George Wallington - Live At The Cafe Bohemia

[Peter Friedman]

Back in the mid- 1950's when I was developing my interest in jazz, I got a copy of The George Wallington trio session on Verve and also the Live At Cafe Bohemia LP. I loved them both. Have been disappointed that the Wallington material on Verve has never showed up on CD.

I do have a CD reissue of the Bohemia date as well as most of the other Wallington sessions from the 50's.

Haven't been able to find the Wallington trio material originally on Vogue.

[Joe]

I really wonder what he sounded like in person.

Why would you wonder that about him, in particular?

On the other hand (perhaps), Wallington's approach, especially in terms of touch and attack, changed a good deal from his early trio days (brilliant and attractively brittle) to the more rounded, mellow, almost Hank Jones-like approach of '56 and the next few years (perhaps a bit "dumpy" rhythmically, even a tad cocktail-ish at times, if you don't dig that kind of thing), and then, after a long gap (I believe) away from recording, on those late solo albums his approach is very rich and full and two-handed strong -- absolutely gorgeous from a pianistic point of view IIRC.

Just have felt -- and it is that intuitive -- that recordings served him poorly in his bop-era prime. Even a later 50's dates like JAZZ AT HOTCHKISS (an RVG recording?) finds him sounding strangely watered-down, from what I recall.

The 80s date with which I'm familiar is THE SYMPHONY OF A JAZZ PIANO (Denon) and I agree... there's a puissance there -- but also a calm -- that I don't recall from earlier performances.

[Larry Kart]

An interesting but strange Wallington appearance as a sideman is on Bobby Jaspar's Riverside album with Idrees Sulieman and Elvin Jones. The rhythmic push-pull between Wallington and Elvin is the strange part.

[Chas]

Just have felt -- and it is that intuitive -- that recordings served him poorly in his bop-era prime.

Don't know that I'm ready to agree with this generalization , but Tom Dowd sure didn't do him any favors on Knight Music.

[Kalo]

Put me down as digging him most for his, as Larry Kart says, "brilliant and attractively brittle" early period.

I just listened to Live! at Cafe Bohemia today for the first time in a while and I remain disappointed by it.

[AndrewHill]

Just have felt -- and it is that intuitive -- that recordings served him poorly in his bop-era prime. Even a later 50's dates like JAZZ AT HOTCHKISS (an RVG recording?) finds him sounding strangely watered-down, from what I recall.

RVG was the engineer on the Hotchkiss date, but I thought the Nippon cd edition sounded good enough (don't know who mastered the cd's). But I also don't have the original Savoy record to compare it with either.

[Big Beat Steve]

Just have felt -- and it is that intuitive -- that recordings served him poorly in his bop-era prime. Even a later 50's dates like JAZZ AT HOTCHKISS (an RVG recording?) finds him sounding strangely watered-down, from what I recall.

RVG was the engineer on the Hotchkiss date, but I thought the Nippon cd edition sounded good enough (don't know who mastered the cd's). But I also don't have the original Savoy record to compare it with either.

I really don't know what you are trying to get at with these "watered down" remarks. How do you EXPECT him to sound?

Couldn't it be that what you hear really was Wallington's style at that particular moment, including his melodic side that may be too "easy" to listen to for some?

Do you expect 50s jazz piano to be a hard, hard, hard bop attack all the way, or even Bud Powell-like (in his more disturbed moments )?

Listen to his Prestige recordings and you will find that overall there is a straight line in his recordings, with some obvious variations (like with everybody else). I also find he was best served in trio settings, and horns tended to overshadow him a bit (including on the Bohemia date) but still he was his own man IMO.

At any rate, among bop pianists, I'd rank George Wallington in a class of his own (along with Al Haig and Dodo Marmarosa) quite apart from the Bud Powell school. And there is AMPLE room for pianists off the Bud Powell tracks IMO.

(BTW: If George Wallington isn't percussive enough for you, try some Eddie Costa for a change ).

