I haven't clicked on any links yet, but I'm glad you mentioned Trio Jeepy, which I think is an amazing album (Branford himself was baffled by the positive critical response it received; in an interview at the time, he agreed with the writer that Crazy People Music was a "great album"; I either haven't heard that or was disappointed.

The main difference between them I think (and they think so, too) is that Branford is the better improviser, whereas Wynton is the better composer. Both are similar in that their styles are amalgams of various players whom they've carefully studied - but Branford is more open-minded in his influences, and also has the ability to truly improvise in the style of any of his influences (unlike Wynton, who is still a lick player to a great extent), and his breadth of knowledge can allow him to expand upon those influences; for example, on those he plays in a style derived from Garbarek or (yes) Coleman, his improvisations benefit from the harmonic sophistication that he has acquired in studying Coletrane, Henderson, etc.

I'll also note that they're both more distinctive than they're often given credit for, especially Wynton, whom I can generally recognize in one note, and who has had a strong, and, I think, positive influence of the tone of many younger players (speaking of which, I find Dave Douglas's tone really unpleasant; he doesn't need to play like Wynton, obviously, but he really should try to do something about it, IMO).

And yes, they both play a bit more coldly than I might prefer. And, yes, they both can dish out some gratuitously nasty (if often interesting) shit, but then they've been the recipients of massive amounts of same since they were teenagers.

And one more strike at the dead horse; it's kind of ironic that I ended up taking the anti-Coleman side in the Dispute with Argue, because for my taste his music would actually benefit from more Coleman influence...
godoggo | 20.10.06 - 21:01 | #

Please end italics after "Crazy People Music," if you don't mind.
godoggo | 20.10.06 - 21:02 | #

Hi- Wanted to mention that I've put up a blog post in an attempt to clarify various aspects of the so-called "free jazz versus Jazz Police" dialogue. I use an admittedly artificial distinction between "technician" and "artist," but it's one way of trying to say something that seems of value to me. The post includes links to several YouTube videos and an interview with Cecil Taylor by Kurt Gottschalk from allaboutjazz. It also includes my less-than-technical and admittedly personal reflections on "The Tradition" represented by the performances in the videos.

thanks,

peter

www.peterbreslin.blogspot.com
peter breslin | Homepage | 21.10.06 - 20:14 | #

I just wanted to add that the reason Branford was baffled my the positive reaction to Trio Jeepy was that it was, in his words, just a "jam session" released to fulfill a recording contract. So this might explain why it wasn't structurally innovative or whatever was said (to which I reply with a shrug), and it would also indicate that he himself doesn't really know where his strengths lie.
godoggo | 22.10.06 - 20:03 | #