Sei sulla pagina 1di 52

how many

of these great
CONTEMPORARY ALBUMS
are in your collection

ROUNDS!
n r T ? T F N , E H A U S

U C T E T . ^ mm

C3540 N i e h a u s , one of the top alto m e n


in jazz, long time leader of the K e n t o n
sax section, stars w i t h two s w i n g i n g
C3538 R e d M i t c h e l l , one of the nation's Octets f e a t u r i n g s u c h f a m o u s j a z z m e n
f a v o r i t e bassists, in a s w i n g i n g p r o g r a m a s B i l l P e r k i n s , Pepper A d a m s , S h e l l y C3542 L e r o y V i n n e g a r , a bass p l a y e r who
o f modern j a z z classics b y P a r k e r , R o l l - Manne, F r a n k Rosolino, Mel Lewis, J a c k " w a l k s the m o s t ! " presents his first a l b u m
ins, etc. N e w s t a r J a m e s C l a y p l a y s tenor Montrose, R e d M i t c h e l l , L o u L e v y , the as a leader. F e a t u r e d on a selection of
& flute, w i t h L o r r a i n e GelLer, piano, a n d late B o b G o r d o n , etc. standards w i t h a w a l k i n g m o t i f ("I'll
B i l l y H i g g i n s , d r u m s . M i t c h e l l ' s bass solos W a l k Alone," " W a l k i n ' M y B a b y Back
are s t a n d o u t s ! Home," "Would You Like To Take a
W a l k , " etc.) a r e T e d d y E d w a r d s , tenor,
Gerald Wilson, trumpet, Victor Feldman,
vibes, the late C a r l P e r k i n s , piano, and
Tony Bazley, drums.

Y o u get
m o r e , % i
b o u n c e
w i t h
C u r t i s \

5
C o u n c e L i

temporary C3544 B o b Cooper's extended " J a z z T h e m e


& F o u r V a r i a t i o n s " is a m a j o r w o r k by
C3539 T h e C u r t i s C o u n c e G r o u p comes up a major j a z z m a n . Side two features
w i t h some West C o a s t " c o o k i n g . " T a s t y , Coop's tenor in s w i n g i n g combo p e r f o r m -
w i t h plenty o f f u n k a n d s o u l . B a s s i s t ances ( i n c l u d i n g a n i n t r i g u i n g " F r a n k i e
Counce's g r o u p includes ace t e n o r m a n & Johnny") with Victor Feldman, Frank C3541 V i b i s t , pianist, d r u m m e r , composer-
H a r o l d L a n d , trumpeter J a c k Sheldon, Rosolino, a n d a n a l l - s t a r r h y t h m section: a r r a n g e r F e l d m a n i s the most i m p o r t a n t
the late C a r l P e r k i n s o n piano, a n d t h e
d r u m m e r Jo Jones calls " t h e best in the
country t o d a y , " F r a n k B u t l e r .
Eianist L o u L e v y ; M a x Bennett, bass; M e l
ewis, d r u m s .
B r i t i s h i m p o r t i n the f l e l d o f m o d e r n jazz.

rl n|ing f rom a driving


e ea r he re
b ^ t a n H f w S

tur e d " n " h i f l t l e ' J l l e c t t o n " l u i t f SlxFee'n^


a 8

T E C H N I C A L D A T A : These are full audible range high


fidelity recordings with guaranteed frequency response from 30 to 15,000 cycles - all the human ear can hear.
Engineered by jazz specialists to reproduce the true sound of the great jazz stars who record for Contemporary.
Masters are made in Contemporary's own studio on specially designed and constructed equipment. Custom made, noise-free,
vinylite "Gruve/Gard" pressings. For the collector's protection each album is factory sealed in a polyethylene
bag which when cut open may be used as an inner sleeve.
E A C H 12" H I - F I L O N G P L A Y I N G A L B U M , $4.98 A T D E A L E R S E V E R Y W H E R E

C O N T E M P O R A R Y R E C O R D S 8481 melrose place, los angeles 46, California


DORIS DAY'S SING

1
A L O N G JOHNNYS
GREATEST HITS W I T H GREATEST H I T S ' *
M I T C H
MITCH MILLER AND THE GANG
NOT FOR M{ TO SAY - WILD IS THE WIND
COME tO WE WONDERFUL WONDERFUL
PLUS 6 OTHERS

HIT MARTIN PINZA

ANY SIX
SOUTH PACIFIC
88 " rfK.

NEW WORLD
SYMPHONY

DRIUMH FWUOELmU OJCK

KOSTELANETZ
mnumcMMK OF
REX HARRISON
JULIE A N D R E W S
MY PAIR LADY
$ 0 9 8
RACHMANINOFF
/ Original
^^-jt Broadway
Cast
if you join the Columbia Record
Club now - and agree to purchase only
5 selections during the coming 12 months
MOZART
Ikit REQUIEM * You receive ANY 6 of these 12" records for only $3.98
F R A N K I E LAINE * Your only obligation as a member is to purchase five selections
1 ' TP^T' *( SI MINSK B CHDR
I from the more than 200 high-fidelity Columbia and Epic records
to be offered in the coming 12 months
* In addition, after purchasing only five records you receive a 12"
Columbia or Epic Bonus record of your choice free for every
two selections you buy
* You enroll in any one of the four Club Divisions: Classical;
Listening and Dancing; Broadway, Movies, Television and
Musical Comedies; Jazz
Albert Schweitzer I ^ O O O ) J A Z Z WALTZES THE DESERT SONG
* Each month the Club's staff of musical experts selects out- TCHAIKOVSKY AND STRAUSS
BACH standing recordings from every field of music . . . music that
lm i.,1.1. .!.,,:>, deserves a place in any well-planned library. These selections
are fully described in the Club Magazine which you receive

1r
and fujii,'in C Mi,,, ||
free each month
Fugue m A Mina
Fantasia and Fugue * You may accept or reject the selection for your Division, take THE PHUAOEIPHII ORCHESTRA
uiGMma any of the other records offered, or take NO record in any EUGENE ORMANDY
particular month
* You may discontinue membership at
EDDY DUCHIN any time after purchasing five rec-
STORY ROY H A M I L T O N
ords from the Club
k The records you want are mailed YOU'LL MIUMJMMLK NlbHISUHLAM
and billed to you at the regular list
price of $3.98 (Classical Selections, NEVER
$4.98), plus small mailing charge WALK <
k Mail coupon-without money-to re- ALONE
ceive your six records PHILADELPHIA OUCH. ORMANDY

SEND NO MONEY - Mail coupon to receive 6 records for $3.98


CIRCLE THE NUMBERS OF THE 6 RECORDS YOU W A N T -
COLUMBIA @ RECORD CLUB, Dept. 28 1 " 1
I. Polly Bergen 15. Sing Along With 26. Tchaikovsky: Nut- 44. Pop Hit Party
TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA Mitch Miller cracker Suite; A dozen hit tunes per-
I accept your offer and have indicated at the right You Are My Sunshine, Ravel: Bolero, etc. formed by 12 pop art-
the six records I wish to receive for $3.98, plus small Sweet Violets, Don't Philadelphia Orches- ists - Day. Mathis.
mailing charge. Enroll me in the following Division Fence Me In 16 tra, Ormandy. cond. Laine. Bennett, etc.
5. 'S Marvelous favorites in all
of the Club: Ray Conniff and Orch. 27. Benny Goodman 46. Erroll Garner-
(check one box only) As Time Goes By, 16. Schubert Unfinished Let's Dance, Sing Sing Paris Impressions
Where or When, etc. Sing.Avalon.Moonglom Moulin Rouge, I Love
Classical Listening and Dancing Jan r . ? ^ r . . n t . v - 11 swing classics Paris, Left Bank Swing
Broadway, Movies. Television and Musical Comedies 7. Frankie Lain. Night's Dream 28. Romantic Music -8 numbers in all
Jezebel, High Noon, of Rachmaninoff 48. My Fair Lady
I agree to purchase Ave selections from the more than Jealousy, 9 more Andre Kostelanetz and Original cast recording
200 to be offered during the coming 12 months, at his Orchestra play this with Rex Harrison and
regular list price plus small mailing charge. For 10. Schweitzer-Bach R'om^s^operetta is haunting music Julie Andrews
every two additional selections I accept, I am to Includes 3 major Bach still a joy to hear
receive a 12" Columbia or Epic Bonus record of my organ compositions 29. Roy Hamilton 49. Waltzes of Strauss
choice F R E E 18. Beethoven: Emperor The "Big Voice" sings and Tchaikovsky
II. Johnny Mathis' Concerto Unchained Melody. Ebb
Philadelphia Orches-
Greatest Hits Casadesus, piano; New Tide, I Believe, 9 moretra, Ormandy, cond.
TVo Love, Chances Are, York Philharmonic,
FPlTas'e Print)
(Please Twelfth ol Never, 1Mitropoulos. cond. 30. Tchaikovsky: Swan
Look at You, 8 more Lake Ballet Suite
19. Eddy Duchin Story Philadelphia Orches-
12. Grofe: Grand Canyon Duchin plays The Man tra. Ormandy. cond.
State. This v i v i d musical 34. Ellington at Newport
City
painting has become 60. Music of Victor
CANADA: Prices slightly higher, an American classic Newport Jazz Festival Herbert - Faith
address 11-13 Soho St., Toronto 2B Suite, Jeep's Blues, etc. Dream Girl, A Kiss in
Tf vmi wUh tn have this membership credited to an estab- 13. Doris Day's -S y m pt n, " "' 2 D V
r

38. The Hymnal


: N e
the Dark, Gypsy Love
W O r

fished Columbia or E p i c r S o X d e a Y e r authorized to accept Greatest Hits Norman Luboff Choir Song, 9 more
"ubscriptioiS please mi in the following: Doris sings 12 hits -
Love Me or Leave Me, IrT^dy^ofr sings 12 beloved hymns
-Let Him In, Sweet
61. Rossini: William
Tell Overture, etc.
Ifs Magic, Que Sera21. $64,000 Jazz Hour of Prayer, etc. Six stirring overtures
Dealer's Name 13 Jazz Greats per- 39. Firebird Suite; and marches
14. South Pacific forming Honeysuckle
Mary Martin and Ezio Romeo and Juliet 62. Frank Sinatra
Dealer's Address Pinza star in this or- Rose, Perdido, etc. Two colorful scores A dozen songs-Blue
213 ^ w ^ i W a r - Skies. The Nearness ol
C o l u m b i a Records Sales C o r p . , 1950
S d i n r B a d wmonlc, Walter, cond.
a y c a s t a n d N ^ p S l S o m c You, Mean to Me, etc.
,0 d n

" C o l u m b i a , " g), " E p i c , " Marcas R e g .


K-41
Letters

a manifesto from George Wein

non-profit organization in jazz of any even to converse with each other in a


It has become urgent that the critics of
the Newport Jazz Festival presentation at stature. Most important, of course, is that common language, and in two short weeks,
the A m e r i c a n Theater at the Brussels Newport guaranteed to underwrite 50 per- prepare a f u l l hour concert for Newport
W o r l d F a i r last August be answered. T w o cent of any losses that might be i n c u r r e d that C o l u m b i a Records feel is of a quality
critics in particular, Nat Hentoff and in the jazz program at Brussels. If any good enough to release as performed. A c t u -
R a l p h Gleason have several times devoted profits resulted they were to be turned ally by the time the band finished its 6
space to attacking the A u g u s t jazz week. back to the State Department with the day stint in Brussels it was swinging so
Neither of these men was in Brussels. idea that these Drofits were to be used to cohesively that it was a shame it had to
T h e v d i d not hear one note of music and finance the^presentation of more jazz at be disbanded.
have very lit le idea of what actually hap- Brussels Actually a loss of $690000 re- R a l p h Gleason in the August 16th edi-
pened Hentoff's views are undoubtedly sulted from the e n L e e m e n T h e 'reason tion of the Los Angeles Mirror News
clouded bv his avowed disapproval and for this w^s the s T r W m e n f . desTre writes, " J u s t think what might have been,
diseust w i t h L Newport J a z z ^ F e s t i v a l 0 ^ 7 ! ^ n r i r i for the c o n c e r r I t had the State Department taken the $25,
SXckMon^LdPbSS* l e a n X o * , not de7n Fact o f a t t e n d a n c e a V h o * 000.00 Variety reports the International
entirelv on \hT unfavorable reoort of B a n d costs and used it to bring over say,
Howard T a n b m l n m^sic critic for the D u k e E l l i n g t o n , Dizzie Gillespie, Woody
New Y o r k Time, Rentnff a7sn nuotes a H e r m a n , T h e M o d e r n Jazz Quartet, Dave
$3450 00 Department the sum of
Belgian writer^ Y a n n i c k Bruynoghe Brubeck, M i l e s Davis and George Shear-
Gleason and Hentoff committed the car- Incidentally, in reference to M r . Hent- ing."
d i n a l sin of not gathering all the evidence off's statement in the first edition of The Now R a l p h Gleason is one of my favorite
when it was necessary for them to make a Jazz Review that, "the Newport Festival writers in jazz. He likes to call himself
report on an event second-hand. No one cannot present intelligent programs over the last of the crusaders. It is difficult for
has as yet called me the Producer of the a long weekend," jazz promoters all over me to believe he is so completely unaware
jazz week at Brussels to find out why a the country and, for that matter, a l l over of the realities in the hiring a n d presen-
man like T a u b m a n criticized our program. the world have been quite content to fol- tation of jazz artists. F i r s t of a l l , the
Neither has any of the other participants, low the lead of the " u n i n t e l l i e e n t " pro- $25,000.00 figure was the budget for the
namely W i l l i s Conover M a r s h a l l Brown gramming at Newport entire 6 day program. It included fees a n d
Sidney Bechet Teddy Wilson Sarah Nationalistic propaganda and interna- transportation for Sarah Vaughan, V i c
V a u e h a n 7r the other musicians been ap- tional good w i l l are the intent of a W o r l d ' s Dickenson, B u c k Clayton, Sidney Bechet,
proached As lone as Uiese men d i d not F a i r . E a c h nation builds its exhibit with T e d d y W i l s o n , A r v e l l Shaw, Kansas Fields,
have the c o u r t e d to investigate further this in m i n d . Jazz, unlike any other art W i l l i s Conover, M a r s h a l l Brown a n d my-
what hannened ^t B r u s s e l s b e f o r e thev form is exclusive to A m e r i c a However, self, plus the International B a n d . T h e
n,7hed to the aftack A e n I must a k l whether we realize it or not, jazz has be- stark truth of the matter is that the
the time and let the few neonfe that come an important A m e r i c a n export In amount of money involved would hardly
might be interested know what r e S y ha fact in many countries particularly be- have acquired the services of the first
pened. hind the Iron C u r t a i n the A m e r i c a n export name on his list, D u k e E l l i n g t o n , for the
Most important, the program was an un- commanding the T r e a t e d respect i i a z * 6 day period at Brussels.
qualified success. If a Broadway show re- T h e immense p r e s ^ c o v e r a e e received T v F o r an orchestra's translatic trip there
ceived the acclaim that the Belgian press, M a r s h T B r o w n and mvself In the 14 coum is the question of round trip transporta-
both F r e n c h and F l e m i s h , gave our pro- t r i e s v i s t e d l b ? u f i n S u i t W the C e r tion for a m i n i m u m of 20 people. It would
gram, it would be good for a two year national B a n d had a HZTimnact o n T h e be difficult to keep this figure under
r u n . T h e musicians involved are still talk- cultural attaches i n fhe,e r o , ntrfe, a n d $10,000.00. I'm not sure what Ellington's
i n g about the wonderful week of jazz in a result on the S t a t e n " 2 " . *ZJi price would be but a low estimate for a
Brussels. T h e audience reaction was more F . i i r o n e a n a n n e a r a n c e would h e W O O 0 0
than warm and enthusiastic and the music per day (2 concerts) T h e n we m u s t ^ U o w
was excellent N o w here are a few Ques- for the fact that Ellington wM not fly so
tions that should have beenaskedTbefore different countries that would watch and ^mecnmnen^tinn Z , k . n l n V for th.
Messrs Hentoff and Gleason recorded hear about the International B a n d s ap- 2 , l l T l Wda needed for a rnnnd
the commens W h v was the Newport pearance at the Brussels jazz concert Z l ocean
trip Z n l voyage.
l r i 1 ddon
o n ' tt t h i n k weI have
think T ,
J a a F ^ s U v a T a s k e d b v The State D e X t would be of inestimable value. Yugo
m e m t o u t o n i h T o r o L a m T a f the B n , e k slavia H u n g a r y and P o l a n d were repre- <%n Er -Hl
e r
fa p h , l c a l , y l u s t r a t e w h a t
W o r d Fair' Whv when if an Wr
sented in this band. T h e State Department $25,000.00 w i l l buy for a European en-
ican art f o r m / i A an W t i a l Ta was only sorry that Russia and Czecho- gagement. F o r confirmation of these figures
Rand o f S f m t r i J f . J% slovakia d i d not have representation. one might merely ask N o r m a n G r a n z what
Perhaps the International B a n d was a it cost to send E l l i n g t o n to E u r o p e on his
stunt or gimmick as Hentoff and Gleason recent tour.
vJhl TiJr v; e m e r i c a n a
" , s
S l d
e y
e
are so quick to quote from M r . T a u b m a n . Now, as to how the program was ar-
B u c k Clayton, V i c Dickenson and the If so, it was a good one and an important rived at that played at Brussels, here are
others who appeared at Brussels? W h y d i d one. T h e impact of this venture w i l l be the facts. Sarah V a u g h a n was on a four
a classical music critic, H o w a r d T a u b m a n , felt for many years in E u r o p e One needs months tour of E u r o p e and worked the 6
choose to be so h a r d on a jazz concert only to read the heart-warming letters days at a fee equivalent to her U n i t e d
involving some of the greatest names m M a r s h a l l B r o w n has received from the States night club price Sidney Bechet
the history of jazz? T h e Newport Jazz members of the band to fully realiz? this A r v e l l Shaw and Kansas F i e l d s were also'
Festival, due to the immense amount of 1 really can't understand why so many in Fnrnne Vic TlirlrKncnn nrl Riiot n<i
work done in E u r o p e in organizing the critics chose to be so rough on M r . B r o w n on weSfrivra^ t n m ^ o r t T t i o r a n d f w e e K
International Band, and the constant a n d the music played by the band. Per- pay t o n l a v J 3 T Sklnev When S a m m v
stream of publicity given to it by W i l l i s sonally I don't think any other man in Price orillnalTv scheduled t o Z v Z Z
Conover in his V o i c e of A m e r i c a broad- A m e r i c a could have even approached the
w i t h ! d T S l T r n * i n , t n A n S
casts to E u r o p e is the best known jazz job B r o w n d i d on this gigantic project
organization in the U n i t e d States. I'm not sure that people quite realize the a r t U r T e d d v wflsonWished to t a k e T v ? a

The State Department was aware of enormity of taking 16 musicians from dif* tio" for nimsen
himself ana
and ms
Ws w
wife
e AAfter he sun-
t t e r he suh'
ferent countries and backgrounds u W b l e
this. T h e Newport Jazz Festival is the only

4 T H E J A Z Z R E V I E W
The new Contributors:

Jazz Joachim Berendt, one of the lead-


i n g jazz critics in Europe, was born

Reve
iw
in B e r l i n in 1922. Since 1945, he
has been w i t h the Southwestern Ger-
man R a d i o .

VOLUME TWO, NUMBER ONE January, 1959 Rudi Blesh is a well-known writer
on jazz. H i s book, Shining Trumpets,
has recently been reissued w i t h ad-
d i t i o n a l material on recent develop-
Contents: ments in jazz.

E r r o l l Garner b y M i m i Clar 6 Jimmy Giuffre is the multiple reed-


G a r v i n Bushell and New Y o r k Jazz in the 1920s by N a t Hentoff 11 man and composer who is develop-
K a t z and Jammers by the Staff 14 i n g his own distinctive body of m u -
The School of J a z z : Faculty views sic. He is a faculty member of The
by J i m m y Guiffre 16 School of Jazz.
by Bob Brookbemer 16
P l a y w r i g h t Joe Goldberg reviews
Student Views
regularly for Jazz V Pops and The
by Tupper Saussy 17
American Record Guide
by M. Arif Mardin 17
German R a d i o : Jazz as P u b l i c Service by J o a c h i m E. Berendt 20 Benny Golson is a tenor saxo-
T h e Negro C h u r c h : Its influence on M o d e r n Jazz, melody by M i m i Clar 22 phonist and composer-arranger. He
Monterey Jazz Festival 1958 by D i c k Hadlock 26 has played w i t h D i z z y Gillespie's
R e v i e w : Recordings former b i g band and is currently
C e c i l T a y l o r by Gunther Schuller 28 musical director of A r t Blakey's Jazz
R a y Charles b y M i m i C l a r 32 Messengers.
R a y Charles and H a r r y Belafonte by Joe Goldberg 32
34 Clarinetist Dick Hadlock was
J o h n Coltrane by C e c i l T a y l o r
34 formerly editor of The Record
M i l e s D a v i s by Benny Golson
35 Changer and is a regular contribu-
Duke E l l i n g t o n b y M i m i C l a r k
J i m m y Lunceford and B i l l y M a y b y B i l l Russo 35 tor to Down Beat and Jazz.
Sonny R o l l i n s by Benny Golson 36 T. P. Hoffman is a research chem-
C l a r k T e r r y by Glenn Coulter 37 ist w i t h Esso Standard O i l Company.
Jean Thielmans by Bob W i l b u r 38 He has been conducting a study of
Gospel S i n g i n g b y M i m i C l a r 38 the repertory of jazz 1930-40.
The D r i n k a r d Singers, A n i t a O ' D a y , June C h r i s t y , C h r i s Connor,
M e l T o r m e , and Jackie P a r i s by Glenn Coulter 39 M. Arif Mardin, a T u r k i s h musi-
Reconsiderations 3 ( K i n g Pleasure and A n n i e Ross) by H. W. S. 42 cian and composer-arranger, has
The Blues 43 been studying at the Berklee School
Reviews: Books of M u s i c in Boston. Several of his
R e x H a r r i s and B r i a n Rust, Recorded Jazz, a Critical Guide arrangements have been prformed by
J o h n S. W i l s o n , The Collector's Jazz, Traditional and Swing A m e r i c a n bands.
by R u d i Blesh 44
by T. P. Hoffman 44 Tupper Saussy of G e o r g i a and
Jazz i n P r i n t 46 F l o r i d a attended The School of Jazz
d u r i n g its first session, August, 1957,
and was pianist at the P o t t i n g Shed
Editors: Nat Hentoff, M a r t i n W i l l i a m s on the grounds of M u s i c Inn d u r i n g
The School's second session.
Publishers: L e o n a r d F e l d m a n , Israel Y o u n g
Art Editor: Hsio Wen Shih Cecil Taylor, a pianist and com-
Advertising Manager: Richard Joseph poser, has performed at the Newport
and Great South B a y Festivals,
Production Manager: Hortense Geist
Cooper U n i o n and the F i v e Spot in
E d i t o r i a l Assistant: Margot Wolynski N e w Y o r k , and other clubs. N e w al
bums by h i m are due shortly on C o n -
temporary and U n i t e d Artists.

The Jazz Review is published monthly by Bob Wilbur led his own Wildcats
in the mid-forties and in the fifties
The Jazz Review, Inc.,
was a member of The S i x , the Condon
Village Station, P.O. Box 128, New York 14, N. Y. house-band, and Bobby Hackett's
Entire contents copyrighted 1958. group.

JANUARY 5
To analyze the output of E r r o l l Style Characteristics
Garner involves an examination of
not one but several styles of playing.
Perhaps more than any other jazz
p i a n i s f he has continued to develop 1. Stride influence: swing, bass, grace
and create anew F r o m f a i r l y simple notes, tone clusters, consecutive
b e g i n n i n g Garner has forged ahead tenths in bass.
E R R O L L to produce an e v e r - i n c r e a L g com-
p L ^ t v of ideas and sounds But no
2. E a r l y swing bass style in middle or
up-tempo; own sound starts emerg
mauer how radical the style change ing.
Garner a ^ l v s manages to place the 3. F l o w i n g style: much pedal used,
G A R N E R u S L k a b l e f i m T r i n t o f his person
a l i l y on all 1bis work
swing bass, tenths.

Three m a i n influences or roots are 4. L a t i n style: beguine beat, left-hand


discernible in Garner's style; namely melodies and arpeggios.

by Mimi Clar ragtime, Impressionism, and H a r l e m


stride piano like that of Fats Waller.
The lush harmonies and dreamy 5. Impressionistic style: slow ballads,
meanderings of E r r o l l ' s slow ballads f u l l chords, runs, lush sounding.
come from Impressionism. The bounce 6. Bop style: concentration on right
and eaietv of his up-tempo tunes come hand, closest approximation of horn
from ragtime The robust vitality and playing.
sly humor which permeate his play- 7. Contemporary style: 4 staccato
i n g come from Fats W a l l e r and the chords in left hand, much bounce.
s t r i d r s c h o o L It must be observed 8. V e r y slow bounce style: beats sub-
that these roots are ourelv vianistic divided into small parts.
ones rather than W b S a r d L t o o S 9. M a m b o style: mambo beat.

I have divided E r r o l l ' s style into 10. Orchestral style: ever-increasing


the following categories, each best fullness and variety of pianistic
exemplified by certain tunes. (These devices.
styles are not necessarily in chrono-
logical order.)

THE J A Z Z REVIEW
Recordings The most satisfactory approach to ner would play it.
a study of Garner's style in general ( M u s i c a l Example 1:
w i l l be to examine it with regard to Please Don't Talk.. .)
1. Easy to Love (Gaslight album melody, harmony, r h y t h m , tone color, Garner's melodies are often chordal.
on D i a l ) and emotional expression! When they are, the chords may be
Melodically, Garner employs just tremoloed or b r o k e n ; they may be
2. F o r Y o u (Mercury A1034) about every possible device in his i m - presented in locked-hands style; they
provisations. Both hands play melodic may be thirds, fourths, or filled-in
roles: left-hand patterns, crossed-hand octaves used chromatically, diatoni-
3. Always (Mercury MG 20009 fabrics, and alternation of melodic cally, or in parallel m o t i o n ; or they
A); It Don't Mean a Thing... fragments occur frequently. In single- may be employed in contrary motion
(Columbia C L 6209) finfer melodies Garner employs in both hands. The chordal melodies
4. Where or When ( M e r c u r y grace-notes triplets appoggiaturas are executed with the same facility,
5 0 0 0 - A ) ; I've Got You Under double-appoggiaLas ascending and at the same rate of speed, and within
My Skin (Mercury MG descending frpeggios' chromatic and the same stylistic framework as are
20009 A ) S o n i c ^ a S ^ ^ t o n i c ^ and his single-finger efforts.
5. Laura (Columbia C L 6 1 7 3 ) repeated notes {lTZScl\^LlZ A favorite trick of E r r o l l ' s , and an
at end of article) example of his omnipresent sense of
6. Blue Lou (Modern 2 0 - 6 4 0 B ) ; humor, is to b u i l d a series of crashing
Repetition of melody notes is one of
Bird's Nest (Charlie P a r k e r , chords to a tremendous crescendo,
the earmarks of Garner's style; notes
D i a l 905) then suddenly to break off (at what
or chords are repeated two or three
7. Caravan (Columbia CL 535) should be the all-out climax) into a
times per beat. Below is a line from
Please Don't Talk About Me When high, pianissimo, delicate single-finger
8. I'm in the Mood for Love line
I'm Gone as it is written, and as Gar-
(Columbia C L 6173)
9. Mambo Moves Garner album.
( E m A r c y M G 20055)
10. The Most Happy Piano album
(Columbia C L 9 3 9 ) ; Concert
by the Sea album ( C o l u m b i a
C L 883)
f t y e d f e y &<"rer

JANUARY
The principle of canon is applied Cara\lai\ * canon +Vi-ou *ie>uT Struct v< A
continually in Garner's lines One poll tc.lU, - Ok *
idea is restated with slight variation
throughout the entire chorus. E a c h
motif is developed to its fullest extent. k
{Caravan in C o l u m b i a CL 535 is full j-
4
of canonic figures.)
E r r o l l usually improvises around
the melody of a song. A l t h o u g h not
always literally stated, the melody is
always readily apparent just beneath
the surface of what is being played. chromatic *cl<
As E r r o l l himself says, "I like to play * f f
certain tunes because of their melody. m
W h y should I disguise that m e l o d y ? " 1

Even in his i n i t i a l statement of a tune n


as written, Garner's own fill-ins seem
to perpetuate rather than punctuate r*r 1> >/
the melody; the breaks in melodic
Dhrases are' bridged with structural % 1,

I *

2fe2.g^thata*,^S^tSTS.
H a r m o n i c a l l y , Garner employs de-
vices which are i n d i v i d u a l sounding.
He utilizes certain techniques of I m -
pressionism and bebop. L i k e Debussy,
Garner uses thirds and fourths, paral-
lel chords and chromatic modulations between the two hands. Of this trade- Garner divides each beat in his
auite liberally These Impressionistic mark, Garner says. 4
right hand into three parts. Generally
harmonies impart a delicate, misty, " I t creates excitement. It's h a r d for but two notes are played per beat.
U a n ^ r e n t quality to much of his me to explain what I do, but when I These notes are equal in time value.
slow work which has been referred play I try for a sort of underneath What results from this triple division
toTs C t e ' r f a l l music." 2
beat, if you know what I mean. It's of the beat is a series of triplets with
L i k e the boppers, Garner uses sec- strictly a feeling. I guess the closest missing middle notes. The figure is
onds, very r i c h chords, passing and thing to describing it is that instead notatedthus:
substitute chords, and voicings with of being a drive it's k i n d of an extra D u r i n g very slow ballad renditions,
altered notes. He takes f u l l advantage drive like Fats and J i m m i e Lunceford he further subdivides the beat into
of polytonal harmonies, tone clusters, used to have." four or even six parts. T h i s is done
pedal points, inversions, ninths and E r r o l l ' s left hand pattern is of i n - in his recording of Penthouse Ser-
tenths. He translates the everyday terest. Basically, it looks like this on enade:
sounds around h i m into his own paper: ( M u s i c a l ex. 2: left-hand) M u s i c e x . 3 : "Penthouse")
musical terms: It is varied by adding extra accents The slow-bounce ballads are notable
" T h e harmony I just hear or feel as or bv placing stresses at contrasting for Garner's suspension of the beat
my own. Things I see every day and places in different measures. Sudden in m i d - a i r , which gives his entire
hear I combine into my music. The accents are liberally employed. performance a volatile, up character.
sound is the way I adjust myself to
l i v i n g in that city at that time. Cities
have different sounds and there are ' r - i
different things I feel good about be
cause I can hear them. I got a wide 3 r C
expansion of hearing, please believe
J B E r f
me!" 3

5E TT*
This expansion of hearing has pro-
duced harmonic effects which con-
stitute Garner's very own sound. H i s
chords seem to come out of the cracks
of the keys and his voicings make one
wonder if he has had a special piano
designed to fulfill his own aural con-
cepts.
Rhythmically, one of the most
unique things in Garner's playing is
the delayed beat or lag of his right -h-A
hand behind his left. H i s left hand 1
Hentoff, Nat, & Shapiro, Nat, Hear Me Talkin' To Ya (New Y o r k :
keeps the main pulsation going with Rinehart, 1955), p. 365.
staccato chords while his fight hand 2
A l b u m notes, Erroll Garner Gems, C o l u m b i a CL 6173.
retards the melody almost a full half- 3
Down Beat, 23:16 ( A u g . 8, 1 9 5 6 ) , p. 10.
beat behind. This sets up a polyrhythm 4
Metronome, 71:1 ( J a n . 1 9 5 5 ) , p. 14.

