Dodo Marmarosa

[JamesAHarrod]

The latest post to my JR blog features another article by Bob Dietsche. Bob visited Dodo Marmarosa in 1990.

https://jazzresearch.com/dodo-marmarosa/

 

[Chuck Nessa]

Thanks for this and all you do.

[Larry Kart]

Does anyone else know the obscure album "Jazz Up Your Life" that Dodo made in '62 in Chicago, backing talented singer Johnny Janis, with Ira Sullivan, bassist Jerry Friedman, and drummer Guy Viveros? Unreleased for years until Janis put it out on CD on his own Starwell label, it finds Dodo in fine form -- what an accompanist he was. I got my copy from Janis himself about ten years ago, but he died in 2017  at age 89, so I'm afraid that option is gone.

If you have a taste for Sinatra-quality balladering, Janis' album with Don Costa, "Once in a Blue Moon," is still available on Amazon. Hugh Hefner was a Janis fan and bankrolled the album. Before that Janis made a nice album for RCA-Victor with onetime Max Roach pianist Biily Wallace. Janis was akin in style to the late Frank D'Rone, if that rings any bells, and like D'Rone he also was a talented jazz guitarist.

[Quasimado]

In the article, Dodo says his solo on "You're Drivin' Me Crazy" with Jug is a favorite - it's easy to see why - just beautiful!  Also, I just realized that Bird does not solo at all on that take of Ornithology ...

Thanks James

Edited November 26, 2020 by Quasimado

[danasgoodstuff]

Bob Dietsche, there's a guy I used to run into around Portland, both when he owned Django's and after, but haven't seen for a long time.  His quirk was that he rarely went to hear music live, he much preferred listening to records at home.

[Dan Gould]

13 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

Thanks for this and all you do.

+1

[mikeweil]

On 25.11.2020 at 7:50 PM, JamesAHarrod said:

The latest post to my JR blog features another article by Bob Dietsche. Bob visited Dodo Marmarosa in 1990.

https://jazzresearch.com/dodo-marmarosa/

 

Fantastic post! Thank you!

[mhatta]

A good read.  Thank you for sharing!

I think Dodo's piano intro for "Relaxin' At Camarillo" from Charlie Parker's Dial Sessions has the most distinctive, almost strange sound.  The tune itself is a simple if rhythmically-tricky blues, so I believe this intro somewhat defines the character of it.  Now it became "the" intro for this tune (e.g. Tommy Flanagan always used this -- interestingly, Bud Powell never played it even if Relaxin' At Camarillo was one of his staples), so we got used to it, but still sounds very modern even in 2020.  Dodo used different intros for other takes, so I guess that's his own.  Does anyone know from where he got the idea?  Modern classical music? (Stravinsky, maybe?)

 

Edited November 27, 2020 by mhatta