Buddy Bolden, Kid Ory, King Oliver, Eddie Lang, Johnny Dodds, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Sidney Bechet, Roy Eldridge, Bud Powell, Fats Navarro. Names that before I began this blog I had little or absolutely no knowledge of. Along with finding out more about the likes of Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk etc., I feel like I've achieved what I set out to do all those years ago - to get a better handle of the origins and the social fabric surrounding jazz. The adventure goes on but I have lost the urge to write about it. Losing the Grooveshark mp3s a while back made me realise the fleeting nature of all things internet. The writings were primarily for me to organise my thoughts but if some jazz novice in the future happens to stumble upon them and takes an interest in what I have written then that is a bonus.
Adios.
"Jazz is rhythm and meaning."
Henri Matisse
Monday, 28 December 2015
Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Count Basie's Sidemen
Buck Clayton
Trumpet player Buck Clayton hooked up with Count Basie's band in late 1936 after dropping in on them in the Reno Club in Kansas City. However he had enjoyed a lot of success prior to joining the orchestra at this time. A native of Kansas he had toured around the south in the late 1920's getting into various scrapes with the locals before heading out to California in in the early 1930's. It was here that he had a chance encounter with Louis Armstrong. Clayton endeavoured to study Armstrong's technique after seeing him play at Frank Sebastian's Cotton Club.
At this time Clayton was to make a remarkable career move by moving to Shanghai. He ended up staying there for two years playing at the luxurious Canidrome for high society types including Chiang Kai-shek's wife who was a regular at the club.
Success with the Basie band lasted right through to 1943 when he was inducted into the army. During this time Clayton recorded on many of the big hits including One O'Clock Jump. He was also heavily involved in the celebrated recordings in 1937 with Billie Holiday and Lester Young, played at the Benny Goodman show at Carnegie Hall and the From Spirituals To Swing shows in New York.
In the mid 40's he managed to make some recordings with the rising star of jazz at that time, Charlie Parker. Clayton more than held his own. He went on to become a leading figure in the mainstream jazz scene of the 1950´s when he recorded and gigged prolifically.
Check out Clayton jamming with Dexter Gordon and Charlie Parker on the track Takin' Off
Jo Jones
Jo Jones' name has cropped up quite recently due to the massive success of the film "Whiplash". In it one of the main protagonists tells the story of how a young Charlie Parker had a cymbal thrown at him during a jam session by Jones for simply not being up to scratch. Parker subsequently began a period of obsessive practicing before appearing on stage again. While this apocryphal tale suited the narrative of the bullying teacher for the film it never quite happened like that. Jones however did "gong" Parker, an act of throwing down the cymbal at someone's feet. Ultimately they were jazz worlds apart. Jones, one of the main proponents of the "All-American Rhythm" that propelled the Count Basie band and Parker, who would steer away from the notes on the page to establish bebop as the driving force of jazz in the 1940s.
Jones was pretty much one of the inventors of swing jazz drumming, up there with Chick Webb and Gene Krupa in establishing the instrument as the backbone of any jazz orchestra. The four-four glide on the ride cymbal that is the pulse of swing jazz was invented by these guys. They were true innovators in that the instrument that they played did not physically exist 10 years before. Jones was to differ from Krupa's bombastic bass notes and would often omit the bass drum in favour of a ride rhythm on the high hat while it was continuously opening and closing.
Jones was to earn his stripes playing with the Walter Page's Blue Devils in the late 1920's. He was present for Basie's very first recordings in 1936 and stayed with the band until 1948. He was an ever present in a plethora of recordings in the 1950's due to his association with Norman Granz's Verve label. A true artist on the drums.
Herschel Evans
Count Basie employed two tenor saxophonists. In one corner was Lester Young whose sound would be emulated by all and sundry in the following decades. In the other corner was Herschel Evans one of the earliest "tough Texas tenors" whose sound and style could not be more different. Yet the two complimented each other superbly and brought a freshness and verve to the early Basie recordings.
Tragically Evans' career was all too brief. He died in 1939 at the young age of 29. As with some of his contemporaries we can only wonder at the direction his musical career would have taken.
Jimmy Rushing
John Hammond introduced him to stage with tongue firmly in cheek as "Little" Jimmy Rushing in Newport in 1957. His actual nickname was Big 'Un
Count Basie needed a blues shouter to augment the big sound emanating from his orchestra. The man who provided that sound was Jimmy Rushing who was in the band from the beginning right through to 1948. As with many others he cut his teeth with The Blue Devils and later with Bennie Moten's band in the late 20's/early 30's. Songs like Pennies From Heaven, Boogie Woogie and Sent For You Yesterday exemplify Rushing's sound on the early Basie records.
For me his influence lay in the fact that he was unique. Taking his jazz queue from the vocals of Louis Armstrong he brought a powerful subtlety to the songs that he sang. You couldn't label him as a blues shouter (indeed he considered himself a ballad singer.) He could probably sing anything such were his vocal talents.
Freddie Greene
The guitar as a solo instrument really began to blossom in the mid 1930's with the advent of amplification and the Gibson ES-150 model becoming popular among jazz musicians post 1936. It was the era of Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian who tried to emulate the saxophone and trumpet solos that dominated jazz music up to that time. So it is perhaps all the more remarkable that one of the most popular guitarists of the era was Freddie Greene. He never opted for a solo. His raison d'etre was to augment the rhythm of the band, hence his place firmly among the All-American rhythm section of the Basie orchestra was established from the time he joined in 1937. He was even to say that "You should never hear the guitar by itself. It should be part of the drums so it sounds like the drummer is playing chords—like the snare is in A or the hi-hat in D minor".
