Take 5 With Charlie Parker

Today is the centenary of Charlie Parker's Birth which I will celebrate with five recordings from Bird. There is no effort to select the greatest Parker or whatever, but simply some great music.

1st up is a Red Norvo session with Bird, Dizzy Gillespie, Flip Phillips, Slam Stewart, Norvo Teddy Williams, Slam Stewart and Specs Powell playing "Hallelujah."

2nd is Parker's variations on the changes of "Cherokee" with a staggering opening, "Koko." Dizzy is on trumpet and piano, Curley Russell on bass and Max Roach on drums.

3rd track is "Relaxing at Camarillo."

Next is backing vocalist Earl Coleman on the blues "Dark Shadows."

Finally, a selection of Bird with strings, "Just Friends."

Conversations In Jazz; The Ralph Gleason Interviews

Conversations In Jazz; The Ralph Gleason Interviews
Edited by Toby Gleason
Foreword and Introductory Notes by Ted Gioia
New Haven: Yale University Press
2016:276 + xvi pages

It has been several decades since Ralph Gleason passed away. Gleason was a pioneering jazz and music journalist, host of a legendary television show "Jazz Casual," and one of the founders of "Rolling Stone" magazine. "Conversations In Jazz; The Ralph Gleason Interviews" brings together interviews Gleason conducted in the early 1960s, the time he was producing the "Jazz Casual" series, although these interviews were conducted at home, separate from the conversations he had with performers on that show, with the exception of the one with Duke Ellington.

As Ted Gioia observes in his Foreword, these interviews take place at a most interesting period of time as 1959 saw the release of so many classic jazz recordings. John Coltrane is interviewed at the time he is stepping forth as a leader, while Sonny Rollins was interviewed a few weeks before he took his sabbatical from playing while Philly Joe Jones is interviewed during the most productive time of his career and the conversation with Bill Evans was less than a year after "Kind of Blue" and when he was working with his most influential trio.

These conversations are quite fascinating. For example Coltrane notes he had only played in three big bands as of 1961 (Dizzy Gillespie, King Kolax and Jimmy Heath), that one thing he likes about being the only horn in his own group is that he likes to play long, that he plays different tempos with different horns, how he went about writing tunes, and various thoughts relating to playing in clubs or concerts. His interview with Quincy Jones opens with Gleason asking why can't they record a big band so it sounds like the big band does live, before getting into the issues with running a big band, contrasting what he will be doing with Count Basie and other points such as touring Europe. With Dizzy Gillespie, Gleason explores at first how Dizzy first heard jazz and his development as a musician.

Gleason interviewed all four members of the Modern Jazz Quartet opening with John Lewis who provided a history of the MJQ along with some of the lessons learned as they developed their 'quiet' mode of jazz. Milt Jackson recalled his experiences as well a discussed challenges playing with the MJQ as opposed to other settings while discussing some of his other recording projects. Percy Heath tells about growing up with other musicians in the family, not adopting the bass until after coming back from the Service is own while Connie Kay recalls playing with Lester Young replacing Roy Haynes and then starting with the MJQ when Kenny Clarke left the group. A couple common threads are in the four interviews here such as how the nature of the MJQ restricted what they played. It is fascinating to read the thoughts of all four (and their acknowledgement of their common ties to Dizzy Gillespie).

Other chapters are devoted to Sonny Rollins, Philly 'Joe; Jones, Bill Evans, Horace Silver, Duke Ellington, Les McCann and Jon Hendricks. The discussions of how they started, influences, what motivates what they play and like, made for intriguing conversations and fascinating reading. This is an invaluable addition to the jazz literature. There is no index which is the only flaw in this wonderful volume.

I purchased this. Here is a video clip from "Jazz Casual" of Ralph Gleason speaking.

 

Bobby Parker - The Link From Dizzy To The Beatles

It has been a couple days since my friend Bobby Parker passed on which has led to numerous expressions of sorrow of a loss of a terrific musician, but also a person. I will be blogging about Bobby's contributions to the blues and the DC music scene in subsequent posts, but for this post I want to focus on perhaps his most famous recording, Watch Your Step. As an introduction we have the late John Lennon discussing this recording and the impact it had on himself and The Beatles.

One thing Bobby does not say in this clip, but which he told me on several occasions, is that the guitar riff was itself inspired by a riff in Dizzy Gillepsie's Manteca. Bobby loved jazz and his long-term fans will remember him opening his shows with Thelonious Monk's Straight No Chaser, using the Miles Davis arrangement. here is a clip of Dizzy playing Manteca.

 Now let us listen to the full original V-Tone recording of Watch Your Step.

