Category: Jazz Ears

about jazz

Perspective From Abroad

Today I received this message in response to Monday’s post about Chevalier Jim Hall.

You are quite justified in feeling very proud of your dad’s award by the French Government. I hope you are able to accompany him to the investiture ceremony (French Embassy in Washington – quite possible?). The French do not give these awards away in breakfast cereal packets — they are coveted honours bestowed on relatively few. I hope he wears it with pride.

As to Knighthoods awarded by the Queen of England. Well, these are largely political in nature, because though a number of actors, painters and other contributors to the arts and sciences do receive knighthoods (which entitles them to be called ‘Sir’, their award is largely down to the patronage of the British Prime Minister. As such, there’s a great deal of political ‘I’ll scratch your back’ involved. Most of the British business tycoons etc., are rewarded more for their political smoozing than for any genuinely meritorious behaviour. As to peerages, well we’ve known for decades that most of these are ‘bought and sold’. The current PM, Mr Blair, is no better than his predecessors in this sordid little business. A prime minister by the name of Lloyd-George (in the 1910-20s was a model of corruption — and had a scale of charges relative to the award that people wished to purchase. Mr Blair is mired in the same sleazy methods — and a great majority of the peerages (that is to say people elevated to the House of Lords and given the title, Lord -‘Such-and-such’ have obtained their award by the simple expediency of bunging a large sum of money to the British Labour Party. This isn’t to say other PMs in the recent past haven’t done exactly the same. Ordinary people in the UK are almost never given knighthoods. They have to be content with minor awards such as the British Empire Medal, or possibly the Order of the British Empire (one step up from BEM).

Hope this gives you some (relatively) small insight into the true merit of the award system here in the UK.

And, though I’m in danger of repeating myself, your dad’s award is very well merited. I salute him.

Best regards from a sunny Shropshire (England),
Mike Davis

Regular readers will recognize Mike’s name as he writes in from time to time and I have mentioned the book he co-authored: Hampton Hawes: A Bio-Discography.

An Unexpected Treat

I like it when jazz shows up in unexpected places. Jazz is no stranger to NPR, still I was peasantly surprised last week to hear Susan Stamberg use a clip from the new Roger Kellaway CD (Heroes, IPO Recordings) on her report about a Paris shop where art and history intersect — it’s the store where Cezanne and Picasso bought their art supplies. The Kellaway clip from the track titled “Nuages” begins about 6:15 minutes into the report and plays for 1 minute and 3 seconds. (With a release date of September 12 it’s not yet posted on IPO’s web site, but you can pre-order it at Amazon.)

I normally don’t expect to hear much jazz on television, but for a relative moment I seemed to be hearing a lot of it used in tv commercials, and I took note of it. The Dave Brubeck/Paul Desmond recording of “Rondo a la Turk” was used in an ad for the Post Office. For a while Ella was everywhere: “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” on a Ralph Lauren “Style” perfume commercial, “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm” for K-Mart, and I thought I heard her voice behind a Marshall’s ad as well. Sassy was selling cars singing “Key Largo” and the Dinah Washington & Brook Benton duet on “Baby You’ve Got What It Takes” was selling whatever it is they carry at Talbots.

And then there’s the “jazzy” music written for ads, most of which is horrible, but some is created by real jazz folks like Benny Golson who has composed national radio and television spots for for Borateem, Canada Dry, Carnation, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Clorox, Dodge, General Telephone, Gillette, Heinz Foods, Jack in The Box, Liquid Plum’r, MacDonald’s, Mattel Toys, Monsanto, Nissan, Ohrbachs, Ore-Ida Frozen Potatoes, Parliament Cigarettes, Pepsi Cola, and Texaco, to name more than a few.

John McDonough wrote an article about jazz and advertising for Down Beat (Jazz Sells), but that was back in 1991. A few years later, in one of his Downbeat editorials, John Ephland noted an increase in jazz visibility due to advertising. I wanted to write an updated piece but could not get anyone at any of the advertising agencies to talk to me about it. That was eighteen months ago.

I still take note, but the occasions are on the wane again. If you hear jazz in any unexpected places, please let me know.

