Herman Chittison

[Hardbopjazz]

Today on WKCR,the out to lunch program is devoted to Herman Chittison. There's not much music from him as a leader. Does anyone here have suggestions of some sessions he's playing on that are something you like?

[Brad]

I was listening too and was fascinated by what I heard, especially as I never heard of him before. I’ve looked online and there seems to be little available or it’s expensive.  I, too, would appreciate suggestions. 

[jazztrain]

I can't give specific recommendations off the top of my head (at work), but a general observation regarding Chittison is that his later work veered more into cocktail piano style.  His earlier work, though, is excellent.  He had an interesting career.  If memory serves, he spent time (and made recordings) overseas in places like Paris and India.in the 1930s.

[Big Beat Steve]

There are (have been) three Classics CDs with his recordings: 1933-41 (Classics 690), 1944-45 (1024) and 1945-50 (1334).

I only have the last one - find it very pleaseant and listenable. Wouldn't say it's cocktail piano. Though of course jazzing up the classics in this manner isn't to the liking of everybody (I for one like it better than most of that Third Stream stuff of more than a decade later ).

There also was an LP in the Musicraft reissue series from the early 80s: "Herman Chittison - Piano Genius" (MVS 506). Its recordings (spanning the period from December 1944 to May 1945) likely duplicate the contents of the second Classics CD. His interplay with guitarist Jimmy Shirley is quite something IMO.

Many of his European 30s recordings have also been reissued on various LPs.

 

@jazztrain: Re- India: Are you sure you are not confusing him with Teddy Weatherford?

 

Edited May 3, 2018 by Big Beat Steve

[Brad]

The Classics seem to be out of stock or expensive to purchase. 

[jazztrain]

6 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said:

There are (have been) three Classics CDs with his recordings: 1933-41 (Classics 690), 1944-45 (1024) and 1945-50 (1334).

I only have the last one - find it very pleaseant and listenable. Wouldn't say it's cocktail piano. Though of course jazzing up the classics in this manner isn't to the liking of everybody (I for one like it better than most of that Third Stream stuff of more than a decade later ).

There also was an LP in the Musicraft reissue series from the early 80s: "Herman Chittison - Piano Genius" (MVS 506). Its recordings (spanning the period from December 1944 to May 1945) likely duplicate the contents of the second Classics CD. His interplay with guitarist Jimmy Shirley is quite something IMO.

Many of his European 30s recordings have also been reissued on various LPs.

 

@jazztrain: Re- India: Are you sure you are not confusing him with Teddy Weatherford?

 

Big Beat Steve -- You are correct.  I was thinking of Teddy Weatherford with respect to recordings from India.  Chittison recorded a fair amount in Paris -- a lot with Willie Lewis and on a session with Louis Armstrong as well.

Here's a link to Jan Evesmo's discography/solography on Chittison:  http://www.jazzarcheology.com/artists/herman_chittison.pdf

There was an LP issue on Meritt that had a lot of his solo sides:

 

 

 

 

[mjzee]

I have one Chittison CD.  I picked it up from IAJRC a couple of years ago.  Glad I did, because they no longer exist.  It consists of the last two sessions listed on the Evensmo discography linked-to above.  I've only listened to it once, so can't really recommend it, but remember enjoying it.  It's available from Amazon.

[Gheorghe]

 Monk admired him very much and Chittison was a strong influence in Monk´s developement as a pianist when he was young. Monk was very much into stride and it´s very possible he was much more influenced by Herman Chittison than by Art Tatum or Fats Waller.......

[mikeweil]

Found a used copy of the Musicraft CD for € 5 plus shipping - looking forward to listening ...

[Late]

On 5/4/2018 at 10:01 PM, Gheorghe said:

 Monk admired him very much and Chittison was a strong influence in Monk´s developement as a pianist when he was young.

Listening to Chittison on YouTube, I can hear where Monk picked up on his playing. Thanks for that observation! I'd never made that connection.

[Ted O'Reilly]

I've been aware of Herman Chittison since I was a kid in the late 1940s.  As among the last of the Radio Generation (we didn't get TV in our house until about 1954, radio was really important for my entertainment (still is, really), and a favourite show was "Casey Crime Photographer".

Casey was a newspaper photographer who would solve a crime, then head off to his favourite bar for a nightcap.  Herman Chittison -- as himself -- was the bar's resident entertainer and would be featured, if briefly, on pretty much every show.  As a result, Chittison might have been the first named person that came into my 6-to-7 year old mind as someone who was a musician!

I think I started out pretty well:  it could have been Eddie Duchin!

It just came to me that the bar where Chittison played was the Blue Note Cafe, so I guess that's how *blue note* came into my consciousness too, long before I would have heard of the label...

Edited May 10, 2018 by Ted O'Reilly
add info

[jazztrain]

Ted,

This 10 inch issue is from the period you remember.  Note the reference to "CBS crime photographer's blue note pianist."

 

[Big Beat Steve]

18 hours ago, Ted O'Reilly said:

I think I started out pretty well:  it could have been Eddie Duchin!

Not quite that likely. He was dead by early 1951.

[Ted O'Reilly]

2 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Not quite that likely. He was dead by early 1951.

How about Liberace then? 

[Big Beat Steve]

Didnt he come along a bit later?

How about Carmen Cavallaro?

[Peter Friedman]

I was curious if I had anything in my collection by Herman Chittison.

Discovered that the only recording I have is with Chittison  as a sideman on 4 tunes by George Wettling's New Yorkers. This session from December 12, 1944 features Joe Thomas, Hank D'Amico, Coleman Hawkins, Chittison, Billy Taylor(b), & Wettling.

It is on the "George Wettling - 1940-1944" CD on Classics.

[Ted O'Reilly]

On 5/11/2018 at 1:18 PM, Big Beat Steve said:

Didnt he come along a bit later?

How about Carmen Cavallaro?

Interesting:  Cavallaro did the piano work for the soundtrack of The Eddie Duchin Story, so there's a conflation of sorts there.  (Kim Novak was lovely, though...)

1 hour ago, Peter Friedman said:

I was curious if I had anything in my collection by Herman Chittison.

Discovered that the only recording I have is with Chittison  as a sideman on 4 tunes by George Wettling's New Yorkers. This session from December 12, 1944 features Joe Thomas, Hank D'Amico, Coleman Hawkins, Chittison, Billy Taylor(b), & Wettling.

It is on the "George Wettling - 1940-1944" CD on Classics.

Jack Teagarden's on there, too.  A stellar cast of soloists that never really gels into a band, so it's a bit disappointing as a session.  (It's also on the Fresh Sound 11 CD set of The Keynote Jazz Collection 1941 -1947, one of the best reissues of the past decade.)

[jazztrain]

I agree that the Keynote session is somewhat disappointing. It looks good on paper, but it really never gels. Sort of lackluster. 

[Hardbopjazz]

I bought this from Amazon and I am enjoying it a lot.

 

[Brad]

I just got it and now have to put it on top of the pile. 

[brownie]

Have enjoyed that CD for several years. Relistened to it this week. Highly recommended ! 

[EKE BBB]

19 hours ago, brownie said:

Have enjoyed that CD for several years. Relistened to it this week. Highly recommended ! 

Ditto!

[Brad]

Listened to PS with Love. It’s pleasant enough but it’s not blowing me away. His playing on the songs the second session is more interesting and varied than the ones on the first.  It may be awhile before I listen to it.