We lost two major figures in American music history this week. The great saxophonist Sonny Rollins, at 95, and MC Rob Base, at just 59. The coincidence is an opportunity to recognize two of the country’s most important art forms at a time when its reputation for making the world a better place is in decline.
The jazz and hip hop traditions are both inherently American, in their origins and in the way contemporary artists in the U.S. develop the music. But of course that’s not the whole story. Both are deeply loved and respected internationally. Both put down roots all over the world — local scenes and traditions have blossomed.
Both art forms have grown handsomely as a result of this expansive growth. Both have evolved in surprising, fascinating ways as a result of the kind of cross-pollination that can only happen when art is shared and recontextualized by different cultures, in different places.
Obituaries are important to traditions like these. They give us pause. They ask us to take a moment, and give thanks to great artists. They remind us why our history is important.
I use the singular there on purpose. To refer to histories is to suggest that we live separately from one another — an idea we should be deeply distrustful of.
Years ago, I was invited to interview Yoko Ono. I was in my mid-20s, still a kid in many ways and my list of questions showed it. I asked about the differences between her generation and mine, and she said something that had a profound effect on the way I think about the world.
Don’t try to understand people in terms of generations. We are contemporaries. We’re all here on this planet, at this time, together. We are connected. We share. Rollins and Base were contemporaries who shared an artistic life. Both were born in New York. There’s no record of them ever having met, which makes no difference.
New music this week
Morgan Evans-Weiler & J. P. A. Falzone – Grid and Gradient: Pure elegance. A six-movement work by Morgan Evans-Weiler, who performs violin and electronics. J. P. A. Falzone adds celeste and two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart.
Stray wool – The Sorrow: Described in the notes as “a response to depression and self-isolation,” this is a beautifully understated collection of meditative pieces. Piano, often performed sparingly, with a variety of adornments. Picture perfect.
Akira Uchida – Nusa: This is the third entry in a trilogy of collaborations with photographer Masao Yamamoto, for Iikki Books. Early this year, the pair travelled to the island of Hokkaido to shoot photographs and collect field recordings of the ice and surrounding landscapes. Uchida also performs clavichord and saxophone.
The Moderns 