What jazz artists need to be written about?

[Michael Fitzgerald]

We do have a great book on Detroit, by Jim Gallert, who hangs out here from time to time, and Lars Bjorn. It's titled Before Motown - and a companion CD on Uptown is in the works.

Mike

[Kalo]

JPF Posted May 20 2005, 07:26 PM

 

QUOTE(Kalo @ May 9 2005, 11:47 PM)

Off the top of my head, there are numerous Boston or Massachusetts area musicians who made indelible contributions to jazz: Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Chick Corea, Bobby Hackett, Ruby Braff, Ralph Burns, Serge Chaloff, Dick Twardzik(?), Tony Williams...

I know I'm forgetting many others.

...and Roy Haynes, Steve Kuhn, Gary Burton, Jaki Byard, Charlie Mariano, Alan Dawson, and the dean of the Boston jazz scene (because he stayed with it), Herb Pomeroy.

And slightly outside of Boston, Boots Mussulli, Frankie Capp, Don Fagerquist, Don Asher, Barbara Carroll...

Yes. I should have remembered Alan Dawson--I'm a big fan. I was lucky enough to see him play with Benny Carter at the Regattabar in Cambridge. He played an entire solo chorus on Take the A Train that was entirely coherent and beautifully musical. I didn't miss the other instruments at all.

Isn't Chick Corea from Massachusetts, too?

[Kalo]

BruceH Posted May 20 2005, 02:06 PM

 

(BTW, the fact that two of the most pre-eminent baritone sax players---Carney and Chaloff---came from Boston has long fascinated me. What does it say about the Hub, I wonder? Probably signifies nothing. Just one of those things that your mind can't help thinking about, like a tongue exploring a missing tooth.)

Well, there are a lot of blowhards around here B-)

[Adam]

Mal Waldron

[EKE BBB]

There is a book in the works that will deal with the history of jazz in Europe. It is being written by numerous authorities. This was reported to me by Francesco Martinelli when he gave a presentation on European jazz 1970-2000 a few months ago. Don't know about the language(s).

Mike

←

This could be a very interesting reading!

[EKE BBB]

Off the top of my head, there are numerous Boston or Massachusetts area musicians who made indelible contributions to jazz: Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney,

←

yes, yes, yes!!!!!

[Joe]

Gene Ammons

Hot Lips Page

Shelly Manne

Yusef Lateef

John Carter

[ghost of miles]

Henry Grimes (but Mike is taking care of that)

Frankie Newton (lengthiest piece is a pamphlet put out by a Virginia historical-society from the county of his birthplace)

A book about jazz in the 1970s in all of its manifestations

[brownie]

Shelly Manne

←

There is a superb biograph-discography-filmography of Shelly Manne - 'Sounds of a Different Drummer' written by Jack Brand - that was published in 1997 by Percussion Express (they also publish Today's Drummer).

The book led me to start a special thread on unheralded jazz books:

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...8&hl=unheralded

[Quasimado]

All the suggestions so far are good, I think. But the most necessary, most realistic in publishing terms, and most needed would be:

1: Art Blakey

2: European Jazz History (Large tome with chapters by country?)

3: Lennie Tristano (perhaps, a la Mosaic, incorporating Konitz and Marsh as well.)

4: ANDREW HILL (The one I would most like to read.)

Peter Ind has a new book on Tristano which is due out in June.

Q

Edited May 24, 2005 by Quasimado

[Michael Fitzgerald]

There has been extensive research done on Hot Lips Page by Todd Weeks - book planned, don't think anything is in place yet.

Yusef Lateef has reportedly written his autobiography (or it may be a "told to") and it needs to be edited.

Mike

[JamesJazz]

Yusef Lateef has reportedly written his autobiography (or it may be a "told to") and it needs to be edited.

Mike

←

I believe it is 'as told to' but it's kinda slim - Yusef didn't provide a lot of detail, apparently. Not sure of the current status.

[clifford_thornton]

Gigi Gryce...

[epistrophy]

<< Gigi Gryce... >>

Uh, you're kidding, right? That bio was one of the best reads of the year.

[epistrophy]

Someone early in the thread mentioned Omer Simeon. I actually worked for the same company as Simeon's grandson, who shares his name. Unfortunately I left the company before I ever had a chance to get with him for a serious discussion of Grandpa's contributions to jazz.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

I'd love to read a good book on Gigi Gryce if someone can come up with information that we missed.

Mike

[Joe]

Thanks for the info everyone. Great to hear that about Hot Lips Page...

[BruceH]

Tina Brooks

Sonny Clark

Elmo Hope

Teddy Edwards

...and is there already a book about Charlie Rouse?

[Christiern]

I'd love to read a good book on Gigi Gryce if someone can come up with information that we missed.

Mike

←

Isn't Phil Schaap working on one?

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Oops - I should have specified "accurate information that we missed" - Schaap did an on-air interview of Tommy Gryce (Gigi's brother) and was putting out all kinds of speculations and misinformation, right in front of Tommy, who quite politely let it all pass. It was sad.

Mike

[Pete C]

Gene Ammons

Yes, I actually searched for a thread like this because I think Ammons would make an interesting bio--or even better a dual bio of Albert and Gene. I've grown to love Jug. I didn't really appreciate him enough when I saw him when I was 16 (Mingus and Friends at Philharmonic Hall).

Oops - I should have specified "accurate information that we missed" - Schaap did an on-air interview of Tommy Gryce (Gigi's brother) and was putting out all kinds of speculations and misinformation, right in front of Tommy, who quite politely let it all pass. It was sad.

Mike

To paraphrase Schaap, "It may be your life, but you're WRONG!"

[Larry Kart]

Not a book, but i'm writing liner notes for an expanded reissue of an album by cornetist Don Joseph and hope to gather all the reliable info that can be found about this gifted but elusive musician, who was even more elusive than his good friend, the somewhat similar-in-style Tony Fruscella. Joseph doesn't even appear in Feather-Gitler.

[Joe]

Not a book, but i'm writing liner notes for an expanded reissue of an album by cornetist Don Joseph and hope to gather all the reliable info that can be found about this gifted but elusive musician, who was even more elusive than his good friend, the somewhat similar-in-style Tony Fruscella. Joseph doesn't even appear in Feather-Gitler.

Larry -- would this be Joseph's Uptown session? Looking forward to it, whatever it may be.

[AllenLowe]

I think that's the session with Triglia - who, as IMHO, one of the best pianists of the bebop era (same league as Haig/Wallington/Hank Jones) deserves some press, to answer the initial questions posed by this thread.

[Larry Kart]

Not a book, but i'm writing liner notes for an expanded reissue of an album by cornetist Don Joseph and hope to gather all the reliable info that can be found about this gifted but elusive musician, who was even more elusive than his good friend, the somewhat similar-in-style Tony Fruscella. Joseph doesn't even appear in Feather-Gitler.

Larry -- would this be Joseph's Uptown session? Looking forward to it, whatever it may be.

yes