Bopnicity...Uniquely Jazz Culture
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Bud Powell:
Profile of A Genius
Chick Corea & Friends
Remembering Bud Powell
"I grew up with Bud's music and absorbed his personal approach. I learned an incredible amount about music and improvising at the piano through him. I think more than any other pianist Bud has remained a constant inspiration to me. His compositions and recorded work are a true legacy in jazz and 20th century American music...."
- Chick Corea -
Earl "Bud" Powell was the very epitome of Bopnicity...the essence of bop. Bud's name is synonymous with bop. Often when he is thought of and his name is spoken, it is usually done in relationship to bop...bebop.
The name Bud Powell has always been beloved and revered and spoken of with the utmost of respect by those creative artists, his peers who knew and worked with him...that included Art Tatum, Cootie Williams, Charlie "Yard Bird" Parker, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Count Basie, Nat "King" Cole, Don Byas, Miles Davis (pictured upper right with Bud), Hazel Scott, Dizzy Gillespie...and by many of those who came after him.
Bud Powell did not received the acclaim he was worthy of. Nor was there wide public knowledge and acknowledegement of and appreciation for this monumental giant who was milennia ahead of his time...of the times.
The creativity of this genius, this revolutionary, this quintessential talent, has been often been overshadowed by a preoccupation with an illness of a sensitive, creative mind, which was inadequately treated and grew worse because of institutional apathy, brutality and racism...that would have rendered less capable mortals totally inept. Yet Bud perservered and against the most difficult of odds flourished...rebounded resiliantly, resounded with titanic energy and exceptional creative ability. Bud was also bolstered, sustained by the support and nourishment of those who loved him, including fellow musicians who worked with him.
But Bud's sheer genius, his legendary status and the flaming torch of his creativity has constantly been a beacon to many who knew and worked with him, such as incredibly talented Roy Haynes (drums)...and to the many of who have gotten to know him through his music...such as luminary pianist Chick Corea...and such young stellar artists as Kenny Garrett (sax), Joshua Redman (sax), Christian McBride (bass) and Wallace Roney (trumpet).
From the opening bopish, high energied, upbeat cut "Bouncy on Chick Corea & Friends Remembering Bud Powell, this stellar ensemble led by Chick, perform Bud's creations meticulously...wonderfully, consummately, respectfully, lovingly with artistic integrity and special care for authenticity.
On the extended length selections on this date, the group stretches out and unleashes its spirited, boundless creative energy and swings harmonically and melodically on such compositions as "Mediocre,"...which is far from that..."Willow Grove" that features the deft, precision drum work of Roy Haynes, the feathery, bumble bee fingered string wizardry of Christian McBride, and the mercurial, magic-fingered playing of Chick Corea..on such Bud works as "Oblivion," and "Tempus Fugit."
Chick and friends are equally adept with their highly skillful interpretations of Bud's soft, delicate, sentimental pieces like "Dusk In Sandi," "I'll Keep Loving You," and "Celia."
Chick Corea & Friends Remembering Bud Powell, is an A-One performance by an extrordinarily talented group of players. And, it is a marvelous tribute, salute and dedication....to a singularly unique, rare, gifted creative being...a majestic talent...a genius who has rightlfully taken his place in the universe of sound of space, and grace...with the other creative geniuses who gave so much of themselves...who have given such magnificent gifts.
Stretch Records/Concord Jazz, 1997
Bill Evans
At The Montreux Jazz Festival
"Bill Evans was (along with McCoy Tyner) the most influential pianist in jazz during the 1960s and 1970s...and beyond Bud Powell had a sophisticated way of voicing chords that has been adopted by a countless number of pianists. Very popular even among nonjazz audiences for his sensitive impressions of ballads, Evans could always swing as hard as anyone when he was inspired."
- All Music Guide To Jazz -
Bill Evans was a singularly rare creative artist...was an iconoclast who had a tremendous, a revolutionary impact on jazz, especially jazz piano. Bill also influenced such legendary talents as Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett. And although he only played with Miles Davis for a brief time (when the group included John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly) Evans is often associated with and remembered for his work with Miles. Bill was also influenced by other musicians. Bud Powell was his primary inspiration. And, his free floating style of playing has often been spoken of in reference Red Garland's (who preceded Evans in Miles group and whom Bill knew and admired) style.
