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Jazz Inside Magazine

ISSN: 2150-3419 (print) • ISSN 2150-3427 (online)

September-October 2018 – Volume 9, Number 7

Cover Photo and photo at right of Richard Wyands

By Ken Weiss

Publisher: Eric Nemeyer Editor: Wendi Li Marketing Director: Cheryl Powers Advertising Sales & Marketing: Eric Nemeyer Circulation: Susan Brodsky Photo Editor: Joe Patitucci Layout and Design: Gail Gentry Contributing Photographers: Eric Nemeyer, Ken Weiss Contributing Writers: John Alexander, John R. Barrett, Curtis Daven-port; Alex Henderson; Joe Patitucci; Ken Weiss.

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CONTENTSCONTENTS

CLUBS, CONCERTS, EVENTSCLUBS, CONCERTS, EVENTS 13 Calendar of Events 18 Clubs & Venue Listings

4 Richard Wyands by Ken Weiss

Jazz History FEATUREJazz History FEATURE 32 Clifford Brown, Pt. 3 by John R. Barrett

INTERVIEWSINTERVIEWS 20 Scott Robinson (Jazz Standard, 10/31) 24 Matt Robinson (Dizzy’s, 10/12-13)

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By Ken Weiss

Pianist Richard Wyands (b. July 2, 1928, Oak-

land, CA), who turned 90-years-old a few weeks

after this interview, has spent the bulk of his

career as one of the most highly sought-after

jazz sidemen. He’s comfortable playing most

jazz genres and is known for his consistency,

dependability, flexibility, and especially for his

very tasteful piano work. He’s developed his

skills as a listener and has concentrated on or-

ganically deepening the music at hand in place

of impressing with showy piano chops. Wyands

has accompanied Ella Fitzgerald, Carman

McRae, Anita O’Day, Gigi Gryce, Roy Haynes,

Charles Mingus, Oliver Nelson, Etta Jones, Ed-

die “Lockjaw” Davis, Gene Ammons, Freddie

Hubbard, Zoot Sims, Benny Carter, Illinois

Jacquet, and was a mainstay with Kenny Burrell

for many years. This interview took place on

May 25, 2018 at his home of over 50-years on

Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The piece ends

with a little anecdote from Wyands’ wife, Leono-

ra, who was kind enough to relate how she met

her husband.

Jazz Inside Magazine: There’s few who have

played this music professionally longer than you

have. You’re turning ninety in less than five

weeks and you’ve been performing for seventy-

four- years. What do you attribute your longevi-

ty to?

Richard Wyands: This may sound strange but

living on the West Coast as long as I did may

have had a lot to do with it. My life was pretty

well laid out for me. The Bay Area was very

nice to live in. I went to school there, grammar

school through San Francisco State College. I

have no way to explain my longevity except to

say perhaps clean living. I never got busted or

went to jail. I’ve traveled all over the world and

I’ve never had any problems with people. May-

be I was just lucky but I did pretty well. I’ve had

a lot of good friends, a lot of musician friends,

and my parents and family were very good. I’ve

been married to my wife for over fifty years and

we’ve never had any problems. I didn’t get mar-

ried until I came to New York. I decided I want-

ed to see a lot of the world before I got into a

marriage situation and that worked out perfectly.

Some of my friends didn’t do too well in that

respect.

JI: At this point, you’ve cut back your perfor-

mances. You have a steady Thursday night trio

gig at the 75 Club in Lower Manhattan with

Lisle Atkinson and Leroy Williams. How is it to

still have people want to hear you play at age

89?

RW: I’m sort of semi-retired. Things aren’t like

they used to be, I don’t travel very far. I used to

travel all over the world but there’s no place to

go to that I haven’t already been to. I’ve seen

enough. And a lot of the musicians I performed

with are no longer with us. I don’t go out to

clubs anymore, there aren’t that many New York

City jazz clubs left, but I’d still rather be here

than any place else. I still feel good playing with

my trio. The two musicians who are working

with me, we’ve known each other for many,

many years. We like each other, really, very

much so. They feel about things just about the

same as I do. That’s one reason why we get

along. Musically we get along fine, and that

means a lot. You gotta play with somebody who

you can communicate with easily and that some-

times is not so easy. Fortunately, I’ve managed

to get along with musicians.

JI: If you had to choose between a great bassist

or a great drummer in your trio, which would be

more important to you?

RW: That’s hard to say but I’ll say a great bass-

ist. I’ve done a lot of duo work with just bass

and piano and you can’t have a duo with just

drums and piano, although I’ve done that in the

old days, like in the ‘30s and even ‘40s. I used to

do that but it’s a little rough, it sounds strange.

Bass is very important. Drums are important too

and I’ve played with some great drummers in-

cluding Buddy Rich.

JI: What was it like to play with Buddy Rich?

RW: That was a trio with no bass, Flip Phillips

was the horn player. Buddy Rich, that was very

interesting. We played at a club in San Francisco

named the Black Hawk. I played there from

1950 to 1955 with various people. Buddy Rich,

a great drummer, but we never had much to say

to each other, strangely enough. We never even

had a conversation. We worked together for a

week and he never said hello. I was replacing

Hank Jones, who called me at the last moment to

make the gig because he couldn’t. Flip Phillips

was a pretty good friend however, we did a lot

of things together.

JI: So how is it to play in an intimate setting

with someone who you don’t have any relation-

ship with?

RW: Sometimes it’s not so good, it all depends

on who the people are. I used to try to get along

with everybody somehow, musically especially.

Like I said, Buddy didn’t have much to say and

he and Flip Phillips were having some problems.

JI: What kind of problems?

RW: I don’t know, which one was the leader, to

start off with. I believe Flip was supposed to be

the leader in that trio. Buddy could be a little

difficult, [Laughs] but I admired him as a musi-

cian. He really could play. That was a hard

group, but I managed. I’ve managed to get

through situations that seemed almost impossi-

ble, musically speaking. Personally getting along

with musicians could be a little difficult. I had to

work at being good without losing my mind with

some of the musicians you had to deal with. I

worked with a lot of singers who could be diffi-

cult, I’m not gonna mention any names, but very

difficult. But I managed, and in this business,

you have to do that, otherwise you’ll lose your

mind.

JI: You’ve played with many of the greatest

musicians in jazz history. In what setting do you

“I’ve managed to get through situations that seemed almost impossible, musically

speaking. Personally getting along with mu-sicians could be a little difficult. I had to

work at being good without losing my mind with some of the musicians you had to deal

with. I worked with a lot of singers who could be difficult, I’m not gonna mention

Richard Wyands

Got To Be Listenable

INTERVIEWINTERVIEW


feel produced your most important music?

RW: It’s hard to say. I’ve often thought of all

the groups, all the different musicians that I’ve

performed with, and some of it was difficult,

very difficult. I spent a lot of time with Kenny

Burrell. Guitar and piano can be very difficult at

times, they get in each other’s way harmonical-

ly. It’s not easy, but I managed to keep things

balanced between the two of us, or whatever

guitarists I’d be working with. Actually, I really

didn’t want to work with guitar players. In the

early days of my career, playing with a guitarist

wasn’t so difficult, it wasn’t so complicated. To

have a trio like the Nat King Cole Trio, that was

easy, but as things progressed harmonically, it

became a little difficult to work with a guitarist.

But I worked with a lot of different guitarists

successfully. At one point, I decided I’d try to

avoid working with guitar players. [Laughs] I

didn’t care how good they were. The better they

were, the harder it was.

JI: Who was the most creative musician you’ve

ever worked with? You played with so many of

the greats.

RW: I don’t know, it would take me some time

to answer that question. I wish I could answer

that. I wouldn’t say it was a singer, I was usually

the teacher when it involved a singer. The piano

player was the main man for all the singers I

performed with. They were great singers. Car-

man McRae, she was good because she was also

a pianist. She could play piano and she knew her

music. Ella Fitzgerald didn’t play piano, but she

was easy to work with. She would listen and you

could explain things to her easily. But she was

so great in her own right, she didn’t need much

help. [Laughs] Really she was something else,

that’s all I can say. I worked with male singers at

times, but mostly female.

JI: Can you recall your most memorable perfor-

mance or musical experience?

RW: I did a record with Oliver Nelson’s big

band that was outstanding - the arrangements,

my performance, and the band. There was only

one thing wrong - they never released the record.

[Laughs] Kenny Burrell was the leader and he

said he didn’t like the way he played and he

wasn’t gonna let this record be released. And

everybody in the band couldn’t believe what he

was saying. What? There were great arrange-

ments and he played good, everybody played

good, but he said it was not going to be released.

I think the label was Prestige. I was very disap-

pointed. How could he? That was one of the

better records I played on. Oliver Nelson was an

excellent arranger and player. I’m still friends

with Kenny but I still think how could he do

that? How did that record company allow that to

happen? They had to pay a lot of money to have

this record produced. I’ve been trying to find

that record, to find out if it ever was released.

That’s enough of that. I thought some of my

own records were pretty good.

JI: Was there someone who hired or wanted to

hire you that most surprised you?

RW: No. Most of the people who hired me for

dates were crazy about my playing, otherwise

they would have hired somebody else. That’s the

way I look at it. There were certainly enough

other people to hire, all kinds of people.

JI: Was there a pivotal event that turned you

towards a musical career?

RW: Not really. I wanted to study music when I

was about seven-years-old. I wanted to play

piano. I played classical music first and then I

decided I wanted to play jazz. I listened to the

radio – Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Teddy

Wilson, oh wow. I wanted to play jazz piano like

them and be a band leader. My mother was very

interested in jazz. She bought jazz records for

me and a little turntable to play them on. My

father wasn’t interested in jazz, all he wanted to

do with it was to dance. He loved to dance. My

mother was very important in the expansion of

my career.

JI: After starting with classical music, you had

to find a jazz teacher on your own.

RW: Right, I was in junior high school and I

studied with one of the West Coast jazz pianists

by the name of Wilbert Baranco. He had a six-

month course. He said,” Richard, this is it. All I

can teach you is gonna last only six months,”

and he was right. He lived in walking distance

from my house and I walked there once a week.

That’s all I needed and soon I was playing in

lots of San Francisco’s clubs. Things were easy.

I was able to play pretty good piano in high

school. If you look at that 1945 photo on the

wall there, that was our last jazz group in high

school. The government hired us, I don’t re-

member if we ever got paid, but we’d go to Ar-

my and Navy bases and play for the service men

and they enjoyed it. In those days, it was great.

We were pretty good. I was only sixteen at the

time. After I had had two piano teachers, I de-

cided that I didn’t need any more teachers, and

my mother agreed with me. She listened to me. I

was still also playing drums at that time, and I

was good. I would have been a good drummer

but she wasn’t gonna buy me drums.

JI: You mentioned your interest in drumming.

It’s very impressive that you took lessons from

Johnny Otis, the singer/musician/talent scout

who was known as “The Original King of Rock

& Roll,” and “The Godfather of R & B.”

RW: Johnny Veliotes was really his name but

he shortened his last name to Otis. He was

Greek. He lived a few blocks from me so I asked

him if he would teach me, which he did, until he

decided to be a singer and left Berkeley, Califor-

nia and moved to Los Angeles and got his big

band together.

JI: Do you think your knowledge of drumming

helps your piano playing?

RW: Yes, definitely. I paid a lot of attention to

drums, even in my early years when studying

piano. Percussion was very important to me.

JI: You graduated with a degree in music from

San Francisco State College but there was no

official jazz professors there at the time. How

did you get a jazz education there?

RW: I went to college and played in the college

orchestras and bands and then we finally got a

professor who was interested in jazz so I had a

couple courses in jazz. He didn’t really teach

jazz, it was just you write your arrangements and

we’ll play them. The teacher wasn’t much of a

jazz player himself, but that really helped my

(Continued on page 8)

Richard Wyands

“I wouldn’t play in a free-type jazz group, I know that. I have but it’s not easy. I’d rather have things in a more organized, or at least what appears to be a more organized setting. I’ve been in all kinds of

groups where the bandleader just stomps the tem-po off and says, ‘Okay, one, two, one,’ and you go

for yourself, [Laughs] which is not my idea for something musical. I have to have it more orga-

nized. I wouldn’t think about playing in a musical group like that. No, no, no, no. I like organization.”


career.

JI: How did you learn to improvise?

RW: I learned like most jazz musicians then,

you just learned on your own somehow. You

listened to records, went to see bands play, you

talked to musicians. That was then, now it’s a

different scene. There were no courses in jazz at

San Francisco State College but a number of

jazz musicians went there because it was inex-

pensive.

JI: Your classmates at SFSC included Jerome

Richardson, Cal Tjader and briefly Paul Des-

mond.

RW: Right, we worked together. I worked in a

group with Paul Desmond, that was before he

was with Dave Brubeck. Jerome Richardson

lived around the corner from me in Berkeley and

we got to be pretty good friends. I made my first

recording in a band with Jerome that was led by

saxophonist Quedelis Martin.

JI: You had to perform around the Bay Area

during college in order to survive, finding work

in strip clubs. What did you parents think of that

and what memories come to mind?

RW: I never told them. [Laughs] I didn’t tell

them I was working in strip clubs. That was

unnecessary, why tell them that? They weren’t

going to be there anyhow. They just took my

word for it that I was working in jazz clubs, but

quite a few of them were strip clubs. I just

played for strippers, it was no big deal. I certain-

ly wasn’t going to invite my parents over to see

me play in these clubs. Oh, boy, those strip

clubs, there were so many strippers, you would-

n’t believe it. They’d have like fifteen or twenty

strippers in one club, and they wanted jazz,

that’s why they hired us to play for them to do

their striptease. I was young, I looked like a little

kid, they used to call me “Youngblood,” but San

Francisco was different, the police didn’t bother

you. That was work, that was employment. We

played whatever songs they wanted. There was-

n’t any music to read so I could spend my time

watching them. That’s way back.

JI: Because you were gigging so late into the

night during college, you often were operating

on only four hours of sleep. How were you able

to fit in school and gigging?

RW: I did what I had to do. The San Francisco

clubs closed at 2 AM, it wasn’t as late as in oth-

er cities. I was nineteen and going to college

while living in Berkeley. I was doing well

enough to buy my own used car.

JI: By the time you finished college in 1950,

bebop was well-established and the swing era

was fading. What was your reaction to hearing

bebop the first time?

RW: I loved it. I’m trying to think what bands I

heard first. Duke Ellington wasn’t a bebop band.

Count Basie’s, close but ... the soloists were

bebop players. My mother used to take me to the

Oakland Auditorium to hear these bands. I re-

member the first time I heard Dizzy Gillespie’s

big band in 1946. Oh, boy, that was an event. I

never will forget that, oh, man. I could get into

dance halls when I was young, as long as I was-

n’t being served alcohol. I saw all those great

bands.

JI: How was it to hear a recording of yourself

on the radio for the first time?

RW: Well, I wasn’t playing exactly like I want-

ed to play. I couldn’t play bebop at that time, not

really. My style was a little older than what I

originally got to. I didn’t sound like Bud Powell.

I figured I’d get to it sooner or later. [Laughs]

JI: At what point did you feel confident as a

bebop player?

RW: [Laughs] I don’t know whether I ever did.

Most of the musicians were trying to play bebop

and I played with these bands. After World War

II there was a shortage of musicians so they took

anybody they could get. I was pretty young but

they said, “Okay, Richard, we want you to be in

our band.” I ended up playing better than they

did, solo-wise. They had more experience play-

ing in big bands because of the service bands. I

hung out with them, went on jobs with them, and

we tried to play bebop and modern jazz, and the

people liked it. That’s what they wanted to hear.

