Great rhythm players = better virtuoso performance.
One thing I’ve noticed with some soloists, both in jazz and in rock, is that when they have a tighter, more rhythmic unit behind them, they tend to make better solos. Just listen to Jimi expanding his range on
Live at the Fillmore East — from the warm-up of Stone Free to the intense emotion of Machine Gun — there’s a palpable sense of expansion and precision, of going further in sound and technical improvisation. And never once does it sound like
just so much soloing or flatulent self-indulgence like Page live with the Zep, it is above all emotional, in the moment. And it strides a delicate balance between heaviness and engaged performance. One can’t help feeling that all this has something to do with the tight simplicity of Buddy Miles’ drumming. Top-end melodic freedom is usually underwritten in simple, limited rhythms. Buddy is an unusually
supportive drummer — I’m sure he’d make a great jazz drummer too. Hendrix is in top form all thru the concerts, really at the top of his art and ability as a result. The only direction he could go in after this would’ve been a fusion of some sort. Now, Adam, do you regret giving away this CD?
