Archives for July 1, 2008

Jethro Tull ROCKS!\r\n\r\nHeeeeey…what kind of thing is that to say on a jazz saxophone blog?\r\n\r\nSorry, all you purists in the crowd, but I unabashedly admit that I cut my teeth on rock and roll back in high school, and I”m a Jethro Tull devotee of long standing.\r\n\r\nA couple nights ago, I kicked back and treated myself to a smorgasborg of old Tull performances on YouTube. With years of music under my belt, I am more impressed than ever with the musical sophistication and excellence of vocalist/songwriter/flautist/accoustical guitarist Ian Anderson and his band of merry men.\r\n\r\nThis band could–and still can–play their butts off. And the songs! Tull”s music is inventive, wonderfully arranged, marked by literate and evocative lyrics and an eclectic approach that employs unusual and colorful instrumentations, polyrhythms, time changes, artful motifs, beautifully textured counterpoint, and other musical nuances, all covering the spectrum from tender lyricism to relentless, driving rock, often in the same song (e.g. the Tull classics “Locomotive Breath” and “Aqualung”). Particularly impressive is the fact that these guys were only in their twenties at the time.\r\n\r\nI submit as a case in point this 1975 performance of “The Minstrel in the Gallery.” With the wild-eyed, gesticulating Anderson in the forefront, this tune covers the gamut. I love how the lyrical introduction featuring Anderson alone on his guitar segues into the main body of the tune through a chaotic instrumental transition. Beginning with a sequence of descending arpeggios by lead guitarist Martin Barre, this section is well-knit, meticulously rehearsed pandemonium. But the payoff is still to come: the hard-driving main body of “Minstrel,” with Anderson”s nasal, piratical vocals–I”ve always admired the man”s unique song styling–weaving a story punctuated with bursts of the tune”s silvery flute motif.\r\n\r\nJethro Tull–here on a jazz website? You bet! Good music is good music, and Tull is multifaceted minstrelsy at its best.