He remained with the Basie band for over 50 years.
Here's a 1962 called The Elder. It has all the ingredients; Basie piano, walking bass, riffs, bombastic drums and wailing trumpet. But check out a beautifully rare Green rhythm solo halfway through.
Walter Page
The final piece of the All-American Rhythm jigsaw. Page had established himself well enough in the 1920's that he was the boss of one of the most innovate bands of the time, The Blue Devils. The band consisted of at one time or another Jimmy Rushing, Count Basie, Hot Lips Page and later Lester Young. After Bennie Moten lured Count Basie to his band the writing was on the wall for Page as a band leader. He eventually joined Moten's Kansas City Orchestra which went on to become Basie's big band after Moten passed away in the mid 30's.
Page will forever be associated with the incredible chemistry that he developed with Jo Jones and Freddie Greene, especially on those early Basie tunes. He is also credited with inventing or at least innovating the "walking" bass style that would become synonymous with swing jazz in the late 30's. Along with Wellman Braud and later Jimmy Blanton he was one of the key figures in establishing the bass as harmonic as well as a rhythmic instrument.
Check him out on Pagin' The Devil a song that he recorded with the Kansas City Six in 1938. The musicians on this track include Lester Young, Eddie Durham, Freddie Greene, Jo Jones and Buck Clayton.
Trumpet player Buck Clayton hooked up with Count Basie's band in late 1936 after dropping in on them in the Reno Club in Kansas City. However he had enjoyed a lot of success prior to joining the orchestra at this time. A native of Kansas he had toured around the south in the late 1920's getting into various scrapes with the locals before heading out to California in in the early 1930's. It was here that he had a chance encounter with Louis Armstrong. Clayton endeavoured to study Armstrong's technique after seeing him play at Frank Sebastian's Cotton Club.
At this time Clayton was to make a remarkable career move by moving to Shanghai. He ended up staying there for two years playing at the luxurious Canidrome for high society types including Chiang Kai-shek's wife who was a regular at the club.
Success with the Basie band lasted right through to 1943 when he was inducted into the army. During this time Clayton recorded on many of the big hits including One O'Clock Jump. He was also heavily involved in the celebrated recordings in 1937 with Billie Holiday and Lester Young, played at the Benny Goodman show at Carnegie Hall and the From Spirituals To Swing shows in New York.
In the mid 40's he managed to make some recordings with the rising star of jazz at that time, Charlie Parker. Clayton more than held his own. He went on to become a leading figure in the mainstream jazz scene of the 1950´s when he recorded and gigged prolifically.
Check out Clayton jamming with Dexter Gordon and Charlie Parker on the track Takin' Off
Jo Jones
Jo Jones' name has cropped up quite recently due to the massive success of the film "Whiplash". In it one of the main protagonists tells the story of how a young Charlie Parker had a cymbal thrown at him during a jam session by Jones for simply not being up to scratch. Parker subsequently began a period of obsessive practicing before appearing on stage again. While this apocryphal tale suited the narrative of the bullying teacher for the film it never quite happened like that. Jones however did "gong" Parker, an act of throwing down the cymbal at someone's feet. Ultimately they were jazz worlds apart. Jones, one of the main proponents of the "All-American Rhythm" that propelled the Count Basie band and Parker, who would steer away from the notes on the page to establish bebop as the driving force of jazz in the 1940s.
Jones was pretty much one of the inventors of swing jazz drumming, up there with Chick Webb and Gene Krupa in establishing the instrument as the backbone of any jazz orchestra. The four-four glide on the ride cymbal that is the pulse of swing jazz was invented by these guys. They were true innovators in that the instrument that they played did not physically exist 10 years before. Jones was to differ from Krupa's bombastic bass notes and would often omit the bass drum in favour of a ride rhythm on the high hat while it was continuously opening and closing.
Jones was to earn his stripes playing with the Walter Page's Blue Devils in the late 1920's. He was present for Basie's very first recordings in 1936 and stayed with the band until 1948. He was an ever present in a plethora of recordings in the 1950's due to his association with Norman Granz's Verve label. A true artist on the drums.
Herschel Evans
Count Basie employed two tenor saxophonists. In one corner was Lester Young whose sound would be emulated by all and sundry in the following decades. In the other corner was Herschel Evans one of the earliest "tough Texas tenors" whose sound and style could not be more different. Yet the two complimented each other superbly and brought a freshness and verve to the early Basie recordings.
Tragically Evans' career was all too brief. He died in 1939 at the young age of 29. As with some of his contemporaries we can only wonder at the direction his musical career would have taken.
Jimmy Rushing
John Hammond introduced him to stage with tongue firmly in cheek as "Little" Jimmy Rushing in Newport in 1957. His actual nickname was Big 'Un
Count Basie needed a blues shouter to augment the big sound emanating from his orchestra. The man who provided that sound was Jimmy Rushing who was in the band from the beginning right through to 1948. As with many others he cut his teeth with The Blue Devils and later with Bennie Moten's band in the late 20's/early 30's. Songs like Pennies From Heaven, Boogie Woogie and Sent For You Yesterday exemplify Rushing's sound on the early Basie records.
For me his influence lay in the fact that he was unique. Taking his jazz queue from the vocals of Louis Armstrong he brought a powerful subtlety to the songs that he sang. You couldn't label him as a blues shouter (indeed he considered himself a ballad singer.) He could probably sing anything such were his vocal talents.