Evans was an innovator, a master of improvisation. And, like Bud Powell, he was a sensitive artist. Bill was known to be introspective--to work from deep within. And, like many other jazz musicians who gave so much of themselves--their extraordinary creative energy and soul--Evans also had an addiction to drugs, one that took his life.
But Bill Evans looms high in the annuals of jazz--and rightfully so--for the extraordinary contributions he made...and for being a highly significant jazz standard bearer. And his style of playing which is being studied and practiced by other musicians, insures that Bill's work, his inspiration...his legend and legacy will flourish...will be honored and celebrated. It means the torch of creative exploration that he took up has been passed on to others and will continue to burn brightly.
When Bill was at his best, he could play brilliantly with high spirit, energy, zest and magic. And, the release Bill Evans At The Montreux Jazz Festival was historic...it was Bill at his best. It was one of his finest hours. He was in command...was focused and in highly creative form. At Montreux he worked his magic on classic standards, transforming them into marvelous works of art. And he worked his magic on the audience...an enthusiastic, exuberant, adoring, appreciative Bill Evans' audience.
In addition to Bill Evans on piano, this Dream Trio included the magnificently talented Eddie Gomez (bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums), two giants of jazz...fine exponents who are still contributing prominently to the genre,...to the institution. The interplay, accompaniment, rapport, and complementation between the trio are also magical.
And, the performance sparkles and shines. The opening cut, a very moving, spirited, up tempo version of "One For Helen, " one of Bill's signature creations, features a fine, buoyant, high energy solo by Eddie Gomez. Even the sentimental classics have a wonderful, open, extroverted feel. Bill renders a gracious, lyrical free flowing piano solos on the Gershwin creation "I Love You Porgy," that features tasty DeJohnnette drum support...and gorgeous feathery brush accents complement that is heard here and throughout the album.
Evans soars...excels on his take of "Some Day My Prince Will Come" which is a joy to listen to. This moving, up tempo take which sounds like a dance in waltz time, and brings to mind Bill's days with Miles Davis ( Miles' 1961 rendition featured Wynton Kelly on piano and John Coltrane on saxophone). The highlight of this classy piece is the predominantly Gomez bass solo that starts off slowly and builds progressively in intensity. Eddie's playing sounds like several instruments...notably like a horn complement. And, Bill gives it a surprising champagne bubbly, magical fingered finish.
After rousing, sustained clapping and a uproarious ovation at the end of "Some Day My Prince Will Come," Bill returns and does several encore tunes that included an extraordinarily soft, delicate, beautiful version of Denny Zeitlin's marvelous work "Quiet Now," which had not been released previously. Even this sentimental composition was characterized by a strong, rhythmic, open, outward execution, as if it were a special gift to the warm, responsive Montreux audience. It seemed as if Bill loved being there and felt the love of the people who had gathered to hear him.
Bill Evans At The Montreux Jazz Festival was a monumental feat for an artist who deserved all of the accolades he received. Evans was an immense talent who contributed powerfully to jazz. And, his work, his enduring legacy stands as a testament, inspiration and education to many, and indeed to posterity.
BR>
Verve, 1968
Cab Calloway
The Hi-De-Ho Man And
Creator of Minnie The Moocher
Cabell "Cab" Calloway, Mr. Entertainer, was truly a one-of- a-kind, classic jazz talent. Cab was really a sort of artist for all seasons, and bandleader par excellence. He started his career singing part-time in Baltimore clubs. In 1927 he became part of a male quartet and appeared in the popular black Plantation Days Revue. When Cab went with the group to Chicago he started working on his own as a singer, drummer and emcee. While introducing shows at the Sunset Cafes, he first displayed his ability as a bandleader in 1929, when he took this role with a group in Chicago known as the Alabamians.
When the group went on to New York, Cab met Louis Armstrong who recommended that he join the Hot Chocolates, a group that was playing at Connie's Inn. Later in 1930, while leading the group the Missourians, Cab started working as a relief band for Duke Ellington at the Cotton Club. At this time his band included Reuben Reeves (trumpet), Ed Swayzee (trombone), Doc Cheatham (trumpet), and Benny Payne (piano).
