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The Chicago music scene in the 60s/70s


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A few years after he made his Argo albums, maybe 1965 or so, Clarence Shaw had a nice litle combo, himself and a rhythm section (don't recall the players' names), that worked fairly regularly at a Wells St. club (not the Plugged Nickel, not the Brown Shoe, it was close to the corner of North Ave. and Wells on the east side of the street). Shaw was in great form at the time. I recall a detailed, enthusiastic John Litweiler Caught in the Act review of the band in Down Beat.

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I seem to recall inexpensive weekend matinees at the Plugged Nickel. B.B. King once appeared on a Sunday afternoon in 1966, a gig that pre-dated his breakthrough at the Filmore. Another stand-out show was Betty Carter at the Quiet Knight, I think it was in '77. It remains one of the most exciting performances I've ever seen.

Edited by a.j. zeitlin
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I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I'm familiar with the AEC only from a few of their ECM albums - which I generally dig. How do those compare with their earlier albums? From what I've read, their earlier recordings sound "freer" and that's partly what's kept me away from them. I remember hearing the one (on DIY?) that they did with Cecil Taylor and that one I didn't like so much...

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db 10/17/68 p.32 -

Gene Shaw at the Hungry Eye, Chicago

Shaw, trumpet; Bobby Pierce, organ; Fred Stoll, drums

A few quotes -

"Shaw, it seems clear by now, is one of the outstanding trumpeters of his generation, in fact, one of only two or three to survive the hard bop era as genuinely successful artists."

"It totaled nearly three hours of continuous music, broken only by one of the shortest intermissions in Chicago night-club history."

"This Hungry Eye gig marks Shaw's second return to jazz, following two years of serious religious study."

Mike

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George Lewis recently published a 57-page article in Current Musicology (numbers 71-73). The title is "Experimental Muisc in Black and White: The AACM in New York, 1970-1985."

If you are interested in this (and you should be, it's a 550-page gem, including stuff on Rudy Van Gelder, Lee Morgan, Miles Davis, Django Reinhardt, a 20-page review of the Ken Burns show, and much more), email current-musicology@columbia.edu

Mike

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db 10/17/68 p.32 -

Gene Shaw at the Hungry Eye, Chicago

Shaw, trumpet; Bobby Pierce, organ; Fred Stoll, drums

A few quotes -

"Shaw, it seems clear by now, is one of the outstanding trumpeters of his generation, in fact, one of only two or three to survive the hard bop era as genuinely successful artists."

"It totaled nearly three hours of continuous music, broken only by one of the shortest intermissions in Chicago night-club history."

"This Hungry Eye gig marks Shaw's second return to jazz, following two years of serious religious study."

Mike

He may have played at the Hungry Eye, but my memories are further north on Wells St. for the "regular" gig.

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I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I'm familiar with the AEC only from a few of their ECM albums - which I generally dig. How do those compare with their earlier albums? From what I've read, their earlier recordings sound "freer" and that's partly what's kept me away from them. I remember hearing the one (on DIY?) that they did with Cecil Taylor and that one I didn't like so much...

I suggest you stay away from the stuff on my label.

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George Lewis recently published a 57-page article in Current Musicology (numbers 71-73). The title is "Experimental Muisc in Black and White: The AACM in New York, 1970-1985."

If you are interested in this (and you should be, it's a 550-page gem, including stuff on Rudy Van Gelder, Lee Morgan, Miles Davis, Django Reinhardt, a 20-page review of the Ken Burns show, and much more), email current-musicology@columbia.edu

Mike

Thank MF, I will. :)

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No one has ever turned up any recorded evidence of Ike Day other than that one 1949 Ammons date for Aristocrat/Chess, correct? Broadcasts? Bootlegs? Anything?

[i'll answer my own question -

http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/archia.html

proposes that Day is on the Tom Archia material recorded live at the Pershing in 1948. I'll have to pick up that Archia CD on Classics.]

Mike

Ike Day is not on any of the tracks on the Tom Archia 1947-1948 Classics CD.

Trust you know the CD has all the titles recorded by Archia under his name for Aristocrat and Chess except for an October 1947 session by blues singer Andrew Tibbs with the Archia band but includes two sides issued as 'Skeetz Van & his Orchestra' (with Archia and Gene Ammons) and tracks by 'Doc' Jo Jo Adams with the Tom Archia All Stars!

