You come off as dismissive of the video and its producer over the most pedantic and trivial detail. It doesn't come off as a genuine criticism of somebody who would have actually watched the video with an open mind.
Nowhere in the video does he try to unfairly compare the solo to something like a Parker solo, and in fact he even rebukes people who try to compare it to Parker in the first five minutes of the video. He's entirely fair in comparing it to other similar R&B solos of the time and how it still comes up short as a solo. Anyone who genuinely thinks he's trying to judge the solo as a "jazz solo" didn't watch or didn't pay attention.
All I see is a someone getting mad that someone called something "jazz" that wasn't "jazz" even though that affects absolutely nothing about the content of the video.
Sad rather than mad, and you'll see why below. I said I would address all of this and I apologise it is long because I have some very strong thoughts and I think I have been unfairly judged, perhaps due to the brevity of my previous comments.
I find this attitude to be a bit condescending. For one thing, Adam (the narrator) is a professional jazz musician.
I think that is probably irrelevant, and at least not a reason to call my comments condescending. It's very true indeed that he does reference other one note solos so obviously did some research, but does not come across to me as an expert in that field. But he has obviously done some extensive research or is knowledgeable in may fields. Now this is where it gets tricky, you called me condescending as if I what I know better? Maybe I do in some respects but not others. Would I be judged as arrogant if I said I
was an expert in that specific field, having been a professional R & B/pop/rock touring and recording session musician most of my life? It's a tricky one for me because I am naturally quite modest so will just mention a fraction so that you can put my experience in perspective as well, then neither accept or dismiss it. My recording/live credits back in the 80s include Fats Domino, Jimmy Witherspoon etc. Musical Director for Richard Berry, doo *** acts the Teenagers, the Passions, the Belmonts, the Spaniels and studio work with R&B saxophone greats Big J McNeely and Lee Allen. That's a much as I'm going to say for now. Again, apologies for the name dropping - just giving some context.
Plus, I wouldn't mind betting Adam Neely is a really great jazz musician, probably a lot better than I am. But I'll cut to the first bit of what I want to say.
Pete, he only called it that because the solo became "famous" on Twitter last month under the title of the worst jazz solo ever.
I will admit I only looked at a bit of the social media stuff. I actually found it very sad, it seemed like a lot of high school kids sneering at and mobbing/trolling something they really don't understand. There was mention of sounding atonal, comparing to Charlie Parker (which yes, Adam Neely rightly scoffed at). The sad thing is that
this was an out take take and never meant to judge the man's work. Haven't we all at times played something that we wish was forgotten about. It was an out take and should never have been published, let alone used to negatively immortalise and mock Vinny Mazzetta ,almost as the epitaph to a player who was actually a good musician. He is dead now and cannot answer back, but that is what his family has to live with.
Although those people who so easily scoff and mock - I wonder if they would even appreciate (a) the actual final published take and (b) the very nice and lyrical solo on the A side. The guy is a fellow musician and again, I find it sad when these kids just mock it
because it is just one note and is represented as something it doesn't pretend to be, a jazz solo. (Again I'm aware Adam Neely does not do this).
Now then on to the actual session. Obviously I don't know the exact circumstance, but I have experience of turning up on a session, and someone (a producer or a band member) having an idea they want you to do. In this case maybe they said "just do one of those honking one note solos on this" and maybe Vinny took it too literally, or jusy went overboard to show them he didn't like that idea (something I would have done). We can assume that as the final take was kind of initially based on that idea, that he was just taking them (or his own idea) literally and decided it didn't work. End of story. For me the main bad bit about it is that it ends two bars early. Perhaps as he hadn't heard the song he stopped because maybe there was a vocal pickup - we don't know. Whatever it wasn't because he was a bad musician and didn't know when not to stop.
OK on to the video.
Adam Neely (IMO) should have included the out take solo in full context, not just dissecting two-bar extracts. This way the audience can judge for themselves what the solo is about. Plus, he could have included the full final take, not just the last two bars so that the audience don't actually get the impression that Vinny can only play one note plus a short scale run. He could have had more balance and put Vinny in context and included in the video what else he can do e.g. the sentimental melodic solo on
In the Still of the Night (which he describes as quaint, nostalgic, wistful...). This is what many solos were like in those days in that genre. Instead, he perpetuates what the moronic social media bullies did - and it comes off to me as nasty, negative and unnecessarily piling in on somebody who cannot defend themselves.
He gives some very plausible reasons why we should call it a bad solo, but in the end when you really know that genre, those things do not explain in musicological and objective terms that it actually is bad. In the end it is just his opinion (which he is very welcome to of course) but expressed as the indisputable truth. My take? I think the solo is actually OK for what it is (apart from ending too soon) but not so appropriate for the song, the actual take is better.