In 1931 while doing recording and broadcasting, the band became a fabulous success. And, it was at this time that the showman created the theme song "Minnie The Moocher, based upon his performance of "St. James Infirmary." This creative gem was to be the legendary bandman's theme, signature and trademark for the rest of his life. For over ten years, the wild jazzman, held the gig at the Cotton Club which was always packed with audiences that came to see the famous scat man do his fantastic, hip pyrotechnics...hair-flinging, knee/foot/hip/hand gyrating amidst shouts of "Hi-De, Hi-De, Hi-De, Ho." And, of course the audiences clapped and sang along.
Cab Calloway and the band were in demand across the country. Traveling 40-50 weeks out of the year was grueling, but what was most difficult were the segregated living accommondations and dining facilities his and other black groups were subjected to. But Cab and the men persevered, performed and thrilled their many fans with their special brand of jazz, combined with dance, theatre, comedy. They created and performed a wild, mad, mad marvelous kind of entertainment.
Some felt Cab was not a bona fide jazz musician because of his very special hybrid stage act. But many of the musicians he hired, often trained, and worked with in bands up until 1948, bands that included Ben Webster, Chu Berry, Dizzy Gillespie, Cozy Cole, Milt Hinton, Jonah Jones, and Hilton Jefferson also became jazz legends. And, regardless of what critics said, Cab Calloway was ever popular, and was always the consummate entertainer.
In addition to being a renowned bandleader, Cab was also a star of stage and screen. He played Sportin' Life in Porgy And Bess to American and European audiences. His movie credits include The Singing Kid with Al Jolson, Big Broadcast of 1933, Sensations of 1945, and Stormy Weather from 1952-1954 with famed opera diva Leontyne Price. Cab was a warm-up man for the Harlem Globetrotters in 1965, starred with the fabulous Pearl Bailey in the black presentation of Hello Dolly, appeared in Bubbling Brown Sugar, made a guest appearance in The Blues Brothers, was a consultant on the film The Cotton Club, and acted in television commercials.
Cab Calloway was a rare stellar artist, a creative talent, a precious jewel who enjoyed his work for many years, was a favorite with audiences around the world and was loved and respected by his peers. Hi-De, Hi-De, Hi-De, Ho...Cab.
Jazz Legends: In Their Words
Excerpts From Drummer Arthur Taylor's
Notes And Tones
"When I was still in my teens, I met a woman who became my idol. She was my idol then and continued to be my idol...that's Billy Holiday."
Carmen McRae, Jazz Vocalist
"I go to the gym to keep my body in shape so I can hold notes longer, so my stomach will be flat and I'll look handsome."
Miles Davis, Trumpet
"Bebop is the name of a song written by Dizzy Gillespie. As far as I can remember critics called the music be-bop....The music was so unique, and unusual, so fresh and original. At that particular time I remember we were playing a song called 'Be-Bop,' and they (critics) just called all the music be-bop."
Max Roach, Drums
"'Circa 45', and it means 1945, that's when I was born. I wish I had been born earlier because of that whole period with Bud (Powell) and Bird (Charlie Parker). I'm really sorry I missed that. That's holds a special place in my heart, really. That's what I think about Charlie Parker.
Tony Williams, Drums
"Max Roach defined the word technically. Jazz is not just music, it's a way of life, it's a way of being, a way of thinking."
Nina Simone, Jazz Vocalist
"I only knew blues in B-flat. I was a B-flat man. When they talked about a tune like 'How High The Moon,' and bridges, I thought, what is this jive?...they wouldn't let me on the bandstand, and I felt hurt. I said oh, Lord one thing I have to do is get these cats to accept me. I have got to be initiated into this cult."
Ornette Coleman, Saxophone
"He (Bird) called a tune I had never heard before called 'Painting The Town Red.' He played for about half an hour, and each chorus was more fantastic than the one that had preceded it....everything was flawless, it was perfect. Bird really painted Milwaukee red that night."
Kenny Dorham, Trumpet
"Bird said, 'Hear with your eyes and see with your ears'. I never forgot that. The knowledge Bird had about other things in the world beside music! He was a brilliant man."
Art Blakey, Drums
"Of course my main way of earning a living is pleasing my audience, so I can pay the cats and get paid, too, so I can go home happy. Actually it's a combination of pleasing everybody."