[Niko]

Do you expect 50s jazz piano to be a hard, hard, hard bop attack all the way, or even Bud Powell-like (in his more disturbed moments )?

i think i can take 50s wallington much better after accepting that he played hard bop by that time... isome tracks on the prestidigitator i would rather have guessed to be horace silver in a blind fold test (if it wasn't for that bass trumpet...)

[Joe]

Just have felt -- and it is that intuitive -- that recordings served him poorly in his bop-era prime. Even a later 50's dates like JAZZ AT HOTCHKISS (an RVG recording?) finds him sounding strangely watered-down, from what I recall.

RVG was the engineer on the Hotchkiss date, but I thought the Nippon cd edition sounded good enough (don't know who mastered the cd's). But I also don't have the original Savoy record to compare it with either.

I really don't know what you are trying to get at with these "watered down" remarks. How do you EXPECT him to sound?

Couldn't it be that what you hear really was Wallington's style at that particular moment, including his melodic side that may be too "easy" to listen to for some?

Do you expect 50s jazz piano to be a hard, hard, hard bop attack all the way, or even Bud Powell-like (in his more disturbed moments )?

Listen to his Prestige recordings and you will find that overall there is a straight line in his recordings, with some obvious variations (like with everybody else). I also find he was best served in trio settings, and horns tended to overshadow him a bit (including on the Bohemia date) but still he was his own man IMO.

At any rate, among bop pianists, I'd rank George Wallington in a class of his own (along with Al Haig and Dodo Marmarosa) quite apart from the Bud Powell school. And there is AMPLE room for pianists off the Bud Powell tracks IMO.

(BTW: If George Wallington isn't percussive enough for you, try some Eddie Costa for a change ).

I meant only that, as recorded / served by engineers, he sounds a bit watered-down to me. Or, as you note, a bit overwhelmed by the horns. I did not mean to say I think of Wallington as a watered-down player... as I thought was clear from my earlier comments.

(BTW, I am quite familiar with GW's Prestige trios, and the early BN's; less so the Savoy sides.)

One of the aspects of Wallington's work that fascinates me -- and deserves greater attention, I believe -- is that he made important early contributions to the hard bop style, beyond working with young musicians who went on to be major voices in that idiom, without himself ever compromising or losing the distinctive touch and tone he could get from his instrument.

Maybe it would help if I posed a general question. Could it be that certain pianists from this era simply did not "show up" on tape as well as others because the recording technology and proclivities of the time did them less favors than other pianists? And could it be that Wallington, a superb and historically significant player, was one of these pianists? (That's all.)

Edited September 1, 2009 by Joe

[AllenLowe]

be aware, by the way, that there is a 1943 recording of Dizzy with Wallington and Bud Johnson, from a club, with an early sorta-bebop band (I think it's on Devilin Tune CD 27).

[Joe]

And, on another note, any opinions on this date?

[Big Wheel]

Just have felt -- and it is that intuitive -- that recordings served him poorly in his bop-era prime. Even a later 50's dates like JAZZ AT HOTCHKISS (an RVG recording?) finds him sounding strangely watered-down, from what I recall.

RVG was the engineer on the Hotchkiss date, but I thought the Nippon cd edition sounded good enough (don't know who mastered the cd's). But I also don't have the original Savoy record to compare it with either.

I really don't know what you are trying to get at with these "watered down" remarks. How do you EXPECT him to sound?

Couldn't it be that what you hear really was Wallington's style at that particular moment, including his melodic side that may be too "easy" to listen to for some?

Do you expect 50s jazz piano to be a hard, hard, hard bop attack all the way, or even Bud Powell-like (in his more disturbed moments )?

Listen to his Prestige recordings and you will find that overall there is a straight line in his recordings, with some obvious variations (like with everybody else). I also find he was best served in trio settings, and horns tended to overshadow him a bit (including on the Bohemia date) but still he was his own man IMO.

