Overlooked pianists

[mhatta]

Ellis Larkins is rarely told nowadays, but he is without a doubt one of the piano greats in the history of jazz.  He is known as a superb accompanist, but also a great solo pianist. His left hand is legendary.

 

[Joe]

5 hours ago, mhatta said:

Ellis Larkins is rarely told nowadays, but he is without a doubt one of the piano greats in the history of jazz.  He is known as a superb accompanist, but also a great solo pianist. His left hand is legendary.

 

Also, Jimmy Jones.

 

[mhatta]

3 hours ago, Joe said:

Also, Jimmy Jones.

 

You stole my next one! ;-)  Yes, JImmy Jones is REALLY great.  It's a pity that he didn't record much as a leader.  This little-known omnibus CD features lots of Jones' fine playing, including solo piano.  Highly recommended.

[mhatta]

Al Haig was a prime bebop pianist in 40s, but I think his greatness is more lucid in his 70s "comeback" recordings.

 

[soulpope]

2 hours ago, mhatta said:

Al Haig was a prime bebop pianist in 40s, but I think his greatness is more lucid in his 70s "comeback" recordings.

 

Superb platter for sure ....

[Peter Friedman]

Milton Sealey is truly an obscure jazz piano player. The CD below is his only recording under his own name and it is very good.

All the tunes are originals and I hear influences from a wide range of players such as Herbie Nichols, Monk, Elmo Hope and others.

[Ted O'Reilly]

I recorded Milton Sealey at Café des Copains in Toronto, in what was supposed to be a solo piano performance, but he had brought along an amped bass box of some description (played with pedals a la an organ) which I hadn't anticipated.  I only had two mics, direct to digital recorder, so the bass box did naught but muddy the sound.  He didn't wish to play without it, so the end result was somewhat unsatisfactory.

On ‎03‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 9:03 AM, mhatta said:

You stole my next one! ;-)  Yes, JImmy Jones is REALLY great.  It's a pity that he didn't record much as a leader.  This little-known omnibus CD features lots of Jones' fine playing, including solo piano.  Highly recommended.

I went out of my way to get this one, on the recommendation of Gene Di Novi, who approved mightily of Jimmy Jones' solo performances, but it didn't get to me the same way...

Edited December 14, 2017 by Ted O'Reilly
add "solo"...

[king ubu]

Norris Austin anyone?

He plays on three of the seven tracks on Fathead Comes On, including a very catchy tune of his, "Cellar Groove". Newman revisited that tune 40 years later and it can be heard as the opener of his album "Davey Blue" (HighNote), which alas I don't know.

A New Orleans soul jazz group (?) that calls themselves "The Prime Ministers" has also recorded the tune:
https://www.discogs.com/The-Prime-Ministers-ReadEm-And-Weep/release/10337217
Could that 1965 album be some kind of lost gem, I wonder? (The credit doesn't turn up via discogs, I found it on Allmusic which lists composer credits for that platter)

Next, and final (?) piece is another tune, recorded on the Jazzland album of Joe Alexander's, "Brown's Town":
https://www.discogs.com/Joe-Alexander-Blue-Jubilee/release/6075891
Alas, I don't know that album yet (Fresh Sound has reissued it though). I can't quite read the print on the cover scans on the interwebs, but there's no backcover liners and the text on front only boldens (large caps, that is) the sidemen, not sure there's anything on the composers/tunes, the text is fairly short after all.

 

So, who was (is?) Norris Austin? How did he end up with David Newman on that album? A Texas homeboy?

Maybe also a nom-de-plume?

Anyone?

[Rooster_Ties]

On ‎7‎/‎22‎/‎2015 at 9:54 PM, Chuck Nessa said:

not everyone has been mentioned yet, get going folks.

Is there anybody else left to mention?

[Steve Reynolds]

2 hours ago, Rooster_Ties said:

Is there anybody else left to mention?

Agusti Fernandez 

[Д.Д.]

Was Richard Grossman mentioned? I thought his trios on Hat Hut were very interesting.  

 

[Steve Reynolds]

4 minutes ago, Д.Д. said:

Was Richard Grossman mentioned? I thought his trios on Hat Hut were very interesting.  

 

That recording is a doozy. The 18 minute + Like Godzilla is exactly that 

[EKE BBB]

On 16/10/2018 at 1:52 AM, Steve Reynolds said:

Agusti Fernandez 

Yes! 

[mhatta]

I didn't know until today that Bob Neloms passed away this year (March 2, 1942 - July 28, 2020).  R.I.P.  He is way overlooked because (I think) he retired early.

Neloms was the last pianist of the Charles Mingus group.  Recently, I obtained Mingus' Feb. 1977 live recordings at Michigan Union Ballroom, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mi.  For some reason, Dannie Richmond missed this date, so was done by the Mingus (drumless) Quartet.  Neloms simply shines.

[clifford_thornton]

I didn't know that either. Sad news.

[mjazzg]

Often wondered about his India Navigation release.  I'd pick it up if I saw it 

[Gheorghe]

15 hours ago, mhatta said:

I didn't know until today that Bob Neloms passed away this year (March 2, 1942 - July 28, 2020).  R.I.P.  He is way overlooked because (I think) he retired early.

