[adrian]

Hi, i dunno where this is gonna go, but i will try. Lenny Bruce made that real famous scene years back. By using and using and using certain " words "...they lose their impact. Imo...the word " Genius "....has suffered this fate....too many people, in our circle musicians; are reffered to as a genius. In todays music scene...are there any hmmmm..." Genii, Geniuses...opinions groovy but not essential...a

 

[Oric Muso]

If a genius is someone that can think of something that others can't come up with, then perhaps there have been quite a few genius musicians. Those guys that push the boundaries and come up with new styles or forms. Just pushing the boundaries doesn't make you a genius though. I think that often keepinhg things simple pays dividends.

 

[groovesax]

Monk quote I have on hanging on the wall here comes to mind "A genius is the one most like himself"

Disclaimer... not being a genius, I have no idea what that means.

 

[hakukani]

"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."
A. Schopenhauer

 

[adrian]

Thanks guys...nice. Anybody gonna go for it. That is, proclaim a living musician a genius. I know i should and will....if i can think of one. Personal opinion is paramount. Picasso a genius to one man. Next guy just cannot see it....a

 

[adrian]

Thinkin about it Hak....that is an amazing quote....thanks...a

 

[Pete Thomas]

I agree, the word "genius" is as abused as the word "awesome".

EDIT:

and the word "mint" or the words "near mint" when used in ads.

 

[JL]

Of course to some extent it's a matter of degree. Where do you draw the line? But it is true the word genius has been applied too generously. It loses it's true meaning and impact if not reserved for the truly extraordinary minds.

In jazz music I think Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker were true geniuses. Maybe Duke Ellington also. Beyond that I don't know for sure. You could compile a longer list of innovators with great ingenuity or some 'strokes of genius', but probably not genius in the fullest sense of the word.

I do think the term should be reserved only for the highly extraordinary. Albert Einstein set the bar. A mind way, way beyond the norm.

 

[Butters]

I think a lot of people who are considered geniuses are merely smart people who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Sometimes there is new space to explore and sometimes there isn't. Today is a very hard time to make a 'breakthrough achievement' in jazz, or maybe any music. But there's a world of ideas still to be explored in video games, so there's a lot of room to be declared a genius.

 

[jazzbluescat]

Miles once stated that both Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett were geniuses.

[Jarrett definitely has the IQ, Hancock probably does.]

 

[dctwells]

"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."
A. Schopenhauer

That's a great quote!

According to the people that give out the MacArthur Grant there seems to be an endless supply of geniuses. :banghead:

 

[johnnysax]

Another definition: http://articles.latimes.com/1994-08-14/books/bk-26881_1_oscar-levant-talent-and-genius-los-angeles

 

[adrian]

Thanks Johnny nice story man. Sorry this is wanderin a little. My actual point...do we have a living musical genius? I think i am close....c' mon guys...its opinion...nothin serious...a

 

[dctwells]

Sonny Rollins!

 

[KeithL]

Dave Brubeck
John Williams

 

[sonnymobleytrane]

Most overused word ever!!!

 

[tjaart]

‘Genius is seeing what everyone else sees and thinking what no-one else has thought.’ - Albert Szent-Gyorgy

 

[adrian]

Thats a great quote tjaart..thanks. Frankly my opinion. It comes down to just that...opinion. " I think Mr.?...is a genius ".It is i think bigger than that. Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Jimi Hendrix, Segovia, Van Goch, Manitas de Plata (sic). Some are my opinion..Tom Waits, Bert Wilson, Brian Wilson. Some are recognised by World opinion. I think that is the thing....thanks for postin guys....a

 

[Nefertiti]

If a genius is someone that can think of something that others can't come up with, then perhaps there have been quite a few genius musicians. Those guys that push the boundaries and come up with new styles or forms. Just pushing the boundaries doesn't make you a genius though. I think that often keepinhg things simple pays dividends.

Then Kenny G is a genius for figuring out how to make lots and lots of money with the saxophone................and he kept things simple!

 

[SAXISMYAXE]

I agree, the word "genius" is as abused as the word "awesome".

Or in the case of the U.K., "brilliant". I remember when I was over there hearing that word in every other sentence, or so it seemed.