[TPIN] Tower of Power in Charlotte last night

[RickTrumpetMan at aol.com]

Hi Patrick,
 
I've been in Pawley's Island, SC for the last week or so, sorry  for the 
delayed response.  I'm sure I can't imagine what life is like  for you in LA.  I 
do know that we all can tend to (maybe too  often, speaking mainly for myself) 
keep looking for something to be unhappy  about until we find it in others 
performances.
 
If there are folks in LA that are nitpicking that TOP trumpet  section, 
methinks they do protesteth too much. 
 
There are some things that just AREN'T going to sound the same because the  
players aren't the same.  (Who cares?)   For example,  I  thought Acosta did a 
great job on the "What is Hip' solo.  Playing around  not having a 4 valve 
Getzen flugel to do all that "Live and in Living Color"  fancy footwork can NOT 
be easy.  And if he copped it note for note, it  wouldn't be improv, which 
would be a worse transgression in the eyes of many  cogniscenti, I'd imagine......
 
Lew Soloff (on those Japanese MJO concerts) sidestepped that whole trap by  
playing the "Spinning Wheel" solo note for note and then doing about four  more 
great choruses right after it and then playing the outlined sharp  9th chord 
up to the G.  (Nice solution, if one's chops can handle  it!)
 
Besides, how many live versions of these tunes ARE there now?  Which  one's 
(and their subsequent re-arrangements) should those guys be faithful  to?  
 
There are three trumpet parts (I think I remember reading that Bill  Lamb 
played overdubs on it in Downbeat when I was a kid) on many parts  of "Live and 
in Living Color".
 
Seems like a "no win" to me.  They're better off making those  parts their 
own.....
 
 
Best Regards,
 
Rick Price
Legacy Brass
Charlotte, NC



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