THE J A Z Z REVIEW
E r r o l l frequently switches meter or
tempo in one selection. He may go
from an ad-lib chorus into a very
fast up-tempo section, or from a
L a t i n beat he may settle into a firmly
r o c k i n g 4 / 4 groove. E r r o l l has the
NEGRO
ability to carry off these extreme
temDo chanees vet maintain a rhvth-
m k b a W m l a u S o f thematic
FOLK ELEMENTS
material w h i l e l i n g s o
A l s o heightening Garner's rhythmic
interest are polyrhythmic patterns
IN T H E
such as those in But Not For Me
( C o l u m b i a CL 939) ; and his favorite
block chord rhythmic pattern (found GARNER
in Will You Still Be M m e ? - C o l u m -
bia C L 535) :
(Music ex. 4: " W i l l you . ..") STYLE
Tone color or timbre is an aspect
of style usually reserved for the
analysis of horn players. But tone is
as much a part of the Garner sound
as it is a part of any horn man. To
get " b l u e " or " d i r t y " intonation on
the piano is not an easy task, since
the pitch of the instrument is fixed.
But to Garner this poses no problem.
He achieves blue (that is slightly
flat) intonation by sliding into chords
from a half-tone below, like SO * Though modern jazz has become a from his own playing that he com-
( M u s i c a l Example 5: blue tone) highly sophisticated and involved municates this spirit to his listeners.
He can obtain further blue sounds form of music, and though the G a r - He is completely uninhibited as he
through subtle use of the pedal which ner style sounds and is extremely performs: his own humming and out-
he employs generously at times and complex, E r r o l l himself may be com- cries of pleasure are as much a part
from which he breaks sharply at pared to a folk musician in many of the Garner sound as is the music
appropriate moments. Tremoloed respects. itself.
chords, sharp contrasts in color, The fact that he doesn't read music The technical folk elements in his
r a n g e / a n d volume, and the actual contributes to his "folk" status, as style are readily apparent. H i s use
banging of the keyboard with the does the fact that he is able to im- of repeated notes, tremoloed chords,
left hand further enhance his tonal provise so freely. He is completely and triplet patterns is in keeping with
palette. unhampered by the do's and dont's of the use of these techniques in Negro
At slow tempos, the Garner sound formal music traininghis lack of folk music. Often he will tremolo a
may be described as s h i m m e r i n g ; at acquaintance with theory has en- chord for several beats and follow it
faster speeds, the sound becomes abled him to transcend the limitations with an accented descending figure,
kaleidoscopic, constantly shifting and which might have been imposed upon as in There Is No Greater Love:
cascading into new combinations. him by tradition. What results is a ( M u s i c a l Ex 6- " Greater L o v e " )
E m o t i o n is the key to E r r o l l ' s i n - highly personal original product T h i s figure corresponds to the voice
dividuality. Though scores have unique in its rhythmic melodic and drop at the end of vocal lines so com
copied his technical devices, few suc- harmonic aspects T h i s playing by mon anions Neero folk sinsers Like
ceed in capturing the Garner per- instinct counted with the abilify to folk singers
sonality, which permeates his work ends a melodic phraSeon an upbeat
and which envelopes his audience. a S T and spontaneity in Garner's
T h i s personality is sometimes l y r i c , work L i k e S e f S k music no two
delicate, and t r a n q u i l ; sometimes E r r o l l G a r n e r ^ r L S t L T a r e alike a feJbeats o h c a n T t e n d one note
iauntv, vigorous and ebullient- al- Of course, Garner is a folk musician over a number of beats abo a feature
ways warm and overflowing with in that he arouses such a high degree o T ^ o T o l k music
good humor. As E r r o l l himself firmly of participation from his audiences. The elements of antiphony and
states "I feel what I'm Dlaving " H i s 5
Go to any club or concert hall where blue intonation are present in most
own enjoyment and confidence in h Garner is appearing and you will see Negro folk products. They may be
work f i l t e r through t o h h audience the entire audience tapping its feet to found in Garner's playing also.
A s k h i m who hi f a v o r i t e piano lay- his rhythm, laughing at his humorous E r r o l l ' s style is antiphonal in that
musical statements and held com- ofttimes there is a definite dialogue
" W e l l , I like the w a y ' I play, you pletely spellbound by the warmth and between his hands or between the
know, and I've got several I like to exuberance of his personality. E r r o l l statements and answers in his mel-
listen to. T a t u m , Powell, W i l s o n , I obviously derives so much enjoyment odies. E r r o l l achieves the character-
like to hear them, all of them. But I
don't get carried away. Y o u know 6
Down Beat, A u g . 8, 1956, p. 10.
what I mean ? Not to the point where
I go home and want to play like 6
Ibid.
them." Y

JANUARY 9
istic flat sound of Negro music by
utilizing tone clusters, grace notes, POSITION
blue notes, and such unorthodox pro-
cedures as crashing with the fist and
banging with the palm of the hand in
the lower registers of the keyboard.
OF
E r r o l l ' s lines illustrate another trait
of Negro folk m u s i c : the p l a y i n g of
notes for rhythmic rather than for
E R R O L L GARNER
melodic purposes. Sometimes his
notes are such that their melodic sig-
nificance becomes neutralized by the
EV
sheer onslaught of his rhythmic drive.
One peculiarity of Garner's style
can be traced back to Negro work
JAZZ
songs. M a n y of the latter seem to
have an irregular number of beats
between each sung statement of the HISTORY
worker. This same irregularity occurs
in such Garner recordings as Pent
house Serenade and I'm in the Mood
For Love, in which the first beat of E r r o l l Garner cannot be pigeon- " . . . I found that the slow tunes,
the measure is followed by a silence holed into any particular style of jazz, especially the medium slow tunes, d i d
that appears to be maintained for too though his career began d u r i n g the more for the development of jazz than
lone a period before the second beat bop era. Strictly speaking, he is a any other type, due to the fact that
is realized. modern pianist in that he takes ad you could always hit a note twice in
L i k e work song leaders who would vantage of the r i c h harmonies, poly- such a tune, when o r d i n a r i l y you
incorporate events of the day into tonalify frequent modulation and could hit it once, which gave the
their songs, Garner often gets ideas altered melodic tones used by modern music a very good flavor."
for compositions from objects or iazzmen Though his style fits in with Here is a perfect account of the re-
scenes which happen to attract his h a H f the modernists Garner is in a peated notes so prominent in E r r o l l ' s
attention. Pianist M a r y L o u W i l l i a m s class b y h i n S a s i Duke E l l i n g t o n . work today.
tells how As was pointed out in the analysis of Garner's future endeavors w i l l
". . . Garner made a habit of going E\roU's style hs playing contains probably involve more and more of
over to Inez Cavanaugh's apartment, traces o f S i m e and H a r l e m stride a development along the orchestral
an i n s p i r i n g spot for musicians, where oTano w h S Tall w i t h " t h T adi- lines with w h i c h he has lately begun
E r r o l l used to play and compose all 3'ia*category ^ to experiment. H i s own declaration
dav he once sat gazing at a sub- bears this o u t : 11

dued table lamp of hers, then com- modern ingredients G a m e r rejre- "There's those 88 keys! The guy
posed something to fit the mood, l
i n k t w e e n the present and
g
b e who made it must have had some-
which he entitled Lamplight."* past ir..jazz thing in m i n d . I've always felt a piano
E r r o l l ' s improvisations exhibit a Garner can be classified with L o u i s was to be as f u l l as possible. If I had
good deal of the qualities of Negro A r m s t r o n g and Fats Waller, the two 13 fingers I'd be t r y i n g more. Always
church music. H i s left hand pattern, great humorists of jazz. L i k e his t r y i n g to get a band sound . . . that's
for example, is by far the most com predecessors, E r r o l l can make jazz what I ' m w o r k i n g f o r . "
mon one used by organists as well as out of anyth ng. He says, "I can play E r r o l l occupies an important posi-
drummers to keep the beat going Mairzy Doats and make you l i k e i t . " 9
tion in jazz history since in his
during church services. H i s right hand Jelly R o l l M o r t o n , the New Orleans p l a y i n g , he maintains elements of
chord construction, consisting of p i a n i s l and self-named authority of traditional jazz while developing the
similarlv-structured chords in parallel jazz, made an interesting statement resources of modern jazz. Out of this,
motion- ( E x . 7: parallel chords) which has been carried out to the he manages to emerge a completely
- a n d the rhythmic flow of his lines letter by E r r o l l Garner. He s a i d : 1 0
o r i g i n a l f n d i n d i v i d u a l performer.
are used by pianists in churches and
on gospel recordings such as I'm * 4 ~ t *
Too Close To My Journey's End by T -4- <*~ J- ~ ~~
the Greater Harvest Baptist C h u r c h + *T 7 V t ~
Choir
Just as in slow tempos E r r o l l d i -
vides the beat into many parts, so do
Negro church artists. A final parallel
may be noticed in a comparison of
Garner's block chord rhythmic pat
tern
(Use M u s i c E x . 4 here: left-hand)
with an excerpt of Jesus Gettin Us
Ready For That Great Day from a
service at the Temple of the Holy-
Ghost and School of Instruction in
Los Angeles; 8

(Music E x . 8: H o l y Ghost)
Garvin Bushell

and

New York Jazz

in the 1920's

by Nat Hentoff

G a r v i n Bushell was born in S p r i n g - J o p l i n . T h e change began to come Bushell started to go to W i l b e r -


field, O h i o , September 25, 1902. Both around 1912 to 1915 when the four- force University a n d d u r i n g the sum-
his mother and father were singers string banjo and saxophone came i n . mer vacation, he played in tents and
and voice teachers. An uncle played The players began to elaborate on the theatres as part of the band for OV
clarinet in a circus band. Bushell melodic lines; the harmony and Kentuck'. " I n the shows, we played
grew up in Springfield u n t i l 1919 r h y t h m remained the same. The pa- and improvised on pop tunes and all
when he settled in New Y o r k . rade music in Springfield was played of Scott J o p l i n . Everybody played
One of the early Springfield bands by strictly m a r c h bands, but there Scott differently. The main theme
he remembers was the W i l l i s and was instrumental r a g t i m e - a n d im would be stated, but then everybody
W o r m a c k unit which included tenor p r o v i s a t i o n i n the dance halls. d i d little things of his o w n . "
saxophonist M i l t o n Senior. " H e was "I started on piano when I was L e a v i n g Wilberforce, Bushell went
about the first tenor saxophone any- six and continued for four years. I to New Y o r k in 1919 to stay. " T h e
one in that area h a d heard. He took up the clarinet at 13. Another Negro dance bands I heard were
eventually ioined the M c K i n n e y Cot- uncle was a pianist, a devotee of often from 30 to 50 pieces. They
ton Pickers When I got to New Y o r k , Scott J o p l i n , and Maple Leaf Rag was played dance music at places like the
I was told about N a p p y Lee, who one of the first things I heard. Peo- New Star Casino on 107th Street and
was said to have been the first' saxo- ple then were also p l a y i n g the fast Lexington and at the Manhattan C a -
^nirtherrabouri910 western, what later came to be called sino, now Rockland Palace. There
" W e didn't call the music jazz boogie-woogie. It meant a fast bass, were sometimes 20 men playing ban-
when I was growing u p , " Bushell and it was said to have come out of dolins, a combination of the banjo
says, "except for the final tag of a Texas. and v i o l i n that was plucked. A m o n g
number. A f t e r the cadence was " W e first heard instrumental rag- the leading conductors were John C.
closed, there'd be a one bar break time in the circus bands w h i c h usu- S m i t h , A l l i e Ross (who later con-
and the second b a r was the t a g ally had about 14 menbrass, c l a r i - ducted Blackbirds), Happy Rhone,
5, 6, 5, 1. S o l , l a , sol, do. D a d a - nets and rhythm. They were Negro and F o r d Dabney who had been in it
da D U M ! That was called the jazz. hands; the players i m p r o v i s e d ; and from the beginning and was much
T h e first time I saw the w o r d was they played blues. They traveled all bigger than J i m Europe.
on E a r l Fuller's record of Oh Miss over the country, but the men in the " T h e y played pop and show tunes.
ZL/ane a r o u n d 1 9 1 6 T h e label band were mostly from F l o r i d a , Geor- The saxophone was not very p r o m i -
saTd E a r T F u l l e r " Jass band A r o u n d g i a , Tennessee, L o u i s i a n a . I don't nent as a solo instrument, but the
he same vear I also heard a song know how my uncle got in there. I trumpet, clarinet and trombone were.
thatwTcaS don't know when they started, but in The soloists, especially the trumpet
" R a g t i m e piano was the m a j o r i n - 1912, my uncle was in his 30s and players, improvised, and those trum-
fluence in that section of the country. he'd been playing in circus bands pet players used a whole series of
Everybody tried to emulate Scott nearly a l l his l i f e . " buckets and cuspidors for effects.

JANUARY 11
Tx.
The hands played foxtrot r h y t h m " S m a l l dance bands played in cab- " M y first year in New Y o r k I was
and s t i l l adhered to the two beat arets like the Orient on 135th Street a clerk, drove a truck, and was an
rhythmic feel. The jazz bands, how- between Lenox and F i f t h Avenues. elevator operator. On Sundays I re-
ever, that I'd heard in Springfield It was a characteristic gutbucket hearsed with a band f r o m F l o r i d a .
or had heard about played in four. joint, and it was there that M a m i e The way they played reminded me of
The Creole B a n d with Freddie K e p - S m i t h found her band. The instru- my uncle's work in the circus band.
p a r d and Sidney Bechet had come to mentation in the place was trumpet, They played real blues.
New Y o r k around 1915, and I was trombone clarinet piano drums and " G r a d u a l l y , the New Y o r k caba
told thev played in four. In fact, sometime! saxophone. T h e trombone rets began to hear more of the real
T o n y W o w i t h the O r i g i n a l Dixie^ plaver Dope Andrews was C h a r l i e pure jazz and blues by musicians
land Jazz B a n d w a s a b o u t the only from F l o r i d a , South C a r o l i n a , Geor-
jazz player I heaTd doing it in Zo called teiSte l a t e on but here was gia, L o u i s i a n a , etc. W h a t they played
remember I w e n t t S that bT d was more expressive than had been
at S n w e b e S I had to s t a n d at his work than in George B r u n i s ' for heard in New Y o r k to that time.
^ bacTror with the dish washer. example M of hX hadbanX " M o s t of the Negro population in
I a l s k n o w tha i n ^ ^ v i S S S t e l T e T a t - if thev c o u l o V t getVclari New Y o r k then had either been b o r n
net thev u s e d a s a x o p h o n e There there or had been in the city so long,
beats was Terrv P r e s t o n ' r a r i ^ i h near they were fully acclimated. They were
" T h e top jazzman around 1919-20 Lenox L e r o v N It 135th and F i f t h t r y i n g to forget the traditions of the

i l l S
was Jack Hatten, a trumpet player. d o w n I n *e c e l l a r w h e r e aH hut one S o u t h ; they were t r y i n g to emulate
He had been in New Y o r k most of of X m with Fthrf the whites. Y o u couldn't deliver a
his life. He played w i t h a lot of WaSs ffcTon ir t a iTCl package to a Negro's front door. Y o u
had to go down to the cellar door.
power and a lot of flutter-tonguing.
He was very exciting. Y e t his play- A n d Negroes dressed to go to work.
met drivTrn i d ^J^Z
i n g and thai of the fther New Y o r k They changed into work clothes when
musicians of the time was different plug hats, and Ted got the idea f r o m they got there. Y o u usually weren't
than the o l a v i n e of men in Chicago h i m of incorporating it into his act. allowed to play blues and boogie-
S L o u i s Texas and New Orleans' " M o s t cabarets had a five piece woogie in the average Negro middle
band and seven or eight singers. The class home. That music supposedly
S ^ style and hadleTblueT singer would sing one chorus at each suggested a low element. A n d the
SrwaS an Eastern rerforrner table and would make every table in b i g bands with the v i o l i n s , flutes,
who could reallv p k v the E J e T w e the joint. If you didn't know the piccolos didn't play them either. L i k e
kter a b s o r b e d h o w r f r o m L somhem song when she started, you would bv when I was in Russia and suggested
musicswe hZrc^1^*12 the time she'd completed her rounds we do The Volga Boatmen, but they
S n a T w i t h u ^ W e didn't o u T T a The pianists could improvise very said they wanted to forget that.
a u a r t e r t Z l phehin the music the w e l l : for one thing thev got a lot of " Y o u could only hear the blues
wav tie^Southerners d i d U P N o r t h practice w o r k i n g rom 9 p m to 6 and real jazz in the gutbucket caba-
we l e a n e r ^ [ Z ^ o o i ! , . am A f t e r each s i n g l r - e n t e m i n e r rets where the lower class went. The
lot o7 notes conception-a the b a n X o u I d p k ^ term 'gutbucket' came f r o m the chit-
terlings bucket. Chitterlings are the
Ernest Elliott, c l ; Dope Andrews, t b ; W i l l i e 'the L i o n ' Smith, p ; Addington Major, tp;
Leroy Parker, violin. guts of a hog and the practice used
to be to take a bucket to the slaughter
house and get a bucket of guts. There-
fore, anything real low down was
called gutbucket. So far as I know
the term was used in St. L o u i s , K a n -
sas C i t y , N e w Y o r k , K e n t u c k y , T e n -
nessee, many places.
" T h e y improvised in the cabarets
and what they played had a different
timbre f r o m the b i g dance bands.
What the white man in New Y o r k
called the blues, however, was just
more ragtime. The real blues used a
special melodic line together w i t h a
way of p l a y i n g in between the quar-
ter tones l i k e the I r i s h cadences and
the Indian quarter-tones combined
with the Negro's repetition of mel-
ody. A n d Indian music, incidentally,
also has a repetitive beat.
"I think the influence on jazz of
the A m e r i c a n Indians has been un-
derestimated. There were plenty of
Indians back of our house in S p r i n g -
field, and part of my f a m i l y is I n -
d i a n . There were Indians all through
the South, Southeast and Southwest
the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky,
F l o r i d a , V i r g i n i a , L o u i s i a n a . When
the slaves ran away, Indians would

12
often take them in because the I n -
dians hated the white man too. How
do you think there came to be so
many Negroes w i t h Indian blood?
" B y the Irish cadence I mean the
1 5 4 5 7 1 sequence that was
somewhat like the blues. There were
a lot of Irish in the South.
" N o w , about the piano music in
New Y o r k around 1920. I remember
Alberta Simmons. She was in her
thirties, and was one of the first
pianists I'd heard who played a style
that sounded a little different. I
hadn't heard James P. vet. She
seemed to use few- notes was more
expTeTsive I d had more T r i v e I t
S T i e but it was definttely
h T v e r S T o f i t She J a y e d S Lutice Perkins, d ; G a r v i n Bushell, c l ; E d Cox c o r ; L i l l y n Brown, v ; Demont, t h ; Willie
\enthfseemedtLTom- Gant, p; John M u l l i n s , vio.
inant pattern Ft S a walking great influence on jazz. They sang except the New Orleans creole play-
mant pattern. It wasn t walking the blues in c h u r c h ; the words were ers. W h e n I hear youngsters t r y i n g
" T h e n I heard W i l l i e 'The L i o n , ' religious, but it was blues. They of- to emulate the sound of the New
James P . , W i l l i e Gant and Freddie ten had a drummer and a trumpet Orleans players, I wonder if they
T o n s i l . Fats at that timethe latter player. Y o u can still hear it in a realize that those men were doing
part of the '20swasn't in their class. church like the one at 8th Avenue the best they could but weren't do-
They wouldn't let h i m play. and 123rd Street The Negro carried i n g all they wanted to on their i n -
" W i l l i e 'The L i o n ' played more h i t r o u b L t o churcn and talked t o struments. I w i l l say though that
ragtime than James P. Johnson. G o d abourthem " the musicians f r o m the s o u t h e a s t -
James P. was cleaner and more i n - It was Bushell who took Fats W a l - V i r g i n i a a n d Baltimore, etc.had
ventive, as those early Q R S rolls ler with h i m into vaudeville in 1922. the blues feeling but not the soul of
demonstrate. He played things that Before that Bushell's first job in the players from L o u i s i a n a , Texas
were very close to what pianists in vaudeville had been with singer C l a r - and M i s s i s s i p p i .
Ohio and the West were doing. He ence Potter in the latter part of 1920. "I began to record w i t h M a m i e
was getting awav too from the rag " H e d i d H a r r y Lauder songs. H e was S m i t h in 1921. I lived back of P e r r y
time o j f p l i n a d d h i g T what he real dark but looked like L a u d e r . Bradford's house; he heard me prac-
reTained and expreTsinl hirJelfThe H e w o r e kilts in the act, but he w a s t i c i n g one day, and asked me if I
major m f l u e n c e o ^ born on the East Side and had a wanted to make some records. He
A b b a L a b b a He and T o n s i l never typical B r o o k l y n accent There w a s was M a m i e ' s manager. Up to then,
took a steady Job A b b a L a b b a would nothing Negro abourhim except Hs I'd kept d o i n g vaudeville. I played
come i n a n d olav 3 0 m i n S e T cut ^IOT I n X L days K o Instru in OF Kentuck', a book show, at
everybody and go out T h e T ' b o t h mentalists were secondary in show 14th Street. We d i d three shows a
d r S well a l l the time. b ^ m ^ T h e ^ ^ w l m t e d ^ o W day and before each show, we went
" A n important piano influence the S g r o e f s i n g ! out front to ballyhoo. We played on
came out of Baltimore. Players l i k e " M y f i r s t recording date was i n the stage and improvised. We didn't
E u b i e Blake, M a d i s o n Reed, E d g a r 1921 as part of a band backing D a i s y have any saxophones; we d i d have
Dow were early exponents of rag M a r t i n for Okeh. We got $30 for two three clarinets, tuba, three trumpets,
time and came to New Y o r k . They sides; didn't matter how long it took two trombones, two upright baritone
played modified r a g t i m e - t e c h n i c a l l y to cut them; and we had to wait horns, and two drums (bass and
and musically more than J o p l i n had months for the money. She was a snare).
done The important banio plavers singernot a blues s i n g e r w i t h a " M a m i e S m i t h wasn't like Bessie.
came out o r f f i t i m o r e too" Northern accent In t h f b a n d was Bessie was the real M c C o y . She didn't
"James P . , due to the influence of SrSen oTtrumpet^^ get in between the tones the way
A b b a L a b b a and his own capacity, zier trombone, a n Z g o t h e r s Bessie d i d . I soon went out on tour
was one of the few great pianists in " S p e a k i n g 'of trombone reminds with M a m i e , and Bubber M i l e y was
New Y o r k . Fats came to be another. me that another influence on N o r t h - in the band. Bubber replaced Johnny
W h e n you heard James P. at his best, ern musicians were the Jenkins O r - D u n n , the o r i g i n a l trumpet player
that was A b b a L a b b a , except that phanage Bands out of Charleston, with M a m i e . It was D u n n who first
James P. who had studied played South C a r o l i n a . They started going took a bathroom plunger and used
with a littleTmore fines rand talte s
around the country in 1910 and went it as a mute. W h e n we were in C h i -
When EEllington came to New Y o r k L Europe in 1913 It was a S w i n S J cago, Bubber and I would go to the
w i l l Elme ^ S n o w d e 7 s band he was brasrC-likeoneo^ t h c T K Dreamland and hear K i n g Oliver
X i n g like J a m e ^ P H e ' d appTr b a n d s - t h a t would play in the street every night. Bubber got his g r o w l i n g
ently L r d t h e ^ R S rofls from Oliver. Before hearing Oliver,
and then m e h T S d b e passed
" A b b a L a b b a used tenths in the he never growled. That's where B u b -
bass, and he could swing. They called ber changed his style and began us-
it 'shout' in those days from the like trombones ing his hand over the tin mute that
church when the Baptist minister " B y and large, the Negro musi- used to come with all cornets. It was
would start preaching and the con- cians from the southeast were tech- hearing Oliver that d i d i t . "
gregation would get all worked up nically better than the musicians (This is the first of a series of
emotionally. N e g r i church music had f r o m the southwest and L o u i s i a n a . I articles.)

JANUARY 13
Cellist-pianist-composer-arranger-recording director F r e d K a t z was recently
quoted by columnist Jack O ' B r i a n in The New York Journal American to the
effect that no jazz critics h a d ever been right. Here are reactions to this
statement as they might have come f r o m some musicians, jazz writers, and
entrepreneurs.

lanttttpn.

Stan Kenton: " W h e n the history of our great A m e r i c a n art f o r m , and I have
been touched to tears by the way those people overseas feel about what we
feel so deeply about, it w i l l be seen that the critics lacked the scope, I mean
the historical as well as the overall cosmic and s p i r i t u a l perspective, to
realize where the future was coming f r o m , and that it already was, as I know
f r o m travelling with it and on it across and through the length and breadth
of our country and beyond a n d a l l they were t a l k i n g about was Count Basie
and Duke E l l i n g t o n , and I certainly admire them and go to see them whenever
I can, but they d i d not have the ears to hear and the blood to absorb what
else was happening, the sounds and the volume a n d the great sweep of that
other t h i n g that was happening, that was b u r s t i n g W h a t was the q u e s t i o n ? "

Whitney Balliett: "I do not believe that jazz critics should discuss music
with musicians."

George Wein: " S i n c e F r e d K a t z is not yet enough of a draw to have appeared


at either Newport of Storyville as a leader, I have not had the opportunity to
comment on his work in my weekly column of news and c r i t i c i s m in the
Boston Herald. Furthermore, it w o u l d be poor taste for me to comment on
other critics except to say that, as anyone could see who read what they
said about Newport this year (it may not be a conspiracy, but it does seem
to me that a l l that lack of taste cannot have been accidental), they are
incompetent and besides, can any of them sit down and play piano w i t h
Sidney Bechet or call Joe Glaser by his first name, or otherwise show that
they really know what's h a p p e n i n g ? "

Joe Glaser: " W h a t the hell do I care about F r e d K a t z or the critics? W h o


do you think owns a l l this j a z z ? "

Dom Cerulli: " F r e d has a point. It's certainly w o r t h considering anyway.


B u t here at the Beat, we try to give our readers a l l the latest on the events
in the jazz w o r l d and I do think we're d o i n g a good j o b . "

Leonard Feather: "I don't think that F r e d K a t z (see the Encyclopedia of Jazz
and the Encyclopedia Yearbook of Jazz [ H o r i z o n ] realizes that I knew f r o m
the beginning that Charlie P a r k e r and D i z z y Gillespie were important (see
The Book of Jazz [ H o r i z o n ] . Besides, it's y o u r immediate reaction that
counts. Just because a g i r l comes f r o m a foreign country, sounds exactly l i k e
B i l l i e H o l i d a y , and sings at Newport doesn't necessarily mean that she can't
be a good jazz singer. F r e d K a t z by the way, is not featured on The Weary
Blues ( M G M ) b u t he might have been. Jelly R o l l M o r t o n couldn't h a Z
played good cello if he'd t r i e d . "

Duke Ellington: " W e love you m a d l y ! "

Nat Hentoff: " I t is seemingly obvious that F r e d K a t e ' ex cathedra pronounce-


ment has some relevance in the present context, but what makes h i m think
any critics exist? I mean functional, mainstream, blues-rooted critics. A n d
anyway, what about the way they're r u n n i n g Newport? W h a t do F r e d and
D r ! S u z u k i have to say about t h a t ? "

14 THE J A Z Z REVIEW
BiU Coss: " N o n e of the critics is conscious enough of the important experi-
mental work being done by Teddy Charles, Teo, and J o h n La P o r t a . C h a r l i e
M i n g u s has even experimented w i t h a group i n c l u d i n g two cellos."