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Is that based on what the liner notes say or something else? The RSRF site I referenced seems to have better information. If I recall correctly, they were the guys who supplied the material for the CD to begin with. Check out their rationale for it being Ike Day. I haven't heard all this stuff, just some, but I tend to trust them - they're fanatics.

Mike

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Classics 5006 has Ike Day with a question mark in the personnel listed for the early 1948 Pershing Ballroom tracks (Hey Tom Archia, McKie's Jam for Boppers, Come Back to Sorrento, Bronzeville Swing).

The two other sides from the Pershing Ballroom in the Archia discography (Cabbage Head, 1 and 2) are listed on the Classics CD as having been recorded in July 1948 in Chicagor for Aristocrat. Personnel listed is

'Doc' Jo Jo Adams with Tom Archia's All Stars: vocal acc. by Gail Brockman ?-t/Tom Archia-ts/Willie Jones ?-p/Lowell Pointer ?-b/Hendu Henderson ?-d.

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George Lewis recently published a 57-page article in Current Musicology (numbers 71-73). The title is "Experimental Muisc in Black and White: The AACM in New York, 1970-1985."

If you are interested in this (and you should be, it's a 550-page gem, including stuff on Rudy Van Gelder, Lee Morgan, Miles Davis, Django Reinhardt, a 20-page review of the Ken Burns show, and much more), email current-musicology@columbia.edu

Mike

Whoa! $40 bucks for that bad boy. Out of my price range right now unfortunately. Anybody got a Xerox machine and a postage stamp available?

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George Lewis recently published a 57-page article in Current Musicology (numbers 71-73). The title is "Experimental Muisc in Black and White: The AACM in New York, 1970-1985."

If you are interested in this (and you should be, it's a 550-page gem, including stuff on Rudy Van Gelder, Lee Morgan, Miles Davis, Django Reinhardt, a 20-page review of the Ken Burns show, and much more), email current-musicology@columbia.edu

Mike

Wait, I don't understand, is it a 57 page article or a 550 page book?

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It's both! A non-dairy dessert topping and a floor wax!

Current Musicology is a periodical, an academic journal. This special jazz studies issue (it's a combined issue - numbers 71-73: spring 2001-spring 2002) is 550 pages total. So, yeah, it's a book! There are over 25 articles. Some of the articles are huge - the Lewis AACM one is 57 pages, the one on Lee Morgan is like 21.

Oh, and there's a great article on jazz biographies by Evan Spring. It is sort of a detailed review of 6 books (on Roland Kirk, Charles Mingus, Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins, Mary Lou Williams, Warne Marsh), but sort of a general rant about the bad (and good) in the state of biography.

Mike

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  • 2 years later...

What was Von doing in Vegas? Gigging?

I recall seeing a Cadet LP of a couple of singers, a live recording in Vegas, up on Ebay and being quite surprised to see Von listed in the backing group. I checked out the Argo/Cadet discography and if I remember correctly, this was the album:

LP*-4057 - Carryin' On - Milt Trenier & Micki Lynn [1967]

So I'd say the answer, Jim, is that Von *was* gigging in Vegas

EDIT:

Pretty sure I'm right, here's an image of the album cover:

lp_carryin_on.jpg

Von had toured for years with the Treniers. In the late '60s he was in Milt Trenier's lounge act at Caesar's Palace. Cadet issued a live date called "Carryin' On". Recorded 3/22/67, the band was Danny Long (p), Von (ts), Joe Diorio (g), Jimmy Johnson (B) and Frank Shea (d). This is Cadet 4057.

I believe Chico was mostly raised by his mother and didn't have regular exposure to Von until his return to Chicago.

Wilbur was too individual to be considered an Ike Day heir.

Hey Chuck, is the album worth hearing?

Depends on your tolerance for the "show business".

I've had the pleasure of checking this one out for a few weeks now, and find Chuck's evaluation spot on. Considering that this is "show business" of the old-school variety (meaning professionalism of the highest level, and the preference for hard work over gimmickry as a tool to win an audience), I've got no problem saying that it's a pretty groovy side, all things considered.

And to hear Von on "Call Me" is just too damn cool for words. Just two eight bar intervals, but WHOA! I spent abut two hours last night playing that one little segment over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over

and over.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what a lounge gig should be!

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And oh by the way - who is/was Micki Lynn and what's her story? The way she says "I'm a GOOD girl" at the end of that one medley is just plain ol' freaky, and the way she leans into Von's opening note on "Call Me" suggests a lady who knew what time it was, even if, perhaps, her train left on a different track than his.

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