Larry Young

[bertrand]

(I did a search on Larry Young going back 6 months before posting this, so don't shoot me).

Something caught my eye in this month's DB (page 18).

January 23 was Larry Young day in Jersey. There will also be a festival on Memorial day in Atlantic City (?!?), and there is a new website which seems to have been started by his son (larryyoungmusic.com).

Add to that this article which I was made aware of a little while back:

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=16789

Enough news to keep any Larry Young fan happy for a while.

Bertrand.

[mikeweil]

This interview makes for a great read - thanks much for linking this!

[king ubu]

Great read indeed, thanks!

[Jim Alfredson]

ND: On piano, man. Yeah, all the times that we worked around Paris, specially at the Chat qui Péché, he played piano. On one occasion I remember him playing both piano and organ for a recording we made for a Parisian company, Pathe Marconi. Recently I was talking to Woody’s son and Larry’s son, because they had both been in touch with me about their fathers, you know, to get pictures, find information about their careers and I told them about this recording date. Pathe Marconi came in a recorded us live at the Chat qui Péché every night for about 10 days and got some helluva stuff I remember. But it never came out - they just kept it in the vault. And on these recordings we requested an organ and piano, so Larry’s played both.

This guy who produced it, Michelle, I saw him a few years back when I was appearing with the Paris Reunion Band at the Antibes Jazz Festival. I asked him about the recording and he said, “Well, I’m not there any more, but it’s there in the archives of Pathe Marconi.” I was fortunate enough to hear a few of the tracks before I left Paris, and it was some of the best stuff I had ever heard.

Ok then, so how do we go about getting this stuff out?

[Kari S]

Yeah Woody was staying in Paris and asked Larry to come join him with some Parisians in a band. I think they were something like a house band at some point.

[brownie]

I heard the Woody Shaw-Nathan Davis group several times at the Chat Qui Pèche club on the Rue de la Huchette. Larry Young was on piano and Billy Brooks on drums, Jacky Samson was usually on bass. There was little room (and not enough money) for an organ in the cellar so Larry Young played piano only!

The interview refers to Madame Ricard as owning 'the Chateau Paris'. No idea what this refers to!

Madame Ricard was no 'Madame' but a true French Resistance heroine. She looked a little like Edith Piaf and was hardly taller than the singer. She may have been petite, but she was a great Lady!

I miss the evenings at the Chat Qui Pèche!

Edited March 7, 2006 by brownie

[bertrand]

Brownie,

There is an interview in Jazz magazine by Maurice-Louis Blanc (did you know him?) and he also claims he taped this band during the gig. There is a photo in this article (or another article I have) where Larry is on organ. Did they ever play another club, or did they squeeze in an organ eventually?

I do have a 19-minute performance (bad audio, great music) of 'Zoltan' (it's definitely Woody and Larry, and probably Davis and Brooks). This seems to be a radio broadcast, since Andre Francis pops in at the end and hilariously identifies the tune as 'Scotch Blues'. Again, Larry is on organ.

I have already started some inquiries into finding these tapes. We have already hit one snag: we thought we knew who Michel(le) was, but it's not who we thought it was. Brownie, any suggestions other than our mutual friend Michel who worked for Sony but not Pathe-Marconi?

If these tapes exist, we will find them. I don't think anyone will have any objection to their release; obviously not Nathan Davis.

Bertrand.

Edited March 7, 2006 by bertrand

[Jim Alfredson]

It seems like Nathan Davis, from that article, knows who the person is.

[brownie]

I have already started some inquiries into finding these tapes. We have already hit one snag: we thought we knew who Michel(le) was, but it's not who we thought it was. Brownie, any suggestions other than out mutual friend Michel who worked for Sony but not Pathe-Marconi?

If these tapes exist, we will find them. I don't think anyone will have any objection to their release; obviously not Nathan Davis.

Bertrand.

I have several Michel in mind. I'll try to find out more!

Not familiar with Maurice-Louis Blanc.

As for Larry Young on organ, I heard that Woody Shaw/Nathan Davis group at a party at the Club Saint-Germain (can't remember when exactly, probably 1967!?!) and Larry Young was playing organ then!

They probably could also have squeezed the organ at the Chat Qui Pèche but I missed that

[bertrand]

Hmmm...

The plot thickens. If there was no organ at the 'fishing cat', then where was the 'Zoltan' I have recorded? Perhaps I need to ask Andre Francis. I know he retired. He is still living, correct?

Jim,

I don't think Nathan Davis knows the last name of this Michel, at least from what I am reading.

Bertrand.

[brownie]

Hmmm...

The plot thickens. If there was no organ at the 'fishing cat', then where was the 'Zoltan' I have recorded? Perhaps I need to ask Andre Francis. I know he retired. He is still living, correct?

Bertrand, I did not say there was no organ at the Fishing Cat. All I said was that I did not see (and hear) one. But I was not there as often as I had wished and may have missed if and when one organ was brought down to the cellar!

As for André Francis, he has indeed retired but keeps busy with the 'Trésors du Jazz' CityJazz series he produces.

[Jim Alfredson]

Nathan Davis: This guy who produced it, Michelle, I saw him a few years back when I was appearing with the Paris Reunion Band at the Antibes Jazz Festival. I asked him about the recording and he said, “Well, I’m not there any more, but it’s there in the archives of Pathe Marconi.” I was fortunate enough to hear a few of the tracks before I left Paris, and it was some of the best stuff I had ever heard.

There's your lead right there. Davis might not know his last name, but he knows who he is and he knows that he appeared with the Paris Reunion Band at the Antibes Jazz Festival.

[bertrand]

Something came up, and I'm going to hold off on getting involved in this for a while at least.

I've shared all the info I have with the 'powers that be', so there's not much more I can do.

Bertrand.

[johnagrandy]

Does Pathe Marconi still exist ? If not , what has become of the archives ? Have they been acquired by another entity? Owners ... partners ... rights holders ... producers ... agents ... employees of any kind ... anyone who can trace the history ?

[brownie]

Pathé-Marconi is now part of the EMI conglomerate.

EMI released a series 'Americans Swinging in Paris' several years ago that included Pathé-Marconi sessions by James Moody, Kenny Clarke, Don Byas, Mezz Mezzrow, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Phil Woods, etc... but no Nathan Davis!