TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. The extraordinary drummer and composer Jack DeJohnette died in October at the age of 83. DeJohnette was one of the greatest jazz drummers of the past 60 years, and he played with a remarkable range of jazz greats, from Miles Davis and Bill Evans to Charles Lloyd and Henry Threadgill. In this appreciation, our jazz critic Martin Johnson says that DeJohnette was one of the most versatile drummers in jazz history.
(SOUNDBITE OF JACK DEJOHNETTE'S "RIGHT OFF")
MARTIN JOHNSON, BYLINE: That's drummer Jack DeJohnette kicking off Miles Davis' 1971 classic "Jack Johnson," one of the highlights of the legendary trumpeter's electric period. DeJohnette was the perfect drummer for that era. He combined the power of rock and funk with the finesse jazz. His thunderous rhythms could match the power of an electric guitar, but his delicate shadings could elevate a familiar standard into a new listening experience as he does here on "I Fall In Love Too Easily."
(SOUNDBITE OF JACK DEJOHNETTE, ET AL.'S "I FALL IN LOVE TOO EASILY")
JOHNSON: DeJohnette was born in Chicago in 1942. Originally, he played piano, an instrument he returned to on many occasions during his career. He switched his focus to drums when he was 13 years old, and he was playing professionally a year later, making the gig in rhythm and blues band, jazz ensembles and even some of the early avant-garde groups. He moved to New York in 1966, and later that year, he played with the saxophonist Joe Henderson and the pianist McCoy Tyner at Slugs' Saloon in Manhattan. DeJohnette recorded the date. It was released last year as "Forces Of Nature," a showcase of exceptional late '60s jazz.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOE HENDERSON'S "ISOTOPE")
JOHNSON: A few years later, he reunited with Henderson on his classic 1969 recording "Power To The People," which features an extraordinary band. Here's DeJohnette mixing it up with pianist Herbie Hancock.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOE HENDERSON'S "AFRO-CENTRIC")
JOHNSON: Hancock recently said of DeJohnette he always played the drums with a pianist's sense of melody, color and harmony. During the '70s, DeJohnette's drums became one of the defining sounds of the then new label ECM Records. And he appeared on many recordings in several contexts as a sideman, a coleader and as the founder and leader of bands like Directions, New Directions and, notably, Special Edition, where he was often the elder, honing and challenging younger saxophonists like Chico Freeman, David Murray and John Purcell. Let's listen to DeJohnette lead Purcell and Freeman on "Tin Can Alley."
(SOUNDBITE OF JACK DEJOHNETTE'S "TIN CAN ALLEY")
JOHNSON: Pianist Keith Jarrett was one of DeJohnette's most frequent collaborators. They played together with Charles Lloyd in the '60s, then with Miles Davis a few years later. For more than 30 years, starting in the early '80s, DeJohnette, Jarrett and bassist Gary Peacock played as the Standards Trio, reinventing classic works. It became one of the most loved bands in jazz. DeJohnette told the podcast "The American Radio Show" that the trio's longevity owed to their strategy of playing every piece as if it were new, playing it for the first time. Let's hear how he framed Jarrett's solo on "The Way You Look Tonight."
(SOUNDBITE OF JACK DEJOHNETTE, ET AL.'S "THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT")
JOHNSON: And now, let's hear DeJohnette's solo. It appears that Jarrett, who often vocalizes during his own solos, is cheering his bandmate on.
(SOUNDBITE OF JACK DEJOHNETTE, ET AL.'S "THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT")
KEITH JARRETT: Oh.
JOHNSON: In 2013, DeJohnette returned to his roots on the Chicago avant-garde scene, assembling a unique ensemble featuring several titans of the Windy City avant-garde - pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, plus saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and Henry Threadgill. The band played at the Chicago Jazz Festival, and the concert was documented on a recording called "Made In Chicago." Let's hear DeJohnette duet with Abrams, one of his early mentors, on "Museum Of Time."
(SOUNDBITE OF JACK DEJOHNETTE'S "MUSEUM OF TIME( LIVE)")
JOHNSON: DeJohnette never stopped exploring new musical vistas. He collaborated with greats like guitarist Bill Frisell and vocalist Bobby McFerrin, and he made recordings outside of jazz's wide boundaries. His 2010 release, "Peace Time," won a Grammy Award for best new age album. In 2012, he was awarded a Jazz Masters Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts. DeJohnette was one of the very few drummers with the daring and musicality to open a recording with a four-minute drum solo, as he did here on his 1979 disc, "New Directions In Europe." Jack DeJohnette was one of a kind.
(SOUNDBITE OF JACK DEJOHNETTE'S "NEW DIRECTIONS IN EUROPE")
GROSS: Jazz critic Martin Johnson writes for The Wall Street Journal and DownBeat.
Tomorrow on FRESH AIR, we'll remember Rob Reiner and rebroadcast the interview we recorded just a few months ago. We talked about his TV shows and his movies, his relationship with his father, Carl Reiner, a TV pioneer, and what it was like to grow up in a showbiz family and become a star himself at a relatively young age. I hope you'll join us.
To keep up with what's on the show and get highlights of our interviews, follow us on Instagram @nprfreshair. Our cohost is Tonya Mosley. I'm Terry Gross.
(SOUNDBITE OF JACK DEJOHNETTE'S "SALSA FOR EDDIE G") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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