Paleface Pynchon?

[Nudeants at aol.com]

In a message dated 4/23/00 8:08:20 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
seb at thirlway.demon.co.uk writes:

<< f I could write as fast as I can play, I might thank my lucky
 stars and realise (after the event) that I'd come up with
 something a hundredth as good as GR.  Which is a jazz solo - one
 of those ones by Coltrane that somehow manages to have form as
 well as content. >>

I understand the point you're trying to make, but for this jazz musician, it 
is doing a disservice to Pynchon to compare it to a Coltrane solo, which for 
me doesn't have an iota of the knowing references, continuity, and structure 
that GR does; I mean that mroe as a testament to GR's accomplishment than 
Coltrane's lack thereof.  Actually I really don't think there's anything in 
jazz that has this, except for maybe Keith Jarrett's solo concerts or Anthony 
Braxton's quartet concerts from the 1980's.  At the same time, I would 
acknowledge that PARTS of GR are definitely like that.

Actually, the closest parallel to GR's achievment that I think I could find 
in music would be maybe some 20th century classical works, such as Elliott 
Carter's first string quartet, maybe Pierrot Lunaire by Schoenberg, Kraanerg 
by Xenakis.  Something achieving huge diversity of material coupled with huge 
diversity in presentation of material, yet managing to achieve unity of 
purpose seemingly at odds with that diversity.  

matt mitchell