Black History Month and Jazz

[AllenLowe]

he'll be back on February 30 - at least that's what he told me.

[lesterperkins]

No worries, I'm here!

Dizzy Gillespie For President

Dizzy Gillespie wanted to change the course

of America so badly he actually ran

for President in 1964. Dizzy's campaign was run by

Jean and Ralph Gleason.

Here is Gillespie performing "Blues After Dark"

on Gleason's show Jazz Casual in 1961 with more

information on Gillespie's Presidential race below

the video.

http://jazzonthetube.com/videos/black-history-month/dizzy-gillespie-for-president.html

Rashaan Roland Kirk

Rashaan Roland Kirk was one of the most outspoken

Jazz musicians for social awareness throughout his

life.

Here's a performance of "I Say a Little Prayer" by

Kirk and his band in 1969, shortly after the assassination

of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and more information

about Rashaan and the Jazz and the People's Movement.

http://jazzonthetube.com/videos/black-history-month/rashaan-roland-kirk.html

[Brad]

I'm actually enjoying Lester's posts and I appreciate that he took the time to post them here.

I don't why a few posters feel the need to poke fun at him.

[clifford_thornton]

It is better by far than the photo of a hill of beans at my work, with the caption "Celebrate Black History Month."

[AllenLowe]

"I don't why a few posters feel the need to poke fun at him."

well, the posts are a little mechanical - and I gotta admit that I'm bothered by the fact that they seem pre-digested, lifted from other sources and not original

[Brad]

Whether they are or not, why do you care. Just don't bother to post. I'm sure you have more important things to do.

[Dan Gould]

The reason is right there at the top of the page:

The Best Jazz Discussion Forum on the Web

Its precisely why I suggested posting on a blog if he doesn't wish to even acknowledge what others are saying or asking about his posts. Discussion implies a conversation, not a monologue - which is more in keeping with the purpose of a blog.

[Brad]

This Forum is also a place for posting information, not all of which involves the need for extended discussion. I just don't get you guys: if you don't like what he's saying, why bother to belittle him. It's beyond me.

[AllenLowe]

well, if we want to get more deeply into this, I will explain my position.

The more time I spend researching and writing about music, the more I see what I we would call "received ideas," things which are said once, often in error or with lesser accuracy, but which then receive currency by the power of repetiton - one person says them, and then another, and then another, until they achieve the power of fact or cultural relevance. The problem is that, once one spends a lot of time with these forms and sounds, one realizes that so much of what has been said is merely hearsay, based on second-hand or legend or myth, or whatever else. Listening for one's self then becomes imperative: read some books of primary sources, listen to the recordings, and it will all tend to lead you to challenge the conventional wisdom. So I get a bit weary of the citing of sources that are 2nd and third hand - aside from the issue of intellectual property and crediting the work of others, it usually just means mention of the same cliches and worn out ideas.

So I feel it is worth noting when these things occur. Lester is quite sincere, I am sure, but can do better on his own, apart from sources that show me not that he's listened to the music but that he's read the remarks of other people who have listened.

Edited February 24, 2010 by AllenLowe

[Christiern]

It really does not matter where Lester gets his information, whether it is in his own words or those of others. What matters is that Lester is honoring Black History Month by posting information that surely is not already known to everyone on this board.

If anyone is bothered by it and cannot come up with a compelling reason why it does not belong on Organissimo (I am still waiting to hear that), I suggest that they state that reason or simply stop accessing this obviously pesky thread.

This nitpicking is both tiresome and unnecessary.

Go on, Lester, do your thing.

[AllenLowe]

well, I disagree - these are more than nits, they are really fundamental to the way one approaches history (and the way you, Chris, approach history). And I'm not saying that everyone has to do great in-depth research, or has to be a specialist, only that unattributed claims or historic citations don't really give us much.

[Brad]

What Lester has posted is not supposed to be historical research with citations but informational.

