marcello

Hey Allen, mabe you should be asking what ever happened to RUTH Gordon?

OK, maybe it's time to start this topic. JSngry asked, on another thread about drummer DAVID LEE who was/is a great drummer with Sonny Rollins and Dizzy Gillespie. I love his playing too, Jim. Does anyone have any information?

Spider's motto was "When in doubt, take it out!"

This is where I found a page dedicates to Spider: Spider Martin Spider was from Niagara Falls, which is close to Buffalo, and lived in Rochester for about 10 years after his release from Attica prison. He was always getting in trouble for passing bad paper, drugs and burning his bridges; it was like he coulnd'nt help himself! He could hustle a gig better than anyone, though. When he got out of prison in the early 70's, he got a concert organizied with the Rochester Philharmonic showcaseing him, in a couple of months. Soon, he was playing everywhere. His bands had local players like a young Joe Locke on vibes and Steve Davis (on electric bass from John Coltrane's group before Jimmy Garrison and McCoy Tyner's brother-in-law) along with the occasional Eastman student like Tom Whaley ( on drums, who went on to play with Woody Herman and Red Rodney ) and Barry Kiener on piano along with older, local vetrans who also had some "big time" history. Spider's big name claim to fame was his work with Lionel Hampton in the 50's and 60's, and of course, because he was from the Buffalo area, Grover Washington ( who was much younger ) and Lonnie Smith. Spider wasn't that much of a player because he spent most of his times on scams and didn't put the time into his horn, but I loved him as a person. I spent a lot of time with him and his band after hours and he DID know everyone in the Jazz Scene in the country. He introduced me to Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Hayes, Jimmy Owens, Percy Heath, Max Roach and many others who passed through. Spider was a typical tenor/organ/soul jazz/ blues player who could play with a lot of heart in that genre, when he was inspired to. After about 10 years, he ran out of town because of trouble and dug himself in South Flordia, where he again went thouh a series of goog giugs and made himself the "Jazz Guy" in the Miami area. The last time I saw him play was at a concert he put together in Miami, in 1986, at the Gussman theatre there for MLK Day. He called in his friends to play like Dizzy, Joe Locke, Mongo and the Miami flute player, Nestor Torres. After a number of years, he was on the run one again and settled back in Niagara Falls, where he died in 2000. That photo with Lonnie and Lou looks like a later one when he came back from Miami.

Here is a photo Of Lou Donaldson, Spider Martin and Lonnie Smith.

Hal Galper - Now Hear This with Tony Williams HAL GALPER: NOW HEAR THIS ENJA RECORDS, ENJA 2090(LP) (P)1977 ENJA RECORDS GmbH, W.GERMANY RECORDED: FEBRUARY 15, 1977 RELEASED: 1977, W.GERMANY RE-ISSUED: CROWN RECORDS, ENJ-1026(CD) Hal Galper : piano Terumasa Hino : trumpet, flugelhorn Cecil McBee : bass Tony Williams : drums TRACKS (total time 40:46) : 1. Now Hear This (8:19) [Hal Galper] 2. Shadow Waltz (6:11) [Hal Galper] 3. Mr. Fixit (5:02) [Hal Galper] 4. First Song In The Day (9:02) [Hal Galper] 5. Bemsha Swing (6:09) [Thelonious Monk] 6. Red Eye Special (5:32) [Hal Galper]

Sorry, but I think she is quite unlistenable! It's a shame that she has to rip off Billie, and a bad rip off at that, to make a name for herself!

Well, Soul Stream, I'll try before going to work: As I said, Groove Holmes I liked because he played interesting music. By that I mean he played music of the day ( and the blues, of course ) and didn't pander too much to the crowd with effects. He played nice modern changes and had a way of making long lines interesting and "grooving" at the same time. Charles Earland, I liked also, but he REALLY had a crowd pleaseing bent so much that it could be a turn-off for me. I remember always seeing him with either a quartet ir quintet ( a guitar and tenor ). That said, he had a great rapport with the audience. Jimmy McGriff played here a lot also. I mentioned before of a Quartet that Buddy Rich had with him that played for a week here. He also seemed always to come with a quartet. He always impressed me and put on a organized set. Jimmy Smith I only saw once but he played his ass off and, if I remember right, had something wrong with his hand or arm and played mostly with one hand. One of a kind! Lonnie Smith I saw really often. He lived in Buffalo and used to come here so often he may have had one of several 'sisters" that he lived with here. Small, skinny with conked staight hair, he was a favorite with the women who used to flaunt themselves in front of him. He played quite often at the clubhouse ( which was open to the public ) of the Knights of Pythias called The Pythodd Club, where many bands from NYC used to play including Roland Kirk, Art Blakey, Johnny Lytell etc. and was in the oldest Black neighborhood of the city. Lonnie appeared often with local players, if he was here for more than a week. He could play a whole set of ballads very softly with a lot of color and power. He would make the organ whisper like you would into a lover's ear. The ladies loved it! I saw him last Summer and he had the same old schtick when you shook hand with him. He would hold onto your hand, look you in the eye and say" You owe me money! I KNOW you owe me money!" I almost forgot Jack Mc Duff. He always had Joe Dukes with him on drums. Have you ever heard 'Rock Candy"? That's the way I remember him! There were also, of course, many local player with Tenor /Organ groups to hear. It was cheaper than getting together a quartet. White and Black groups. Hell, Doug Duke had a club here! One of the pioneers. At his club he had a lift that the organ sat on that came up from the basement. So the lihts would go down, the organ sounds would come from below, vibrating the floor ( It was a small, narrow club ), and it would rise up in volume with Duke on the organ through the floor! Show Business!

