Gene Quill ... Unsung Hero

[garthsj]

Thanks to Larry Kart reminding me about the Mat Mathews album on Dawn, I pulled up the "Jazzville" 2-CD set on that label as well (I have the full set of Dawn reissues on Blue Moon). The first group on that compilation CD is the Gene Quill Quintet with Dick Sherman, trpt; Dick Katz, p.; Teddy Kotick, b.; and Art Taylor, d. Of course I have listened to a lot of Quill's work over the years, starting with those "Phil and Quill" albums he made with Phil Woods. The GMCJB also has lots of Quill solos ... but for some reason this totally forgotten session really brought home to me what a wonderful alto player Gene Quill was ... This session has "Loverman" feature for Quill that is just about perfect. ... Anyone else out there agee with me about Quill's qualities?

[Larry Kart]

I particularly like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Bones-Quill-Gene/dp/B0002MOMUU

which is available again. Quill is the one who, when someone said to him (I'm paraphrasing here), "You're just a Bird imitator," replied (paraphrasing again): "You think that's easy to do?" Actually, though Quill was drenched in Bird, he had an easily identifiable, personal voice -- its hallmarks being a penetrating, slightly (but attractively) acidic or acrid tone and exceptional rhythmic fluidity. Quill's fate was a sad one -- he was mugged in 1977 in Atlantic City, ending up in blind one eye and partially paralyzed; he died in 1988. He's in great form on "The Ballad of Tappan Zee" from Johnny Richards' "Wide Range." The album above pairs him with the trombone section from the Richards band -- Jimmy Cleveland, Jim Dahl, and Frank Rehak -- and that may be one reason it's so together.

[garthsj]

I particularly like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Bones-Quill-Gene/dp/B0002MOMUU

which is available again. Quill is the one who, when someone said to him (I'm paraphrasing here), "You're just a Bird imitator," replied (paraphrasing again): "You think that's easy to do?" Actually, though Quill was drenched in Bird, he had an easily identifiable, personal voice -- its hallmarks being a penetrating, slightly (but attractively) acidic or acrid tone and exceptional rhythmic fluidity. Quill's fate was a sad one -- he was mugged in 1977 in Atlantic City, ending up in blind one eye and partially paralyzed; he died in 1988. He's in great form on "The Ballad of Tappan Zee" from Johnny Richards' "Wide Range." The album above pairs him with the trombone section from the Richards band -- Jimmy Cleveland, Jim Dahl, and Frank Rehak -- and that may be one reason it's so together.

Larry, as I have heard that story, from the mouth of Phil Wood's on a recent allbum, when Gene was told that he was merely a bird imitator, he handed his saxophone to the guy, and said: "Here .. You do it!" ...

Thanks again, I pulled the Quill and Bones album ... so many albums I often get lost in deciding what to play ...

[AllenLowe]

love Quill - don't miss the Phil and Quill albums, he's also on a Johnny Richards session, or two, as I recall, and lots more 1950s stuff - great, hard sound - as a matter of fact, when I swtiched to alto a few years ago, and started looking for mouthpieces, his was the sound I was hearing in my head -

I remember some time ago (probably 1976 or so) Downbeat printed an article that he was recovering from a fall he had taken - I was working for a little magazine in Boston so I called him up - very friendly but not too coherent, I think he was suffering from some kind of brain damage. To my regret we never met, and he died not too long afterward -

[Peter Friedman]

There is some very nice playing by Gene Quill on THE PHIL WOODS SEPTET - PAIRING OFF - PRESTIGE.

This one also has Kenny Dorham and Donald Byrd.