Don Gold: " * * * * A l t h o u g h not one of the jazz greats, F r e d does do


meaningful work at times, here succeeds in communicating, and may become
an important voice."

Norman Granz: "I've never met a c r i t i c yet who wasn't l o o k i n g for free
records. T h i s , then, is what they call c r i t i c s . "

Ralph J. Gleason: " F r e d K a t z doesn't k n o w the business. T h e critics don't


know the business. There's too much pretentiousness a r o u n d . Do you think
K a t z or those critics know how m u c h lps actually sell? Do you think they
ever talked to B u n k Johnson? Or went to the S a v o y ? Or the O n y x ? Those
were the days, and these could be too if we would just remember that jazz
is fun and E r r o l l G a r n e r . "

Martin Williams: " O f course, F r e d K a t z (what are we to make of the rythmic


manner-isms, bordering on cocktail cello, or of the mystical-post-Zen-cool-jazz
pretentiousness, or the lack of genuine thematic development (compare h i m
with J o p l i n or M o r t o n ) that in spite of his musicianship, taste, c l a r i t y , and
craftsmanship threaten the jazz content of K a t z ' compositions ( ? ) is attacking
a straw man. There are no jazz c r i t i c s . "

Morris Levy: " W h a t the hell do I care about F r e d K a t z or the critics? W h o


do you think owns a l l this j a z z ? "

Marshall W. Stearns: "I speak as an historian and not as a c r i t i c , but I think


F r e d K a t z should read some of the studies of jazz made by trained minds
f r o m other allied fields: sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, and
musicologists."

George Frazier: "I k i d you not, there are no jazz c r i t i c s c e r t a i n l y none of


the younger bearded oneswho go to or know of a decent tailor. A n d I tell
you true, if a man has no taste in collars and cuffs, how can he understand
the meaning of the difference between B o b b y Short and George W e i n ?
A c t u a l l y , the best of the younger critics is Joe Glaser although, c r i t i c me no
critics, none have the Scott F i t z g e r a l d flair of Otis Ferguson, who wrote with
the laughter of T o m m y L a d n i e r and the grace of K i d O r y , because he knew
that jazz was the Stork C l u b and M a b e l M e r c e r and that November afternoon
at the Plaza when the tawny girls swept by in a p r i d e of Gibsons, and the
g i r l I lived with asked me as she held out her slipper for another d r i n k
" W h e n are you going to finish y o u r book on Time?"

Joe Newman: " A l l I want to do is s w i n g . "

BiU Russo: "I have considered the problem of u s i n g cellos in jazz, and I am
w r i t i n g a new piece for four cellos, three valve trombones, and Lee K o n i t z .
I won't have anyone i m p r o v i s i n g . I don't think musicians should be allowed
to improvise. I hope F r e d read f r o m a prepared text. I don't think jazz
critics should be allowed in their present state of ignorance. I am w i l l i n g
to give a course on the fundamentals of music for c r i t i c s free of c h a r g e !
F r e d is welcome too."

Father Norman O'Connor: " I n the l o n g r u n , K a t z is r i g h t and the critics


are right. In the short r u n , however, I am available to moderate a symposium
on the subject."

William Russell: " W h o is F r e d K a t z ? "

by the Staff.

JANUARY 15
photo by Clem Kalischer

T h e S c h o

F a c u l t y V t e w s

by by
Jimmy Giuffre B. Brookmeyer
It is inconceivable that a student W e l l , reader, dear or not, I have
of the School of Jazz at M u s i c Inn been asked to say a few words about
w i l l not get something out of his three of the happiest weeks of my
three weeks. life, the time I spent at the S c h o o l
The teachers at the school are a l l of Jazz, held yearly in Lenox, Mass.
active in jazz today; they are a l l at I imagine you have read a few words
the center of things; and some have on the subject before. I certainly
been p l a y i n g for as long as twenty- pray that you will read many more
seven years. T r u e , not all of them Fn months to come W e r e I getting
have been trained to teach (and the p l i ? newspaper scale for b a b b l i n f
on I cZTwbahfrdoa short no
best teachers and best " d o e r s " are
vella on t h e s u S e X - b u t for free
not always the same men) but all
S have to be conten7'wi th some ?

have plenty to offer their students.


They are active, even famous, pro-
fessionals who communicate their lication to do will, the arts these For
personal approaches and ideas. In any other) dayl
I think that by way of breaking my
i a / 7 a n a r t i s t i s a l l o w e d t o he him
ice, I can best say I was extremely
self he is no toldI how to play A n d
flattered to be asked by John Lewis
at the School of Jazz there are no
(for whom I have the most unquali-
fied love and respect) to be part of
ati^^nl^o^^yania^e SO treacherous and uncharted an un-
dertaking Not being a P o l a r Bear
It has taken a lot of work to get C l u b member, I am more than a bit
it started and keep it operating for hesitant at taking the icv dips in
two years. A n d it takes a staff work- winter-but reader this man ( M r
ing the year round to maintain it. Lewis) could read sense into C a l v i n
P h i l i p and Stephanie Barber, the cZuL sowhat^ rc a mere morta"
owners of M u s i c I n n ; Jule Foster, offer against Tuch divine o p p o s T S
Dean of the S c h o o l ; and John Lewis, In facf the essence of Zt schoo'l
Director of the School, deserve the r a n be summed ud in this one man's
highest credit. devourZdntingefforHnTwiE
The atmosphere at M u s i c Inn and h f m m u c h t h a t w ' t a k e for Wanted
the attitudes of hosts, faculty, stu- Tn n ^ ; , nf todav would he still
dents, and guests are excellent, even ZZtZlLdrl
i n s p i r i n g , and M u s i c B a r n is a won- H u r r a h s too for the dear old dean
derful place to play and listen to of S.O.J. (Jule Foster, Admissions.
music. A l l elements seem to come M u s i c Inn, Lenox, Mass.)
together there to inspire players and Y o u know, they got people running
to involve listeners. around this earth sayin' you and I
At the very least, the School is can't teach a man to play jazz music!
unique in p r o v i d i n g help and advice I grant you we can't teach that man
f r o m professionals. Except for a few to feel it, but I ' l l be damned if we
men who teach privately i n L o s A n - can't show that fellow what he's do-
geles and New Y o r k such instruction i n g wrong, what he's doing right,
is not available anywhere else. (continued on page 18)

16
1 o f J a z z

S t u d e n t V i e w s

by by
Tupper Saussy M. Arif Mardin
That The School of Jazz is a kind F o r three weeks last August, I was
of noble venture is unquestionable; a student at the School of Jazz in
that it is a necessity is also beyond Lenox, Massachusetts and found it
range of dispute; that its faculty to be a valuable and memorable ex-
roster reads like a Newport Jazz perience.
Festival billet and that its students Because I come f r o m a country
and faculty alike have access to the which is visited by few outside musi-
pleasurable grounds and surround- cians, I was especially awed by my
ing communities^ of Music Inn are p r o x i m i t y to the almost legendary
by now common knowledge But idols who composed the faculty of
that Tts true vTue has been defer- the School. The night before I was
to conduct the all-star faculty or-
Heve subfect to argument chestra in a rehearsal of my compo-
In'its second session this past sum- s i t i o n , Faculty Meeting, written for
mer, the School of Jazz was, to my the Student's Benefit Concert, I was
mind, a failure. It was the sort of too excited to sleep.
failure that besets any institution My feelings may seem naive to
having no real meaning. To be sure, Americans who have frequent oppor-
it had a purpose, and there is no tunities to hear jazz musicians in
reason to believe that this purpose person. In T u r k e y , however, I was
w J not realized Sore able to hear jazz only on records
man moderately ' i n ryTng to Sach and even these were, at times, diffi-
and ioster th^ "sturdy o H a z z in all cult to obtain. I learned to compose
Us aspects including its technmues and arrange by t r i a l and error, often
w r i t i n g for imaginary b i g bands. I
hs compTskkm also itThistorv ori had no formal education in jazz until
r i n T T n t e r n a H o n a f defeZ'ment I met jazz critic Cuneyt Sermet, u n -
fnd i , r p U r i Z S to other aTtT" der whose guidance I came to A m e r -
Z s t d e n t s rarnestudied nlaved in ica. Last J a n u a r y , I enrolled at the
Berklee School of M u s i c in Boston
on the Q u i n c y Jones scholarship.
But what little concreteness had T h i s past summer, a B M I scholarship
made up their belief in jazzwhat made it possible for me to attend the
tiny thread of consistency they had School of Jazz.
developed in their jazz thoughtwas Because of severe time limitations,
torn and twisted and confused at the the School of Jazz makes no attempt
outset through the lack of any moral to teach basic p l a y i n g technique. A l l
understanding or, if you will, hu- students are expected to have a cer-
manism between teacher and p u p i l tain amount of proficiency on their
John Colet, the founder of St. own instruments. Once at the school,
Paul's School, London, had a shield they are thrown into close associa-
fashioned on the wall behind his tion w i t h professional musicians i n
lectern which read: "Either teach, private lessons, group classes, and
or learn, or get out." The educator ensembles.
has as his first motive, devoid of In the small ensemble to w h i c h I
(continued on 18) (continued on page 19)

JANUARY 17
Brookmeyer Saussy
and w h a t t h e devil h e wants to d o would say that the faculty spirit f r i v o l i t y , t o t e a c h . P e r s o n a l tastes o r
in the first place. A s K e n n y D o r h a m could hardly be higher but that the idiosyncrasies have no part in his
(a fellow toiler this summer) said: student morale had possibly dropped course; h e t e a c h e s the f o r m , n o t the
a bit. I can't really say why. I c a n accidents. In the same process, the
"When came to N e w Y o r k as a
I say, however, that I was very shocked student absorbs a n d evaluates s i m p l y
young boy to play, those fellows by the apparent " h i p " attitude of a w h a t the t e a c h e r h a s t o t e a c h a n d , t o
wouldn't tell me anythingeven few of the more advanced p u p i l s - d r a w the p a r a l l e l , h i s f i r s t m o t i v e i s
B i r d , with whom I worked for over so much so that I felt mvself going to learn. Of course, any deviations
a year. If I had this kind of chance out of my normal open^pofsible f r o m this scheme detract f r o m s o u n d -
then, I ' d have been poundin' at the way to Try t ^ t a b M some sort ness a n d v a l u e b y e s t a b l i s h i n g s u p e r -
sates to get i n . I hope these kids oTfrendlv foeli^Outapossibly ficial prejudices and opinions. But
realize what they're getting." they 7ustdidn t care f o V m v play n g
f
jazz must be performed (at Lenox,
rirLnaitv or f a c e ^ i u t T f e e there
T h a t ' s from a man who knows far to learn was to perform) by individ-

better than I how the refrain goes, uals with equally distinctive talents
so you believe him, if not me. In m u ^ c i a n ! s r e w on to i a z f in the lasl a n d abilities, a n d when a falling away
spite of the obvious hazards a n y f r o m t h i s o c c u r s a less p e r f e c t p r o d -
such undertaking involves, the S c h o o l uct w i l l result.
o f Jazz i s s o m e t h i n g positive in a
world ruled by the minus signso makers. T h i s attitude was so o b n o x i - Now, this negative truth should
you better cherish it while it's on ously aped by bop s subsequent d e - not have been c a r r i e d into the class-
the scene. tractors ( w h o fancied themselves rooms at Lenox. But it was forced
mutators) that one c a n scarcely because of a relatively p o o r standard
So much for the proseon to the blame those young musicians w h o as- of m u s i c i a n s h i p in the student b o d y .
facts. If there could be one criti- sumed such attitudes to be much in One instructor had to have several
cism leveled, I should say it was lack mode and correct. d r i n k s before his small ensemble met
of money (admittedly the one uni- because he couldn't deal with its
versal problem facing mankind any- shoddv oualitv soberlv and bv the
I was a very independent chap in
where on the earth). T h i s year, we end of t h e t e r m h ^ a s locating
my i n f a n c y - s t i l l am, for that matter
had a bit over thirty students In mv more rigid requiremente for a d 2
but each passing day makes me
eyes the number s h o ^ d at least be Son This tendon Tfeel s no S t
more and more and more aware of
doubled and if at all possibk an of the student nei h e r i s it a fau
my faults and more and more and
extra week or so L k e d onto t Z o he teacheJ' The blame ii uk
more humble toward such a lovely
m e s t e r W i t h m o r p u p i l s the gen- matelv o^ b o t h t h e l a c k o f f u n d s iST
thing as a music (from minus B . C .
era level o f M r f o r m a n c e might be
to p l u s A D Tf you've got a calen-
r S e d c o n s i d e S v T n ^ f t would b e
dar) M o s t ' o the students at the 3able scholarships
school were very interestedI in "blow
Aand B g r o u p s b o t h benefitdng con ng" anTobvTouslthat L w h a t X y
SderablvTerem W h i t a U the bands were t L r e to learn But to blow you Another important factor contrib-
Tot to know and to know yc^ got u t i n g to the d e n i a l of h u m a n i s t i c re-
at the T n a l concerf I s S o n . l v f e l fo b l o w I think^ thev should hfve lations at Lenox might be termed
both as a istener and asa t J a S rorneto he school to know W e "lack of intense seriousness." There
o l l , I T , there w A S weren't Z St to rehearse' with was a g r o u p of students w h o felt t h a t
Z n I b e t L i r andtnre o r o hTns a minimum of musical education is
t w U V , t h Z THr or coke 8
necessary for good playing; after
rank amateurs (however promising out with them over a beer or coke the chords are made second nature
they might be) T h e solution is to We were there to show them wha to y o u , all y o u need is plenty of soul,
have more of a choice and hat neces we knew that had made us successful and with the proper proportions of
sitates a greater enrollment. j a z z performers as compared with the twothat is, more of the latter
those who are merely adequate. t h a n the f o r m e r - n o t h i n g c a n e x u d e
N o w readers, much of the help can
but the finest in jazz. (Obviously,
only come f r o m you. W e have n o T h e entire faculty had given up
the misconception here is that all
way to transport, audition, and some (in some cases, a great deal)
primitivists become great.) If this,
screen every aspiring jazz musician monetary and personal considera-
then, is all it takes to achieve p r o m i -
in the country-so the mailing of tions to be part of the school and
nency, w h y s h o u l d s u c h a g r o u p at-
tapes and audition discs to either I know that a very large majority of
your local responsible radio station tend a school for jazz. I think that
the students were completely aware
or preferably, to Jule F o s t e r ( c a r e of this. T h o s e who h a d enough sense in answering this question one gets

o f t h i s magazine i f need be) i Sie also knew that w e w e r e a l l part of a at yet another kind of malady suf-

o n l y way ia i m p o r t a t p r o j J can new l b project a n d a s such fered at L e n o x .

b e righdy X p S i F o r ^ S i a S w o u l d be s u b l e t t o a 1 the iniquities


To these peopleand let me im-
Grangers T c ^ w l H E E X r e n t A g a i n may I s a y E al-
and the listening P c 3ir e
there i s most a H t h e students s h o w e d at east
mediately
of t h e m , a n d
assert that there are m a n y
I was one at o n e t i m e
n o more 0 ? ^ ^ t o musical Tome realiza on of his^but it is
t h e periphery serves a s the w h o l e .
maturity m T n m ^ one that h ^ ^ uTmincrS worryabout for in
A n d the p e r i p h e r y o f jazz, a s i n all
Parted Y o u g o t a b e ter o n e - S a U most c L e s t h e v w e r e extreme v taT
the arts, is quite attractive. Lenox
us So much f o r the o e r s o n a l ^ m S ^ ' a o K L n ^ S e ^ S h a w
affords the opportunity to know re-
mercial . T f a i u t i ^ S k L ^ L S S S
nowned players personally, and to

Fromthe impressions I could gar- play for them and to invoke their

ner about l a s t year's session, I (continued on page 4 9 ) hurried opinions of your playing, and

18 THE J A Z Z REVIEW
Mardin
to go back home delightedly drop- was assigned, instructor M a x Roach's In the evening, v i s i t i n g lecturers
ping a gamut of celebrated names. energetic personality was inspiring spoke on subjects related to jazz.
A n d you are in no real way wiser and B i l l Russo's suggestions about A m o n g the lectures I most enjoyed
and yet you have got your money's conducting and orchestration were were, Gunther Schuller's Modern
. worth. extremely helpful. F o r me, however, Music and Jazz, in which he dis-
T h i s attitude was characteristic of the most valuable part of the course^ cussed the possibility of a future fu-
the majority of the students, and it is was the private instruction in compo- sion between the two f o r m s ; Leslie
not at all abnormal; it is merely sition with George Russell. I feel that K a t z ' s examination of the effect of
not found in those who share a genu- his phTlosophTcaf approach to com- sociological events on the creativity
ine interest in anything. T h e School posidon was largek responsSle f o r of the artist in jazz and other art
of Jazz, then, was not a school as b r o a d e n i n g m y o w n conLption f o r m s ; W i l l i s James' demonstration
much as it was a backstage. In Russell's group classes, he en- of field cries and their relation to
A student of jazz music should be couraged us to delve into the " C h r o - j a z z ; and N e s u h i Ertegun's i n f o r m a -
more studious than ambitious. L i k e a matic U n i v e r s e " in order to broaden tive talk on the record industry.
student of literature, he should be the scope of our jazz improvisations.
Lee K o n i t z and J i m H a l l contributed There were also panel discussions
thoroughly familiar with the social,
a great deal by attending these on jazz education in the schools, the
emotional; economic, and even moral
classes. B i l l Russo's a r r a n g i n g classes function of critics, and one on unions
conditions in which the technical a n d
were more conventional He taught which greatly increased my k n o w l -
improvisatorial innovators were pro-
b a s k T r i n c i p l L of vo c i n j voice edge of the subject. I believe that
ductive B i o g r a p h y is of utmost i m -
l e a d m g S o n y and c o u n t r p ^ n T these lectures and discussions gave
portance in u n d e L a n d m g T e phe-
me much valuable information which
nomenon of c h a n g T i n the arts as
I would have found difficult to col-
well as the works themselve^Perhaps diovis^a examoe S c h score- lect on my own.
me S z z student s h o u l d o b t a i n r e -
cord n ^ o f the artists p e S r t o e x j S e d learning hi^Luh dasses There was one m i n o r disappoint-
h i S u m e n ^ a n d i n ^ a t f w t h due I found M a r s h a l l Stearns' lectures ment: although the students were
SceritTtfSr sXdTand f S g s on jazz history enormously stimulat- able to play solos, their ensemble
A n d from imitation will flow, n a - i n g . It is obvious that the appeal of p l a y i n g was, in general, rather weak.
turally and unconsciously, a unique- this subject to a foreign student is W h i l e the school is not responsible
ness that is well-founded and logical; very strong. There were, however, for the inexperience of its students,
an individualism which embraces the some A m e r i c a n students who knew I believe they could a i m for a higher
past and of which tradition is at once almost nothing about iazz before level. T h i s is one of the areas in
a foundation and an active part. 1952 I S v e we aU earned to tol which the School of Jazz and the
It is at this point in his develop- erateand *appredatethe tazz of the Berklee School might cooperate. If
ment that the student should attend the School of Jazz increases the num-
a School of Jazz, where he will be HberaTlvSuXSXleX^wS ber of scholarships, the ensembles
(continued on page 49) could then be strengthened w i t h some
more advanced students f r o m the
Berklee School. In my judgment, the
two schools complement each other
extraordinarily well.
Another suggestion: the progress
of each ensemble might be checked
by tape recordings at periodic inter-
vals. Further, if it were possible to
issue a commercial recording of the
Students' Benefit Concert, the stu-
dents might be spurred to greater
effort.
In summary, the School of Jazz
has a unique function in jazz edu-
cation. T h e very presence of such
faculty members as J o h n L e w i s , Jule
Foster, J i m m y Giuffre, M a x Roach,
M i l t Jackson, Percy Heath, Bob
Brookmeyer, J i m H a l l , Lee K o n i t z ,
K e n n y D o r h a m , George Russell, B i l l
Russo, and M a r s h a l l Stearns is a
source of inspiration no other jazz
school can offer. T h e fact that most
of the teachers are active musicians
indicates the realistic approach of the
school. I feel that my musical educa-
tion would have been incomplete
without this experience, and I hope
that the School of Jazz w i l l continue
to occupy its valuable position for
many summers more.
7

German Radio:

Jazz As Public Service

by Joachim E. Berendt
At last year's German Jazz Festi- marks (about fifty cents) per month. the musicians is getting higher, w h i c h
val in F r a n k f u r t , a visiting A m e r i c a n The fee for television sets is five especially in the jazz and dance-
jazz authority was so astonished to marks. The money is collected re- musiV field-is not a healthy situa-
gionally. In Northern Germany, for tion. Ten years ago, H a m b u r g R a -
find R a d i o F r a n k f u r t sponsoring the
example, the money goes to R a d i o dio's b i g dance b a n t consisted k r g e l y
concerts that he v i r t u a l l y ignored the
H a m b u r g . In the Southwest, it goes of jazz musicians. Today, these same
music in favor of discovering more
to the Baden-Baden Network and in musicians belong to an older genera-
about the role German radio plays
B a v a r i a , R a d i o M u n i c h is the re- tion no longer interested in jazz.
in the c u l t u r a l life of the country.
cipient of all the fees collected. As a result this band w h i c h once
There are three yearly jazz festi-
Plaved Tome in eresting jazz mate-
vals in G e r m a n y : The Amateur Festi-
The networks have a k i n d of mon- HalL h a T S o m T m o r e and more a
val in Dusseldorf, the b i g Jazz Fes-
opoly in their own regions w h i c h "Guv LombaXtv^" o^bation
t i v a l in F r a n k f u r t , and the Jazz Salon Th7samrsituaS
the state guarantees. In return, it is
in B e r l i n . None of these could be
expected that the networks spend
held without the financial assistance
large sums of money for cultural pur- w i l l " s o m e networks founded
of German r a d i o .
poses. In Southwest Germany, for ex- new Jazz' e Z m W e s so that thev
Germany has six radio networks:
ample, almost a l l the b i g symphony IZJZlongerhe^ denendent on the
the N o r t h German Network in Ham
orchestras get financial contributions big^dance bands for j S
b u r g , the Western Network in C o -
f r o m the Baden-Baden Network. The
logne, the B a v a r i a n Network i n M u n - At present, there are hundreds of
network itself has no need for these
i c h , the Network of the Federal State musicians who support themselves
orchestras inasmuch as it has many
of Hessen in F r a n k f u r t , The South- with their radio work and among
of its o w n : a one-hundred and ten
western German Network in Baden- them are many jazz players. R a d i o
piece symphony orchestra (conducted
Baden, and the Southern Network in Cologne has the K u r t Edelhagen O r -
by H a n s R o s b a u d ) , a sixty piece
Stuttgart. There are two additional chestra w h i c h is considered one of
symphony orchestra, a thirty piece
radio stations in B e r l i n , and a t h i r d Europe's leading b i g bands. E d e l -
light music orchestra, a jazz and
i n Bremen. hagen presents his band as a " U N in
dance b i g band (which was, until re-
W i t h the exception of one B e r l i n J a z z " because his musicians are
cently, conducted by A m e r i c a n ar-
station, w h i c h is supported by the drawn f r o m many countries i n c l u d -
ranger E d d i e S a u t e r ) , and three
A m e r i c a n State Department, each of ing Italy, E n g l a n d , B e l g i u m , France,
other small dance-music ensembles.
these networks and stations is com- Germany, A u s t r i a , Switzerland, and
T h e network, nevertheless, supports
pletely independent. They have even Indonesia (the excellent trum
other orchestras and uses them occa-
neither commercials, nor are they pet player and arranger, R o b P r o n k
sionally. The B a v a r i a n Network also
state-owned (as in France, E n g l a n d , is Indonesian).
has five or six of its own orchestras,
and I t a l y ) . G e r m a n radio networks
yet it supports nine more symphony
are independent "companies of pub- In F r a n k f u r t , at the Hessische
orchestras in the area.
l i c interest" (Gesellschaften offent- Rundfunk ( R a d i o in the Federal
lichen Rechts) and as such, are en- The musicians in the network- State of Hessen), A l b e r t Mangels-
titled to, and often do, criticize the owned orchestras are radio employ- dorff leads a seven piece jazz en-
State. ees. They are organized in a u n i o n semble. In H a m b u r g , tenor-saxo
The money to support these net- and it is difficult to dismiss them phonist Hans R o l l e r (who u n t i l a few
works comes f r o m the listeners. E a c h from their jobs. T h i s , of course, leads months ago, was at the Baden-Baden
radio set owner pays two German to the fact that the average age of Network) is now f o r m i n g a small

20 THE J A Z Z REVIEW
jazz group w i t h Oscar Pettiford as a
possible future member. Mangelsdorff
and R o l l e r are considered two of the
best German jazz musicians.
In addition to the foregoing, the
networks also use their money to
support b i g cultural events. T h e pro-
gram of the Donaueschingen M u s i c
Festival for example, is organized
by the Southwestern German R a d i o
Network i n Baden-Baden. The D o n -
aueschingen Festival is considered
Europe's leading contemporary music
festival P a d H i n d e m i t h was among
its
ts pounders
founders after The firTt worW

T h e Theatre Festival in the old


baroque castle of Schwetzingen is
supported by R a d i o Stuttgart. T h i s
network also organizes and finances
the Woche fur leichte Musik (the
annual L i g h t M u s i c Festival) where
the M o d e r n Jazz Quartet and the H i -
L o s have performed. The B a v a r i a n
radio supports the famous Musica A rehearsal for the T - V presentation of the Fontessa ballet with Yvonne Meyer
Viva the hest contemporary svm- Columbine. M u s i c by John Lewis.
phony concerts; i r G e r m a n y
T h e fact that Germany has become
one of the leaders in experimental
electronic music is due, in large part,
to the networks. R a d i o Cologne built
a special electronic studio where
H a n s Stockhausen, among others,
prepared his much-discussed experi-
mental compositions T h e Baden B a -
den Network installed a most mod-
ern electronic studio solelv to enable
the Boulez
to prenare one niece "PoSie pour

Fngen Festival
A l l this is done without discussion.
The networks are aware that they
can exist only if the monopolies in
their regions are maintained. They
also know that l i v i n g up to their cul-
tural responsibility is the best way to
protect their position.
T h e system, of course, has certain
drawbacks. The greatest is, perhaps,
Donald Byrd's group with B y r d , t p ; H a n s R o l l e r , ten; H a n s Hammershmidt, p; Doug
lack of competition: each network
Watkins, bs; A r t T a y l o r , dm., improvising on four themes from Fontessa for the same
is alone in its region. Further, since
T - V production. Joachim Berendt and John Lewis
the networks collect their two marks
per listener in any event, thev do not
have much concern with their finan-
c i a l position.
T h e bigger networks, however,
have transmitters of one-hundred or
one-hundred and f i f t y K W power
and can be heard a l l through Ger-
many, and even across Europe. There
is, then, competition in public ap-
peal and artistic contribution, if not
on commercial grounds.
T h e m a i n advantage of the sys-
tem is that a radio station is able to
broadcast something other than hit
records and pre-recorded shows from
m o r n i n g to night, and can afford an
interest in music as an art form and
in musicians as human beings.
Its