You must realize that the outlets for organ groups dried up in the 70's. The audience, untill the 90's ,as was rightly stated above, were in the Black neighborhoods, more often than not. Those clubs went away because of economics, crime and the loss of a younger Black audience to more commercial music. Hearing him live, Groove Holmes was the very best that I saw here in Rochester ( a town that was a very good home to many organ groups ) because of his overall muscianship and lack of shucking and jiving for the audience, which is a addiction to a lot of B-3 players, then and now. Joe Dukes! Yea!

Oh My God Chaney! Dickens Lives! Western New York is getting to you Man! I always thought that Buffalo was more depressing than Rochester. Not that much more though, but enough; keep your chin up and you ear cocked. Help is on the way! Think of all of those great players from Buffalo who made it out: Lonnie Smith Mel Lewis Don Menza Sam Noto Jim Hall Hell, my avitar is a photo of ( the not so great, but was a friend ) young Spider Martin! Here is a photo of Menza for you. Keep The Faith!

I just tried the Hiram Bullock link and it worked fine, Mike. Do a search for him and you can come up with it with your browser of choice.

What CD is it that Joe and the Turbanator are on? Here it is, Mike, from The Hiram Bullock website: Hiram Bullock Late Night Talk (1997) My jazz album, definitely a mellower sound. Features Dr. Lonnie Smith on organ, Idris Muhammad on drums, Joe Locke on vibes, Ed Howard on acoustic bass.Hiram Bullock

Well Mike, as you know, that recording dosn't feature Joe Locke on all tracts, so I didn't mention it. Joe Has recorded with Dr. Smith, but not a whole cd and not when Lonnie was the leader. Hell, let's those people at Palmetto a email and make the suggestion! Palmetto Records

This should be a possible new thread, don't you think, as in "What Ever Happpen To.....?" With all of the dedicated researchers and fans here, it should always be interesting.

[quote= I suspect Joe Locke must have done something along those lines - I know how he did a gig at Blues Alley with Larry Goldings that I stupidly skipped, and we discussed later how rare that combination is. Bertrand.

Billy Mitchell - "The Colossus Of Detroit" (Xanadu 158 LP) Billy Mitchell(ts), Barry Harris(p), Sam Jones(b), Walter Bolden(dr) '78/4/18 RECORDA-ME ; I HAD THE CRAZIEST DREAM ; I SHOULD CARE ; UNFORGETTABLE ; HOW AM I TO KNOW? ; BE MY GUEST

I havn't seen all that many posts regarding their expierences there. When I used to go there a lot during the 70's, it had a nice friendly vibe. No hassles from the staff to buy drinks and the crowd could express themselves as they felt as long as it was coming from the right place and they wern't a drag to others. The schedule was much more progressive then than it is now, IMHO. I think I saw Max Gordon there EVERY time I was there; sometimes with his head down on his chest at a middle or back table, listenning...nodding. Very mellow. I NEVER saw Lorraine Gordon there; I think they were sepatated for a long time before his death, although I can't say it is a fact. Recently, I've heard her say some rather lame/uncool things to some muscians. But the place is still great. How often can you sit in a room with so much history?

Home Builder - Real Estate Developer - Part Time Artist Mangement

I do believe you can get this Pettiford on cd now. Mine is on vinyl and I do indeed like, Mike!

Speaking of Japanese players, what about Ryo Kawasaki, who I remember with Elvin Jones on the 70's. Did he go smooth jazz? With Elvin, he was on fire!

Hey, Allen! Your fav!

I have a wonderful version on Oscar Pettiford - "Orchestra In Hi Fi" with Oscar playing cello. On Paramount Records. Oscar Pettiford: Orchestra In Hi-Fi, Volume 2 abc-Paramount 227 1. Now See How You Are [Oscar Pettiford & W. Harris] 2. I Remember Clifford [benny Golson] 3. Aw! Come On [Oscar Pettiford] 4. Somewhere [Ray Copeland] 5. Laura [David Raskin] 6. Little Niles [Randy Weston] 7. Seabreeze [Larry Douglas] Gigi Gryce-asx, arr Benny Golson-tsx, arr Jerome Richardson-tsx, f Sahib Shihab-bsx Ray Copeland-tpt Art Farmer-tpt (1-5) Kenny Dorham-tpt (6-7) Julius Watkins, David Amram-fr hn Al Grey-tbn Betty Glamman-hrp (2, 5-7) Dick Katz-p Oscar Pettiford-b Gus Johnson-d August 23, 1957 (1-3) August 30, 1957 (4-5) September 6, 1957 (6-7) NYC

The Doctor's conception on ballads is a fine example of playing love songs on the B-3. Soft, emotional and soulful. When he pulls out those stops and he starts whispering... Wow! It's DEEP and geting to be a lost art. Enjoy it while you can.

Yes Sir! He was in the house band there for several years. You'll find him on many of those Ronnie Scott recordings. Here is a quote: In 1964, [saxophonist] Ronnie Scott offered me the job as house bassist at the club. So I became a part of the house rhythm section and got to play with all the jazz greats; I remained there for two years." For Laird, his tenure at the club was a tremendous learning experience; he played for one month with each of a succession of horn players such as Ben Webster, Art Farmer, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Stitt, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He also accompanied the late jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery. Here he is with Ronnie Scott and Ben Webster: What happened to him?

I was just about to add this one also! Albert "Tootie" Heath Drums, Tambourine James Mtume Conga, Percussion Jimmy Heath Flute, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor ) Bob Cranshaw Bass Kenny Barron Piano, Piano (Electric)