Home » Jazz Articles » Paul Motian
Jazz Articles about Paul Motian
Paul Motian: ECM Recordings
by Enrico Bettinello
Come mi è capitato di sottolineare in un ritratto monografico dedicato al batterista poco dopo la sua scomparsa [nel numero 164/gennaio 2012 della rivista BlowUp], non è certo casuale che la figura di Paul Motian abbia trovato una sua piena rilevanza negli anni Settanta e Ottanta, quando il jazz ha iniziato a riflettere in modo sistematico sul rapporto tra suono e silenzio, alla ricerca di nuove forme di dialogo tra lo spazio sonoro e i timbri. A ...
Continue ReadingMemories in Motian
by Zeno De Rossi
Poco dopo aver appreso la triste notizia della morte di Paul Motian, avvenuta il 22 novembre 2011, ho sentito la forte esigenza di ri-tuffarmi in profondità nella sua musica. In seguito, dopo aver letto un toccante scritto di Ellery Eskelin (pubblicato sul suo sito e riportato qui di seguito), pensai che sarebbe stato interessante raccogliere brevi ricordi di musicisti che avevano collaborato con lui durante la sua lunga carriera, oltre a quelli di altri che ne erano ...
Continue ReadingPaul Motian: Jack of Clubs
by Dan McClenaghan
As a drummer, Paul Motian (1931-2011) came to an early fame from his association with Bill Evans. It was the pianist's 1961 Riverside Records trio albums Waltz for Debby and Sunday at the Village Vanguard that did the trick, shifting the way of the piano trio into the direction of democracy and intricate interplay, also launching Motian's career as a much coveted sideman, with pianists Paul Bley and Keith Jarrett, saxophonist Charles Lloyd and bassist Charlie Haden--a list that just ...
Continue ReadingMemories in Motian
by Zeno De Rossi
Soon after hearing about Paul Motian's passing (November 22, 2011) I felt the urge to delve (again) into his music. Later on, inspired by a moving writing by Ellery Eskelin (published on his website and reproduced below, by his kind permission), I thought it would have been interesting to collect brief memories from musicians which worked with him during his long career, as well as from those who were deeply influenced by him. So ...
Continue ReadingPaul Motian: Paul Motian (Old & New Masters Edition)
by John Kelman
In a time when leadership roles are being thrust increasingly upon young musicians who may have the chops, the technique and the theory, but not the experience, drummer Paul Motian could be considered a lesson in patience, in waiting for the right time, in holding off for the precise moment of readiness.It's not that Motian couldn't, perhaps, have begun a career leading groups sooner than November, 1972 when, at the age of 41, he entered Butterfly and Sound ...
Continue ReadingPoetry in Motian
by William DeLancey Adamson
Shimmering behind Bill's subtle reharmonies of the Gershwin tune LaFaro's pungent doublestops and even that asshole girl's phony laugh at the climax is your intelligence I've never heard nor ever will hear the like it's only Sunday night at the Village Vanguard but I feel it's the garden of Eden Years later it actually was or you made us think it was again when you wrote that primeval drone four notes ...
Continue ReadingPaul Motian: The Windmills Of Your Mind
by Dan Bilawsky
While Paul Motian's name is on the spine of this CD, guitarist Bill Frisell is the tie that binds this band. Frisell's ability to paint ethereal coats of sound in an earnest manner that speaks to his love of all things musical is at the heart of this program, which may be seen as an expansion of Petra Haden and Bill Frisell (True North, 2003)--a woefully overlooked vocals and guitar date which contains intimate and highly expressive takes on the ...
Continue Reading