At any rate, among bop pianists, I'd rank George Wallington in a class of his own (along with Al Haig and Dodo Marmarosa) quite apart from the Bud Powell school. And there is AMPLE room for pianists off the Bud Powell tracks IMO.

(BTW: If George Wallington isn't percussive enough for you, try some Eddie Costa for a change ).

I meant only that, as recorded / served by engineers, he sounds a bit watered-down to me. Or, as you note, a bit overwhelmed by the horns. I did not mean to say I think of Wallington as a watered-down player... as I thought was clear from my earlier comments.

(BTW, I am quite familiar with GW's Prestige trios, and the early BN's; less so the Savoy sides.)

One of the aspects of Wallington's work that fascinates me -- and deserves greater attention, I believe -- is that he made important early contributions to the hard bop style, beyond working with young musicians who went on to be major voices in that idiom, without himself ever compromising or losing the distinctive touch and tone he could get from his instrument.

Maybe it would help if I posed a general question. Could it be that certain pianists from this era simply did not "show up" on tape as well as others because the recording technology and proclivities of the time did them less favors than other pianists? And could it be that Wallington, a superb and historically significant player, was one of these pianists? (That's all.)

Which pianists do you think tend to fall into each category? That might help narrow down whether it was style, engineer, label, etc.

For my part I think RVG was horrible at recording/mixing piano, but most of his recordings came after the period we seem to be talking about.

[Big Beat Steve]

And, on another note, any opinions on this date?

:tup

Of course the tune selection is rather predictable but the interpretations of those "bop standards" are nice.

[ghost of miles]

I'm a major admirer of Wallington, too, and I think he was the equal of Haig, in his prime. The trio things for Savoy are excellent.

Weren't most (all?) of Wallington's vintage trio recordings done for Prestige? The solo albums he did for a Japanese label late in his career are marvelous.

The OJC edition of Wallington's Prestige trios has gone out of print, but Newbury's selling 'em for $5.99 a pop: George Wallington Trios

Edited February 1, 2010 by ghost of miles

[brownie]

Another very worthy trio date with George Wallington is the one he recorded for Vogue in Paris in September 1953 with Pierre Michelot and Jean-Louis Viale after he resigned fromthe Lionel Hampton orchestra during its European tour.

It's available on this reissue from Vogue BMG:

[mikeweil]

I think I have most of Wallington's records except for the one with strings which I really would like to hear. Took me a long time to find all these LPs ...

The one I like the best is the Savoy quintet date with Phil Woods and Donald Byrd - nice tunes etc. Larry's right about Art Taylor - with Wallington it was the worst. Nick Stabulas was nice with Wallington - I used to dig him very much at the time, and his presence alone was reason enough for me to buy the LP.

Edited February 2, 2010 by mikeweil

[Larry Kart]

I think I have most of Wallington's records  except for the one with strings which I really would like to hear. Took me a long time to find all these LPs ... 

The one I like the best is the Savoy quintet date with Phil Woods and Donald Byrd - nice tunes etc. Larry's right about Art Taylor - with Wallington it was the worst. Nick Stabulas was nice with Wallington - I used to dig him very much at the time, and his presence alone was reason enough for me to buy the LP.

It was Allen Lowe, not me, who made those points about Art Taylor's sometimes erratic time-keeping. In his liner notes to the "John Coltrane, Fearless Leader" set, Lewis Porter cites a number of examples.

[mikeweil]

Just have felt -- and it is that intuitive -- that recordings served him poorly in his bop-era prime.

Don't know that I'm ready to agree with this generalization , but Tom Dowd sure didn't do him any favors on Knight Music.

Although released on Atlantic, it was Rudy Van Gelder who engineered Knight Music

 

It was Allen Lowe, not me, who made those points about Art Taylor's sometimes erratic time-keeping. In his liner notes to the "John Coltrane, Fearless Leader" set, Lewis Porter cites a number of examples.

Sorry for the mistake!