Now, here's the question: has anything he's posted been factually incorrect? If so, then a correction is warranted. If not, then this conversation seems to be over. If it's a matter of interpretation, again that's his interpretation.

If I were Lester or somebody else who wanted to post some information here, after getting the reception that he did, why would I bother. If that is the case, who is harmed? All of us, it would seem.

[jazztrain]

Chris, I think you need to at least acknowledge some of Allen's points. There is a difference between providing information and spreading misinformation, especially these days when material posted on line spreads like a virus and when misinformation soon becomes indistinguishable from fact.

What you seem to dismiss as mere "nitpicking" could be characterized as striving for accuracy.

Go back, for example, and take a look at the post on February 7 concerning Sidney Bechet. It's riddled with mistakes and odd observations. For example, look at this section that I've pasted below:

>>

In his career, Bechet composed many jazz and concert-work forms. His hits include 1923’s “Clarence Williams Blue Fice” with Louis Armstrong, popular 1938 “Summertime” and different recordings of his “Petit Fleur”. In 1944, 1946, and 1953 he recorded and performed in with Chicago Jazz Pianist, Max Miller, recordings which are part of the Max Miller archive and have never been released. These concerts and recordings are covered completely in John Chilton's great book on Bechet.

>>

OK, I won't quibble regarding a typo ("Fice" instead of "Five"), but even "Clarence Williams Blue Five" (which should be Clarence Williams' Blue Five (with the apostrophe, but I said I wouldn't nitpick) wasn't a "hit." It was the name under which many records were issued. The 1923 recordings by that group did not include Armstrong. The first recordings with both Bechet and Armstong present were from 1924. Bechet's recording of "Summertime" was from 1939, not 1938. The name of the referenced Bechet composition is "Petite Fleur" not "Petit Fleur."

And where and what is the Max Miller archive? What is the importance of the recordings with Max Miller, especially if they have never been issued? Go and google "Max Miller Archive" and you'll find numerous websites that contain material remarkably similar to that posted here on Organissimo. It's not clear whether Lester is posting to numerous sites (which appears to be in part the case) or whether other sites are drawing from material posted on Organissimo. In either case, the effect is the same --misinformation is being disseminated widely.

Oh, and there's this (see http://www.jazzonthetube.com/about.html):

>>>

Jazz on the Tube

The Internet's jazz video search engine

Jazz on the Tube is a labor of love by a group of friends and jazz fans who operate under the name of Lester Perkins.

We love jazz and we love the fact that YouTube has made it possible to watch so many amazing jazz videos available for free. We truly live in an age of miracles.

>>>

Miracles indeed. But let's try to get the facts straight.

[Dan Gould]

WTF? He/she isn't even "Lester Perkins"? No wonder they don't engage in any discussion, they are too busy finding other places to post their stuff.

[AllenLowe]

interesting, because there is a disembodied feeling to his posts. And Brad, I understand your point, and likely we should have been more direct initially in our objections, rather than being ironic, let us say. But there is just something about canned info that I find as troublesome as canned music.

[Christiern]

Jazztrain. pointing out minor typos is, indeed, nitpicking. As for correcting factual errors, I am all for that, but there is no need to not do it in a civil way. What I see here is accusatory and thus not constructive criticism. Yes, internet jazz material is full of errors, some compounded by people who profess to be jazz journalists—we have all been Yanowed and Goursed, left and right, but the right thing to do is to point it out, correct it. As has been pointed out here, Lester is not deliberately distorting the information he posts. As I see it, his only purpose is to remind us that this has been designated as Black History Month, and to post material that is suitable for this forum. Many of us already know the history, which is why we are able to spot the occasional factual error, but so what? One of our chronic complainers wants a discussion, claiming that this is a discussion board, intimating that anything else is contrary to the Organissimo forum's purpose. How curious that this comes from a poster with whom discussion is inevitably a futile effort.