Carmen McRae, Jazz Vocalist
"It was an unprecedented opportunity to do something I really wanted to do. To me it was the best of all possible worlds. Not only did I admire Coltrane as a person, but as a musician there was no one for whom I had a more profound respect. To share musical experiences night after night with this man and in this group was, like I said, the best of all possible worlds. It was a great experience which taught me a great deal."
Elvin Jones, Drums
"When you're scatting, you can almost see the notes. You can see your half-tones and know how they're supposed to sound because you see the keyboard in your head."
Betty Carter, Jazz Vocalist
"Historically, especially in Africa, musicians have been the messengers, the storytellers, the people who influenced their society."
Randy Weston, Piano
"The freedom musicians have a large following....In some cases people like Pharaoh Sanders and Sun Ra give them (their fans) the whole constellation. Yeah they're playing that sort of music correctly.
Philly Joe Jones, Drums
"Bud (Powell) is my baby, my child....He and I were very close. Musically he was unique....He used to like me to play classics for him....He would say, 'Hazel play me some Bach.' There was a certain kind of unworldly quality about him that nobody else had....I love his music. I love everything he did."
Hazel Scott, Piano
"There can be so many different qualities in our music; it can be intellectual music, it can be spiritual music, or music just for joy, or celestial music. John Coltrane was one person who attained this celestial quality. When he came on the scene, he realized that he had to carry the message, and he carried it well. His thinking was spiritual, but instead of speaking it, he would play and you could feel it. You could also feel it in the way he lived and carried himself as a human being."
Don Cherry, Trumpet
Notes And Tones, Arthur Taylor
Copyright 1977, 1982, General
Publishing Company, New York
Treme Brass Band
Gimme My Money Back!
"The Treme Brass Band plays the music of the people. The people in New Orleans who know how to celebrate life with a second line parade or mourn a person's death with a jazz funeral."
- Jerry Bock-
The Treme Brass Band, a premier brass band, has been in the forefront of the resurgence of these groups in the 1980s and 90s. Treme's music reflects the essence, the life force of New Orleans, its jazz, which celebrates, reflects and commemorates the life and history of the African American community there.
Treme is a polished, diversely talented, seasoned group that makes relevant and irrelevant, serious and humorous music equally as well, and that swings rhythmically or solemnly--depending upon the occasion. Its motto is "The Treme Brass Band plays music for all occasions."
As the release Gimme My Money Back" demonstrates, whether playing on stage or on the street, Treme is equally artistically adept, capable and comfortable playing music that ranges from straight ahead traditional New Orleans jazz to second line parade rhythms to gospel to rocking, funkified contemporary dance sounds, with a healthy infusion of tasty improvisation and colorful, spicy, witty humor as well.
Each member of the TremÈ Brass Band is a luminary in his own right. Benny Jones (drummer), leader of the group, has been a major mover and shaker in the New Orleans brass band revival. He performed with the internationally known Dirty Dozen Brass Band from its beginning through most of the 1980s. Lionel Batiste, "Uncle Lionel" or "Unk," and the old man of New Orleans brass bands, enhances the jumping rhythm section with his upbeat bass drum rhythms. Rounding out the rhythm section is tuba player Kirk Joseph and brother Charles, the sons of legendary trombonist Waldren "Frog" Joseph.
Jerry Bock explains, "The Treme Brass Band is unique because it combines the traditional second line parade rhythms with a young front-line of trumpets and trombones combined with veteran reedman Elliot "Stackman" Callier (tenor) and Fred Kemp (soprano and tenor)." The latter two are veterans of the Fats Domino band.
The front line includes trumpet masters Kermit Ruffin and James Andrews, and the fine young trombone player Covey Henry. Kermit co-leads the Rebirth Brass Band and has his own group. At the tender age of twelve, James Andrews also has his own band, the All Star Brass Band. Benny Jones nephew, Covey Henry heads the Lil' Rascals Brass Band.
