David Young

[Daniel A]

I recently got to hear George Russell's 'Jazz in the Space Age'. I didn't recognize the sound of the tenor saxophonist upon hearing the album, and I was very surprised to find that I had never heard of his name, David Young. Whatever became of him? He has a fine extended solo on one of the cuts on the album - can't remember which one - but unfortunately it's marred by several very audible edits.

[Dmitry]

Young was one of Russell's students, if I remember correctly. He's also prominently featured on Russell's Stratusphunk and At The Five Spot.

I don't know what had become of him; perhaps he went into the music education field.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

The entire BAND was Russell's students. Dave Young's name came up the other day when I was talking with David Baker and Larry Ridley about the Lenox School of Jazz. DY was there in 1960 (as were all the rest of the Russell sextet - Baker, Al Kiger, Joe Hunt, Chuck Israels - Don Ellis, who later replaced Kiger, was there too).

Young later worked with Mongo Santamaria, Mercer Ellington, Jack McDuff. Pretty sure he is still in Indiana. He still plays there and recorded with Jack Gilfoy and Jimmy Coe. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation Hall of Fame in 2001. I suspect we could get more info from our favorite Bloomington radio personality.

Mike

[Larry Kart]

That brings to mind the very fine tenorman who took Young's place with Russell, Paul Plummer, who became an even more striking and individual player in later years. I know of three recordings of his work besides what the two albums he did with Russell ("The Stratus Seekers" and "The Outer View") -- a 1986 LP, "Detroit Opium Den" (Resound), with drummer Ron Enyard, guitarist Tony Byrne, and organist Steve Corn, and two Cadence CDs, rec. 4/3/97 at a gig in Indianapolis, "Driving Music Vols. 1 &2," with Al Kiger, Enyard, pianist Charles Wilson, and bassist Lou Lausche. (All these musicians were based in Indianapolis and/or Cincinnati.) Unfortunately, per a phone conversation I had with Enyard a couple of years back, Plummer began to suffer from severe dental problems, at some point after the '97 recording had to have all or most of his teeth removed, and is no longer able to play very much if at all. He was special, though -- perhaps comparable stylistically to the Rollins of the Cherry-Grimes-Higgins-band era but his own man really. And if you only know his work with Russell, he did continue to grow.

[ghost of miles]

The entire BAND was Russell's students. Dave Young's name came up the other day when I was talking with David Baker and Larry Ridley about the Lenox School of Jazz. DY was there in 1960 (as were all the rest of the Russell sextet - Baker, Al Kiger, Joe Hunt, Chuck Israels - Don Ellis, who later replaced Kiger, was there too).

Young later worked with Mongo Santamaria, Mercer Ellington, Jack McDuff. Pretty sure he is still in Indiana. He still plays there and recorded with Jack Gilfoy and Jimmy Coe. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation Hall of Fame in 2001. I suspect we could get more info from our favorite Bloomington radio personality.

Mike

But--but--I thought Michael Bourne moved to WBGO years ago!

I'm trying to track down Young right now myself. As Mike says, he does still play in Indianapolis--fellow poster sheldonm saw him play with Jimmy Coe's big band just a few months ago at the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis. I think he still lives in Indianapolis as well. There's an early 1980s documentary on Indiana Avenue (Indianapolis' main stem) in which Young can be seen periodically, playing a tenor sax in front of windswept abandoned spots on the Avenue.

Young was in Baker's hard-bop band around 1959 or so (I haven't nailed down the dates yet), a group that was, as Mike points out, almost entirely absorbed into George Russell's working unit that recorded for Decca. They played a number of Indianapolis bars such as the Topper and George's; Indpls., as you may already know, had quite a thriving jazz scene in those days. Wes Montgomery (who had already been out on the road with Lionel Hampton's band years before) was "discovered" by Cannonball Adderley at an afterhours club called the Missile Room in 1959, where Adderley had gone to hang out after a Stars of Jazz concert at the Indiana Theater. (He was on a bill with Lennie Tristano; I'm pretty sure Duncan Schiedt's photo of Tristano and Warne Marsh in the Mosaic booklet was taken the same night that Adderley called Orrin Keepnews about Montgomery.) In any case, I'm hoping to interview Young in Indianapolis later this year for a series that I'm doing on the history of Indiana jazz. He's somebody whose playing I've always enjoyed greatly as well, and I'll post additional info as I find it.

[ghost of miles]

BTW, not sure that Young's mentioned in the article, but Gunther Schuller wrote a piece called "Indiana Renaissance" for the September 1959 issue of Jazz Review that talks at length about Montgomery and David Baker's big band. Montgomery recorded with Baker's big band, according to Baker, but the tapes remain unreleased. In any case, Schuller was quite taken at the time with what was going on in Indiana. I'm not sure if the piece has ever been anthologized or not (it's not in MUSINGS, at least).

Edited August 14, 2003 by ghost of miles

[paul secor]

That brings to mind the very fine tenorman who took Young's place with Russell, Paul Plummer, who became an even more striking and individual player in later years. I know of three recordings of his work besides what the two albums he did with Russell ("The Stratus Seekers" and "The Outer View") -- a 1986 LP, "Detroit Opium Den" (Resound), with drummer Ron Enyard, guitarist Tony Byrne, and organist Steve Corn, and two Cadence CDs, rec. 4/3/97 at a gig in Indianapolis,  "Driving Music Vols. 1 &2," with Al Kiger, Enyard, pianist Charles Wilson,  and bassist Lou Lausche.  (All these musicians were based in Indianapolis and/or Cincinnati.) Unfortunately, per a phone conversation I had with Enyard a couple of years back, Plummer began to suffer from severe dental problems,  at some point after the '97 recording  had to have all or most of his teeth removed, and is no longer able to play very much if at all. He was special, though --  perhaps comparable stylistically to the Rollins of the Cherry-Grimes-Higgins-band era but his own man really. And if you only know his work with Russell, he did continue to grow.

