Degiorgio Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 OK - I have a handful of compositions by Cal Massey recorded by Lee Morgan & Archie Shepp - and they are all astonishingly beautiful. I have read about Massey in Ashley Kahn's 'A Love Supreme' but know very little else about this artist. Did he ever record a solo album? Who else did he write for? I can't find any kind of dedicated discography on the net... Kirk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 One date on his own for Candid. His playing is kinda weak technically, but very strong on ideaas and personality. Julius Watkins, Hugh Brodie, Patti Bown, Jimmy Garrison, & G.T. Hogan are the rest of the band. Worth checking out. The main performers of his material would be Lee Morgan & Archie Shepp, maybe Trane in the 50s. If there's others who regularly played his pieces, I can't think of them right now. I agree, a most interesting composer. Somebody should do a tribute album (or albums). There's plenty of meat there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Why not try Google? More raw data there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degiorgio Posted July 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 yeah in the process of Googling right now - there's an artist by the same name which makes trawling thru a little tough.. but I'm gonna try and track down other compositions... will check that Candid session for sure... KD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Fitzgerald Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Just go here: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/hardbop/Massey/Massey.html Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 There are two Cal Massey compositions on a 1962 Freddie Hubbard Blue Note date, released for the first time as part of a twofer LP, Here to Stay. I'm not sure if this has been on CD, but it was a rather good date, as I recall (with Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton, Reggie Workman and Philly Joe Jones), especially the two Massey compositions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcello Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Lee Morgan - These Are Soulful Days - written by Cal Massey, comes to mind. I knew that Massey had deep roots in Brooklyn and I came up with this: Brooklyn’s Jazz Renaissance by Robin D. G. Kelley April 2005 "During the 1960s and early 1970s, the late Cal Massey, an extraordinary composer and trumpeter, turned his Brooklyn home into a veritable community center. Besides writing explicitly revolutionary pieces like “The Black Liberation Suite,” Massey organized benefit concerts for the Black Panther Party that encouraged the full participation of the community, especially youth, by banning alcohol and providing free childcare." And with Archie Shepp..... "In 1969 he became associated with Cal Massey, playing his compositions and in 1972, a musical on which they collaborated, “Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy”, was performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 "What Would It Be Without You" is one of the most beautiful ballads of the last 50 or so years, imo. There's an instrumental version by Shepp on For Losers, a vocal rendition by (or two?) by Joe Lee Wilson, and what is for me the ultimate perfomance, by both Shepp & Wilson, on their collaboration on Marge(?), A Touch Of The Blues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degiorgio Posted July 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Here to Stay yeah - forgot about this.. I have it in single album format - with original intended for release artwork.. great album. Massey again does it for me! thx all - lots of good stuff... KD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degiorgio Posted July 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Just go here: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/hardbop/Massey/Massey.html Mike awesome! thx Mike... anybody know the Bill Hardman version of Assunta? The Freddie Hubbard version is great. I have the majority of the pre-80's stuff on here... don't have the Cedar Walton's or Houston Person though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalo Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 His son, Zane Massey, has recorded on Delmark. I have a disc by him called Brass Knuckles on which he plays two of his dad's compositions: "Message From Trane," and "Assunta." He's a pretty smoking tenorist, and the obvious candidate to record a tribute to his father. Paging Chuck Nessa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 (edited) I've been trying to get someone interested in doing a Massey retrospective for years. I may (finally) have a solid lead, so keep your fingers crossed. The wanadoo site is definitely the best inventory of his compositions; it's pretty much complete. Lou Donaldson told me (twice) that Massey is the real composer of 'My Little Suede Shoes', although someone else told me it's based on a French children's song. If Lou is correct, it's really a shame that Cal never got the credit for this oft-recorded piece - he would have lived a lot more comfortably. Hardman's version of 'Assunta' is OK, but Freddie's is a classic. Wayne's solo on this track is breathtaking. The Cal Massey playlist on my iPod has 24 tunes, which makes it one of the world's largest repositories of Massey compositions I still need to add some tracks. Bertrand. Edited July 22, 2005 by bertrand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Zane Massey also recorded with Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society. His son, Zane Massey, has recorded on Delmark. I have a disc by him called Brass Knuckles on which he plays two of his dad's compositions: "Message From Trane," and "Assunta." He's a pretty smoking tenorist, and the obvious candidate to record a tribute to his father. Paging Chuck Nessa. ← Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 (edited) Addendum: Actually, there are three pieces missing from the wanadoo list, which are three copyrights I found at the Library of Congress for what looks like three unrecorded pieces. I skimmed through them with a pianist friend of mine, and it does not look like they are known pieces with alternate titles. Two of them are in a folio and I don't have the titles handy (one was something like 'Taru Tune', but it is not the same song as 'Taru, What's Wrong With You'. I believe Taru is another son of Massey's). The third, called 'Come Let Me Love You By The Sea' was copyrighted at the same time as 'Soulful Days' and 'Nakatini', around the time Lee-Way was recorded. Michael Cuscuna told me he thought it might be an extra track from the Lee-Way session, but he never found a tape so he abandoned the idea; I also think he said the session logs do not mention an extra track. Was this piece rehearsed at the Lee-Way session, and not chosen for the record? Only Jackie and Rudy might know. Bertrand. Edited July 22, 2005 by bertrand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mailman Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 (edited) Lee Morgan - These Are Soulful Days - written by Cal Massey, comes to mind. I knew that Massey had deep roots in Brooklyn and I came up with this: Brooklyn’s Jazz Renaissance by Robin D. G. Kelley April 2005 "During the 1960s and early 1970s, the late Cal Massey, an extraordinary composer and trumpeter, turned his Brooklyn home into a veritable community center. Besides writing explicitly revolutionary pieces like “The Black Liberation Suite,” Massey organized benefit concerts for the Black Panther Party that encouraged the full participation of the community, especially youth, by banning alcohol and providing free childcare." And with Archie Shepp..... "In 1969 he became associated with Cal Massey, playing his compositions and in 1972, a musical on which they collaborated, “Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy”, was performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. " ← Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy was excellent. I can hardly believe that I saw that 33 llong years ago. The orchestra included players like Jimmy Heath. Clifford Jordan played Lester Young. It was an unforgettable evening. Edited July 23, 2005 by mailman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Zane Massey also recorded with Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society. His son, Zane Massey, has recorded on Delmark. I have a disc by him called Brass Knuckles on which he plays two of his dad's compositions: "Message From Trane," and "Assunta." He's a pretty smoking tenorist, and the obvious candidate to record a tribute to his father. Paging Chuck Nessa. ← ← Zane Massey also plays on a couple of cuts on Roy Campbell's New Kingdom (Delmark) CD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Fitzgerald Posted August 8, 2005 Report Share Posted August 8, 2005 Happened upon this mention in db 4/13/72 p.41 - Cal Massey continues to be haunted by bad luck; now it's his daughter Singh, who needs corrective surgery for a crooked spine. The trumpeter-composer ran a benefit Feb. 23 at the Underground in Brooklyn which featured, among others, McCoy Tyner's quartet, Archie Shepp, the Heath Brothers, Joe Lee Wilson, Clifford Jordan, Charles Davis, Bill Hardman, Billy Higgins, Bill Lee, John Ore, Roland Alexander's quintet with Kiane Zawadi, Hilton Ruiz, Hakim Jami and Clifford Jarvis, and Massey's youngest daughter, Waheeda, backed by her father on piano, Jami, and Zahir Batin. Massey also presented his Jazz Review at the Apollo Feb. 18. Waheeda, 7, stopped the show, and other participants included son Zane Massey, tenor sax; Russ White, flute; Bob Ford, tenor, piano; John Stevenson, baritone; Jami and Batin. On Feb. 22, Massey performed at Danbury, Conn. State Prison with Shepp and Beaver Harris. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 Wonder whatever happened to Waheeda? Her vocal on "Quiet Dawn" really seemed to upset some people, if you know waht I mean, then and now, but hey, it's a 7 yr. old kid singing one tough tune, and I think she was absolutely charming. Cathy Rich she wasn't! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Late Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 This session is very much worth owning. Massey is no great technician on the trumpet, but his ideas are carefully executed — you can really hear him thinking. Hugh Brodie is also interesting on tenor. He plays under a strong Trane influence, but still somehow leaves you wanting to hear more. And Julius Watkins? Probably not one of his better sessions, but it was still an inspired choice to have him make the band a sextet. Patti Bown's playing a pretty badly out-of-tune piano, but, not unlike Monk, makes it sing anyway. I dig her minimalist approach on this record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted May 28, 2016 Report Share Posted May 28, 2016 Well, Zane Massey is reviving his father's music. He is posting clips from a record called Cal Massey Songbook by the Cosmic Surf Club. I assume he I the tenor on this. Come Let Me Love You by the Sea is one of tunes. Looks like it is an alternate title for Lookin' For Someone to Love, recorded by Shepp in 1975 on A Sea Of Faces. There was also a recording of Black Liberation Suite under the supervision of Fred Ho, a champion of Massey's music. There is a chapter on Massey is Ho's book Wicked Theory, Naked Practice. I have an artist ready to go a Massey concert as part of an ongoing series I am running at the Smithsonian. Could be a while until it happens, we have a huge backlog of proposals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danasgoodstuff Posted May 28, 2016 Report Share Posted May 28, 2016 Blue Note could do a fine playlist of Massey comp's for Spotify, as could Impulse, or maybe they have since I refuse to signup just to look at their lists. Always gets my attention if I see an album with a comp of his I haven't heard. Used to be a thing called 'composer's piano', Cal played 'composer's trumpet'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted December 31, 2017 Report Share Posted December 31, 2017 Update: The concert is happening on Thursday 1/18/18 5-7PM at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The leader is trumpeter Mike 'Bags' Davis, who played on those last two Mingus records. The rest of the band is Leo Maxey (trumpet), Brad Linde (tenor and bari), Harry Appelman (piano), Eliot Seppa (bass) and Jamieson Tobey (drums). FREE! Next month would be his 90th birthday, BTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgcim Posted December 31, 2017 Report Share Posted December 31, 2017 There are many versions of Quiet Dawn on you tube. One weird version is by some Italian guy named Niclola Conte, who is a DJ at swanky affairs and a record producer. He took the original version and re-mixed it so that it had a fast bossa nova beat for the entire song, omitting the swing bridge. Conte has another version with a good, live band (I don't know if he plays an instrument) playing it in concert. I like to cut the time in half and keep the swing B section. There was another song that came out around the same time that WRVR was playing QD that sounded like something that Massey might have written called, Good-Bye, New York. All I remember is that it had a few vocalists singing in complex, altered harmony. Does anyone know who did it? The lyrics had to do with going to Europe where things were better. I've searched for this, but all I get is some corny old show tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted January 2, 2018 Report Share Posted January 2, 2018 Rather ancient-at-this-point Night Lights show that I did about Cal Massey: Soulful Days: The Cal Massey Songbook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 Has anyone checked out the Cosmic Surf Club record? Sounds 'different' vibe-wise. I will buy a download. I got Fred Ho's book. Great article, but there are a few errors, most notably the claim that Lee Morgan played at a Massey-organized concert on 2/22/72. Bertrand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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