Freddie Greene
The guitar as a solo instrument really began to blossom in the mid 1930's with the advent of amplification and the Gibson ES-150 model becoming popular among jazz musicians post 1936. It was the era of Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian who tried to emulate the saxophone and trumpet solos that dominated jazz music up to that time. So it is perhaps all the more remarkable that one of the most popular guitarists of the era was Freddie Greene. He never opted for a solo. His raison d'etre was to augment the rhythm of the band, hence his place firmly among the All-American rhythm section of the Basie orchestra was established from the time he joined in 1937. He was even to say that "You should never hear the guitar by itself. It should be part of the drums so it sounds like the drummer is playing chords—like the snare is in A or the hi-hat in D minor".
He remained with the Basie band for over 50 years.
Here's a 1962 called The Elder. It has all the ingredients; Basie piano, walking bass, riffs, bombastic drums and wailing trumpet. But check out a beautifully rare Green rhythm solo halfway through.
Walter Page
The final piece of the All-American Rhythm jigsaw. Page had established himself well enough in the 1920's that he was the boss of one of the most innovate bands of the time, The Blue Devils. The band consisted of at one time or another Jimmy Rushing, Count Basie, Hot Lips Page and later Lester Young. After Bennie Moten lured Count Basie to his band the writing was on the wall for Page as a band leader. He eventually joined Moten's Kansas City Orchestra which went on to become Basie's big band after Moten passed away in the mid 30's.
Page will forever be associated with the incredible chemistry that he developed with Jo Jones and Freddie Greene, especially on those early Basie tunes. He is also credited with inventing or at least innovating the "walking" bass style that would become synonymous with swing jazz in the late 30's. Along with Wellman Braud and later Jimmy Blanton he was one of the key figures in establishing the bass as harmonic as well as a rhythmic instrument.
Check him out on Pagin' The Devil a song that he recorded with the Kansas City Six in 1938. The musicians on this track include Lester Young, Eddie Durham, Freddie Greene, Jo Jones and Buck Clayton.
Monday, 24 November 2014
Duke Ellington's Sidemen
Cootie Williams
Cootie Williams was the guy who had the dubious honour of replacing Bubber Miley in the late 20's. However he was no newcomer having earned his chops by playing with such luminaries as James P Johnson, Chick Webb and Fletcher Henderson. Williams continued the "jungle" style playing that Miley and the late 1920's were renowned for. He was to become one of the most sought after trumpet players in the following two decades recording with Ellington in the 1930's and also leading his own sessions. He sensationally left Ellington's orchestra to join up with Benny Goodman and established himself in the latter's sextet.
He became a bandleader in the 1940's, no mean feat considering the logistics and costs involved especially as swing was on the wane. Yet he managed to employ musicians who would become some of the most legendary names in jazz - Eddie Vinson, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Bud Powell and even Charlie Parker. It was around this time that he co-authored Round Midnight with an up-and-coming Thelonious Monk. The 1950's were not kind to Williams professionally but he did return to Ellington's orchestra in 1962 where he remained until Ellington's death.
Williams was an exceptional musician and trumpeter. He was renowned for his exquisite use of the plunger mute and phasing. Yet he could sound extraordinarily bluesy and soulful as well. Check out "Concerto For Cootie" a song that exemplifies all his attributes.
Jimmy Blanton
Any bass player who takes up a solo in a jazz band today has to thank Jimmy Blanton. While it was Walter Page who put the walk into the Basie rhythm it was Blanton (and his contemporary, Slam Stewart) who put the flair. Blanton employed the use of "pizzicato", a very common technique in today's jazz world but positively revolutionary when Blanton joined Ellington's orchestra in 1939, just shortly before Ben Webster. Many regard the Blanton-Webster period of Ellington's career as a particular golden age.
His career was to be appallingly short as he was to contract tuberculosis and pass away in 1942. His legacy was in his becoming known as "The Godfather Of Bebop" yet one can only wonder how his career would have been shaped in happier circumstances.
Have a listen to Pitter Panther Patter and see exactly what I mean.
Rex Stewart
Cornet player Rex Stewart had been around the jazz scene for quite a while before joining Ellington's orchestra in 1934. He was probably best known for his work with Elmer Snowden and in the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in the mid 20's. He was to feature prominently in his eleven year stint with Ellington including writing the sublime Morning Glory.
Johnny Hodges
Probably one of the most famous names in jazz to come from Ellington's orchestra. When it came to alto saxophone there were few better. Ellington played up his smooth vibrato-heavy tone in the compositions that he wrote for Hodges. (No surprise in the fact that he was a massive fan of Bechet). He joined the band in the late 1920's and was its leading soloist by the mid 1930's. He could play the blues with the best of them but perhaps it was the ballads that Ellington wrote for him that would become Hodges bread and butter in his later career. (Check out Warm Valley from 1940 as case in point). He left Ellington's big band in 1951 to pursue a solo career and made some wonderful recordings with Norman Granz. He eventually returned to the orchestra in the mid 50's and remained there until his death in 1970.
Harry Carney
Harry Carney was more than just the baritone saxophonist of the Duke Ellington Orchestra (although he was one of the earliest exponents of the instrument). He was its longest serving member joining as a 17 year old in 1927 right through to Ellington's death in 1974. He was also a friend and confidante to the Duke with the two of them riding to shows in Carney's Imperial car. These moments provided the relaxed ambience for Ellington to compose some of his most memorable songs. He was a master of the clarinet but it was with the rather unwieldy baritone that he was to make his name. He was one of the first musicians to employ the technique of circular breathing which enabled him to hold long indefinite notes to embellish his solos.
