Re: Imitation vs influence

[Per Boysen <perboysen@gmail.com>]

On 15 aug 2007, at 18.24, phaslem@wightman.ca wrote:

> I saw wonderful example of this on the weekend... I went to a blues  
> festival and saw Jeff Healey do an amazing version of All along the  
> watchtower. He started off with that very familiar wah wah solo  
> from Hendrix and gave just enough of it to take you back to Hendrix  
> but then went off in his own style and improvisations... Wow what a  
> player!
> In a totaly different style I saw Robin Bullock (a great  
> traditional guitar etc. player) doing a flatpicking solo and in the  
> midst of it put in just enough of that familiar Smoke on the Water  
> chord into that you knew what was and made you laugh because it was  
> such a huge jump from the trad. fiddle tune that he was improvising  
> on.
> I love hearing those little quotes in the midst of something else  
> when it's done musically.


Me too. Did you ever hear Dexter Gordon live? He was monstrous with  
that! Starting out with well known TV themes and jingles that  
everyone in the audience recognized. He just vowed them into the  
blistering be bop texture and if no one clapped hands or shouted the  
theme title he kept playing it over and over, more and more simple  
and finally totally un-musical and square, as if to punish us for not  
helping him along by smoothly recognizing the samples right on. He  
was a very funny guy in that way.

Greetings from Sweden

Per Boysen
www.boysen.se (Swedish)
www.looproom.com (international)