Saw Sun Ra in Cambridge Massachusetts in the early 90s. It was when they were doing a tribute to Walt Disney. They played Whistle While You Work, and went into straight ahead rhythm changes. John Gilmore stood up and blew his horn. The sound and the feel - we all heard history that night as John Gilmore blew his choruses - a true peer of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins.
The brilliant John Gilmore was easily a match for his legendary contemporaries, Coltrane, Shorter, Rollins, Henderson... why he never achieved their level of notoriety and acclaim is really a mystery... The piano tuner should have been called before this show. But this is still wonderful. I love You Tube!
It's not really a mystery if you check out what he recorded. Most of his records are as a sideman for Sun Ra. They didn't play much straight ahead jazz when they became popular
I have just discovered John Gilmore--this guy is fabulous. I love the way he moves though the chord changes, with a really musical sense that makes for superb jazz. Thank you, BBC, for recording this.
An amazing man, John Gilmore. A certain humbleness to his work that is so satisfying. An homage to a standard with a no lose backing showcasing his talent which in my opinion was overlooked as a major voice at that time.
This is a very insightful comment and I agree 1000%. I was fortunate enough, through covering Sun Ra frequently in the music press many years ago, to meet and speak with John Gilmore multiple times, and the one quality about him that struck me the most was - humility. For a man of such obvious talent, such command and authority on the tenor, to stay with Sun Ra forever and be part of something so much larger than himself or the typical jazz combo, speaks volumes.
i have a feeling that in the future john gilmore's work and legacy will be regarded more highly once understood in the larger context of influence he had on other saxophone luminaries and the sheer volume of recordings he is recorded on with Ra and the arkestra. from what i remember hearing him say in an interview the reason he stayed in the arkestra, and essentially out of the "front man" spot, was because of his personal response to the composition of Ra
Thanks to European television, we have gems of American music history like this from a time when you didn't see much jazz or many black artists on television in the US. Damn Gilmore was inventive. Great sound too.
John Gilmore is beyond genre and categories. He is under-known, and those of us that revere him and his works should never use the terms unrated and underestimated as I/we frankly don’t care what others think about his musical abilities...skills, as Gilmore’s musical acumen is beyond reproach. When we use the terms underrated and/or underestimated, those terms are reiterated ad infinitum and only reinforce the negativity and the absurdity of all of it. If you are advocating you don't address the negative at all as it can be taken out of context and misconstrued. Bird, Ellington, Mingus, Lester Bowie, AACM and countless others rebuke the term jazz because of its negative and its marginalizing connotations. Baba Yusef Lateef would eventually call his music "Autophysiopsychic Music." It was mentioned that Gilmore should have “Stayed With Jazz” whatever that means, rather than go with Sun Ra. The fact that Gilmore went with Sun Ra ought to have given you a clue and a real lesson. Sun Ra is one of the greatest composers, bandleaders, conceptualist, visionaries the world has ever had. As humans, we get too comfortable with the familiar and miss out on plenty of possibilities to expand our horizons on all the fronts in life. It is also ludicrous to say things like this is the most beautiful rendition of the song as they are all different and incomparable when done by mature and questing artists, and no one has heard all of the renditions the world over so how can you say? Have you heard Illinois Jacquet play it on the bassoon, have you heard Von Freeman play it? We hear this kind of vapid talk and comparisons all too frequently like the ten, twenty, the fifty most outstanding tenor players of all times, that kind of talk is useless and does more to undermine the field than to aid it. The other aspect is, this system of acceptance, stardom and the gate blockers can only allow, happen to very few at any given time. This is a system in which a few people dictate and control who gets through, who gets recorded, who gets written about, who gets placed on the cover of publications, and who get paid well and more. And if your politics are strident to the status quo you will be blocked at virtually every turn. Just help to expose the work of the numerous brilliant artists that you/we can and stop the senseless comparisons. In order to be sonically rounded, we must get our sonic nutrition from many sources, and no matter how well exposed you...we are, you will never hear all the exceptional artists that reside on Planet Earth. Listen with an open heart, mind, and questing ear and you will learn a lot!!!
All you said is so true! Improvised music by his very essence, precludes any comparaison between individual musicians. By the way, are you the trombone player, or you share the same name of Douglas Ewart?
@@vigilenci No, I am Douglas Ewart/Douglas R. Ewart, composer, multi-reed player, instrument builder and inventor, percussionist, AACM Member, and so on. I have worked extensively with the exceptional composer, electronic artists/computerist, educator, and trombonist George lewis.