Lester's posts are in keeping with this forum's raison d'etre and—occasional unintended errors notwithstanding—far more pertinent than, say, lists of lewd album covers or what's for dinner. As for misinformation, do we not get that on a daily basis when slanted political columns are linked to? I have yet to see the Goulding of quotes from "Green Footballs," Coulter, Horowitz, et al.

In short, let's be fair, stop nitpicking, and rejoice in the fact that Lester is not a celebrant of Bulgarian Knitwear Week.

[jazztrain]

Chris:

I'll be brief and then move on, since I don't intend to get drawn into any of the unpleasantness that, unfortunately, breaks out here occasionally to the ultimate detriment of everyone.

My intent was to identify a few errors in the Sidney Bechet post, to illustrate how mistakes quickly get spread elsewhere, and, finally, to pass along the information that I found elsewhere concerning the "identity" of Lester. I thought that I did so in a "civil" and non-accusatory fashion. My question about the importance of the recordings with Max Miller was meant "constructively."

I celebrate the music, black or white or whatever, in all months. Irrespective of Lester's motive, I see no excuse for not correcting errors which was what I was doing. If you perceive this as "nitpicking," then so be it.

My post had nothing to do with other's motives or behavior, lewd album covers, politics, and whatever else you mentioned, and I don't intend to be drawn into those issues here.

Over and out.

Jazztrain. pointing out minor typos is, indeed, nitpicking. As for correcting factual errors, I am all for that, but there is no need to not do it in a civil way. What I see here is accusatory and thus not constructive criticism. Yes, internet jazz material is full of errors, some compounded by people who profess to be jazz journalists—we have all been Yanowed and Goursed, left and right, but the right thing to do is to point it out, correct it. As has been pointed out here, Lester is not deliberately distorting the information he posts. As I see it, his only purpose is to remind us that this has been designated as Black History Month, and to post material that is suitable for this forum. Many of us already know the history, which is why we are able to spot the occasional factual error, but so what? One of our chronic complainers wants a discussion, claiming that this is a discussion board, intimating that anything else is contrary to the Organissimo forum's purpose. How curious that this comes from a poster with whom discussion is inevitably a futile effort.

Lester's posts are in keeping with this forum's raison d'etre and—occasional unintended errors notwithstanding—far more pertinent than, say, lists of lewd album covers or what's for dinner. As for misinformation, do we not get that on a daily basis when slanted political columns are linked to? I have yet to see the Goulding of quotes from "Green Footballs," Coulter, Horowitz, et al.

In short, let's be fair, stop nitpicking, and rejoice in the fact that Lester is not a celebrant of Bulgarian Knitwear Week.

[jazztrain]

For what it's worth, it appears that Lester's post on Sidney Bechet draws largely on information and, in some cases, misinformation that is posted elsewhere on the web. It's somewhat interesting and also maddening to try to track down the ultimate source of some of unattributed statements.

The most frustrating one is the following assertion:

>>>

In 1944, 1946, and 1953 he recorded and performed in with Chicago Jazz Pianist, Max Miller, recordings which are part of the Max Miller archive and have never been released. These concerts and recordings are covered completely in John Chilton's great book on Bechet.

>>>

The same statement appears on numerous other on-line "biographies" of Bechet. However, if you actually look at Chilton's book, the concerts and recordings are not "completely covered." Max Miller is only mentioned on three pages of Chilton's book. On pages 157-158, Chilton recounts a June 18, 1985 conversation with Miller in which Miller describes sitting in with Bechet at a 1944 concert in Springfield, Illinois. Miller says "We hit it straight away and later, whenever Sid came to Chicago, we usually had a session." No mention of a recording.

On page 158, Chilton describes a session that was privately recorded on October 8, 1944. Chilton cites the following report from the November 15, 1944 issue of Downbeat: "While in Chicago last month Sidney held forth musically in a private home. The session was organised by Paul Eduard Miller of Esquire magazine and featured Sidney Bechet (clarinet and soprano), Max Miller (piano) and Ken Smith (drums). Sidney went along with the advanced ideas and improvisations of Max Miller."

