium), kithara (an elaborated harp), and double canon (a form of
zither) - all of which he had overdubbed on the recording, producing the
sound of desert winds and a slithering, rushing train. This was a liberating
experience, Miles said, giving him confidence to go beyond the rules of
music.

Whoa, Dante!

Great catch on that one - I'm definately going to check out the Davis book.

Partch probably got more street cred from jazz musicians than he ever got from the 'classical' field. It isn't surprising that his three big music-dramas composed and produced at the University of Illinois were made possible in large part by John Garvey, who was also instrumental in their jazz department, and that "Water! Water!" incorporated a jazz band intrinsically into the libretto and composition.

Tack this on to the cross-fertilization in the preceding years in Sausalito, with "Ulysses..." being written with Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan in mind, and visits from Stan Kenton and Shelly Manne.

If only the right planets had been in alignment...

Cheers,
Jon

>Davis also remembered Evans introducing him to the music of John
>Cage in 1948 and loaning him recordings by the iconoclastic
>composer Harry Partch,

Yet another mention of Cage and Partch in the same paragraph.
Turns the stomach.

-Carl

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Jon Szanto <JSZANTO@A...>" <JSZANTO@A...> wrote:

> Tack this on to the cross-fertilization in the preceding years in Sausalito, with "Ulysses..." being written with Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan in mind, and visits from Stan Kenton and Shelly Manne.

My mother was Chet Baker's social worker; he had had his teeth knocked out and was down and out, but she thought he was a wonderful man.