Goon Gardner

[chitownjazz]

Are there any recordings of saxophonist Andrew "Goon" Gardner worth hearing? Was he pretty much a swing saxophonist or did he anticipate (or adopt) the bop language?

Edited April 14, 2010 by chitownjazz

[Chuck Nessa]

He must have spoke to bob a few times in his language.

[chitownjazz]

He must have spoke to bob a few times in his language.

I have no idea what you are talking about (now that I've corrected my original post ).

[brownie]

Have heard of him but never heard him...

According to the Lord discography, his only record appearance is on a Horace Henderson album released by IAJRC 'Horace Henderson at the Trianon Ballroom 1954'.

[Big Beat Steve]

Wasn't he in the unrecorded Earl Hines band of 1942-43? So was he possibly one of the "unruly early boppers" there or a straight swing man? What do the documents on that band say?

[Niko]

Robert Campbell and his co-workers identify Goon Gardner on numerous Sessions, they claim (and I guess they know what they're doing there) he was the only bop altoist in Chicago at the time besides Flaps Dungee; for example here in the Buster Bennett discography; most of that music can be heard on the Buster Bennett Classics CD (and here in some corners of the world, too), try Famous Door Boogie, for instance (which also can be heard on the Red Saunders Page)...

what's the verdict on the Horace Henderson CD Brownie mentioned?

[Claude Schlouch]

He played also tenor sax with the Bird:

CHARLIE PARKER

Billy Eckstine (tp), Charlie Parker (ts), Goon Gardner (ts), Hurley Ramey (g), possibly Oscar Pettiford (b), unknown drum sticks on something made of wood, spoken interjections

Savoy Hotel, Room 305, Chicago, IL, February 28, 1943

Yardin' with Yard (aka Sho shine swing; variations on "I got rhythm") (inc) 4:05

Issued on Masters of Jazz(F)MJCD 78/79, Philology(It)W 857, Stash ST-CD-535.

[brownie]

Claude Schlouch would know, of course!

If it's really Goon Gardner on that jam, then I have heard him! It took both Doug Pomeroy and John R.T. Davies to produce adequate sound for those acetates for their initial release on the Stash album 'Charlie Parker - The Birth of the Bebop'.

[Joe]

I seem to recall Gardner being name-checked as an important influence or early favorite by Gigi Gryce in the liner notes to one of his Prestige dates (RAT RACE BLUES, maybe?)

[Big Beat Steve]

I seem to recall Gardner being name-checked as an important influence or early favorite by Gigi Gryce in the liner notes to one of his Prestige dates (RAT RACE BLUES, maybe?)

About the influences on Gryce as mentioned in these liner notes:

"Four in particular come to Gryce's mind, and he feels that mention should be made of them somewhere so that others may know. ... Then there is Goon Gardner of the Earl Hines band, and Gigi gives some idea of his prowess by saying that because he had the alto chair with Hines, Parker, when he joined the band, was asked to play tenor."

[chitownjazz]

Thanks for the replies. Are there any solos lengthy enough to get a sense of where he was coming from stylistically?