The Negro Church: Influence

Modern
M e l o d y

Frederic Ramsey, J r . , who has jazzman's vocabulary. The scale is "A" Train (Duke Ellington band)
done a great deal of research in eloquently stated by B u d P o w e l l in and Charlie P a r k e r on Cosmic Rays.
primitive jazz, states: " I t is interest- his initial phrase in Blues in Bebop The melodies of both the Negro
i n g to note that many [blues singers] (Sonny Stitt Quartet) : (Musical church and modern jazz are highly
who are still l i v i n g are finishing Example 3: Powell ) The tenor syncopated. L e n d i n g a special charac-
their careers in church work. V i r - sax player in Joe M a y ' s Going Home ter to these melodies are unexpected
ginia Liston and Sara M a r t i n at this not only outlines the blues scale but rests, held notes, up-beat entrances,
w r i t i n g are both singing spirituals in introduces an additional blue n o t e - up-beat accents, anticipation, and off-
churches. There is no doubt that ( M u s i c a l Example 4 ) the-beat lines. The rhythmic phrasing
blues and spirituals are closely i n - the flatted fifth. Reverend K e l l y K e y of these melodies is s i m i l a r . Both
terwoven." 1

of the Southern Baptist C h u r c h of jazz and gospel melodic lines may


An examination of the melodies of Los Angeles constantly incorporates be composed of " f u n k y " eighths,
the Negro church and those of jazz the blues scale in his sermons: 2 triplet eighths, triplets, or various
offers a partial explanation as to why ( M u s i c a l Example 5 ) combinations of quarters, eighths,
this exchange is possible. Both jazz There is a tendency for Negro triplets, and sixteenths.
and gospel melodies are strongly church artists and jazzmen alike to Both jazzmen and gospel perform
flavored with " b l u e notes," notes give a slightly flat intonation to a l l ers employ the same embellishments
that are flatted anywhere from a f u l l the notes thev may and sing T h i s so- in their melodies. Such devices as
half step to the smallest microtonal called " d i r t y " intonation is widely turns, mordents, appoggiaturas
degree. The notes of the scale most soiurht after hv iazz nerformers It is (above and below,) double appog-
commonly lowered are the t h i r d and achieved through the utilization of giaturas, acciacaturas, arpeggios (as-
seventh and on the surface the re- vSrat ^ m i c r o Z e s glissandi grace- cending and descending,) and repeat-
sulting scale resembles the D o r i a n notes Ind Smeared or W e d notes ed notes are amply represented in
mode ( M u s i c a l Example 1 ) The t'enor sTx olaver on Toe M a v ' s both idioms, as are ascending and
However, the blues scale behaves CLTHOZIA on Annette M a y ' s descending scales of all varieties: d i a -
differently f r o m the D o r i a n mode. r Z L r M e obtains thw intonation tonic, chromatic, blues, and penta-
In the first place, the altered tones as does P a i d G o s a f v o n T a k e the tonic.
of the blues scale bear no influence
on any of the chords beneath, which
remain unaltered. Secondly, the blue
notes themselves vary in sound ac-
c o r d i n g to their degree of alteration.
T h i r d l y , the seventh and t h i r d do not
occupy an exclusive position as blue e x 2

notes- the blue-note Drinciole mav


be applied to any degree of the scale
FinaUy the blue notes are inter-
changed freely with the non-blue ec.3
nntps so that the hlne <srale strirtlv
sneaking is this
speaking, ( M u s i c a l FExample
n,s. (MusLal xamnll
2 blues s c a l e ) A n d , to go a step
farther, since any degree of the scale
e x : 4-
car, be altered the entire chromatic
scale is actually at the disposal of
the performer.
The blues scale comprises the basic
melodic language of every Negro
gospel singer, every Negro preacher,
and every Negro congregation. It
also forms the foundation of every
More; more, vo-e.. Q U...
22 THE J A Z Z REVIEW
"8- Both jazz and Negro church mel-
odies continue to b u i l d u n t i l they
* reach a climax. This climax is often
I attained by stripping the melody
8" down to one essential note or to
short riff and then repeating that
$ note or riff throughout a chorus or
section. In jazz this technique often
degenerates into what is referred to
as " h o n k i n g , " a device sometimes
resorted to at concerts in order to
create excitement and to gain shouts
of annroval from the gallery When
n l d fn this wav as an end in them-
selves r e l a t e d n o t e s a r e f a i r l y trite
and unTmaSnadve However when
^ J S ^ T c o h ^ T a r i l e and

and VfferrL w L I T l !
fnnnd i n f t , Z~ > '
found in Oscar Peterson s versions
of L-Jam Blues and ^nderly (re-
corded during a Jazz at the P h i l h a r -
monic concert,) also in the tenor of
F l i p P h i l l i p s accompanymg B i l h e
H o b d a y on the last chorus of / Only
nave tyes tor You.
Gospel records containing "honk-
i n g " climaxes are The S k y l a r k s '
Baptism of Jesus ( i n the repetition
of " w h o ' m I " ) , The R a d i o Four's An
Earnest Prayer ( i n the repetition of
"come o n " ) , and in Bessie Griffith's
/ Wanna Be More Like Jesus Every
Day, where she repeats:
( M u s i c a l Example 9 )
Repetitive climaxes are nerhans
best illustrated in the gospel field by
the sermons of Neero ministers At
the height of these sermons the
nrearber nsnallv <rpts thp c n L r.f M P

his message"across t o h i ! 1 !
gation bv d w e l h n T or, one word nr
phrase shou^ng i t over J i t
M a n v t i n S X"auoWreHnrotes
and repeats the words of t b ! H^hTr
a f t e r T r n A minister It Z 7
mil i r u T a i ! , t A h
" b o n S " nrrnnLl. f 1 t >
[ O n r e a c h " ^ ^
gonna say ' H o w d y ! ' '
' H o w d y ! ' ' H o w d y ! ' 'How-
d y ! ' " etc.
Jazz and Negro church melodies
fit into s i m i l a r frameworks. The
principle of antiphony is evident in
both. In gospel music more than jazz
it is in leader-chorus form (as in the
Caravans' What Kind of Man Is
This?). In jazz (and in some gospel
records such as Annette May's Vaca-
tion in Heaven) the dialogue is be-
tween singer and instrument. The
vocalist in singing a line, does not

23
use up the f u l l amount of beats al- more than one melody at a time may the canon principle quite well. E r r o l l
lotted to h i m . T h i s gap of about six or be found on Oscar Peterson's Soft Garner's Caravan is a notable i n -
eight beats is filled in by the i n - Winds (where the guitar states the stance of canon in the jazz i d i o m ,
strumentalist who makes an apt m u - melody while the piano simultaneous- while C h a r l i e P a r k e r ' s A Night in
sical comment to what the singer has l y improvises around i t ) , i n J i m m y Tunisia is a canonic riff.
expressed. Every Day by Count Basie Giuffre's / Only Have Eyes For You, The principle of i m p l i e d or "ghost-
and Joe W i l l i a m s , is one excellent in The Golden Gate Quartet's Didn't ed notes" (as A n d r e H o d i e r terms
example of this second type of an- That Man Believe. them) is a trend common to funky
tiphony. The principle of canon is applied jazz melody and its counterparts in
Sometimes the answers of the i n - to melody in jazz as well as Negro the church field. These ghosted notes
strumentalist overlap the statements church music. A melody is frequently usually occur after an extra-heavy
of the singer, or sometimes the sing- constructed so as to feature like or stress in the melody. They are either
er begins his statements before the similar entrance phrases in succeed- played so softly as to be hardly audi-
instrumentalist is finished. In cases i n g lines. These entrances aid in ble or they are not played at a l l but
such as these the principle of po- m a i n t a i n i n g unity throughout a cho- merely suggested by the logical flow
lyphony comes into play. (Basie's rus. A l e x Bradford's / Don't Care of the melodic line. The O r i g i n a l
Every Day and the Jewel Gospelaires' What the World May Do, I'm Gonna Gospel Harmonettes' You Must Be
Somebody Knockin at the Door con- Praise His Name and The Caravans' Born Again is liberally sprinkled
tain this overlapping.) The use of What Kind of Man Is This? illustrate w i t h ghosted notes; so is Horace
Silver's Quicksilver.
The quality of i n d i v i d u a l style is
important in the melodies of the
Negro church and jazz alike. Gos-
pel performers, Negro ministers, and
Horace Silver, Buhaina, boogie bass pattern in Mahalia Jackson. Heaven, boogie bass pattern on
right hand melody: string bass: jazzmen usually manage to place the
stamp of their own personality upon
their melodieseither through phras-
i n g , or through distinctive sequences
White Rose Church of God in Christ, KFOX, of notes. E r r o l l Garner's style con-
Sun. Oct. 14. 1956. 10 P.M., guitar tritone: tains melody notes repeated twice or
Horace Silver. Opus de Funk, tritone:
three times in succession; the S o u l
Stirrers' style contains the inevitable
appearance of this figure:
Annette May, Consider Me, pentatonic scale by
tenor: ( M u s i c a l Example 7 ) Adding
Horace Silver, Silverware, intervals: distinction to the style of Reverend
K e l l y K e y (Southern Baptist C h u r c h
of L o s Angeles) are the phrases
Southern Baptist Church, KPOP, Sun. Nov. 25,
" L o r d have m e r c y ! " and " M y , m y ,
Oscar Peterson, Oscar's Blues, glissando down ^edr%Mn vo1ce:^ " my!"
P h M i n S O f t f W i t h

from chord:
Jazz and Negro church melodies
possess many s i m i l a r figures and pat-
terns. That the blues scale is used in
both idioms has already been at-
tested to. The following examples of-
Erroll Garner, Blue Lou, pentatonic scale: Annette May, Consider Me. piano intervals:
fer further testimony to the s i m i l a r i t y
that exists between melodic patterns
in both i d i o m s : ( M u s i c a l Example 8 )
r Loco Identical melodic figures are not

,'~n' as abundantly found in modern jazz


and Negro church music. That they
do exist, though, is substantiated by
the pattern found in both the S o u l
10 S t i r r e r s ' Nearer My Cod to Thee and
E r r o l l Garner's Blue Lou: ( M u s i c a l
- Example 9 : G a r n e r , Stirrers) and i s
further proved by bearing in m i n d
X ' m on *\y w
< i y - - the first line of When the Saints Go
R a m s e y , F r e d e r i c , J r . , Jazzmen (New Y o r k : H a r c o u r t & Brace, 1939), Marching In* when glancing at an
. 115-16.
P P
excerpt from the sermon of Reverend
2
K P O P , 10:15 P . M . , Sunday, Oct. 14, 1956 ( E x . A) ; Sept. 23, 1956 ( E x . B ) . T . M . Chambers o f Z i o n H i l l Baptist
3
K G E R , 10:00 P . M . , Sunday, Dec. 30, 1956. C h u r c h of L o s A n g e l e s :
5

4
Though mostly used by traditional rather than modern jazzmen, The Saints ( M u s i c a l E x a m p l e 10 )
has been recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet & other modern groups. This is the third of a series. Future
The tune itself is often sung in Negro churches. issues will include examinations of
5
K G E R . Sun., Dec. 30, 1956, 10:00 P . M . harmony, emotion.)

24
When I met him I started hang-
ing around with him because I
liked his k i n d of music. W e ' d
already recorded one song to-
gether, Monks Mood. I liked it
so well I told him I wanted to
learn it so he invited me around.
Really enjoyed it, I sure enioved
working with M o n k .
A W h e n M o n k would get up from
the piano to do his dance how
would you be able to know where
you were?
J I felt sort of lonesome, but I
would count on the bass player.
A n d with a guy like W i l b u r
Ware, he's so inventive. He
doesn't always play the obvious.
He plays the other way some-
times. If you didn't know the
An tune you wouldn't be able to find
it. He's superimposing things
b u i l d i n g the tension so that when
Interview with John Coltrane. he comes back to it you feel
everything suck in I knew the
changes so we wouid manage to
by August Blume
X i n g t h a f w a v ^ ' S o m e t i m e s he
would be p a d n g a dTfferTnt set
J I still like Johnny Hodges and Sonny R o l l i n s and A r t Blakey of altered chanles from l o s e
Lester Y o u n g as much today as were with h i m . B u d was really that I'd be 2 and neither
I d i d thirteen years ago. They playing, so was Sonny. Those of us would oe plavinT the
were my first m a j o r influences. guys you can call really great. changes t o h e tune W e L d d
Then in late 55 I went with reach a c e r t a i n s o o f a n d i f T i t
A C a n you remember the different Miles. He had Red Garland, P a u l then^toSeTwFdSlnc^
groups you've worked with? Chambers and sometimes P h i l l y h e n E w o u l d ^ c o m e b a c k in
J W e l l , let's see. My first job was loe Tones other times A r t Tay- tosav^^^
with a band f r o m Indianapolis, lor. Last summer I started with used to a s k u s h o w we remem
led by Joe Webb. T h i s was in M o n k down at the Five Soot reredallthatsuffbutweweW^
1947. B i g Maybelle, the blues M o n k had W i l b u r Ware and
singer was with this band. Then Shadow W i l s o n A n d now I'm
K i n g K o l a x , then Eddie V i n s o n , back with M f c aJ n with fried anvthfng thev win ed to
and Dizzy's b i g band. E a r l Bos- Cannonball on a to S EyZ M o n k ' s alwavf doing something
tic, Gay Cross from Cleveland o n i a n c . P a u l Chambers sHl
He used to be with L o u i s Jordan.' withnimand.local'Washmeton r i o u s but not I mvsteriouS
He sane and plaved in Jordan's bov Zned Timmv Cobb on
drums
style Then I was wkh Dalsev
M a y and The H e " Cats and then A D i d you have rehearsals with St tat , Z A ;
with J o h n n y l o d g e s " i n 1953 for M o n k before you got the job at
STwm
leave ththird Z T Yet wi
the F i v e Spot? n l v , the i J tinlt
on p a n o Lawrence B r o w n on J I ' d go by his house and get h i m the right place and voiced the
trombone' Emmett Berry on out of bed. H e ' d get up and go right way to have a minor feel,
rumpet Jimmy Tohnsoi on over to the piano and start play but i t s still not a m i n o r chord.
drums and T T a n ' t seem to re ing. H e ' d play one of his tunes I learned a lot with h i m . If you
memberthe
member the bass
bas olaveVs name"
p a y e r s narne^ and he'd look at me. So I'd get work with a guy that watches ihe
my horn out and start trying to finer points, it Kind of helps you
some s o m e t r u e m J i c I d i d S find what he was playing We'd to do the same. In music i t , he
annredate g u v s H k ? B M t i c at the go over and over the thing until httle things that count. L i k e the
rimbecauserd had s w a v e l me we had most of it worked out. way you b u i l d a house Y o u get
lc"muchAfterI'dtZfrom If there were any parts that I all the httle important things to-
u n d T h i s spell I be Jn o appre had a lot of difficulty with he'd gether and the whole thing will
date them more After HodJes' get his portfolio out and show stand up. Y o u goof them and
I s p e n T c Z l e of w L k s wfth me the thing wrhten out Fte you got nothing.
Timmv Smith W o w F d w a J u p wouldI rather a X would learn A Is it the same k i n d of experience
n the mTddle of The n i X and playing with M i l e s ?
hear thTt o r L n i s e chords i t better and S u S A a ? w a T J _ N o , it's altogether different. I
s c r e a m i n i at me' Rack in 1049 S o n S i m e T w e ' d w H u s one Tune don't know what it is. It's an-
wTked S iohwi h Rnd T d T f A s soTn a ! w e g o ^ h e iob other great experience but of a
Poll I t was J 5 J P t we went right Tn because this different nature and I can't quite
learning had startedTearHer explain it.
fhe Audubon NZ York

JANUARY 25
Monterey Jazz Festival 1958

by Dick Hadlock
There were thoughtful, un-New L o u i s , T r u m m y , V e l m a , and com- Marabuto's piano improvisations and
portlike touches that reflected i n t e l l i - pany ground out their routines with scores were fresh and whimsical.
gent p l a n n i n g behind Monterey's first strength, efficiency, and almost no M e d F l o r y ' s b i g band possessed
jazz festival: concession stands musical interest. The evening's scat f a i r l y good material but suffered
charged reasonable prices for food tered kicks came largely from the f r o m sloppiness and monochromatic
that staved d o w n ; a carpet of grass Bales band soloists w i t h interchangeable impro-
covered the extensive grounds where D i z z y Gillespie, the disorganized visatory lines. Some of the often-
one could w a X o r rest outside the and uninformed master of cere impugned blandness of L o s Angeles
J r e n r o v e r t S r S s the m u s k for an monies for the foregoing, managed to saxophonists s t e r T I believe f r o m
outiav of fiftv cents Tt the gate inject fragments of broad humor and theirCc
overnight alommodations and poor taste into the carrousel without a c o n v i n c ng voicTonanyoTe saxo
o k c e s to park w e ^ e p l e n t i f u l - the insulting anyone too much. phone is a ful-time project (not
W x svstem canned balanced un- Saturday's f o r u m was slated to withstanding he e x ^ e X n a l giftTot
d f c s o u n d t o the most remote deal w i t h jazz as an international men like^ S o n n I f f i t o f the
benches Dhotograohers"wenTmo language. Though moderator R a l p h reedmen to whom I refer have at!
vTded with bS Gleason struggled to stay on course, taTned IMick W e s s o n alto tenor
restrictedI to ass^/ned benches out
P
the worthwhile comments (mostly^ and haHtone ? hut while skXd
front^ n l f o r m e r s were ta*WI to and Dizzy's) related only remotely to h a v e r s thevl'ack the d i v i d u a l e x
hotel hv the the subject. Gillespie discussed his n r t E imnant that fr m
festival s own d r i v e r s , the more than conceDt of iazz as time Datterns to VrT^nTFrTL H e r b T X r ve
adequate closed quarters on the which notes are added o n l f a ter pre" total involvement. H e r b < ^ > very
grounds served ideally for orchestra T v i s W specifif devoted to the alto saxophone, re-
rehearsals, dressing rooms, the press, CrltrAlbeK deemed the afternoon w i t h solos that
panel discussions, administration, me Lie of ^ were absorbing and authoritative.
commercial displays, restrooms bars He dominated a set featuring the im
and peaceful l o u n g i n g The dates of theTr current unemnloved status pressive hhelly M a n n e .
the festival were Uctober 5, 4, 5. Lous C n e S S . t f S ' F o r simple, unprofound swinging
Because the amplification was ex- w s t e d " S e s s " ' r r e f u s i n ! t o travel" though, the L e r o y V i n n e g a r Quartet,
cellent, a more favorable balance of ftc.) as a maTor cause of idleness! while hardly inspired, surpassed the
show-biz projection and musical con- The beginnings of a valuable ex- lot.
tent occurred than is usual for festi- change were made when someone Betty Bennett directed her small
vals. W h e n B u r t Bales crashed on asked D i z z y if he felt treated as an voice and silly bopping to the empty-
with an excited six-man dixieland artist at festivals. In reply, Gillespie i n g chairs with a stage courage That
unit, it was almost too frenzied for observed that economics, not artistic m f d e one sad and e m b a r r a s s e l
the sensitive microphones (Altec 21- considerations, determined the time There seemed barely enough time
B heads w k h M - 1 1 system for those allotted to musicians Armstrong to swallow a sandwich before the
who car?) and the 3 m a n n e r e d
7
agreed c i i n g Newport as a cTnspTcu evening performers commenced their
crowd t^ingest A their i n i d a l tens^ oil example march.
n e s s w o r e o f f hough, B a l e f ( p i a n o t D i z z y concluded: " S o you keep Saturday night began with Gilles-
your head down and take their pie's quintet, after the band sched-
money." uled to open refused to appear in
tereTimaS S i x long afternoon hours were that " u n d e s i r a b l e " spot. Junior
TrvHazz CaSXa narticu" consigned to bands from San F r a n - Mance and Les Spand made sound
a Z blew w i t h c o n d s ent creatTve cisco and Los Angeles. Moments of contributions while D i z z y came off
orce' carving felZ C n n l S more than routine interest were i n - just short of magnificent. The con-
Peanuts H u c k o who anneared k t e r frequent, with only Brew Moore and cern over t i m i n g that grew out of
S t h Armstrong. John M a r a b u t o saving San F r a n - th^afternoon m a r a t h o f had a n i n -
L i z z i e M i l e s broke it up with v i n - cisco's contribution from dullness. hibiting ^ S rmosrof L eiS-
tage material delivered in animated ( V i r g i l Gonsalves' sextet went on
and charming fashion. No one ex- and off d u r i n g the forum and could r u p t e d l b S s t a g ^ w o r r L r s Tand
pected a great voice. not be included i n ^ T s review.) by low flying aircraft as well)

26
V i n c e Cattolica, B i l l Smith, M a r t y M a r s a l a , Lizzie M i l e s , Dizzy Gillespie. photo by Gordon Greco.

Giuffre, H a l l , and Brookmeyer sur- f r o m No Sun in Venice. The latter a portion of Stravinsky's Petrouchka,
vived all this with astonishing r e s i l i - proved better concert material than apparently for the sole purpose of
ency. The trio (offering what M o r t movie music. The quartet was in hearing D i z z y Gillespie improvise
S a h l called " f o l k f u n k " ) reached good f o r m , swinging easily and con- the trumpet passage. Gillespie fluffed
the back rows through sustained pro- vincingly. notes, faltered, and ultimately wrig
jection of its members' belief in their Ernestine Anderson, a superfluous gled into stock blues phrases! When
music. Giuffre seems to have crystal- ornament in a parade of prime jazz he finished, the orchestra returned to
ized a mature personal stvle at last- talent, sang adequately and with its charts and completed the piece
the t e n t a t i v e f o r a y ^ and the self-Tm- reasonable teste. H e r voice is pleas- K i T i i S the score
posed S ant, but her diction is poor. m>r his stature by the costly (80
be replaced^ b T a f f i r m a d o n seff^on C a l Tjader had no chance to play men r e h e a r s e d f o r this) S c k Per-
fidence and die S orv urges of an uninterrupted selection from his haps Joe W d d e r o r Cootie W ^ a m s
regular book. F a c i n g disappointment S h w e c a n ^ J i t o f t
There were still remnants of the manfully, he and a most " f u n k y " P a u l Desmond, more than any per-
"get hot" affliction that plagues most V i n c e G u a r a l d i were hosts to B u d d y former of the day, came close to
a n a c h r o n i s t i c a l ^ inclined musicians. De F r a n c o , who worked very d i l i - combining the cool, sharp-edged aus-
Instead of allowing intensity to be gently at blowing earthy and direct terity of the symphony soloist w i t h
a natural outcome of the music's patterns. It was somewhat painful the spontaneous wit and bodily
implications, the self-conscious jazz- to hear B u d d v h o l d i n g his fingers warmth that distinguishes the jazz-
man sometimes dips into a kit of back but there was no doubt about man Desmond's pellucid saxophone
"effects." W h e n the Giuffre Three go d i n new
the e w warmth
warmth T h ? " c k r i n e t play
pC solos were a i l i g h T f occasionally
that way, their music sounds counter- nundated by strings and things
feit and b o r i n g ; when there is spon- The vertiginous evening concluded D a v e ^ B r u b e c L e e m e d at home p h y
taneous melodic exchange and per- with Tjader's conga drummer, M o n - m g t h f p a s t n k s J h i s brother S o w -
sonal identification with the mate- go Santamaria, cooking on Cubano
r i a l thev can and do create meaning- Chant while D i z z y Gillespie at Trof b u t d t l a s i n T e ^ ^ u a r t e t func-
ful'expr^^ tempted, unsuccessfully, to draw at- S a i n s a a a azz unit 7 k s p i t e o f
A n almost belligerently extro- tention upstage to his own clownish o r c h e s t r a l b a c k g r o u n d s ! that B r u
g

verted G e r r y M u l l i g a n appeared next ballet. beck's nianowork^creckl'ed with au


with the ingredients of a superb quar- (The writer was unable to attend
let: A r t F a r m e r , Dave Bailey, and Sunday afternoon performances. The a J v ^ n H n t f e r e T b v e^ra t s T r u '
B i l l Crow. By the fourth, and last, following comments are based upon ments, in three selections designed
tune they had nurtured an exquisite an audit of stereophonic tape record-
ensemble tissue only to be yanked ings of that portion of the festival.) Near East.
off to make way for M a x R o a c h . Sunday afternoon was devoted to H i n d e m l t h ' s Jazz Fugue achieved
Roach went on and on, encourag- a curious mixture of overrated litle more than to demonstrate the
ing the loose-boweled trumpeting of " c l a s s i c a l " compositions, smatter- unenlightenment of the composer. Re-
Booker L i t d e , the twitchy tuba honk- ings of good jazz, and alternately plete w i t h comic trombones and m i l i -
i n g of R a y Draper, and the deft but abortive and provocative attempts to tary press rolls, the score follows the
wearing tenor work of George Cole- combine the two, all surrounded by time-honored doctrine of exposition
man. M a x would benefit f r o m cutting the atavistically solicitous awe that and development of a simple theme
the length of each rendition by a persists in iazzmen confronted with (in this instance just four notes)
half or more Even then iazz must "re pectable" musTc T h e n are those F o l l o w i n g a n ' intermission, Greg-
be more than competitive' tecchy li vvho^nstst t h a t X s was a red-letter ory M i l l a r ' s wife played the t h i r d
one i s a i m i n g f T W ^ h f l e ^ S i c day for T a z ^ P e r h a p s so but o d y if movement of Bartok's Third Piano
Prolonged S r u ^ e S a l ^ K a n ^ it w a n M u a U v i m p o S a m day for Concerto for six minutes.
ding such as t^mdotki!^* was not which ,t probably John Lewis, M i l t Jackson, Connie
offensive in a concert that has more K a y , Percy Heath, and M i l l a r ' s or
Ident dTan time Gregory M i l l a r conducted the San chestra executed three thoughtful
The M o d e r n Jazz Quartet squeezed Francisco Little Symphony plus the
in an effective Django and music Monterey County Symphony through (continued on page 50)

JANUARY 27
n

R e v i e w s : R e c o r d i n g s

C E C I L T A Y L O R : Jazz Advance. ter of tonal gravity, that it can be especially i n his expositions, and i n
T r a n s i t i o n 19. thought of as "atonal." Foremost the basic fact that the bass parts in
C E C I L T A Y L O R Quartet a t New- among these is Cecil Taylor, of whose his groups so far have not ventured
port. V e r v e M G V - 8 2 3 8 . work one and a half lps are now beyond the conventional diatonic
available, with others (on Contem- (occasionally chromatic) walking
porary and United Artists) soon to bass-line we a l l know f r o m Basie.
The history of harmonic-melodic
be released. L i s t e n i n g carefully to his p l a y i n g
developments in Western music has
It has been said that Cecil Taylor's leaves no doubt of the fact that T a y -
b e e n - a l l o w i n g for an occasional de-
music is not really atonal, and indeed l o r indeed does think tonally, but
tour here and therean almost con-
he himself is quoted as saying he the result of his t h i n k i n g most of the
tinuous process of tonal expansion.
thinks of it "definitely as tonal." tnne cannot be analysed on tonal
S t a r t i n g w i t h a nucleus of harmon-
Basically this seems to me to be an t e s (using the w o r d now in the
ically fundamental tones, the t r i a d , a
academic question, especially in view m o s p e d f i c S o r i c a l sense) That
concept that became crystallized dur-
of the above-mentioned borderline r to s^y the i m p h e d u n d e r l y i n g
i n g the middle ages in the late stages
nature of most of his playing. One o n d chord strucmre on let's say
of polyphony, the tonal boundaries
can judge the work of art ultimately a blues o : 2 Azure i s the
were gradually widened to include
only with qualitative criteria. What srJcific i m p e t u " t h a t determines his
seventh and n i n t h chords and a l l
matters in any artistic procedure is c h d e e of notes especial y p h r a s e
manner of chromatic deviations
not what it is, but what it can become, beg nningsand^'endings The bulk of
thereof, u n t i l early in our century the
what it can createa hard lesson h?^ "mwovisations however-and
powerful hold that the " t o n a l center"
many critics have difficulty learning. mts itTwIicuaHytruof the Lss
had over m u s i c a l t h i n k i n g was
Nevertheless, since there is some c o n s e r v a t i v e S L o T l o - i n i S
broken, and the tonal equality and
confusion not only about the ques- ourelv atonal or k so t to the
independence of the twelve tones of
tion of whether Taylor's music is borderline between tonality and
our chromatic scale were established.
atonal or not, but also about the atonali^
In the years just p r i o r to this break-
i n g through of the tonal sound bar- whole semantics of these much ban- S e a l a n a l y s i s ^ v L tonal center
rier, composers such a, Schonberg, died-about words "atonality" and
Stravinsky, S c r i a b i n , Debussy, to "tonality," perhaps a few clarifying Hon a S n d o f academic S Z -
name but a few, were w o r k i n g with words should be set down before dis- and r^eaninglesi
the outermost extensions of tonally cussing the records. That T a y l o r ' s improvisations are
centered chords and melodies; and Much confusion arises from the in effect p r i m a r i l y atonalwhatever
it was the increasing importance and fact that the words "tonality" and their tonal motivation may beis i n -
independence that these outer exten- "tonal" are used in two different directly attested to by certain discrep-
sions assumed that led to concepts of meanings. On the one hand they are ancies in the bass part, as played on
bitonality and polytonality ( S t r a v i n - used to indicate a specific harmonic these recordings by B u e l l Neidlinger.
sky, M i l h a u d , etc.), and eventually system (often wrongly equated with In the course of the proceedings, he
pushed music across the borderline the diatonic system), while on the occasionally wanders off f r o m his
into the realm of atonality (Schon- other hand they may mean in a very " c h a n g e s " - w h e t h e r on purpose or
berg, B e r g and W e b e r n ) . general way all intervallic relation not I cannot say. If one is listening
The history of jazz, which is taking ships between tones. Many discus- obiectivelv to the niano imDrovisa-
a course v i r t u a l l y parallel (though sions on the subiect bog down be- tion and the accompanying bass and
in a drastically condensed f o r m ) , has cause these terms are not fhusTfined drums in their totality i e if one is
now reached, at least in so far as har- beforehand and because t h w o r d not Ti tening to the bass line by itself
mony and melody are concerned, a "tonal" is often used interchange - t h e M d e v i a t i o n i n the bass seem
s i m i l a r juncture as described above. ably in both sensedTwithin even a not to matter S
A small m i n o r i t y of jazz composer- single L t e n c e " come^absorbedI In the^already
performers are w o r k i n g p r i m a r i l y It is, of course, obvious that if one strongly atonal sound fabric (In a
w i t h the outer reaches of tonality, applies the second more general more ona context such deviations'
and have reached that borderline meaning, Cecil Taylor's music is would b e very d S u r b h f e ) A ^ H f
where their music often spills over tonal. His playing is even tonal very T u r s e a further tea^though ner
into areas so removed f r o m any cen- often in the other sense of the word, hapTsiiity^^

28 THE J A Z Z R E V I E W
t i o n s w o u l d be to eliminate the bass E x a m p l e 1 is taken from one of the later choruses on Azure. (Measures 2 and 3 are
strongly reminiscent of a certain phrase in Stravinsky's Sacre du Printemps). Example 2
part altogether. At any rate, I defy
is the original bridge of Azure upon which these particular measures i n example 1 are
anyone to analyse the following ex- founded.
cerpt, picked more or less at random
f r o m dozens of s i m i l a r moments, in
terms of tonal centralitv:
terms o y o n a i c e n t r a m y . J

i
3 b

TilfcO

m m 4*
VI:

etc

7TTx
WW

E x . 2,

r T r
But then not a l l of C e c i l T a y l o r s ideas upon w h i c h he builds his i m - W i t h this as the basic composi-
music is that advanced. It might be provised abstractions. Tune 2 is cast tional material, the quartet plays a
instructive to show those who would in a somewhat extended f o r m , con- short introduction, the exposition by
simply reject music such as this as sisting of the following schema: a l l four, a chorus by Steve L a c y , one
senseless or not j a z z ! that it has by T a y l o r , the fourth chorus divided
A A B C C D B C Di B D A
its origins in a f a i r l y harmless point between the two soloists, and a tag-
1 1 1 2 2 2 2

8 8 8 8 8 6 6 44 8 8 12
of departure, and that what T a y l o r - 88 Bars ged-on 14-bar coda consisting of A . 2

does is really quite logical and, in As w i t h that of many jazz soloists,


( T h e numerals 1 and 2, qualifying the
my o p i n i o n , imaginative and stimu- letters, are used to indicate the fact that T a y l o r ' s improvisations start in rela-
such sections are not exact repetitions tive c a l m , close to the theme, and
TThe
1 3
u - opening of* his
n g
u : own TuneT O2 but variants of the original letter. T h e gradually reach a more excited and
D sections are pedal-points using a par-
on the Newport L P , for instance is ticular prescribed rhythm different from
complex level as they become less
an excellent example of the germinal the rest of the piece.) tonally oriented. If our example 1 is

1. It is on the basis of the second definition that some people c l a i m that truly atonal music cannot exist, that " a t o n a l i t y " is a mis-
nomer.
2. Discussions about whether something is atonal or tonal always r e m i n d me of current arguments about whether such and such a
piece is jazz or not.