@@DouglasREwart That's right ! I am sorry I confused you with George Lewis . I saw you playing with him many years ago in Italy, probably in the area of Florence, where I come from, or in Tuscany, Pisa or in Moers in Germany and I enjoyed so much. It was a real musical satori for me. So, I grab the opportunity to thank you so much, because you contributed largely to open my ears and mind at that time. All that big amount of creativity that you guys were sharing with us, was a wonderful moment of revelation, in music, and in life , too. On top of that, listening to you, and to people like George Lewis, Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, John Gilmore with Sun Ra, Leo Smith, Jeanne Lee, Muhal Richard Abrahams and so on, all this Great Black Music mouvement, encouraged me also to switch from electric guitar to alto saxophone :)
tried to steal john from sun ra for my own band back in the 70s he wouldnt leave sun ra coltrane was great Gil was phenomenal what a band eye would have had
@@monsterjazzlicks He's a major figure on jazz piano. He didn't start recording under his own name until 1975 at age 34. But then, he really took off, recording almost 40 John Hicks releases through 2006. And, in his career, he played as a sideman on more than 300 recordings! He frequently recorded with his wife, flutist Elise Wood. John passed away May 6, 2006 at the young age of 64. Here's a nice live performance in July 2000 on TH-cam: th-cam.com/video/KTkuEOek4HU/w-d-xo.html. He wrote the first tune, After the Morning. Enjoy.
“I learned a LOT from John Gilmore” - John Coltrane
Saw Sun Ra in Cambridge Massachusetts in the early 90s. It was when they were doing a tribute to Walt Disney. They played Whistle While You Work, and went into straight ahead rhythm changes. John Gilmore stood up and blew his horn. The sound and the feel - we all heard history that night as John Gilmore blew his choruses - a true peer of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins.
The brilliant John Gilmore was easily a match for his legendary contemporaries, Coltrane, Shorter, Rollins, Henderson... why he never achieved their level of notoriety and acclaim is really a mystery... The piano tuner should have been called before this show. But this is still wonderful. I love You Tube!
It's not really a mystery if you check out what he recorded. Most of his records are as a sideman for Sun Ra. They didn't play much straight ahead jazz when they became popular
Pianos were harder to tune in 1964...
AMEN 🙏
No saxophonist play this song as beautifully and delightfully as John Gilmore did
Alpha Razani that's a big call ! Getz's version takes some beating .
@@loumcconnell503 'takes some beating' lol! who can stand up to Gilmore?
Nick Thabit Gilmore who ?
I have just discovered John Gilmore--this guy is fabulous. I love the way he moves though the chord changes, with a really musical sense that makes for superb jazz. Thank you, BBC, for recording this.
An amazing man, John Gilmore. A certain humbleness to his work that is so satisfying. An homage to a standard with a no lose backing showcasing his talent which in my opinion was overlooked as a major voice at that time.
This is a very insightful comment and I agree 1000%. I was fortunate enough, through covering Sun Ra frequently in the music press many years ago, to meet and speak with John Gilmore multiple times, and the one quality about him that struck me the most was - humility. For a man of such obvious talent, such command and authority on the tenor, to stay with Sun Ra forever and be part of something so much larger than himself or the typical jazz combo, speaks volumes.
Divinel.
i have a feeling that in the future john gilmore's work and legacy will be regarded more highly once understood in the larger context of influence he had on other saxophone luminaries and the sheer volume of recordings he is recorded on with Ra and the arkestra. from what i remember hearing him say in an interview the reason he stayed in the arkestra, and essentially out of the "front man" spot, was because of his personal response to the composition of Ra
Man. he is awesome. I remember him playing in Sun Ra's Arkestra back in the 80's. His phrasing is beautiful.
Wow, this guy! Gilmore has always knocked me out. Simply the best!
love it!!
I wish John Gilmore had recorded more with this great band!
A fond wish, but alas.
Just glad I found this, didn't see it before.
This is wonderful! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks to European television, we have gems of American music history like this from a time when you didn't see much jazz or many black artists on television in the US. Damn Gilmore was inventive. Great sound too.
John Gilmore is beyond genre and categories. He is under-known, and those of us that revere him and his works should never use the terms unrated and underestimated as I/we frankly don’t care what others think about his musical abilities...skills, as Gilmore’s musical acumen is beyond reproach. When we use the terms underrated and/or underestimated, those terms are reiterated ad infinitum and only reinforce the negativity and the absurdity of all of it. If you are advocating you don't address the negative at all as it can be taken out of context and misconstrued. Bird, Ellington, Mingus, Lester Bowie, AACM and countless others rebuke the term jazz because of its negative and its marginalizing connotations.
Baba Yusef Lateef would eventually call his music "Autophysiopsychic Music."
It was mentioned that Gilmore should have “Stayed With Jazz” whatever that means, rather than go with Sun Ra. The fact that Gilmore went with Sun Ra ought to have given you a clue and a real lesson. Sun Ra is one of the greatest composers, bandleaders, conceptualist, visionaries the world has ever had.
