Saturday, December 19, 2015

The Gary Files # 13: Gary Peacock

(I found this image here.)

An explanation: Since the name Gary is going extinct, I thought it incumbent upon me to celebrate more notable Garys than myself.  This is the thirteenth of a series!

Gary Peacock is an American jazz double bassist. He has performed with a great many people, including but not limited to Keith Jarrett, Albert Ayler, Bill Evans, Bill Frisell, Jan Garbarek, Paul Motian, & more.  Impressive!

When did you first become aware of him?  It was probably in the last twenty years, when I became interested in jazz.

His name stood out, didn't it?  Yeah it did!  Not only was he a Gary, but he was a Peacock!

Is jazz bass something you're interested in?  Not necessarily.  I mean, I am very fond of Albert Ayler's Spiritual Unity, but I listen to it mainly for Ayler on sax, not for the crazy bass & drum combination.  But you know, I understand how important that is.

Do you like any of the Keith Jarrett records he's on?  Of the ones I've heard, probably the Standards recordings of the early 1980s.  But they collaborated a lot!

Do you like any of his work as a leader?  I am ashamed to say I haven't heard a ton of it, but most recently I was listening to the record he made with Bill Frisell in the 1990s, & I dug it.

So there isn't a record out there that's your favorite Gary Peacock recording?  No, but there should be.  He's not just a Gary, he's also a Peacock!

He is 80 years old now.  & bizarrely enough, from Idaho.  This is a marvelous world.

Is his name really Gary?  His name is really Gary Peacock!

It seems a nicer name than Gary Cooper, don't you think?  If anyone can bring back the popularity of the name Gary, it has to be Gary Peacock!

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