I will let you fine folk go to youtube on your own to listen to The Beatles. Incidentally, John Lennon is also said to have noted that not only I Feel Fine, but also Day Tripper were inspired by Watch Your Step.

Alyn Shipton Ably Tells Cab Calloway's Story

British jazz critic and historian Alyn Shipton has authored a marvelous biography, "Hi-De-Ho: The Life of Cab Calloway," that should lead to a reevaluation of the remarkable career of a person who most only will know from his iconic personality. Some will only know Calloway from his performance of "Minnie the Moocher," in the movie "The Blues Brothers," while others will remember him from his performances on Broadway and others will have heard some of his recordings and think of him as a popular vocalist.

Shipton traces his early years in Rochester and Baltimore, to Chicago where he was influenced by his older sister Blanche, through his linking up with the Alabamians who would become the Missourians and eventually his Orchestra. He gets engagements at the mob-connected Connie's Inn and the Cotton Club, and linked with Irving Mills, also Duke Ellington's manager at the time, and with Mills connections and these performances develops into a pioneering scat singer (second perhaps to Armstrong) while leading a disciplined and terrific jazz big band that had excellent musicians and soloists in addition to his remarkable singing.

There is the discussion of the many musicians who were part of the Calloway Band such as Ben Webster, Milt Hinton, Danny Barker, Doc Cheatham, Jonah Jones, Dizzy Gillespie and Chu Berry and how Calloway was constantly improving the band, trying to get strong sections as well as soloists. It is interesting that after Chu Berry replaced Ben Webster, instrumental features for the band become much more frequent and Cab featured a small band within his Orchestra as well. And the stories of life on the road and the friction sometimes between Cab and members of his band, such as the infamous incident when he accused Dizzy Gillespie of throwing spitballs and Dizzy coming after him with a knife.

And the body of recordings that Calloway produced over his life is examined in the context of his career as Shipton recounts the tours, his appearances in film (including the Betty Boop cartoons and the unique process that was used to animate his dancing style (that Shipton observes presages Michael Jackson's "Moon Walk'). Shipton takes us through his remarkable early recording of "St. Louis Blues," that was far removed from Louis Armstrong's big band recording, to the immortal "Minnie the Moocher," and the musical elements that were so original here and in its various sequels. Shipton discusses the music clearly and cogently without the use of detailed technical musical analysis so this book will be of interest to general readers.

Calloway, like his other contemporaries, suffered from the decline of the big bands but Shipton details how he started working with small groups, and then how his performance as "Sportin' Life" in a revival of Porgy & Bess re-established him as a leading performer and entertainer as well as on other productions such as the All Balck cast of "Hello Dolly," as well in the touring cast of "Bubbling Brown Sugar." I did not remember he was a featured performer on The Ed Sullivan Show for one of the broadcasts that also featured The Beatles. It was a rich musical life that continued until shortly before he passed away.

Shipton discusses the stresses of leading the band with its substantial touring inflicted on Calloway's personal life. How he had a lengthy estranged relationship with his first wife, and how hiss second wife forced him to give up his race track gambling habit while he tried to do his best as a father to his children.

As Alyn Shipton observes in his introduction, prior to this project he had scant awareness of the full and impressive range of Cab Calloway's accomplishments. After reading "Hi-De-Ho", the reader will have a full awareness of Cab Calloway's remarkable life and music.

I received my review copy of this book as a reviewer for Amazon.Com’s Vine Program and I initially posted this review on amazon.com.

RIP James Moody 1925-2010

091607 We Love Dizzy -1651, originally uploaded by NoVARon.

Just heard that James Moody passed away on December 9, 2010 from pancreatic cancer. Moody, seen here as part of the Dizzy Gillespie All Star Band at the 2007 Duke Ellington Jazz Festival in Washington DC. In 1998, he was selected a a National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master and was last nominated for a Grammy in 2009.

Veteran critic Howard Mandel has written on his blog, Jazz Beyond Jazz about Moody, "A brilliant improviser who emerged from Dizzy Gillespie's big band to join the young turks of bebop (Monk, Bags, Klook, Blakey) in the late 1940s, he became internationally admired for his tenor sax and flute mastery and on-stage good cheer …"

Here are some other links on James Moody:

Jazzwise Magazine obituary. "Moody had the cool demeanour of jazzmen of his generation who oozed effortless control on the bandstand of the best jazz clubs they found themselves performing in. Moody brought a strong personality to the saxophone and when he took the microphone to sing as well it all added to a direct connection with the listener that few could hope to achieve."