Sorry to hear about Paul Plummer's dental problems. I hope that he's able to play again at some point. The Detroit Opium Den LP has been reissued along with a second LP, Acoustic Jazz Trio (Plummer, Enyard, and Lausche) on a CD, Paul Plummer - Ron Enyard: Trio & Quartet (Quixotic 5005) - available from Cadence. He was a very good tenor player, and I do hope he can return to playing his instrument.

I believe that Dave Baker had a problem with his jaw and had to stop playing trombone back in the 60's. I thought that I read somewhere that he had begun playing trombone again recently. Does anyone know if this is so?

[Daniel A]

Thanks for the info, everybody!

Sounds very interesting, GoM! That interview (should it happen) woudn't be available on the web though, would it?

[kdd]

I have a David Young recond on Mainstream. It's pretty good.

Edited August 16, 2003 by kdd

[Daniel A]

Interesting! Who are the other musicians? And what about the style? A lot of the Mainstreams were time-locked in a less than flattering way...

[ghost of miles]

Sounds very interesting, GoM! That interview (should it happen) woudn't be available on the web though, would it?

I may try to put some of the interviews up on WFIU's website when the series runs.

I've heard Baker's playing trombone again, too. I'll ask him the next time I see him.

[kdd]

Interesting! Who are the other musicians? And what about the style? A lot of the Mainstreams were time-locked in a less than flattering way...

It's just called David Young Mainstream MRL323

David Young-Tenor sax

Virgil Jones- Trumpet

Sonny Fortune- Baritone Sax and Flute

Richard Davis- Bass

Harold Mabern- Piano

Idris Muhammad- Drums

All originals by Mabern, Young and Jones and an Ernie Wilkens tunes.

Has that '70s Mainstream sound but it's a decent record

Edited August 21, 2003 by kdd

[sheldonm]

..came across this thread as I was talking to someone about David. Great guy, wonderful tone on the tenor...just the nicest, laidback guy. He'll be part of my "great day in indy" project http://www.agreatdayinindy.com

m~

[AllenLowe]

can't remember his name, but one of the trumpeters on the Lenox School of jJHzz bootleg CD is now a professor of psychology at Washinigton University in the state of Washington - plays a great solo, too, and was quite surprised when I called him up about 10 years ago -

[Mark Stryker]

I believe that Dave Baker had a problem with his jaw and had to stop playing trombone back in the 60's. I thought that I read somewhere that he had begun playing trombone again recently. Does anyone know if this is so?

David was in a car accident in 1953 and spent years, unbeknowst to him, playing on what essentially was a dislocated jaw. Eventually, the lingering effects of all of this made it impossible for him to play and he had to give up the trombone for good in 1962. He had always taught, even back in the '50s in Indianapolis, so that was a logical career move, as was composing. He cast about for another instrument, first trying piano, and then settling on cello, which has been his primary instrument since that time. I am not aware that he has ever picked up the trombone again in recent years. Maybe, but I talk to him every few years or so and he's never said anything about it. I'm still connected to lots of people in Bloomington (my hometown) and nobody has ever mentioned that. Ghost: Did you ever ask him directly? In his day, he could play the shit out of the trombone technically.

Edited May 23, 2008 by Mark Stryker

[sheldonm]

I believe that Dave Baker had a problem with his jaw and had to stop playing trombone back in the 60's. I thought that I read somewhere that he had begun playing trombone again recently. Does anyone know if this is so?

David was in a car accident in 1953 and spent years, unbeknowst to him, playing on what essentially was a dislocated jaw. Eventually, the lingering effects of all of this made it impossible for him to play and he had to give up the trombone for good in 1962. He had always taught, even back in the '50s in Indianapolis, so that was a logical career move, as was composing. He cast about for another instrument, first trying piano, and then settling on cello, which has been his primary instrument since that time. I am not aware that he has ever picked up the trombone again in recent years. Maybe, but I talk to him every few years or so and he's never said anything about it. I'm still connected to lots of people in Bloomington (my hometown) and nobody has ever mentioned that. Ghost: Did you ever ask him directly? In his day, he could play the shit out of the trombone technically.

I see him pretty frequently and he'll participate in a mass photoshoot I'm doing on June 1...I'll ask him about it as well. In all the years I've seen him...it's always been the cello.

Mark~

[ghost of miles]

I believe that Dave Baker had a problem with his jaw and had to stop playing trombone back in the 60's. I thought that I read somewhere that he had begun playing trombone again recently. Does anyone know if this is so?

David was in a car accident in 1953 and spent years, unbeknowst to him, playing on what essentially was a dislocated jaw. Eventually, the lingering effects of all of this made it impossible for him to play and he had to give up the trombone for good in 1962. He had always taught, even back in the '50s in Indianapolis, so that was a logical career move, as was composing. He cast about for another instrument, first trying piano, and then settling on cello, which has been his primary instrument since that time. I am not aware that he has ever picked up the trombone again in recent years. Maybe, but I talk to him every few years or so and he's never said anything about it. I'm still connected to lots of people in Bloomington (my hometown) and nobody has ever mentioned that. Ghost: Did you ever ask him directly? In his day, he could play the shit out of the trombone technically.

There was a brief period when he tried playing it again, but it was quite a few years ago--I'll ask him as well when I see him next weekend. I think this came up during our interview, but I honesty can't remember--might've been the mid-1970s.

[ghost of miles]

Reviving this thread in light of Mr. Young's departure.