As humans, we get too comfortable with the familiar and miss out on plenty of possibilities to expand our horizons on all the fronts in life.
It is also ludicrous to say things like this is the most beautiful rendition of the song as they are all different and incomparable when done by mature and questing artists, and no one has heard all of the renditions the world over so how can you say? Have you heard Illinois Jacquet play it on the bassoon, have you heard Von Freeman play it? We hear this kind of vapid talk and comparisons all too frequently like the ten, twenty, the fifty most outstanding tenor players of all times, that kind of talk is useless and does more to undermine the field than to aid it. The other aspect is, this system of acceptance, stardom and the gate blockers can only allow, happen to very few at any given time. This is a system in which a few people dictate and control who gets through, who gets recorded, who gets written about, who gets placed on the cover of publications, and who get paid well and more. And if your politics are strident to the status quo you will be blocked at virtually every turn.
Just help to expose the work of the numerous brilliant artists that you/we can and stop the senseless comparisons. In order to be sonically rounded, we must get our sonic nutrition from many sources, and no matter how well exposed you...we are, you will never hear all the exceptional artists that reside on Planet Earth.
Listen with an open heart, mind, and questing ear and you will learn a lot!!!
All you said is so true! Improvised music by his very essence, precludes any comparaison between individual musicians. By the way, are you the trombone player, or you share the same name of Douglas Ewart?
beautifully put, Mr. Ewart, and so so true! all of it!
@@vigilenci No, I am Douglas Ewart/Douglas R. Ewart, composer, multi-reed player, instrument builder and inventor, percussionist, AACM Member, and so on. I have worked extensively with the exceptional composer, electronic artists/computerist, educator, and trombonist George lewis.
@@DouglasREwart That's right ! I am sorry I confused you with George Lewis . I saw you playing with him many years ago in Italy, probably in the area of Florence, where I come from, or in Tuscany, Pisa or in Moers in Germany and I enjoyed so much. It was a real musical satori for me. So, I grab the opportunity to thank you so much, because you contributed largely to open my ears and mind at that time. All that big amount of creativity that you guys were sharing with us, was a wonderful moment of revelation, in music, and in life , too. On top of that, listening to you, and to people like George Lewis, Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, John Gilmore with Sun Ra, Leo Smith, Jeanne Lee, Muhal Richard Abrahams and so on, all this Great Black Music mouvement, encouraged me also to switch from electric guitar to alto saxophone :)
I like you
Gilmore & Blakey are fantastic! Oh my God, that's Lee Morgan on Trumpet! The Jazz Messengers are the greatest band of all time!
Lee Morgan - trumpet, John Gilmore - tenor sax, John Hicks - piano, Victor Sproles - bass, Art Blakey - drums.
It doesn't get any better than this my friends .
Thanks a lot for putting this up! Gilmore was a giant!
the way gilmore experiments with the same phrasing and melody length on that last break HHHHHHHHH
Thanks for posting this, not much John Gilmore on youtube...
What an all-star lineup.
he met the greatest bandleader and stayed with the band his entire life...
... that's what musician's do
He made a number of recordings with other people during this period - I've hunted for all of them.
Underneath all Gilmore's greatness is not Trane. At root it is Coleman Hawkins. Trane loved Gilmore, and he also loved Hawk...
so sweet
so nice....
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - 1964
#LeeMorgan, trumpet
#JohnGilmore, tenor sax
#JohnHicks, piano
#VictorSproles, bass
#ArtBlakey, drums
Right! And that is a big pitty !!!!
❤❤❤
tried to steal john from sun ra for my own band back in the 70s he wouldnt leave sun ra coltrane was great Gil was phenomenal what a band eye would have had
Wow.
Damn!
🌸💙🌱😃
Who is on piano please?
The late John Hicks.
@@glennwisniewski9536 Not heard of him?!
@@monsterjazzlicks He's a major figure on jazz piano. He didn't start recording under his own name until 1975 at age 34. But then, he really took off, recording almost 40 John Hicks releases through 2006. And, in his career, he played as a sideman on more than 300 recordings! He frequently recorded with his wife, flutist Elise Wood. John passed away May 6, 2006 at the young age of 64. Here's a nice live performance in July 2000 on TH-cam: th-cam.com/video/KTkuEOek4HU/w-d-xo.html. He wrote the first tune, After the Morning. Enjoy.
@@glennwisniewski9536 many thanks. I was not aware of any of that information. I think he's a really good player 👍
@@monsterjazzlicks You're very welcome. And, I like him too!
Who is on piano?
Henry Fernandez that’s the great John Hicks
yeah Man.... The drummer isnt too bad either :))))
frash