Earl Bostic -- I Can't Give You Anything But Love

[Tim Price]

Earl Bostic -- I Can't Give You Anything But Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WYrgLgI0qk

There is so much to check out here- but listen for the strong influence of Sidney Bechet, who also noted he was "crazy" about Bostic's playing.

This recording shows the flawless technique of Earl Bostic, his natural pure tone, and his ultimate mastery of the instrument.

Complete command and control of the saxophone.

[warp x]

Thanks for posting that! Always loved listening to him.

[jicaino]

I hate his vibratto. To me it makes the tuning and intonation very "iffy"... but then again, I hate Bechet's vibratto...

[Tim Price]

Thanks for posting that! Always loved listening to him.

Whatever the setting, Bostic is a marvel, his sound at once sparkling and deep. Whether he's exploring the blues or the ebullient spirit of a ballad as he did here,Bostic is one of the defining instrumental voices of jazz, congenial and inspiring.

[Agent27]

I hate his vibratto. To me it makes the tuning and intonation very "iffy"... but then again, I hate Bechet's vibratto...

But being a diaphragm vibrato, the fluctuation in pitch isn't all that great. The width of the vibrato comes mainly from rate at which he's pulsing the air, much like what you hear coming from the vibraphone which isn't changing pitch at all. That's how he can do all those glissandos, scoops, and falls while maintaining vibrato. So it really shouldn't affect ones perception of intonation very much.

[Perry]

Sounds great! But which key is this song really in? It seems to be somewhere between Ab and A in this video clip.

[SaxTon]

thanks for posting he was a master for sure nice to hear "pretty" alto playing in the old school
I came across a Lawrence Welk broadcast with his lead alto guy (younger player) doing a very nice job on Jimmy Dorsey's contracts.
Another nice piece to show off fine alto sound and nuance.

[jonnieboy]

My computer screen shattered when he hit those high notes at the end.

Well, it could have.

[Perry]

the fluctuation in pitch isn't all that great.

I disagree with this statement. Listen for example at 0:25, the vibrato is more than a semi-tone wide.

[ismail]

Exceptional playing, as expected.
But it seems to mock itself, which is not the case with everything from Bostic.
As for me, it's a great track to listen to sax-wise and maybe to get inspiration if you are to play in a band with similar sounds, but overall - not really my cup of tea...

[jgreiner]

thanks for posting he was a master for sure nice to hear "pretty" alto playing in the old school
I came across a Lawrence Welk broadcast with his lead alto guy (younger player) doing a very nice job on Jimmy Dorsey's contracts.
Another nice piece to show off fine alto sound and nuance.

That was Dave Edwards playing "Contrasts" on the Welk show. See here: http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthr...594-Russ-Klein

John

[jrvinson45]

I see a lot of comments on Earl's vibrato, but if one listens to the dance music of the era, it may become apparent that was the norm. The vibrato-free era of cool jazz comes later, and probably not coincidentally with the incorporation of things like upper and lower stack adjusting screws and top -end saxes that were designed to be more in tune with themselves. Regulating older horns was a much more demanding "art" in the days of those "good old vintage horns." Vibrato was popular because it allowed players to to find the tone centers more easily on "the devil's horn." Even as newer more modern horns came out, old habits were hard to change.

The particular tune Tim picked for illustration is one of the most vibrato riddled Bostic tunes I've heard although he used some throughout his career.