Here's Sepia Panorama from the Blanton - Webster era which is a great example of Ellington's sound at this time and showcases Carney, Ellington and Blanton.
Sonny Greer
Barney Bigard
Bigard was the New Orleans connection in Ellington's orchestra. He learned his trade at the feet of Lorenzo Tio and after moving to Chicago he played tenor saxophone with some heavy hitters in the mid 20's including Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Johnny Dodds and Jelly Roll Morton before switching to clarinet. From the time he joined Ellington in 1927 to his leaving in 1942 he established himself as one of the finest exponents of the instrument. He also had a hand in co-writing one of Ellington's most famous pieces, Mood Indigo.
Tricky Sam Nanton
Along with Bubber Miley in the 1920's, Sam Nanton was the man that gave the Ellington Orchestra its dirty, growly edge that set it apart from the early competition. While King Oliver and Miley gave the musical world the wa-wa, Nanton gave us the ya-ya, an effect that made his instrument sound uncannily like a human voice. While such effects could prove gimmicky in the wrong hands this was never the case with Nanton who possessed the most powerful technique and proficiency.
Check him out on one of Ellington's finest songs from the late 1920´s, Black And Tan Fantasy
Cootie Williams was the guy who had the dubious honour of replacing Bubber Miley in the late 20's. However he was no newcomer having earned his chops by playing with such luminaries as James P Johnson, Chick Webb and Fletcher Henderson. Williams continued the "jungle" style playing that Miley and the late 1920's were renowned for. He was to become one of the most sought after trumpet players in the following two decades recording with Ellington in the 1930's and also leading his own sessions. He sensationally left Ellington's orchestra to join up with Benny Goodman and established himself in the latter's sextet.
He became a bandleader in the 1940's, no mean feat considering the logistics and costs involved especially as swing was on the wane. Yet he managed to employ musicians who would become some of the most legendary names in jazz - Eddie Vinson, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Bud Powell and even Charlie Parker. It was around this time that he co-authored Round Midnight with an up-and-coming Thelonious Monk. The 1950's were not kind to Williams professionally but he did return to Ellington's orchestra in 1962 where he remained until Ellington's death.
Williams was an exceptional musician and trumpeter. He was renowned for his exquisite use of the plunger mute and phasing. Yet he could sound extraordinarily bluesy and soulful as well. Check out "Concerto For Cootie" a song that exemplifies all his attributes.
Jimmy Blanton
Any bass player who takes up a solo in a jazz band today has to thank Jimmy Blanton. While it was Walter Page who put the walk into the Basie rhythm it was Blanton (and his contemporary, Slam Stewart) who put the flair. Blanton employed the use of "pizzicato", a very common technique in today's jazz world but positively revolutionary when Blanton joined Ellington's orchestra in 1939, just shortly before Ben Webster. Many regard the Blanton-Webster period of Ellington's career as a particular golden age.
His career was to be appallingly short as he was to contract tuberculosis and pass away in 1942. His legacy was in his becoming known as "The Godfather Of Bebop" yet one can only wonder how his career would have been shaped in happier circumstances.
Have a listen to Pitter Panther Patter and see exactly what I mean.
Rex Stewart
Cornet player Rex Stewart had been around the jazz scene for quite a while before joining Ellington's orchestra in 1934. He was probably best known for his work with Elmer Snowden and in the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in the mid 20's. He was to feature prominently in his eleven year stint with Ellington including writing the sublime Morning Glory.
Johnny Hodges
Probably one of the most famous names in jazz to come from Ellington's orchestra. When it came to alto saxophone there were few better. Ellington played up his smooth vibrato-heavy tone in the compositions that he wrote for Hodges. (No surprise in the fact that he was a massive fan of Bechet). He joined the band in the late 1920's and was its leading soloist by the mid 1930's. He could play the blues with the best of them but perhaps it was the ballads that Ellington wrote for him that would become Hodges bread and butter in his later career. (Check out Warm Valley from 1940 as case in point). He left Ellington's big band in 1951 to pursue a solo career and made some wonderful recordings with Norman Granz. He eventually returned to the orchestra in the mid 50's and remained there until his death in 1970.
Harry Carney
Harry Carney was more than just the baritone saxophonist of the Duke Ellington Orchestra (although he was one of the earliest exponents of the instrument). He was its longest serving member joining as a 17 year old in 1927 right through to Ellington's death in 1974. He was also a friend and confidante to the Duke with the two of them riding to shows in Carney's Imperial car. These moments provided the relaxed ambience for Ellington to compose some of his most memorable songs. He was a master of the clarinet but it was with the rather unwieldy baritone that he was to make his name. He was one of the first musicians to employ the technique of circular breathing which enabled him to hold long indefinite notes to embellish his solos.
Here's Sepia Panorama from the Blanton - Webster era which is a great example of Ellington's sound at this time and showcases Carney, Ellington and Blanton.
Sonny Greer
Sonny Greet first met Duke Ellington as far back as 1919 and was his first drummer when he began The Washingtonians in 1924. He was to remain in the band for almost 30 years. So when you're listening to the drums on any Ellington classic from the 20's, 30's or 40's, you're listening to Sonny Greer.
