Richard Twardzik

[pryan]

What about the drummer (whose name I forget)?  He was a pretty notorious junkie... although in the end you can't blame anything but the power of heroin.

I assume you are referring to Peter Littman. Here's a passage about him, and his habits, from the aforementioned Baker bio (p. 109-110):

Russ Freeman, who had rejoined Baker part-time, considered Littman " a sycophant, a young punk, sort of creepy", and it alarmed him to see the interest Baker showed in his new discovery.  Freeman knew, as did everyone else, that Littman was a full-blown junkie.  He had already done time at the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in Kentucky, a rehab center where Sonny Rollins, Red Rodney, and countless other musicians went to kick heroin.  The treatment hadn't helped Littman, who was already physically impaired: a childhood illness had left him with only one lung, which he abused by smoking.

But he didn't except to live long anyway, and he seemed determined to burn out as explosively as he could.  Littman frightened his peers by flaunting dope at jam sessions, as though daring the cops to bust him and everybody else.  Recording and rehearsing with Baker, though, he was sneakily covert, whispering to the trumpeter and ignoring the others.  "There was always something going on that you didn't know about," said William Claxton, who couldn't stand him.

What Freeman didn't know is that Littman was pestering Baker to hire the drummer's best friend and needle buddy, Dick Twardzik, a twenty-four-year-old pianist whom many Boston jazzmen - as well as Charlie Parker, with whom he had worked - considered him a genius.  "The other piano players in Boston lived under his shadow," said Herb Pomeroy, a trumpeter who led a big band there.  But Twardzik was scuffling, partly from having to support a heroin habit that had begun in his teens.  Few noticed his first album, Richard Twardzik Trio, on Pacific Jazz - a record produced, ironically, by Freeman, one of his greatest fans.  In later years, the handful of musicians who knew that album declared it a masterpiece.  "If he had lived, he would probably have changed the whole course of jazz piano," said Mark Puricelli, a pianist and composer who came of age in the seventies.

Edited June 19, 2003 by pryan

[Chuck Nessa]

Couple of things. Memory fades, but I'm not sure the "2 takes" of "Crab" are really different. Next - the new Uptown Eager cd starts with a set at the Hi-Hat with about 20 minutes of fine performances with Allen and the Twardzik trio.

[Larry Kart]

Chuck -- I'm probably the source of this, because when it dawned on me a few years back that the alternate and original takes of "Crutch" sounded identical throughout, both head and solos -- which suggested either that they were the same take mistakenly repeated or that there were two different takes but that Twardzik's solo was all worked-out beforehand (like a stride piece) -- I sent an e-mail about this to Cuscuna and got the following reply, which I forwarded to you:

"I'm sure Twardzik didn't reproduce a solo note for note. This must have been a mistake or confusion from tape boxes or discographies that I repeated. Unfortunately, I have no notes or memory of this."

The above refers to the American issue, though. Could it be that the TOJC, which I don't have, includes a legitimate alternate take of "Crab"? Or does it repeat the duplication of takes?

[brownie]

My understanding of the Baker-Littman collaboration (I hate to use the term

'connection') is that Baker hired Littman to have the drummer to purvey him

with the wrong substances. Baker knew enough about good drummers to be

aware that Littman was not a very good musician.

In his 'Deep in a Dream' book, James Gavin fails to mention that Littman fled

from Paris the day or a couple of days after Twardzik's death on October 21, 1955.

He had to be replaced by Swedish drummer Nils-Bertil Dahlander for Chet Baker's

October 24 Blue Star session where he recorded 'These Foolish Things'.

'In Memory of Dick' was recorded at another Blue Star session on October 25 (with

Dahlander on drums).

I don't have a copy of the 'Deep in a Dream' book with me right now but Gavin

mentioned that Serge Chaloff physically attacked Littman when the drummer showed

up shortly after in a Boston club.

[EKE BBB]

I think it was Joachim Berendt in his "The book of jazz: From New Orleans to Jazz Rock and beyond" who mentions Twardzik was very influenced by Lennie Tristano, though Dick was a bop-based pianist.