The last mention of Miller is on page 189. Citing the same June 18, 1985 conversation with Miller, Chilton writes the following:

>>

At the end of his one and only week in the production of Hear that Trumpet Bechet took a Sunday plane flight to play at a concert held at the Civic Opera House in Chicago. His partners on the date were trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and reed player Eugene Sedric. The three imports from New York played on a bill that also featured an assembly of Chicago jazzmen, including pianist Tut Soper, cornetist Jimmy McPartland, guitarist George Barnes, drummer Ken Smith, pianist Max Miller and tenor saxophonist Bud Freeman.

The concert gave Ken Smith and Max Miller the chance to re-establish the warm friendship tht had begun during their wartime meetings with Bechet. Sidney was happy to see these old friends again, and during the coming years took part in privately recorded sessions with them. Miller, who was then rated as one of Chicago's leading modernists, loved jamming with Bechet: "We'd book the Bachman Studio on Carmen Avenue and make recordings (78 r.p.m.), just for fun. I was never happy with the piano there, it was an iron-foot job, but the surroundings were great -- it ws a Frank Lloyd Wright house. Our sessions with Sidney were nearly all purely improvised; we literally made the tunes up as we went along. He played soprano mostly on the sessions we did together, and he did so wonderfully."

>>

Based on other information in Chilton's book, it appears that the concert referenced above was in mid October 1946, most likely on October 13 or October 20.

That's it. No more, no less. No mention of whether the 1946 concert was recorded. No specific mention of any subsequent meetings or recordings, especially in 1953.

So, where did this information come from if not from Chilton? And is there any information supporting these statements?

Well, Mal Collings' excellent on-line Bechet discography at http://www.sidneybechet.org/sbr.html has a single entry that mentions Max Miller:

>>>

SIDNEY BECHET & HIS TRIO 441008

Sidney Bechet (sop-1/clt-2), Max Miller (pno), Ken Smith (dms). Private party @ home of Paul Eduard Miller. Chicago October 8 1944

*Blues at Sunrise -2

*Blues at Moonrise -1

*Liberty Street Stomp

*Carmen Avenue Special No. 1

*Besame Mucho

"Liberty" is identified as "Perdido Street Stomp" by D., who also indicates the 'private' location.

>>>

The source of the information ("D.") is Guy Demole.

The personnel listed above is consistent with the description by Chilton.

So, once again, what is the source of the information about Bechet and Miller and where and what is the "Max Miller Archive?"

Poking around the web, I found the following: http://www.answers.com/topic/max-miller-musician

The same information appears to show up in a Max Miller biography on wikipedia.

Note this extract from the information at answers.com:

>>>

In 1943 he co-led a quartet with trumpet star Shorty Cherock. His first recording sessions with Sidney Bechet were in 1944 and included Tony Parenti on clarinet and Zilner Randolph on trumpet. Bill Funkey added alto and tenor sax and Ken Smith the drums. Bechet's powerful solo on Miller's song "Liberty Street Stomp" is a standout of those sessions. These recordings are part of the Max Miller Archive and are still unreleased. Billboard Magazines' December 15, 1945 issue featured a favorable review of Max Millers' concert performing with Bechet and Parenti. He first met Bechet in the summer of 1944 when he and Ken Smith went with Paul Edward Miller from Chicago to Springfield, Illinois to hear him in a club there and ended up sitting in for the rest of the night. They hit it off and played and recorded together as often as they could.

