What ever happened to Jymie Merritt?

[BillF]

Jymie Merritt gave me a lift home across Philadelphia in his people carrier, bass in the back. He is an over-cautious driver but a lovely bloke.

I have a feeling that Free Trade Hall concert was a BBC broadcast (and is archived somewhere), but this is just a feeling.

The 1966 Monk quartet performance at the same hall (seemingly an audience recording, came out on Tempo di Jazz in the 90s) - three odd weeks after Dylan was heckled there ('Judas!', 'I don't believe you', etc etc) - is an absolute stormer. Bill, were you at that one?

(It's on the site of the Peterloo massacre, of course).

No, I wasn't there for the famous Dylan heckling or for Monk in 1966. Mind you, FTH was a good place for heckling. I saw a group that included Benny Bailey, Roland Kirk and Philly Joe Jones. At the end of the first number, someone shouted "Can't hear anything but drums!" (FTH's acoustics were terrible and Philly was admittedly very loud.) Kirk moved to the microphone and said, "Can't hear nothing but drums? Man, I don't know what you're smoking, but you haven't smoked enough!"

Edited March 21, 2009 by BillF

[bluesoul]

Jymie Merritt turns 90 today.  Hope he is doing well. 

 

http://www.npr.org/event/music/473389032/jymie-merritt-the-beat-goes-deep

[fasstrack]

I recall hearing him at some Art Blakey event or other. Maybe it was part of the JVC Festival in NYC. '80s. Haven't seen hide nor hair of him since. Glad he's still around...

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

wow

[Hardbopjazz]

 Yes,  i'm glad to hear that he's  still around.   Played on so many great sessions.