NY Times obituary  "James Moody, a jazz saxophonist and flutist celebrated for his virtuosity, his versatility and his onstage ebullience …"

San Diego Union-Tribune obituary by George Varga quotes Quincy Jones:


“He was the quintessential saxophone player, and his 'Moody’s Mood For Love' will forever be remembered in jazz history side by side with Coleman Hawkins’ classic 'Body and Soul.'
 …
James Moody was one of the people who allowed me to stand on his shoulders when I was coming up. And there can never be a value placed on that. So much of who I am today, is because of who James Moody was to me back then."

To this I want to add a quote from Mr. Moody himself from Mr. Varga's story. 


"My goal is that I want to play better tomorrow than I did today, because I’m not in competition with anyone else,” Mr. Moody noted in a 2005 Union-Tribune interview.”If you try to do that, to compete, you’d better give up, because there’s always somebody, somewhere, who has more going on. And that’s what makes jazz so beautiful, that’s what makes the world beautiful.” (italics added).

Marc Copeland quoted in JazzTimes obituary: "My personal homage to Moody is this: Every time I play, every time I travel, I hope to play with the same spirit that he does and hope to treat other musicians with the same kindness and respect that he does."

NPR's Blog Supreme. Patrick Jarenwattananon writes, "Jazz saxophonist and flutist James Moody has died. A virtuoso player known for his effusive warmth on and off stage, Moody's career in music stretched well over 60 years. He was 85."


NPR's Fresh Air Remembers James Moody. Moody quoted on remembering Dizzy Gillespie,

"For the longest time, I used to call my wife — I used to call Linda, my honey, and tell her, 'Honey, I called you and you weren't home.' You know?  She says, 'Honey, I've been home all day.' I said, 'Well, but I called' — and then I'd say the number.  And she'd say, 'Honey, that's Dizzy's number.' "

Riotsquad Publicity obituary found at The Jazz Breakfast. "“Playing with Moody is like playing with a continuation of myself,” Gillespie once said. Moody later responded, “I felt the same way with him. He was my mentor, my teacher, my best friend, and my brother."

"In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to:

CFNJ/ James Moody Jazz Scholarship Fund for Newark Youth

Post Office Box 338

Morristown, New Jersey 07963-0338"

Andrea Canter at All About Jazz: "His personal charm was only exceeded by his artistry on saxophones and flute"

The Jazz Police has a fuller obituary by Andrea Canter.

Jazz photographer Juan Carlos Hernandez's photo tribute to Moody with some you tube links.


Elements of Jazz posted seven Moody videos on November 27 as part of her series of posts, Seven For Saturday.

WBGO on Moody notes they will be rebroadcasting the Kennedy Center's 80th Birthday Party for Moody on December 19 and December 22. 


Washington Post obituary by Matt Schudel from which we "Of all his musical partnerships, Mr. Moody was best known for his chemistry with Gillespie, who once said, 'Playing with Moody is like playing with a continuation of myself.'"


Prior to publishing a full obituary, the Washington Post had a brief obituary on its webpage with comments that are worth perusing. I like this one by Dave Statter, "Thank you Matt Schudel. James Moody was one of my favorite musicians of all time. Along with his immense musical talent was a sense of humor that seemed to be a part of everything he did. I think of one wonderful night at One Step Down where he took me by the arm in the middle of another musician's solo pretending to be the maitre d and escorted me to my booth near the bandstand."


Marc Myers remembered Moody on his JazzWax blog.  "What set Moody apart from the crowd of exceptional saxophonists in the late 1940s was his fluid swing, voluptuous tone and crafty lyricism. A solo by Moody typically was seamless, sophisticated and staggeringly melodic."  Myers blog entry also includes his ten favorite Moody tracks (Odd that all but one is from 1961 or earlier).

Bob Margolin, while touring Europe with Muddy Waters, encountered James Moody.


"I told him I was in Muddy's band and Mr. Moody, a gentle man and a gentleman, asked me who wrote our charts. I explained to him that neither Muddy nor the band read music or had set arrangements of songs. We just played Blues in the moment following Muddy's guitar and his cues for solos. Mr. Moody was astounded."


Here is a WGBH Boston jazz programmer, Steve Schwartz's playlist of music featuring James Moody.

Quotes from twitter on James Moody:

John Brook: "Jazz legend James Moody died today of pancreatic cancer. Over 50 years of music to explore, incredible work to explore. He was 85. r.i.p."

Terence Blanchard: " R.I.P. James Moody......You have blessed us all with your incredible musical talent and you will truly be missed.... http://fb.me/FVaQdS24"

Finally, the wonderful singer Roberta Gambarini dedicated her performances Friday December 3 at the Kennedy Center to her dear friend and mentor James Moody, with whom she was originally scheduled to perform.  Seen is Clark Terry, Roberta Gambarini and James Moody singing at the 2007 Duke Ellington Jazz Festival.