We played blues and all sorts of stuff, every-

thing under the sun. I liked it. I had to learn how

to play everything, all kinds of styles, or I

wouldn’t work. Things have changed a lot since

then. That was a great era. At the end of World

War II there were a lot of clubs, even in San

Francisco, where the bands played so-called

modern jazz. We tried to play like Charlie Par-

ker and Bud Powell.

JI: What was your experience seeing Charlie

Parker play?

RW: I was thrilled. I just stood there watching.

JI: You found work in the early ‘50s as sort of

the house pianist for San Francisco’s historic

Black Hawk club. Talk about that time.

RW: I was there with bassist Vernon Alley. The

club had been there but they decided they want-

ed to hear a different kind of music in the club

so they hired Vernon to bring his group in there.

There were two bands – our band and a group

that was playing some old-time music. They

weren’t bad but finally the club decided to hire

only modern jazz groups, including us. I guess I

was hired, not because I was that good, there just

weren’t that many piano players that could play

that style of music in 1945-’46. Vernon Alley

hired me when I was eighteen-years-old and I

stayed with him quite a while. The Black Hawk

was not a very interesting looking place but I

spent a lot of time there. I saw all kinds of stars

there and met so many people.

JI: One of the people you played opposite at the

Black Hawk for a few weeks was Art Tatum.

RW: I sure did. We sort of became friends. I

(Continued from page 7)


“I would sit right next to the bandstand, right next to the piano Art Tatum was playing. I would tell him I was sitting

there, because he was partially blind, and he would talk to me while he was playing. He’d say, ‘Now Richard, this is what I’m

gonna do. I’m gonna play,’ and he named the chords and what he was doing. He’s

doing all this talking while he’s playing … He didn’t mind. He was fantastic.”

Richard Wyands


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would play intermissions when he finished play-

ing, I would play solo, by myself. He had a trio

with guitar and bass. Slam Stewart was the bass

player, who I later became friends with. Any-

way, what I would do was I would sit right next

to the bandstand, right next to the piano Art Ta-

tum was playing. I would tell him I was sitting

there, because he was partially blind, and he

would talk to me while he was playing. He’d

say, “Now Richard, this is what I’m gonna do.

I’m gonna play,” and he named the chords and

what he was doing. He’s doing all this talking

while he’s playing. Every time he played, I’d sit

right by him and he knew I was sitting there. He

didn’t mind. He was fantastic. He couldn’t see

me but...

JI: So he was giving you lessons?

RW: Sort of. He’d tell me what he was going to

do and I’d sit there and watch his hands on the

keyboard.

JI: Did you improve from these sessions?

RW: Oh, did I ever! He was one of the greatest

pianists in the world. I used to sit next to Erroll

Garner too. Sometimes he would also say some-

thing to me. I saw Erroll Garner saw off one of

the black notes from the piano. How he did that I

don’t know. I had to come back and play after he

had played and I looked down and saw a note

was missing and there it was on the floor.

JI: How did you come to be music director for

Ella Fitzgerald in 1956?

RW: I was recommended by Oscar Peterson and

Ray Brown. She was looking for another pianist

and they recommended me. They also recom-

mended a bass player, whom I had never met,

and a drummer from Los Angeles. We didn’t

even know each other. Can you believe that?

She didn’t even come to the rehearsal. Here

she’s hiring three new musicians that she’s never

heard before and she doesn’t come to the re-

hearsal. I thought that was rather strange. How

do you know you even like these guys? It turned

out she didn’t like the drummer and the way he

played. I thought he was alright but not for her.

The thing about Ella, as great as she was, she

didn’t want to rehearse.

JI: It’s quite impressive that Oscar Peterson

recommended you.

RW: That is impressive. He and Ray Brown had

heard me play in San Francisco and they thought

I’d be pretty good for Ella.

JI: Any Ella memories?

RW: We didn’t have any problems with Ella.

She wouldn’t turn around and yell at us or any-

thing like that. Some of the other singers, God!

They’d call you a bunch of names. I used to

drive her. We played Las Vegas for three weeks

and that was the most miserable, miserable three

weeks I ever spent. Not musically, not with Ella,

but just being in Las Vegas. That was terrible.

Do you have any idea what Vegas was like in

the mid-‘50s? I’m talking about the race situa-

tion. We were the stars of the show and we

couldn’t even go into the club except through

the kitchen. We couldn’t eat at a table at the club

where we were working. We had to eat in the

kitchen or in our dressing room. We weren’t

allowed to go into the audience to say hello to

someone at the tables even if they asked us over.

We’d get told to go back to the dressing room or

the kitchen. Is that any kind of way to live? Even

Ella had to sit in a room. We did two shows a

night like that. And then we couldn’t stay at the

hotel where we were playing. Ella couldn’t ei-

ther! She’s the star of the show! I had a car so I

used to drive her back and forth to the club from

where we had to stay. That was awful. That was

my first time in Vegas and I had no idea that was

happening there. I said, ‘Oh my God, we’ve got

to be here for three weeks?’ I’d go out in the

daytime and walk around downtown Vegas and

the cops were looking at me. Vegas! This was

not down south. I wondered how we were going

to make it through this. The drummer was white

but we didn’t have any problems in that respect.

I said I’d never come back there and I haven’t

been back since. That was 1957, my first and

last time in Vegas. Never go back to Vegas, that

was my theme song. [Laughs] Reno, same thing.

Cops following you around, watching you. The

United States of America. It’s improved since

then but my God! That’s why I [avoided] the

south. I played in the south but years later.

JI: You’ve mentioned some of the numerous

singers you’ve played and recorded for. How

satisfying is it to play behind a singer night after

night?

RW: It all depends if you like the singer and the

way they sing. Your job is to play behind them. I

got to a point where I could enjoy it. You’ve got

to enjoy it or you shouldn’t even be there. If you

don’t like being an accompanist then forget it.

But playing behind Ella and Carman McCrae,

and a few other singers, was very satisfying to

me. Some pianists didn’t really like it, they just

did it because of the money, but I enjoyed play-

ing with some of the singers. Ella and Carmen

were very special.

JI: Do you have any special insight to share

regarding how best to accompany vocalists?

RW: You really have to know exactly what they

want, which is part of the job. That’s why you

rehearse. They tell you, although some singers

don’t even know how to talk about it. You have

to like it, and I did. I enjoyed accompanying

Ella, Carman, and whoever else I played for. But

if I didn’t like the way they sang, now that’s

something else, but you’re not supposed to be

there anyhow if you don’t like the way they

sing. Ella was special, that’s all I can say, but at

times we didn’t know how special or whether

she was special or not. She was so nervous, im-

agine Ella Fitzgerald being nervous? During the

first couple of weeks, she would turn around and

look at us like she wasn’t happy. We didn’t

know why. Say something, speak up. If you

don’t like the way we’re playing, tell us. I never

said that to her but I wanted to. I couldn’t under-

stand why she was looking at us like that. So

finally she tells me why. She didn’t like the

drummer, the way he was playing. She finally

fired the drummer but it took two weeks! She

should have been at the rehearsal in the first

place and then she would have known what he

sounded like. But Ella, it was hard being hard on

her. I tried to be as nice as I possibly could with

her, mainly because I liked the way she sang. I

wouldn’t go on the road with a singer whose

singing I didn’t like. No, that didn’t make any

sense, but that sort of thing is still happening.

JI: Carman McRae hired you shortly after you

left Ella and brought you to New York City in

1958 on tour. You ended up leaving her tour to

stay there. Had you planned to do that?

RW: I was supposed to leave when we came to

New York. She told me she liked the way I

played but she had somebody else in mind. I

forget who. I didn’t have any trouble with her

but I know other pianists did. I got along with

Carman fine, musically, I thought.

JI: Reports are that you found it uncomfortable

to adjust to McRae’s slow-paced ballads.

RW: Whew! Oh, yeah. You read that? She sang

very slow tempo, extremely slow, which is hard

[for an accompanist] to do, to play along that

slowly. I just had to bear down, not rush, be

careful. I kept telling myself that while I was

playing. You’ve got to play with all sorts of

singers and musicians. It’s almost impossible to

play that slow tempo but I liked Carmen, I liked

her style and the songs she sang. I worked with

so many singers, especially when I was in Cana-

da before I came to New York. There it was a

different singer every week. It was a good expe-

rience. That’s the way I had to look at it. I also

worked with Johnny Mathis in Canada.

JI: Once you settled in New York City, you had

to live there for a number of months before the

union would let you work, since you were trans-

ferring from the San Francisco union. What did

you do to earn a living during that time?

RW: I had to wait something like three or six

months before I could get a union card and be

able to work certain jobs. I could only work

certain places because I was on a transfer, that’s

what they called it. You transferred from San

Francisco to the local New York union. You

don’t have to go through that now but in those

days you did. Sometimes I cheated and I’d sneak


Richard Wyands


out of town and go to Philly.

JI: So you didn’t get a non-musical side job?

RW: Oh, no. What was I gonna do? I didn’t

know anything else. Teach maybe? I think I had

some piano students.

JI: How was it to transition from the West Coast

to the East Coast style of living?

RW: It was a transition in some respects. I did-

n’t think it was too difficult. I came from a fairly

large city to a giant city but I had been in New

York before and I knew people in New York.

JI: You ended up having to sell your car in New

York?

RW: Yeah, I did, I couldn’t pay my rent.

[Laughs] I had to sell my car to get money. The

car was only two or three years old. Things

weren’t going too well, workwise, so I said,

‘Well, I guess you’ll have to sell your car.

You’re not gonna go back to California. You’ve

got to stay here somehow.’ So that’s what I did.

It wasn’t easy. Paying rent, oh jeeze. I thought

I’d never make it through that. A lot of musi-

cians came from the East Coast so they could

just go home, but to go all the way back to Cali-

fornia? [Laughs] For what? California wasn’t

doing too well either. By the way, I still belong

to the union in San Francisco.

JI: What do you recall of exploring the New

York jazz clubs once you moved there? Who

impressed you?

RW: It was no big deal. I went to the clubs and

sized up the situation.

JI: How did you make yourself known around

town, especially when you weren’t allowed to

play?

RW: I went around and met musicians. I knew a

lot of them anyhow. I used to play in Harlem,

that’s how I met my wife [Lenora]. We met in

Minton’s Playhouse, one of the clubs where I

used to work in the late ‘50s. I knew the owner

there. I didn’t really need the union card and all

that stuff there.

JI: Who were some of the first musicians to hire

you in New York when you relocated there?

Who really helped you get started?

RW: I got in touch with Jerome [Richardson}

and he turned me on to a lot of things. That’s

how you have to go about it. You can’t just go to

the union. Nobody’s gonna help you there. They

want you to pay your dues. I did a lot of things

with Jerome. I was living next door to him, over

here in this neighborhood. He helped me get an

apartment. We lived in the same building for a

while. Jerome had been doing very, extremely

well — studio work, bands. Unfortunately, he’s

gone now. His wife is gone. Things have

changed now. New York is not nowhere near

what it used to be, really. It’s all a different sce-

ne now.

JI: You made what would eventually be five

recordings with Gigi Gryce in 1960 [with Rich-

ard Williams, Mickey Roker, Julian Euell or

Reggie Workman]. What do you recall about

your time with Gryce?

RW: I liked Gigi but something went wrong

with his health and he died. Just like that. He

was a little nervous but he was very nice. I liked

him, I liked being in his bands. Oh, boy, did I

ever. There were a lot of people around like him

then. He was a good musician and writer.

JI: After Gryce, between 1960-’61, you had the

busiest recording streak of your career recording

for Prestige with leaders Gene Ammons, Eddie

“Lockjaw” Davis, Etta Jones, Oliver Nelson and

Willis Jackson. How did you come to make all

those dates for Prestige?

RW: All I had to do was make one. The guys

who produced the records paid attention to who

the musicians were, how they played, and how

good they’d be in other situations. The lead mu-

sicians used their regular groups but sometimes

they didn’t. Sometimes they used who the record

company suggested, and that’s how I recorded

with some of those musicians.

JI: What memories do you have of those artists?

RW: I was on Etta Jones’ famous recording

Don’t Go to Strangers. Prestige decided to use

me with her. I had never even met or heard her

before until in the studio for that recording. I had

no idea what she sounded like, [Laughs] I’m

telling you. I also did a couple more recordings

with her and then I worked with her and Hou-

ston Person around the city. I was on her last

studio album [Etta Jones Sings Lady Day, 2001,

Highnote]. She was sick, everybody knew it, but

you couldn’t tell. Her singing wasn’t effected.

She stayed in the recording booth and just came

out once to use the bathroom that day. A few

weeks later we found out she was gone. I no-

ticed she was moving around slowly the day we

recorded but she sang just as well as ever. We

got to be good friends. She used to come around

and listen to me play at various places. Yeah, I

liked Etta, I really did.

JI: You spent a lot of time in the early ‘60s in

Rudy Van Gelder’s famed studio. What was

your experience there?

RW: Just be calm, don’t let Rudy get on your

nerves. [Laughs] He didn’t bother me but some

of the musicians and him ... He didn’t want you

to do this, don’t touch that. I liked him, we got

along fine, but a lot of musicians didn’t like him.

One day he accused me of breaking the glass to

his piano booth and he made a big deal about it.

It was a little chip. I looked down at it and said,

‘Rudy, what? Oh, come on now, that little chip?’

Other than that we got along fine.

JI: Did you break his glass?

RW: No, not that I know of.

JI: One of your first recordings was with

Charles Mingus [Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Won-

derland, United Artists, 1959]. What do you

have to say about Mingus?

RW: A little difficult, he was a little unusual.

You just had to know how to deal with him. He

was from California also, Los Angeles. That’s

where I met him. He called me for some work in

California. He said he liked the way I played. So

we got to know each other. He was always nice

to me. A very odd guy, I guess you’ve heard

things, but a great bass player, man.

JI: You also made a recording with Rahsaan

Roland Kirk [We Free Kings, Mercury, 1961].

That was your first time meeting him?

RW: [Laughs] I think that was the first time I

worked with him, I don’t know that I’d even

seen him before with those instruments. I

walked into the studio and I saw all these strange

looking instruments and I said, ‘Well, I’ll just

pay attention to these things.’ He was blind so

you had to approach him a little differently. But

he wasn’t hard to get along with. I got along

with him fine. The first recording I did with him,

I had no idea what his music was like, but as

long as he played alright, I didn’t care. I worked

in a few clubs with him. I liked him, I really did.

JI: Was it difficult to play with his unusual in-

struments, such as the stritch and manzello, and

his use of multiple horns at the same time?

RW: No, you just listened. It sounded different

but I just waited to see what it was gonna sound

like. Okay, count off the tempo – one, two, one,

two, three, four, and then you listen. That’s all I

can say about Rahsaan. I worked with him and

got used to what he was doing. He played good,

blowing whistles and all sorts of stuff. I’ve

known a lot of musicians who were sort of out

there. I liked him, I’ve got some of his records

here.

JI: The longest professional relationship of your

career was with Kenny Burrell [1964-77].

Would you talk about him and why the two of

you were such a good fit?

RW: He realized that I was paying attention

to what he was doing and how to blend with

the guitar without getting in the way, because

it’s not easy for guitar and piano unless things



Richard Wyands

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Wednesday, September 19 Regina Carter & Xavier Davis; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln

Center, 60th & Bdwy

Davina and the Vagabonds; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.

