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Dick Katz


Head Man

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This Dick Katz played with Ray Ellington in a quartet that was part of the Goon Show for many years.

I can't get it to work as a link, but if you cut and paste the following into your browser, you can get to a page from which you can open a pdf file that provides some information, including liner notes from an album he recorded for Pye called Kool for Katz. (Now it appears to work as a link)

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=34&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCwQFjADOB4&url=ftp%3A%2F%2Fdef92-10-88-162-195-105.fbx.proxad.net%2FCommun%2FMusic%2FBritJazz%2F0261%2520Dick%2520Katz%2520%5BKool%2520for%2520Katz%5D%2520FLAC%252010(22.39)%2FDick%2520Katz%2520-%25201958%2520-%2520Kool%2520for%2520Katz.pdf&ei=Gg3NU-WlDsH_oQTn0YDwBQ&usg=AFQjCNENwGkg3oUCp9e5qGyKSTF7jZktZQ

I'll try to cut and paste the transcribed liner notes from that file below:

>>>

DICK KATZ, though this be his initial solo recording, is a journeyman of jazz, a matured product of an

apprenticeship that was served on one-night stands in clubs and the studios of radio, TV and records.

This man, short in height but a giant in musical stature, has been content to remain ‘a boffin of Tin

Pan Alley’. He has, for twelve years, steered the career of RAY ELLINGTON in the multi-capacities of

partner, personal manager and pianist. And today, should he wish, he can reflect with pride upon his

helmsmanship that has brought success to others, not least among these being singers MARION RYAN

and VALERIE MASTERS.

This application to business has meant that his own accomplishments at the keyboard have not

received the credit deserved. Kool for Katz sets right this omission.

This long-playing record displays a blend of the preconceived pattern with a jazzman’s natural bent

for extempore. Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and our own Alan Clare are the fabric from which jazz is

made. They have fashioned their creations with an intense love of their art.

I contend that the rarely-played Jitterbug Waltz or Morning Glory, I'm Beginning To See The Light and

Mirage are executed by Katz in a manner that could demand approval from all – not least the

composers.

This is a disc of moods – sometimes jubilant, at others pensive or mysterious. But, whether the

offering be the three-decade-old Eddie Cantor hit Makin’ Whoopee, the Rodgers and Hart perennial

Lover, There Will Never Be Another You, Grieg’s Anitra’s Dance, or Dick’s personal composing

contributions Pet and Dick’s Boogie, the facile playing displays an abundance of imagination that marks

DICK KATZ as a refreshing recruit in the restricted recorded spheres of British piano jazz.

Les Perrin

>>>

Some more information from that page:

'A rare quartet outing for pianist Dick Katz recorded in London in 1958. This might well have been Dick's only

jazz album under his own name.

'There is another pianist called Dick Katz but he was an American and not to be confused with the British

version heard here (actually a German born in 1916 who moved to the UK before the start of WWII).

'Dick played with the Vic Lewis Orchestra during the early 1940s and later became a long-serving member

of various Ray Ellington groups before becoming involved in the management side of the music business.

He was married to singer Valerie Masters and died in London in 1981.

'He is heard here with an interesting group including session guitarist Judd Proctor, a most under-rated

musician, and Peter McGurk who was later to become Dudley Moore's long-serving bassman in his jazz trio

from 1960-1968. Peter committed suicide in 1968 by taking an overdose of drugs. He was only 41.'

KATZ-001-500x508.jpg

It seems there are/were TWO Dick Katzs, both of whom play(ed) the piano. This one is British and used to play for Ray Ellington. Anyone know anything about him?

Edited by jazztrain
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