Monsieur Le Chevalier

It may not be unusual for daughters to think of their fathers as knights (as in shining white armor), but in contemporary times how many of us have fathers who really are Knights? My dad — yes, I’m talking about the world renowned guitarist Jim Hall — has been given an award of great distinction by the French Minister of Culture and Communication. He is now a Chevalier dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters), a decoration given to eminent artists and writers who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world. It is one of the highest honors the French government can bestow upon a civilian

Word arrived by mail, a letter in French from the Minister and a corresponding letter in English (though not a literal translation) from a Cultural Counselor in the Ambassade de France aux Etats-Unis. Also in the envelope was some background information that I supplemented with a little web searching. Chevaliers are entitled to wear the insignia of the Order, a medal suspended from a colored ribbon of white stripes against a green background, on their left chest. According to a wiki entry:

The badge of the Order is an eight-armed, green-enameled ‘asterisk’ in silver; the obverse central disc has the letters ‘A’ and ‘L’ on a white enameled background surrounded by a golden ring bearing the words “République Française.” The reverse central disc features the head of Marianne on a golden background, surrounded by a golden ring bearing the words “Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.”

You’d think I’d be able to find a good picture of it on the Internet, but this is the best I could find, for now. Alternatively, a more discreet lapel pin might be worn in lieu of the medal. My dad is not the strutting sort, so I can’t quite envision him sporting such a medal, but that decision doesn’t have to be made yet as the medal itself has not yet been conferred. That is likely to happen in January.

He joins a fine cadre of artists, of course. Among his jazz compatriots so honored in the past are Lee Konitz, Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson. Other honorees in recent years include Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, and Beverly Sills.

(Okay, someone is bound to want to answer the rhetorical question I posed in the opening. Such an enterprising person will point out just how many people are knighted by the Queen of England each year, not to mention other governments with similar honors, but please don’t burst my bubble while I’m enjoying the moment imagining I am among the few whose father is a real Knight.)

A Quick Trip

Off to Chicago early Wednesday morning. Thursday there’s an early evening concert in Millenium Park honoring Johnny Pate. Coincidentally, it was a year ago this Thursday that I posted a piece about a Johnny Pate tribute concert that had taken place two years prior (in 2003). This Thursday’s concert starts at 6:30 PM at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and features a big band conducted by Johnny Pate and Henry Johnson’s Organ Express, plus Nancy Wilson as a special guest singing two tunes with Henry’s group and two with the big band. It should be a lot of fun. Then I’m heading straight home on Friday morning, and with the time change should get home mid day, just in time to finish the liner notes for a 2-CD compilation of Jim Hall tracks for Concord Records. What a life!

To whom does one belong?

Yesterday’s Rifftides post Good Old Good Ones: Davis and Tjader includes the following tidbit:

In a pickup date while he and his bassist Eugene Wright were in Hollywood, Tjader brought in pianist Gerald Wiggins and drummer Bill Douglass. Everything clicked.

My tongue-in-cheek heading “to whom does one belong?” refers to Eugene Wright (a/k/a The Senator) being referred to as “his bassist,” meaning Tjader’s bassist. What was not mentioned was a small fact that gives “but of course” understanding to why “everything clicked” — Bill Douglas was Wig’s drummer and they’d been working together alot in the few years leading up to the Tjader recording. Here’s a snippet from my Gerry Wiggins bio:

Not only was Wig in demand as a sideman to play and record with jazz legends such as Milt Jackson, Art Pepper, Cal Tjader, Benny Carter and others, but during that same period he also recorded several albums as leader of his own trio. Wig’s first trio album, aptly titled “The Gerald Wiggins Trio,” was released in 1953. Wig, along with bassist Joe Comfort and drummer Bill Douglass recorded six standard tunes and two of Wig’s own original compositions. This same trio also recorded “The Loveliness of You” (Tampa, 1956). In 1957 both albums were re-released, the first by Dig Records under the title “Wiggin’ With the Wig” and the second by Motif Records under the title “Reminiscin’ with Wig.” Joe Comfort, who was working frequently with Nelson Riddle at the time, was not always available. On a date with Cal Tjader, Wig had met and worked with bassist Eugene Wright. Eugene may be best known for his later work with Dave Brubeck, but his musical contributions as a member of the Gerald Wiggins Trio were thankfully recorded on two albums: “Around the World in 80 Days” (Original Jazz) came out in 1957 (some sources say 1956) and “The King and I” came out in 1958 on Challenge Records.