>>>

Well, "Cherock" should obviously be "Sherock" but that's irrelevant to the issue at hand. Although the session listed in Collings' discography includes a performance of Liberty Street Stomp (aka Quincy Street Stomp), that performance is by a trio and not by the group described above. The December 15, 1945 issue of Billboard is available on line from Google Books. It contains not a "favorable review" but rather a piece about a forthcoming (December 17, 1945) concert organized by Paul Edouard Smith. It's described as the opening concert in what may become a series of concerts "to present the lesser lights to the public." It goes on to say the following: "Only well known jazzman on the first date is Sidney Bechet, the New Orleans reed ace, with the remainder: Tony Parenti, white, N. O., clary; Bill Funkey, Gary, (Ind.) alto and tenorman; Max Miller, Chi pianist currently fronting his own cocktail trio; Kenny Smith, drummer, and several others filling out the program." I'm not sure if this link will work or not, but the Billboard piece is here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=lhgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT17&dq=%22bill+funkey%22,+billboard&client=firefox-a&cd=1#v=onepage&q=%22bill%20funkey%22%2C%20billboard&f=false

Chilton does not mention this December 17, 1945 concert. Nor does Collings. I'm unable to find any subsequent review of the concert in Billboard.

Also in the information on Answers.com is the following concerning Max Miller:

>>>

Also on Oct. 13, 1946 he performed in a concert presented by Green Recordings at the Civic Opera House as pianist for the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet, the Sidney Bechet Sextet and his own trio as well. The concert also featured Bud Freeman, Jimmy McPartland and George Barnes. During Bechet's visit to Chicago, Max booked time in Bachman Studios on Carmen Avenue and again recorded private sessions with Bechet.

>>>

This is clearly the October 1946 concert that Chilton mentions and clarifies that the date was October 13. Note that this site claims that Miller played with Gillespie, Bechet, and with his own trio. Other sources, such as Ken Vail's "Dizzy Gillespie: The Bebop Years, 1937-1952)" and a prospective article in the October 12, 1946 issue of Billboard, confirm Gillespie's presence at the concert but leave unclear who played with Gillespie.

The Answers.com piece also includes the following:

>>

In 1953 he again performed with Sidney Bechet. One of their concerts took place at Chicago's Kimball Hall and featured Max Miller on piano, Sidney Bechet on soprano sax, Bill Harris on trombone, and Big Sid Catlett on drums. The 1954 American Peoples Encyclopedia Yearbook, covering 1953 in the Jazz category cited the reunion of Max Miller and Sidney Bechet as the highlight of the year. Once again, they took advantage of the reunion to make some private recordings together.

>>>

Chilton mentions Bechet being in the Chicago area in late 1953 for a series of concerts, some with a small group drawn from Woody Herman's orchestra, including Nat Pierce. Therefore, it seems possible that Bechet and Miller played, and perhaps, recorded together in 1953. But again, what's the primary source of this information? Is it the "American Peoples Encyclopedia Yearbook?" Does anyone have access to this?

Finally, there's this:

>>>

Max Miller died in Shawnee, Oklahoma in 1985, 4 days before his 74th birthday, after a long fight with congestive heart failure, leaving a large personal archive of unreleased live and studio recordings which includes musicians listed as among the "Giants of Jazz", including Sidney Bechet, Benny Goodman, Anita O'Day and Bill Harris. He was survived by his wife, the artist Juanita S. (Nita) Miller, the daughter of actor Glenn Strange, best known as "Sam the Bartender" on the long running western series "Gunsmoke" and his work in over 300 movies and television shows. She completed cataloging Max's work before her death in 1995.

>>>

Intriguing, isn't it? Despite the numerous inaccuracies in various on line postings, it appears plausible that these purported recordings of Bechet and Miller may exist, but where? Anybody know anything about this archive?

[lesterperkins]

Wow! I was hit by two bad snow storms this week so excuse me for not replying sooner.

So there are some issues here, and lets be honest, not important ones. But they exist and I do appreciate any time and energy you all spend on this because frankly you could be off somewhere else, doing something else. But your here, putting your energy into this argument and I have to appreciate that on a few levels.