The musicians that make up the TremÈ Brass Band are masters of traditional New Orleans parade jazz sounds, and they are equally as skillful at rendering fine, popular music. The selections on Gimme My Money Back are great examples of the depth and scope of their artistic capabilities. Pieces on the album range from the traditional gospel, "The Old Rugged Cross," a tribute to New Orleans tenor Emanuel Paul...to the Dexter Gordon composition and title cut, "I Want My Money Back" to "Back O'Town Blues," "Hindustan," "Jesus Is On The Main Line," "Food Stamp Blues," "Just A Closer Walk With Thee," "Chinatown My Chinatown" to Gershwin's "Lady Be Good"--a total of 76 minutes of solid, soul-satisfying, diverse jazz-based roots music.
The Treme Brass Blues Band, a highly talented, top rate group of the highest caliber maintains, preserves and honors traditional New Orleans jazz while exploring and creating music that reflects and celebrates the life and music of the people of New Orleans, the fountainhead of jazz.
Arhoolie Productions, 1995
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
& The Vibration Society
"Kirk in performance was an audio-visual experience unlike any other. A profusion of obsolete pawnshop offshoots of the sax family draped his bulky frame like some Bagdad peddlar's. Suddenly he would cram three horns in his mouth at once, playing two and three part harmony which defied description."
Grover Sales, Jazz: America's Classical Music
Jazz culture is replete with extraordinary talent. One such luminary was Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Rahsaan was a highly gifted genius, a creative force with an ethereal cosmic projection and an earthy, earthly presence, or as Sales describes him, an "unclassifiable" original who was beyond classification. Multi-reedman (instruments he played included the tenor sax, manzello, flute, stritch, and clarinet) Kirk, a rising star in the 1960s, was literally a one man band that played a number of instruments simultaneously while delivering a highly unique, distinct melodic, harmonic rendering on each instrument.
Kirk, said the name "Rahsaan" came to him in a dream, as did the concept of playing three instruments at once. He said "The name (Rahsaan) deals with my religion, which is the religion of dreams and spirits. It is the motivating force of my life." Rahsaan was not visually sighted, but creatively, spiritually, and consciously he was extremely farsighted.
Initially some thought his presentation was a gimmick, a sideshow attraction. But after listening to his music, it was readily discernible that he was a genuinely talented musician. Commenting on Rahsaan's superb ability, Charles Mingus, whom he worked with said, "Rahsaan might spin a bass on top of his head--but that bass is in tune."
Rahsaan's fertile, creative imagination was very evident in his compositions, as were his versions of traditional blues and jazz pieces. His folksy, funky interpretations and humorous, fun loving qualities were evident in his takes on such classics as his bawdy, burlesque-style renditions of "Once In A While" and "Shine On Me," and his own creation "Baby Let Me Shake Your Tree." His wittiness is also displayed in his version of a traffic jam on "Parisien Thoroughfare," on which he actually recreated the sounds of this bumper-to-bumper vehicular madness.
It was always a joy to see Rahsaan and the members of the Vibration Society, which often included Howard Johnson (tuba), Dick Griffin (trombone), Leroy Jenkins (violin), Ron Burton (piano), Vernon Martin (bass), James Madison (drums), Alvern Bunn (conga), and Joe Texidor (tambourine and sound tree). No matter how many times one saw Rahsaan, each performance was totally different, fresh, ingenious, inventive, refreshing, and fulfilling.
Rahsaan's music was immersed in and reflective of African American culture, history and classic jazz. His performance was often reminiscent of the oral style presentation given by the griot who related history through narrative and music. This style is apparent on such compositions as "Blacknuss," "Volunteer Slavery," "Black Root," and "Black Classical Rap." Rahsaan was always as accurate and precise musically, especially when paying homage to other legends of jazz, as he was culturally.
Although he had a joy for life that was often very much a part of his music, his astute ability as a musician, composer and arranger were also quite evident in his work. This side of Rahsaan was shown in the exquisite, beautiful, haunting, melodic music/narrative, "The Inflated Tear," and in his renditions, often medleys, of such jazz classics as "Satin Doll" and "In A Sentimental Mood," interpolated with such compositions and dedications as "Thank You Bird" and "Lady's Blues."
Rahsaan often collaborated with such jazz giants as bassist Charles Mingus, pianist Jaki Byard and vocalist Al Hibler. His composition "Bright Moments" became a favorite tune and a hip term so widely used that it has become standard in jazz circles. His powerful, moving poetic work, "Return of the Eulipians," which is out of print, became a jazz culture favorite also.
