Need more Tony Williams in your life? Look no further.

[Suspiria]

As I was dusting off my old CD rack, I came across an album I haven't heard in what seems like YEARS. For those of you not currently suffering from "fusion-fatigue", do yourself a favor and check out the almighty Tony. Nobody compares. Nobody.

For your listening pleasures, I thought I'd upload "Fred". Peter C, where are you man?! I know you'll dig this one.

http://media.putfile.com/02Fred

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 04, 2005 06:55 PM: Message edited by: Suspiria ]</font>

[five eight]

Tony may be my favorite drummer EVER! Love that dude's concept: drums with attitude. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

[Suspiria]

In my best Samuel L. Jackson voice: Corrrrectemundo!!
It's all been said before, but I've been having one of those moments where all I need is more TONY!

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 04, 2005 07:01 PM: Message edited by: Suspiria ]</font>

[tnsolt]

I just got Lifetime The Collection, which is a combo of Believe It! and Million Dollar Legs. That 1st tune Snake Oil rocks, but the 6 stroke type DSR's he does toward the end of Fred [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]
The funniest tune tune has got to be You Did It To Me Baby-more funk than fusion.

[drumaddict]

How did Tony go from Post bop to fusion so easily? If you listen to early Miles then listen to "Beleive It" you can here the connection but where did the rock grooves, fusion fills, and phrasing come from? There must have been a rock influence for him at some point before "Emergency". Does anyone know who influenced him into that genre? I know he dug the Beatles but Ringo surely wasn't the only inspiration. Did he dig Hendrix, or Bonham, or Carmine? Was Elvin doing his fusion thing before Tony? If you really listen to "Beleive It" you'll hear that there was nobody pulling off that kind of fusion drumming in that time . Maybe Cobham shortly after but he came from Tony.... Anybody?

[Suspiria]

I also remember reading that he had a thing for rock. I'd also be interested to learn exactly who his influences might have been.

[elpatricio]

I heard he was a huge fan of the popular music of the sixties, especially the Beatles. He once asked Miles Davis, 'Why don't we open for the Beatles?', much to Miles' disgust [img]biggrin.gif[/img] It is amazing how managed to reinvent himself completely as a fusion drummer after being brought up in post bop so heavily. He is such an inspiration.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 05, 2005 12:09 PM: Message edited by: elpatricio ]</font>

[five eight]

Miles, Tony and Jimi gathered in a nearly finished Electric Lady studios to jam one evening. Hendrix was quite keen on jamming with everyone he could. These three musical icons had their gear set up and ready to go but before the first downbeat Miles' manager demanded 50 large, whereupon Tony's management requested the same. Jimi's manager told them where to go and the drums and horn went back in the cases.

And we consumers got gypped out of what could have been the greatest meeting of musical minds in a millenium.

True story. [img]frown.gif[/img]

[djmuskateer]

Originally posted by Suspiria:
For those of you not currently suffering from "fusion-fatigue", do yourself a favor and check out the almighty Tony.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">This wasn't what I meant by fusion! This is a great track - really jazzy, really NOT 80s 90s or 00s style bad-fusion, and David Garfield doesn't play on it at all... I love stuff like this

[got_a_matchgrip]

Originally posted by Suspiria:
I've been having one of those moments where all I need is more TONY!

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Better than, "more [1/4-note] cowbell!"... [img]wink.gif[/img]

5, we can also "thank" [w a 2x4"] anyone who'd ripped off those great jazzers prior to that moment in their careers, from concert promoters to local club owners.

They saw $$ signs in JH & didn't want to be gypped out of any lucrative "trickle effect."
But more than likely they handled it wrong, offending JH & his mgmt, when it could'bve been handled w more aplomb...& NOT depriving us of a Hailey's Comet Moment of the late 60s/early 70s...what a foolish thing to have happen; they should've "jammed first & asked questions later" [worked the $ out] afterw; but when you're walking on tenderhooks about finances...& there might be a few controlled substances thrown into the mix...

Believe It is quite poss my fave TW.
Fred is a masterpiece of a mid-70's jazzers-delving-into-rock jam tune. I mean, Allan & Alan were on that tune AW!...it is so raw, in the moment, & fresh. They let the tape roll & were going for it. When i first heard this tune [on the beach in FL on a sunny spring afternoon, actually], i got chills up my spine AWA an adrenaline rush...I must've burnt my "boom box" out [AWA my friends' patience] w subsequent repetitive plays that day [but they were totally diggin' on it too!]...shouting, "listen to THAT!...& Listen to THAT!]"...no wonder Vinnie, AWA everyone else & all of us!, loved Tony sooo much...

AMA i dug JH, & as HUGE an influence he was, like Clapton, Page, jBeck, & Eddie, on the modern electric blues-influenced rock gtr, he was way out of his league w regards to Miles & Tony.
But that's not the point. The point is, it prob would've turned out to be some great awa "famous" time-period fuso-rock sessions for the auspices of posterity awa recorded music history...

[Edit:] - when i first sent this post, it came out w that irritating blue link highlight pertaining to that "pop" singer-Beck. No off to that partic-beck; but when I type that name it is solely intended to be that of the last name of the famed GTRST, & NOT that other guy, nor anyone else FTM [img]graemlins/sure.gif[/img] ...[sacrilege...AWA a bit presumptuous on their part AW, eh?]... [img]wink.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 05, 2005 12:25 PM: Message edited by: got_a_match_grip? ]</font>