sgcim

Liked her duets with Donny Hathaway the best. RIP

I remember when I first heard about Tardo Hammer, I was hoping he'd sound like eddie costa. He didn't. No one sounds like eddie Costa.

BH didn't like things that didn't fit within the strict bebop style.

With all the hundreds of clinics Barry Harris did all over the world, there must be thousands of pianists playing in his style. At one of his clinics, a friend of mine said BH yelled at a kid for sounding like Bill Evans. "No Bill Evans here!" BH declared.

Just finished, John Pizzarelli: "World On A String: A Musical Memoir" 2013 . Although I like both Bucky and John Pizzarelli's guitar playing, this book mainly deals with the show biz aspects of the neo-swing scene, and john says, "Too often, jazz is held up as an intellectual exercise that can be only understood by the chosen few who can whip out their Village Vanguard matchbooks from the night in 1962 when Eric Dolphy cut loose while playing alongside John Coltrane". Then he talks about how George Benson and his handlers omitted the word jazz, when publicizing his biggest hit "Breezin'" as if it was a dirty word. Other than Zoot Sims, and Benny Goodman, and Bucky, no chapters are devoted to jazz musicians, other than JP's small groups and the musicians they played with. It's mostly about the tough business of being a singer-jazz guitarist, and having to travel 200 days a year trying to make a living. He also has a chapter on his time with Rosemary Clooney, one on touring as the opening act for Frank Sinatra's tour in his later years, his career as a rock musician, his stint as a radio DJ, his role in a musical on Broadway, his recording sessions with James Taylor and Paul McCartney, The great American Songbook, Jonathan Schwartz, NY radio stations, and a lot of funny stories. Stephen Holden of the NY Times writes a blurb on the back of the book, endorsing it. If that's your cup of tea, go for it.

Like a Scientologist keyboard player I worked with said to me on the first gig I worked with him, the week that L.Ron Hubbard died: "He didn't die; he's just away on research". How do we know Chick won't want his records back when he comes back from "research"?☠️

RIP, Claude.

There were a lot more Jazz guys from LA that lost their houses, according to a friend of mine who used to live there. What a nightmare.

that very sangry dog.

Tonight we played my chart on TMTGA, Frank's masterpiece, and it was a big disappointment. First, the trumpets didn't put on their mutes, and then argued with me that I didn't specify which mute to use. Duh, you've got to be told to use a Harmon mute in modern jazz? Then, the alto player played my transcription 'accurately' as far as my transcription of Frank's brilliant solo and playing of the melody went, but he chose to give it this cornball 'white' interpretation of it that made we want to puke. At least he got through it, the alto player in the other band had a decent interpretation of it, but didn't even make it halfway through it. It all just goes to show what a genius Frank is, and that he can't be replaced. When he's gone, he's gone...

Never can get enough of that one!

Yeah, that's how we read it.

I think he was saying that only jazz musicians appreciate his music.

When we went to see him at a club in Rye, NY. , we went up to tell him how great he sounded, and how much we loved Long Night. He just looked at us and said, "You two guys are musicians, right?" That woke me up to reality. He wound up getting a job as a Science teacher from a District Supervisor that he played club dates with. FS really played the schist out of Hava Nagila according to the Supervisor/pianist!

It's kind of ironic that he does his most incredible playing on other people's tunes, and not as incredible playing on his own tunes. That's why I wasn't that excited by "The Music of FS" album; they're not that great tunes, and the playing isn't as inspired as FS' playing on his own albums. I've written tunes and BB charts based on HLWK and TMTGA from Long Night, and even TMOTSC from that album.