"Kirk was like Mingus: everything he played had in it the shout, the cry that is the beating heart of black music, a cry of sorrow, of hope, of defiance, of pain. Not only that but also a greeting, something you shouted out to friends and brothers to let them know you were on your way. However else jazz changed, that cry had to be there. Strip the modal thing away and there was swing, behind swing the blues, behind the blues that shout, the field holler of slaves."
--from "But Beautiful", Geoff Dyer
--from "But Beautiful", Geoff Dyer
