Joe Guy

[Gheorghe]

Recently I listened again to those Xanadu albums with sessions from Minton´s and the many fine trumpet battles with Hot Lips Page, Roy Eldridge and Joe Guy.

I think, Joe Guy was deeply influenced by Roy, but he had some of his own ideas. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if he would have stayed on the scene.

It is interesting, that though he was some years younger than Diz or Monk, his style was a bit more traditional, but he might have been a link between the older players and those who followed, like Diz, Miles and Fats.

Miles referred to Joe Guy as "longhaired Joe". Why ? I saw a few photos, Joe Guy seemed to be a smart, well dressed musician, but not "longhaired" like the afro later in the 70´s .

I´ve read that he disappeared from the secene after he was busted for drugs. But, so many musicians served their time for drugs, like Art Pepper, Jug, Tadd, Red Rodney and many others, but they continued playing good music.

Joe Guy died "in obscurity" in Birmingham in the early 60´s . Did he play before his death, at least on a local scene, or had he stopped trumpet for good ?

Even "Little" Benny Harris, who never became "famous" and had "disappeard" from the NY scene, kept in touch with music and managed to live until 1975.

Does anybody know more about Joe Guy ?

[jeffcrom]

I don't have any more info on Joe Guy, but I've been intrigued by his playing since hearing those Minton's recordings with Charlie Christian when I was a teenager. I also recommend checking out two of his solos with big bands: "Rocky Comfort" by the Coleman Hawkins big band (their only studio session, Columbia/Okeh, 1940) and the first recording of "Epistrophy," by Cootie Williams' big band - made for Columbia in 1942, I think. These solos are very "modern" - much like Gillespie at the time - full of hints of polytonality.

[jazztrain]

This link will lead you to some information on post-Holiday activities of Joe Guy:

http://steeltoereview.com/2012/11/07/doc-the-story-of-a-birmingham-jazz-man-excerpt-by-frank-doc-adams-and-burgin-mathews/

[jazztrain]

Portions of the book mentioned in my last post are available for review here:

https://books.google.com/books?id=FYTpfp-wA5QC&pg=PR29&lpg=PR29&dq=doc,+the+story+of+a+birmingham+jazz+man&source=bl&ots=KDpG69btKh&sig=VI_tKOHUtuM7gwYyj5k10v6C_Xc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DkuLVO2VIc3uoATx84LwBQ&ved=0CFYQ6AEwDTgK#v=onepage&q=doc%2C%20the%20story%20of%20a%20birmingham%20jazz%20man&f=false

There's a photo on page 196 showing a small group including Joe Guy from sometime in the 1950s.

[JSngry]

Wow, that's some pretty touching stuff, thanks for sharing.

I've always been somewhat intrigued by Guy on those Minton's recordings also. And wasn't it him, not Cootie, who played the solo on "Fly Right" (the original recording of "Epistrophy")?

For some reason, I've been led to believe that a lot of the contemporaneous indifference/contempt towards Guy was based in his less than noble behavior with/towards Ms. Holiday. But perhaps he was kinda jerky with everybody at that time?

I wasn't there. I just know that he's not nearly as uninteresting as some liner notes writers make him out to be, nor is he quite as heroic as it sounds like he thinks he is. But hey.

[jeffcrom]

I've always been somewhat intrigued by Guy on those Minton's recordings also. And wasn't it him, not Cootie, who played the solo on "Fly Right" (the original recording of "Epistrophy")?

Yes - see post #2.

[Gheorghe]

@jazztrain:

thank you so much for those very interesting informations about the later years of Joe Guy