Bobby Parker Is Watching His Step

Bobby Parker has been tearing up Washington D.C. area clubs for the past three decades. This Louisiana native was raised in Los Angeles, but the musical bug hit him, and by the mid-fifties he was playing with Paul Williams' band, backing up numerous R&B legends at the Apollo and on tour. Later he moved to DC, where he was a mainstay in the 14th Street clubs. In more recent years he has played a variety of Washington area venues. Bobby recorded a fine 45 for Vee-Jay which included a superb minor-key blues, Blues Get Off My Shoulder, with the first recording of You Got What It Takes (later a hit for Marv Johnson). A year later, he recorded for the Philadelphia V-Tone label, Watch Your Step, which was based on Dizzy Gillespie’s Manteca (with a bit of Ray Charles influence) that was by Spencer Davis. This record led him to be invited to Europe in the late sixties where Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page was one of his fans, and tried to sign him up to that label. He did record for Blue Horizon, cutting the great It’s Hard But It’s Fair.

The release of Bent Out of Shape by Parker on Black Top will certainly open a lot of ears that haven’t heard these rare records, or seen Bobby in performance. Bobby Radcliff told this writer that twenty years ago, Parker was as good as the better known Chicago stars like Otis Rush and Buddy Guy, and I understand from others, that this recording is not different from what Parker was doing twenty years ago. Having watched Bobby for several years one could sense here was someone special, and this recording captures it. The album is comprised of Bobby’s originals with the exception of the Carey Bell song, Break It Up, that Bobby often opens his live dates with. The remakes of his early recordings are all strong performances. Watch Your Step is a particularly hard-hitting reworking of his V-Tone recording, although without a vocal chorus. The title track is evocative of some of the late Z.Z. Hill’s recordings, but the band here plays with more of an edge, and Parker’s fiery guitar matches his deep soul singing. Bobby’s A-Go-Go actually a mistitled Go-Go Blues),his tribute to the Go-Go music scene, is perhaps the weakest track here, but that aside, the music here is first rate and almost worth the wait for it to come out. This is simply one of the best blues releases on Black Top of the past few years, set apart not only by Bobby’s strong guitar playing, but by his fervent, soulful blues preaching.

This review appeared in the March 1993 (issue 179) of Jazz & Blues Report. “Bent Out of Shape,” is currently out-of-print on CD but one may be able to locate it on ebay or from blues music vendors. Downloads of the album are available on itunes and amazon. I likely received a review copy of this. In my review I did not note that John lennon took Bobby’s riff for a couple of Beatles songs.

Ghosts of Harlem Will Be Great Gift For Jazz Lover

The following review has been written for Jazz & Blues Report and hopefully will appear in the December issue. I certaainly think this book (with an included CD) would make for a terrific present for the jazz lover in your family or a gift for yourself. This lists for $75 but amazon has it for a bit over $50 as I post this.

The Ghosts of Harlem
Hank O’Neal
Vanderbilt University Press

At one time Harlem was the center of the Jazz World with such bands and performers as Duke Ellington, the Savoy Sultans, Chick Webb and others playing as part of shows at such legendary places as The Cotton Club, Connie’s Inn, the Savoy Ballroom, the Lafayette Theatre and the Apollo Theatre along with other places such as Monroe’s and Minton's. In “The Ghosts of Harlem,” Hank O’Neal provides a brief history of Harlem’s jazz scene from its heyday to its decline after World War 11, as well as provides interviews of 42 artists who were part of Harlem’s vibrant scene and get their memories as well as views on what led to the decline.

Its not a dry oral history either as author O’Neal is a gifted and noted photographer. While some may know him as the principal person behind the Chiaroscuro Records label, he was at one time on duty for the Central Intelligence Agency, before his more known musical activities which also included producing the Floating Jazz Festivals, the source of the various jazz, blues and other themed music cruises of today. Also he is well respected as a photographer and author having compiled “The Eddie Condon Scrapbook of Jazz,” “Gay Day: The Golden Age of the Christopher Day Parade,” and “Berenice Abbott”, about his friend, the noted photographer. His talents as a writer, interviewer, photographer and record producer are all given effect in this handsome coffee table volume that is richly illustrated with both his own portraits, mostly taken with a view camera, as well as archival photos from various sources. This updates the original version which was published in France in 1997).