JANUARY 29
a typical instance of what may hap- E x . 3a represents the original melody with its bass line and chords. E x . 3b is t h e !
beginning of the piano improvisation thereon. (In measures 1 through 4 the piano i s f
pen in the body of a T a y l o r solo,
still accompanying the overlapping end of L a c y ' s soprano saxophone solo.)
our next example (3b) is a good
indication of how an improvisation
might start:

Ex 3 i * f
ii =i

* " 1 ** * IWi

J J ^4
r 7 1
.j{, . >

1 ' ' 1 1 1 4

' f rvT fJJ LT , i, j I I I 1 -


l ' ' y 11
I J
V i 1

it* L i hi *=i = =F
m
y

*4-
^ J 1 J

rn i 'i r
J J TJ p P 1
J
1

Ifpi

Here the tonal skeleton is still were two structural levels at once. continuity and sustained expressive-
quite audible (and visible), while the At other times, the structure of a ness however,-qualities which after
groundwork for further expansion is solo may momentarily take prece- a l l , beyond all technical considera-
already being laid. Note the reiter- dence over that of the composition, tions, determine the real validity of
ated use of motive a, one of Taylor's at w h i c h times I have the impression a musical conceptionthat Cecil oc-
favorite phrase-turns, and the use of C e c i l also cuts the tonal u m b i l i c a l casionally finds himself in a dilem-
the same material horizontally and chord, and lets the force of the par- ma. In this respect the two lps offer
vertically. If proof be needed that ticular idea with which he is involved a telling contrast. Where the New-
T a y l o r knows what he's doing and at the moment be the sole arbiter. port performances (possibly as a re-
that he is not "simply faking disson- At such times he reminds me of The- sult of performer-audience contact)
ances," as some would have it, one lonious M o n k i n that h e l i k e M o n k have an exciting intensely felt con-
need only point to these devices, long c a n play passages in w h i c h the tinuity the stud o performances on
a mainstay of compositional tech overall musical shape and direction Transition (except for the remark-
niques. One might also point to the take precedence over the actual able Azure) suffer bv and large from
symmetrical relationship of measures notes- i.e the choice of notes a lack o these qualities One geS
f

21-22 to 23-24 ( E x . 3b) mirroring a though e x c e l l e n t - i s secondary to the d i e ^ t o ^ r m r t T a X T s i t S


similar relationship between 17 18 larger musical contours and another at the p k n i obtctivdy perforrn ng
and 19-20 in the exposition ( E x 3a) possibly equally excellent choice of a A c t i o n to whichThe w^s T o m
Throughout his playing, T a y l o r man notes could have rendered the same milled and t h a M n a r a t h e i n o n - Z -
ages to retain a very close raDDort m u s L l design S m a t i n e manner teots out a col
between the structure of the composi- These abilities coupled with an i n - lection of Ideas whichthough orig-
tion and that of his improvisation, nate musicality give Cecil T a y l o r ' s ina and varied enough havef no real
more so than L a c y does. The charac- best solos a great deal of cohesive- artistic rlTson FeTeOne does no
ter of different segments of a piece ness. Sometimes unity is achieved by fee the burning necessity that what
like Tune 2 for instance are re- means of motivic variants and devel- he<savVhIdtoL sa7d S n e r S u v o n
spected and employeTS t improvi- opments, sometimes by a variety of
sation which at th same tinS often fresh ideas simply sustained at the T^vWle'ts u s i n 1 1 ^ 1
reveals a c h a r a i t e r o l S T r struc same level of intensity. his mind but not his soTd Ind he
tural unity a l i t o w r f - a s if there It is in reference to the over-all h d e ^ r o n , u s what h f e e l s a b o u t

30 THE J A Z Z REVIEW
the blues. But as I say, the Newport constantly feel the gravitational p u l l Thus in Charge 'em Blues, T a y l o r
record and several excellent live per- of both their tonal and r h y t h m i c starts an idea, spins it out a little by
formances of T a y l o r that I have weight. One can hear this on the T r a n - repeating i t or using slightly varied
4

heard, indicate that such moments sition lp, especially on Charge 'Em imitations, then breaks it off and
are in the m i n o r i t y . Blues. T i m e and time again T a y l o r starts another idea. It's almost like
Yet it is a point worth discussing, is pulled back f r o m his intentions by listening to a solo consisting entirely
because it relates to the whole ques- the conventions of tonality, of phrase of "foufs." To sustain this Lormous
tion of atonal improvisation, or for lengths and the "beat." The rhythm variety of ideas in this manner is, of
that matter atonal jazz composition. section, pushing relentlessly forward course extremely difficult, and prob-
The performer is caught between two in its duty as supplier of the beat, ably impossible in pure improvisa-
cross-fires, as it were. He wants to sets a perfect trap for the improviser tion. To help himself, Cecil had sev-
free himself f r o m the conventional It propels h i m onward while he hap eral musical ideas in readiness
tonal strictures set down by the bass hazardly clutches at ideas that may (others might call them cliches, a l -
(or at least i m p l i e d by the chord come to h i m some good some com- though let it be said that thev are at
patterns upon which he is supposed monplace The relentlessness of the least his own) which he could throw
to be i m p r o v i s i n g ) , but at the same accompaniment can easily push h i m in whenever necessarv Example 4 is
time, as long as the bass and drums into mechanical and rhetorical so- y 7cal ii^^ various gu ses it appears
P

participate in the accented conven- lutions unless he can free himself at lea t Tdozen timTs on the T r a n -
tional manner, the i m f r o v i s e r w i l l from t h e h i n f l u e n c e * sition p

I called this situation a dilemma, ticed too, that in Tune 2 the entire means startling, musical exchanges
and I really do not mean to criticize group loosened up to swing every with his leader
Cecil for f a i l i n g to solve it. F o r no time the last twelve bars (starting Steve L a c y I respect and admire
doubt the problem is a difficult one. with the A m i n o r chord) appeared. for his consistent astute work, but I
If the soloist is strong enough to It seems that the pent-up tension of wish he would avoid using such a
resist this p u l l of the bass and drums, the preceding eight-bar pedal-point choked tarrogato-like sound, espe-
and can soar in relative a u t o n o ; m (on E) found release in the resolu- cially in the low register. It's i m -
above the accompaniment, the ques- tion to A. It worked a l l four times. probable, but I suppose it could be
tion promptly arises: well, why not One thing the group has yet to argued that this is the sound he or the
eliminate the bass and drums? But learn is not to rush, especially on group wants. But I find it terribly
that in turn immediately produces medium tempos. Tune 2, for i n - d i s t r a c t i n g - a n d that, I don't think,
the next question, w h i c h i s : can this stance, picks up considerable speed was its intention.
bass-less, drum-less, atonal wonder before the exposition is sixteen bars In discussions on music such as
still be considered jazz?* o l d ! But at least this is a sign of this, one often hears the expression
However, my impression is that life and energy. "twelve-tone j a z z " bandied about. It
Cecil Taylor is concerned about play- B u e l l is a continually i m p r o v i n g seems like such a nice, new, catchy
ing jazz; and to his everlasting bass player. H i s tone is r i c h and f u l l word. I should like to make it ex-
credit, on the Newport l p m a d e (meaty is the w o r d ) , but it does not plicitly clear that the term "twelve-
almost a year after the T r a n s i t i o n quite fit in character w i t h the harder, tone" in connection w i t h jazz is only
r e c o r d i n g - T a y l o r walks the tight more acrid quality of Cecil's play- applicable to written or composed
rope between the two cross-fires with i n g . As a matter of fact, a player jazz. "Twelve-tone i m p r o v i s a t i o n "
razor-sharp accuracy, and w i t h all with more bite could add to the quar- does not and can not exist. The pro-
the emotional, swinging intensity as- tet-ness of the group. One thinks of cedures of twelve-tone or serial com-
sociated with good jazz. The seg- M i n g u s , for instance, as ideal. Buell's position are of considerable complex-
mentation which marred the earlier occasional e r r i n g , as on the end of ity and if thev were applied to pure
recording is no longer in evidence. Azure, can be discounted, consider- improvisation the improviser would
The i d e a s - a g a i n presented with a i n g the fact that the bass player's have t o h a v e a memory and calculat-
seemingly endless v a r i e t y - a l l relate lot in a group like this is a very i n g ability gre^teT than U n i v a c ' s
logically and smoothly to each other, lonely one. Even if were possible I doubt if
so that one hears a musical edifice; This brings us to the point of it were deskaSe T h i s is not to say
made up of many contrasting ele- whether it matters ultimately if we haT since they^cannot be used for
ments, but all coalesced into an ex- call it jazz or not. A g a i n , should it S t a i t i v n m D r o ^ S o n mediods of
pressive entity. not be sufficient to ask how good serial c o ^
I like, aside f r o m Cecil's solos, it is, rather than what it i s ?
his accompaniments behind L a c y ! Dennis Charles, the drummer, is a S a ? Aeir , T 3 more S T S S
and his ability to relax into a groovy, sympathetic accompanist and often bavStable^topStioT
slightly-behind-the-beat swing. I no- enters into interesting, though by no G u n t h e r Schuller
3. I realize that these problems exist in a l l ordinary jazz improvisation, but the problem is even more acute when the improviser has
the added burden of making a less familiar atonal context intelligible.
4. The question of whether Taylor's playing is to be considered atonal or not comes up again in connection with the concept of repeti-
tion. Nearly a half a century of atonal composing has taught us the bitter lesson that most forms of symmetry, including r e p e t i t i o n
especially immediate repetitionare out of place i n atonality because they have lost their functional ties with the symmetrical tonic-
dominant relationship that governed diatonic music.
5. Other questions that arise in this connection are: Is it logical at all to mix an atonal improvisation with a tonal bass line? Does it
make sense to pour a highly complex idea into a conventional rhythmic mold? Do not such discrepancies ultimately detract from the
stature and validity of such a concept?

JANUARY 31
1
R A Y C H A R L E S : A t l a n t i c 8006 syllabic phrases so basic to church
music.
T h i s is like hearing a preacher One last thought comes to m i n d
sing the blues. It's like going to hearing Sinner's Prayer, a basic,
church. It's hearing R a y Charles de earthy no-nonsense atonement with a
liver a sermon like no one else bristling piano accompaniment. Ray
around. Charles knows the blues, his message
Simultaneously continuing the folk is unvarnished and sincere, and his
blues t r a d i t i o n , drawing from the re- association with an i d i o m scorned by
sources of gospel music, elevating scholars and " s e r i o u s " musicians has
rhythm and blues to a musicianly no bearing on the genuine musical
level, and p r o v i d i n g a gold mine of worth of his performances H i s is un
inspiration for jazzmen R a y Charles abashed emotion and exhilaration
has evolved a way of singing the in sound and manv overlv-educated
blues that is one of the few real musicians could learn a lesson from
bonanzas in the limited vein of him.
r h v t h m and blues DrosDectings R a v A t l a n t i c , incidentally, has pro-
afford? ample t e s i m o n v that r h y m m grammed this album so that Side I
and b l u e s i s of more than passing contains predominantly slow tracks,
mterest t o a n y o M M M e d ^ S Side 2 predominantly fast ones. I
jazz or its antecedents personally find this violation of the
The album is a sort of capsule his- prevailing fast-slow-fast-slow arrange-
tory of this type of music. Starting ment of numbers on the majority of
with Funny But I Still Love You, we albums most satisfying; the listener's,
find a pre-rhythm and blues era sound as well as the artist's mood is thus
(circa 1950-51), notable for its ab sustained rather than chopped up.
sence of the stereotyped heavy beat M i m i Clar
and rasping h o r n tones, in w h i c h
R a y ' s directive phrasing and heady,
caressing deliver? of off pitch lines is
reminiscent of Charles Brown's work
with l o h n n v Moore's Three Blazers
Greenbacks representative of the R A Y C H A R L E S : A t l a n t i c 8006.
R A Y C H A R L E S : Y e s Indeed! A t -
e a r l y p h a s ' o f commercially accepted
lantic 8025.
early pnase ol com er i a ^ y^accepe
this R A Y C H A R L E S : R a y Charles a t
with e n e r g e t i c d l y l n g C h o r u s e s sand
Newport. A t l a n t i c 1289.
advertisement Tiched S w e e n s l y l y ^ r e c k e d verses
HARRY BELAFONTE: Bela-
directed fonte Sings the Blues. V i c t o r L P
to the horns forcedI to^ honT competuive"y
1006.
o v e t h ^ s o v e r e i g r b L t s Z n d s hke
Discographer-Hisforian- what emerged from jukeboxes for so
Collector A n y of the records discussed here
S! iTmTrnidSfties Mvr Ann is l i k e l y to offend purists, the last
Subscribe exemolifies the vogue for L a t i n for far different reasons than the
to . . . rhvmms Tuxtanosed with and inter other three. B i l l Broonzy, for i n -
iected^ h f N ^ r o rhvt^hm and stance, has said of R a y Charles,
RECORD
Wues t r a d u i o n T h S f e v e n t u a l ^ / a v e " H e ' s got the blues he's c r y i n ' sancti-
RESEARCH wavtonseX fied. He's m i x i n ' the blues with the
A bi-monthly journalistic endeavor, who were tn^aHv T n f a m i l i a l spirituals. I know that's w r o n g . . .
now in its 4th year, devoted to sound,
accurate and interesting research into
T h h t h e bines and r e , f l l e d a brand He should be s i n g i n ' in a c h u r c h . "
all phases of Musical Americana (Jazz, new a* f o r t h JZ J an Considerations of taste aside, B r o o n -
Vaudevillian, Personality Folk Popu- ^ h l n i f v neither t h l nor t h . r . zy made an accurate appraisal of
lar .. . and the largest record auction
R a y Charles' method. The conven-
in the world, in every issue.)
tions of his music are those of the
F i n a l l y , there is Ray's own inter- gospel song, and his performances
Record Research pretation of r h y t h m and blues, i n d i - are replete with choral groups work-
131 Hart Street v i d u a l enough to transcend the i d i o m i n g on call-and-response pattern,
Brooklyn 6, N. Y.
itself, yet perpetuating the vitality of piano triplet figures, and the 3/4 tha
Please start my subscription at once. the folk t r a d i t i o n : Ain't That Love gospel singers m a d ; swing long be-
Here is $3.00 for your introductory offer with its antiphonal interplay, tam- fore the " n e w " jazz wallz become
of 12 issues. bourine and handclaps, and Ray's nrominent A d m i t t e d l y Charles has
preacher-like " A w plav i t s o n ' " chaniecTine l y r i c matter if not the
Name urging the h o r n p l a y e r o n Halle- manner of thYs rn^sk The gospel
lujah's funky rhythms and groans Tong that goes Tn one vers km
Address and / Got a Woman arTreatout-
standing judged bv the standards of becomes 'Tgot a woman way over
City State any music The remainder of R a v " to^wn A l t h o u g h ChariS has sung
BONUS DIVIDEND!!! o f f e r i n g ^ d w e l l o r Z gosoe blues w U h g o s p d g r o u p s i n church i t T s !
a periodic record bulletin to all sub- latticedf^^ho^J7ahMo^ Tafe s o e c u l a that when he sings
scribers, in addition to regular sub-
d e m o t i o n b r e a t h L exhalations sk!n of gooUndI evil wom^n L is deal
scription.
pm?melismatir% i n g w i t h matters of more immediate

32 THE J A Z Z REVIEW
concern to h i m than eventual salva- rive from the same material show
tion. on the concert vs. studio versions of
The point to consider, I think, is A Fool For You. The latter is brief
that an artist is free to employ any and touching, but the Newport ver-
vocabulary or set of conventions sion is a slow, agonizing recital of
available to h i m in order to make p a i n , with a powerful cumulative ef-
his statement, and perhaps the per- fect achieved by seemingly uncalcu-
sonality of the artist is made most lated repetition. On other numbers
clear when it operates through such he merely goes through the motions,
a set of conventions. If an i n d i v i d u a l and these are the numbers I feel have
is w o r k i n g honestly, he is dealing no urgency for h i m . The fact that
w i t h the matters that most greatly both types of number appear indicate from Atlantic n
concern h i m in the manner he finds that Charles may not be aware of the n ID
most suitable. A r t i s t r y lies in the difference, and is an instinctive ar- T H E J A Z Z
ability to objectify the individual's tist. The quality of his piano p l a y i n g ,
O F P E R M A N E N T
private needs to the extent that an incidentally varies in the same way
audience is able to have unanimity and apparently for the same reason I N T E R E S T
with them. When he accompanies himself on one
Charles has several limitations, of the meatier tunes he is superb.
and they seem to be directly involved Five of the eleven songs on the THE SWINGIN' MR. ROGERS
with these problems. H i s lyrics and Belafonte record were recorded by
his use of them are pure blues-poetry. and are closely associated w i t h 1212 5 h o r t Y R o o e r s
I
The lyrics are concise, f u l l of sharp Charles. A quote from Belafonte on & His Giants I
psychological truth, and no matter the liner reveals a fine understand- LENNIE TRISTANO
how resigned at times, always con- i n g of Charles: " R a y Charles is one 1224
spicuously l a c k i n g in self-pity. C o m - of the very few contemporary artists
THE TEDDY CHARLES TENTET
pare the closing lines of Charles' to know and appreciate and take ad-
It's All Right: vantage of his folk heritage in order 1229
" Y o u know, someday y o u ' l l need to expand and develop his own iden- THE BOSS OF THE BLUES
these arms of mine, tity. In fact, what R a y writes are 1234 Joe Turner I
I said it may take a long, long folk songs in almost the traditional
time. sense of spontaneous material that PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS
A n d when things ain't what they comes out of a people's needs." This 1237 Charlie Mingus I
used to be, now sounds more like the statement of a
Y o u can b r i n g your fine self critic than a performer, and what THE JIMMY GIUFFRE CLARINET
home to me. Belafonte has done, essentially, is to 1238
To prove my love is true, I ' l l execute a work of criticism on these
hug and kiss you too pieces Apparently unable to cope THE WORLD OF ALCINA
A n d I ' l l say, "It's all right.' " with the richness of the originals, he 1241 Bill Russo I
w i t h the closing of a better-than-most has pared them down to formula size,
where thev are readilv accessible and
BIX DUKE FATS
popular song:
" A n d when things go wrong, understandable T h i is what happens 1250 Thomas Talbert I
Perhaps y o u ' l l see you're meant when a7 i d e r i ^ n ^ W S S DIZZY AT HOME AND ABROAD
for me,
1257 Dizzy Gillespie I
So I ' l l be around when he's gone." are left wiuh the X n e r i s m s of the
The latter, for all its brevity, seems o r i s nailHere you a T S ^ t h B e k * NEW ORLEANS BLUES
to have much more whine in it. On faSfr ^erteLHe^rSentsAe 1266 Wilbur de Paris & I
Come Back, Baby the g i r l is referred materLl a n d h T ^ w n c h a with
Jimmy Wifherspoon I
to w i t h i n the first twelve bars as dS-and^precision That c'haTm
" b a b y , " "mama," and " c h i l d , " which along with B e l a f T n S fantastic and AFTERNOON IN PARIS
1267 John Lewis &
takes care of most of the psycho- undeniab e energy and showmaLhip Sacha Distel
logical possibilities. Charles is a
rough performer w i t h jagged edges, recommend them S n s t them i s THE JOHN LEWIS PIANO
a s h o u f t h a t might frighten neigh' th7mi7re7sio7 tfmtThesongs have 1272
bors, and, at times, an almost para- been g r a s p e d f r o m ^ w i t ^ u t and have
l y z i n g honesty. It is only when he nTmoVemco THE BILLY TAYLOR TOUCH
tries to be a showman that he fails. 1277
H i s b a n d , in the " j u m p " vein, is a WsTeaualIv S d i t i ^ n s of
good one, but not exceptional. W h e n THE MOST HAPPY FELLA
music f r o m Israel Z Wes Indies
the band is used to please the crowd, 1280 The Jazz Modes
or when Charles sings a number for h e blues ^ h a v i n g v o u ^ voice bUruCLfor complete catalogue, which
the same reason, the performances break i the end of a phrLe includes 15 Top Stereo Discs available
deserve the rock and r o l l label at- The paradox is that it is so much at $4.98 ea. from your Favorite Dealer
tached to them. The difference be- easier to discuss and point to the or direct from
tween Charles and his surroundings artistry of Belafonte's work, when
are best exemplified by the concert Charles is more deserving of the
and studio recordings of / Got A word. A n d the unfortunate thing is
Woman, on which Charles' vocals that it is only rarely that a choice
are vastly different, but the saxo does not have to be made between R E C O R D I N G [
C O R F S i
phonist plavs precisely the same solo the approaches these men represent. 157 W. 57TH.ST.. NEW YORK 19. N. Y.

The different m S T c h a r l e s ^ a n d t J o e Goldberg

JANUARY 33
unfamiliar material and turn it into a ative in his handling of the substi-
forceful jazz expression. T h i s is one tute chords. M i l e s strolls (without
way of gauging his musical ability piano) beautifully. He is a true mu-
and is alio additional evidence of his sical conversationalist. Cannonball is
stature in relation to the rest of the quite " f u n k y " at times, and C h a m -
field. Russian Lullaby is taken at a bers exemplifies his ability to create
jet's tempo with P a u l Chambers play- solo lines in the manner of a t r u m -
i n g in an even rockbottom way which peter or saxophonist.
anchors the rhythm section and The t h i r d track, Two Bass Hit,
makes it easier for Coltrane to fly. opens with everyone on firepar-
Coltrane at times seems to play ticularly P h i l l y , whose punctuation
away f r o m everyone rhythmically, and attack are as sharp as a knife.
and yet his line has a time that is Coltrane enters into his solo moan-
angular and e v i l and laden with its i n g , screaming, squeezing, and seem-
own r h y t h m . H i s p l a y i n g sometimes ingly projecting his very soul through
becomes a m i r r o r of the past remind- the bell of his h o r n . I feel that this
i n g one of the precision of Benny man is definitely blazing a new mu-
Carter, Stitt, and G o r d o n of the late sical t r a i l . P h i l l y and Red Garland
40s, with the texture of Pres. H i s back the soloists like a brass section,
interval conception is a whole one as an effect which always creates excite-
he utilizes large and small intervals. ment.
He uses the entire range of his h o r n . Side 2: The theme of Milestones is
JOHN COLTRANE: Soultrane, unusual, but surprisingly p l e a s a n t -
In ballads, he ventures into areas of
Prestige 7142. particularly the bridge where M i l e s
sound that are uncommon. One is
reminded of Hodges, his security of answers the other horns, achieving
Good Bait finds Trane r o c k i n g and tone in the higher registers A l s o an echo effect. P h i l l y ' s use of sticks
bouncing in a dancer's groove. He is the vocal feeling of Eckstine and on the fourth beat of every bar is
a shouter, indeed at times a screamer. Sarah In his blues D l a v i n g there is quite tasteful. Cannonball cleverly
The intensity of feeling is hot and B i r d as well as R o l l i n s In short his interweaves melodies around the
one's foot is apt to start tapping. expression is a L a u t i f u l and mean- changes. M i l e s is as graceful as a
R e d G a r l a n d lays down some p e t u n i l - i n s f u l one H i s education and ex- swan, and Coltrane is, as usual, full
scented chords loaded with tension, of surprises.
heat and song which have the effect Red G a r l a n d , who is undoubtedly
of b r i n g i n g everyone closer together SdtiTSen H f c HodEL GfflS one of today's great pianists, is spot-
and in his solo he delights the ears M i l e s and M o n k
lighted in Billy Boy with P h i l l y and
with a few dazzling figures employ- H i s own ability, his perception and
P a u l . The arrangement is tightly k n i t
i n g most of the keyboard lines that wisdom show themselves in his own
and well played. Red employs his
contain a rhythmic vitality and a compositions, the organization sound-
block chord technique on this track
blinked slyness. After P a u l s ' solo we wise in such pieces as Training In,
and plays a beautiful single line, as
have a section of fours, notable for Straight Street, etc. In short, his tone
well. P h i l l y and P a u l do a wonderful
Trane's hot return, m a k i n g two state- is beautiful because it is functional.
job, both soloing and in the section.
ments which are happy hair raisers. In other words, it is always involved
Straight No Chaser is a revival of a
in saying something. Y o u can't sepa-
The b a l l a d , / Want to Talk About Thelonious M o n k composition of a
rate the means that a man uses to
You, is realized in Trane's particu- few years agothe spasmatic har-
sav something f r o m what he u l t i -
larly haunted way. H i s ballad ap- mony makes it quite interesting. C a n -
mately says Technique is not sep-
proach in general is one in which the nonball is excellent on this track. I
wate f r o m its content n a great
realities of the day assert themselves may be wrong, but he seems to have
artist.
he is detached, d r y , melancholy, been influenced somewhat by C o l -
fearful and yearning C e c i l Taylor trane. M i l e s paints a beautiful pic-
Devices such as tremulo and ruba- ture, as surely as w i t h an artist's
to can be interesting depending on brush He has a sound psychological
the ingenuity of the person p l a y i n g . approach in that he never plays too
If the tremulos lack interesting har- much. He leaves me, a l w a y s " w a n t i n g
monic implications, the result is a M I L E S D A V I S : Milestones, C o l u m - to hear more.
throwback to silent movie days or b i a C L 1193 I have heard no one, lately, who
the piano r o l l . If the rubatos are creates like Coltrane. On this track,
pompous and devoid of all musical he is almost savage in his apparent
Side 1: Dr. Jekyl, while not espe-
life (which would come f r o m inter- desire to play his horn thoroughly.
cially melodic, gives the group an
esting sounds and rhythms culminat- R e d plays a single line solo with
excellent opportunity to "stretch
i n g in a logical musical thought) his left hand accompanying off the
out." The eights and fours between
then they are lies because they have beat. He closes the solo w i t h a beau-
M i l e s and P h i l l y Joe Jones are fiery
no basis in reality. tiful harmonization of M i l e s ' original
and invigorating. P a u l Chambers, i n
D u r i n g the second and t h i r d chorus solo on Now's The Time. Here,
spite of the fast tempo, takes a soul-
of Coltrane's improvisations on the P h i l l y goes into a subtle 1-2-3-4 beat
f u l solo. The exchange of choruses
attractive You Say You Care, the on the snare d r u m behind Red's
between Coltrane and Cannonball is
group attains a good group feeling solo, setting it off perfectly. T h i s is
the high point of the track, and the
(all the players support Trane, at the best track of the album.
rhythm section is very stable through-
t a i n i n g an intensity that comple- In closing, I'd like to saykeep
out.
ments his playing.) The selection of one eye on the w o r l d and the other
Sid's Ahead is, in reality, the old,
this tune demonstrates another facet on John Coltrane.
and now classic, Walkin'. D u r i n g his
of Trane's ability, the ability to see solo, Coltrane is very clever and cre-
D U K E E L L I N G T O N : The Cos- sparse, even dropping out completely
mic SceneColumbia C L - 1 1 9 8 . for a time, outlining chord changes
sparely enough to give the solo horns
plenty of leeway.
Personnel: Duke Ellington's Space-
Quite f r a n k l y , I don't believe the
men: Ellington, piano; Sam Wood-
Spacemen ever really get off the
y a r d , d r u m s ; j i m m y Woode, bass;
ground long enough to make The
John Sanders, B r i t t W o o d m a n , Quen-
Cosmic Scene. But maybe they didn't
tin Jackson, trombones; J i m m y Ham
intend to.
i l t o n , clarinet; P a u l Gonsalves, tenor;
M i m i Clar
C l a r k T e r r y , trumpet.
Perhaps I was misled by the title
of this a l b u m or perhaps by my own Twelve of the greatest numbers ever
a d m i r a t i o n for Duke E l l i n g t o n , but I J I M M Y L U N C E F O R D and his recorded by the great iazz cornet and
O r c h e s t r a . Decca D L 8050. trumpet men of the century featuring
expected the Spacemen to really take SINGIN' THE BLUESIDAEMBRACEABLE
off in The Cosmic Scene. However, JIMMIE LUNCEFORD in Hi-Fi. YOU-WHEN YOU'RE SMI LING-MOOD
INDIGOHINDUSTAN.
these Spacemen are a most nonchal- Capitol T A O 924. This is "Wild Bill" Davison at his LOW
DOWN N DIRTY BEST! If you cannot
ant group of explorers secure this album from your favorite
dealer fill out this coupon and send with
My first reaction to the record The Decca album, " J i m m y Lunce- vou check o money order far $4.25 to
was that here is a lukewarm session ford and H i s Orchestra," is made up GNP and it wm be sent you postpaid.
in w h i c h no one really extends h i m - of 78's originally recorded between
self, a sort of restrained, watered- 1935 and 1940. The C a p i t o l album,
down E l l i n g t o n group with none of " J i m m i e Lunceford in H i - F i , " is a
the excitement or extroverted crackle "reconstruction" of Lunceford. It
of the b i g band After more careful was produced with great love and
re-listening I decided that while far care by B i l l y M a y who used top L o s
f r o m great E l l i n g t o n the music is Angeles p l a y e r s / i n c l u d i n g four or
r e h x e d v e r ^ a d e q u a t e jazz played five men who held important chairs
in Lunceford's band d u r i n g the 30's.
aren r y i n g to make Te
aren' t ttvineZmake the moon
moon after The music itself in the first album
is far f r o m fine art. It is nowhere
S t i l l , I had hoped for more, be- near say, Ellington's work in quality, G N P RECORD C O M P A N Y
cause of Duke. I think the basic but it does, however, have great 8566 Sunset Blvd.
trouble lies in the fact that the l i s - charm and an open, almost i n f e n u - Hollywood 46, Calif.
Write For Free Catalog
tener does not feel Duke's presence ous flavor. The portions of compo-
strongly enough. If you have ever sitional validity do not usually ex-
been to a club where the E l l i n g t o n tend for any length. One passage
band is appearing and have arrived may be lovely and complete, f o l -
before Duke has come to work you
w l l remember how the orchestra
lowed by another passage as good
but bearing no relationship (not lie J M k l o r e (Henter
plays along iust fine without h i m even contrasting relationship) to the
but the 2 u t e h e s h o w ^ T a front OFFERS
first passage. Worse an imaginative
the band the entire and spontaneous passage may be fob an outstanding collection of
suddenly ignited inspired by h s lowed by a passage of utter nonsense.
P r e s e n c e a n d S m S ^ ! W old and new books
Impromptu is excellent w r i t i n g ,
but too much w r i t i n g ; the result is on
work yet confused. The saxophone background
Body and Soul is the most b l o w i n g
on By the River Saint Marie is worse Folklore
track on the l p , with P a u l Gonsalves' Folkmusic
than that on a stock orchestration.
warmly sensual tenor snowballing
The voice-leading of the saxophones Folkdance
several slow choruses into a soaring
on Annie Laurie is inept, as it is Blues
up-tempo flight. The ensemble is in
frequently in this album. (The brass
a more mellow tone on Early Au- Jazz
voice-leading is not much better, but
tumn and Midnight Sun. Jazz Magazine
brass cover up internal trouble more
Of the three originals, Jones (by
easily than saxophones do.)
E l l i n g t o n and C l a r k T e r r y ) is the many of them impossible to ob-
least routine and most s w i n g i n g a The first two sections of Yard Dog
Mazurka are excellently connected; tain elsewhere. Send for our new
blues with the brass g u r g l i n g out
riffs behind Gonsalves at the close. the contrapuntal pot pourri is great. catalogue now being prepared.
Bass-ment features some good piano, H o w sad that the guitar bridge was
rather u n - D u k i s h sounding low-reg- inserted. Even worse is the attempt
ister lines (vou could almost say (right after the guitar solo) to pick All books and records reviewed
" f u n k " ) ? vet iLntifiably EUington up where things left off.
or advertised in the Jazz Review
in touch and phrasing HeU's Bells is the most uneven
available for mail order.
The rather down-home St. Louis piece of music in the album. T h e use
Blues concludes w i t h a good deal of of wood blocks is delightful. They
polyphonic recreation: the repetitive help create a gay macabre t o n e - a
touch of Hallowe'en. T h i s goblin- The F O L K L O R E C E N T E R
melodic figures of the tenor and
trumpet are answered by the trom- esque is heard on Stratosphere also. 110 MacDougal St. GR 3-7590
bones, while J i m m y Hamilton's clar- Perhaps the most serious compo- N.Y.C. 12, N.Y. Open 3-11 P.M.
inet fluently spins counter-melodies sitional flaw is the way the pieces
above. Throughout, Duke's piano is are ended. Somerset M a u g h a m said,