OK let's look at those points he uses to trash it:
- It doesn't repeat the same way every time (as with the Flying Home "solo"). No comparison. It's one of my all time faves and I played that solo note for note many times. The riff extract of Flying home is not a self contained solo in a pop song. It is (I would think) a rehearsed riff that is indeed a forerunner of your typical elementary R & B "shout chorus." Accented notes that syncopate beats 1 & 3, building tension due to the repetition then release on bar 7. Second 8 exactly the same with similar release on bar 7. Then a full release as he's back to jazz/swing impro on the bridge. Great - but actually a different genre. Red Prysock and Big J are more in the similar style, but again not quite the same. I used to do all of that kind of stuff when jamming at the 100 Club - it was always on instrumental riff tunes and you always knew the crowd loved it but you shouldn't overdo it (as with anything). I would not expect it in the solo section of a Doo *** song - and possibly neither would Vinny Mazzetta. It does seem out of place so back to my assertion that it may well have been someone else's mad idea that they tried and abandoned. Maybe they said "Vinny, do one of those one-note solos" followed afterwards by "Vinny, that wasn't exactly what I meant, try it again with that one note thing but then maybe develop it a bit." Pure speculation but it does sound to me very much like that. Or maybe Vinny actually thought it was a terrible idea, so he just went and took it to extremes to make the point. I've had that kind of experience and the kind of thing I might have done.
- The repeats change a bit. This is often what we do when playing in this genre. Play about with the rhythm
- The articulation is not distinct. This is often what we do when playing in this genre. Especially those syncopated pushes. I've transcribed Lee Allen solos where I actually cannot tell whether it's a syncopation or there really is an 1/8 note pick up into a minim or whatever. It's vague. It's the style.
- Drifts out from the rhythm section. Again (a) that can be part of the style OR (b) maybe he couldn't hear what was going on. (Actually neither were the singers that locked in). It was recorded very badly in a church basement. We've all been there haven't we?
- Intonation. Sound's good to me in that style (ref Big J McNeely who I have heard play with all kinds of intonation) - but it is fine - or maybe not to a professional jazz musician, who knows? (e.g. the snarky Db sorta? on the transcription) (or b) see above). I often play out of tune. In the studio I sometimes listen back and think ooh, that's sharp or flat or both. So I ask to do a retake but the producer ends up preferring the first take "sounds more authentic."
- Split tones didn't feel intentional. Subjective or what? The critique now seems to be getting a bit desperate. The split tones give it a Lee Allen kind of bark at that point. I would personally have been proud of that bit (I won't deny Lee was better of course!) Should they have hired Lawrence Welk for the session rather than a rock and roll saxophone player?
- Starts a new riff as if he forgot what he started with. ???? It's what R&B players do. Start a riff. Maybe play with it a bit, then develop into a different one. Not because we forgot (duh!)
All of the above are subjective, taking stuff out of context and merely stating what's going on technically in the solo and then saying "that's why it's bad" does not make it great objective musicological analysis and more like jumping on the social media "knock Vinny Mazzetta" bandwagon. But strangely, after listing all those elements that make it bad, in the end Adam says "it isn't down to Vinny being out of tune, or not rhythmically concise or just playing one note. What it really boils down to,
at least in my opinion, is the fact that Vinny Mazzetta's not really saying a whole lot."
Shock! Horror! Read all about it! Doowop B side out take saxophone solo doesn't say a whole lot!...So all you saxophone players out there: next time you are called on a session and suddenly given a track you've never heard before, you'd better say a whole lot right from that very first take.
I would have really rated this video if it was a study on the use of one note in music, from Brian Ferry & Evelyn Glennie to One Note Samba. Nice. Of course it would not have got so many hits without the snappy and misleading title, but I thought it did very well and covered a lot with some very articulate observations about all the well researched different genres. I did love the panning of "the three elements of music." I also liked his showcase section of what he could do on a bass guitar. I'm impressed by all those variations he could do using one note on an instrument we don't normally associate with that much variance of expression (without a pedal board.) As such he could have used it to show up the narrow minded wannabes on social media, while still expressing an honest opinion that he didn't like Vinny's solo. I think I would also prefer to listen to Big J, but that doesn't warrant this kind of scorn pouring. IMHO.
It appeared to be unnecessarily cashing in on the social media storm, but to be fair to Adam Neely (which I should be, given that I have been expecting him to be fair to Vinny), it may well be more down the sponsors, who wanted a video that would get the hits, hence piggybacking off of the title and critiquing it as the jazz solo it isn't.