The original liner notes for Around The World In 80 Days by John Tynan include this:

“By dint of many hours playing together, they have fused into a brotherly groove, the common bond of which is a mutual desire to “always keep it swingin’.”

So Eugene was Tjader’s bassist, Wig’s bassist, and Brubeck’s bassist, to name a few from the top of the list. Now, thanks to reissues, these groups all belong to us. Check them out.

PS: Writer Scott Yanow pronounced this recording “pleasant and swinging but predictably lightweight and not too substantial.” I know I am biased, but I love these recordings, so you’ll just have to decide for yourself. Amazon (use the link above) has audio clips for the 80 Days CD, as does allmusic.com.

Ten Good Years

A few weeks ago I mentioned a few of the things that helped me during my cancer battle. (You can read that post here.) I had planned to write something in commemoration of my ten year anniversary, but had not yet decided what date to commemorate—the date of diagnosis, the onslaught of simultaneous chemo and radiation treatments, the end of treatment, the post-treatment evaluation conjoined with another biopsy that supported a tentative pronouncement of “cured,” the date I felt “recovered,” or the date five years later when the doctors feel confident enough to use the word “cured” without caveats.

What I neglected to mention in that earlier post were some of the people who I saw and/or spoke to during that time. In addition to John, and my best friends, Phil, Susan and Tison, who stuck by my, chauffeured me, visited me, took me to doctor appointments and handled myriad other details for me, a few highlights stay with me always. Joe Williams singing Here’s To Life over the telephone, a phone call from Sonny Rollins (he told me that I wasn’t going to die), and hospital visits from Nancy Wilson and Lynn & Gerry Wiggins.

Then there was the time I was paroled from the hospital to be treated as an out-patient, discharged with a 24/7 iv chemo drip (they call it a pic line) with daily visits to the radiation center and to the lab for blood work. It was mid-June and Marian McPartland was in town to record. I drove myself to the O’Henry Sound Studios in Burbank and spent the day bathed in the sounds of Marian’s trio (Andy Simpkins on bass, Harold Jones on drums) plus a 20-piece string orchestra conducted by Alan Broadbent. It was a beautiful session with lush arrangements, a more perfect medicine for the mind and soul I cannot imagine. I spent a lot of time in the 1970s hanging out with Marian and listening to her play almost nightly at The Cookery and Bemelman’s Bar, so listening to tunes like Ambiance and A Delicate Balance took me back in time.

Then came the Playboy Jazz Festival, Joe was performing and I wasn’t going to miss it. Despite Sonny’s reassurances, I thought it might be the last time I’d ever see Joe. So John took me to the Festival in my big-brimmed hat (radiation treatments and sunshine are not a good mix) and chemo drip taped down to my side.

Outpatient treatment is a great idea, but I was getting too weak to handle it on my own. That’s when another girlfriend gave me a tremendous gift – she risked her job by taking a 2-week unpaid vacation and used up her frequent flyer miles to come in from Hawaii to stay with me. This friend had lost her husband to cancer so it must have been more than difficult for her, but she did not hesitate.

So what should I commemorate? The date of diagnosis has already slipped by me. The first biopsy was on May 15th and within a week I was in the hospital, had a tracheostomy, and “treatment” had begun. I could wait until July 29th to post this, that’s the day the treatment ended, but that’s also when the doctors tell you that they don’t know yet if the chemicals and radiation worked or not. Come back in six weeks, they said. I went to New York. It was mid-September when a third biopsy led the NY docs to say the cancer was completely gone, but that’s when they tell you they want to monitor your progress every month for the next year, every six months for two years after that, and then once a year; when five years have elapsed cancer-free then they might use the word “cured.”

By now, the dates are no longer important; maybe they never were. The moral of this story is that people and music can make life better.

—

ps. Yes, Ten Good Years is the title of a song that Luther Henderson and Marty Charnin wrote for Nancy Wilson’s show at the Coconut Grove in 1964.

