It is so different from everything he recorded in a studio, which was quite… sticking to format, in a way, in its length, structure, and everything…ĮI: I think you’re right that the studio records are not always the gateway to understanding how profound his message is. And, of all of the Charlie Parker records, the one that was played most and most cherished was Bird Is Free, as it was called then-the live concert. At the same time, it’s quite a bit easier to both acquire and initially understand than Elmo Hope, I would say.ĭB: That’s right. Someone like Horace Silver, for example.ĮI: Of course, Horace’s music is very detailed. But that’s a good example of what I mean, because that record is very sophisticated and detailed composing, within the style of bebop or hard bop or whatever you call it, as opposed to the slightly safer options that might have been easier for someone to collect, living in Beckenham.ĮI: For sure. With a… I can’t remember what it’s called, it’s got a trumpet player on it called Freeman Lee, which I think might be Lee Morgan with a made-up name. I mean, you weren’t even allowed to hang nappies on the line when you did your washing.ĮI: What were some of the extreme records?ĭB: Um, let me think where to start… the Elmo Hope quintet.ĮI: You’re kidding! Your dad had an Elmo Hope record?ĭB: Yeah. They grew cabbages in the front garden, and that was not the thing to do in that area, it really upset the neighbors. They were kind of hippies before hippies were invented. Was your dad like that?ĭB: Yeah, my parents were definitely eccentric, but it was very accidental it wasn’t studied at all. And my father’s record collection was very much about the extreme end of every style.ĭB: Nope, just a listener: an avid listener.ĮI: For some reason I think of this tradition of the English eccentric, these people that collect this sort of wild stuff. Inside my family home there was another world, everything was about the outside edges, the fringes of art. Quite a boring place, really.ĮI: Most of us that play jazz that come from white suburbia have had some experiences that showed us some light to say, “This is what I want to do.”ĭB: Yeah. Nate Dorward did the transcription.)Įthan Iverson: Django Bates, where did you grow up?ĭjango Bates: I grew up on the very southern edge of London, in white suburbia. Django Bates is someone I admire intensely in recent years he’s also become a friend. (Reprinted from old DTM, originally posted May 2010.
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