{"id":3264,"date":"2012-01-14T13:19:02","date_gmt":"2012-01-14T21:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=3264"},"modified":"2012-01-14T13:19:02","modified_gmt":"2012-01-14T21:19:02","slug":"gordon-beck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2012\/01\/gordon-beck\/","title":{"rendered":"Gordon Beck"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I wrote the day Paul Motian <\/a>died, Rifftides<\/em> was not conceived as an obituary blog, but when an important musician leaves, I feel\"\"<\/a> an obligation to observe the passing. I failed to do that when Gordon Beck died at 75, also in November. To many, Beck was best known as a pianist who frequently collaborated with singer Helen Merrill, and as a member of Phil Woods\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 European Rhythm Machine in the 1970s, but his contributions to jazz were much more extensive. The Irish flutist Colm \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Red\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Sullivan, a frequent Rifftides<\/em> correspondent who has lived in Brazil for the past year or so, is a great admirer of Beck. This week he contributed an appreciation to Ethan Iverson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Do The Math<\/em> blog. Here is some of what he wrote:<\/p>\n

He is most usually compared, or considered in relation to, Bill Evans – but I feel that’s less than half the story. As a soloist he was less narrative driven than a Tommy Flanagan (along with Russ Freeman, always one of his personal favourites, though) or a Barry Harris: not so much text in solo (as with, say, Sonny Rollins or Dexter): his music is all about colour and light, shards of amazing brilliance – and he did have that glorious and singing keyboard sound.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To read all of Red\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s detailed and thoroughly informed essay about Gordon Beck, go here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In this 1991 video, Beck supplies the lyrical opening and closing choruses of a vigorous and adventurous version of Bill Evans\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Waltz For Debby.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the Gordon Beck-Kenny Wheeler Quintet with Wheeler, trumpet; San Sulzman, tenor saxophone; Dieter Ilg, bass; and Tony Oxley, drums. <\/p>\n