You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - Who's the Kevin Bacon of Jazz?

Episode Date: August 31, 2020

On today's episode, Peter and Adam discuss who the most prolific jazz musicians are, as well as how many degrees of separation they themselves have from some jazz legends.Links From This Episode:There's a new course from Open Studio - Your Sound Is Your Signature! Join jazz bass extraordinaire Christian McBride as he teaches you how to play ballads, odd time signatures, fast tempos, and more! Featuring our beloved Guided Practice Sessions to help refine the concepts of this course. For more info, just follow this link.Monday's Open Studio Live Events (All times in EDT):1:00 PM - Adam's Daily Guided Practice Session (for Members Only)6:00 PM - Bass Guided Practice Session with Bob DeBoo on YouTube8:00 PM - Christian McBride's Your Sound Is Your Signature Q&A on YouTubeTuesday's Open Studio Live Events:1:00 PM - Adam's Daily Guided Practice Session (for Members Only)3:00 PM - Piano Guided Practice Session with Adam Maness on YouTube4:00 PM - Open Studio Demo & Tour - Register Here8:00 PM - Listening Sesh with Peter Martin & Adam Maness on YouTube - this week's album: Charlie Parker With StringsFor the rest of this week's calendar, follow this linkInterested in more music advice? Go here to browse our catalog of jazz lessons and courses available for purchase. And be sure to check out our All Access Pass - every course from Open Studio on every instrument.Let us know what you think by leaving a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review, or head over to our YouTube channel.Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hey Adam. Yeah. What's your favorite Kevin Bacon movie? Well, I'm partial to a few good men, but there's no getting around footloose, man. Footloose, right. Oh, you know what? I was going to say dirty dancing. I don't even think he's in that.

I love that movie, though. Is he in that? Peter's a pop culture hound. I'm Adam Menace. And I'm Peter Martin. And you're listening to The You'll Hear Podcast. Music advice and whimsical cinematic forays coming at you. So today we've got a speakpipe from one of our open studio members, Jan.

Yes. What's up, Jan? Thank you so much for sending a speakpipe. You can go to eulhear.com if you'd like to leave us a speakpipe. And Jan went at this from a very, you know, we get a lot of questions about like, hey, what ninth should I play over the dominant core going to a minor six core? Sorry, that was my glasses pushing up. Oh, right, right.

Got it. No offense. But Jan comes at it from a whole different angle. Now, this is a little esoteric, but enjoy Jan's speakpipe. Hey, guys, it's Jan from the UK here. Love the podcast. Here's my question. It's a bit whimsical, but I thought it was fun, so here we go. You may have heard of the Kevin Bacon game.

You have to find a fewest films connecting an actor back to Kevin Bacon. Kevin Bacon himself has a Kevin Bacon number of zero. Someone in a film with him has a Kevin Bacon number of one. Someone in a film with them, but not with Kevin Bacon, is a two, and so on. Kevin Bacon works well, as he has been in lots of films and also a wide variety of film genres. This idea originates in mathematics with Paul Erdos, a Hungarian mathematician who ran away with a circus as a child and had a nomadic life publishing papers with over 500 co-authors in a huge range of fields. People have played this game calculating Erdos numbers since the 1960s.

So my question is this. Which jazz musician has recorded with the widest and most eclectic range of other musicians and who would therefore be a good person to feature in a jazz version of this game? If we played it with Miles Davis, what would your Miles Davis number be? Is he a good choice? So I think when we were planning out this episode, Peter, we were talking about finding players that have played with everybody, but I think Jan is on to something.

What is your number for miles, right? What's your Ayrados number for miles? I'm thinking back. So, like, I'm just thinking of your career. So you've played with, like, Josh Redmond, who played with someone who played with Miles. Right. You know, if you haven't played with Miles.

Like, if you play with- Kenny Garrett. You play with Kenny Garrett. You play with Miles. So you're a two. That's a, all right, that's a two. With Miles, yeah. Because Kenny Garrett would be a one.