[Clunky]

Great thread- spurred on by the above I finally took the plunge got PayPal and ordered TRIO and Eddie Costa's "House of Blue Lights" from Early Records.

Wow and double wow. Amazing service , speed and simply incredible music on these two discs.

[paul secor]

Finally, there's an interesting Twardzik "songbook" on the market:

BVHAAST 9912

Frank Van Bommel Quartet

A CRUTCH FOR THE CRAB

Joe: Any comments on this? Sounds interesting - I'd like to know more.

[Joe]

Paul -- I haven't listened to it in a good while, but I recall it being quite nice. Twardzik's compositions are not the sort that benefit from any smoothing out, and Van Bommel and co. respect this.

[paul secor]

Thanks, Joe. I'll put it on my constantly growing list of things to check out.

[Dmitry]

The Incomplete Works of Richard Twardzik

A Crutch for the Crab

Edited July 15, 2003 by Dmitry

[romualdo]

Baker/Twardzik Acetate for sale on ebay at present - asking $4625!! (seller Camembert Records)

Pleyel Oct 4, 1955

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DICK-TWARDZIK-CHET-BAKER-private-unreleased-acetate-1955-LISTEN-/130750874650?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item1e715c041a

there's a sound sample also included

Has this been discussed here previously?

[paul secor]

Speaking of another pianist whose life was tragically cut short, isn't Carl Perkins the "crab" in "A Crutch For the Crab"?

Later,

Kevin

Is that right? I never realized that.

About Twardzik's "A Crutch For The Crab" referring to Carl Perkins, if you're going only on the crab-like way Perkins used his left hand, that seems thin evidence to me, especially when the title gives me the feeling that the "Crab" was someone Twardzik knew (if it was not the supposedly high-strung Twardzik's own nickname), and I don't think it's likely that the Boston-based Twardzik and the L.A.-based Perkins ever crossed paths. It's not impossible that they did, but I'd want some testimony. I assume we know or can guess what the "A Crutch For" part of the title refers to and/or plays off of.

"A Crutch for the Crab" probably derives from an old saying. Cousin Joe had a lyric, one line of which went, "I wouldn't give a Crippled Crab a Crutch". That may come from an old expression, "You're so cheap, you wouldn't give a crippled crab a crutch." This probably makes as much or possibly more sense than the song making reference to pianist Carl Perkins.

[Big Beat Steve]

"A Crutch for the Crab" probably derives from an old saying. Cousin Joe had a lyric, one line of which went, "I wouldn't give a Crippled Crab a Crutch". That may come from an old expression, "You're so cheap, you wouldn't give a crippled crab a crutch." This probably makes as much or possibly more sense than the song making reference to pianist Carl Perkins.

Not to forget Dizzy Gillespie's recording of "Cripple Crapple Crutch" (rec. April 11, 1952) where he clearly sings that he wouldn't "give a crippled crab a crutch" either.

[bichos]

Baker/Twardzik Acetate for sale on ebay at present - asking $4625!! (seller Camembert Records)

Pleyel Oct 4, 1955

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DICK-TWARDZIK-CHET-BAKER-private-unreleased-acetate-1955-LISTEN-/130750874650?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item1e715c041a

there's a sound sample also included

Has this been discussed here previously?

sounds like "my old flame"...

keep boppin´

marcel

[Late]

Could it be that the TOJC, which I don't have, includes a legitimate alternate take of "Crab"? Or does it repeat the duplication of takes?

Bumping this to remind myself to check the Japanese version this week. I think there is no legitimate alternate take, and that the master and "alternate" are actually one in the same. It's a good excuse to spin this disc again. Haven't in some time.

[Head Man]

Could it be that the TOJC, which I don't have, includes a legitimate alternate take of "Crab"? Or does it repeat the duplication of takes?

Bumping this to remind myself to check the Japanese version this week. I think there is no legitimate alternate take, and that the master and "alternate" are actually one in the same. It's a good excuse to spin this disc again. Haven't in some time.