Ellington wrote of Greer in his autobiography, Music Is My Mistress, ''When he heard a ping, he responded with the most apropos pong. Any tune he was backing up had the benefit of rhythmic ornamentation that was sometimes unbelievable. And he used to look like a high priest or a king on a throne, 'way up above everybody, with all his gold accessories around him, all there was room for on the stand!''
Not only was he the drummer in those difficult early days but he was also its source of income due to his prowess on the pool table. He provided the "eating and walking around money" that they needed until they began to hit the big time.
Barney Bigard
Bigard was the New Orleans connection in Ellington's orchestra. He learned his trade at the feet of Lorenzo Tio and after moving to Chicago he played tenor saxophone with some heavy hitters in the mid 20's including Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Johnny Dodds and Jelly Roll Morton before switching to clarinet. From the time he joined Ellington in 1927 to his leaving in 1942 he established himself as one of the finest exponents of the instrument. He also had a hand in co-writing one of Ellington's most famous pieces, Mood Indigo.
Tricky Sam Nanton
Along with Bubber Miley in the 1920's, Sam Nanton was the man that gave the Ellington Orchestra its dirty, growly edge that set it apart from the early competition. While King Oliver and Miley gave the musical world the wa-wa, Nanton gave us the ya-ya, an effect that made his instrument sound uncannily like a human voice. While such effects could prove gimmicky in the wrong hands this was never the case with Nanton who possessed the most powerful technique and proficiency.
Check him out on one of Ellington's finest songs from the late 1920´s, Black And Tan Fantasy
Thursday, 17 July 2014
Billie Holiday
Behind me, Billie was on her last song. I picked up the refrain, humming a few bars. Her voice sounded different to me now. Beneath the layers of hurt, beneath the ragged laughter, I heard a willingness to endure. Endure- and make music that wasn't there before. Barack Obama
My first exposure to Billie Holiday's music was probably through a quite memorable car advertisement than ran back in the early 90s. So distinctive was her voice that I can still conjure up the advertisement in question. (Some kudos then to the ad men but unfortunately for them I couldn't remember the brand!) One can only imagine the impact her voice had on ears of the listeners who first heard her back in the 1930s..
Her early life was, to say the least, chaotic and full of serious adversity. After a few years trying her luck in various clubs in New York in the late 20s and early 30s she was picked up by John Hammond and began her recording career with Benny Goodman. Her first recordings were fairly unremarkable but she eventually began to find her own distinct style and phrasing, the like of which had not been heard before. Goodman himself was to remark, "she was the first girl singer I'd come across who actually sang like an improvising jazz genius". Her first real hit was the song What A Little Moonlight Can Do recorded with Teddy Wilson's Orchestra. With accompaniment by Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Cozy Cole and Goodman it is real gem.
It was at this time that she began her musical association with Lester Young who was to give her her lasting moniker "Lady Day". (Not to be outdone she called him "Prez".). This Year's Kisses is a fantastic example of the type of recordings the two were to make together at the end of the 30s.
It was around this time that she was to record the haunting track Strange Fruit. Originally written as a poem by Abel Meeropol, it was a favourite at the integrated nightclub, Cafe Society in New York. A song about southern lynchings it is an ominously dark song that perfectly suited Holiday´s delivery.
Her star continued to ascend in the 1940's with a number of instantly recognisable hits. However her life was taking the opposite turn. She had frequent run-ins with the law and her drug habit was spiralling out of control. As was her voice. Some find her last recordings to be remarkably inferior to her earlier work. Others can find a lot of soul and heartfelt emotion in her scratchy delivery. Her final album Lady In Satin, released in 1957, divides such opinon and is a controversial work.
One of her most famous appearances was in the CBS special The Sound Of Jazz from 1957. Here is a simply stunning performance of Fine And Mellow with accompaniment from none other than Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster; Gerry Mulligan, Vic Dickenson, Roy Eldridge and of course Lester Young. (Lester is the one sitting during this performance but he stands to give his solo. The way that Holiday looks at him would melt the the stoniest of hearts. All the more poignant as both were to pass away within two years of the recording.)
Monday, 31 March 2014
Charlie Christian
"Who the hell wants to hear an electric guitar player?"
Benny Goodman
This quote came from the 1930´s when John Hammond suggested to Goodman that he give an audition to Charlie Christian. It´s a stark reminder that the instrument, which was to become synonomous with popular music in the latter half of the twentieth century, was held in such little regard by the man who defined popular music in the 1930´s having been dubbed "The King Of Swing". Yet Christian auditioned successfully and became an integral part of Goodman´s orchestra. In time, he was to be crowned one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all time.
The first time I listened to Charlie Christian was when I was about 14 years old. Having been a huge fan of Chuck Berry my interest was piqued when he was asked about his musical influences. He proceeded to name check T-Bone Walker and Charlie Christian. As I was primarily interested in learning rock and blues I ate up T-Bone´s music and licks voraciously (forgive the pun). Charlie Christian was a tougher nut to crack though. I managed to get my hands on the album "The Genius Of The Electric Guitar" from my local library. I´ll be honest and say that my 14 year old self was a little disappointed. The majority of the tracks were three minute songs from the Benny Goodman Sextet recordings in which Christian was given a limited time to show his abilities. Too many clarinets and trumpets for me at that time!
