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bostic recorded already in 1939 for the 1st time and not in 1942 see Brian Rust Jazz Records 1897-1942 |
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== Style and Influence ==
Bostic was influenced by [[Sidney Bechet]] and (according to [[James Moody (saxophonist)|James Moody]]) Coltrane in turn was influenced by Bostic. Coltrane told ''[[Down Beat]]'' [[magazine]] in 1960 that Bostic "showed me a lot of things on my horn. He has fabulous technical facilities on his instrument and knows many a trick." Moody mentioned that "Bostic knew his instrument inside out, back to front and upside down." If one listens carefully to Bostic's fabulous stop time choruses and his extended solo work, the roots of Coltrane's "sheets of sound" become clear.
Bostic's early jazz solos bear similarity to Benny Carter's long flowing lines. Other influences on Bostic include European concert music, bebop and the sounds associated with his Oklahoma roots. Bostic admitted that he was interested in selling records and he went as far as to write out his popular solos note for note in order to please his admiring fans during
concerts. Nonetheless, Bostic was always ready to improvise brilliantly during his live performances.
Bostic's virtuosity on the saxophone was legendary, and is evident on records such as ''Up There In Orbit'', ''Earl's Imagination'', ''Apollo Theater Jump'', ''All On'', ''Artistry by Bostic'', ''Telestar Drive'', ''Liza'', ''Lady Be Good'' and ''Tiger Rag''. He was famous as a peerless jammer and held his own against [[Charlie Parker]]. The alto saxophonist [[Lou Donaldson|Sweet Papa Lou Donaldson]] recalled seeing Parker get burned by Bostic during one such jam session. [[Art Blakey]] remarked that "Nobody knew more about the saxophone than Bostic, I mean technically, and that includes Bird. Working with Bostic was like attending a university of the saxophone.When Coltrane played with Bostic, I know he learned a lot"(1) Victor Schonfield pointed out that "...his greatest gift was the way he communicated through his horn a triumphant joy in playing and being, much like [[Louis Armstrong]] and only a few others have done." He was able to control the horn from low B flat up into the altissimo range years before other saxophonists dared to stray. Bostic was able to play melodies in the altissimo range with perfect execution. He could play wonderfully in any key at any tempo over any changes. [[Benny Golson]], who called Bostic "the best technician I ever heard in my life," mentioned that "He could start from the bottom of the horn and skip over notes, voicing it up the horn like a guitar would. He had circular breathing before I even knew what circular breathing was - we're talking about the early 50s. He had innumerable ways of playing one particular note. He could double tongue, triple tongue. It was incredible what he could do, and he helped me by showing me many technical things." Bostic used a Beechler mouthpiece with a tenor saxophone reed on his Martin Committee model alto sax.(2)
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