Somebody played me a 1965 cut of "Bye Bye Blackbird" by some singer named Nuria Feliu that had Booker Ervin on it. She's singing in some language that I don't understand and can't readily figure out. I guess it's nice enough while the chick's singing, pretty "lightly and politely", if you get my drift. but when Booker comes in and starts to moan and holler, this Billie/Billye Brooks guy just starts sticking his foot up everybody's ass and SWINGS LIKE A BEE-AHTCH.

Good God Almighty!

So who is this m-fer anyway?

Billy Brooks was a pretty visible drummer in Europe in the sixties. He is shining on drums on one of Nathan Davis MPS album 'Happy Girl' that was reissued on a Nathan Davis MPS CD 'Two Originals' that reunites 'Happy Girl' and 'The Hip Walk' (this one had Kenny Clarke on drums. Excellent reissue of the two MPS that also featured Woody Shaw and Larry Young on piano on 'Happy Girl' and Carmell Jones on 'Hip Walk'.
Billy Brooks was also the drummer of some of the Paris Reunion Band concert dates.
He also had a very rare MPS album under his name 'El Babaku' that was recorded in Germany in 1971. Wish MPS would reissue that one!
Never heard that Nuria Feliu album that came out on a Spanish label Edigna. That date had also Tete Montoliu on piano in addition to Booker Ervin and Billy Brooks.
Another one that should be reissued.

Nuria Feliu seems to be a Catalonian name, so go figure .....
That Billy Brooks was an absolutely amazing drummer, I once saw him in a club in a combo co-led by Sal Nistico and Benny Bailey, with Joe Haider and Isla Eckinger rounding out the ryhthm section. Every nuance of his playing showed in his facial expression, he breathed and lived his drums, every tiny bit of 'em!
He was a pretty prominent figure on the European scene in the 1970's, especially in German speaking countries, but I'm afraid all of the records I have are OOP:

Fritz Pauer Trio - Waterplants - EGO 4007
Pauer p, Isla Eckinger b, Brooks dr, 1977

Vince Benedetti - The Dwellers On The High Plateau - EGO 4005
Andy Scherrer ts & ss, Benedetti p, Eric Peter b, Brooks dr, 1977

East of Isar (no leader) - EGO 4010
Sal Nistico ts, Benny Bailey tp, Joe Haider p, Eckinger b, Brooks dr, 1978

Slide Hampton / Joe Haider Big Band - Give Me A Double - MPS 29 22311-6
Bailey, Idrees Sulieman, Ack Van Rooyen tp, flgh
Bobby Burgess, Slide Hampton, Eric Van Lier tb, b-tb, tuba
Ferdinand Povel, Andy Scherrer, Dexter Gordon saxes
Haider p, Eckinger b, Brooks dr, 1974

Miriam Klein - Ladylike - MPS 21-21886-6
Klein voc, Oscar Klein g, Roy Eldridge tp, Dexter Gordon ts, Slide Hampton tb, Benedetti p, Eckinger b, Brooks dr, 1973
(this singer does an amazingly close Billie Holiday imitation - the US boys on the session had nothing but praise for her)

El Babaku - Live At The Jazz Galerie Berlin - MPS 21 20894-1
Brooks dr, voc, fl, Carlos Santa Cruz, Donald Coleman, Charles Campbell congas, perc, voc, Burt Thompson b, 1971
Brooks' percussion band with some African and Afro-Cuban inflections.

EGO was Joe Haider's own label. As soon as I have the technological facilities to do so, I guess I will have to transfer some of these to CD ....

Last thing I heard of him was a teching job in Switzerlnad in the 1980's or 90's.
Never understood why he didn't make it large-scale - he could scare the shit out of 90% of the drummers I have seen!

Well, he seems to be alive and kicking, as this photo from a Swiss festival with on of your favorite saxists ( ) shows:

Reggie Johnson, Eric Alexander, Billy Brooks, Jazz-Nights Langnau, 19 July 2001

Some research tells me he still is teaching at the Swiss Jazz School in Berne and has eductaed a host of young jazz drummers.
That school was founded by Joe Haider, and he re-released several of his old recordings with Brooks on the school's label, JHM, including the Hampton/Haider Big Band double CD!!!!! Highly recommended!!!!

link - there is an English version, too.

