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Al Porcino RIP


HolgerFreimutSchrick

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Absolutely one of the finest lead players of the post-war era -- guys with that much power and high chops but also with the ability to swing and the taste to know what not to do are rare. I preferred Snooky Young because the swing was just a hair more relaxed but Porcino definitely had a pocket and knew how to stay there and might have been more flexible in terms of hooking up with all kinds of different drummers who put the beat in different places. He was a sign of quality and consistency on any recording on which he appeared. I've been listening to a ton of Gerald Wilson in the last week while revamping a piece and it's been a pleasure to hear Porcino on those Pacific LPs.

Coda: A trumpet player friend notes insightfully that while Porcino was a pure lead player, Young was also a soloist and thus also brought that aesthetic into his lead playing.

Edited by Mark Stryker
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Absolutely one of the finest lead players of the post-war era -- guys with that much power and high chops but also with the ability to swing and the taste to know what not to do are rare. I preferred Snooky Young because the swing was just a hair more relaxed but Porcino definitely had a pocket and knew how to stay there and might have been more flexible in terms of hooking up with all kinds of different drummers who put the beat in different places. He was a sign of quality and consistency on any recording on which he appeared. I've been listening to a ton of Gerald Wilson in the last week while revamping a piece and it's been a pleasure to hear Porcino on those Pacific LPs.

Coda: A trumpet player friend notes insightfully that while Porcino was a pure lead player, Young was also a soloist and thus also brought that aesthetic into his lead playing.

Lead players are a separate breed, truly great lead players a rare breed within that breed...Al Porcino was a truly great lead player. And Snooky was pretty much the most unique of all, for that exact reason.

Vanishing arts, all these things are...I'm glad I've gotten to experience as much of it in real time as I have...

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r.i.p.

I was waiting for it...., because he was living in Germany.

Hu? Can't quite follow ... to go live in Germany is to go and die soon?

There wasn't a good (German) source at that time... Is that a good reason? I don't live in Germany

From the JazzTimes site: http://jazztimes.com/articles/116243-trumpeter-al-porcino-dies-at-88

Edited by Cyril
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That's Joe on tenor...is there additional footage from this gig that would have him soloing?

Unfortunately, I haven't seen any film of Joe soloing with the band. However, there are bootleg recordings that can be found on CD that have him playing (his ass off) on "Don't Get Sassy," including one from Basle (Basel) and one from Paris. I'm pretty sure film exists somewhere because at least parts of two concerts were captured by presumably European TV. The question is whether either (or others) picked up a tune with Joe soloing. I'm not sure if he played on any other tunes they were regularly performing at that time. Eddie Daniels plays, for example, on "Mean What You Say."

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The Gozzo story that I've heard most often from the most people is that there was a running pool amongst the L.A. studio trumpeters of the day as to what date it would be when Gozzo fluffed a note on a session. The winner varies by who is telling the story, but the pot kept growing (over years and years!) and eventually reach around 5-6 K before it got collected, not too much before Gozzo's death.

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  • 2 weeks later...

That's Joe on tenor...is there additional footage from this gig that would have him soloing?

Unfortunately, I haven't seen any film of Joe soloing with the band. However, there are bootleg recordings that can be found on CD that have him playing (his ass off) on "Don't Get Sassy," including one from Basle (Basel) and one from Paris. I'm pretty sure film exists somewhere because at least parts of two concerts were captured by presumably European TV. The question is whether either (or others) picked up a tune with Joe soloing. I'm not sure if he played on any other tunes they were regularly performing at that time. Eddie Daniels plays, for example, on "Mean What You Say."

Bret Primack has posted this fantastic footage of Joe soloing with Thad and Mel from this particular tour. This is the first I have scene and am ecstatic to find it. Also great to see Thad in action in front of the band, shaping performance on the fly.

Edited by Mark Stryker
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Not miked that well, but on fire!

The cut from "Jazz Wave" must be on the Mosaic, which was my first encounter with this amazing band - got to dig it up some day soon!

Btw, is it just me or does late Getz (eighties) occasionally have some similarities with JoeHen? Sonically, rhythmically ... I can't really pin it down, but in the opener of "Pure Getz" that's spinning right now, I had to think back about Henderson.

Edited by king ubu
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