Lin Halliday

[Chrome]

Anyone familiar with this tenor player? I just picked up his "Airegin," and, based on my first listen, I'm looking for other recommendations. He really seems to play with some fire, although the liner notes indicate he had pretty up-and-down career, with mental probs, etc.

[ZOOT]

Hello! I'm from England and I picked up a Lin Halliday CD in Newark NJ while I was on holiday (vacation!) last year. Always interested in tenor men I've not heard before and with Ira Sullivan and Jodie Christian it looked interesting. CD is "East of the Sun" on Delmark DE-458 from 1992. Needless to say, I await the rest of the world to discover him!

[Chuck Nessa]

Lin was a very fine musician and good tenor player. I heard him many times in the '70s and '80s. He had a large substance problem and was relatively weak some times. Health problems just compounded over the years.

I understand he had a chance to make a date for Riverside, with KD as a sideman, but it was scrubbed after some faltering takes.

One night in '93 I dropped by Delmark's studio to find Ira Sullivan, Jodie Christian, Larry Gray and Robert Barry sitting around waiting for Lin to show. Lin never materialized and Ira took charge, left spaces for tenor solos and proceeded. I understand Lin came in a number of times to record his solos again, and again. The record, "Where or When", is as good example of late Halliday.

FYI, the first Delmark record was called "Delayed Exposure" - that's my title. You might also want to check out the 2 tenor date with Eric Alexander called "Stablemates".

Here's the edit - a big and important afterthought:

Bob Koester, owner of Delmark, deserves all praise for championing "lost causes". Bob has spent a bunch of money and part of his reputation giving guys like Lin a chance. No way he will ever be rewarded by the public for this.

Edited February 12, 2004 by Chuck Nessa

[Spontooneous]

Saw him once, at the Bop Shop in Chicago, October '96. He looked frail, but his playing came across as very strong, even better than on record. The link to early-'50s-style Rollins was apparent.

Between sets, he didn't leave the stage. He just sat the piano and methodically pecked out Rollins heads, "Question" and "Airegin," seemingly in his own world.

A pleasant memory. Thanks for bringing it back.

[paul secor]

Airegin was my first exposure to Lin Halliday, and it's a fine record. I like Where or When a lot also. I'll have to listen more closely the next time I put it on the CD player - didn't realize that Halliday's solos were patched in later.

As Chuck Nessa mentioned, Bob Koester deserves a world of praise for recording relatively unknown musicians like Lin Halliday. He deserves economic support also. If you're looking for some very fine saxophone playing (and who among us is not), check out Lin Halliday's Delmark sides - there are six that I know of. I believe that Chuck distributes Delmark, and they're also available from the Jazz Record Mart and Cadence, among others.

(I hope that the preceding paragraph doesn't come off as a commercial. It's merely a personal recommendation.)

[Free For All]

Lin really assimilated the late 50s Rollins style. He was frail, sensitive, funny, haunted and absolutely thundering when he picked up his horn. Everyone loved him and looked out for him. I got to play with him many times while I was living in Chicago- at the Green Mill, Deja Vu (a club owned by the Mill owner- for a while Lin lived in an apartment above the club), the Bop Shop and the infamous Get Me High! Anyone remember that place?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I've got "Stablemates"; I like it OK, but it's a bit to much like a bop record for me to really love it.

All you bop heads can take that as a strong recommendation...

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I've got "Stablemates"; I like it OK, but it's a bit to much like a bop record for me to really love it.

All you bop heads can take that as a strong recommendation...

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

And my next number will be "There, I've said it again"

MG

[Dan Gould]

And my next number will be "There, I've said it again"

MG

Since this seems to happen to you regularly, here's a suggestion: Every one of your own posts has a button says that "edit" and a button that says "delete". Click delete and your double posts disappear.

[sheldonm]

Also had a chance to see Lin a couple times before he passed....fine player!!!

m~

[sheldonm]

Lin really assimilated the late 50s Rollins style. He was frail, sensitive, funny, haunted and absolutely thundering when he picked up his horn. Everyone loved him and looked out for him. I got to play with him many times while I was living in Chicago- at the Green Mill, Deja Vu (a club owned by the Mill owner- for a while Lin lived in an apartment above the club), the Bop Shop and the infamous Get Me High! Anyone remember that place?

I don't, tell us about it!~!!!!

[Free For All]

I don't, tell us about it!~!!!!

1758 Honore, under the el tracks. Small, funky neighborhood bar, a bit of dump. There were stories about the guy who used to run it (before I lived there), I believe his name was "Butchie"- apparently quite a character. I think Jimmy Carter might have even gone in there once.

Had some nice gigs there, though- played/jammed there at various times with Lin, Ron Blake and Eric Alexander, drummers George Fludas, Robert Shy, Robert Barry, bassist Dennis Carroll and Ron Perrillo or Bob Dugan on piano, among others.

Interesting place, too bad it's gone. Here's a pic I found:

Edited January 3, 2006 by Free For All

[Free For All]

Another pic. A pleasantly tacky place.

I'm sure the other Chicago guys here can elaborate further, specifically regarding the earlier years of the bar when it was at its peak. I got there more towards the end.