http://www.mattweston.com/cecilpanel.html

A vintage round-table discussion from 1964 where Cecil-in full 60's Black power mode-aggressively defends the merits of "improvisation".

Personally, I think Cecil comes across as too much of a blow-hard here but at the same time, his opponents are pretty much asking for it. Seriously, the first time I read this years ago on a now defunct site, I just *knew* that Cecil would snap at them referring to classical as "serious" music and indeed, he did (rightfully so but still...)!

Otherwise, pretty much everything he says is on point and right along the lines of *my* ideas of music and it also shows why he was free-jazz prime intellectual; put Ayler in this context and he would be like "It's all about the spirits man, just follow the sound! God lives in all of us". Shepp would have been strictly Marxist/Black power rhetoric.

Coltrane? If you read any Coltrane interview, you know how hopeless he would have been, dude was excusing himself for people not liking his music...

Sun Ra? LOL! Actually, I would have loved to read Ra in this context but since it's 64, I can't imagine it making much sense whatsoever...

As for the Cecil-reviews, I've been to Halmstad for vacation and just came back, I *will* write them but I don't want it to become a chore/obligation but more of a fun thing so expect them to drop every now and then...