Posted by misterearl:

My first live introduction was Pharoah Sanders at The Village Vanguard, around the same year Clyde was drafted from Southern Illinois after the NIT.

There HAD to be some connection to the musical impulses in the air around that time. Heck, even Sly and The freakin' Family Stone were re-writing the playbook on the West Coast. But I digress.

The parallel of jazz and beautiful basketball is beyond the casual glance at the stat sheet. It gets to the heart and soul of HOW the game is meant to be played. You mention Charlie Parker and Johnny Hodges but the two feel very different.

Earl Monroe's spin move mirrored the invention of Parker while the steady, and rarely flashy, Dick Barnett reminds me more of Johnny Hodges.

Did I mention the part where my Dad was in the Army with Paul Gonzalves?

Did Gonsalves get to play for the troops That 11 min or so solo of his from, I believe it was live at Newport, is one of the most inspiring passages of music of all times. So muscular, so inventive, so indefatigable. Perhaps reminiscent of Dr J.

Monroe as Parker? Wow, Parker was the savant who broke the mold forever; maybe more of a Bob Cousy than Pearl. I see Monroe as someone who came later, perhaps an influential stylist along the lines of an Eric Dolphy.

Pharoe Sanders... I saw him in downtown in the early 90's. I forget if it was at the Vanguard or Sweet Basil...anyway, wow, what a trip he was. At one point he played a ballad with a passage of about 4 mins of circular beathing. There wasn't the slightest pause for breath, in spite of some notes so low and slow they could barely be heard. All that spirituality, he was the master of tasteful reserve. He was like Clyde - rarely in a hurry, but all soul.

if the early 70's were the era of jazz (we know the late 70's was the era of satin shorts, roller skates, disco and cocaine) that would make this the era of hip hop, and that's why we see so many solo MC's who don't play an instrument, they play with beatboxes, often lacking a clue as to how to mesh with live musicians. It's them on stage pimpin', rocking the crowd, and the rest of the team are just ho' dancers backing them up.