In a message dated 5/26/2007 10:10:38 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
Foomcorp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Is the harmonica more essential than the others? Gee, I wouldn't say
that. I don't think it's a valid question, anyway. Was it part of
the early development and therefore is inextricably woven into it?
Yes indeed. More essential? Essential? Less essential? Don't
think it's a valid question.
This is a good point.
Would you consider acoustic piano as essential to jazz
trio/quartet/quintets? Even though you will mostly find it
included, Gerry Mulligan had a
"piano-less quartet" in his early days with Chet Baker. The very
novelty of
"piano-less" made this a focal point - almost a publicity coup at
the time. It is
still referred to as Gerry's Piano-less Quartet. The point is,
Gerry heard in his
head a new sound that didn't include piano during an era when
piano was
central to the jazz idiom.