When I heard Miles Davis's first full-on electric band play in London in the late 1960s, the feverish post-show reactions almost ended up being an integral part of the gig. As with Dylan's first outings after he abandoned his acoustic guitar for a Fender and a rock band, the audience was vehemently divided about whether the development was a triumph or a disastrous sellout.
After that Miles show, friends and total strangers were arguing all the way to the tube station and beyond about what place an electric piano or a heavily miked-up drum kit could possibly have in a jazz band, and whether or not Miles was abandoning his one true genius by not playing My Funny Valentine in a tight-muted whisper any more.
After the American pianist Brad Mehldau's performance at the Barbican this week, the post-gig vibe in the foyer was nothing like that intense, but there was still a buzz of absorbed discussion about whether Mehldau - close on Keith Jarrett's heels as one of the most popular jazz concert artists on the circuit - was doing anything worth doing.
After that Miles show, friends and total strangers were arguing all the way to the tube station and beyond about what place an electric piano or a heavily miked-up drum kit could possibly have in a jazz band, and whether or not Miles was abandoning his one true genius by not playing My Funny Valentine in a tight-muted whisper any more.
After the American pianist Brad Mehldau's performance at the Barbican this week, the post-gig vibe in the foyer was nothing like that intense, but there was still a buzz of absorbed discussion about whether Mehldau - close on Keith Jarrett's heels as one of the most popular jazz concert artists on the circuit - was doing anything worth doing.
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