I guess this is borne out by the fact that there is no alternate take on the Mosaic Select set, "Pacific Jazz Trios".

BTW this is the sort of really interesting thread that keeps me coming back to this board. Great stuff!

[CraigP]

"BTW this is the sort of really interesting thread that keeps me coming back to this board. Great stuff!"

Agreed. I'd heard Twardzik's name, but I don't think I've heard any of his music. Just ordered the Twardzik/Freeman trio recording. I used to think of the 50's as "the hard bop era" , mostly because of all the Fantasy/Prestige/Milestone twofer reissues that came out in the 70's, but there was a lot more going on under the surface.

[ArtSalt]

I have the second run of the trio CD from 2001 it states the following: The first CD of this material carried an alternative take of a "A Crutch For The Crab" which was actually the same as the master take. The original master tape for the introduction of "A Crutch For The Crab" has been stretched beyond repair. That portion of the song was dubbed from LP.

My understanding of the did Baker supply Twardzik with the drugs that killed him debate, is that Baker subsequently made out during this period he was clean and it was only after the death of the gifted pianist that he took to junk to find solace from the pain of the loss. Twardzik's family certainly blamed Baker and with the archaic drug laws of the period, it was likely Baker would resort to all means necessary to distance himself from being seen as a user of heroin. In any event, Twardzik had a habit, or at least was using it before the tour of Europe. As Russ Freeman has stated in interviews, he was first choice as pianist, but having flirted with heroin before, he took one look at the junk filled eyes of Baker and the crew he had surrounded himself with and decided that was definitely not for him. So, Baker was already a user and addicted before the tour.

The biography is now available by Jack Chambers Bouncin' With Bartok: The Incomplete Works of Richard Twardzik.

I am a fan of Bob Zieff's composing and arranging with Chet Baker in the late 50s, it would have been interesting to see how this progressed in the 60s, if they had worked together further.

Edited February 10, 2014 by ArtSalt

[jlhoots]

"BTW this is the sort of really interesting thread that keeps me coming back to this board. Great stuff!"

Agreed. I'd heard Twardzik's name, but I don't think I've heard any of his music. Just ordered the Twardzik/Freeman trio recording. I used to think of the 50's as "the hard bop era" , mostly because of all the Fantasy/Prestige/Milestone twofer reissues that came out in the 70's, but there was a lot more going on under the surface.

Great album IMO.

[Bluesnik]

He made only one date - excellent - under his name for Pacific Jazz.

This was coupled with a Russ Freeman trio date when it was reissued.

The Freeman/Twardzik Trio album can be heard on said Super Bit Classics TOCJ reissue and on the Pacific Jazz Piano Trios Mosaic Select.

[AllenLowe]

for my money the best Twardzik is the thing he recorded at home - amazing version of I'll Remember April.

[Daniel A]

I'm I decade late, but as for the speculations about the dedicatee of 'A Crutch for a Crab' earlier in this thread I can add that James Gavin claims that it was in fact written for Arthur Rubinstein, allegedly Twardzik's hero, and "whose hands, Twardzik felt, looked like crabs on the keys".

[BeBop]

I've had a copy of the Chambers book waiting in my mailbox for about six months.

[AllenLowe]

the Chambers book, which I read recently, is very good.

[Larry Kart]

Previous thread in which I express some (perhaps significant, perhaps not) reservations about the Chambers Twardzik bio:

BTW, just be clear, in the initial post on that thread, when Chambers quotes Bob Zieff as saying "I wasn't considered a bone-fried bopster," what Zieff actually said was "I wasn't considered a bona fide bopster." But then we've probably all known some bona fide bone-fried bopsters.

In any case, I wearied of the book's (to me) frequent air of factual unreliability (especially worrisome in the case of Twardzik, a short-lived romantic figure whose life lends itself to fantasizing, embroidery, and pump-up-the-volume speculation but a man about whom reliable information, let alone information period, is far from abundant). Thus I never finished the book, though it still is there on a shelf.