This is the guy who I proposed as the drummer in that Weather Report story on another thread.


BTW, a different Billy Brooks was a trumpeter (in the Lionel Hampton band c. 1954 among other things). His real name was Julius. No family connection, I think, although both worked with Slide Hampton. Lord discography confuses the two.

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/02/0...therobit01.html

Mike

I have a fantastic song on a bootleg compilation by a Billy Brooks called "40 Days." I wonder if it is the drummer or the trumpet player...? Either way, it is one of my favorite songs, period.

That's the trumpet player.

Mike

Thanks Mike! Wouldn't happen to know what album that comes from, would you?

Here's the entry from Bruyninckx:

BILLY BROOKS
-Windows of the mind- : Bob Comden, Mike Artega, Al Gottlieb (tp) Michael J. Conlon (cnt) Billy Brooks (skoonum hrn,electronics) Britt B. Woodman, Mihran Vartan, Al Hall Jr., Ray Jackson, Buster Cooper (tb) Ken Sawhill (b-tb) Lonnie Shetter (as,fl) John Steven, Tom R. Vigil (as) Herman Riley, Tom Vigil, Wilbur Brown, Clifford Solomon (ts) Bill Carter (bar) Jeff Lee, Calvin Keyes (g) Larry Gales (b) Clarence Johnston (d) Benny Powell (tb) replaces Woodman on (1)

Los Angeles, 1974

Rockin Julius Crossover CR9003
Cooling it -
The jagged edge -
The speech maker -
Black flag -
Good news blues -
Shetter cheeze -
C.P. time (1) -
Fourty days -


http://www.vinyl.com/product_id/LPCROS9003

Apparently Forty Days was sampled and used in some rap things.

Mike

My own intro to Brooks -- a damn fine one -- was on Paris Reunion Band, "French Cooking," Gazell GJCD-1002. With Nathan Davis, Johnny Griffin, Woody Shaw, Dizzy Reece, Slide Hampton, Kenny Drew and Jimmy Woode. July 3, 1985.

The notes by Mike Hennessey say this: "Drummer BILLY BROOKS is perhaps the least widely known of the musicians on this album -- and that is a clear injustice because he is a brilliant, subtle player with a highly individualistic approach to the drums. Billy, who comes from Newark, New Jersey and now lives in Berne, Switzerland, came to Paris in 1964 to work with Nathan Davis, Woody Shaw and Larry Young at the Chat Qui Peche. He also played at the Blue Note, the Cameleon and the Club St Germain. In 1967 he moved to Spain and, after a period in Germany, settled in Berne in 1972 and became a teacher at the Berne Jazz School."

the first "four for jazz" drummer was Peter Giger....got a CD "best of FOUR FOR JAZZ with Benny Bailey (trumpet)".....its a great record! Joe tells me a funny story where he came with a Hohner Clavinet into a rehersal ...in 1967......and he also plugs some fx-devices between his old wurlitzer piano and the amplifier.....that was completly new for a jazz group....the audience was shocked several times....guess he had a lot of fun!

Peter Giger had also a lot of indish percussion, a big gong and lot of funny stuff in his drumset, Joe told me......

Billy Brooks was playing drums with Eddie Harris in Chicago - late summer 1964 is the date I have pinned on the account. The club was the West End in the south shore section (71st and Stony Island) and the band also had Bill Fielder (t), ? Watson (tb), Jodie Christian (p), Melvin Jackson (b), Bucky Taylor (d) - the drummer depended on the repertoire. The gig lasted 2 or 3 weeks.

Billy Brooks was 17 or 18 at the time. His move to Europe helped him avoid the Vietnam War draft.

Mike

I'm revising the date - a bit later to include the period including October 21 and 24, based on the fact that Coltrane was at the Plugged Nickel and Blakey was at McKie's at the same time. Jimmy Garrison and Lee Morgan got busted together during this gig. Apparently the charges didn't stick.

This is GREAT information, folks.

The Organissimo Community at its finest.

'Preciate y'all!