Bill Stewart Trio - Walter Smith Iii, Saxophone; Larry Grenadier, Bass; Bill Stewart, Drums; Village Vanguard 178 7th Ave S.

Stanley Clarke Band; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.

Coltrane Revisited: Eric Alexander, Greg Osby, Jon Irabagon, Helen Sung, Lonnie Plaxico, Matt Wilson; Birdland, 315 W. 44th

Thursday, September 20 Ulysses Owens, Jr. THREE; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center,

60th & Bdwy

Theo Croker Quintet; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.




Friday, September 21 Ulysses Owens, Jr's New Century Big Band; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz

At Lincoln Center, 60th & Bdwy





Saturday, September 22 Late Night Dance Session: Charles Turner III & Uptown Swing;

Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th & Bdwy





Sunday, September 23 Smokestack Brunch: Jamie Reynolds; Theo Croker Quintet; Jazz

Standard, 116 E. 27th St.



Greg Ruvolo Big Band Collective; Birdland, 315 W. 44th St.

Monday, September 24 Monday Nights with WBGO: Orrin Evans Captain Black Big Band;


Mingus Big Band; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra; Village Vanguard 178 7th Ave S.

Eddie Palmieri & Friends: Honoring The Legacy of McCoy Tyner; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.

Scott Allan; Birdland, 315 W. 44th St.

Tuesday, September 25 Tord Gustavsen Trio; Late Night Session: Jen Allen; Dizzy’s Club,

Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th & Bdwy

Mark Guiliana SPACE HEROES; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.

Chris Potter, Saxophone; James Francies, Piano; Eric Harland, Drums; Village Vanguard 178 7th Ave S.

Chick Corea Trio; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.

Allyson Briggs & Fleur Seule; Birdland, 315 W. 44th St.

Wednesday, September 26 Ted Rosenthal Trio: Rhapsody in Gershwin; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At

Lincoln Center, 60th & Bdwy

Mark Guiliana SPACE HEROES; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.



Yellowjackets; Birdland, 315 W. 44th St.

Thursday, September 27 Magos Herrera and Brooklyn Rider; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln

Center, 60th & Bdwy

Freddy Cole Quartet; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.




Friday, September 28 Louis Hayes: Serenade to Horace Silver; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At


Freddy Cole Quartet; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.




Monday, October 1 Moutin Factory Quintet; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th &

Bdwy



Alex Lore Quartet; Anthony Wonsey Quartet; After-Hours Jam Ses-sion; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Steve Ross

Tuesday, October 2 Abelita Mateus And Friends; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center,

60th & Bdwy

Eli Degibri Quartet; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.

Tom Harrell's Trip - Tom Harrell, Trumpet; ; Mark Turner, Saxophone; Ugonna Okegwo, Bass; ; Adam Cruz, Drums; Village Vanguard 178 7th Ave S.

Spike Wilner Trio; Frank Lacy Group; After-Hours Jam Session; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Dee Dee Bridgewater With The Theo Croker Quintet

Wednesday, October 3 Piotr Orzechowski/Kuba Wiecek Trio; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln

Center, 60th & Bdwy

Allison Miller and Carmen Staaf's Science Fair; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.



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Craig Brann Quintet; Mike Troy Quartet; After-Hours Jam Session; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.


Thursday, October 4 Willie Jones Iii Quintet; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th &

Bdwy

Walking Distance featuring Jason Moran; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


Sylvia Cuenca Quartet; David Ambrosio Quintet; Jovan Alexandre "After-Hours"; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper X Chris Dave X Derrick Hodge; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.


Friday, October 5 Willie Jones Iii Quintet; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th &

Bdwy

Kenny Werner Quartet; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


Monte Croft Quartet; Tivon Pennicott Quartet; JD Allen "After-Hours"; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.



Saturday, October 6 Willie Jones iii Quintet; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th &

Bdwy

Smokestack Brunch: Oscar Perez Cuban Afro-Fusion; Kenny Werner Quartet; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


Smalls Showcase: Jamale Davis Trio; Monte Croft Quartet; Tivon Pennicott Trio; Philip Harper Quintet; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Anu Sun & The Shed All-Stars; Buika @ Sony Hall; Robert Glasper X Chris Dave X Derrick Hodge; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.


Sunday, October 7 Willie Jones Iii Quintet; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th &

Bdwy

Jazz For Kids; Kenny Werner Quartet; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


Vocal Masterclass With Marion Cowings; Ai Murakami Quartet Feat. Sacha Perry; Marianne Solivan Quartet; Don Menza Quartet; JC Stylles/Mark Whitfield Birthday Bash; After-Hours Jam Session; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.


Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra; Birdland, 315 W. 44th St.

Monday, October 8 Frank Carlberg Large Ensemble; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center,

60th & Bdwy



Jonathan Michel Quartet; Jonathan Barber Quartet; After-Hours Jam Session; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Cory Henry: The Revival with Nat Townsley & Sharod Barnes; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.


Tuesday, October 9 The Little Giant At 90: Celebrating Johnny Griffin; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz


James Poyser Quintet featuring members of "The Tonight Show" Band and The Roots; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.

Tom Harrell Quartet - Tom Harrell, Trumpet; Danny Grissett, Piano; Ugonna Okegwo, Bass; Adam Cruz, Drums; Village Vanguard 178 7th Ave S.

Davis Whitfield Trio; Abraham Burton Quartet; After-Hours Jam Session; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper: Houston Nights ft Kendrick Scott & More; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.

Kevin Eubanks Quartet With Terri Lyne Carrington, Nicholas Payton, Ben Williams; Birdland, 315 W. 44th St.

Wednesday, October 10 The Little Giant At 90: Celebrating Johnny Griffin; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz


Michael Leonhart Orchestra featuring Special Guest Randy Brecker; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


Antonio Ciacca Quartet; Pat Bianchi Trio; Aaron Seeber "After-Hours"; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper: Houston Nights ft Kendrick Scott & More; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.

Kevin Eubanks Quartet With Terri Lyne Carrington, Nicholas Payton, Ben Williams; Alan Broadbent Trio; Birdland, 315 W. 44th St.

Thursday, October 11 Dayramir Gonzalez & Habana Entranceé; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At


Pérez, Cohen, Potter Quintet with Larry Grenadier and Nate Smith; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


Will Bernard Quartet; Noam Wiesenberg Quintet; Endea Owens "After-Hours"; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper Trio ft Special Guest Yasiin Bey (Formerly Mos Def); Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.



http://www.jazz.org/dizzys


http://www.jazzstandard.com


Friday, October 12 Matt Wilson’s Honey And Salt; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center,

60th & Bdwy

Pérez, Cohen, Potter Quintet with Larry Grenadier and Nate Smith; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


Brandon Lee Sextet; Seamus Blake Quartet; Corey Wallace Dubtet "After-Hours"; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.



Saturday, October 13 Matt Wilson’s Honey And Salt; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center,

60th & Bdwy

Smokestack Brunch: Arianna Neikrug; Pérez, Cohen, Potter Quintet with Larry Grenadier and Nate Smith; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


Smalls Showcase: Fima Chupakhin Quintet; Brandon Lee Sextet; Seamus Blake Quartet; Brooklyn Circle; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.



Sunday, October 14 Matt Wilson Quartet Plus Steve Nelson; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln

Center, 60th & Bdwy

Jazz For Kids; Allan Harris: The Genius of Eddie Jefferson; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


Vocal Masterclass With Marion Cowings; Ai Murakami Quartet Feat. Sacha Perry; Dave Glasser Quartet; Bruce Harris Quintet; After-Hours Jam Session; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper Trio ft Special Guest Yasiin Bey (Formerly Mos Def); Madeleine Peyroux @ Sony Hall; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.


Monday, October 15 Julliard Jazz Ensembles; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th &

Bdwy

Mingus Orchestra; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


Ari Hoenig Quartet; Joe Farnsworth Group; After-Hours Jam Session; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.


Ice On The Hudson Featuring: Rene Marie, Janis Siegel, Darius De Haas, Karen Oberlin; Birdland, 315 W. 44th St.

Tuesday, October 16 Dan Nimmer Trio; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th & Bdwy

Rodney Green Trio + Special Guest; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.

Fred Hersch Duos - Fred Hersch, Piano; Anat Cohen, Clarinet ; Village Vanguard 178 7th Ave S.

Steve Nelson Quartet; Cody Moffett's Jambalaya; After-Hours Jam Session; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Cory Henry: First Steps Band ft Jay White & Carlin White; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.

Ron Carter's Great Big Band; Birdland, 315 W. 44th St.

Wednesday, October 17 Dan Nimmer Trio; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th & Bdwy

Ralph Peterson's Aggregate Prime; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


Or Bareket Quintet; Danton Boller Quintet; Davis Whitfield "After-Hours"; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper X Christian McBride X Nicholas Payton; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.


Thursday, October 18 Juan Andrés Ospina Big Band; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center,

60th & Bdwy

Ralph Peterson's Aggregate Prime; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


Allyn Johnson Quartet; Jeremy Manasia Quintet; Jonathan Thomas -"After-Hours" Jam Session; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper X Christian McBride X Nicholas Payton; Boney James @ Sony Hall; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.


Friday, October 19 Scott Colley Quartet; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th &

Bdwy

Life Cycles, Featuring Brian Blade, Jon Cowherd, Monte Croft, John Hart, Myron Walden, Doug Weiss; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.

Fred Hersch, Piano; Esperanza Spalding, Vocals ; Village Vanguard 178 7th Ave S.

Joey Alexander With Strings - Pianist Joey Alexander Performs With A 20-Piece String Section Under The Direction Of Music Director/Arranger Richard Derosa; 8PM, Rose Theater; Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th & Bdwy

Adam Birnbaum Quartet; Charles Ruggiero Octet; JD Allen "After-Hours"; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper: Miles Davis Tribute "Everything's Beautiful" w/ Bilal; Kenneth Whalum; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.


Saturday, October 20 Scott Colley Quartet; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th &

Bdwy



Joey Alexander With Strings - Pianist Joey Alexander Performs With A 20-Piece String Section Under The Direction Of Music Director/Arranger Richard Derosa; 8PM, Rose Theater; Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th & Bdwy

Smalls Showcase: Teodross Avery; Adam Birnbaum Quartet; Charles Ruggiero Octet; Philip Harper Quintet; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper: Miles Davis Tribute "Everything's Beautiful" w/ Bilal; Kenneth Whalum; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.


Sunday, October 21 Carlos Henriquez Octet; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th &

Bdwy



Vocal Masterclass With Marion Cowings; Ai Murakami Quartet Feat. Sacha Perry; Ralph Lalama & "Bop-Juice"; Joe Magnarelli Quartet; After-Hours Jam Session; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper: Miles Davis Tribute "Everything's Beautiful" w/ Bilal; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.


Monday, October 22 Monday Nights With WBGO - Emilio Solla Tango Jazz Orchestra;




Josh Evans Quintet; Lucas Pino Nonet; After-Hours Jam Session; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Cory Henry: The 4 Deacons Sharay Reed, TaRon Lockett & Isaiah Sharkey; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.

Renee Rosnes & Bill Charlap - Duo Piano; Birdland, 315 W. 44th St.

Tuesday, October 23 Under One Sun; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th & Bdwy

Jakob Bro Trio; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.

Ravi Coltrane, Saxophone; Gadi Lehavi, Piano; Scott Colley, Bass; Johnathan Blake, Drums ; Village Vanguard 178 7th Ave S.

Robert Edwards Quintet; Frank Lacy Group; After-Hours Jam Session; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper: Mulgrew Miller Tribute ft Derrick Hodge & Rodney Green; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.

Ron Carter Quartet; Birdland, 315 W. 44th St.

Wednesday, October 24 Rodney Whitaker Sextet; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th &

Bdwy

Jakob Bro Trio; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


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Wayne Tucker Sextet; Harold Mabern Trio; Isaiah J. Thompson "After-Hours"; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper: Mulgrew Miller Tribute ft Derrick Hodge & Rodney Green; Tigran Hamasyan @ Sony Hall; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.


Thursday, October 25 Rodney Whitaker Sextet; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th &

Bdwy

Christian Sands Trio with Special Guests Caio Afiune and Keyon Harrold; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


The Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra Plays Monk - Wynton Marsalis Performs Brand New Thelonious Monk Arrangements With Music Direction By Saxophonist Ted Nash; 8PM, Rose Theater; Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th & Bdwy

Vince Ector Trio; Carlos Abadie Quintet; Giveton Gelin Quintet "After-Hours"; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper: Mulgrew Miller Tribute ft Derrick Hodge & Rodney Green; Tigran Hamasyan @ Sony Hall; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.


Friday, October 26

Mostly Monk: Mike Ledonne Trio; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Cen-ter, 60th & Bdwy

Christian Sands Trio with Special Guests Caio Afiune and Keyon Harrold; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.



Thelonious Monk Festival - Monk’s Dream Featuring Bassist Russell Hall, Pianist Barry Harris, Drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, Vocalist Vuyo Sotashe, Tap Dancer Michela Marino Lerman, And More; 7PM & 9:30 PM, The Appel Room; Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th & Bdwy

Dave Stoler Quartet; Stafford Hunter & Continuum; Corey Wallace Dubtet "After-Hours"; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper: R+R=NOW; Taylor McFerrin with Marcus Gilmore


Saturday, October 27 Mostly Monk: Mike Ledonne Trio; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Cen-

ter, 60th & Bdwy

Smokestack Brunch: Michael Kanan Trio; Christian Sands Trio with Special Guests Caio Afiune and Keyon Harrold; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.



Thelonious Monk Festival - Monk’s Dream Featuring Bassist Russell Hall, Pianist Barry Harris, Drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, Vocalist Vuyo Sotashe, Tap Dancer Michela Marino Lerman, And More; 7PM & 9:30 PM, The Appel Room; Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th & Bdwy

Robert Glasper: R+R=NOW; Taylor McFerrin with Marcus Gilmore; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.


Sunday, October 28 Alexander Claffy Quartet; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center, 60th &

Bdwy

Christian Sands Trio with Special Guests Caio Afiune and Keyon

Harrold; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.


Vocal Masterclass With Marion Cowings; Ai Murakami Quartet Feat. Sacha Perry; Tardo Hammer Trio; Brandon Sanders Quartet; After-Hours Jam Session; Small's, 183 W. 10th St.

Robert Glasper: R+R=NOW; Kandace Springs @ Sony Hall; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St

Monday, October 29 Josh Lawrence & Color Theory; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At Lincoln Center,

60th & Bdwy



Monday, October 29

Cory Henry & Friends; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.

Tuesday, October 30 David Chesky: Jazz In The New Harmonic; Dizzy’s Club, Jazz At


Camille Bertault; Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St.

Jon Batiste & Friends - Jon Batiste, Piano/Vox/Harmonabord; Joe Saylor, Drums; Phil Kuehn, Bass; Tivon Pennicott, Tenor Sax; Patrick Bartley, Alto Sax; Giveton Gelin, Trumpet ; Village Vanguard 178 7th Ave S.

Michel Camilo Trio; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.

Ron Carter’s Golden Striker Trio; Birdland, 315 W. 44th St.

Wednesday, October 31

Cristina Pato Quartet

Scott Robinson’s Heliotones: A Halloween Spectacular

Jon Batiste & Friends - Jon Batiste, Piano/Vox/Harmonabord; Joe Saylor, Drums; Phil Kuehn, Bass; Tivon Pennicott, Tenor Sax; Patrick Bartley, Alto Sax; Giveton Gelin, Trumpet ; Village Vanguard 178 7th Ave S.