Here is part of what your wondering. Jazz On The Tube was started in the beginning of 2009 and through that time has had several people work on the site. My name is Moose and I have been doing the work on the site since August of last year. I work full time doing data entry for $10- an hour and in my spare time I work on this site for peanuts. I am a jazz musician and I graduated from New School University in 2003 and since then have found it difficult to make a living playing music and this is one way I can be connected to what I love.

Why the name Lester Perkins? Because it ain't about me, or the owner of the site. Its about Jazz. I'm not using this to get famous and I never would have told you who I am if not for these circumstances. Its about the masters and celebrating them and this is something small I can do for them and continue their legacies.

I do the best I can. If some of the information I present isn't correct or accurate, as I said before please chime in with the correct information. I am not threatened by correct information, I seek it. So please, by all means help if you can. I make mistakes and like I said, this isn't a full time job. Something I do out of love. It doesn't make very much money. I am a decent person who loves Jazz more than anything else on the planet and so I do this.

Once again, I appreciate you all putting your time and energy into this conversation when you could be doing infinity amount of things.

Edited February 26, 2010 by LesterPerkins

[AllenLowe]

it's good to have this stuff around, Lester, my only comment is that I'd rather hear YOUR response to the music than one quoted from a third source. I think you'd change your perspective and get more out of it.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

it's good to have this stuff around, Lester, my only comment is that I'd rather hear YOUR response to the music than one quoted from a third source. I think you'd change your perspective and get more out of it.

I agree with this; it was because LP was apparently quoting other people, rather than his own gut reactions to the music, the people and their history, that kept me out of this thread earlier.

Talk, LP, then we can have a discussion.

MG

[Big Beat Steve]

it's good to have this stuff around, Lester, my only comment is that I'd rather hear YOUR response to the music than one quoted from a third source. I think you'd change your perspective and get more out of it.

Same feelings here. Make the contributions your own, LP, say what you yourself have to say and dont recycle other people's (sometimes flawed) statements and you will generate a lot more positive feedback.

So, Moose, just on a side note, how about tackling things from a slightly different perspective to see what Mooses have to contribute to jazz (or to the evolution it takes):

Bullmoose Jackson

Moose John Walker

Moose The Mooche

etc. :D

A bit off the trodden path of the big names but of merit and interest nonetheless. ;)

[Dan Pound]

For what it's worth, it appears that Lester's post on Sidney Bechet draws largely on information and, in some cases, misinformation that is posted elsewhere on the web. It's somewhat interesting and also maddening to try to track down the ultimate source of some of unattributed statements.

The most frustrating one is the following assertion:

>>>

In 1944, 1946, and 1953 he recorded and performed in with Chicago Jazz Pianist, Max Miller, recordings which are part of the Max Miller archive and have never been released. These concerts and recordings are covered completely in John Chilton's great book on Bechet.

>>>

The same statement appears on numerous other on-line "biographies" of Bechet. However, if you actually look at Chilton's book, the concerts and recordings are not "completely covered." Max Miller is only mentioned on three pages of Chilton's book. On pages 157-158, Chilton recounts a June 18, 1985 conversation with Miller in which Miller describes sitting in with Bechet at a 1944 concert in Springfield, Illinois. Miller says "We hit it straight away and later, whenever Sid came to Chicago, we usually had a session." No mention of a recording.

On page 158, Chilton describes a session that was privately recorded on October 8, 1944. Chilton cites the following report from the November 15, 1944 issue of Downbeat: "While in Chicago last month Sidney held forth musically in a private home. The session was organised by Paul Eduard Miller of Esquire magazine and featured Sidney Bechet (clarinet and soprano), Max Miller (piano) and Ken Smith (drums). Sidney went along with the advanced ideas and improvisations of Max Miller."

