Michael Fitzgerald

The two pianos that Van Gelder has are termed by some as "the Bud Powell" and "the Bill Evans," (for fairly obvious reasons). He still has two. As I mentioned in another thread, there are plenty of people who recorded at both Hackensack and Englewood Cliffs - Horace is certainly not the only living pianist to have done so. Ray Bryant, Hank Jones, Duke Jordan, Herman Foster, Hod O'Brien, Barry Harris, Freddie Redd, and Marian McPartland definitely recorded at both. Maybe Gil Coggins, Randy Weston, Jon Mayer, John Coates, Sal Mosca, Cliff Smalls, Johnny Williams, all of whom recorded at Hackensack - not sure if they recorded at Englewood Cliffs (so many discographies incorrectly list simply "New York" for Van Gelder Studio) but they still have the opportunity to do so. Mike

You want a bad drummer? I got a story - I played once (maybe 15 years ago?) with a guy who was an old time swing kind of player, but in a situation that was just a typical straightahead gig. Someone called "All Blues" and this guy played straight 4/4. Could not even tell he was off. The whole damn tune. It was surreal. I think if someone went and told him to play 3/4 he wouldn't have been able to. As I recall, his time was good, but he had absolutely no sense of repertoire or variety - he had his one bag and that was it. At least with the drum machine you can get the meter and style right! Mike

This is an average album - maybe a little better than average, but it was notable as it was a 10-year reunion of a band from a GREAT album - "Timeless" from 1974 (also on ECM): Abercrombie, Hammer, and DeJohnette. They added Mike Brecker for Night. Now, "Timeless" is a killer - don't let anyone ever bullshit you about ECM not having burning records. Try "Lungs" or "Red and Orange" - absolutely red hot. Jan Hammer plays wonderfully throughout on organ, piano, and Minimoog. Some points are clearly the progressive organ trio (a la Lifetime) sound. Then there are other acoustic tracks that balance things nicely. Best record I've ever heard from Abercrombie. Great tunes, great playing, a real high-water mark. Mike

Eddie Costa was a member of Gigi Gryce's final group, the Gigi Gryce Orch-tette, playing vibes alongside Richard Wyands on piano, and Costa appears on Gryce's Mercury album "Reminiscin'" - not yet on CD, but hopefully a few people got to hear something from it on the WFIU radio show today. I had the pleasure to speak with Eddie's son, I guess maybe 2 years ago. He was quite young when Eddie died in 1962 and has spent the subsequent 40 years learning about his father's career. A particular favorite of mine is the "Jazz Mission to Moscow" album on Colpix. There's one piano solo that is a jaw-dropper. I forget which. Mike

Also remember that several of the out of print Mosaic sets have been made available in their entirety in other forms (the Blue Note Brownie, Monk, and Bud 4-CD sets - now made at least partially obsolete by the RVG reissues), the Herbie Nichols Blue Note set - still in print?, the Desmond/Hall RCA which is just a little different, as is the Pacific Jazz Mulligan/Baker set and the Roost Getz set. Most if not all of the Freddie Redd has been put on individual CDs, Blakey, Chet live, the Green/Clark too, etc. etc. Not to mention those sets which were Mosaic Lp-only but on CD from Columbia (Miles, Mingus). Trying to look on the bright side of things - Mike

I do not mean reissue of the identical material, I mean additional tracks from the same recording sessions. Sometimes this involves another day - for example, August 3 and 4 for one album and August 4 and 5 for another. Prime example would be the "Waltz For Debby" and "Sunday at the Vanguard" albums by Bill Evans (and there was even additional stuff after those two!). Mike

Gigi comes from the initials G.G. and is pronounced that way. Mike

August 1965 is the date I've heard for that tape. What is the source for Gary Peacock's being there? I also know of other times (Vanguard, June 1965) when the band without Miles was billed under Herbie Hancock's name, with Richard Davis on bass. I know of no date for Miles Davis at the Vanguard in 1964 - but I haven't really looked. If there is some documentation, I'd like to know about it. I know they did play there in November 1965 (Thanksgiving weekend). Mike Upon reflection, I don't see how 1964 would really be possible: Shorter joined the band on September 18 in California, by September 25 (Berlin) they were in Europe until at least October 11 (Milan) then November 11 they started at the Plugged Nickel until November 22. The Vanguard advertised the following: Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln in late October Bill Evans and Roland Hanna in early and mid November Mose Allison and Art Farmer and Janet Lawson in mid December. On October 29, Miles was busy hosting a party for Robert F. Kennedy. If there is other info out there, I'd love to know about it. Mike