When Woody Shaw came to Europe right after Eric Dolphy's death, he recommended some of his friends from his hometown of Newark to join him in Paris. That's how Larry Young and drummer Billy Brooks came over here. Shaw and Young flew back some months later but Brooks didn't.

Actually Billy Brooks recorded in a few discs with Tete Montoliu back in the 60´s.

-both "A tot jazz" sessions for the Spanish label Concentric in 1965 (though in many sources such as Lord, Peer Wyboris has been listed in "A tot jazz 1" wrongly).

-the two 1965 sessions with Núria Feliu.

Here´s the discographical data (as it will be included in Mike Fitzgerald´s www.jazzdiscography.com site):

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: early November 1965
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Label: Edigsa
Booker Ervin, Núria Feliu (ldr), Tete Montoliu (p), Eric Peter (b), Billy Brooks (d), Núria Feliu (v)

a. Willow Weep For Me - 03:25 (Ann Ronell)
Edigsa LP 12": CM 119 - Núria Feliu With Booker Ervin
b. Lover Man - 05:01 (Roger 'Ram' Ramirez, Jimmy Davis, Jimmy Sherman)
Edigsa LP 12": CM 119 - Núria Feliu With Booker Ervin
c. Misty - 04:56 (Erroll Garner, Johnny Burke)

All titles on: - PDI CD: 80.4467 - Tete Montoliu & Núria Feliu 1965-1990 (1997)

Omit Booker Ervin (ldr) on c.
Sometimes incorrectly dated as from 1966. Possibly recorded in late October 1965.
Engineer: Francesc Batlle

Catalan titles are:
a. Soc com un desmai
b. De dalt estant
c. Tot es gris


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: November 12, 1965
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Label: Edigsa
Booker Ervin, Núria Feliu (ldr), Booker Ervin (ts), Tete Montoliu (p), Eric Peter (b), Billy Brooks (d), Núria Feliu (v)

a. Lullaby Of Birdland - 02:21 (George Shearing)
Edigsa LP 12": CM 119 - Núria Feliu With Booker Ervin
PDI CD: 80.4467 - Tete Montoliu & Núria Feliu 1965-1990 (1997)
b. Bye Bye Blackbird (Mort Dixon, Ray Henderson)
c. Bye Bye Blackbird - 03:46 (Mort Dixon, Ray Henderson)
Edigsa LP 12": CM 119 - Núria Feliu With Booker Ervin
PDI CD: 80.4467 - Tete Montoliu & Núria Feliu 1965-1990 (1997)
d. Fine And Dandy - 02:16 (Paul James, Kay Swift)
Edigsa LP 12": CM 119 - Núria Feliu With Booker Ervin
PDI CD: 80.4467 - Tete Montoliu & Núria Feliu 1965-1990 (1997)

Sometimes incorrectly dated as from 1966.
Engineer: Francesc Batlle

Catalan titles are:
a. El país del ocells
b.c. Vés I perde't
d. Soc l'estrella
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a marvellous recording (kinda strange, but very nice for my tastes). All songs were standards traslated, adapted and rearranged by Jaume Picas and J.M.
Andreu and sung in Catalan by Núria Feliu.

Some more tracks were recorded with Booker Ervin, this time without Núria Feliu around that time:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: ca. 1966
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Label: Edigsa
Booker Ervin (ldr), Booker Ervin (ts), Tete Montoliu (p), Eric Peter (b), Billy Brooks (d)

a. Yesterdays (Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach)
b. Scoochee Coochee (Booker Ervin)
c. Just Friends (John Klenner, Sam M. Lewis)
d. Booker's Blues (Booker Ervin)

All titles on:
- Edigsa LP 12": CM 119 - Núria Feliu With Booker Ervin
- Edigsa CD: 80.2989 - Jazz A Catalunya

Possibly recorded at or around the time of the November 12, 1965 session of Booker Ervin with Núria Feliu.
Engineer possibly Francesc Batlle.
d. listed as El Blues D'En Booker on issues.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


And in the Antibes Jazz Festival (1966), there´s a recording leaded by Anita O´Day, with Tete Montoliu (p) and Eric Peter (b). Many sources list Billy Brooks as drummer, but Anita O´Day announces [John Poole].