Now older and perhaps a little wiser I can approach Charlie Christian´s music within a broader context. He was a pivotal figure in the world of jazz being one of the musicians who straddled the two worlds of swing and bebop. By day he was recording with Benny Goodman and established swing artists like Cootie Williams and Lionel Hampton. By night he immersed himself in the world of after-hours jam sessions in Harlem at places like Minton´s Playhouse. He wasn´t the first jazz guitarist to play the electric guitar but, being heavily influenced by the sound of Lester Young´s saxophone, he was the first to give it its distinctive voice that was to prevail in practically every jazz record that employed a guitar for the next thirty years.
All of this is even more remarkable when you consider the brevity of his career. He was born in Texas in 1916 and by the early thirties he was establishing a name for himself on the Oklahoma circuit (even striking up a friendship with previously mentioned T-Bone Walker). He acquired his first electric guitar around 1937 (a Gibson ES-150) and came to the notice of producer and promoter, John Hammond, who also happened to be Benny Goodman´s brother-in-law. After a nervy audition Christian´s star soared over the next couple of years.
Check out Solo Flight as an example of Christian´s work with Goodman. He wanted his guitar to sound more like a horn, hence the reason that he doesn´t really sound like Django Reinhardt or Eddie Lang, more like his hero Lester Young.
But as the world was hurtling toward its second global conflict, jazz was to experience an important musical schism. Christian was part of a group of musicians that were experimenting with a looser more dynamic style that was to become bebop. There are some great recordings that demonstrate this dating back as far as 1939 when he was touring with Goodman (Blues In B and Waiting For Benny are great examples). Yet it is the amateur recordings made when Christian was jamming at the after-hours clubs in Harlem that really show the direction of the music. Jerry Newman, a student from Columbia University and a Benny Goodman nut, managed to bring a recorder into Minton´s Playhouse in 1941 and captured a free wheeling Charlie Christian in full flow. Topsy was one of the results. (Check out Kenny Clarke´s sublime bebop drumming as well)
Yet less than one year later Charlie would sadly have succumbed to tuberculosis. The musical baton was to be picked up by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker. Any guitar player to emerge post 1941 would be influenced by him. This also included guitarists outside of the jazz sphere including BB King, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix and beyond.
Benny Goodman
This quote came from the 1930´s when John Hammond suggested to Goodman that he give an audition to Charlie Christian. It´s a stark reminder that the instrument, which was to become synonomous with popular music in the latter half of the twentieth century, was held in such little regard by the man who defined popular music in the 1930´s having been dubbed "The King Of Swing". Yet Christian auditioned successfully and became an integral part of Goodman´s orchestra. In time, he was to be crowned one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all time.
The first time I listened to Charlie Christian was when I was about 14 years old. Having been a huge fan of Chuck Berry my interest was piqued when he was asked about his musical influences. He proceeded to name check T-Bone Walker and Charlie Christian. As I was primarily interested in learning rock and blues I ate up T-Bone´s music and licks voraciously (forgive the pun). Charlie Christian was a tougher nut to crack though. I managed to get my hands on the album "The Genius Of The Electric Guitar" from my local library. I´ll be honest and say that my 14 year old self was a little disappointed. The majority of the tracks were three minute songs from the Benny Goodman Sextet recordings in which Christian was given a limited time to show his abilities. Too many clarinets and trumpets for me at that time!
Now older and perhaps a little wiser I can approach Charlie Christian´s music within a broader context. He was a pivotal figure in the world of jazz being one of the musicians who straddled the two worlds of swing and bebop. By day he was recording with Benny Goodman and established swing artists like Cootie Williams and Lionel Hampton. By night he immersed himself in the world of after-hours jam sessions in Harlem at places like Minton´s Playhouse. He wasn´t the first jazz guitarist to play the electric guitar but, being heavily influenced by the sound of Lester Young´s saxophone, he was the first to give it its distinctive voice that was to prevail in practically every jazz record that employed a guitar for the next thirty years.
All of this is even more remarkable when you consider the brevity of his career. He was born in Texas in 1916 and by the early thirties he was establishing a name for himself on the Oklahoma circuit (even striking up a friendship with previously mentioned T-Bone Walker). He acquired his first electric guitar around 1937 (a Gibson ES-150) and came to the notice of producer and promoter, John Hammond, who also happened to be Benny Goodman´s brother-in-law. After a nervy audition Christian´s star soared over the next couple of years.
Check out Solo Flight as an example of Christian´s work with Goodman. He wanted his guitar to sound more like a horn, hence the reason that he doesn´t really sound like Django Reinhardt or Eddie Lang, more like his hero Lester Young.
But as the world was hurtling toward its second global conflict, jazz was to experience an important musical schism. Christian was part of a group of musicians that were experimenting with a looser more dynamic style that was to become bebop. There are some great recordings that demonstrate this dating back as far as 1939 when he was touring with Goodman (Blues In B and Waiting For Benny are great examples). Yet it is the amateur recordings made when Christian was jamming at the after-hours clubs in Harlem that really show the direction of the music. Jerry Newman, a student from Columbia University and a Benny Goodman nut, managed to bring a recorder into Minton´s Playhouse in 1941 and captured a free wheeling Charlie Christian in full flow. Topsy was one of the results. (Check out Kenny Clarke´s sublime bebop drumming as well)
Yet less than one year later Charlie would sadly have succumbed to tuberculosis. The musical baton was to be picked up by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker. Any guitar player to emerge post 1941 would be influenced by him. This also included guitarists outside of the jazz sphere including BB King, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix and beyond.
