Larry Kart

McCoy Tyner's "Just Feelin'" (Palo Alto Jazz) 1985, with Avery Sharpe and Louis Hayes. McCoy is quoted in the notes as saying that it's one of his best; I think he's right. Excellent recording job and piano, too.

Johnny Griffin was "The Little Giant" because he was short of stature but stood tall as a player.

Hmm -- that was stupid on Rosen's part. When I got into Balzac about ten years ago, I was overwhelmed. Two that blew me away were fairly obscure I think -- "Beatrix" and "A Tenebrous Affair." I picked them because I was convinced (rightly I think) that the quality of the translations would be crucial for me, and these two were part of a generally excellent series of translations of French fiction that were commissioned in the immediate postwar era by an English firm, the Elek Press. Sadly, those Elek translations cost a lot on the used book market these days when they can be found at all; happily, our local library still has the copies they bought back then. I'd love to "liberate" them some day, before they get deacessioned.

Wilfred Mellers' book The Sonata Principle had a major effect on me. Did Rosen also write a book with that title? Sorry for the confusion. I gave to Rosen's book "The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven" the title of Mellers' book, which I too read and learned from.

'Earl Hines was christened with the nickname of “Fatha” by the MC of his radio show. Before a show the MC was found passed out drunk on a table. Earl lectured the MC about his drinking. At the start of the show the angry announcer, stinging from Earl’s fatherly advice, introduced Earl and his band saying “Here comes Fatha Hines out of the forest with his children.” Earl hated the nickname “Fatha” but it stuck.' No need to ask about Fats Waller. Billie Holiday dubbed Lester Young "Pres" because FDR was the most important man in America at the time, and she thought that Young was the most important musician. 'Dodo Marmarosa received the uncomplimentary nickname "Dodo" as a child because of his large head and short body.'

I feel a bit funny about what might be seen as picking on Charlap, but to my mind (based on some but far from comprehensive experience with his music), there's something kind of odd going on here. About nine years ago I bought one of Charlap's early albums (it may have been his first under his own name), "Souvenir" (Criss Cross), in part because at the time I'd come to trust Gerry Teekens' taste. And it was pretty good -- not highly individual but fluent/sober, kind of like a variation in temperament on the playing of the late Dick Katz. Over time I heard Charlap as a sideman on a few things, and while he seemed rather chameleon-like, fitting in with the relative heat and harmonic edginess of trombonist Conrad Herwig, and playing OK as well in more in-the-tradition settings, I was damn well puzzled by two albums from the early 2000s from his working trio (with Peter Washington and Kenny Washington), "Written on the Stars" and "Stardust" (both on Blue Note). Some stylistic shape-shifting in this (or rather that) day and age is not without precedent, especially when all the material is standards. But on both albums it sounded like Charlap had consciously vowed not to do anything harmonically (or rhythmically, but mainly harmonically) that would have been out of place at, say, the Hickory House in 1955. I say "consciously" because I can't imagine that anyone of Charlap's age and musical background could have produced these performances other than by willing himself to, in effect, forget or ignore all that had happened in the history of jazz piano since '55 and a good deal that had happened before that as well. Now I'm OK on a case by case basis with stylistic shape-shifting when the goal is to inhabit or re-inhabit worthwhile more or less ensemble-oriented music of the fairly distant past, like that of, say, Clarence Williams, which France's Les Petit Jazz Band does with insight and emotional commitment, leaving room for quite individual solo contributions by the likes of clarinetist Alain Marquet. But what was there about the cocktail jazz of the Hickory House c. 1955 that calls for its virtual re-creation, and this on the part of a player who presents himself as an improvising jazz musician? (BTW, any sampling of the music of two pianists who worked in that milieu at that time, Barbara Carroll and Marian McPartland, will yield playing of considerable zest and inventiveness that leaves the Charlap of "Written on the Stars" and "Stardust" sounding virtually embalmed.) Not that I've brooded over this, but I wondered what led Charlap to do what it sounded to me like he was doing. I couldn't imagine that it was a natural stylistic evolution on his part, but if it was essentially calculated and gig-oriented, was there really a demand in, say, the NYC area, where Charlap mostly worked, for this kind of would-be musical-time traveling and for Charlap's IMO quite static end results? Then yesterday, I ran across and (shame on me) bought for $2 a copy of Charlap's "Live at the Village Vanguard" (Blue Note) trio album from 2007. Things were as before but even more so and perhaps odder. A ballad like "Autumn in New York" was even more static, if that were possible -- harmonically and rhythmically vanilla in what again I can only assume was a willed manner. But the performance of George Wallington's "Godchild" (a piece that Charlap played quite nicely in 1995 on "Souvenir" in his aforementioned neo-Dick Katz manner of the time) was now -- the only term I can think of -- absolutely mincing, marked by a host of coy accents and phrases so "shaded" that they pretty much disappeared in the act of playing. What the heck was this? I thought, on the way to Half-Price Books to sell the darn thing for a buck. Does anyone have a clue? To me it's like musical science fiction, a trip to an alternate world that leads me to wonder whether the planet I thought I lived on still actually exists.