The last mention of Miller is on page 189. Citing the same June 18, 1985 conversation with Miller, Chilton writes the following:

>>

At the end of his one and only week in the production of Hear that Trumpet Bechet took a Sunday plane flight to play at a concert held at the Civic Opera House in Chicago. His partners on the date were trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and reed player Eugene Sedric. The three imports from New York played on a bill that also featured an assembly of Chicago jazzmen, including pianist Tut Soper, cornetist Jimmy McPartland, guitarist George Barnes, drummer Ken Smith, pianist Max Miller and tenor saxophonist Bud Freeman.

The concert gave Ken Smith and Max Miller the chance to re-establish the warm friendship tht had begun during their wartime meetings with Bechet. Sidney was happy to see these old friends again, and during the coming years took part in privately recorded sessions with them. Miller, who was then rated as one of Chicago's leading modernists, loved jamming with Bechet: "We'd book the Bachman Studio on Carmen Avenue and make recordings (78 r.p.m.), just for fun. I was never happy with the piano there, it was an iron-foot job, but the surroundings were great -- it ws a Frank Lloyd Wright house. Our sessions with Sidney were nearly all purely improvised; we literally made the tunes up as we went along. He played soprano mostly on the sessions we did together, and he did so wonderfully."

>>

Based on other information in Chilton's book, it appears that the concert referenced above was in mid October 1946, most likely on October 13 or October 20.

That's it. No more, no less. No mention of whether the 1946 concert was recorded. No specific mention of any subsequent meetings or recordings, especially in 1953.

So, where did this information come from if not from Chilton? And is there any information supporting these statements?

Well, Mal Collings' excellent on-line Bechet discography at http://www.sidneybechet.org/sbr.html has a single entry that mentions Max Miller:

>>>

SIDNEY BECHET & HIS TRIO 441008

Sidney Bechet (sop-1/clt-2), Max Miller (pno), Ken Smith (dms). Private party @ home of Paul Eduard Miller. Chicago October 8 1944

*Blues at Sunrise -2

*Blues at Moonrise -1

*Liberty Street Stomp

*Carmen Avenue Special No. 1

*Besame Mucho

"Liberty" is identified as "Perdido Street Stomp" by D., who also indicates the 'private' location.

>>>

The source of the information ("D.") is Guy Demole.

The personnel listed above is consistent with the description by Chilton.

So, once again, what is the source of the information about Bechet and Miller and where and what is the "Max Miller Archive?"

Poking around the web, I found the following: http://www.answers.com/topic/max-miller-musician

The same information appears to show up in a Max Miller biography on wikipedia.

Note this extract from the information at answers.com:

>>>

In 1943 he co-led a quartet with trumpet star Shorty Cherock. His first recording sessions with Sidney Bechet were in 1944 and included Tony Parenti on clarinet and Zilner Randolph on trumpet. Bill Funkey added alto and tenor sax and Ken Smith the drums. Bechet's powerful solo on Miller's song "Liberty Street Stomp" is a standout of those sessions. These recordings are part of the Max Miller Archive and are still unreleased. Billboard Magazines' December 15, 1945 issue featured a favorable review of Max Millers' concert performing with Bechet and Parenti. He first met Bechet in the summer of 1944 when he and Ken Smith went with Paul Edward Miller from Chicago to Springfield, Illinois to hear him in a club there and ended up sitting in for the rest of the night. They hit it off and played and recorded together as often as they could.

>>>

Well, "Cherock" should obviously be "Sherock" but that's irrelevant to the issue at hand. Although the session listed in Collings' discography includes a performance of Liberty Street Stomp (aka Quincy Street Stomp), that performance is by a trio and not by the group described above. The December 15, 1945 issue of Billboard is available on line from Google Books. It contains not a "favorable review" but rather a piece about a forthcoming (December 17, 1945) concert organized by Paul Edouard Smith. It's described as the opening concert in what may become a series of concerts "to present the lesser lights to the public." It goes on to say the following: "Only well known jazzman on the first date is Sidney Bechet, the New Orleans reed ace, with the remainder: Tony Parenti, white, N. O., clary; Bill Funkey, Gary, (Ind.) alto and tenorman; Max Miller, Chi pianist currently fronting his own cocktail trio; Kenny Smith, drummer, and several others filling out the program." I'm not sure if this link will work or not, but the Billboard piece is here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=lhgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT17&dq=%22bill+funkey%22,+billboard&client=firefox-a&cd=1#v=onepage&q=%22bill%20funkey%22%2C%20billboard&f=false

Chilton does not mention this December 17, 1945 concert. Nor does Collings. I'm unable to find any subsequent review of the concert in Billboard.