Sunday, 26 January 2014
Django Reinhardt
"By far the most astonishing guitar player ever has got to be Django Reinhardt. I'm sort of a newcomer to his work, although I was always aware of him. Django was quite superhuman. There's nothing normal about him, as a person or a player." Jeff Beck
There comes a time when every learner of the guitar makes a decision, consciously or not, to continue to pursue an interest in the instrument or put it down. The former will push themselves to learn more chords and will endeavour to learn some basic lead licks. My interest, like I am sure of many other guitarists, also led me to buy guitar magazines and to receive some nice hardback books as Christmas presents. Any of these books that chronicled the history of the guitar or its major players would include all the usual suspects. The early chapters would inevitably feature two of the early pioneers of lead guitar - Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt. As a young teenager fairly uninterested in jazz I probably would have skipped these over and focused on the biographies and discographies of my early guitar heroes who were all famous post 1956 rock n roll. Therefore like Jeff Beck and I´m sure many others, I was always aware of Django Reinhardt. Yet it is only now that I am sitting down and really listening to his music with a taste for the jazz and social history that surrounds this fascinating character. I guess I´m a sort of a newcomer as well.
Django was the first big European jazz star. He was born in a gypsy caravan in Belgium but spent most of his life living in France hence some confusion as to his nationality. He began as a banjo player and was beginning to earn a name for himself in the mid to late 1920´s. The turning point in his life occurred in 1928 when he became very badly injured in a fire at his caravan home. His injuries were severe enough for one doctor to suggest amputating a leg. Thankfully Reinhardt refused. His recuperation proved to be long and many thought that the injuries received to his left hand would mean the end of his musical career. A bedridden Django would eventually develop a new technique that involved him predominantly using his first and middle fingers only.
In the early 30´s he met Stéphane Grapelli and the two would go on to form the Quintette du Hot Club de France, named after the organisation that promoted jazz in France. Their music was clearly influenced by that of Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti yet Django´s musicianship takes the music to the next logical step especially given the influence that swing music was having on the world by 1935. The early recordings by the group are astounding. Any track would exemplify Django´s sound but for me Dinah is a particular favourite. The trills and runs are mindblowing.
Check out the stop-time fills and Van Halen-esque alternate picking in this version of Tiger Rag. (Django was basically the original shredder!)
He was in England when war was declared on Nazi Germany. Yet while Grappelli opted to remain Django, somewhat inexplicably and without warning, returned to Paris. Despite the Nazi´s public aversion to jazz and attitude to the gypsy populace, Django continued to play and to develop his style. After the war he embarked on a tour of the United States as a special guest soloist with The Duke Ellington Orchestra. He was a massive hit with the audiences but his lack of ability to communicate in English and his undoubted restlessness saw him back in France in 1947. He experimented with electric guitar and continued to record right up to his untimely death in 1953. His dalliances with the electric guitar and bebop influences have somewhat divided opinion, perhaps a precursor to what would happen to Bob Dylan twenty years later. Personally I can find no fault with any of Django´s later recordings. As is often the case of artists who refuse to sit still artistically he fell foul of those who did not want him to change. For me a track like Fleche D'or from 1952 blows the naysayers out of the water. It's so far ahead of its time and Django sounds great.
There comes a time when every learner of the guitar makes a decision, consciously or not, to continue to pursue an interest in the instrument or put it down. The former will push themselves to learn more chords and will endeavour to learn some basic lead licks. My interest, like I am sure of many other guitarists, also led me to buy guitar magazines and to receive some nice hardback books as Christmas presents. Any of these books that chronicled the history of the guitar or its major players would include all the usual suspects. The early chapters would inevitably feature two of the early pioneers of lead guitar - Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt. As a young teenager fairly uninterested in jazz I probably would have skipped these over and focused on the biographies and discographies of my early guitar heroes who were all famous post 1956 rock n roll. Therefore like Jeff Beck and I´m sure many others, I was always aware of Django Reinhardt. Yet it is only now that I am sitting down and really listening to his music with a taste for the jazz and social history that surrounds this fascinating character. I guess I´m a sort of a newcomer as well.
Django was the first big European jazz star. He was born in a gypsy caravan in Belgium but spent most of his life living in France hence some confusion as to his nationality. He began as a banjo player and was beginning to earn a name for himself in the mid to late 1920´s. The turning point in his life occurred in 1928 when he became very badly injured in a fire at his caravan home. His injuries were severe enough for one doctor to suggest amputating a leg. Thankfully Reinhardt refused. His recuperation proved to be long and many thought that the injuries received to his left hand would mean the end of his musical career. A bedridden Django would eventually develop a new technique that involved him predominantly using his first and middle fingers only.
In the early 30´s he met Stéphane Grapelli and the two would go on to form the Quintette du Hot Club de France, named after the organisation that promoted jazz in France. Their music was clearly influenced by that of Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti yet Django´s musicianship takes the music to the next logical step especially given the influence that swing music was having on the world by 1935. The early recordings by the group are astounding. Any track would exemplify Django´s sound but for me Dinah is a particular favourite. The trills and runs are mindblowing.
Check out the stop-time fills and Van Halen-esque alternate picking in this version of Tiger Rag. (Django was basically the original shredder!)