Wednesday, October 31 Michel Camilo Trio; Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St.

Ron Carter’s Golden Striker Trio; Birdland, 315 W. 44th St.

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“Some people’s idea of free speech is that they are free

to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back that

is an outrage.”

- Winston Churchill



5 C Cultural Center, 68 Avenue C. 212-477-5993. www.5ccc.com

55 Bar, 55 Christopher St. 212-929-9883, 55bar.com

92nd St Y, 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10128,

212.415.5500, 92ndsty.org

Aaron Davis Hall, City College of NY, Convent Ave., 212-650-

6900, aarondavishall.org

Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, Broadway & 65th St., 212-875-

5050, lincolncenter.org/default.asp

Allen Room, Lincoln Center, Time Warner Center, Broadway and

60th, 5th floor, 212-258-9800, lincolncenter.org

American Museum of Natural History, 81st St. & Central Park

W., 212-769-5100, amnh.org

Antibes Bistro, 112 Suffolk Street. 212-533-6088.

www.antibesbistro.com

Arthur’s Tavern, 57 Grove St., 212-675-6879 or 917-301-8759,

arthurstavernnyc.com

Arts Maplewood, P.O. Box 383, Maplewood, NJ 07040; 973-378-

2133, artsmaplewood.org

Avery Fischer Hall, Lincoln Center, Columbus Ave. & 65th St.,

212-875-5030, lincolncenter.org

BAM Café, 30 Lafayette Av, Brooklyn, 718-636-4100, bam.org

Bar Chord, 1008 Cortelyou Rd., Brooklyn, barchordnyc.com

Bar Lunatico, 486 Halsey St., Brooklyn. 718-513-0339.

222.barlunatico.com

Barbes, 376 9th St. (corner of 6th Ave.), Park Slope, Brooklyn,

718-965-9177, barbesbrooklyn.com

Barge Music, Fulton Ferry Landing, Brooklyn, 718-624-2083,

bargemusic.org

B.B. King’s Blues Bar, 237 W. 42nd St., 212-997-4144,

bbkingblues.com

Beacon Theatre, 74th St. & Broadway, 212-496-7070

Beco Bar, 45 Richardson, Brooklyn. 718-599-1645.

www.becobar.com

Bickford Theatre, on Columbia Turnpike @ Normandy Heights

Road, east of downtown Morristown. 973-744-2600

Birdland, 315 W. 44th St., 212-581-3080

Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd, 212-475-8592, bluenotejazz.com

Bourbon St Bar and Grille, 346 W. 46th St, NY, 10036,

212-245-2030, [email protected]

Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery (at Bleecker), 212-614-0505,

bowerypoetry.com

BRIC House, 647 Fulton St. Brooklyn, NY 11217, 718-683-5600,

http://bricartsmedia.org

Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza, 2nd Fl, Brooklyn,

NY, 718-230-2100, brooklynpubliclibrary.org

Café Carlyle, 35 E. 76th St., 212-570-7189, thecarlyle.com

Café Loup, 105 W. 13th St. (West Village) , between Sixth and

Seventh Aves., 212-255-4746

Café St. Bart’s, 109 E. 50th St, 212-888-2664, cafestbarts.com

Cafe Noctambulo, 178 2nd Ave. 212-995-0900. cafenoctam-

bulo.com

Caffe Vivaldi, 32 Jones St, NYC; caffevivaldi.com

Candlelight Lounge, 24 Passaic St, Trenton. 609-695-9612.

Carnegie Hall, 7th Av & 57th, 212-247-7800, carnegiehall.org

Cassandra’s Jazz, 2256 7th Avenue. 917-435-2250. cassan-

drasjazz.com

Chico’s House Of Jazz, In Shoppes at the Arcade, 631 Lake Ave.,

Asbury Park, 732-774-5299

City Winery, 155 Varick St. Bet. Vandam & Spring St., 212-608-

0555. citywinery.com

Cleopatra’s Needle, 2485 Broadway (betw 92nd & 93rd), 212-769-

6969, cleopatrasneedleny.com

Club Bonafide, 212 W. 52nd, 646-918-6189. clubbonafide.com

C’mon Everybody, 325 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn.

www.cmoneverybody.com

Copeland’s, 547 W. 145th St. (at Bdwy), 212-234-2356

Cornelia St Café, 29 Cornelia, 212-989-9319

Count Basie Theatre, 99 Monmouth St., Red Bank, New Jersey

07701, 732-842-9000, countbasietheatre.org

Crossroads at Garwood, 78 North Ave., Garwood, NJ 07027,

908-232-5666

Cutting Room, 19 W. 24th St, 212-691-1900

Dizzy’s Club, Broadway at 60th St., 5th Floor, 212-258-9595,

jalc.com

DROM, 85 Avenue A, New York, 212-777-1157, dromnyc.com

The Ear Inn, 326 Spring St., NY, 212-226-9060, earinn.com

East Village Social, 126 St. Marks Place. 646-755-8662.

www.evsnyc.com

Edward Hopper House, 82 N. Broadway, Nyack NY. 854-358-

0774.

El Museo Del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave (at 104th St.), Tel: 212-831-

7272, Fax: 212-831-7927, elmuseo.org

Esperanto, 145 Avenue C. 212-505-6559. www.esperantony.com

The Falcon, 1348 Rt. 9W, Marlboro, NY., 845) 236-7970,

Fat Cat, 75 Christopher St., 212-675-7369, fatcatjazz.com

Fine and Rare, 9 East 37th Street. www.fineandrare.nyc

Five Spot, 459 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 718-852-0202, fivespot-

soulfood.com

Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY, 718-

463-7700 x222, flushingtownhall.org

For My Sweet, 1103 Fulton St., Brooklyn, NY 718-857-1427

Galapagos, 70 N. 6th St., Brooklyn, NY, 718-782-5188, galapago-

sartspace.com

Garage Restaurant and Café, 99 Seventh Ave. (betw 4th and

Bleecker), 212-645-0600, garagerest.com

Garden Café, 4961 Broadway, by 207th St., New York, 10034,

212-544-9480

Gin Fizz, 308 Lenox Ave, 2nd floor. (212) 289-2220.

www.ginfizzharlem.com

Ginny’s Supper Club, 310 Malcolm X Boulevard Manhattan, NY

10027, 212-792-9001, http://redroosterharlem.com/ginnys/

Glen Rock Inn, 222 Rock Road, Glen Rock, NJ, (201) 445-2362,

glenrockinn.com

GoodRoom, 98 Meserole, Bklyn, 718-349-2373, goodroombk.com.

Green Growler, 368 S, Riverside Ave., Croton-on-Hudson NY.

914-862-0961. www.thegreengrowler.com

Greenwich Village Bistro, 13 Carmine St., 212-206-9777, green-

wichvillagebistro.com

Harlem on 5th, 2150 5th Avenue. 212-234-5600.

www.harlemonfifth.com

Harlem Tea Room, 1793A Madison Ave., 212-348-3471, har-

lemtearoom.com

Hat City Kitchen, 459 Valley St, Orange. 862-252-9147.

hatcitykitchen.com

Havana Central West End, 2911 Broadway/114th St), NYC,

212-662-8830, havanacentral.com

Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th St (between 9th & 10th Ave.

highlineballroom.com, 212-414-4314.

Hopewell Valley Bistro, 15 East Broad St, Hopewell, NJ 08525,

609-466-9889, hopewellvalleybistro.com

Hudson Room, 27 S. Division St., Peekskill NY. 914-788-FOOD.

hudsonroom.com

Hyatt New Brunswick, 2 Albany St., New Brunswick, NJ

IBeam Music Studio, 168 7th St., Brooklyn, ibeambrooklyn.com

INC American Bar & Kitchen, 302 George St., New Brunswick

NJ. (732) 640-0553. www.increstaurant.com

Iridium, 1650 Broadway, 212-582-2121, iridiumjazzclub.com

Jazz 966, 966 Fulton St., Brooklyn, NY, 718-638-6910

Jazz at Lincoln Center, 33 W. 60th St., 212-258-9800, jalc.org

Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th St., 5th Floor

Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Reservations: 212-258-9595

Rose Theater, Tickets: 212-721-6500, The Allen Room, Tickets:

212-721-6500

Jazz Gallery, 1160 Bdwy, (212) 242-1063, jazzgallery.org

The Jazz Spot, 375 Kosciuszko St. (enter at 179 Marcus Garvey

Blvd.), Brooklyn, NY, 718-453-7825, thejazz.8m.com

Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St., 212-576-2232, jazzstandard.net

Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St & Astor Pl.,

212-539-8778, joespub.com

John Birks Gillespie Auditorium (see Baha’i Center)

Jules Bistro, 65 St. Marks Pl, 212-477-5560, julesbistro.com

Kasser Theater, 1 Normal Av, Montclair State College, Montclair,

973-655-4000, montclair.edu

Key Club, 58 Park Pl, Newark, NJ, 973-799-0306, keyclubnj.com

Kitano Hotel, 66 Park Ave., 212-885-7119. kitano.com

Knickerbocker Bar & Grill, 33 University Pl., 212-228-8490,

knickerbockerbarandgrill.com

Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St, 212-219-3132, knittingfacto-

ry.com

Langham Place — Measure, Fifth Avenue, 400 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10018, 212-613-8738, langhamplacehotels.com

La Lanterna (Bar Next Door at La Lanterna), 129 MacDougal St,

New York, 212-529-5945, lalanternarcaffe.com

Le Cirque Cafe, 151 E. 58th St., lecirque.com

Le Fanfare, 1103 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn. 347-987-4244.

www.lefanfare.com

Le Madeleine, 403 W. 43rd St. (betw 9th & 10th Ave.), New York,

New York, 212-246-2993, lemadeleine.com

Les Gallery Clemente Soto Velez, 107 Suffolk St, 212-260-4080

Lexington Hotel, 511 Lexington Ave. (212) 755-4400.

www.lexinghotelnyc.com

Live @ The Falcon, 1348 Route 9W, Marlboro, NY 12542,

Living Room, 154 Ludlow St. 212-533-7235, livingroomny.com

The Local 269, 269 E. Houston St. (corner of Suffolk St.), NYC

Makor, 35 W. 67th St., 212-601-1000, makor.org

Lounge Zen, 254 DeGraw Ave, Teaneck, NJ, (201) 692-8585,

lounge-zen.com

Maureen's Jazz Cellar, 2 N. Broadway, Nyack NY. 845-535-3143.

maureensjazzcellar.com

Maxwell’s, 1039 Washington St, Hoboken, NJ, 201-653-1703

McCarter Theater, 91 University Pl., Princeton, 609-258-2787,

mccarter.org

Merkin Concert Hall, Kaufman Center, 129 W. 67th St., 212-501

-3330, ekcc.org/merkin.htm

Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St NY, NY 10012, 212-206-

0440

Mezzrow, 163 West 10th Street, Basement, New York, NY

10014. 646-476-4346. www.mezzrow.com

Minton’s, 206 W 118th St., 212-243-2222, mintonsharlem.com

Mirelle’s, 170 Post Ave., Westbury, NY, 516-338-4933

MIST Harlem, 46 W. 116th St., myimagestudios.com

Mixed Notes Café, 333 Elmont Rd., Elmont, NY (Queens area),

516-328-2233, mixednotescafe.com

Montauk Club, 25 8th Ave., Brooklyn, 718-638-0800,

montaukclub.com

Moscow 57, 168½ Delancey. 212-260-5775. moscow57.com

Muchmore’s, 2 Havemeyer St., Brooklyn. 718-576-3222.

www.muchmoresnyc.com

Mundo, 37-06 36th St., Queens. mundony.com

Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. (between

103rd & 104th St.), 212-534-1672, mcny.org

Musicians’ Local 802, 332 W. 48th, 718-468-7376

National Sawdust, 80 N. 6th St., Brooklyn. 646-779-8455.

www.nationalsawdust.org

Newark Museum, 49 Washington St, Newark, New Jersey 07102-

3176, 973-596-6550, newarkmuseum.org

New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St., Newark, NJ,

07102, 973-642-8989, njpac.org

New Leaf Restaurant, 1 Margaret Corbin Dr., Ft. Tryon Park. 212-

568-5323. newleafrestaurant.com

New School Performance Space, 55 W. 13th St., 5th Floor (betw

5th & 6th Ave.), 212-229-5896, newschool.edu.

New School University-Tishman Auditorium, 66 W. 12th St., 1st

Floor, Room 106, 212-229-5488, newschool.edu

New York City Baha’i Center, 53 E. 11th St. (betw Broadway &

University), 212-222-5159, bahainyc.org

North Square Lounge, 103 Waverly Pl. (at MacDougal St.),

212-254-1200, northsquarejazz.com

Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel, 59 W. 44th St. (betw 5th and

6th Ave.), 212-840-6800, thealgonquin.net

Oceana Restaurant, 120 West 49th St, New York, NY 10020

212-759-5941, oceanarestaurant.com

Orchid, 765 Sixth Ave. (betw 25th & 26th St.), 212-206-9928

The Owl, 497 Rogers Ave, Bklyn. 718-774-0042. www.theowl.nyc

Palazzo Restaurant, 11 South Fullerton Avenue, Montclair. 973-

746-6778. palazzonj.com

Priory Jazz Club: 223 W Market, Newark, 07103, 973-639-7885

Proper Café, 217-01 Linden Blvd., Queens, 718-341-2233

Clubs, Venues & Jazz ResourcesClubs, Venues & Jazz Resources

— Anton Chekhov

“A system of morality

which is based on relative

emotional values is a mere

illusion, a thoroughly vulgar

conception which has nothing

sound in it and nothing true.”

— Socrates


Prospect Park Bandshell, 9th St. & Prospect Park W., Brooklyn,

NY, 718-768-0855

Prospect Wine Bar & Bistro, 16 Prospect St. Westfield, NJ,

908-232-7320, 16prospect.com, cjayrecords.com

Red Eye Grill, 890 7th Av (56th), 212-541-9000, redeyegrill.com

Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main St.,

Ridgefield, CT; ridgefieldplayhouse.org, 203-438-5795

Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St, 212-477-4155

Rose Center (American Museum of Natural History), 81st St.

(Central Park W. & Columbus), 212-769-5100, amnh.org/rose

Rose Hall, 33 W. 60th St., 212-258-9800, jalc.org

Rosendale Café, 434 Main St., PO Box 436, Rosendale, NY 12472,

845-658-9048, rosendalecafe.com

Rubin Museum of Art - “Harlem in the Himalayas”, 150 W. 17th

St. 212-620-5000. rmanyc.org

Rustik, 471 DeKalb Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 347-406-9700,

rustikrestaurant.com

St. Mark’s Church, 131 10th St. (at 2nd Ave.), 212-674-6377

St. Nick’s Pub, 773 St. Nicholas Av (at 149th), 212-283-9728

St. Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington (at 54th), 212-935-2200,

saintpeters.org

Sasa’s Lounge, 924 Columbus Ave, Between 105th & 106th St.