Right. Miles would be a zero because he's Miles. Yeah. Got it. So like if we were to do it with Coltrane. Now, but we have to make a distinction here. Are we going to do this like they do it with Kevin Bacon as far as you've been in a movie with? Or you have to have made a record with them or you just have to have played with them? I think we could do played with. Played with.

Because we are a live art form, my friend. We are a live art form. Yeah. But that's going to be a lot closer numbers to, you know, I think we're going to find ourselves closer to a lot of people than we would think. I think so. We should be. Buddy Bolden. My number is one.

No, it's probably not going to be one. Is anyone one? Yeah, actually, of course, people can claim one. Yeah, you can be. You know what? I might be able to claim two to Buddy Bolden. Are you serious right now? How?

Yeah. Because, I mean, I played with some old time. New Orleans. New Orleans, you know, in Nalins. Are you seriously a two to Buddy Bolden? I could be. I mean, I'm still trying to comprehend the concept of this. So are you a two with Lewis Armstrong? I might be a one with Lewis.

Oh, that means that means that would have played with him. No, no, I didn't play with him. I didn't play with it. Are you a two with Lewis? I met Miles, though. I would think so. Yeah, definitely. You played with someone who played with Luke SunTrunk.

I'm sure. I would have to think about who that was, though. You're probably a two with most folks, I would assume. Just because you played... Maybe. You played with some pretty heavy cats that were of that generation. That's what I'm saying. Maybe we should be saying recording, because I think a lot of people are going to be...

Recording? Okay. Yeah. That's fair enough. But you're probably a two with Miles as well. I was trying to think about this. Willie Aikins? Freddy Washington.

You think they must have played with Miles, right? I don't know. I'm trying. I probably am a two with Miles. I'd have to, I really have to stay. I know I'm a two with Coltrane. Wow. Just from Montez.

Like, yeah. I played with McCoy. Right. You know. No, Montez is a two. So I'm a three with Coltrane. Right. Oh, but Big Joe, did you ever play with Big Joe Charles?

Yes. Great drummer. So he played with Coltrane. So I have a two. Because Elvin didn't make it to St. Louis or something. And Big Joe played. That was a legend. thing. He played with Coltrane.

He played out that week. Man, this is a fun game. This is fun. I like how we just totally personalized it to us. I mean, I technically, yeah, exactly. Well, that's all we really can do. That's right. But it's interesting if you picked anybody, like where it'd be fun actually with other piano players.

Like, what's your number to chick? That's got easy. Korea? Yeah, because McBride, right? Yeah. Yeah. So that's pretty, that's pretty easy. Yeah.

Yeah. Steve Wilson, a bunch of people. A bunch of people. Yeah. For sure. But let's, okay. Now, if we're going to say it's who you played with, I really think the most number of people, it wasn't that kind of part of the question, like who has the most kind of ones and twos or whatever.

Yeah. Who sort of played, would that be right? Who would be? So, okay, so this is great, actually. So with Kevin Bacon, there are a couple of movies. Right. Right. That are like, you know, a few good men.

That gives you Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise. That opens you up right. It opens you up to a whole thing, right? So if we're doing playing with, then, and we're trying to figure out who's the Kevin Bacon of, jazz. Right. Who's been in all these things? It's got to be who has played with the most diverse group of other musicians. And you know actually who kind of comes to mind would be Roy Hargrove. You think so? Well yeah because not if we're talking about recorded with but play because he sat in with so many musicians. He did. He played

with so on older musicians younger and like really spanned the time. But then again somebody like Miles Davis who so many people played with him, So I guess by association he played with them over quite a few generations. I mean, you're talking about miles going all the way back to, you know, Charlie Parker. And then that would, I don't know. My mind is blown right now. Roy Haynes. Roy Haynes comes to mind.

Roy Haynes comes to mind. And he's alive. Jimmy Kyle. Jimmy Kyle. You know, he lived along and played for a long time. So yeah. And now we're getting this in folks. I think the leaders of this are going to be rhythm section people.

I think you're right. Because they can be in everything, right? Kevin Bacon is kind of a rhythm section actor. He is very much. I mean, he occasionally has a starring role. You can be the lead, yeah, but you can also be supportive, right? You can be the support to Tom Cruise, but you could also have your own starring roles. That's right.