Rosen's CBS labels recordings: J.S. Bach: "The Last Keyboard Works of Bach" Goldberg Variations Art of Fugue The 2 ricercars from The Musical Offering Odyssey, (P) 1969 Bartók: Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs Bartók: Études, op. 18 Liszt: Réminiscences de Don Juan Liszt: Sonetto 104 del Petrarca Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody no. 10 Epic, (P) 1964 Beethoven: "Charles Rosen Plays Beethoven" Piano Sonata no. 29, op. 106, "Hammerklavier" Piano Sonata no. 31, op. 110 Epic, (P) 1965 Beethoven: "The Late Piano Sonatas": Sonatas 27-32 [british] CBS, (P) 1970 Columbia, (P) 1971 Boulez: Piano Sonatas 1 & 3 Columbia, (P) 1973 Elliott Carter: Piano Sonata Epic, (P) 1962 Elliott Carter: Double Concerto w/Ralph Kirkpatrick, harpsichord; Gustav Meier, conductor Epic, (P) 1962 Elliott Carter: Double Concerto w/Paul Jacobs, harpsichod; ECO; Frederick Prausnitz, conductor Columbia, (P) 1968 Chopin Recital Epic, (P) 1960 Frédéric Chopin: Piano Concerto no. 2 Franz Liszt: Piano Concerto no. 1 New Philharmonic Orchestra, John Pritchard Epic, (P) 1969 Debussy: Études Epic, (P) 1962 Debussy Recital Epic, (P) 1967 Haydn Sonatas No. 20 in C minor No. 46 in A flat major No. 44 in G minor [british] CBS, (P) 1969 Vanguard, (P) 1978 Liszt: see Bartók & Chopin Mozart: see Schubert Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit Le tombeau de Couperin Epic, (P) 1960 Schoenberg: 2 Piano Pieces, op. 33a & 33b Schoenberg: Suite for Piano, op. 25 Stravinsky: Serenade in A Stravinsky: Sonata Epic, (P) 1961 Schubert: Sonata in A major, D. 959 Mozart: Rondo in A minor, K. 511 Epic, (P) 1963 Schumann: Carnaval Davidsbündlertänze Epic, (P) 1963 Stravinsky: Movements for Piano & Orchestra Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Stravinsky Columbia, (P) 1961 Stravinsky: see also Schoenberg Webern: Complete Works with opus numbers 5 Lieder, op. 3 [Heather Harper] 5 Lieder, op. 4 [Heather Harper] 4 pieces for violin & piano, op. 7 [isaac Stern] 3 pieces for cello & piano, op. 11 [Piatigorsky] Quartet for violin, clarinet, tenor sax, & piano, op. 22 3 songs, op. 23 [Heather Harper] 3 songs, op. 25[Heather Harper] Variations for piano, op. 27 Recorded 1969-1971 Columbia, (P) 1978 VIRTUOSO! Recital of showpieces by pianists (Rosenthal, Godowsky, Rachmaninov, etc.) Epic, (P) 1966

His writing over the years had about as much of an effect on me as that of anyone who wrote about music. He fought a lot of good fights with great effectiveness. His little book about Schoenberg is a particular gem. And the two big ones -- "The Sonata Principle" and "The Romantic Generation" -- are virtual monuments. I also like the way in his later days that he pretty much gutted that dangerous jerk Richard Taruskin. And LOTS of fascinating recordings.