The early chapters set the table as he explores some of the that made Harlem, contrasting his contemporary photos with historical photos as he discusses the venue, who played there and lets us see how its now a church, an apartment building or a few clubs still exist and feature live entertainment, including some jazz. The bulk of the book is devoted to the interviews of The Ghosts of Harlem. They are Ghosts only in a figurative sense, as O’Neal has common themes in the interviews including some basic biographical information, when and how they first came to Harlem, what memories they had of the places they played and what performers they remember as outstanding as well as thoughts or observations on the decline in jazz and any recent visits or experiences they had.

The persons interviewed range from such prominent jazz figures as Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, Cab Calloway, Milt Hinton, Clark Terry, Benny Carter, Illinois Jacquet, and Joe Williams, along with such important persons, if not as widely known among the general public, as Andy Kirk, Eddie Durham, Sammy Price, Buddy Tate, Danny Barker and Sy Oliver. The recollections are fascinating as O’Neal is a gifted interviewer (some of his Chiaroscuro CDs included jazz speak tracks with the performers recollections included), and his contemporary portraits are mixed in with historical photo as well as label shots of 78s that the artist was featured or performed on.

Added to the interviews is a compact disc with eleven performances from the Chiarascuro catalog featuring 17 of the Ghosts of Harlem including Illinois Jacquet, Buddy Tate, Milt Hinton, Jonah Jones, Doc Cheatham, Eddie Barefield, Red Richards, Al Casey, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Danny Barker, Frank Wess, Harry Edison, Major Holley, Benny Carter, Clark Terry, and Joe Williams, and a bit of Jazz Speak with Eddie Barefield, Cab Calloway, Eddie Barefield and Milt Hinton recollecting about the times together in Cab’s great band as they joke about whether Cab had his Studebaker or Lincoln in the Pullman Car they traveled in while touring.

This is a large and heavy book. 432 pages with 475 b&w photographs and the CD with over an hour of music and talk. Its is fascinating and by its very nature invites one to delve back into it again and again. “The Ghosts of Harlem have come to life in this superb book. Something to keep in mind when looking for a gift for a jazz lover in your circle of friends or family.

Some Scorching Ron Holloway saxophone from 1996

Here is a review from the October 1996 Jazz & Blues Report of one of the four Milestone albums by tenor saxophonist Ron Holloway. Ron, as I write this, currently tours with Susan Tedeschi, but when home with DC is liable to play with anybody, bring his robust playing to whatever setting he is then situated in. This, and his other Milestone albums can be purchased through various sellers at amazon, although amazon does not carry it, itself.

Ron Holloway’s tenor saxophone has been heard at numerous blues shows around the Washington, D.C. area over the years, including accompanying boogie woogie legend, Sammy Price, and Cathy Ponton King at past D.C. Blues Festivals. He is amongst the area’s most accomplished jazz musicians, although completely at home with the blues, and was a member of Dizzy Gillespie’s last band, He also has played with Root Boy Slim and Gil Scott-Heron (with whom he still tours). Milestone has just issued Scorcher, Holloway’s third album, and this disc lives up to its title. Just like Holloway who transcends musical genres, Scorcher includes a diversity of settings from an organ based combo with guest Joey DeFrancesco, a couple of vocals by Gil Scott-Heron, and even a rap track where Holloway’s tenor sax swirls around the raps of M.C. RIP and Shorty Bones. Trumpeter Chris Battistone and guitarist Paul Bollenback (from the organist’s trio) also play an important part on this album. Material ranges from burning renditions of bebop standards like Hot House as well as Lee Morgan’s Slidewinder, Freddie Hubbard’s Red Clay, a hot Sonny Rollins number, The Everywhere Calypso, and a couple of numbers with Gil Scott-Heron, one of which is a blues on which Nighthawk Mark Wenner plays. Holloway’s tenor sound is somewhat suggestive of Rollins (which is certainly not the worst source of inspiration) and his lengthy solos show his own musical personality, full of passion and thoughtfulness. He is supported by some terrific players as well, and the result is some compelling music. The last track is a rap with a positive message, on which Holloway’s fiery saxophone does not completely integrate with the backing or the performance. While to this listener, this experiment was not successful, it reflects Holloway’s ranging musical interests. In any event, it is a minor flaw in a set with almost 75 minutes of music, played with plenty of heart and head.


Subsequent to posting this, Ron alerted me to the fact that his Milestone albums can be downloaded from Concord Records website as MP3s.

Helen Humes with Dizzy Gillespie's Big Band

Another video, this time Helen sings her big hit "Hey Baba Leba," around 1947. Notice Dizzy is playing a straight trumpet (that is without the upward bend he was known for later). Not too shabby a band he had.

I feel fortunate that I had the opportunity to see Helen at NYC's Cookery. What a wonderful performer and person.