And I mean, you know, Kevin Bacon's had a long, but Kevin Bacon's not that old. I mean, he's not a spring chicken, as we would say, but he's not Roy Haynes age either. You got, okay, let's do some people who passed away early. Like, what's your number to Duke Ellington? Oh, I mean, that. Oh, two. You're two. Yeah, because I play with Ray Brown,

who played with Duke Ellington. That's right, that actually, Ray Brown, that little short amount of time I got to play with him, that would open me up to a lot of... See, that's what I'm saying. Ray Brown might be the Kevin Bacon of... He's definitely one of them. He's played with everybody.

He was in it. Like, what I want to try to find... I'm a one. Are you... No, two. I still don't remember. What is one or two? No, two.

So one means you've played with them. Okay, yeah. So I'm a two to Elephist Gerald. So you're two to Elfis Gerald. Two to everybody that Ray Brown played with. Yeah, I'm trying to think of who you would be a three-four. Like Clifford Brown? I bet Ray Brown, he might have played...

Okay, Clifford Brown. Yeah, I don't think I would be a two. Because who, Max Roach... Yeah. I would have had to play with somebody that Harold Land... Yeah. Yeah, that's a tough one because he has such a short career. Yep.

Okay, this is getting good. This is getting good. You know who would also be a good Kevin Bacon? Or Blakey. Just because he had so many bands with so many generations of musicians. you know. And then, you know, of our generation kind of more Christian McBride is a possible

for sure. He's played so many different genres and in situations. Yeah. And then, you know, play with Freddie Hubbard early. Like, he played with some older musicians when he was very young, too. So there's a big span. Greg Hutchinson, drummer. So we're talking about drum.

I mean, it's not going to be like Roy Haynes, though, you know. He's going to be a two to most folks, if not a one to most folks. He's going to be the key for a lot of people. Roy Haynes might be the most number one. And you know what I mean? As far as playing with the most number. It's a fun game, man. This is fun, man.

It'd be fun to sit around with a huge group of jazz musicians to talk about. Like, try to figure out who is the... The problem would be, like, trying to figure out who is, like, the most furthest away from you. You know what I'm saying? Right, right. That'd be tough. Well, you would think somebody that would actually...

Would not... Would be kind of the antithesis of Kevin Bacon of jazz would be like Keith Jared, in that he's played with a very close... close group of players. Yeah, but just having him play with Miles certainly gives him a tent, like a big tent situation, you know.

Yeah, and Charles Lloyd. But if you talk about recording, especially, that would tighten things up because although, you know, he's Doey Red, I mean, Charlie Hayden, yeah, he did play with a lot of. Yeah, that's a fun game. Well, thank you, Jan, for a little whimsicalness. So are we going to establish who's the Kevin Bacon of Jazz?

I'm going to say Art Blakey. You're going to say Art Blakey. Man, I was kind of thrown out. Roy Hargrove, but yeah, I mean, Art Blakey. Didn't we talk about Wayne Shorter earlier, too? We thought... I think Wayne Short, you know... Weather Report.

You know who might be the Kevin Bacon of music I was thinking about? Steve Gatt. Think about how close Steve Gadd is to like Lewis Armstrong, but also like Beyonce. Like, that's kind of a crazy... Peter Erskine. Peter Erskine.

We're talking about a lot of drummer. A lot of drummers that can kind of cross over into the more pop genre, but also dip their toes in the jazz thing. Yeah. John Patatucci. Yeah. Brian Blade, actually.

Yeah. That might, just as far as like music in general. Genres, right. Yeah. But I don't know, Roy Haynes, who we hit on it,

that might be the, because you got the combination of longevity, living to an advanced age and playing the whole time. For sure. You know, because he played with,

you know, would have played with Clifford Brown and Vats Navarro and Buddy Bolton. Okay, maybe not. But close. Yeah. Yeah.

He's definitely a two to Bud's Bowling. Cool, man. Well, thank you, Jan, for the speakpipe. And thank you, dear listeners. Yeah. Until tomorrow, you'll hear.