Jump to content

Notable young sidemen in big bands in the 70s-80's


Rooster_Ties

Recommended Posts

In another thread just now , Free For All mentioned Bob Belden being in The Thundering Herd in the late 70's (AMG says he was with The Herd for 18 months).

And that reminded me that Tim Hagans was with Stan Kenton (1974-1977), and Woody Herman (1977) -- dates I snagged from the AMG (so if they're wrong, blame them).

So I'm wondering what other now important and/or now relatively famous players paid some of their early dues in various big bands in the 70's and 80's. Who's a big cheese now (or even just medium cheeses), who was toiling away in the last chair of their a section for a few years, and lucky to get one or two solos per night -- when they were fresh out of college, back in the day.

Discuss...

Edited by Rooster_Ties
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a start:

David Finck - Herman

Joe Lovano - Herman

Tom Harrell- Rich

Peter Erskine - Kenton

Jon Faddis - Thad & Mel

Pat La Barbra - Rich

Erskine also played w/Maynard between Kenton and Weather Report.

Harrell also played w/Woody's band.

Jeff Hamilton, John Riley, Joe LaBarbara w/Woody.

DEEP w/Woody and Maynard.

John Fedchock (Woody) is doing pretty well.

Alan Broadbent, Andy Laverne, Lyle Mays, Harold Danko(Woody)

Greg Herbert (Woody) R.I.P.

Dennis Dotson (Woody). Not a household name, but a hell of a player who lives I believe in Wheeler, TX

more to come..................

Edited by Free For All
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, this only qualifies by a nose, but John Medeski played in the Either/Orchestra for two or three years, starting in 1988. Yeah, that's really late in the 80's, and the Either/Orchestra isn't exactly your typical Big Band. Matt Wilson was in the E/O for a time too, but I don't think that was until 1990 or so.

Sidenote: Probably THE very first jazz group I ever saw perform live was the E/O, probably around 1990. No idea who I actually saw in the band that night, but there's a good chance that both Medeski and Wilson were in the group then.

I understand Wilson grew up in Knoxville, Illinois -- which was about five minutes away from where I first saw them -- in Galesburg, IL (where I went to college -- Knox College). It's in upstate IL, about halfway between Peoria IL, and the Quad Cities (Davenport IA, et al).

Hell of a band, hell of a band. Still is. Lot's of good players have passed through the E/O over the years. Every once in a while I notice a name somewhere that looks familiar, and when I pull up their AMG bio or the sideman dates, there's the E/O in the list.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you want to stretch the definition of "young" just a little and go in reverse, Waymon Reed & Fred Wesley both went from James Brown to Count Basie, although at different times.

And Shelley Carrol (GET THE LEANING HOUSE CD BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS!!!!) put in many years w/Mercer Ellington. In fact, he still does the Ellington thing when it happens, which isn't very often.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay: heres a few more:

Did you know at one time during the early mid/70s, Woodys rhythm section after the Broadbent /LaBarbara period was Lyle Mays, Marc Johnson and Steve Houghton ..

Mays was replaced by Pat Coil ..who went on to a career of studio work.. along with some jazz stints with Carmen McRae, Ernie Watts ..

A whole pile of Woody alums still live and work in the Dallas area: Pete Brewer,Larry Spencer, Ed Soph, Rodney Booth ..and of course, Hobart down in S Texas .. Tony Klatka was also there for a spell in the 80s

Jay Saunders at UNT and Dallas studio gigs was with Kenton during the Vax era ..

of course, Lou Marini and Bones Malone ( Blues Brothers, Letterman and SNL bands ) and Bob Belden are still busy in NYC

Oh yeh ..Both Pete Christlieb and myself did time with Si Zentner in the late 60s ( as well as other gigs )

:w:w

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I did'nt mention Barry Kiener because his career ended while on the road with Buddy's band in 1986.

Barry was my best friend and is sorely missed. A rare artist rememberd by all that he touched.

One of the true tests (my opinion) of the musical maturity of a musician is his/her ability to play a ballad and move a person to tears, as well as putting his/her own "stamp" on any tune for that matter. Listening to Barry, especially playing ballads still moves me to tears.

Marla

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Steve Coleman w/Mel Lewis.

That's an interesting one I hadn't expected.

Wonder if Osby ever did any big-band work in his early years??

Or any of the othe M-Base guys, while we're at it.

I interviewed Osby several years ago when he came to Bloomington. As a teenager he played with some 1970s soul-revue bands... now that's another topic in and of itself, I suppose. His description of his experience and what he got from it really put me in mind of the jazz musicians who played the R & B gutbucket circuit in the 1950s. Past 1980 or so, how available has this kind of schooling been to young musicians?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I interviewed Osby several years ago when he came to Bloomington. As a teenager he played with some 1970s soul-revue bands... now that's another topic in and of itself,

As is the influence of African-American collegiate marching bands on the styles/approaches of the horn sections of THOSE bands.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...