JANUARY 35
" A n y o n e can begin a good book but t i f u l shadings of volume. peccable.
not anyone can end i t . " The endings However, the intonation is often When I played this album for P a u l
of more than half the pieces are i n - bad (especially in the saxophones) Desmond he commented: " W o u l d n ' t
complete or brutalized. The most i n - and the section balance of saxo- Lunceford have loved to take these
complete is Saint Marie, which bees phones or of trombones is rarely u n i - guys ( C o n r a d , Gozzo, Pete C a n d o l i ,
for two more quarter n o t e s - o n the form (the fact that these were re- et al) on the r o a d ! " The players
fourth and first beats following. The corded before our era of Enlightened here are superb. M a n for man they
most brutal ending is that of Annie Stereophony w i l l not excuse t h i s ) . are better than those Lunceford had.
Laurie, one of several which are The drums are badly tuned through- May's band is a better band but
" b u t t o n e d " w i t h a choked high-hat. out and the drummer's playing is they don't play better than the Lunce-
The improvised solos in this a l - often sloppy. ford band. They could, I'm sure, if
bum are on the whole not good. Only On the whole, though, this band they spent three years or even three
T r u m m y Y o u n g comes anywhere can teach us much. Few groups play months together. But they haven't
near m a k i n g an organic and devel- w i t h the enthusiasm and elan of the sound a group gets through
oped statement. On a different level, Lunceford. The glory of being an night-after-night performance with
however, several of the alto saxo- ensemble player is not even compre- little change of players and just about
phone and trumpet solos are very hensible to most musicians now. the same music is not to be gotten
good " b a n d " solos. That is, they are Goodbye to a sweeter d a y ! any other way.
not of great compositional import- There are two ways to approach The moral is, of course, that su-
ance in themselves but they fit the old material. One is to extract and perb players should in some way be
general tone of the preceding and re-form. Since this is often done so field together so that the heights of
following m a t e r i a l ; they mark time badly it is less popular but is still large jazz orchestra performance
graciously (the alio solo on Marie tempting. This is what Shorty Rogers could be reached. These two albums
for example) and connect w i t h the d i d in his Basie album. He re-cast direct us toward the heights, cer-
prevailing nature of the piece. Basie in his own i m a g e g i v i n g Basie tainly.
The worst of the improvisation is higher brass, better i n d i v i d u a l play- W i l l i a m Russo
an absurdity. It is like the incoherent i n g , some new harmonies more
r a m b l i n g of a " t h i r d " alto man who players, and more uniformly good
writes some of the vocal charts and soloists He lost though the best
gets three chances a night to express qualities of Basie' W h r t i s more i m -
h i m s e l f - a t our expense. See the portant he d i d not come up w S .
clarinet solo on Siesta at the Fiesta. art object as good as Basted band
A l t h o u g h I approve of pre-lp solo (the old one fn this case 4 new
S O N N Y R O L L I N S : Freedom Suite,
length, not believing that Sonny R o l - one has made even greater error^
Riverside 12-258
lins has gone beyond Lester Y o u n g than Rogers did)
on any level, the cut-up solo seg- A really deplorable example of
ments in these pieces would hamper this approach was Georgie A u l d ' s
even the good improvisor. He is here B r o a d w a y i z i n g of Lunceford. A u l d Side 1: The opening theme of the
asked to play for sixteen bars, lay took Lunceford's charm and turned Suite has a strong folk quality and is
out for a bridge, and then pick up it into a species of B r o n x show-biz. also reminiscent of a show-type tune.
the chain of thought. H i s tribute to Lunceford was loud M a x Roach creates a great deal of
In addition, the whole setting of fast, fierce, and filled with trumpet rhythmic excitement and Pettiford,
the music is not particularly condu- screams and trombone splats. one of the all time giants of jazz,
cive to improvisation. The chord walks like an elephant
M a y , on the other hand, has tried
progressions do not suggest melodic F o l l o w i n g the opening theme, R o l -
to produce a Lunceford sound as it
connection, the backgrounds are too lins, as usual, fully exploits his i n -
would be if recorded today. He has
prominent or too jerkey, and the strument. He seems to possess a rare
been scholarly, perhaps excessively
music is basically orchestral rather gift which enables h i m to play what-
so. He has added a couple of men but
than soloistic. ever comes to his m i n d and make it
I don't think he has added actual
sound good. Pettiford indicates that,
As a performing group the band parts. (I'm not positive, of course
even after years of being one of the
is a marvel. It is not as good as good since all the o r i g i n a l versions of
top bassists, he still retains the b r i l -
could be, but it is something! The these pieces are not available to me.)
liance and creativity of a true genius.
brass as a unit and the trumpets as In general M a y has stuck with the
The second theme is Russian in
a section know moments of fire and letter and the spirit of Lunceford.
feeling. It is in the minor mode and
spontaneity and art and cohesion. The defects of the music n o t e d ' i n played in a 6 / 8 meter.
The plunger brass passages on the above Decca album are, of The t h i r d theme, a beautiful lush
Pigeon Walk are wonderful. Do lis- course, still here. But the perform- ballad, brings to my m i n d the image
teners who don't play brass instru- ance is different. of a city after hours. It loses some
ments know the difficulty of a pas- The drummer is not quite right of its character, however, when M a x
s a g e l i b " t h i s " ' T h e trumpets call to for the music but he gets a lovely solos along with Pettiford.
G o d orVAnnie Laurie They are loud lightness at times, especially with the After a recapitulation of the sec-
and brassy but Uiey do not attack high-hat. The brass shakes on the ond theme, Rollins goes into a fourth,
^^oM^y^oiloye and sun- introduction of Uptown Blues are up tempo, theme. The rhythm punc-
i i r T h e stifl K i n s o f Yard Dog fantastic. On this Annie Laurie the tuation adds tremendously to the
MYzurkc i s L t a caricature I t i s brass play three different types of mood. R o l l i n s , M a x , and Pettiford
affirmative caricature. 8th notes ( r o u g h l y (a) even (b) then let their hair down in an ex-
This band at times plays with an dotted 8th s and 16th's, and (c)
!
change of fours.
untouchable ensemblewith good at- quarter and 8th triolets') with co- The Suite is ended tastefully with
tack and release, matched articula- hesion and sensitivity The intona- two bars of a folk theme played at
tion throughout the winds, and beau- tion throughout the album is i m - a much slower tempo.

36 T H E J A Z Z REVI E W
I should like to mention, at this i n g to sustain this l y r i c a l quality,
point, my feeling that Sonny R o l l i n s m u c h more poignant because it isn't A monthly magazine of analysis,
has been almost completely unrecog- really t r y i n g to break anybody's biography, and history.
nized as a composer. It is my belief heart. The exception seems to be Pea-
Written by critics, musicologists,
that his compositions are worthy of Eye, w h i c h is rather hard-breathing.
being classified with those of Horace and the musicians themselves.
A n d S a m Jones's long solo in One
Silver, G i g i Gryce, J o h n Lewis, Foot in the Gutter is too m u c h a Edited by Nat Hentoff and Martin Williams.
George Russell, and Thelonious string of standard bass figures, too Recent articles featured Sonny Rollins.
M o n k It is surelv time for the public litle an attempt to prolong the rather King Oliver, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong,
to become aware of this other talent. special twilight atmosphere of the
Thelonius Monk, and Count Basie.
Side 2: On track 1, R o l l i n s plays whole. But Trust In Me is in a way
Contributors include Cannonball Adderley,
Someday I'll Find You first in 3 / 4 the l y r i c a l center of the p r o g r a m ;
time and then in a deep-rooted 4 / 4 . M o n k has an uncharacteristic, very Gunther Schuller, Bob Brookmeyer,
Pettiford again proves his mastery of successful light chorus. T e r r y evi- Andre Hodeir, Art Farmer, Larry Gushee,
the bass. Rollins and R o a c h , p l a y i n g dently likes this tune (I wonder if George Russell, Orin Keepnews
a b a r each, b u i l d to an unusual cli he ever heard Dakota Staton's rec- Dick Katz Mimi Clar and Bill Russo.
max. o r d ? ) ; Argenua, one of his o r i g -
R o l l i n s ' p l a y i n g on Will You Still inals, is a k i n d of unconscious remin-
Be Mine, especially in the bridge, is iscence of it. T h i s piece is allowed
extremely soulful. D u r i n g his solo he to go on too long, but it is character- The
seems to glide along, lazily weaving istic of Terry's work that after he
in and out of the chfnges. The switch runs out of ideas he doesn't react by
back to 3 / 4 time is unexpected and punishing his instrumenthe sort of Jazz
effective. clears his throat and waits for some-
W i t h the exception of a 1-2-3-4 thing to turn up.
cymbal beat behind Pettiford's solo, The record has not only an un- Review
TU There Was You was played by usual emotional continuity (not in
R o l l i n s and Pettiford alone. A l t h o u g h the least suggested by the album title
the solos were good in f o r m , there nor in the liner-notes) but a con- Monthly departments include
is little excitement on this track. sistency in exploring certain musical reviews of recordings and Books,
A l t h o u g h R o l l i n s managed to be devices. W i t h all the recent talk new and classic,
quite subtle on Shadow Waltz, I don't about polyrhythms, it is difficult to
a survey of the press by
especially like the sound of his horn recall that the business of i m p l y i n g
on this track. The timbre (distin- a superimposing of one tempo on an- Nat Hentoff, and
guishable sound) of the h o r n re- other not by rhythmic devices but selections of blues lyrics.
sembles that of a baritone sax. Pos- by monkeying around with melodic
sibly his reed went soft. and harmonic resourcesthat this
T h e exchange of fours between sort of exploration, though common
R o l l i n s and Roach while Pettiford in classical music, has only recently
continues to walk is very exciting. been investigated in jazz, doubtless
Roach moves very cleanly out of his because i m p r o v i s i n g such a complex-
4 / 4 solo back into 3/4. ity is unusually r i s k y . However,
B e n n y Golson M o n k has done this k i n d of thing
before, of course: mainly by setting
up an ostinato against which single
notes are intermittently sprayed, and
C l a r k really has the ability modern
horn-men are alleged to have, to sug-
gest a leisurely tune in the midst of
CLARK TERRY WITH THE- very-up figuration. The combination
L O N I O U S M O N K : I n Orbit. R i v - of these skills works out fruitfully on
erside 12-262. this record. So does the t r i c k i t is
really no more than that, I suppose
Only churls could have serious ob- of forcing the listener to b e l L e in
jections to C l a r k T e r r y ' s In Orbit a simultaneous three-four and four-
a l b u m and yet it may go under- four in One Foot in the Gutter, by
valued. Its most immediately strik- roughly the same means R a v e l uses
i n g quality is friendliness; everyone in the second movement of the C o n -
wants to be agreeable, and is. T h i s certo in G A n d Moonlieht Fiesta is
quality is rare enough nowadays to not the customary languorous L a t i n
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
be worth remarking, and C l a r k ' s melodv against a busy background
gifts are exactly suited to b r i n g i n g mainly blcause P h i l l y Joe's d r u m -
it out. He has a limited fancifulness m i n g is itself polyrhythmic and off BROAD WAY SEND 254

rather than any wide-ranging i m a g i - M o n k , who never plays rhythm ZX:l'"J!'"V F


* " " P L E COPY
nation, and a formal melodiousness n i a n o ' partners T e r r v as if both were Please enter my .ub.cription to offBROADWAY
that is not " h a r d " enough to be epi- off in another room somewhere. It I year $2.50 2 year. $4.75
g r a m m a t i c i t would be more just to is stated no more perhaps because Check/Money order enclosed Bill me
say a made-by-hand quality. nobody trusted in the possibility of
Theolonious M o n k adapts himself s r S n g such a precarious situa Address -

with great tact, and on the whole the tion for more than a chorus and a City Zone.. State
record gives the impression of try- half.
The team of T e r r y & M o n k holds
A monthly magazine of analysis, together not only because both men
biography, and history. have musical tact, but because their GOSPEL SINGING IN WASH-
Written by critics, musicologists, melodic practise is so divergent: I N G T O N T E M P L E . Westminster
Terry's pet figure seems to be the WP-6089.
and the musicians themselves.
t h i r d , especially the t h i r d descending
Edited by Nat Hentoff and Martin Williams.
(though he sometimes makes a toy
Recent articles featured Sonny Rollins, Some of the finest music today
like fanfare by repeating the top
emanates f r o m the Negro churches
King Oliver, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, n o t e ) ; M o n k ' s taste for dissonance is
of A m e r i c a . Unfortunately, too few
Thelonius Monk, and Count Basie. beautifully complementary.
outsiders get the opportunity to hear
A word must be said, I suppose,
Contributors include Cannonball Adderley, it.
about Terry's use of fluegelhorn
Gunfher Schuller, Bob Brookmeyer, Ernestine Washington and the con-
throughout. B u t it is so obvious that
Andre Hodeir, Art Farmer, Larry Gushee, gregation of the Washington Temple
he has used the tone of his instru-
in B r o o k l y n , New Y o r k , provided an
George Russell, Orin Keepnews, ment w i t h the surest taste, aware of
i l l u m i n a t i n g cross-section of the Ne-
Dick Katz, Mimi Clar, and Bill Russo. its humble, mournful character. Very
gro church service as it takes place
Near Blue, a march-to-the-gallows
every week "come S u n d a y . " The
k i n d of piece, is the frankest exam-
sincerity the exhaltation the power-
ple of this, but this subtle considera-
The ful S K S S k S
tion is s t i l l more gratifyingly shown
g o s p d songs are in themselves a
elsewhere in the album.
C ^ Z i r a ^ o n ^ o r ^ l S e r
G l e n n Coulter 0

Jazz But one nmtow^on


when the m u s h L offeree fan in-

Review Sf T b i "some b i n r m o r e " 7 s a


S
sense oof
T n completeness
n r n n r e n e a realization
g
reahzation
that this is not just music for a r t s
Monthly departments include sake but ,s a functioning, organic
J E A N T H I E L M A N S : Man Bites v e h i c e of the religious experience.
reviews of recordings and Books,
Harmonica. Riverside 12-257. Excellen though the singing remains
new and classic,
by itself, it is the constant anti-
a survey of the press by
phonal responses of the congregation
Nat Hentoff, and This is another " b l o w i n g date," i.e., to the singers and m u s i c i a n s - t h e
selections of blues lyrics. a pick-up group, no arrangements or handclaps, the remarks of assent, the
extended composition to speak of, and interjections of encouragement, the
little or no rehearsal time These limi repetition of musical p h r a s e s - t h a t
tations make it essential in an extem- lift the gospel song to its truly g l o n -
"JAM FOR BREAKFAST" poraneous session to have either the ous heights.
bond of a common style or to have The essence of the entire service is
and one or two players with musical per- given here: preaching, choral and
sonalities strong enough to give the solo singing, instrumental music, per-
music direction
"JAM SESSION" sonal testimony, and congregational
T h i s might have been a " h a r d - b o p " outcries. J-E-S-U-S Spells Jesus,
date, very stylized but very intense which leads directly into an address
are THE J a z z Record S h o w s
except for Thielmans who really by Bishop Washington is one of those
doesn't feel it that way. He's more of all-stops-out bursts of rhythmic ener-
in Texas
a l v r i c a l player a romanticist, not as gy that reaches a blasting conclusion.
concerned with " t h e " changes and (Notice t r o u g h t h a t no matter how
Station KINE 1330 on the dial
very p r e c i s ! time as for instance, renetic' the song the ending is al-
ISJSSZLBhi feel the same lack ways slowed to a dignified ritard.)
J a k e Trussed'* So ^ Washingten's S sermon
a s T d 7 b e t w r n Miles D a v S and
e
contains a 1blendPo^Biblical imaTry"
AFTER HOURS POETRY Tohn ColtranTwhose connection mu anreverydarexMrience^underlined
s i c a U v S as h e S n d ^ t h S n i U o r ^ h a S
a literary "mutt" for the collector of a n d l L n a r S B l s h o r W ^ m ^ S ^ r S e s ^
poetry a n d jazz.
rn.hut neither of ffZ ITrlt in Gof uttering the words
Written about jazz, night life, after or fnrcef ,1 e n o u J b f o direct the music to eacb nbrase before it is sung bv
Sister WasSgton
hours philosophy, and the Good Time
intcIsJ consistent groove
Towns from Acapulco, Mexico to New
The most swinging moment in the Holdin' On is notable for the slow,
York City.
album belongs to K e n n y Drew. H i s ad-libbed first section which paves
Written by a jazz disc jockey, amuse- approach is light and happy. He is the way for a shouting, hollering up-
ments columnist, and former territory
not savagely intent on proving that beat rock, when everybody picks up
b a n d leader w h o k n o w s w h a t he's writ-
the piano is a h o r n . R h y t h m i c a l l y , he the tempo at o n c e - b a n g ! - i n per
ing about.
reminds me of Peterson without feet rhythm. T h e number then comes
Oscar's Hamptonesque franticism. to a halt only to be resumed a key
For personally autographed
copies send $1.00 to W i l b u J Ware demonstrates again higher As the intensity of feeling
what an inte ligent soloist he is, and builds throughout the piece, the
J A K E TRUSSED. A r t T a y l o r is an unobtrusive drum- speed rate of the performance also
B o x 951 K i n g s v i l l e , Texas m e r w h i c h is a compliment in this Ureases
day and age Sister Washington, of course, is
Price includes mailing
_ B o b Wilbur the key artist on the record. Hers is

T H E J A Z Z R E V I E W
38
a voice which, in the true spirit of
the Psalms, makes a l o u d , j o y f u l
noise in praise of the L o r d . H e r song
is the moving expression of one who
does not sell out spiritually or music-
ally.
The album notes by Chuck Ger-
hardt b r i n g out some significant
points about gospel music and also
offer texts of The various songs. Les-
ter Krauss's color cover photo well-
captures the spirit of music pre-
sented, m u s e pre
M i m i Clar

THE DRINKARD SINGERS


and the B A C K H O M E C H O I R :
Gospel singing at Newport. Verve
M G V-8245
A N I T A O ' D A Y : The Winners.
Verve Verve M G V - 8 2 8 3 .
J U N E C H R I S T I E : Gone F o r the
Day. Capitol T-902.
C H R I S C O N N O R : A Jazz Date.
Atlantic 1286.
M E L T O R M E : A t The Crescendo,
C o r a l 57012.
J A C K I E P A R I S : The Jackie Paris
Sound. East-West 4002.
A l l these records are of only peri
pheral interest to jazz listeners. One
of them offers music of a k i n d that
was and is important to the jazz
m u s i c i a n ; the rest show the exploita-
tion of jazz devices. But I think a
great deal is lost by b l u r r i n g the
classifications that must exist.
M u c h has been made, lately, of
the place of church music in jazz. photo by Roy de Carava
The men currently most in favor
eagerly c l a i m k i n s h i p with i t , and
a number of pieces deliberately ex-
plore the supposed s i m i l a r i t y (with in a litany. ever, one must keep in m i n d that
more or less respect and affection). The other structural principle these are not intended as public per-
There is no doubt about the value of used by these gospel singers is the formances. They have a religious mo-
this awareness, even if at times one most f a m i l i a r nowadays, thanks to tive p r i m a r i l y , and the necessity for
feels that certain musicians make the the gifted M a h a l i a Jackson: a few religious ceremonial has nothing to
c l a i m only to make us believe in their simple chords, very slow, decorated do with what the critic calls sincerity.
possession of an emotional power by the most poignant melismas. M u c h of this record presents ex-
they plainly lack. In a n y case the (Mingus's Love Chant seems based traordinarily harsh singing (part of
best " u s e " of church music is' not on this idea.) A l l church music has the trouble is mike placement). I n -
being made by anv particular h o r n - retained this style In very early or- deed however necessary the record
m a n ; rather it is the structural i n - ganum however the intention seems i s - a n d i t i s most i l l u m i n a t i n g -
fluence on Mingus most notably that to be almost maaly ecstatic (nothing very little of it seems to me enjoyable
is worthy of study. could be more^fooHsh than the mod for its own sake Except for C a r r i e
ern practice o f s m o t h e r ^ S m i t h s singing of / Want Jesus to
B o t h the D r i n k a r d and Back Home
ligious musk^ in decorum) ^ Walk With Me which is on the same
groups retain a devotion to the orig-
g o p d d w i n aremonTaptte'suggest level a s M a h a l ! i Jackson's work
i n a l purpose of their music. They
S o n The e a X r r m s k portrays hhT record is better for reference
are dramatic in the way of any l i t u r - E induces portrays,
gical act; that is, they risk monotony for o S o n a T doping into than for
in order to enforce conviction. T h i s H a v i n g to speak so much in terms repeateriistening
is most evident in the numbers w h i c h of intention raises the problem of The use by Mingus and others of
are founded on antiphonal p r i n c i - sincerity, for what it is worth. There church music hardly needs defend-
ples, and those which create momen- is no doubt that from the standpoint ing as a true instance of inspiration.
tum by the incessant repetition of a of the esthete these singers stir up We must now turn to those ele-
brief figurea riff, in jazz, but in an excess of emotion; they are, in a ments of jazz which have made their
this context a devotional response as sense, faking. Recognizing this, how- way into popular music.