He was in England when war was declared on Nazi Germany. Yet while Grappelli opted to remain Django, somewhat inexplicably and without warning, returned to Paris. Despite the Nazi´s public aversion to jazz and attitude to the gypsy populace, Django continued to play and to develop his style. After the war he embarked on a tour of the United States as a special guest soloist with The Duke Ellington Orchestra. He was a massive hit with the audiences but his lack of ability to communicate in English and his undoubted restlessness saw him back in France in 1947. He experimented with electric guitar and continued to record right up to his untimely death in 1953. His dalliances with the electric guitar and bebop influences have somewhat divided opinion, perhaps a precursor to what would happen to Bob Dylan twenty years later. Personally I can find no fault with any of Django´s later recordings. As is often the case of artists who refuse to sit still artistically he fell foul of those who did not want him to change. For me a track like Fleche D'or from 1952 blows the naysayers out of the water. It's so far ahead of its time and Django sounds great.
Monday, 16 September 2013
Harry "Sweets" Edison
"I don't know why I'm named Sweets. Lester Young gave me that name. I don't know why I deserve the name. No-one knows but him" Harry "Sweets" Edison.
Whether Lester Young gave Harry Edison his moniker, possibly as a recognition of his disposition or the tone that he produced from his trumpet, the name is perfectly apt. Edison was by all accounts a man with a wry personality and a compendiary wit. The unique and identifiable sound that he got from his trumpet was in many ways a reflection of this personality. His playing was dictated by the maxim of, "It's not how many notes you play, it's how many you leave out."
Edison was an alumnus of the Count Basie Orchestra at its peak. He played with the band from 1938 to 1950 and was a disciple of the sound that was to be known as "Basie Economy". Like the leader of the band, he didn't need to play ten notes when one would suffice. Sweets had a very distinct, bluesy sound that other trumpeters would try and ultimately fail to imitate. His signature was a bluesy submachine gun-esque da dee da da da da da dee da. Yet being part of the Basie setup he understood the importance of how a jazz record had to swing. A fine example would be the song "Sweets" performed by the Basie Orchestra in 1949. Check out the interplay between Basie and Edison. (The fine tenor solo is provided by George Auld.)
After Basie broke up the orchestra in 1950 Edison relocated to the west coast and pretty much for the rest of his career became one of the most sought after session trumpeters in music. If you've ever heard a classic Frank Sinatra song from the mid 50's then you will have heard Sweets Edison. He worked with Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole and the aforementioned Sinatra to name a few. He knew how to accompany a vocalist in a tasteful, restrained manner, yet his muted sound added an unmistakeable signature to the song. Check out Billie Holiday's "What A Little Moonlight Can Do" as case in point.
I think Miles Davis summed it up perfectly when he said, "Music is about style. Like if I were to play with Frank Sinatra, I would play the way he sings., or do something complementary to the way he sings. But I wouldn't go and play with Frank Sinatra at breakneck speed... So, the way you play behind a singer is like the way Harry "Sweets" Edison did with Frank. When Frank stopped singing, then Harry played. A little before and a little afterwards, but not over him; you never play over a singer. You play between"
It has been such a joy in listening to the solo albums that Sweets made in the late 50's to early 60's. In my view his stripped down, sparse style can be compared in artistic terms with the works of Hemingway or Monet. He collaborated with a lot of big names in jazz and produced some fantastic albums. Whether it was swinging out, playing the blues or laying down a smoky ballad, Sweets could do it with aplomb. Here's Embraceable You from an album that he made with Ben Webster in 1962.
Whether Lester Young gave Harry Edison his moniker, possibly as a recognition of his disposition or the tone that he produced from his trumpet, the name is perfectly apt. Edison was by all accounts a man with a wry personality and a compendiary wit. The unique and identifiable sound that he got from his trumpet was in many ways a reflection of this personality. His playing was dictated by the maxim of, "It's not how many notes you play, it's how many you leave out."
Edison was an alumnus of the Count Basie Orchestra at its peak. He played with the band from 1938 to 1950 and was a disciple of the sound that was to be known as "Basie Economy". Like the leader of the band, he didn't need to play ten notes when one would suffice. Sweets had a very distinct, bluesy sound that other trumpeters would try and ultimately fail to imitate. His signature was a bluesy submachine gun-esque da dee da da da da da dee da. Yet being part of the Basie setup he understood the importance of how a jazz record had to swing. A fine example would be the song "Sweets" performed by the Basie Orchestra in 1949. Check out the interplay between Basie and Edison. (The fine tenor solo is provided by George Auld.)
After Basie broke up the orchestra in 1950 Edison relocated to the west coast and pretty much for the rest of his career became one of the most sought after session trumpeters in music. If you've ever heard a classic Frank Sinatra song from the mid 50's then you will have heard Sweets Edison. He worked with Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole and the aforementioned Sinatra to name a few. He knew how to accompany a vocalist in a tasteful, restrained manner, yet his muted sound added an unmistakeable signature to the song. Check out Billie Holiday's "What A Little Moonlight Can Do" as case in point.
I think Miles Davis summed it up perfectly when he said, "Music is about style. Like if I were to play with Frank Sinatra, I would play the way he sings., or do something complementary to the way he sings. But I wouldn't go and play with Frank Sinatra at breakneck speed... So, the way you play behind a singer is like the way Harry "Sweets" Edison did with Frank. When Frank stopped singing, then Harry played. A little before and a little afterwards, but not over him; you never play over a singer. You play between"
It has been such a joy in listening to the solo albums that Sweets made in the late 50's to early 60's. In my view his stripped down, sparse style can be compared in artistic terms with the works of Hemingway or Monet. He collaborated with a lot of big names in jazz and produced some fantastic albums. Whether it was swinging out, playing the blues or laying down a smoky ballad, Sweets could do it with aplomb. Here's Embraceable You from an album that he made with Ben Webster in 1962.
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