Al Haig - Duke 'n' Bird

[blind-blake]

Anybody have a copy of this for sale or trade? Any kind of copy will do (wink wink). It seems to be long out of print. Thanks in advance.

[RDK]

Turned up on emusic this morning

[Chuck Nessa]

wink wink

[AllenLowe]

I never thought that was his best work -

[Teasing the Korean]

I never thought that was his best work -

Yeah, the stuff he did with Reagan really takes the cake.

[John L]

I never thought that was his best work -

What do you consider to be his best work, Allen?

[AllenLowe]

1946-54; the trio stuff from '53 or '54. Much as Haig was a friend, his later work suffered from some problems - he seemed to have lost the great continuity and density of his best bebop playing. Some of it was an attempt to be "contemporary," I think, and he may have lost some edge during his alcoholic/wandering years, sadly. I do think Barry Harris was right when he told me one night (we were discussing Haig and a few others on a car ride from NYC to Connecticut) that "I think a lot of musicians, when Bird died, lost their way, didn't know what to do next."

on the other hand, as I heard him night after night, there were times when he caught that edge, and hearing him in person was much different, as he was such a great musician that certain things he did, musically, made up for other deficits; and he had one of the most beautiful and pure sounds I have ever heard on the piano. The club One Fifth (in NYC) had an amazing 9 foot Steinway and it was particulary gratifying to hear him on that instrument -

Edited October 24, 2008 by AllenLowe

[blind-blake]

Turned up on emusic this morning

Great news! Thanks!

[John L]

1946-54; the trio stuff from '53 or '54. Much as Haig was a friend, his later work suffered from some problems - he seemed to have lost the great continuity and density of his best bebop playing. Some of it was an attempt to be "contemporary," I think, and he may have lost some edge during his alcoholic/wandering years, sadly. I do think Barry Harris was right when he told me one night (we were discussing Haig and a few others on a car ride from NYC to Connecticut) that "I think a lot of musicians, when Bird died, lost their way, didn't know what to do next."

on the other hand, as I heard him night after night, there were times when he caught that edge, and hearing him in person was much different, as he was such a great musician that certain things he did, musically, made up for other deficits; and he had one of the most beautiful and pure sounds I have ever heard on the piano. The club One Fifth (in NYC) had an amazing 9 foot Steinway and it was particulary gratifying to hear him on that instrument -

Thanks, Allen. The trio recordings from the 50s are what I usually reach for as well.

[AllenLowe]

yeah, Haig was still a terrific musician and great accompanist in the '70s, but somewhere along the line the fire sorta went out - I hesitate to say this but I think post-alcoholic syndrome may have had a little bit to do with this, as he often lost the continuity in his playing in a way I have heard other pianists lose it - and I mean pianists (and one in particular) with whom I worked and who, though sober, had lost some essential ingredient to their playing -

[BillF]

I saw Al Haig once in the seventies - can't say I heard him though! He was on at a Manchester club called The Band on the Wall and I arrived to find the place packed to the doors. At the other side of a sea of people a completely inaudible Haig could just be seen at the piano! Nice he could still draw an audience of that size, I suppose!

[AllenLowe]

he was still a consummate musician - and hearing him in person was an altogether different thing than hearing him on a record - his touch, his taste, his SOUND, were all intact still, and these came through best when one was in the same room as him -

[Ken Dryden]

It case it wasn't apparent, Duke 'N' Bird was just reissued on CD by Test of Time (a 441 subsidiary).

[BillF]

he was still a consummate musician - and hearing him in person was an altogether different thing than hearing him on a record - his touch, his taste, his SOUND, were all intact still, and these came through best when one was in the same room as him -

Trouble is, I never quite got into the room!

[Denis]

I love Al's work with Bird of course. Those air checks from the Roost are a treasure.

Also his work with Stan Getz is beautiful.

I caught Al in New York in the mid seventies at Gregory's. That place was so noisy.

At the end of the set he just walked out of the club. So I started running after him.

I wanted to talk. But he lost me in no time. I guess he was running faster.

Denis