NY, NY 10025, 212-865-5159, sasasloungenyc.yolasite.com

Savoy Grill, 60 Park Place, Newark, NJ 07102, 973-286-1700

Schomburg Center, 515 Malcolm X Blvd., 212-491-2200,

nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html

Shanghai Jazz, 24 Main St., Madison, NJ, 973-822-2899, shang-

haijazz.com

ShapeShifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11215

shapeshifterlab.com

Showman’s, 375 W. 125th St., 212-864-8941

Sidewalk Café, 94 Ave. A, 212-473-7373

Sista’s Place, 456 Nostrand, Bklyn, 718-398-1766, sistasplace.org

Skippers Plane St Pub, 304 University Ave. Newark NJ, 973-733-

9300, skippersplaneStpub.com

Smalls Jazz Club, 183 W. 10th St. (at 7th Ave.), 212-929-7565,

SmallsJazzClub.com

Smith’s Bar, 701 8th Ave, New York, 212-246-3268

Sofia’s Restaurant - Club Cache’ [downstairs], Edison Hotel,

221 W. 46th St. (between Broadway & 8th Ave), 212-719-5799

South Gate Restaurant & Bar, 154 Central Park South, 212-484-

5120, 154southgate.com

South Orange Performing Arts Center, One SOPAC

Way, South Orange, NJ 07079, sopacnow.org, 973-313-2787

Spectrum, 2nd floor, 121 Ludlow St.

Spoken Words Café, 266 4th Av, Brooklyn, 718-596-3923

Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, 165 W. 65th St., 10th Floor,

212-721-6500, lincolncenter.org

The Stone, Ave. C & 2nd St., thestonenyc.com

Strand Bistro, 33 W. 37th St. 212-584-4000

SubCulture, 45 Bleecker St., subculturenewyork.com

Sugar Bar, 254 W. 72nd St, 212-579-0222, sugarbarnyc.com

Swing 46, 349 W. 46th St.(betw 8th & 9th Ave.),

212-262-9554, swing46.com

Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, Tel: 212-864-1414, Fax: 212-

932-3228, symphonyspace.org

Tea Lounge, 837 Union St. (betw 6th & 7th Ave), Park Slope,

Broooklyn, 718-789-2762, tealoungeNY.com

Terra Blues, 149 Bleecker St. (betw Thompson & LaGuardia),

212-777-7776, terrablues.com

Threes Brewing, 333 Douglass St., Brooklyn. 718-522-2110.

www.threesbrewing.com

Tito Puente’s Restaurant and Cabaret, 64 City Island Avenue,

City Island, Bronx, 718-885-3200, titopuentesrestaurant.com

Tomi Jazz, 239 E. 53rd St., 646-497-1254, tomijazz.com

Tonic, 107 Norfolk St. (betw Delancey & Rivington), Tel: 212-358-

7501, Fax: 212-358-1237, tonicnyc.com

Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd St., 212-997-1003

Triad Theater, 158 W. 72nd St. (betw Broadway & Columbus

Ave.), 212-362-2590, triadnyc.com

Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St, 10007,

[email protected], tribecapac.org

Trumpets, 6 Depot Square, Montclair, NJ, 973-744-2600,

trumpetsjazz.com

Turning Point Cafe, 468 Piermont Ave. Piermont, N.Y. 10968

(845) 359-1089, http://turningpointcafe.com

Urbo, 11 Times Square. 212-542-8950. urbonyc.com

Village Vanguard, 178 7th Ave S., 212-255-4037

Vision Festival, 212-696-6681, [email protected],

Watchung Arts Center, 18 Stirling Rd, Watchung, NJ 07069,

908-753-0190, watchungarts.org

Watercolor Café, 2094 Boston Post Road, Larchmont, NY 10538,

914-834-2213, watercolorcafe.net

Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, 57th & 7th Ave, 212-247-7800

Williamsburg Music Center, 367 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

11211, (718) 384-1654 wmcjazz.org

Zankel Hall, 881 7th Ave, New York, 212-247-7800

Zinc Bar, 82 West 3rd St.

RECORD STORES

Academy Records, 12 W. 18th St., New York, NY 10011, 212-242

-3000, http://academy-records.com

Downtown Music Gallery, 13 Monroe St, New York, NY 10002,

(212) 473-0043, downtownmusicgallery.com

Jazz Record Center, 236 W. 26th St., Room 804,

212-675-4480, jazzrecordcenter.com

MUSIC STORES

Roberto’s Woodwind & Brass, 149 West 46th St. NY, NY 10036,

646-366-0240, robertoswoodwind.com

Sam Ash, 333 W 34th St, New York, NY 10001

Phone: (212) 719-2299 samash.com

Sadowsky Guitars Ltd, 2107 41st Avenue 4th Floor, Long Island

City, NY 11101, 718-433-1990. sadowsky.com

Steve Maxwell Vintage Drums, 723 7th Ave, 3rd Floor, New

York, NY 10019, 212-730-8138, maxwelldrums.com

SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, CONSERVATORIES

92nd St Y, 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10128

212.415.5500; 92ndsty.org

Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music, 42-76 Main St.,

Flushing, NY, Tel: 718-461-8910, Fax: 718-886-2450

Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, 58 Seventh Ave., Brooklyn,

NY, 718-622-3300, brooklynconservatory.com

City College of NY-Jazz Program, 212-650-5411,

Drummers Collective, 541 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011,

212-741-0091, thecoll.com

Five Towns College, 305 N. Service, 516-424-7000, x Hills, NY

Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow St., Tel: 212-242-

4770, Fax: 212-366-9621, greenwichhouse.org

Juilliard School of Music, 60 Lincoln Ctr, 212-799-5000

LaGuardia Community College/CUNI, 31-10 Thomson Ave.,

Long Island City, 718-482-5151

Lincoln Center — Jazz At Lincoln Center, 140 W. 65th St.,

10023, 212-258-9816, 212-258-9900

Long Island University — Brooklyn Campus, Dept. of Music,

University Plaza, Brooklyn, 718-488-1051, 718-488-1372

Manhattan School of Music, 120 Claremont Ave., 10027,

212-749-2805, 2802, 212-749-3025

NJ City Univ, 2039 Kennedy Blvd., Jersey City, 888-441-6528

New School, 55 W. 13th St., 212-229-5896, 212-229-8936

NY University, 35 West 4th St. Rm #777, 212-998-5446

NY Jazz Academy, 718-426-0633 NYJazzAcademy.com

Princeton University-Dept. of Music, Woolworth Center Musical

Studies, Princeton, NJ, 609-258-4241, 609-258-6793

Queens College — Copland School of Music, City University of

NY, Flushing, 718-997-3800

Rutgers Univ. at New Brunswick, Jazz Studies, Douglass Cam-

pus, PO Box 270, New Brunswick, NJ, 908-932-9302

Rutgers University Institute of Jazz Studies, 185 University

Avenue, Newark NJ 07102, 973-353-5595

newarkrutgers.edu/IJS/index1.html

SUNY Purchase, 735 Anderson Hill, Purchase, 914-251-6300

Swing University (see Jazz At Lincoln Center, under Venues)

William Paterson University Jazz Studies Program, 300 Pompton

Rd, Wayne, NJ, 973-720-2320

RADIO

WBGO 88.3 FM, 54 Park Pl, Newark, NJ 07102, Tel: 973-624-

8880, Fax: 973-824-8888, wbgo.org

WCWP, LIU/C.W. Post Campus

WFDU, http://alpha.fdu.edu/wfdu/wfdufm/index2.html

WKCR 89.9, Columbia University, 2920 Broadway

Mailcode 2612, NY 10027, 212-854-9920, columbia.edu/cu/wkcr

ADDITIONAL JAZZ RESOURCES

Big Apple Jazz, bigapplejazz.com, 718-606-8442, gor-

[email protected]

Louis Armstrong House, 34-56 107th St, Corona, NY 11368,

718-997-3670, satchmo.net

Institute of Jazz Studies, John Cotton Dana Library, Rutgers-

Univ, 185 University Av, Newark, NJ, 07102, 973-353-5595

Jazzmobile, Inc., jazzmobile.org

Jazz Museum in Harlem, 104 E. 126th St., 212-348-8300,

jazzmuseuminharlem.org

Jazz Foundation of America, 322 W. 48th St. 10036,

212-245-3999, jazzfoundation.org

New Jersey Jazz Society, 1-800-303-NJJS, njjs.org

New York Blues & Jazz Society, NYBluesandJazz.org

Rubin Museum, 150 W. 17th St, New York, NY,

212-620-5000 ex 344, rmanyc.org.

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are written out note-for-note. But I knew that

he could tell that I was paying attention to

what he was doing and what he wanted to do.

I tried to listen to everything he said. He was-

n’t that easy to play with, he had his own

thing, and he knew that I understood what he

was trying to do and paid attention to it.

That’s one reason why we got along fine. I

saw one drummer— we were in a club—and

Kenny started to play an intro and this drum-

mer is sitting up there reading a newspaper!

He wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t like that

myself. Come on, reading a newspaper on the

bandstand? I said, ‘No, no, this isn’t going to

work with this guy.’ Sometimes Kenny didn’t

write any music so I had to pay attention and

not sit there reading a newspaper. [Laughs]

Kenny and I became pretty good friends and

worked together a long time, and then he

moved to California and that was the end of it.

JI: As a leader, you’ve only made seven rec-

ords. Why so few?

RW: I guess I wasn’t really asked to do any

more than that as a leader. I was more side-

man than leader. I don’t know.

JI: Do you prefer to be a sideman more than a

leader?

RW: Not necessarily. I like to do my music,

the things I want to play, but I also want to be

a good sideman. It’s not easy to be a good

sideman, to play with various people, various

styles. It’s not easy, that’s all I can say.

JI: On the seven recordings under your name,

you only included six original compositions.

Why not include more of your own work?

RW: I don’t know. Maybe I didn’t really have

anything that I really wanted to record? I was-

n’t so crazy about some of my compositions.

JI: Does composing come easily for you?

Have you spent a lot of time on it?

RW: I didn’t do that much composing. I think

that’s the reason. I’ve written a lot of stuff

that I’ve never completed because I wasn’t

satisfied with the outcome of the work. It

seems that I can’t complete my compositions,

there’s always something wrong with them, a

few bars here and a few bars there. I won-

dered about that myself. I have some that I

wrote many years ago, but they’re kind of

ancient, I guess, at least that’s the way I hear

things now.

JI: During your career you’ve played in very

diverse settings. Have you had interest in free

jazz?

RW: Hmm, not crazy about it. I wouldn’t

play in a free-type jazz group, I know that. I

have but it’s not easy. I’d rather have things in

a more organized, or at least what appears to

be a more organized setting. I’ve been in all

kinds of groups where the bandleader just

stomps the tempo off and says, “Okay, one,

two, one,” and you go for yourself, [Laughs]

which is not my idea for something musical. I

have to have it more organized. I wouldn’t

think about playing in a musical group like

that. No, no, no, no. I like organization.

There’s certain styles in music I don’t like.

I’ve played with somebody who had four or

five different styles, all in one composition.

The tempos changed and all sorts of things

like that. I don’t like that so it’s better that I

don’t even play in a group like that. I could do

it, I guess, but I’d rather not. Everybody has

their own thoughts on the music they want to

play.

JI: Pianist Cecil Taylor passed very recently.

He frequented many of New York City’s jazz

clubs. Did you have a relationship with him?

RW: No, I knew him, but we never talked

about music. I didn’t see him that often. In

fact, I don’t remember the last time I saw him

play live. I wasn’t crazy about his thing at all.

JI: Do you feel he’s a part of the jazz tradi-

tion? Do you see where he fits into it?

RW: Yeah, but why or how, I don’t know

because I never heard him play that much or

have even heard his records. The last time I

saw him I was working in town someplace a

few years ago and he came in to listen and we

talked a little.

JI: Did you have any involvement with New

York City’s loft-jazz scene in the ‘70s?

RW: What do you mean, what’s that? Oh,

okay, I heard about that but I wasn’t a part of

it.

JI: What are your interests outside of music?

RW: I love sports, I wanted to be an athlete. I

played tennis and golf, although I had to give

golf up because my game was so poor. Stand-

ing out there all day looking for balls. It was

too much for me. It would take me a long time

to play 18 holes. I’d spend most of my time

looking for lost balls.

JI: By time this interview is released you will

have turned 90-years-old and had some cele-

brations to mark the event. Do you like a big

fuss being made about you?

RW: Not really. I can take it or leave it.

JI: The last questions have been given to me

by other artists:

Leroy Williams (drums) asked: “How is it

that your music is so beautifully melodic

while still keeping a strong sense of swing?”

RW: I don’t know, I never thought of that. I

don’t want to play like other people, I always

try to have my own little style. I started to

dislike the idea of being compared to other

people or to sound like them. People would

ask, “How come you don’t sound like Barry

Harris?” I just picked his name, but I don’t

want to sound like other people. Certainly in

this day and age, that’s hard to do. Some peo-

ple want you to sound like other people, that’s

what they want to hear. They want to hear a

certain style, but I don’t want to do that. I

understand that you have to work with people,

you’ve got to sound like somebody that

they’ve heard of, some kind of style. I realize

that and I don’t think my style, when I listen

to my records, sounds strange. As long as it’s

pleasant. I played a lot of music that was very

difficult to deal with, to get any kind of a feel

for. You gotta make a living, sometimes you

gotta play something that other people like.

And if they dislike it, then what? You’ll starve

to death. I think about Cecil Taylor, who you

just mentioned. His style? I wouldn’t want to

sound like that, no, really. I’m not saying that

it’s bad. He can play other ways, I’ve heard

him do it. Some people can get away with

playing like that but I’ve got to be listenable.

That’s all I can say, and that’s hard to do too.

I listen to some of my older records that I

played on with groups and I say, ‘Wow! Was

that you? Really, what? Man, that was good.’

Some of those Prestige records I’m on were

pretty good.

Peter Bernstein (guitar) asked: “The Gentle

Jug record [a reissue of two previously issued

albums including Nice an’ Cool which fea-

tured Wyands] is one of my all-time favorites.

I’ve always wanted to ask you about that ses-

sion and working with Gene Ammons. Did

you play with him regularly around that time?

Did he just call tunes and go? What was Jug

like?”

RW: That was recorded in 1961 at Rudy Van

Gelder’s studio but I don’t really remember

the session for Nice an’ Cool, it was so long

ago. I think I knew in advance what songs

were to be covered. I think Esmond Edmonds,

who was in charge of the session as the pro-


Richard Wyands


ducer, told me what songs to expect. There

were a few songs that I didn’t know, there

were a couple tunes I’d never even heard of.

Gene Ammons didn’t have any quirks, he

knew exactly what he wanted to do, what

tunes he wanted to play, what keys they were

to be in, how long we were gonna play on

each tune, and how many solos. He knew all

of that before we got there. Esmond Edmonds

had a lot to do with it too. I don’t think the

session took us very long, there weren’t a lot

of takes done. I can’t say that I knew Gene

Ammons well. I never worked with him, ex-

cept on the recordings. That’s all. I never even

made a job in a nightclub with him. I made

the records with Gene Ammons because Es-

mond Edmonds liked the way I played and

hired me. All I know is that I like Gene Am-

mons. I like the way he played.

Peter Bernstein also asked: “What do you

feel are the most important elements of

“comping”? You are one of the greatest ever

and I wonder what your approach is to it?”

RW: Peter Bernstein said that? Whoa, I don’t

know if I can explain it. I pay attention to

comping. I used to like the way that John

Lewis comped, not on everything, but I like

his comping. Some pianists are too busy. You

can’t be too busy, they’re just filling up every

beat in every bar. That’s not my idea of com-

ping. It’s hard to explain what I do but you’ve

got to leave some space. Not too much space,

but a little, and don’t try to copy exactly what

the soloist is doing. Play in there but not copy

it. Some piano players copy everything the

soloist is trying to play. No. It’s hard to ex-

plain. Nobody’s ever asked me what I thought

about comping.