Here are a few that I know of that I don't see listed on the Vanguard site: Kenny Burrell - A Night At The Vanguard (Argo) Kenny Burrell - Generation (Blue Note) Kenny Burrell - Pieces of Blue and the Blues (Blue Note) from same dates as Generation Kenny Burrell - (Evidence) from same dates as Midnight At The Village Vanguard Arthur Blythe - Calling Card (Enja) from same dates as Retroflection Shirley Horn (CAN-AM) - probably a bootleg Johnny Griffin - NY Underground (Galaxy) Jazz Contemporaries - Reasons In Tonality (Strata East) Bill Lee - NY Bass Violin Choir (Strata East) Noah Howard - album on Intercord Steve Kuhn - The Vanguard Date (Owl Time) Joshua Redman - Wish (Warner Bros.) contains 1 track live at Vanguard (not same dates as Spirit of the Moment) Elvin Jones - albums on Honeydew (probably same dates as Enja album) Thelonious Monk - Straight No Chaser soundtrack (Columbia) Les McCann - How's Your Mother (32 Jazz) Carmen McRae - Woman Talk (Mainstream) Stan Getz - on Ingo - bootleg I think one of the Thad/Mel Solid States is missing also. There are probably hundreds of private tapes floating around from shows at the Vanguard. Mike

Before, it seems - that's from October 27, 1962. I know that the same band played McKie's in Chicago November 7-18, 1962. Not sure if that Chicago date is the one referred to or not. I don't have any info on Roach or Waldron in 1963. When Roach next appears in my notes, it's January 1964 in Europe with Coleridge Perkinson on piano. Waldron played at a CORE benefit at the Five Spot on April 19, 1964. Mike

Waldron's problem was not a stroke, as far as I know. Here's something from Keyboard magazine, July 1984 p.48 (article by Bob Doerschuk): ------ One other element in Waldron's life has had a strong impact on his present-day approach to playing and writing. It also helped motivate him to relocate in Europe. In 1963, the cutthroat competitiveness and lingering racial inequalities of the New York music scene caught up with him, precipitating a nervous breakdown and a one-year recovery period in various hospitals. Waldron remembers the first signs of this crisis in a scenario whose terrors perhaps only musicians can fully appreciate. "I was doing a job with Max Roach in Chicago," he remembers. "I came in, sat down at the piano, and suddenly discovered that I couldn't function. I could not remember how to play the piano. Oh, man, that was scary. I knew where Middle C was, but that was about it. I had a memory that I had played the piano, but I couldn't play it anymore. My hands were shaking, I couldn't keep time, and I couldn't remember the way I had moved through the changes." Once the recuperation process began, Waldron was able to learn the instrument again, starting essentially from scratch. Fortunately, some memory of his classical study remained, so he could rebuild his familiarity with the keyboard. But the style that he put together after his breakdown differed in several crucial respects from his earlier style. As Charlie Rouse describes it in an interview in the German magazine Jazz, "He played differently before he left. It was more melodic. Now it's more percussive, more rhythmic. You can hear it in the records." Waldron hears the differences too. "When my mind started coming back, little by little, I taught myself how to play again. I still feel like I'm not completely back yet," he laughs. "I'm still out there. When I listen to my earlier records, I hear qualities I'd like to recapture that are not really part of me at this moment. I sound like a different piano player then. Some things tie the two piano players together, like an economy of uses of material, for example, and the repetition aspect was definitely there then too. But I had a beautiful lyrical quality going in the early part of my career that I don't have back yet. I have to work on the melodic part of my playing, and get my notes more in the kind of line they were in before. I also hear changes I'd like to straighten out and maybe make more full." ----- Mike

Those who have played with him in recent months say it is amazing how quickly he is recovering his chops. At one jam session he played for over an hour straight, then took a break, then played for another 30 minutes. Worth noting that he had an extremely sound foundation, having studied with Fred Zimmermann of the NY Philharmonic. I suspect that makes a big difference. Yes, the bass he is using was donated by William Parker. Mike

This will be reissued on April 22, 2003. Tower says available to order on March 25. Mike

Could anyone who attends either or both shows, please contact me - wish I were able to make it, but I'm on the opposite coast. Hoping that HG will make a trip out this way sometime in the near future. Mike

Another thing that GT Hogan can tell stories about is the legendary Earl Bostic band - he was in it from 1953-56, when folks like Stanley & Tommy Turrentine, Blue Mitchell, Benny Golson, and Johnny Coles were passing through. Mike