Although Rahsaan was only on this planet for a brief 41 years, the creative body of work and the legacy that he left attest to the far-reaching effect his presence had and is continuing to have today. And, Rahsaan had received critical acclaim and had developed a loyal, devoted following in America and in Europe.
Rahsaan who was motivated by the forces of dreams and spirits, and who possessed a highly evolved imagination--this singular, universal talent, creative force, who had a deep spiritual cosmic inner being and vision, and expressive outer vibrations--was truly a one-of-a-kind classic jazz icon.
Sun Ra's Intergalactic Space Arkestra
Sun Ra, pianist, multi-keyboardist, Arkestra leader extraordinaire, was a pioneer, in futuristic space exploration in sound, into new dimensions of jazz where rhythms became super rhythms. Sun Ra took listeners on voyages through sound to places where no human had gone before.
Sun Ra was a futurist, composer, instrumentalist, philosopher, creative genius, and mentor. He enabled listeners to experience space adventures in sound by creating dynamics, melodies, contrapuntal rhythms that told stories. He used chords that were, as he said, "all combined in my creations to make a new form of modern jazz."
As a teacher/mentor he attained legendary stature when he moved from Chicago (where his music was often misunderstood and was not received well) to New York where he had already earned the respect of fellow creative artists that including Donald Byrd, Art Blakey and Max Roach. He was known as the teacher who inspired Ahmad Jamal, and for his stellar ability as an Arkestra leader whose band included such luminaries as Julian Priester, Clifford Jordan, Richard Evans, John Gilmore, and Pat Patrick.
Sun Ra studied, mastered and used global musical sounds and instruments such as Indian bells, Chinese wind chimes, gongs, maracas, claves, Turkish cymbals, castanets, as well as conventional instruments and objects the likes wooden blocks, scratchers and cow bells. He also included international musicians in the Arkestra.
Sun Ra was often thought of as paradoxical. He was on one hand a classical jazz artist and purist, and on the other he was a showman of the highest degree. Attending a Sun Ra performance meant you became a part of the performance, the experience. One was prepared, or immersed in the pre-blast off activities by costumed singers and dancers, who often performed amidst flashing strobe lights that helped create the feeling of flashing stars and movement through the galaxies. Compositions that were played and sung included "Tapestry From An Asteroid," "Jet Flight," "Space Jazz Reverie" and "Looking Outward."
However, Sun Ra's innovative, music, intergalactic textual sounds, rhythms, vocalization and dance movement, could be likened to a journey though another time continuum, and this was his intention. Sun Ra was sincerely dedicated to the belief that the dawning of the Space Age would offer mankind one final chance to achieve harmony, unity and peace.
The futuristic sounds of Sun Ra captivated, mesmerized and transformed listeners to a higher plane in the cosmic universe. He had a loyal following that spanned the globe.
Sun Ra was a highly gifted jazz innovator, scholar, educator, and visionary who developed, share and left a body of recorded sound and a legacy that indeed can still be appreciated for millennia to come. Perhaps the words Dr. Spock often spoke would be appropriate farewell wishes to us from Sun Ra, "live long and prosper in peace, unity and harmony."
Saint John Coltrane
St. John's African Orthodox Church
351 Divisadero Street, San Francisco
San Francisco (415) 621-4054
John Coltrane was a singularly rare, gifted creative genius, who said he wanted his life to be a force for good. Trane inspired many with his positive, highly ethereal, celestial and often highly spiritual music.
St. John's African Orthodox Church, a Catholic church canonized and bestowed sainthood status upon John Coltrane about ten years ago. Liturgies at Sunday services are conducted to the accompaniment of Coltrane's music. Father James Haven of St. John's is an accomplished reedman himself. The church band plays during the weekly services and takes part in community jam sessions.
Joh Coltrane cared deeply about people and their well being. St. John's does also and provides food and other programs to assist community members who are in need.
A weekly St. John based jazz program that plays Coltrane's music exclusively, airs weekly on KPOO, a San Francisco community radio station. You can find out more about the program that hononr Trane, that pays homage to John Coltrane's music by checking out KPOO Radio here.
©Nokhanya (L'cinda Scott-McCall)
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