JI: How did you get so good at comping?

RW: Am I good at it?

JI: Peter Bernstein says you’re the best.

RW: That’s what he said, huh? I didn’t know

I was that good at it really. I just did some-

thing with Peter a few weeks ago. I’m glad he

likes it. I especially tried to concentrate on

comping during my early career. I’ve played

with people who’ve said, “You’re over play-

ing, you’re filling in too much,” I’ve heard

that. But I don’t play too many fill-ins, it all

depends with who I’m playing with too. I’m

inspired to play different ways with different

people. I try not to overplay. Sometimes I’m

not successful. I’ve played with singers that

have said, “Richard, you’re not playing

enough, enough!” I don’t want to fill up every

beat in each bar. No, no, that isn’t what I feel

is the right thing. Some singers want all kinds

of fills and stuff behind their singing. If they

don’t like it then I have to change. I’ll play

more or less.

JI: What do you think of Oscar Peterson’s

comping? He certainly played a lot of notes.

RW: I wasn’t thrilled with Oscar Peterson’s

comping. He was not that type of a player. He

sometimes played too much, overplayed I

thought. Not playing the way he plays by him-

self or with a rhythm section, but he over-

played, for my taste, comping.

Monty Alexander (piano): “Who were the

pianists that were your main influences/

inspirations?”

RW: Oh, wow, my friend Monty. Well,

Count Basie, believe it or not, when I was a

kid but not when I finally got into the serious

business [of performing]. I liked the simplici-

ty in Basie’s playing. I just liked the way he

played. Duke Ellington was second on my list.

If you noticed, both of these people were ban-

dleaders—not that I was interested in becom-

ing a big band bandleader. That’s the way I

thought about it at the time as a youngster. I

had a lot of their records and saw them play

with my mother in San Francisco and Oak-

land. I used to try to play like Count Basie.

Duke Ellington was a little bit more difficult

for me, at that age, but Basie had a simple

style and I became the “Kid Basie,” that’s

what I got called. I used to have a band with a

couple of friends of mine, we tried to play

jazz, tried to play some of Basie’s songs that

were popular at the time. As I got older, I

played differently. I loved Duke Ellington and

still play some of his compositions. That’s

how it started for me. That was a very long

time ago but I have to thank my mother for

trying to help me belong with music, jazz

especially. My father wasn’t exactly a jazz

fan, by any means. Nat King Cole was one of

my favorites, especially when he had his early

trios. I liked his singing but he was an out-

standing pianist.

How I Stole Richard Wyands

By Lenora Wyands - his wife

Lenora Wyands: How we met was that he

was playing in Harlem at Minton’s Playhouse

and I used to go and flirt with him, me and my

girlfriends. In those days, you went to the

different clubs and we made sure we sat at the

end where the bandstand was, and I used to

wink and blink at him and I got his attention.

One day my older brother and I went to an

afternoon session. We went to the bar for a

drink and Richard came off the bandstand and

asked my brother if he could talk to me. So

that’s where it’s started and it’s been, this year

it’ll be 57-years that we’ve been married.

JI: Did you have any reservations about start-

ing a relationship with a musician?

LW: My mother did! She said, “What? A

musician? [Laughs] Are you kidding me?”

And then she met him and she cooked some

good dinners for him. So he was in, he passed

the test. He loved her cooking. Yeah, we’ve

had a very good relationship.

Richard Wyands

“I don’t want to play like other people, I always try to have my own little style. I

started to dislike the idea of being compared to other people or to sound like them. People would ask, “How come you

don’t sound like Barry Harris?” I just picked his name, but I don’t want to sound like other people. Certainly in this day and age, that’s hard to do. Some people want

you to sound like other people”


Charles Tolliver’s 50 Year Anniversary of ‘Paper Man’ Featuring Gary Bartz, Jack DeJohnette, Buster Williams and Jason Mo-ran / Brianna Thomas August 24 at Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan By Ken Weiss City Parks Foundation's SummerStage pre-sented trumpet veteran Charles Tolliver and young award-winning vocalist Brianna Thom-as leading groups on August 24 at Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park as part of the 26th Anni-versary celebration of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, New York City’s free annual salute to the legendary late saxophonist.

Tolliver’s star-laden quintet paid tribute to his debut album, 1968’s Paper Man, a stirring work that bridged the gap between hard bop and the avant-garde. All-star groups often don’t live up to their billing but that wasn’t the case with Tolliver’s crew, not with DeJohnette’s rambunctious percussion driv-ing the music constantly forward. Vocalist Brianna Thomas opened the evening with her sextet (Conun Pappas, piano; Marvin Sewell, guitar; Ryan Berg, bass; Alvin Atkin-son, Jr., drums; Fernando Saci, percussion) and some powerhouse vocals.

Charlie Parker Festival 2018


Steve WilsonSteve Wilson Appearing at Jazz StandardAppearing at Jazz Standard

September 6September 6--99

© John Abbott© John Abbott

www.johnabbottphoto.comwww.johnabbottphoto.com

Gary BartzGary Bartz Charlie Parker Festival 2018Charlie Parker Festival 2018

Photo © Ken WeissPhoto © Ken Weiss


Buster Williams, Charles TolliverBuster Williams, Charles Tolliver Charlie Parker Festival 2018Charlie Parker Festival 2018


Brianna ThomasBrianna Thomas Charlie Parker Festival 2018Charlie Parker Festival 2018



Cyrus ChestnutCyrus Chestnut Appearing at Jazz StandardAppearing at Jazz Standard

August 30August 30--September 2September 2

© Eric Nemeyer© Eric Nemeyer

Jack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnette Charlie Parker Festival 2018Charlie Parker Festival 2018


Jason MoranJason Moran Charlie Parker Festival 2018Charlie Parker Festival 2018



Jason Moran, Gary Bartz, Charles Toliver, Buster Williams, Jack DeJohnetteJason Moran, Gary Bartz, Charles Toliver, Buster Williams, Jack DeJohnette Charlie Parker Festival 2018Charlie Parker Festival 2018



xxxxxxxxxx

JI: Who and what were your initial inspiration to

focus on baritone sax?

SR: Well that’s an interesting question. I actually

don’t focus on the baritone sax although a lot of

people think I do. I never played much baritone

until I came to New York. I started getting some

calls from people that needed a baritone sax

player. So I started playing it more and then I

started getting more calls to play it, and I played

it with a lot of big bands. Most of that has come

to an end. I’m still playing it with Maria Schnei-

der’s band, and I was playing it with Bob Brook-

meyer. I actually really do love the instrument

and I think I managed to develop a personal

sound and approach to it which helps to get me a

lot of attention. The problem is that there’s

something about the baritone that once you start

playing it and you get good at it and you get a

reputation for being good at it. Nobody wants to

know that you do anything else - and the tenor

has always been my primary voice. I found my-

self faced with a situation where people weren’t

calling me to play tenor anymore. Then it be-

came even worse. After a few years of this, if

people did see me somewhere playing tenor, I

started hearing comments like, “Wow, you sound

really great. I didn’t even know you played ten-

or.” This became kind of disturbing to me and

troublesome. I began to feel that I was losing my

identity and my personal voice. I never wanted to

back off from the baritone because I love the

instrument. But I was kind of forced to back off

of it because of the reality that if I didn’t, my

voice on the tenor would just become lost. So I

started taking fewer jobs on baritone and focus-

ing more on tenor and telling certain people to

call me for tenor and call somebody else for bari-

tone.

JI: How has that

worked out?

SR: It’s worked

out well because

now I’m playing

tenor all the time. I

didn’t really want

to do it that way

because it’s my

nature to add ra-

ther than subtract. That’s why my life gets so

complicated. I’m always adding things in - and

it’s hard for me to say no and take something

out. I haven’t taken the baritone out, but I’ve cut

way, way back on it. If you look back over my

recorded work, I’m on more than 200 CDs at this

point. There’s a lot of baritone sax in there. But

if you look at just the ones I’ve done under my

own name, going all the way back to the begin-

ning in 1984 - there’s very little baritone sax in

there. I enjoy the instrument but it’s never been

my primary focus. I’m more of a B-flat guy. I

play tenor and B-flat. I skip over the baritone and

play the bass sax a lot on my own projects. Even

though for several years now I’ve been really

focused on the tenor, some people aren’t aware

of it. I played at the Newport Jazz Festival with

two different bands - Maria Schneider and Ryan

Truesdale’s Gil Evans’ Project. Maria wrote a

brand new piece, a big tenor sax feature - and I

stood up in front of the band for the entire piece

and played tenor. Later, I saw a review of the

Newport Festival and it said that Scott Robinson

sounded stellar on the baritone sax.

JI: When I used to go to hear Thad Jones’ band,

Pepper Adams played the woodwind doubles that

were written for bass clarinet on baritone sax –

transposing on the spot.

SR: There’s a logic to that transposition that

makes it doable, at least in a certain register.

When I started playing in Mel Lewis’ band, I

became Gary Smulyan’s number one sub back in

the days. I played many, many times in that band

and went to Japan with them. I always brought

the bass clarinet and the guys were like, “Wow,

nobody ever does that.” But for me it was kind of

fun, and fun to hear those parts played as they

were intended, on a bass clarinet. I like doubling.

I like playing all the different sounds. I have

great respect for specialization. Some people

really specialize and hone a particular skill and

really get it to a very, very high level and part of

me wishes I were more that way. But I have to be

true to my nature. It seems to be my nature to

have a thousand interests and to get all excited

about a million different things and add them all

into what I do - so it quickly spirals out of con-

trol and I end up with these big complicated pro-

jects in various stages, full of instruments that I

have to haul around. But it’s all part of the fun.

JI: What is your “laboratory” like?

SR: Well, you know, I’m attracted to science.

I’m not any kind of scientist and I never went to

school for any of that but I’m attracted to the

aesthetics of science and I use that in my music. I

use it a lot. I like taking scientific materials and

looking at them from an aesthetic viewpoint, and

using them in composition and in performance. If

you came into my lab, you’d see a lot of amazing

instruments, all kinds of unbelievable sound

sources and strange devices. You’d also see

some actual laboratory equipment, some chemi-

cal, glassware and stuff like this. Strange beakers

and vials kind of hanging around the room and

that’s just part of the vibe out there. I have a

round disc that lights up. It looks like lightning

sort of, and it responds to sound - and they used

these in Star Trek when the board is recharging.

They use these weird plates that describe these

strange electrical arcs. I just like to turn it on and

it really puts a vibe in the room - puts a kind of

science meets music-of-the-future feeling in the

room.

JI: Let’s talk about some of the artists with

whom you’ve played who have made an impact

on your artistry and/or your perspectives about

music. You’ve played with such a wide variety

of artists, including those whose roots are in an-

other era, the Swing Era - like Buck Clayton and

Lionel Hampton.

SR: My earliest heroes in this music were Lester

Young, Ben Webster, Louis Armstrong, Albert

Ayler, Rahsaan Roland Kirk. These are people

that I listened to when I was a boy. I don’t get

caught up in the debates over whether the music

of the 20s is more or less valid than the music of

the 30s or whether be bop was somehow the end

of jazz. We call Bebop modern jazz. Well, it’s

from the 1940s, you know? It’s a long time ago

now. It’s splitting hairs really to me to argue

about Bebop versus Swing or others. But there

are a lot of people out there that are ready to go

to the mat over these kinds of distinctions. I love

the music. To me, it’s a big river. The music is

all connected. Every part of it feeds on every

other part of it and it moves together with a pur-

posefulness all of its own. What appears to us to

be part of the river is more a reference to the

landscape around it because the water is moving.

The river itself has already moved on. I love the

music, if it’s good creative music. If it’s part of

that great continuum, then I love it with all my

heart and to be able to play with the masters of


“In baseball, kids grow up idolizing Mickey Mantle ... If they’re fortunate enough to get to a point where they can actually become

a major league player, Mickey Mantle is long gone. But I get to play with “Mickey

Mantle.” I grew up listening to Frank Wess – and I reached a point where I can

go play at the Vanguard with Frank Wess.”

Scott Robinson “I like doubling. I like playing all the different sounds.”

INTERVIEWINTERVIEW


Scott RobinsonScott Robinson Appearing at Jazz StandardAppearing at Jazz Standard

October 31October 31

By Eric NemeyerBy Eric Nemeyer


xxxxxxxxxx

this music from different eras is one of the great

treasures of my life. It’s one of the great opportu-

nities of what I do. In baseball, kids grow up

idolizing Mickey Mantle for example. If they’re

fortunate enough to get to a point where they can

actually become a major league player, Mickey

Mantle is long gone. But I get to play with

“Mickey Mantle.” I grew up listening to Frank

Wess – and I reached a point where I can go play

at the Vanguard with Frank Wess. That is such

an incredible thing. I’m so grateful for that. I got

to play with Buck Clayton in his band, and rec-

ord with him. I got to play with Illinois Jacquet.

JI: What kinds of ideas did you pick up in terms

of leadership from some of these artists?

SR: I’ve worked for some pretty tough people.

I’ve worked for some people that are not very

nice and I’ve worked for some people who are

really great leaders. Maria Schneider is very

demanding in a certain way. She really knows

what she wants to get out of the music. It’s never

sufficient to just play the written notes and snore

your way through parts. You’ve got to really

bring it to life. She’s always asking for dynamics

and emotion - and you’ve got to put a lot of feel-

ing into it. You’ve got to understand the intent of

the music, and really give it what it needs to

come to life. She’s very specific about these

things. But at the same time, she loves spontanei-

ty. She loves the creative people that she’s

brought into the band and she loves to wind them

up and let them go - and when they go, she just

revels in it. She’s very grateful to her musicians

for what they do. She does what a lot of band

leaders never do – she sends cards or calls up the

next day and leaves a message saying, “Oh,

Scott, that was just so incredible what you played

last night. I can’t believe it. I’m still flying.” Not

everybody does that. She really is communica-

tive and she’s just a great, great gal. She’s got

everyone’s respect - and I’ve worked for plenty

of people that are not that way. They know who

they are.

JI: Could you elaborate a bit about how she

communicates some of the things that she wants

during a rehearsal?

SR: She’ll gesture with her hands, and she’ll say,

“That part needs to rise up. Think of yourself as

flying. Think of yourself as flying through the

clouds and you’re soaring over everything and

you’re a little bit afraid.” She’ll give you ideas

like that - emotional things, almost programmatic

considerations that inform how the music is sup-

posed to sound … how it’s supposed to be real-

ized. Much of her music tells stories - and the

players need to understand the type of story

that’s being told so that they can …. we’re ac-

tors in a way, aren’t we? We’re playing a role.

We’re playing a role in some larger drama. So as

actors, we need to find the voice and the manner-

isms that bring the drama to life. Her music is

very dramatic. There’s a lot of story in it - so it

places those types of demands on a performer

where somebody else’s music might not.

JI: By comparison, how does that compare to

someone like Anthony Braxton for example?

SR: Working with Anthony Braxton … there’s

another great example of somebody that I idol-

ized from boyhood and eventually found myself

performing with. He is a real treasure. He’s

something very, very special - very powerful

work ethic, incredibly productive person, also

very demanding in a certain way. Of course, his

music is very different from Maria Schneider’s.

Much of the music I played with Braxton was

highly notated and very, very complex. I did one

quintet performance with him where we played

standards, actually, interpreted in a very free-

wheeling manner.