Don't have these tracks, but I note that in discographies Wynton Kelly is listed not as pianist (that's Bobby Tucker) but as vocalist! He certainly got around - even played bass on one track for Abbey Lincoln's first Riverside album. Mike

Here is part of my response to the topic when I communicated with the party in question a few weeks ago: ---- What we as specialists need to do is ADD to the information, not merely reproduce it. We need to investigate private recordings, broadcasts, etc. We need to listen to the known records and note who lays out on what track, or when the tenor player switches to flute. We need to correct (and annotate) the longstanding errors that have been copied over and over by people who aren't interested in holding the artifacts or listening to the music. We need to identify track timings, composers, arrangers. Of course we also need to do all the "regular" things - fill in master numbers, get correct personnel, tune titles, issues, etc. The power of the internet is that the world has access to our work. What we do will set the new standard. Lord and Bruyninckx are just the tip of the iceberg. High quality specialized artist discographies are needed even more than ever now *because* of the wider dissemination of Lord and Bruyninckx CD-ROMs and the dreaded allmusic site (and similar pseudo-discographical efforts). When all was print, only the absolute fanatics bothered to acquire the resources. Now, for a few hundred dollars (or even for free with allmusic), the general fans may think they've got the full story. By remaining vigilant, we can remind them that this is not the case. I am reminded of what was mentioned in a recent article on the public domain issue - if almost anyone can issue certain recordings (applying the European 50-year law), just the *fact* of the recordings won't be enough of a selling point. Packaging, sound quality (source materials, transfers, and remastering), liner notes, discographical data, etc. will be the aspects that will give one CD issue an advantage over the others. The distribution of discographical tools to a wider audience encourages specialists to do better. ---- General (and sometimes even artist or label) discographies are really only starting points. There's always more work to be done. Mike

I don't like this as much as all the other trio albums - the sound is not so good. It improves somewhat over the course of the week. Particularly noticeable to me with the piano. The playing is marvelous, as usual. But I tend to listen to The Cure, or Standards in Norway, or Tribute much more. The recent ones too. Mike

The Prestige CDs were dropped from their catalog a few years ago. I guess the lease ran out or something. The three Vogue CDs are better anyway - they include more takes, and unedited takes (i.e., "No Start, No End" which runs 2:15 on most issues, but 11:47 on the Vogue CD). If you get those three, and the one alternately known as "Street Scenes" or "Gigi Gryce/Lucky Thompson In Paris" then you've got almost all of the 1953 Paris studio sessions by Hampton band members. However, there are a few things that were only ever issued on an extremely rare Japanese Vogue LP - but it's strictly for completists (and discographers). No Brown on it, just Gigi. Mike

Could we let this die? Please? There are benefits to the death of the Blue Note board, you know. Mike

Looking forward to doing the interview and I hope some folks are able to tune in. It's always a pleasure to spread the word and share the music. Just got word today from the Association of Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) that the book has been named as a finalist for their annual Award for Excellence. Mike

Are you sure that's not a description of the Englewood Cliffs studio? There are certainly four small rooms adjoining the main space there - typically used for piano, bass, drums, and soloist/vocalist. On some occasions, though RVG will still record "the old way" with everyone all together in the same big room. As for who played in Hackensack, there are lots - Benny Golson, Sonny Rollins, Marian McPartland, Horace Silver, Percy Heath, Danny Bank, Jimmy Cleveland, Frank Foster, Randy Weston, Phil Woods, Cecil Payne, Lee Konitz, Teo Macero, Curtis Fuller, Ira Sullivan, Slide Hampton, Louis Smith, Edwin Swanston, and on and on. Mike

From the Henry Grimes discography on my website: Date: November 29, 1961 Location: New York City Label: Atlantic ldr- Don Cherry; c- Don Cherry; b- Henry Grimes; d- Ed Blackwell 5829 The Idiot (Ornette Coleman) 5830 Harlemite (Don Cherry) 5831 Black Elk Speaks (Don Cherry) Details from Raben who says: Erroneously "Black Elk Speaks" was assigned to 2 masternumbers (5831 and 5832). 5829 is untitled - Raben says: Ornette Coleman composition - prob. "The Idiot".

Regarding the Cherry/Grimes/Blackwell session, the Raben discography notes: Erroneously "Black Elk Speaks" was assigned to 2 masternumbers (5831 and 5832). This explains the 4 vs. 3 titles, I guess. I'm excited to know that this still exists and hope to see it released someday (in my lifetime, preferably). Mike

I have all three of those Westbrook CDs issued by Deram (London/PolyGram/Universal) probably bought within the past two years or so - are the Redial issues older or newer? Mike