Also in the information on Answers.com is the following concerning Max Miller:

>>>

Also on Oct. 13, 1946 he performed in a concert presented by Green Recordings at the Civic Opera House as pianist for the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet, the Sidney Bechet Sextet and his own trio as well. The concert also featured Bud Freeman, Jimmy McPartland and George Barnes. During Bechet's visit to Chicago, Max booked time in Bachman Studios on Carmen Avenue and again recorded private sessions with Bechet.

>>>

This is clearly the October 1946 concert that Chilton mentions and clarifies that the date was October 13. Note that this site claims that Miller played with Gillespie, Bechet, and with his own trio. Other sources, such as Ken Vail's "Dizzy Gillespie: The Bebop Years, 1937-1952)" and a prospective article in the October 12, 1946 issue of Billboard, confirm Gillespie's presence at the concert but leave unclear who played with Gillespie.

The Answers.com piece also includes the following:

>>

In 1953 he again performed with Sidney Bechet. One of their concerts took place at Chicago's Kimball Hall and featured Max Miller on piano, Sidney Bechet on soprano sax, Bill Harris on trombone, and Big Sid Catlett on drums. The 1954 American Peoples Encyclopedia Yearbook, covering 1953 in the Jazz category cited the reunion of Max Miller and Sidney Bechet as the highlight of the year. Once again, they took advantage of the reunion to make some private recordings together.

>>>

Chilton mentions Bechet being in the Chicago area in late 1953 for a series of concerts, some with a small group drawn from Woody Herman's orchestra, including Nat Pierce. Therefore, it seems possible that Bechet and Miller played, and perhaps, recorded together in 1953. But again, what's the primary source of this information? Is it the "American Peoples Encyclopedia Yearbook?" Does anyone have access to this?

Finally, there's this:

>>>

Max Miller died in Shawnee, Oklahoma in 1985, 4 days before his 74th birthday, after a long fight with congestive heart failure, leaving a large personal archive of unreleased live and studio recordings which includes musicians listed as among the "Giants of Jazz", including Sidney Bechet, Benny Goodman, Anita O'Day and Bill Harris. He was survived by his wife, the artist Juanita S. (Nita) Miller, the daughter of actor Glenn Strange, best known as "Sam the Bartender" on the long running western series "Gunsmoke" and his work in over 300 movies and television shows. She completed cataloging Max's work before her death in 1995.

>>>

Intriguing, isn't it? Despite the numerous inaccuracies in various on line postings, it appears plausible that these purported recordings of Bechet and Miller may exist, but where? Anybody know anything about this archive?

I can tell you anything you want to know about the Max Miller Archive because I am the owner of it. And I can confirm that the Bechet/Miller recordings do indeed exist. I have 15 acetate masters of music Sidney Bechet recorded with Max Miller in Chicago on more than one occasion. As to their importance, I can only say that the music sounds good, Bechet's solos are strong, and his tone is great. Max left recordings made with a number of well known jazz musicians. His archive consists of approximately 160 acetate masters and 72 reel to reel tapes.

Edited March 29, 2010 by Dan Pound

[jazztrain]

Dan: That's wonderful news! The most frustrating aspect of the numerous references to the recordings in the Max Miller archives was the inability to find anything about it. Any additional information you could provide about the recordings would be of interest. Of course any opportunity to hear the music would be welcome. Many thanks for checking in!