JANUARY 39
In a l l artistic activity there is
likely to be some confusion of es-
thetic and erotic claims. A c c o r d i n g l y ,
it is tempting to f o r m our taste on
this non-rational basis. P o p u l a r m u -
sic has learned to capitalize on our
confusion. If the average sixteen-
year-old likes, say, Pat Boone
or Doris D a y , he does so because
the sound and style of these singers
suggest the boy or g i r l next d o o r :
someone f a m i l i a r enough to rob sex-
ual experimentation of its terrors.
At eighteen, the same teenager likes
rock i n d r o l l , with its implication of
desires SO furious as to be past
remedy. It would be foolish to charge
this teenager with lack of mS
taste. He is no more interested in
music i n itself than t b ^ s T r t a r U S
l o o k i n g individuals who L e a k off
hand fn pocket to a Bardot movie
could b e i c u s e d o f a n Z r e T i n
cinematic art
Suppose our teenager survives the
terrors of adolescence. At twenty he
prefers, or says he does, singers who
Try to suggest the sophisticated
w o r l d l i n g . O n l y by now our young
man has learned to cloak his pre-
dilection in a pretense of judgment.
It is a rare man who w i l l say (as
M a r t i n Russ says in his absorbing photo by Leroy McLucas
j o u r n a l of marine life) of June C h r i s -
V 1'^ t y : " H e r intonation is terrible, but same substitution of tenseness for beat. The constant flatting isn't con-
, . w i l l say, as S y l v i a Sims was quoted drive, the same agreeing to be dif- sistent, however, except in i n t e n t i o n ;
in Down Beat, "I sell sex." ferent from everybody else, the same something in faulty technique makes
One thing is common to all these agreeing to occupy a sort of twilight these singers go sharp at inconveni-
singers, whether they be of the hard- zone between popular music and jazz. ent times.
breathing school, l i k e June, C h r i s , Where these singers are concerned, H a v i n g undertaken this general
A n i t a on ballads or of the belting tenseness is a disturbingly literal de- discussion, I see little reason to ex-
school, like D i n a h , L e n a , Dakota scription. The vocal chords are con- amine the records at hand in any
They are not engaged in m a k i n g tinually tight, perhaps to simulate detail. By now everyone knows how
m u s i c ; their business is to use music that hoarseness which in time be to trace the A n i t a School through
as a pretext for erotic convention. comes a permanent result. T h i s son- June down to C h r i s ; what happens is
Usually the conventions are the well- ority is as far as possible from the not dilution of the o r i g i n a l set of
worn ones: candlelight, wine, the aerated sonority of Lester Y o u n g , mannerisms but exaggeration. W h a t
bearskin r u g before glowing embers, which it was no doubt intended to distinguishes A n i t a is not so m u c h
and the l y r i c s offer \ f a i r jumping^ resemble. A n d of course the proced- her comparative restraint as her h u -
off place. ure makes everyone sound alike, mor. She has very evidently an alert
In saying all this I don't mean to completely defeating what is appar- imagination, almost a dada quality in
deny a certain amount of s k i l l to the ently of paramount concern to these the way she monkeys w i t h words
singers I am w r i t i n g of; I only ques- ladies: to get a " n e w " " s o u n d , " (her melodic variations are less re-
tion the use to w h i c h these skills are though what virtue this is supposed markablpl and in her singing all
put. June and C h r i s and others have to be, in itself, has always escaped
theTualities I have mentioneTcom'
the usual qualities of those ladies who me.
Line2 p r o d ^
sing with a band. As old-timers w i l l So with the melodic approach.
h rtwoe pee e ri A I . a n y
headiness t i k e t three
heartiness, )
recall, such ladies had to meet at Mere embellishment does not make a
jazz performance, least of a l l em- rate, she is one of those w h o s e e m s
least one musical requirement: they
bellishments so executed as to be speciaUy delightful the first time
had to have the savvy to get up a
indistinguishable f r o m the melodic a r o u n d ; repetition serves only to
number rather q u i c k l y , and show the
l i n e : the result is to overburden a d i m i n i s h pleasure.
audience how the melody went and
what the lyrics said. F o r the rest, tune which may already be too flow- The notion of singing a few i n -
they provided the show w i t h its sex ery for the threadbare underlying strumental classics is of course a
appeal. These girls, most of whom progressions. A n d if these singers k i n d of stunt, where it is not simply
were named Helen at one time, were were truly interested in jazz, they a matter of A n i t a ' s singing a ballad
appropriate to the innocuous dance should have been told that hot i n - that o r i g i n a l l y was a ballad. Doubt-
music popular in their day. So were tonation is something other than less there are those who w i l l take to
June and Chris appropriate to the singing flat, just as swing is more the stunt more amiably than I do.
band of Stan K e n t o n : there was the than a matter of lagging behind the Strangely enough, the ballads fare

40 THE JAZZ REVIEW


less well than such things as Move; lives as important and arduous as
one waits impatiently for Tenderly any, but they present us with no rec-
to be done w i t h , and the extreme ord of them. M a y b e they are not
elaboration of Body and Soul is too anxious to communicate; their a i m
curious to be an effective communi- may be only to stimulate. rris
cation. T w o male vocalists may help us ce S i

W h e n , on a television show last throw some light on this matter. i M


r t e t * ch
summer, E d d i e Condon introduced Neither Jackie P a r i s nor M e l Torme Lewis * Kenny
C h r i s Connor, w i t h a flourish, as seems to have won the celebrity due ones * Andi
Wilder* A
June Christy, his mistake was one h i m . If we forget the velvet fog days Mann

that even the most sober among us of Torme, a popularity that appar- Woods * D<
O o n a l d 8yi
might have been guilty of. I feel ently resulted f r o m press-agentry, we Prank 'ties-.
B i l l Harril
some ambarrassment at h a v i n g to have to conclude that the public iigh Fidel]
mention, in a magazine of this sort, hardly knows them at a l l . Surely, Jena I d | y r [
Prank ivf
their obvious resemblance, to say^ this can't be a critically inspired ne- Shavers'
Jlarki
nothing of their derivation f r o m glect. Whatever their deficiencies, salim
A n i t a . It is curious that imitation these men have some awareness of iewmanl
innH c "
does not always take place by a d i - what they're doing. Torme in par- tonalri

l u t i n g of the o r i g i n a l ; sometimes it ticular, on Coral's Crescendo record .


maver
is exaggeration. W h e n this occurs, anvwav reveals a fidelity to pitch
the latest in line offers the critic and a security in florid passages that
more: he can say of Christv that as a technical accomplishment can
S A V O Y MG 12126 features 18 tracks
she gives us everything A n i t a does h a r d l y be matched. The P a r i s sound, by our complete modern iazz roster.
except A n i t a ' s h u m o r , which is the in the album of that name, is less Each track is a diffarent iazz g r o u p ,
including Don B y r d , Frank Wess, Bill
best she has to offer. C h r i s Connor's surelv controlled- two or three num- Harris, The M J Q , Horace Silver, C a n -
nonball A d d a r l e y , Art Pepper Phil
records offer a great deal more- even bers h a v h i m r a t h l r i l l a t ease i n - W o o d s , Charlie Parker Dizzy G i l l e s p i e ,
less humor, a caricature of A n i t a ' s S c i e n r m e d up and was
t I y
and many othersl

Chicago diction (Chris makes a d i p h - lurerDaLimonTous of'the label not


thong of everv vowel- in this lies her to ask for retakes but even when NEW! Current complete cata-
log and di.coorapny ready!
sophistication) throat er tone a u a l - u n c o m f o r t a b i r P a r i s is still a nro Write Dept. JR.

ity a lessfast d o u s e a a n d l a Sonal


greater concern S T a z z t e k Z u e s A A A
Y e t each of these singers leaves tcord co.
ThfruitTo"hiTconcSn remmrme me dissatisfied. F o r all his t r a i n i n g
of movies which m^ducers swing and experience, each is betrayed by V V V
no r i n s e have s S e n ^ m a C a u a fundamental insecurity. Torme has NEWARK, N.J.

switched from crooning to popular-


s onallv w i n h a n h a X d T n n r o h a r i o n ized bop to composing to straight JAZZ PHOTOGRAPHS
acting, and to recording Porgy &
t o Zanuck? MS Bess; P a r i s has vacillated between From an extensive and unique
ournev to The Ten Command iazz and popular music most of his
menl) s d o e s C h r i T a n n e a l toTer" career. Even in the space of one private collection, featuring pix
t X tines o f i a z T e n t E s t Thev record apiece, they do not settle
down. Torme is obliged to heat up of the famous and obscure in
IazzDate For whin each of his songs; this seems almost
regulation for From This Moment jazz history. An interesting addi-
f n ^
On and for the rest of course a club
i^h^Lin S A especially audience must have its money's
tion to any record collection,
sllf with srnoWv n h l w n c n worth. But the total effect is too
trad, or modern. Sweet band
a

much like that of the P a r i s recital,


in which everv sone comes eauimjed'
pix too.
the artist in dim ecstasy before a with the usuaf tacked o n ol
7s if n e k h e s m g e r could be sure
he'd[done iustice 0 ^ p e r W s neither Examples: Dink Johnson, Chas.
con^anUte ^
The trappings of jazz are here i n - reafly behive in the va ue of m u s k
Creath, BG 1938, Waller, Bunny
deed, but where is its spirit? It would fwhimsX
take a better critic than I to make The musician never lived, prob- with TD, several Oliver bands,
the distinctions. But surely we can ably, who was impelled by wholly
say that jazz, like any music, is i m - disinterested motives. Most need to C. Christian, early Basie and
portant only when it communicates make money; most want to shine
a k i n d of commentary on life. We all before the public. But the true artist Moten, Oliver Cobb (100s more).
know that the best human beings can surely forgets these wishes in his de-
do with each other, in art or any sire to simply make music. Those Old customers: greatly enlarged
way, is to communicate, and we who are unable to ignore the power
know that "commentary on l i f e " does of those stimuli seem to lose, in the list now available. Send stamp
not involve anything which can be end both worlds. They do not satisfy
paraphrased Y e t faced with the spe- themselves, they can give an audience for free list to
cific, I can only call 'em as I see but a momentary or a fitful pleasure
' e m ; ' a n d I do not see that the singers and they do not make music. They Duncan P. Schiedt
I am discussing have made anv com make use of music. 2534 E. 68th St.
munication. They have surely spent G l e n n Coulter Indianapolis, Indiana

JANUARY 41
R e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s 3

K i n g P l e a s u r e : Parker's Mood; Reducing the tempo is legitimate doesn't care how many wrong notes
A n n i e Ross: Twisted. King Pleasure enough, but if the whole performance she strikes, but with Jane it's accu-
SingsAnnie Ross Sings. Prestige is limited to the r u n n i n g time of a racy or n o t h i n g . " K i n g Pleasure
7128. ten-inch 78 r p m record, some cuts knew the importance of producing
Recent reissues of some K i n g must be made. Pleasure made the the tonal quirks, the slurs and i n -
Pleasure and some A n n i e Ross re- simplest and safest cut. He was work- flections, that were an important part
cordings, and the recent revival of i n g w i t h a no-theme blues, and he of Parker's blues expression, but he
interest in vocal versions of famous simply cut out the one chorus solo does not seem to have had control
instrumental performances, suggest a that followed the piano solo, and enough to imitate Parker's gradu-
review of c r i t i c a l standards for as- went right into the out of tempo tag. ally increasing volume on ascending
sessing such records. T h o u g h their M i s s Ross' method was more elab melodic lines He understandably
immediate popularity is based on the orate and harder to understand. omits the fluff in the 4th bar and the
appeal of novelty, that novelty is soon G r a y ' s Twisted was structured like grace note in bar 14, but he hardly
exhausted. T h e i r survival must de- t h i s : a single chorus of theme r u n - even approximates the runs in bars
pend on more solid merits which ning into a three chorus improvisa- 8 and 9 and he seriously weakens
should at least include musical fidel- t i o n ; three contrasting choruses, two phrases ending at bars 7, 11, 15, 17,
ity to their model, lyrics that rein- by piano and one bass; another i m - and 23 by altering the last note to
force the expression of the music, and provised chorus that contains a short easier intervals. M i s s Ross was more
an end result in performance that d r u m solo r u n n i n g into two closing successful in singing all the rhythmic
shows, as the M a r x i s t s would say, theme choruses. M i s s Ross altered nuances of Grav's line but she i g -
surplus value added by labor. M u - this into two theme choruses, the nored the tonal inflections that liven
sical fidelity is no more than the three solo choruses, one instrumen- Grav's solo as she neglected almost
duty which an adapter owes the orig- tal chorus, and two closing theme everything in his p l a y i n g that can not
inator, and since the singer is both choruses. She deleted only two chor- be s J o r e d - o n e almost suspects that
adapter and interpreter the lyrics set uses, but she substituted a repeat of she worked from a transcription
to the musical line should interpret the theme for the interesting impro- rather than the record itself She
and reinforce the musical content. vised chorus that included the d r u m never suggested t h ^ power or the
F i n a l l y , if the performance does not solo. The result has lost the smooth "wang of Wardell's tone as she
intensify the impact of the music, flow of the first four choruses which bTdlv could have with her small
there is no justification for the vocal G r a v was careful to emphasize bv pure voice and Zlol serious for
version except novelty. b u i l d i n g thtme and i m p r o S i o n
Few tracks on this lp would sus- of the same l d n d of i p h S S and the strengths!
tain examination along these lines. admirST ^ymmelicT^^c^l Setting words to jazz solos is also
Even a comparison of the most inter- r * n m r a e T b t o a d u l l svm technically demanding, but the lyri
esting tracks, Parker's Mood and metrical one cist needs more than ingenuity; he
Twisted, to their models seems like Technical problems affect other needs musical sympathy enough to
harnessing butterflies to the plow. purely musical elements too. I am interpret the expressive intent of the
S t i l l , some interesting conclusions reminded of Josephine Tey's com- o r i g i n a l soloist. Since musicians tend
appear. ment after hearing two children prac- to exercise their sense of irony in
The largest obstacle to musical tice piano, " R u t h puts in a l l the titling instrumentals, the titles often
fidelity is technique. Take the selec- tiddly bits and the expression and offer a misleading clue. K i n g Pleas-
tion of tempo: P a r k e r played Park-
er's Mood at about 165, Pleasure
1
1. Charlie Parker MemorialSavoy 2. Wardell Gray MemorialPres-
at 130: G r a v ' s Twisted is 192, M i s s
2
M G 12009. tige 7009.
Ross' is 155.

42 T H E J A Z Z R E V I E W
ure again followed a simple method;
he set the most difficult passages to
snatches of traditional blues lyrics
The Blues
and wrote a "continuity" to hold
them together. The result is a set of
ANY WOMAN'S BLUES
lyrics that like many older blues,
depends on emotional rather than
logical cohesion a co lage of great My man ain't acting right, he stays out late at night,
unity C
n e S 1 0 n
' C
U a g e g r C a t A n d still he says he love no one but me.
But if I find that gal, that tried to steal my p a l ,
M i s s Ross started from the title I ' l l get her told, just you wait and see.
rather than the music. She super- I feel blue, I don't know what to do,
imposed over G r a y ' s celebration of Every woman in my fix is bound to feel blue too, 'cause . . .
masculine vitality another whole view
of life: a cute, elaborate, and rather
I love my man better than I love myself,
tricky spoof. The conflict is obvious
L o r d I love my man better than I love myself,
only when her version is compared
A n d if he don't have me, he won't have nobody else.
with the original for she has re-
moved a l l mascuHne traces from her
verlfon The s e a i I r e d u c e d and My man got teeth like a lighthouse on the sea,
thl intention Ts much less serious My man got teeth like a lighthouse on the sea,
The S o n b e t w e e n t h e words and A n d every time he smiles he throws them lights on me.
the muse has become mechanical
r a t J i e r T a n organic ' m e C h a m C a H i s voice sounds like chimes, I mean the organ k i n d ,
H i s voice sounds like chimes, I mean the organ k i n d ,
Perhaps we should conclude that
A n d every time he speaks his music ease my troubling m i n d .
predominantly solo records like
Parker's Mood and Twisted are not (By L o v i e A u s t i n . Sung by Bessie Smith, C o l u m b i a 13001D.
the most suitable material for singers Transcribed by Roger P r y o r Dodge)
to adapt. The complicated phrasing
and the elusive and personal expres
sive qualities seem more than most W H E N T H E S U N GOES D O W N
singers can sustain Less ambitious
In the evenin',
efforts Hke the r L n t Basie band
In the evenin',
adaptations w h h more diffuse and
M a m a , when the sun goes down,

b e t t a c h a n c f o r 'success Perhaps In the evenin


the wholeSchool is doomed to a de
g r L of aesthetic failure for the best
rlcreatoror'these record nL is John S t f t InneJme
Baoy, 1
Rabv wnen v l l o lover
your v e r ain't
ain t around
arouna,
years eariier and managedI to extract
W h e n the sun goes down.
Last night when I lay sleeping
O u r final impression of Parker's I was thinking to myself
Mood is a mixture of admiration, Last night I lay to sleeping,
pleasure, and exasperation. K i n g I was t h i n k i n g to myself,
Pleasure has done something difficult W e l l , when the woman I was t h i n k i n g about
He has managed to write and sing a W i l l mistreat you for somebody else,
blues lyric that reinforced the mean-
ing of P a r k e r ' s solo O u r pleasure is W h e n the sun goes down,
increased by the quoVes whichgive W h e n the sun goes down.
the same kindI of snobbish satisfac
The sun rises in the east
ion aT a n i d e n t i f i e d reference in
At night it sets in the west.
Joyce or Eliot The few rhythmic
The sun rises in the east, mama,
apses a n d l h e substitution of eTsv
A n d it sets in the west.
ivals iotii^^Z^ ^
Perate us in Si, ootherwise
cording h e r ^ i s ffane
i n e re"
re- W e l l , it's hard to tell,
H a r d to tell
O u r feeling about Twisted is more W h i c h one w i l l treat you the best
ambiguous. We are convinced of the W h e n the sun goes down.
merits of W a r d e l l G r a y ' s Twisted,
and we feel that M i s s Ross, rather Goodbye, oh sweetheart unfair
than reinforcing them has eliminated Yes, I'm going away
many of t h e i f strongest qualities. But I may be back to see you
T h i s is aesthetically unforgivable yet Someday again,
we are still charmed, not so much by Some old r a i n y day.
the record but bv hearing her sing it
in person In the end 4 L only W e l l , in the evening,
regard our feeling for Twisted as a In the evening,
W h e n the sun goes down,
W h e n the sun goes down!
swear wti^Ito a^Srb?era?
morning - H s i f W e n Shih ( B y Leroy C a r r . B l u e b i r d B-5877. Transcribed by F r a n k Driggs.)

JANUARY 43
Reviews: Books
Two Guides: Two Views not escape M r . W i l s o n , for example,
is the earthy s i m i l a r i t y of Garner to
Jelly R o l l M o r t o n . There appears to
Recorded Jazz: a Critical Guide, by R e x H a r r i s and B r i a n Rust, Pelican be a certain patness, however, in
Books ( P e n g u i n ) , L o n d o n , 1958. much of the analysis. F o r example,
an overabundance of musical prog-
The Collector's Jazz: Traditional and Swing, by J o h n S. W i l s o n , J. B. L i p p i n - eny (no fewer than nine) are as-
cott, P h i l a d e l p h i a and New Y o r k , 1958. cribed to Beiderbecke; all are white
cornetists or trumpeters habitually
by RUDI B L E S H by T. P. H O F F M A N playing in D i x i e l a n d groups Those
among them whh a somewhat
rougher ( " g r a i n y " ) tone are credited
The critical discographya k i n d F o r those who need help to slash
of " H o w to Choose G o o d R e c o r d s " in addition tn .hp RpidprhprlrP nn
their way through the proliferation
b o o k i s sorely needed today when of jazz lps in order to select fruits cestry with an ArmsTrong heritage.
the volume of new record releases to their taste, two guide volumes are The analytical shortcomings are
baffles even the experienced collector. presently available, both devoted to no bar to the usefulness of this v o l -
The high fidelity lp is now b i g busi- the older varieties of jazz. ume as a guide to the selection of
ness, a perpetually retooling industry recordings, however. M r . W i l s o n ' s
H a b i t u a l readers of record reviews
with new models d a i l y . It would seem taste, at least, is sure. He is not
w i l l need no introduction to M r .
that the endless shower of new disks blinded to the tawdrv D a s s a g e s w h i c h
W i l s o n , steadily employed by the
coupled w i t h the thousands of new do pop up in the recordings of
New York Times and High Fidelity
collectors would produce a good even the best, especially in the
magazine. He is a rarity in the c r i -
many discographies. Y e t these are
tical breed, and particularly in j a z z ; lpnrrthv pnntevt of t w o Rides of a 12-
perhaps the rarest publications
he likes things. H i s current book n c h l p But he d o l s point out" the
among a l l music books. W h y ?
subtitled " T r a d i t i o n a l and S w i n g " hSh points of a W o r d i n g and lets
In order to answer this question, (with the promise of " M o d e r n and u ^ n o w whether 2 the rec-
we must examine the difficulties pre- Progressive" to c o m e ) , is a collec- ord w o r t h E g
cipitated by this new age of plenty. tor's guide replete with M r . Wilson's The volume f r o m E n g l a n d is an
The collector's problem is not merely many enthusiasms and spiced w i t h entirely different matter. In the
one of selecting f r o m a huge and sharply critical evaluations or abrupt cover biographies, both authors are
varied stock. It is infinitely worse: dismissals of the incompetent. Lest it credited with " u n c o m p r o m i s i n g p r i n -
it is, in effect, the famous Feather be thought that M r . W i l s o n is a man ciples," which in this case can
B l i n d f o l d Test applied to the buyer, of indiscriminate enthusiasm, it must be translated as a narrow-minded
cash in advance and no refunds. be emphasized that his chief asset refusal These self-appointed guar-
Granted that the lp, in terms of play- can be summed up in a single w o r d , dians 'of a poorly defined t r a d i -
i n g time, is cheapVr than the old 78 taste. tion continually fluff off performance
r p m disk, it is still an expensive
single package to buy "sound un In a short preliminary section en- by superciliously declaring them not
h e a r d " as is often the case. Y o u can titled " T h e B a c k g r o u n d , " the journey to be iazz A b o u t Goodman's execu-
read the album blurb of course. Y o u of jazz up that interminable river is L o the Henderson A ? L PorTer
can read cigarette advertising too belabored to an unnecessary extent, arrangement for exam
and good l u c k ! with the highly significant develop- ris andTompany t a k H h e following
T h e classical record buyer is more ments in K . C . brushed off as a "back- position- " T h e music w h k h was pro
fortunate. He usually knows the water" ( M r . Wilson's expression) i n duced mus noT however be con
opera or symphony he wantsits the old upstream surge. But oversim- fusedIwShtazz" andTeAuthors ex-
score is u n c h a n g i n g - a n d can rely plifications are inevitable in a history P k i n b S a f o r this reason they do not
somewhat on the performing artists. of traditional and classic jazz to H l r p e r i n n e l o n the Goodman b i g
F o r the jazz buyer, however, the which a space of only twenty-one bandT records such at SZFZS Thl
musical selection is usually of little pages is allotted; the m a i n value of Earl MUsionUTMOSCOW T h s i n a
help. W h a t , after a l l , are {he scores the volume lies beyond the back- book ha c r u D u l o u s l y Hsts the third
of Muskrat Ramble or How High ground. and fourth ban^
the Moon? The jazz collector is try- The bulk of the book is given to board band ^ d a n d f7ne>nSc"
i n g to buy a very elusive t h i n g : spon- a record guide, arranged alphabet-
taneous creative inspiration, and ically as to artist; the prime criterion
neither money nor great iazz names for inclusion is current availability T n e S Rasi'e and more sneci
can guarantee a great jazz record. on lp. Dixielanders, traditionalists,
There is in fact never an advance th th r 7 record-
swingmen, and revivalists each are
guarantee i n j a z z - a n d thank G o d subjected to usually sympathetic
for that fact, for it is surely this de- evaluation. In addition, several his iS^raditfon w o u ^
liberate risky search that is the es torical developments are noted which
sence of jazz. have not received attention else- ' " T h e subtitle of the H a r r i s book is
(continued on facing page) where; one cogent point that does A Critical Guide, a c l a i m we must

44 T H E J A Z Z R E V I E W
b r i n g into some question. The c r i - BLESH The first is a Penguin import, Rec-
tical level of this volume is f a i r l y ord Jazz: a Critical Guide, compiled
represented by the following sum-up (continued from facing page) by two E n g l i s h authorities on t r a d i -
of an A r t Hodes Blue Note date: tional jazz, Rex H a r r i s and B r i a n
" T h i s is a fine blues session for blues H o w many jazz lovers in the mak- Rust. Unquestionably serviceable to
lovers." No further than a paragraph i n g have read an album b l u r b , E n g l i s h collectors with exclusively
away we are told that Omer Simeon bought their first record, and then, traditionalist tastes, this volume can,
has " i n t u i t i v e jazz phrasing and discouraged, have never bought an- unfortunately, be of little help to
subtle melodic line, which undulates other? There must be an appreciable A m e r i c a n record buyers. The num-
with great effect." T h i s has a very number. A l l jazz issues are self-ad- ber of jazz records available in E n g -
pretty sound, but bears little relation mittedly "great." They are also land is small compared with our
to the E n g l i s h language, whose usual highly variable in quality and nearly L u c u l l a n repast. M a n y of the record
function in c r i t i c i s m is to express astronomical in quantity. Let us face listings, too, are those of E n g l i s h
ideas. i t : today, when jazz is m a k i n g giant bands not available here. In addition,
strides oward recognition every this listing ends w i t h records issued
A m o n g other howlers perpetrated where, its chief advocate, the phono- in December, 1956.
herein is included the incredible ac- graph record actually represents a
cusation that Red A l l e n has recently hazard. J o h n S. Wilson's The Collector's
turned to the "bop and modern Jazz: Traditional and Swing is an-
i d i o m . " T y p i c a l of the scholarship is It is in this light that the i m -
portance of critical jazz discogra- other matter. C o m b i n i n g a broad
a lengthy paragraph p r o v i n g geo- point of view w i t h generally sound
graphically that A l M o r g a n couldn't phies becomes apparent. The handy
small volume, g i v i n g a short jazz taste, W i l s o n has furnished a f a i r
have played bass on a Blue Blowers yet remarkably compressed twenty-
recordings, that it must, in fact, have history, thumbnail biographies of
jazz artists, and a comparatively one page resume of jazz history for
been Pops Foster. The pace devoted the period covered by his book. In
to this significant development is evaluated list of currently available
records, is almost indispensable to- the following 276 pages, W i l s o n has
roughly equal to the total allotted to managed to i n c l u d e a v e r y large num-
Jack Teagarden. C h r i s Barber, on day.
ber of records, f r o m " j a z z back-
the other hand, is carefully covered The discographer and his pub- grounds" into New Orleans and C h i -
in three-plus pages. The extra-long lisher, however, face some severe cago and on through the whole swing
coverage given many E n g l i s h per difficulties. Records appear, are elim- era, even covering the N e w Cleans
f o r m e r ! is likely due to the criterion inated, and are replaced by "newer D i x i e l a n d revival of the 1940's. In a
for inclusion of recordings, which and better" items at an unprece- smooth narrative stvle he weaves
is apparently availability n E n g - dented rate. The jazz d i s k , o n l y together W o g m p h y history and
land o n L P . Some A m e r i c a n listings "permanent" document of a most comparativelyEvaluated record Hst
are given but there seems no especial fugitive art, disappears almost as in TnTJddenda^secLn Ts a last
pattern to these. rapidly as it appears. To those in mfnute grasp a f a l l p o s s ^ l e up-to
the record industry who are oriented dateness made when the presses
But enough. S i m p l y , there seems toward production-consumption, no were already at w7rk on his man
little reason to own the R u s t - H a r r i s jazz disk is irreplaceable. It is a sup- script F i n a l l y t h e n i s a f u l l Tndex
book when the W i l s o n volume is posedly ephemeral popular item far of musicians' names.
superior in nearly all respects and more vulnerable to discard than the
covers a wider range. The one ex- standard classic disk.
ception: R u s t - H a r r i s is reference Since The Collector's Jazz ends
land on lp. Some A m e r i c a n listings with swing, it omits the developments
Obsolescent records mean obsolete
in detail for almost all recordings of that remarkably exciting decade,
discographies. The only real answer
covered. 1944-1954, when bop and cool came
is frequent revised e d i t i o n s - i d e a l l y ,
into being. A second W i l s o n discog-
once a year. But here, another b i g
F i n a l l y , M r . W i l s o n makes several raphy, The Collector's Jazz: Modern
business intervenes with its particu-
points in his discussion of the t r a d i - and Progressive, now in preparation,
lar problem of mounting publishing
tional revival which are germane to w i l l have a go at all t h a t
costs A d i s c o g r a p h y - a l r e a d y obso
this review. After dwelling on the lete, mark youfeven before it reaches
purchase of teeth for B u n k and the the pressmust sell extraordinarily T h i s present volume is based, as
enticement of O r y out of retirement, well before a revised edition can all critical works must be, on the
he tells us that " T h e interest in old, even be considered. author's taste and point of view.
old jazz leaped the seas to E n g - These, fortunately, are eclectic and
land . . . " A war developed between A l l in a l l , we can wonder that any f a i r , moderate yet capable of enthu-
the two schools of jazz. Then, in the jazz discography ever achieves p u b l i - siasm and flashes of insight. Few
50's, figs and boppers cooled off (no cation. A n d yet, here are two actually established collectors should find
pun and traditionalists and mod- on sale in the bookstores. L e t us fault w i t h it, while beginners can
ernists began to recognize each treat them with a certain respect as be safely guided by the W i l s o n i a n
others' merits It is to be hoped that publishing miracles even though evaluations in m a k i n g those often
this latter attitude too may leap both, sensibly enough, are paper back c r u c i a l , and always expensive, first
the seas to E n g l a n d . volumes. selections.

JANUARY 45
Jazz in Print b y N a t H e n t o f f

F r a n c i s Newton's description of Russ W i l s o n reports in the Oak R a l p h Gleason in the San Fran-
M u d d y Waters and accompanist in land Tribune that Sleepy Stein's a l l - cisco Chronicle quotes Sonny R o l -
the October 25 New Statesman: " H e jazz K N O B - F M i n L o s Angeles was l i n s : "I can't say I really prefer any
is a large sleek-haired gypsy-like ar- t h i r d in the most recent Pulse r a t i n g other tenor. There are so many. T w o
tist; at any rate he has the calculat- for the city. " I n J u l y of '57, K N O B of my contemporariesJohn C o l -
i n g a i r of the gypsy musician bend- didn't even make the chart. In Sep- trane and F r a n k Fosterthose are
i n g over the audience figuring how tember of '57 it launched an all-jazz the guys I d i g the most. Then the
far and in what direction to let out policy. The two stations that sur- older guys, the giants, like H a w k
the emotional stops. Not so his ac- passed it . . . as well as a number of and Lester, Ben Webster and D o n
companist and half-brother, M r . Otis those t r a i l i n g are of the over 60,000 Byas. I could actually stop there.
Spand, a chubby litle player designed watt class. K N O B is a 3500 watt sta- They are the guys who have the
by nature to play the blues on a t i o n . " W i l s o n also writes that in a most."
piano if ever a man was, and who parallel to L e o n a r d Bernstein's pub- Another jazz magazine to add to
ravishes us by nature as M u d d y lic rehearsals with the New Y o r k the l i s t : Jazzmania, gascon 252 " A , "
Waters does by artifice." Later in P h i l h a r m o n i c , the Jack T a y l o r Quar- Buenos A i r e s , Argentina.
the article, Newton describes Tatum's tet of Oakland is t r y i n g a s i m i l a r The School of Jazz is putting out a ^
blues p l a y i n g as "the haute ecole of series for jazz audiences. Good idea one-page bulletin. To get on the list,
piano blues; l i k e U l a n o v a dancing that could be applied in any city. write Jule Foster, School of Jazz,
Russian folk-dances " Lenox, Massachusetts. A m o n g the
Charles A. Robertson reviews jazz
records monthly in Audio, P . O . Box news items: A t l a n t i c w i l l record a
W h i t n e y Balliett has a l o n g piece
629, M i n e o l a , N . Y . ($4 a y e a r ) . H e School o f Jazz L P with works b y
on the blues in the October 25, 1958
also often introduces his section with B i l l Russo, George Russell, J i m m y
New Yorker. Substantial, as far as it
specific discussions of a jazz label's Giuffre and J o h n Lewis. In the lead
goes, but he omits L e r o y C a r r , Peetie
engineering procedures. article, J o h n L e w i s is quoted: " W e
Wheatstraw and other major figures
need endowment gifts for chairs of
in blues vocal history. W o r t h saving M o r t S a h l on the Republican instruction . . . Endowed chairs
for reference though, and as usual, ticket? He is termed in a recent should be set up for drums, piano,
well-written. column by L o u e l l a Parsons a "great sax, trumpet, trombone and the other
comedian." instruments; also composition and
Department of Fuller Explana-
tions: A n i t a O ' D a y told H a r r i e t V a n T h e monthly Frontier: The Voice H i s t o r y of Jazz. These chairs could
H o m e of the New Y o r k World-Tele- of the New West, a stimulating re- bear the names of the donors or of a
gram: " A n y idiot can sing the mel- gional Nation type of magazine, has distinguished musician. The yearly
ody. I don't sing the lyrics either. regular jazz coverage b y Charles M . cost of a chair would be $500 to
A n y b o d y can do that . . . A l s o I keep Weisenberg. In the November issue, cover salary, board and room of the
forgetting the l y r i c s . " he attacks the Monterey Jazz Festi- faculty member and a share of the
val "producers who treated the m u s i - administrative and teaching costs for
Contributions to Jazz in Print are cians like second-rate circus perform- the three-week period. Instrument
most welcomearticles, names and ers." Too many musicians and companies, record companies and
addresses of jazz magazines, jazz re- groups at each concert says Weisen- other donors should find this tax-
viewers and columnists in local berg T h i s department is t h i n k i n g of free gift attractive. Grants to cover
papers, etc. F o r e i g n pieces, etc. If having a iazz festival w i t h just Jesse two years are essential. Thus a $1,000
you want them returned, say so. Send Fuller grant w o u l d provide for a named
them t o : N a t Hentoff, The Jazz Re- chair in any subject. These grants
view, B o x 128, V i l l a g e Station, N e w I would suggest you not miss A l -
would allow us to reduce tuition
Y o r k 14, N . Y . bert M c C a r t h y ' s account of the M o n -
costs to a l l , in addition to continu-
terey Jazz Festival in the November
i n g scholarship grants where neces-
,/ Jazz Notes is published by the I n - Jazz monthly. E x c e r p t : ". . . the
sary."
J
dianapolis Jazz C l u b , Inc., Post Of- sight of an owner of a well known
fice Box 55, Indianapolis 6, Indiana. magazine swaying on his heels as he Last year only H e r m a n L u b i n s k y
The six-page magazine contains news focused his eyes on the stage d u r i n g of S a v o y o f a l l the record com-
of the area, i n c l u d i n g the report that the j a m session and instructing one paniesset up a scholarship. The
" D u n c a n Schiedt has recently turned of his writers to 'comment on the only other grants were by the New-
up a piano r o l l of London Blues deportment of those men on the port Jazz F e s t i v a l ; B . M . I . ; the Great
(vocal style) cut by Jelly R o l l M o r - stage.' C l u t c h i n g the r a i l for sup- South B a y F e s t i v a l ; and the students
t o n . " There is also a transcription of port he stated solemnly that 'I sus- and faculty of the school itself
the lyrics of Jelly R o l l ' s Winin' Boy pect some of those men on the stage through the semester-end concert.
Blues. are i n t o x i c a t e d ! ' " Only one record company!