Tonite

Sunday, July 9, from 11 p.m. to midnight (Eastern Daylight Time) “Jazz From the Archives” features the music of Eddie Harris. You can hear it online www.wbgo.org, or if you are in the New York City metropolitan area you can tune in to WBGO-FM (88.3). Producer Bill Kirchner writes:

Eddie Harris (1934-1996) started his professional career as a pianist, but he became one of the most distinctive post-bebop tenor saxophonists, with an appealing airy sound and virtuoso technique. He achieved popularity through a number of commercial hits, but those who knew his playing well were aware that he was a first-rate jazz improviser.

We’ll hear some of the best of Harris’s Atlantic recordings of the mid-to-late 1960s, featuring him along with pianists Cedar Walton and Jodie Christian, bassist Ron Carter, drummers Billy Higgins, Bobby Thomas, and Billy Hart, trumpeter Ray Codrington, and others.

Congratulations

The Jazz Journalists Association has just bestowed its awards and a few of my friends are among the winners.

I honestly don’t think much of most awards programs as they are usually beset with much organizational baggage, be it personal or political favoritism, a lack of well-thought out criteria on which to judge, or at worst, a complete disregard for the criteria. My lack of enthusiasm for the process is equal whether it be the JJA Awards or the Grammys. Is anyone’s efforts better than another’s in this particular year? Can you really confine your judgements to calendarized boundaries? And how about rewarding those who took giant risks that may have “flopped” but were nonetheless artistic feats?

Nevertheless, all accolades are a good thing, something we all need…and assuming we all “work” at our respective crafts, encouragement is something we all deserve. So in that light I offer my personal congratulations to my friends who are all hard-working, dedicated artists, every day of every year:

A Colleague Needs Help

The call has gone out: “Richard M. Sudhalter, the distinguished trumpeter, biographer, and jazz scholar, needs your help.” Our paths have only crossed online in a jazz researchers’ newsgroup, so I cannot count Richard among my personal friends, but we share many friends in common and he is an esteemed colleague. For the last three years Richard has been recovering from a stroke, and now he’s been diagnosed with a rare, debilitating illness of the nervous system called multiple system atrophy.

Terry Teachout and Doug Ramsey have both posted more about Richard’s accomplishments and his needs. His friends are rallying and a benefit concert is planned for September, but the bills are mounting now. Having faced serious medical challenges myself, I am all too familiar with the costs of medical care and the additional damage to one’s health, or lack of, that is inflicted by the added stress of struggling to pay for care that one urgently needs. To find out what you can do, go here.

I’ve Got Mail: Pogo is Music To Bill’s Ears

The great bassist and jazz annecdotalist Bill Crow is not much help regarding Hans Groiner,but he has other goodies to share:

Sorry, I don’t have a clue about Hans Groiner. I hope it’s a joke.

I’m sorry Paul Weston, a great joker, passed on before he had a chance to do anything with an idea I gave him: having Jonathan and Darlene do an album of minor tunes made more upbeat by changing all the chords and melodies to major. “Moanin’,” “Saint Louis Blues,” “Alone Together,” “Comes Love,” and “Gloomy Sunday” all sound much more cheerful when played and sung this way.

Years ago, when Johnny Mercer first started Capitol Records, Paul did some country and western records for the label featuring a guy he called “Shug Fisher,” who stuttered while he sang, adding extra beats of guitar strumming during the stuttered sections of the lyrics, and putting the meter deliriously out of whack.

Consensus seems to be that it’s a joke, and Rifftides had more to say about Groiner and about other Monk-strosities.

Bill also wrote me a few days ago regarding my mention of Pogo:

I have another Pogo quote for you. Albert the Alligator was talking about, “…everybody thinks…” something or other, and Churcy La Femme remarked,

“Without me, nobody is everybody!”

I was a big fan of Walt Kelly, and during my first years in NYC, living on Cornelia Street, I was moved to write him a letter one day. I complimented him on his strip in general, and particularly on the way he often made jokes about musicians without demeaning them. About a week later I got a nice letter from him along with the original drawing for his 9/28/53 strip, an episode involving Pogo’s banjo playing and singing. It still hangs on our wall at home.
If you haven’t checked out Bill’s website, do so now. In addition to great photos (which I’ve mentioned in the past), he’s now posting some of his writing, including a lovely piece from 1999 about Marian McPartland.