JI: I remember an album of his from the 1970s

on ECM where he played Charlie Parker’s har-

monically developed “Donna Lee.”

SR: Yeah, right, right. He did a couple of albums

like that. One of them was with Hank Jones. I

asked Hank about that. I said, “What did you

think of that?” He said, “That cat has a very indi-

vidual sound and approach to music, and I re-

spected that and I really enjoyed the sessions.”

JI: Over the years I have read attacks on Antho-

ny Braxton by some well known players.

SR: Yeah, Anthony Braxton gets thrown into the

slop bucket termed “free jazz” - which is kind of

ludicrous. He’s certainly capable of playing in a

free, improvised manner. He does a lot of that

but the bulk of his work is compositional. His are

highly original compositions. He’s much more

interested in that then in just a lot of free, open

blowing. When you play in his ensemble, you

have a certain amount of freedom to make per-

sonal statements. But you must hue to the intent

of the music and the arc that’s being described

compositionally. That’s what’s important. Brax-

ton is an amazingly hard working person, incred-

ibly prolific. He’s written all this music … and

all these operas. A term like free jazz becomes

very silly when you’re speaking of someone like

Braxton. You asked what I appreciated about

Braxton. The strongest comment I could make is

that he’s a great example - maybe the greatest

living example - of someone who has really cre-

ated his own world in this music. As much as he

loves standards, and he loves Lester Young, and

he loves the whole spectrum of the music … but

within the genre, he’s beyond it really. He’s

managed to create a world all of his own. I keep

an Anthony Braxton file, a Sun Ra file, a Mel

Lewis file.

JI: Did he provide you with any particular direc-

tion or suggestions that you found particularly

noteworthy?

SR: Well, I know you like motivational kinds of

comments. I met him again after I moved to New

York. This might have been 1985. My first al-

bum came out in 1984. It was an LP. I saw Brax-

ton at Sweet Basil and I brought him a copy of

the LP. He was incredibly enthusiastic about it.

He looked at it and all the different instruments,

and wow. He was really grateful for it and in-

credibly friendly. He started saying, “You know,

we’re in a difficult cycle right now. There are a

lot of problems in the world. But the important

thing is that people like you and I keep on play-

ing music like our lives depend on it.” He said

that very emphatically and with great passion.

That stuck in my mind. He’s very enthusiastic

about other people’s work. Years later he started

talking to me about that record and I realized

wow, he really did go and listen to it and pay

attention – so that years later he can come back

and talk to me about it. It was amazing. He loves

music. I don’t know how he finds the time to

listen to all the stuff he loves listening to, and

write all the stuff that he writes. Another guy that

I used to speak with a lot was Sun Ra. I used to

see Sun Ra all the time - any chance I got. He

was very friendly to me and we would sit and

talk for hours sometimes. He was very giving of

his time, very encouraging. He gave me his

book, signed it for me and everything and would-

n’t take any money for it. He was a really nice

guy to me. He was another amazing person who

created his own world.


[Anthony Braxton said] “‘You know, we’re in a difficult cycle right now. There are a lot of problems in the

world. But the important thing is that people like you and I keep on playing

music like our lives depend on it.’”

Scott Robinson


Matt WilsonMatt Wilson Appearing at Dizzy’s ClubAppearing at Dizzy’s Club

October 12October 12--1313


“In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce

man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds,

the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.”

- Mark Twain

By Eric Nemeyer

JI: What are your top five desert island drum-

records that you couldn’t possibly live with-

out, and please state why? The leader doesn’t

have to be a drummer, but please choose al-

bums based on the role of the drums.

MW: Off the top of my head: (1) Study in

Brown - Max Roach – Clifford Brown Quintet

This was a serious band and the way Max

sings on these tunes is astounding. (2) Out of

the Afternoon - Roy Haynes - Wow! Roy is a

prime example of playing melody and con-

veying The Song in what ever he plays. He is

always playing the song. Incredibly creative

and you feel everything he plays. (3) But Not

for Me - Ahmad Jamal Trio Live at the Per-

shing - Vernel Fournier plays gorgeous trans-

parent time on this record that allows Ahmad

to dance over the feel. I can listen to this eve-

ryday and still marvel at its simplicity. His

brush sound is awesome also. (4) Coltrane-

John Coltrane Quartet w/ Elvin Jones - I am

always drawn to this recording for it is so

clear. I loved Elvin because his touch was so

amazing. I never thought of Elvin as loud, his

sound was warm and would just wash over

you like a wave of warm water. (5) Moanin’ –

Art Blakey (6) It Might as Well be Swing -

Basie with Sinatra, Sonny Payne. (7) Go -

Dexter Gordon with Billy Higgins. Okay, this

is seven CDs - but what the heck. Swing is a

great beat! These are proof!

JI: When you first embarked on the sophisti-

cated journey of becoming an improvising

drummer, or a jazz drummer, what were some

methods that you found extremely useful to

achieving your goals?

MW: I was fortunate to always be playing

music with musicians so my development was

not sitting in a practice room and working out

something that I would lay on the music when

I did get a chance to play. I always liked to

play to play the song. I also was improvising

all of the time because I did not know any

better. I did not read music until later which

was, as I look back, a blessing. I learned with

my ears and not my eyes.

JI: As an artist, your state of mind and ability

to dig deep is

important. Out-

side of playing,

what do you do to

re-center and find

peace of mind?

What do you do

to break through

all of the surface

stress in our con-

temporary world?

MW: Laugh often and enjoy my kids. They re

-center me and drive me crazy at the same

time. That is great! We have been trying as a

family to get out and experience the world in

activities that are as technology-free as possi-

ble. Appreciate what is right with world in-

stead of always stressing about what is wrong.

Eat good food made with love and offered

with pride. Take walks, do yoga and help peo-

ple.

JI: What is it about musical improvisation

that you find so valuable? What does it offer

to you, your band-mates, and the listeners?

What motivates you and drives you forward?

MW: I love music that is occurring in the

moment when the musicians are welcoming

and allowing what is supposed to happen to

happen. It is risky business and the vulnerabil-

ity is what, to me, allows a jazz performance

to be so exhilarating. I am constantly mar-

veled by how a group of musicians can do this

and I do it almost everyday. I want to be na-

ïve, I don’t want to know what it is but just

celebrate that it is a vital part of my life.

JI: What was it that initially inspired you to

become a drummer? How did it all start?

MW: I saw Buddy Rich on the Lucy Show

when I was in the second grade and that was

the spark. I later had a friend who had a rec-

ord. Rich vs.[Max] Roach and the second I

heard Max improvise over the bass line I

knew that this was the sound that sang to me.

I heard melody!!

JI: Do you feel that it is important for drum-

mers to explore musical elements other than

rhythm, such as melody and harmony in order

to better empathize with their band-mates, or

bring another dimension into their own play-

ing?

MW: Every instrument plays melody, harmo-

ny and rhythm. The drums are a melodic in-

strument when approached that way. The sax-

ophone is a melodic instrument when ap-

proached that way. You dig? To me, when we

play time we play melody. The ride cymbal is

a melody instrument. Check out Elvin Jones,

Roy Haynes and Tony Williams and hear the

melody of their time. Woo hoo!

JI: As a musician, what do you feel your role

or responsibility is in our society? Is what you

do something only for you and the musicians

you are sharing the stage with, or are you try-

ing to achieve something outside of that mi-

crocosm?

MW: Play some music that helps folks escape

for a bit. Improvised music is shared in the

moment so the audience is a vital part of the

experience. They want to be included in the

journey so welcome them and take them

somewhere. Let. Let them laugh, let them cry

and let them know you.

JI: What is the greatest compliment that you

can receive as a musician?

MW: From players: It sure is fun to play with

you. From an audience: It sure is fun to hear

you. From a promoter: It sure is fun to have

you here.

JI: What is the most rewarding facet of your

life as an artist?

MW: Playing music with a community of

amazing musicians that I love dearly as peo-

ple.

Matt Wilson

“I learned with my ears and not my eyes”

INTERVIEWINTERVIEW

“Appreciate what is right with world instead of always

stressing about what is wrong.”


By John Barrett, Jr.

A common theme is the Tragic Ending: a

player emerges from nowhere, dazzles the

crowd for a few years, and then dies or disap-

pears or somehow escapes notice. For whatev-

er reason, most of these tales are told of trum-

peters. There is Bix Beiderbecke, a hot stylist

whose best years were spent in a much-

maligned dance band. There is Fats Navarro,

whose amazing energy was de-

stroyed by narcotics and fad diets.

There is Dupree Bolton, a brilliant

hard-bopper who made two albums

and spent much of his remaining life

in prison.

And at the head of the list we

have Clifford Brown…who has

little in common with the others. He

recorded often, worked tirelessly at

his craft, had a stable home life, and

was riding a wave of hard-earned

success. His demise was not self-

inflicted, and it came without warn-

ing: the car slid out of control, as

the wife of a bandmate was driving

him home. He accomplished all of

this in four years, and there is no

telling what more he could have

done. You can hardly get more trag-

ic than that.

Clifford Brown’s style has two

distinct elements, which are oppo-

site yet complimentary. His pace is

typically fast; notes zigzag as they

climb upward, and the intensity always grows.

In this aspect he resembles Roy Eldridge—a

constant competitor, full of fight. At the same

time, his tone rarely slurs, no matter how fast

he goes. The notes are clearly separate from

each other, usually pure in tone. It is rare to

hear him raspy, or short of breath. This trait

he shares with classical trumpeters, and with

Rafael Mendez, a man he admired greatly.

(This admiration was mutual; according to

Chris Powell, Mendez gave Brown his trum-

pet when they first met.)

When asked to name his influences on a

1954 questionnaire, Clifford cited one man:

Fats Navarro. While both travel similar lines,

Fats has a slightly rougher tone, and a simpler

approach to solos. While Navarro charges

forward, Clifford will go on quote-filled ex-

cursions—if Fats’ solos are diagonal lines,

Brown’s are elegant, finely-wrought curves.

Each phrase is part of the big picture; every

note has its purpose. It is a very competitive

style, demanding concentration and discipline.

Clifford Brown had these traits in abundance,

and it might be from the way he was brought

up.

He was born in Wilmington, Delaware, a

town not too far from Philadelphia. His moth-

er Estella helped run an employment agency;

Joe Brown worked as a porter, a fireman, and

at one time a deputy sheriff. They were mar-

ried in 1913, and later found a house on Pop-

lar Street; when Clifford was born in 1930,

the house was full of success stories. Marie

Brown graduated high school at the age of 15,

the first in school history to do this; Ellsworth

was a chess instructor at the Wilmington

YMCA, and later taught Clifford the game.

Three of the Brown children went to college,

an amazing achievement for the era; both par-

ents found a way to stress education. As one

child put it, if someone said “Where’s the

jelly at?” the answer would be “Right in back

of the preposition.”

As the youngest, Clifford was babied a

bit. Joe Brown would buy used toys for the

kids and refurbish them; not so for Clifford,

whose playthings were new. He could read

before he entered school, and rode a girl’s

bike at the age of two. (He couldn’t reach the

seat, so he’d sit on the bar between the

wheels!) He would discover his favorite toy a

few years later…even before he had any inter-

est in music. Father owned several instru-

ments (piano, violin, trumpet); he’d play these

in his spare time, and would try to teach the

kids. He was showing the trumpet to Eugene

Brown when Clifford got excited. “When I

was too little to reach it, I’d climb to where it

was (in a closet) and I kept on knocking it

down.”

Joe got the message: he gave his son an

old bugle, and after messing around with it,

Clifford joined the school band. That was how

he got his first trumpet—by age

twelve he was taking lessons with

Robert “Boysie” Lowery. Using no

book, no formal program, Lowery

taught Clifford how to recognize

chord changes, and how to impro-

vise around them. Lowery calls his

system “the classes”; it helped

Clifford, but Boysie was modest

about it. “He really knew what he

wanted to do as far as music was

concerned. All he needed was the

right person, and I think I was the

one at the time.”

While still in junior high,

Clifford was playing in The Little

Dukes, a boys’ band organized by

Robert Lowery. He’d occasionally

replace Lowery in his own group,

The Aces of Rhythm. He couldn’t

do it often, as he was too young to

get in the clubs. In 1946, he entered

Howard High School, where his

music teacher was Harry Andrews,

a Columbia graduate and former

Army bandmaster. “Many times I’d be clean-

ing up my desk after school, and he’d stick his

head in and ask if I had time for another les-

son. And we’d go at it. But he was ahead of

me. He knew polytonality. He played all those

little grace notes.” Even at this stage, much of

his style was already established.

Brown’s schedule never let up. In addi-

tion to The Aces of Rhythm, he played in the

Howard High marching band—and was writ-

ing arrangements for it. He was a frequent

participant at YMCA jam sessions, and played


Clifford Brown His Life & Music — Part 1

Jazz Loves Its Heroes, And Loves To Tell Stories About Them -

In Time, These Stories Acquire The Appearance Of Mythology.

FEATUREFEATURE


with the Wilmington Elks Club band. (They

also jammed at the Brown household; among

the participants was Rashied Ali.) He graduat-

ed in the spring of 1948; that Fall he enrolled

at Delaware State College, where his playing

was already known. (At that time the school

had no music department; Clifford’s scholar-

ship was for mathematics.) On weekdays he

took classes and played at school functions;

every weekend he’d go to Philadelphia and

jam with the pros. This is where his real edu-

cation took place; he practiced with Red Rod-

ney and dueled onstage with his idol Fats Na-

varro. Benny Golson describes one of these

encounters: “…Fats played the first solo, and

then Clifford began to play. Fats held his horn

in his hands the way trumpet players do, and

sort of stepped back—not in awe, but sort of

like in respect. And I’ll tell you, Clifford was

really holding his own.” Not bad for a fresh-

man.

Clifford did well at Delaware State; early

on he was nicknamed “The Brain.” His origi-

nal plan was to teach math if a jazz career

didn’t pan out. But he was increasingly pulled

to music. The deciding factor arrived in the

summer of ’49, when Clifford was home for

vacation. The Dizzy Gillespie big band was

playing in Wilmington, and the hall was

packed. One of the trumpets (Benny Harris)

didn’t make it to the show. In the audience

was Robert Lowery, who had jammed with

Dizzy; he found Clifford (also in the crowd),

led him to the stage, and told Dizzy that here

was a substitute trumpeter. Clifford took a

seat with the professionals, and played up a

storm—Dizzy said, “Where did this guy come

from?” He even took the solo on “I Can’t

Started,” which was normally reserved for

Dizzy. After the show, Gillespie urged the

young man to pursue a life of music. Within

two weeks Clifford had transferred to Mary-

land State College, where the music program

was superb and the college band was begin-

ning to make noise. With Clifford in their

ranks, they’d be making a lot more.

His activity never slowed, even during

summer vacation. There were plenty of jam

sessions, and an increasing number of paying

gigs. At Philadelphia’s Mercantile Hall, a

Brown-led group opened for Max Roach, who

took notice as Clifford’s name was an-

nounced. (He’d been alerted by Dizzy: “Man,

there’s a cat out of Wilmington, who plays

piano and blows the *&#! out of the trum-

pet.”) It was the first time they met; Max

would remember the name.

Come September of 1949, Clifford ar-

rived at Maryland State and found a seat on

the 14-piece college band. He wrote charts for

the group and was also composing, at his most

serious level to date. Besides the band’s regu-

lar concerts, they were often hired for dances

and parties, which sent the group throughout

Maryland.