46 T H E J A Z Z R E V I E W
Featured in the 6th issue are:
In the October 11 Melody Maker,
Now save $2 d . t . s u z u k i
M a x Jones quotes a musician's reac-
A S P E C T S O F J A P A N E S E C U L T U R E . A n es-
tion on listening to the K e n t o n band. by subscribing say on the role Z e n B u d d h i s m has p l a y e d
"I admire the musicianship, but Stan in the c u l t u r e of J a p a n .

always seems to be saying to m e : to America's g a r c i a l o r c a


'Where is i t ? It's round here some- THE A U D I E N C E . T h e first E n g l i s h t r a n s -

where. Where is i t ' ? " liveliest literary lation of two scenes f r o m the great
S p a n i s h author's surrealist p l a y .

p i e y r e
In the same issue, H a r r y Carney magazine
told M a u r i c e B u r m a n : " J o h n n y
" ^ e r ? , c f *
Hodges and I were school kids to-
d e m a r J
y

K t a r f ' T t e M t o * the Lion.


gether in Boston. We used to ex- m _ MM

change records. We used to listen to f U 9 l a


l ^ ! ! " about
F
the M e m p h i s F i v e . Red Nichols, R o l - hrTintheSouthwest
l i n i , Clarence W i l l i a m s , Bessie S m i t h , in a d d i t i o n . P O E M S , STORIES A N D ESSAYS
<\00
L o u i s and Bechet W h e n I first of u n u s u a l interest. E d i t e d by B a r n e y
Rosset a n d D o n a l d A l l e n . P u b l i s h e d f o u r
S I EHington band w e were times a year; $1 per c o p y .
S t pieces and w e played a battle
ofmusic withMaTHallS's b a n d - EVERGREEN REVIEW, Dept. C61 79S Broodway, N.Y. 3
w i t h T r u o r on drums It was a great Please enter my subscription beginning with
the current volume No. 6 (Send no money; you
b i s f u l l d a n c e band and we were will be billed later.)
n EIGHT ISSUES. 6 FOUR ISSUES. $3.50
small When we followedI them B u b ' (You save $2) (You save 50?)
(Canadian and Foreign subscriptions: Eight
issues. $7; Four issues. $4)

cried T h a T m v was first Lperience Name


of E l l i n g t o n . " experience
AJdi-ess
Controversy among B r i t i s h critics .Zone....State..
City.
concerning the October E l l i n g t o n
tour. The majority view was that of
M a x Jones in the Melody Maker
who complained of the general same-
ness of repertoire and "the unam-
7&6cc4 tecvtd ?
bitious level of the programme by
his standards."
Johnny Hodges, interviewed by No one has time to hear every
Maurice B u r m a n in the October 18
new disc as it appears. For
Melody Maker, was asked what he
thought of Ellington's program for the kind of reliable help you
the concerts: "I wouldn't say. What need to make up your own
he likes and what I like are two
mind before buying, read...
different things." Another excerpt:
"I started on drums . . . Then I went
to piano and at 14 I picked up the
saxophone. At first I taught myself,
then I worked for Bechet and he

R e S Guide
used to school me in the difficult
things. A n d he gave me my own
soprano . . ." In the same issue,
Melody Maker announces as another
of its "exclusives" an article by @ THE AMERICAN TAPE GUIDE
Frank Sinatra. The article first ap-
peared in Ebony.
Francis Newton on D u k e E l l i n g t o n truly encyclopedic in its coverage of the month's releases
in the October 11 New Statesman: ior two dozen years (he collector's most trusted counselor
" N o b o d y but the D u k e (in a pecu- the oldest independent journal oi opinion in the field
l i a r l y anarchically controlled symbi- and more than just reviews-comparisons!
osis w i t h his musicians) has pro-
duced music which is both created
bv the players and fully shaped by Special introductory Offer To !Sew Readers
the c o m p o s e r " On Johnny Hodges
" w h o looks and behaves like the most
Please enter my trial s u b s c r i p t i o n for eight months. I enclose $ 2 Q . B i l l me
impassive of Orozco's Indians until
he lifts his h o r n T p r o d u S X mos
lvrical i n v e n t i o n " n f h e h i s T o r v of me Name
aho saxophone."
Address
The Sunday Observer (London)
had a D u k e E l l i n g t o n profile October City Zone State
5. N o t h i n g new, but summarizes ex-
isting material accurately. MAIL TO: . 0. Box 319 Radio City Stotion New York 19, N. Y.

JANUARY 47
B r i t i s h critic Stanley Dance writes Jelly R o l l Renaissance? J o h n M c - In a column on the blues in the
that the recordings of " m a i n s t r e a m " Lellan in the Boston Traveler: " D e s - October 11 Chicago Defender, L a n g -
jazzmen he made in A m e r i c a for mond . . . is so l y r i c a l on . . . ballads ston Hughes had Simple recall some
B r i t i s h Decca w i l l be issued here . . . that I am reminded of (of a l l blues; one he ascribed to B l i n d
soon on Felsted, the L o n d o n sub- people) Jelly R o l l M o r t o n , one of Lemon:
sidiary. the most melodic improvisers I've "I got so many womens I
The October Jazz-Hot has an i n - ever h e a r d . " Cannot call they name.
teresting interview with A r t T a y l o r ; The Indelible Stigmata: George So many womens I
an article on Ben Webster; Jacques W e i n in the Boston Herald: " L e o n - Cannot call they name.
Demetre, a blues expert, on C h a m - ard Feather doesn't l i k e to think of Some of them is cross-eyed
p i o n Jack Dupree; and a piece ask- himself as a jazz c r i t i c ; and perhaps But they see me just the same."
i n g the question, Ahmad Jamal Est-Il his accomplishments allow h i m to In the Jazz Journal (October, for
he Garner De Demain? (They asked escape the stigma of this identifica- example), D e r r i c k Stewart-Baxter
it M a r t h a ; I d i d n ' t ) . tion to some degree." conducts a section, Blues on Record,
The November Harper's contains a Valuable article on J o h n L o m a x that deals with currently available
good, relatively unsentimental por- and his L i b r a r y of Congress record- blues recordings, i n c l u d i n g the best
trait of B i x Beiderbecke by R a l p h ings, The Ballad Huntlr, by F r e d of " r h y t h m and blues." W h y isn't
Berton. It's B i x in 1923 or 1924 as Ramsey in the August 30 Saturday there a s i m i l a r regular column in
seen by a 12-year-old whose brother Review. Down Beat? In The Jazz Review?
(drummer V i c Berton) managed the Alternately i l l u m i n a t i n g and i n - R a l p h Gleason disclosed in his
Wolverines. "I could never picture f u r i a t i n g sections of a panel discus- syndicated column in October that
h i m with a wife and children. A n d sion at the A n n u a l Conference of Dave Brubeck had turned down a
for reasons obscurely connected with the N a t i o n a l G u i l d of Community $17,000 South A f r i c a n tour because
his rootlessness, he always exhibited M u s i c Schools are in the October the promoters didn't want h i m to
a deep resistance to the social obliga Metronome. Subject was whether b r i n g Gene W r i g h t .
tion to keep himslf clean. It was as if jazz should be taught in the schools. Some of you may be interested to y

he never had anyone to keep himself Speaking for the light were M a r t i n learn about the Society for Ethno- '
clean for." Berton also says that not W i l l i a m ! , Jule Foster and John M e - musicology. A n n u a l dues are $4.00
only was the best of B i x ' s horn never hegan. One of those in opposition and include a subscription to the So-
recorded, but there is also " n o t h i n g was the professional obscurantist (so ciety's excellent j o u r n a l of w h i c h
at all that even faintly resembles the far as jazz is concerned), Nicholas A l a n M e r r i a m is the editor. M e r -
reality of B i x ' s unfettered improvisa- Slonimsky. W o r t h reading. r i a m , by the way, reviews jazz books
tion at the k e y b o a r d ; and this is one Record Research's Recorded Amer for Notes, the L i b r a r y of Congress
of the major losses of jazz h i s t o r y . " icana, Bulletin No. 5, October, has music quarterly. A m o n g the articles
Not every writer can make i n - discographical data of considerable in the September Ethnomusicology
stantly clear how significant a par- interest. In the correspondence sec- a r e : The Phonograph and Primitive
ticular occasion is. It's a matter of tion, it's possible to write in and ask Music and The Rhythmic Orientation
having exceptionally accurate c r i - for personnel information on record- of Two Drums in the Japanese No
teria. L i k e Jack T y n a n reviewing The ings in your own collection. Same ad- Drama plus reviews of books; an i n -
Monterey Jazz Festival in the N o - dress as Record Research131 H a r t valuable current bibliography sec-
vember 13 Down Beat: " T h e i m - Street, B r o o k l y n 6 , N . Y . tion listing articles and books in sev-
portance of the event was keynoted First-rate interview w i t h L i z z i e eral languages; and other depart-
early in the evening by official pre- Miles by R a l p h Gleason in the Sep- ments with data you're not likely to
sentations to participating Down tember 28 San Francisco Chronicle. find so easily anywhere else. There
Beat poll winners of plaques awarded She turned down a Broadway offer are musical examples. Address of the
in this magazine's International Jazz from Joe Glaser: "I guess Joe Glaser secretary-treasurer of the Society is
Critics p o l l . " never met anyone before who didn't M i s s Rose B r a n d e l , 40-51 Denman
An exchange between a Southerner want money. Shucks, I give a l l my St., Elmhurst 73, N . Y .
and Dorothy Donegan as reported in money to the poor, anyway. A n d o' Critical Insights, II: N o r m a n J.
the November 3 Time: " L o v e d your course I d i d n ' t tell h i m that wasn't O ' C o n n o r , C . S . P . in the Boston
playing. I had a Negro mammy my- the first time I had a chance to be Globe: " R i g h t now, jazz could stand
self." M i s s Donegan answered: " S o on B r o a d w a y ! Y o u know, he told me the a r r i v a l of a new m a j o r instru-
did I." I ought to see a psychiatrist. I don't mentalist, much in the style of a V a n
V e r y good portrait of M o n k as a need no p s y c h i a t r i s t ! " C l i b u r n . Or beter, the a r r i v a l of a
person by F r a n k L o n d o n B r o w n in R o n Cohen doing jazz record re- personality of the vigor and i m a g i n a -
the October 30 Down Beat. M a r t i n views for East, a pocket-size maga- tion of a L e o n a r d Bernstein. N o t
W i l l i a m s ' A Survey of Modern Jazz zine affiliated with The Record H u n - since Brubeck has there been a new
Pianists in the same issue is an ex- ter in New Y o r k . Address is 115 talent of large dimensions to catch
ample of jazz criticism as contrasted Christopher St., New Y o r k 14, N . Y . the fancy of the public . . . Jazz is in
with most of what is called that but Often perceptive are Joe Goldberg's for some listless days unless there is
is actually attitudinizing. reviews in the Jazz 'n Pops monthly l u r k i n g in the shadows someone of
Jazz Criticism As Fiction: James catalogue, a S a m Goody enterprise. great c a l i b e r . "
Asman in The Record Mirror: " D u k e Address is Box 346, New Y o r k 19, It's a l l so enervating these d a y s -
once roamed the Skiffle parties along N . Y . I f you live i n a small town, M o n k , Sonny R o l l i n s . George Rus-
Chicago's South Side and played the catalogue is worth the $3 a year. sell, M i l e s , C e c i l T a y l o r , D u k e , A r t
among the great party pianists It's complete in terms of jazz records F a r m e r etc. I suppose the O'Connor
there." available and lists each month's new approach could be called the mes-
Chicago, Pakistan? issues. sianic school of jazz c r i t i c i s m .

48 T H E J A Z Z R E V I E W
F r o m a BMboard, October 13,
record review of D u k e E l l i n g t o n ' s
Brookmeyer thing by everyone he hears and
knows. I can only recommend that
Cosmic Scene: " T h e r e are u r b a n Speaking as a private instrumental he be brought under the fearsome
notes by I r v i n g T o w n s e n d . " Thought teacher, I have nothing but praise scrutiny of John L e w i s , whose anger
he lived in W e s t p o r t for my four trombone students. A l l is a l l the more compelling for his
. T h e first edition of Jazz: A Quar- were m u s i c a l ; in some instances, to utter humanity. As for not attending
^terly of American Music, edited by an outstanding degree. One nian that history course; tch, t c h ! They
R a l p h Gleason, should be enough to f r o m Amsterdam is already of pro- were cutting themselves off from one
make y o u into subscribers. Excellent fessional status. He is twenty-three of the richest legacies in this world
record reviews b y L a r r y Gushee; D r . years o l d , a w o r k i n g musician in and someday they w i l l realize it.
L o u i s Gottlieb is also very helpful. Europe who desired some real ave- A n y man who can evince boredom
L e a d piece by George F r a z i e r is nues and would not be content with while being assaulted by Jelly's Tiger
about jazz c r i t i c i s m - t h e naked, the p a l l i d imitations, however pleasant. Rag is a puzzle to be reckoned with
dead, the h o l l o w men, the gay de- I mention h i m for this reason: it (and one I would hardly care to
ceivers. F r a z i e r contributes his cri has insistently occurred to me that work o u t ) . It's his loss, not Jelly's.
teria of jazz c r i t i c i s m and is other- there are many practicing musicians M a y I again state that the dissenters
wise invaluable to anyone who wants i n New Y o r k , Chicago, and L . A . who were in the m i n o r i t y but, in a situa-
to write for Gentlemen's Quarterly could certainly benefit themselves tion so l i m i t e d by time, there is just
and the New York Enquirer. and the school by g i v i n g it a try. I no room for the professional " k i d . "
Studs T e r k e l documents w i t h much know it is h a r d to admit, once hav- He's liable to be one a l l his l i f e
feeling Big Bill's Last Session; Gott- ing reached a certain level of per- and L o r d knows, we're saddled with
lieb reviews Hodeir's Jazz: Its Evo- formance, that any help might be enough of them in every walk of life
lution and Essence and the result is n e e d e d - b u t we a l l got more than today.
perhaps the most useful review of a lot to learn and will have for the That was the end of the negative
the book yet published in A m e r i c a rest of our natural lives, so take it talk. It really is in the shadow, for
except that there are many other for what it's worth. there were so many beautiful and
points he might have gone into. Gott- On the negative side of the picture, positive things that I can only close
lieb agrees with Hodeir that " j a z z is those " k n o w it a l l " attitudes became by saying that my fervent hope is for
a music of young people made by distressingly obvious in both compo- John Lewis to continue to have the
y o u n g people for young people" w i t h sition and M a r s h a l l Stearns' " H i s - patience, hope, and vision that have
just a few exceptions " w h i c h prove tory of J a z z " course. There were 1% made this unprecedented opportunity
the r u l e . " A strange dictum, one that hour composition classes six days a available to the young jazz musician.
is widely shared and that simply week with George Russell and B i l l M a y he someday be elected P r e s i -
isn't true. Russo alternating and I understand dent of our w o r l d , friendshe's the
There are other articles of v a r y i n g that attendance at these classes ticket.
worth, including Peter Tamony's ety- dropped markedlv toward the end of We all loved the priceless satisfac-
mological piece on Jazz, the Word the three week session. I can find tion of being a " t e a c h " a n d hope
that is a fair enough beginning on no more a l a r m i n g facet in our work that our ability to improve both our-
the subject. P h i l Elwood's book re- than the man who just ain't got the selves and the students w i l l keep
views on the H a r r i s - R u s t Recorded brains or desire to be taught some- growing.
Jazz and John Wilson's first volume
of The Collector's Jazz are shallow. George Wein
live in a democracy and we cannot ask
A l b e r t M c C a r t h y ' s The Other Side of
(continued from page 4) artists to appear anywhere without paying
the Hill goes into the matter of jazz t r a d e d transportation from his fee he re- their price. Personally I don't understand
"progress" and also touches by i m - ceived less money than he would receive why the Government could not have pro-
plication on the myth that jazz is m u - for a week's engagement in the U n i t e d vided transportation for all artists appear-
States T h e sum the International B a n d i n g at Brussels. T h e fact is they d i d not
sic "made by young people" exclu-
received d i d not cover the transportation and this immense cost had to be absorbed
sively. There's also a quarterly list- and expenses of Brown and Conover, the in the overall budget. T h e world of jazz
i n g of jazz lps, a regular feature of living expenses in Brussels of the band, was fortunate in being represented by such
the magazine. We a l l wish Jazz: A and the overweight charges on the plane established greats as Bechet, V a u g h a n , Wil
trip A l l other costs, many thousands of son, C l a y t o n and Dickenson. Other art
Quarterly of American Music l o n g
dollars were absorbed by Newport in the forms were not so fortunate. T h e sad part
a n d influential life. overall budget alloted to the International of the entire picture is that the fine work
B a n d project. T h i s was completely ex- of such jazz giants as played at Brussels
clusive of the jazz week at Brussels. had to be diminished because M r . T a u b -
T h i s examination of the economic struc- man of the New York Times felt that
ture of the jazz week at Brussels last other artists should have been there.
Saussv August leads us directly to the answer to
our last question concerning why M r .
One other point. T h e opening night con-
cert reviewed by M r . T a u b m a n had several
T a u b m a n was so critical of the concert. faults. An overall long speech of welcome
[continued from page 19) I have been told that M r . T a u b m a n , along by W i l l i s Conover and the fact that each
a member of an emiallv a r r n m n l U b p d
community ^^Z^^Si with many A m e r i c a n observers, felt very
strongly that the A m e r i c a n Government
completely mis-handled the entire presen-
performing group overestimated its time
(a common happening at jazz concerts)
caused the program to be overly long. T h e
have a uniform^ s t a E DS Tnd
tation of A m e r i c a n cultural activities at shows following ran considerably smoother.
where discrepancy and^ Stulance w"ll
the F a i r . As a result of this he was an- In all fairness his opening night review
be lost in an attempt C b o S stu tagonistic toward most everything that ap- must be comparable to a review of a B r o a d -
dent and teacher to know E s s of peared at the A m e r i c a n Theater. way show on its opening night at a N e w
a more genuine nvelal X M r . T a u b m a n might certainly be justi- Haven tryout. E v e n the analogy doesn't
fied in his premise. However the fault here hold because the artists involved, c o m i n g
only then w i l U t ' be discovered thai
lies in the policies as established by our to Brussels from points all over the globe,
the higher TomplexUies of iazz Hke Government in Washington and not with had only the benefit of a talk over re-
those of drawingcan ]betaught sys' the excellent crew of people assigned to hearsal before the concert. L e t me add
temmatically and' easily do the difficult taks of preparing 6 months that in spite of these problems, and irre-
of cultural programs with a limited bud- spective of M r . T a u b m a n ' s scathing review,
And only then will 'a School of get and mountains of red tape. It's true the concert was a great success to all
Jazz acquire a meaning. Russia sent only their finest. However, we concerned. George W e i n

JANUARY 49
cal potential. Plans to pivot the
Monterey night's activities on the H a r r y James
terey. W i t h delicate handling, B i l l i e ' s
voice can still yield fragile replicas
band fell apart when James unex of past masterpieces, but the anxiety
[continued from page 27) pectedly checked out in the middle attending this process almost pre-
of the evening. W h i l e it was there, cludes enjoyment of i t .
pieces: Werner Heider's Divertimen-
the band rocked and stomped, at Benny Carter walked on, alto in
to; A n d r e Hodeir's Around the
times cutting Basie at his own game. hand, and found no opportunity to
Blues; John L e w i s ' Midsommer. The
James blew convincing jazz, as pro- solo u n t i l B i l l i e left the stage. Only
first two were first performances.
pulsive and commanding a horn as in the final " j a m session" was Carter
Heider's opus, composed for the one could hear anywhere today. The allowed to play one chorus of the
M J Q , has as its chief virtue the i n - aura of elation emanating from this bluesa colossal waste of money and
tegration of jazz instrumentalists into aggregation is a joy to see and hear. musicianship.
the guts of the score, rather than the It is Accompanied, but never dulled, Sonny R o l l i n s popped out angrily
usual condescending juxtaposition of by a professional mien that is re^ to bleat / Want to Be Happy, but it
two musics. ("Separate but equal.") freshing when so much of today's was too late for h i m to b u i l d any-
In terms of structure and develop scene is studied indifference. thing. As time ran out, men w i t h
ment, though, Heider's work added
M o r t S a h l , a k i n d of vocational horns poured onto the stage to per-
little of worth to jazz or f o r m a l m u -
neurotic, served as Master of Cere- petrate a disastrous, cliche-ridden
sic. Most of it sounded like "avant-
monies. After humorously exhibiting farrago, which finally dwindled into
garde" A i m flam.
some of his problems, he introduced muffled confusion as patrons pushed
Around the Blues revealed a rare the Dave Brubeck Quartet (Brubeck, out of the arena.
concurrence of musical points of view Desmond, M o r e l l o , W r i g h t ) . Monterey, while immeasurably su-
those of Lewis and H o d e i r . There
A g a i n , P a u l Desmond lent musical perior to Newport as a festive social
are passages of b r i l l i a n t orchestra-
dignity to the occasion; his solos event (musicians were enthusiastic
tion and an unprecedented under-
were sublimely conceived models of about the location and f a c i l i t i e s ) ,
standing of jazz on the part of the
logic and order. That Desmond and was only slightly better musically, in
composer. Yet, much of the work is
Brubeck still enjoy and respond to spite of an ambitious " c l a s s i c a l " af-
tinsel and ornamentation around the
each other's playing after some seven ternoon. The heart of the problem
vital source of expressionthe M o d -
years together is evidence of their was, as at Newport, too many groups.
ern Jazz Quartet. It w i l l take a com-
hearty dedication to music. Great South B a y , in its first year,
poser of broader scope than H o d e i r
The J i m m y Giuffre Three appeared proved the good sense of scheduling
to come up w i t h something more than
for the second time in the week-end, fewer name!, allowing each unit to
"Bags with S t r i n g s . "
introducing a new suite of program relax and expand.
Even J o h n Lewis was unable to pieces called Moods of the West. The It was an intelligent audience that
keep pace, on paper, with the com four movements consisted of The attended Monterey's i n i t i a l festival
municative power and emotional i n - Pony Express, Apaches, Saturday (consider the fact that not a single
tensity of M i l t Jackson. H i s nine- Night Dance, andI Big Pow Wow. " i n c i d e n t " or arrest occurred d u r i n g
minute Midsommer is an engrossing T h i s montage of western theme frag- the three-day event) and an i n t e l l i -
attempt, though, that at least estab- ments was held together by the m u - gent force ( J i m m y L y o n s ) that pro-
lishes an agreeable setting for his sical sensitivity of each man to his pelled it.
quartet. Intelligent voicings and i n d i v i d u a l limitations and to his role It remains to be seen whether the
serenity w i t h o u l sentimentality de in the trio's collective strength ringmasters and bookkeepers w i l l
liver the work f r o m a " H o l l y w o o d -
B i l l i e H o l i d a y brought her name take over future productions, as they
classification but it is essentially su-
and the remains of her art to M o n - have done in Rhode Island.
perficial J i m m y Giuffre contributed
some effective baritone sax lines to
this one.
The afternoon ended w i t h Peter
P h i l l i p s ' Concerto for Percussion a quarterly o f american music ZZ
and Max Roach, a ten-and-one-half
minute work along accepted concerto
lines. Roach played with great s k i l l
The first serious magazine devoted to America's own music and all its
and abundant energy, though the development, including traditional, mainstream and modern.
most stimulating passages were those
in which M a x , w i t h relative freedom,
Articles and reviews by leading critics, writers and sociologists. The first
turned to conventional (for h i m ) issue includes A Letter from London, A . J . M c C a r t h y ; A L o o * at the
jazz drumming. The concerto's pur- Critics, George Frazier; Big BiWs Last Session, Studs Terkel; and others.
poseto display a solo i n s t r u m e n t -
combined with the effectiveness of Full Jazz LP listing of new releases each quarter.
percussion instruments in a "classi-
c a l " climate (unlike instruments of Send me a Charter Subscription to JAZZ, 4 issues for $3., starting Oct. '58.
melody, which in jazz are frequently
extensions of the human voice" hence
more difficult to relegate to paper)
wrought the most satisfactory music
of the afternoon's program. One be-
came abruptly aware of the inade-
quacies of all that had gone before
M r . P h i l l i p s ' admirable concerto.
Sunday night was an unfortunate
chain of errors and unfulfilled musi-
E l l i n g t o n ' s Black, Brown and Beige
by Gunther Schuller and A r t Farmer
Jazz and Poetry by Bob Rolantz
IN FUTURE ISSUES Jazz in Italy by A r r i g o P o l i l l o
Some H a r d Bob Reedmen by Bob W i l b e r
Ray Charles b y B i l l C r o w
An Impression of Jazz in New Y o r k by Jose de Mello
The Miles Davis Quintet Recordings by Bob Brookmeyer
The film and the score for / Want to Live
b y George Russell and M . W .
F i v e M o t h e r s : J o p l i n , Jelly R o l l , Duke, Thelonious, and
George Russell by J o h n Benson Brooks
Art Tatum by Dick Katz
A n d y K i r k ' s Story b y F r a n k Driggs
Chet Baker by R o y E l d r i d g e
E l l a Fitzgerald by B i l l Russo
Fletcher Henderson by Gunther Schuller
The Style of D u k e E l l i n g t o n by M i m i C l a r
The Blues Jumped A R a b b i t : T r u e Stereo by T o m D o w d
The Jazz Compositions of A n d r e H o d e i r by B i l l Russo
M a r s h a l l Stearns' Story of Jazz b y M i m i C l a r ,
o F r a n k D r i g g s and others
CD Charlie P a r k e r b y D i c k K a t z
L e o n a r d Feather's The Book of Jazz

<
* 636 AND 628 AHMAD JAMAL
by Benny Green and R a l p h Berton

* 637 JAMES MOODY


>
627 RAMSEY LEWIS CD
And
* 635 RALPH SHARON TRIO &
>
FRIEND LLJ the
(/)
monthly
>
623 MAX ROACH, KENNY (/)
DORHAM, HANK MOBLEY
Q features
622 THE JAZZ EXPONENTS O

* 614 CHUBBY JACKSON O


Q
D
< The Blues: Reconsiderations: Jazz in Print.

Please enter a subscription to The Jazz R e v i e w :


E a c h issue of The Jazz Review is $.50. A year's subscription, 12
issues, is $4.50; two years' subscription, $8.00.
Please A d d $1.00 for foreign postage

Name
KANGAROO SPLIT-PAK

Address..
634 YUSEF LATEEF
633 J. C. HEARD
available in stereo 624 JOHNNY GRIFFIN City Zone. State.

The Jazz Review, V i l l a g e Station, P . O . B o x 128, N . Y . 14, N . Y .


WRITE FOR CATALOG
DEPT. R.
CHESS PRODUCING CORP
2120 S. MICHIGAN AVE. 1 Year $4.50 2 Y e a r s $8.00
CHICAGO 16, ILL. W. HOPKINS / DESIGN

Potrebbero piacerti anche