bapu
That is a facade. I met one of his players and he said Frank was slave driver in rehearsals and that the stage show better match what he expected of them or they would be fired. Frank did not "allow" he "demanded" according to the man I met. So that "allow" that you think you saw was the result of what Frank wanted, not necessarily what the players would have done.
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I've read the Miles book and Frank's. My old roommate also had a bad story about it, but the music itself (it was the warmup!) was magnificent. The show ... stunk!
He admits that he is tough, but he even says ... have you heard the results? These guys can play, but you have to push them to get it done!
I remember a few teachers ... and all of them were tough ... but they were GREAT teachers, not hams, or jerks.
I agree, and yes, there are way too many stories about Frank being a jerk ... but it's hard to agree with the results and what folks put together. And I think there was a lot more here than folks being threatened to "get fired' ... even Frank would know that it would be stupid to let some folks that he worked with go that easily. Many of them were there for their ability and they knew there was something there to work with. And it was better than most rock music over hyped songs in the top ten.
You make it sound like Beethoven and many other composers were nice guys that ...