There is none so far. The post I quoted from Rec. Music.Classical.Recordings is all there is. OTOH, here is a YouTube link to "Virtuoso!" https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC84591F610ACAA45 Rosen's notes are included, also the pompadour photo.

There's "Virtuoso!" (Epic), c. 1965, a disc of 19th Century and early 20th Century arrangements: Mendelssohn-Rachmaninov, Strauss-Godowsky, Schubert-Liszt, Strauss-Taussig, Kreisler-Rachmaninov, Bizet-Rachmaninov, Chopin-Rosenthal, and Strauss-Rosenthal. It's quite something. Nice, and perhaps surprising, passage from Rosen's notes about the Bizet-Rachmaninov (a transcription of the minuet from the "L'Arlesienne Suite"): "The details are as exquisite as in all of Rachmaninov's work -- with the use of sonority for rhythmic effects --and his melancholy is everywhere felt." Photo on the back shows Rosen in an imposing hairstyle, a kind of pompadour that is about a quarter as tall as the rest of his head. Reminds me of the way my paternal grandmother did her hair. He also recorded some Bartok for Epic.

OK, but a JAZZ master? If, say, Billy Byers were still with us, would he be one? And I'm pretty sure that Byers' jazz credentials were more substantial than Henderson's.

In a review of a Pass solo gig at the Jazz Showcase, I described his work as a kind of navel gazing. This inspired fierce denunciations from several local guitarists.

Seriously, Mike Wofford -- lots of fine, quite individual playing over the years, albeit in later years away from major jazz centers With some question marks: Gary Peacock, Barbara Carroll. The latter more into cabaret in later years but a notable player for a good while; the former ... early on, yes; later on, it's up to you.

Tox Drohar

So the f--- what?!! At least Elliot Lawrence, also a Broadway mainstay, led a good jazz band at one time.

Luther Henderson?

You must mean this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAVguiMA5Uk Love the way Fred and Ginger get almost savage at the 1:12 mark.

Post from elsewhere: Sony is about to issue a box devoted to recordings of Charles Rosen. No idea what the contents will be, of course. Possible now that [Peter] Gelb has left Sony.

I'm not the greatest fan of his music, but the absence of Gary Burton is a puzzler. He's been prominent for a LONG time, no? And at times he's been something of a style setter, too.

He was a NEA Jazz Master in 1990.

Good call. Need to catch up on Cowell. I see that there's a good deal on Steeplechase since the last one I got.

I remember someone once referring to Tolliver's "nanny goat" tone.

Listened to the first side of the LP last night. Think I can see why that trombone player going apeshit over that Berg solo was an iconic moment for you -- probably from several points of view. Have no direct experience of North Texas State myself, or even that much of the jazz-ed scene general (though I did have some interesting/illuminating experiences visiting Berklee and the NEC ion the mid-'80s), but that Berg solo and the trombonist's reaction to it probably sums up a great deal -- a world and an era.

For some reason, when I think of Wallach I also think of Martin Balsam, in particular the look on his face as he tumbles down the stairs in "Psycho,"Wendell Corey (if you can track it down, catch him in the noir "Desert Fury") , and the great Arthur Kennedy in any number of roles but especially in Anthony Mann's "The Far Country," opposite Jimmy Stewart. There were some terrific so-called character actors around back then, gifted at playing figures who were equivocal in one way or another.

Thanks for the correction, Justin.