Neloms was the last pianist of the Charles Mingus group.  Recently, I obtained Mingus' Feb. 1977 live recordings at Michigan Union Ballroom, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mi.  For some reason, Dannie Richmond missed this date, so was done by the Mingus (drumless) Quartet.  Neloms simply shines.

I have read in Brian Priestly´s biography About Mingus About that drumless Performance early in 1977. That last Mingus Group with Bob Neloms, Ricky Ford and Jack Walrath appears only on the much more over produced Studio Albums "Three or Four Shades of the Blues" and "Cumbia", together with many Studio musicians, but it´s sad to say there were no legit live Recordings of that band. I heard some soundboard tapes from Buenos Aires and from Spain from summer 1977 and they contain live versions of both title tunes of the before mentioned Albums. 

I also did not know that Bob Neloms had passed away, and I didn´t know he retired early. 

As much as I remember, Neloms came to Mingus in 1977. Between Don Pullen and Neloms, on piano was Dannie Mixon, another underrated Pianist., He can be heard on "Music for Todo Modo".....

[soulpope]

49 minutes ago, Gheorghe said:

I have read in Brian Priestly´s biography About Mingus About that drumless Performance early in 1977. That last Mingus Group with Bob Neloms, Ricky Ford and Jack Walrath appears only on the much more over produced Studio Albums "Three or Four Shades of the Blues" and "Cumbia", together with many Studio musicians, but it´s sad to say there were no legit live Recordings of that band. I heard some soundboard tapes from Buenos Aires and from Spain from summer 1977 and they contain live versions of both title tunes of the before mentioned Albums. 

I also did not know that Bob Neloms had passed away, and I didn´t know he retired early. 

As much as I remember, Neloms came to Mingus in 1977. Between Don Pullen and Neloms, on piano was Dannie Mixon, another underrated Pianist., He can be heard on "Music for Todo Modo".....

Both excellent but overlooked pianists ....

[Gheorghe]

10 minutes ago, soulpope said:

Both excellent but overlooked pianists ....

yeah and as much as I remember, Dannie Mixon was the Pianist, when they did Vienna in September 1976. Very fine !

[Dan Gould]

18 hours ago, mhatta said:

I didn't know until today that Bob Neloms passed away this year (March 2, 1942 - July 28, 2020).  R.I.P.  He is way overlooked because (I think) he retired early.

Neloms was the last pianist of the Charles Mingus group.  Recently, I obtained Mingus' Feb. 1977 live recordings at Michigan Union Ballroom, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mi.  For some reason, Dannie Richmond missed this date, so was done by the Mingus (drumless) Quartet.  Neloms simply shines.

 

18 hours ago, clifford_thornton said:

I didn't know that either. Sad news.

 

3 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

I have read in Brian Priestly´s biography About Mingus About that drumless Performance early in 1977. That last Mingus Group with Bob Neloms, Ricky Ford and Jack Walrath appears only on the much more over produced Studio Albums "Three or Four Shades of the Blues" and "Cumbia", together with many Studio musicians, but it´s sad to say there were no legit live Recordings of that band. I heard some soundboard tapes from Buenos Aires and from Spain from summer 1977 and they contain live versions of both title tunes of the before mentioned Albums. 

I also did not know that Bob Neloms had passed away, and I didn´t know he retired early. 

As much as I remember, Neloms came to Mingus in 1977. Between Don Pullen and Neloms, on piano was Dannie Mixon, another underrated Pianist., He can be heard on "Music for Todo Modo".....

Member Allen Lowe was very close with Bob and put up several posts on Facebook when he passed:

 

 

[Gheorghe]

Thanks @Dan Gould for those inside informations, very interesting. 

I also have a Bob Neloms story for you all:

Around 1980 there was a jazz festival in Austria and a 15 years old budding jazz pianist , after the sets went to the piano players to get some advices for his future. 

First he asked Ronnie Matthews, then the pianist of the Johnny Griffin quartet, and Ronnie told him:

"Don´t just play, SAY SOMETHING !"

Bob Neloms was the next pianist, I don´t remember in what formation, but after the set the young boy went to meet Bob Neloms and said to him: "Hello, Ronnie Matthews gave me the advice "don´t just play, say something", what else can you tell me ?

Bod Neloms said "Well, if you say something, take care WHAT YOU SAY"!

Edited October 12, 2020 by Gheorghe

[clifford_thornton]

Those FB posts are great. I'm not on FB anymore, so thanks for sharing them.

[soulpope]

2 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

I also have a Bob Neloms story for you all:

Around 1980 there was a jazz festival in Austria and a 15 years old budding jazz pianist , after the sets went to the piano players to get some advices for his future. 

First he asked Ronnie Matthews, then the pianist of the Johnny Griffin quartet, and Ronnie told him:

"Don´t just play, SAY SOMETHING !"

Bob Neloms was the next pianist, I don´t remember in what formation, but after the set the young boy went to meet Bob Neloms and said to him: "Hello, Ronnie Matthews gave me the advice "don´t just play, say something", what else can you tell me ?

Bod Neloms said "Well, if you say something, take care WHAT YOU SAY"!

....

[mhatta]

I recently found that Mike Wofford is an overlooked but great pianist.  This one is little known since it is a live recording in Japan and billed as "The Shelly Manne Trio".  Playing "Nardis" for (the recently deceased at that time) Bill Evans with Manne is a dauntless task...

 

[Larry Kart]

Fine player. I've got a good number of his albums.