Dreaming of the Masters

Last week, we payed respect to Sun Ra sideman Marshall Allen.  After that, it's only logical to also pay a tribute to Sun Ra's other notable sideman - the late, great tenor saxophonist John Gilmore.

Gilmore was prodigiously talented. His style usually gets more comparisons to John Coltrane than to any other musician.  There are those who've mourned that he fell into Sun Ra's orbit and never reached a wider audience; however, that kind of thinking not only trivializes Sun Ra's accomplishments but overlooks the many times Sun Ra showcased Gilmore's playing on his records and during live performances. 

Also, it ignores the fact that Gilmore did in fact play with other ensembles and with other bands. Above is a video of John Gilmore playing with Art Blakey's band, with Lee Morgan (who later got shot dead in Slugs Saloon in lower Manhattan in the early 70s) on trumpet. Victor Sproles (who also played with Sun Ra) on bass, John Hicks on piano, and, of course, Art Blakey on drums.

In the Rough Guide to Jazz, Brian Priestley says:

Gilmore is known for two rather different styles of tenor playing. On performances of a straight ahead post-bop character (which include many of those with Sun Ra), he runs the changes with a fluency and tone halfway between Johnny Griffin and Wardell Gray, and with a rhythmic and motivic approach which he claims influenced Coltrane. On more abstract material, he is capable of long passages based exclusively on high-register squeals. Especially when heard live, Gilmore was one of the few musicians who carried sufficient conviction to encompass both approaches.

Brilliantly, Gilmore presents both styles in this composition, and Lee Morgan doesn't hold much back either. 

Here's a short interview with Gilmore, along with a snippet of a performance with Sun Ra.