mary_jo, thanks for your comments.
**** It is as if you are saying: If the unknown one had been good enough (meaning great), we would have heard about him for sure. ****
Well, that is exactly what I am saying. Now, to be clear, we are talking about comparison to the greatest. Was there some unknown player in some little town that was of the exalted caliber of Miles or Trane that chose to remain anonymous, or ”didn’t get the breaks” to become well known during his lifetime or at some point after? I suppose it’s possible that there has been an example or two of musicians with that POTENTIAL who, for personal reasons didn’t want the limelight; but I seriously doubt it for the reasons mentioned previously. A player needs to be in playing settings that push him to full potential; staying in obscurity doesn’t allow that. Moreover, part of what drives a creative artist is the need to express himself; so.....
“if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?”
Let me try and explain what I mean this way, and let’s try and look at the issue in concrete terms and not just the abstract. Again, I am always glad to learn of some lesser known player. It’s always interesting and sometimes adds to the historical context. This is not a reflection at all of how I feel about Alex’s focus (sometimes) on lesser known players. I appreciate the posts very much and have enjoyed much of the music. However, to be frank, I can’t think of a single one that has been posted who has caused me to think, based on MY feeling about the quality of the playing relative to most of the well known players of the same instrument, ”hey, he could have been a Miles or Morgan or....”.
Concrete, not abstract, question for you or anyone else: who and how/why?
**** It is as if you are saying: If the unknown one had been good enough (meaning great), we would have heard about him for sure. ****
Well, that is exactly what I am saying. Now, to be clear, we are talking about comparison to the greatest. Was there some unknown player in some little town that was of the exalted caliber of Miles or Trane that chose to remain anonymous, or ”didn’t get the breaks” to become well known during his lifetime or at some point after? I suppose it’s possible that there has been an example or two of musicians with that POTENTIAL who, for personal reasons didn’t want the limelight; but I seriously doubt it for the reasons mentioned previously. A player needs to be in playing settings that push him to full potential; staying in obscurity doesn’t allow that. Moreover, part of what drives a creative artist is the need to express himself; so.....
“if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?”
Let me try and explain what I mean this way, and let’s try and look at the issue in concrete terms and not just the abstract. Again, I am always glad to learn of some lesser known player. It’s always interesting and sometimes adds to the historical context. This is not a reflection at all of how I feel about Alex’s focus (sometimes) on lesser known players. I appreciate the posts very much and have enjoyed much of the music. However, to be frank, I can’t think of a single one that has been posted who has caused me to think, based on MY feeling about the quality of the playing relative to most of the well known players of the same instrument, ”hey, he could have been a Miles or Morgan or....”.
Concrete, not abstract, question for you or anyone else: who and how/why?