Hardbopjazz Posted May 3, 2018 Report Share Posted May 3, 2018 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted May 3, 2018 Report Share Posted May 3, 2018 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazztrain Posted May 3, 2018 Report Share Posted May 3, 2018 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted May 3, 2018 Report Share Posted May 3, 2018 (edited) 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted May 3, 2018 Report Share Posted May 3, 2018 The Classics seem to be out of stock or expensive to purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazztrain Posted May 4, 2018 Report Share Posted May 4, 2018 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: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjzee Posted May 4, 2018 Report Share Posted May 4, 2018 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gheorghe Posted May 4, 2018 Report Share Posted May 4, 2018 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....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted May 4, 2018 Report Share Posted May 4, 2018 Found a used copy of the Musicraft CD for € 5 plus shipping - looking forward to listening ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Late Posted May 9, 2018 Report Share Posted May 9, 2018 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted O'Reilly Posted May 10, 2018 Report Share Posted May 10, 2018 (edited) 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazztrain Posted May 10, 2018 Report Share Posted May 10, 2018 Ted, This 10 inch issue is from the period you remember. Note the reference to "CBS crime photographer's blue note pianist." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted O'Reilly Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 2 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said: Not quite that likely. He was dead by early 1951. How about Liberace then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 Didnt he come along a bit later? How about Carmen Cavallaro? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Friedman Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted O'Reilly Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 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.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazztrain Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 I agree that the Keynote session is somewhat disappointing. It looks good on paper, but it really never gels. Sort of lackluster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardbopjazz Posted May 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 I bought this from Amazon and I am enjoying it a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 I just got it and now have to put it on top of the pile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Have enjoyed that CD for several years. Relistened to it this week. Highly recommended ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKE BBB Posted May 16, 2018 Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 19 hours ago, brownie said: Have enjoyed that CD for several years. Relistened to it this week. Highly recommended ! Ditto! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted May 31, 2018 Report Share Posted May 31, 2018 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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