Near the end of the school year, on June

6, 1950, Clifford and three others were driv-

ing home from a gig. A deer ran across the

road; the car swerved and flipped over. The

driver and his girlfriend were killed. Brown

and another musician were rushed to a hospi-

tal. Clifford was placed in a full-body cast,

and could not move for several months. On

top of this tragedy, Sam Turner, another Mar-

yland State trumpeter, died a few days later in

a separate car accident. And on July 7, the life

of Fats Navarro ended with tuberculosis.

Clifford’s body and spirit were wracked, in all

ways possible. Thankfully, his parents were

nearby, and he received a hospital visit from

Dizzy Gillespie. The advice he gave was sim-

ple: “You’ve got to keep it going.”

He was back in Wilmington, by the end

of the summer, beginning a painful recovery.

He could lift his arms with difficulty, but

could not yet hold a trumpet. Instead he prac-

ticed with just his mouthpiece, and limbered

his fingers on the family piano. He got good

enough to play local gigs as a pianist, and

made a short tour with Robert Lowery.

Clifford returned to the trumpet in the

spring of 1951, and made frequent trips to

Philly. In May of that year saxman Tom Dar-

nall saw Charlie Parker at Club Harlem. “The

band was playing without him, just a trio. He

[Parker] was in the next room. Just sitting in

this huge room by himself…He said ‘Well, go

get your instrument. I fired my trumpet play-

er.’ I happened to mention Clifford, and he

said ‘Go call him!’ Darnall did, from the

club’s phone; Brown played the evening show

with Parker, who told him, ‘I hear what

you’re saying, but I don’t believe it.’”

By this time Clifford had dropped out of

Maryland State; recuperation took all his time.

There were occasional gigs but no full-time

employment—until November 1951. Chris

Powell rolled into town with his band, The

Blue Flames; they were an R&B group with

jazz inclinations. (At the bass was Jymie Mer-

ritt, later of the Jazz Messengers.) Clifford

went to one of their shows, blew a few bars

for Chris Powell, and was offered a job on the

spot. His parents weren’t crazy for the idea

(“You left college to do this?”) but gave their

reluctant blessing—and their son toured the

country, while his body continued to recover.

It was with the Blue Flames that Clifford

made his first recordings: four tunes on the

Okeh label, made in Chicago on March 21,

1952. Clifford solos on two of these numbers;

originally paired on a 45 single, they can now

be heard on The Beginning and the End

(Columbia/Legacy CK 66491).

These are typical jump blues, sung by

Chris Powell; the musicianship is competent

but undistinguished—except for Clifford: he

blossoms on “I Come from Jamaica,” giving

his one chorus the impact of ten. He ignores

the tune’s Latin beat, and showers a fast suc-

cession of high, pure notes. At no point does

Clifford “honk” in the R&B tradition;

throughout he shows a bebop sensibility. Rich

and brassy, he ends in a stunning swagger—

and Powell shouts his encouragement. Brown

then takes a mute on “Ida Red,” rolling a

rhythm to match Eddie Lambert’s guitar. Each

phrase is rounded, and the sound is warm…in


“The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes.

That’s the day we truly grow up.”

- John Maxwell

Clifford Brown

“… by age twelve he was taking lessons with Robert ‘Boysie’ Lowery. Using no book, no formal program, Lowery taught Clifford how to recognize

chord changes, and how to improvise around them. Lowery calls his system ‘the classes’; it

helped Clifford, but Boysie was modest about it. ‘He really knew what he wanted to do as far as

music was concerned. All he needed was the right person, and I think I was the one at the time.’”


contrast to Dizzy, whose mute work could be

piercing in tone. Unlike the band, Clifford

took his role here quite seriously. He is practi-

cally the only reason to hear these tunes—and

you can hear, even at this time, the genesis of

his style to come.

During Brown’s stay, the Powell band

grew in popularity—but Clifford was getting

restless. He had to dance as he played, which

was hard on his still-healing legs. As always,

his first love was jazz, which he played when-

ever he got the chance. He wrote and arranged

for the Powell group. One tune was called

“Commercialized Utensils” - but none of

these items were recorded. He found time for

jam sessions wherever the band was playing,

trading licks with Stan Getz and with John

Coltrane, who at the time was also on the

R&B circuit. When Getz’ wife was arrested

for heroin, Brown organized a concert on

Stan’s behalf, which raised five hundred dol-

lars. And as Clifford played beside the jazz

giants, word was getting around.

In Philly he ran into Tadd Dameron, who

was re-organizing his band after a long ab-

sence. Tadd needed a trumpeter, and Brown

was very interested—he’d be filling a chair

once held by Fats Navarro. The group was set

to record in early ’52 but the session was de-

layed, owing to Tadd’s drug problems.

Clifford toured with Chris Powell for another

year, then received two offers to record in

June of 1953. (The parting with Powell was

amicable; Chris wished him good luck, and

Clifford sought his advice in later years.)

Brown hurried to New York, and was in

the WOR studio on June 9, for a session led

by Lou Donaldson. (The other players were

equally stellar: Elmo Hope, Percy Heath, and

“Philly” Joe Jones.) These men took no pris-

oners, but neither did Clifford: his power is

evident on “Brownie Speaks,” his first record-

ed composition. Its theme is compact and

busy, scaling up and down a few notes; the

horns parallel on the theme and harmonize on

the bridge. Brown’s solo is confident, mixing

clear notes with slurred, brassy clusters—this

is miles away from his work with Chris Pow-

ell. There’s a sly quote of “Swingin’ on a

Star,” while Hope jabs some sour notes; Don-

aldson works even faster, though his tone

sounds a little pinched. On the basis of this

tune alone, the rookie had proven himself.

Lou is much better on “You Go to My

Head,” taking the first solo with creamy, vi-

brato-filled notes. He then follows with a dou-

ble-time flurry, stunning in its intricacy and

tunefulness. Clifford is strong with a three-

note pattern, after which he goes racing: it’s a

little muddy at first, but soon straightens out.

The ending, where both horns weave around

each other, is truly special—and Elmo ends

the tune in a romantic flourish. The album,

optimistically titled New Faces - New Sounds

(Blue Note 5030), met every expectation.

In two days Clifford was back in the

same studio, recording for Tadd Dameron; he

was reunited with Percy and Philly Joe, and

surrounded by a crop of young horns. Produc-

ing the session was Ira Gitler, who had heard

of Clifford but hadn’t yet heard him. In the

week before the session, Tadd boasted to Git-

ler of his new trumpeter—and still Ira was

surprised. “When Brownie took his first solo

on ‘Philly J.J’, I nearly fell off my seat in the

control room…Brownie, although influenced

by Fats, was not just an imitation of Fats—he

was a new trumpet giant.” Grand praise from

a seasoned critic…but listening proves this is

not hyperbole.

Four tunes were recorded, with two takes

of “Choose Now.” (After Clifford’s death,

these tracks became Side Two of Clifford

Brown Memorial—Prestige 7055/OJC-017.)

“Philly J.J.” is as advertised: a feature for the

drummer, he pours on the cymbals after the

short theme. There are a few interjections of

brass, then Clifford gets his first solo: calm

and glassy, his notes hit the roof in varying a

few simple ideas. (The backing horns are a

little too loud, and obscure Brown’s soft mo-

ments.) He is relaxed, yet powerful; Benny

Golson tries hard on his solo, a disjointed first

chorus but a great second. “Philly” Joe then

gets his chance, and the ensemble roars home.

“Dial ‘B’ for Beauty” offers a contrast:

after Clifford’s proud fanfare, Tadd plays

alone, accented by brushes. Though his piano

work is often maligned, Dameron was capable

of great delicacy; this solo tiptoes, and shows

some Ellington mannerisms. Golson is gem-

like on his short solo, and Oscar Estell has a

choice phrase on baritone. Brown’s mute is

sassy on “Theme of No Repeat,” yawning

through a sweet chorus. (The open horn on the

theme is likely the work of Idrees Sulieman.)

Clifford stays in the middle register for the

first take of “Choose Now” and spins a fast

circle. (Here the notes run together, without

the precision he normally has.) Take Two is

slightly faster: Clifford’s solo is shorter, and

better executed. (The same is true of Golson,

whose effort has a raspy kick.)

Following this session, the Dameron band

headed for Atlantic City, where they played

the Paradise Club, opening for comedians like

Redd Foxx. The Lionel Hampton band was in



“One of the trumpets (Benny Harris) didn’t make it to the show. In the audience was Robert Lowery, who had jammed with Dizzy; he found Clifford (also in the crowd), led him to the stage, and told

Dizzy that here was a substitute trumpeter. Clifford took a seat with the professionals, and played up a storm—Dizzy said, ‘Where did this guy come from?’ He even took the solo on ‘I Can’t Started,’ which was normally reserved for Dizzy. After the show, Gillespie urged the young man to pursue a life of music. Within two weeks

Clifford had transferred to Maryland State College, where the music program was superb and the college band was beginning to make noise. With Clifford in their ranks, they’d be making a lot more.”

Clifford Brown


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nearby Wildwood, New Jersey, playing the

Surf Club. The two groups would jam togeth-

er in their off-hours, and this would lead to

the next chapter in Clifford’s career.

During the Dameron engagement, there

was time for another recording session. In the

WOR studios on June 22 (for the third time in

two weeks), Clifford was back for Blue Note,

this time in support of J.J. Johnson. Simply

titled Jay Jay Johnson With Clifford Brown

(Blue Note 5028), this had Percy’s brother

Jimmy Heath on sax, and the rhythm section

of the Modern Jazz Quartet. John Lewis rolls

a fast start on “Get Happy,” and the horns

sound modern on the reharmonized theme.

Johnson’s solo is sculpted, with smooth flu-

gelhorn notes; there’s almost none of the

trombone’s rasp. Heath, on tenor, sounds alto-

like as he twists through the heights of the

instrument’s range. Clifford climbs in little

steps, then hits a thrilling succession of high

notes; at the end of his solo the others join

him. By session’s end, Alfred Lion was duly

impressed. The producer signed Clifford to a

Blue Note contract, after which Brown re-

turned to the Dameron gig. Just another day’s

work for the increasingly busy trumpeter.

The job at the Paradise ended on the last

week of June. Quincy Jones, then playing in

the Hampton trumpet section, stopped by the

club with an offer for Clifford. Dameron, ap-

parently angry at this overture, fired Brown

and two others. Within a week, he was play-

ing with Hamp at the Surf Club. Preparing for

a European tour, Lionel was bolstering his

roster with a flock of rising stars: Art Farmer,

Buster Cooper, Jimmy Cleveland—plus Gigi

Gryce and Oscar Estell, who came with

Clifford from the Dameron band. To get the

new guys rehearsed before they hit the Conti-

nent, there was a two-week engagement at

New York’s Band Box, starting on August 18.

Ten days later, Brown joined Gryce and four

others in his first record date as a leader.

The session was arranged by Quincy

Jones, who also wrote two of the tunes. Percy

and Lewis were in the band, as was Art Bla-

key, who had jammed with Clifford on a pre-

vious occasion. The leader glows on Quincy’s

“Brownie Eyes”: he blows as Gigi whispers a

flute. A little gritty on the approach, Clifford

sounds friendly through his attack; Gigi might

be even better, softly moaning with his alto.

Lewis plays the theme on “Cherokee” as

Brown unleashes a chain of interconnected

notes, in rolling rhythm. His first chorus may

be too fast, but in time Clifford finds the right

thing to say; so does Blakey, who breathes

fire on the exchanges. They sink their teeth

into Gryce’s “Hymn of the Orient”: Lewis

comps sadly; Charlie Rouse strikes hard on

his solo, while Brown’s is a riot of short, re-

lated phrases. The exchanges are priceless:

Clifford plays a toy-soldier march as Art hits

the “Topsy” drum riff. The resulting album

(Blue Note 5032) was highly anticipated, and

accurately titled: New Star on the Horizon.

Back at the Band Box, Clifford was prov-

ing his worth every night. Lionel Hampton

loved horn battles, and would call on his sec-

tions for dueling solos. Art Farmer would

usually take the first solo, and Brown would

follow: “He would send Brownie after me,

and then we would play choruses, halves,

eights, and fours…I must admit I was more

than a bit jealous of his ability to play so well.

However, he was such a sweet and warm hu-

man being, I was forced to like him, even

though he made things very difficult for me as

a trumpet player.”

On September 2, 1953, the Lionel Hamp-

ton Orchestra boarded a plane for Oslo; for

most of the group, it was their first time on the

Continent. Those with ambition, like Gigi and

Quincy, viewed Europe as an opportunity:

small labels would record you there, and you

could return home a star. (This had happened

to James Moody, whose first hits were made

in Sweden.) It was also a way to play your

own compositions—the Hampton book large-

ly consisted of standards and jam blues. It

seemed like a great chance, and the young

trumpeters were ready to take it.

Of course, Lionel Hampton saw it differ-

ently. If his sidemen made sessions for Euro-

pean labels, this could decrease the recording

offers for the band as a whole. He may also

have thought that the music could suffer if the

men were distracted with side projects. As the

group left home, he laid down a law: individu-

al band members cannot record in Europe

unless Hampton also participates. Violators

will be fired on the spot, and will not receive

passage back to America. The musicians lis-

tened; they agreed to the terms. And they fig-

ured out ways of getting around the rule.

The first stop was Oslo, with a week of

concerts starting on September 6. The group

was well-received, and Clifford got his share

of solo time. By September 13 they had ar-

rived at Stockholm, and Quincy Jones went to

work. On the morning of September 15,

Quincy made some sides for the Swedish

Metronome label; he promised to return at

midnight with other musicians. After Hamp-

ton’s evening concert, Jones, Farmer, and

Brown returned to their hotel rooms, saying

they were tired. Road manager George Hart

was camped out in the hotel’s lobby, making

sure no one left the building with their instru-

ments. Hart never budged all night, so the

three trumpeters snuck out the back door and

headed for the Metronome studio.

Brown and Farmer were backed by a

group called the Swedish All-Stars; some of

them played behind Moody on his ’49 rec-

ords. The best-known among them would be

Arne Domnerus on the alto sax, and baritonist

Lars Gullin, who impressed Chet Baker when

they first played together. This might not have

been planned as a Clifford Brown session; on

three of the four tunes the first trumpet solo

goes to Art Farmer. (These also found their

way on Clifford Brown Memorial - Prestige

7055/ OJC-017.) “Stockholm Sweetnin’” has

since become a standard, largely on the

strength of this version. Farmer and Gullin

take the theme, with the whole group in re-

sponse; Art’s tone is slightly sandy, and his

solo style (a short phrase, varied often) resem-

bles Clifford’s. Domnerus is gentle, with

notes that lightly skip. You’d call him influ-

enced by Paul Desmond…only Desmond

wouldn’t be famous for another year! (Did

Arne create this style of alto? The world may

never know.) Brown’s solo sounds like

Farmer’s—except the lines are more involved,

the notes faster, and the tone much clearer. He

only gets a chorus to prove his skill, but it is

sufficient.

(Continued in the next issue)


Clifford Brown

“Clifford Brown’s style has two distinct elements, which are opposite yet complimentary. His pace is

typically fast; notes zigzag as they climb upward, and the intensity always grows. In this aspect he resembles

Roy Eldridge—a constant competitor, full of fight. At the same time, his tone rarely slurs, no matter how fast he goes. The notes are clearly separate from each other, usually pure in tone. It is rare to hear

him raspy, or short of breath.”

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Documents

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