Video of the Week #84

This unusual half-hour appearance of the Art Pepper Quartet on Jazz Casual is from May 1964. It represents what host Ralph J. Gleason calls a "radical departure in style" for Pepper. Known primarily as a cool jazz player, at this point in his career he was very intense, very Coltrane-ish. The opening selection is "The Trip." Gleason's interview begins about 8:30 into the program. The second song, "D Section," starts at 13:20. The last tune, beginning at 26:10, is listed in the program notes as untitled. In addition to Pepper, the group consists of Frank Strazzeri, piano; Hersh Hamel, bass; and Bill Goodwin, drums.

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John Coltrane's Birthday

Today is the 88th anniversary of the birth of John William Coltrane in Hamlet, NC. He died of liver cancer on July 17, 1967 at age 40, long before his work was finished. Resonance Records has chosen today to release a long-awaited two-CD recording, Offering: Live at Temple University. The concert was recorded on November 11, 1966, eight months before his death.

A 45-min interview with John Coltrane has recently been restored and made available. It was conducted by a fan, August Blume, in his home on June 15, 1958, prior to a performance of the Miles Davis Quintet in Washington, DC.  The first 20 min or so is about religion and philosophy. The remainder concerns musicians he admires, with special emphasis on Monk.

Sean O'Connell has written a blog entry (with links) entitled "Ten John Coltrane Tracks For People Who Don't Know Anything About John Coltrane." You may find it interesting even if you do know something about him. Here's a favorite track of mine that O'Connell missed. "Blue Train" is from 1957. The other musicians are Lee Morgan, trumpet; Curtis Fuller, trombone; Kenny Drew, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; and Philly Joe Jones, drums.

Today is a big day for the arrival of musicians. Ray Charles was born on September 23, 1930, four years after John Coltrane.

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Henry Stone (1921-2014)

Rhythm and blues record producer and distributor Henry Stone died in Miami on August 7 at the age of 93. He was owner or part-owner of a couple of dozen independent record labels. He is best-known to R&B fans for discovering Otis Williams and the Charms, and to the rest of the world for some disco records he produced in the '70s.

He was born the Bronx as Henry David Epstein on June 3, 1921, and grew up in Manhattan.  After his father died, he was placed in an orphanage, where he took up the trumpet and later formed a jazz band. During World War II, he served in the U. S. Army Band. After the war, he changed his name and began producing records for Jewel, a Los Angeles jazz and blues label.

He moved to Miami and in 1949 started Stone Distributing, marketing rhythm and blues from independent labels to juke box operators. Shortly thereafter, he and songwriter Andy Razaf started Rockin' Records. In 1951, Stone recorded four sides by Ray Charles, two of which were released on Rockin', while the others were sold to the Sittin' in With label. Other artists who recorded for Rockin' included John Lee Hooker [as John Lee Booker], Joe Hill Louis [as Leslie Louis], Little Sammy Davis, Wilbert Harrison, and most importantly, the Charms.

Stone is said to have found Otis Williams singing on a street corner in Cincinnati when he was 16. He is no relation to the Otis Williams who was a member of the Temptations. The other members of the Charms were Rolland Bradley, Richard Parker, Donald Peak and Joe Penn. Stone signed them with Rockin' and their first record, "Heaven Only Knows" b/w "Loving Baby" was released in January 1953. When Stone asked Syd Nathan of King Records for help with distribution, Nathan offered him a partnership in his then-dormant DeLuxe affiliate. "Heaven Only Knows" was re-released as DeLuxe 6000 in October, and Stone produced about 90 records for DeLuxe until he and Nathan fell out in late 1955. Most of them featured vocal groups such as the Crystals, the Five Jets, the Quails, and the Thunderbirds.

When Stone split, Otis Williams stayed with DeLuxe and a new Charms group was assembled. The other groups members remained with Stone while he started a new label, Chart Records. As a rule of thumb, Stone's productions for Rockin', DeLuxe and Chart are labeled "the Charms," while the post-Stone records are credited to "Otis Williams and His New Group," "Otis Williams and His Charms" or just Otis Williams. The Charms, one of the greatest '50s vocal groups, made the R&B charts seven times, and Otis Williams and his group continued to record for King until 1962. Their biggest hit, "Hearts of Stone" was #1 on the R&B charts for nine weeks in late 1954. It is one of the few R&B cover records that is better than the original by the Jewels.

As a personal note, "Hearts of Stone" is one of the first three records I ever bought. The others were "Earth Angel" by the Penguins and "Sincerely" by the Moonglows. The sides Otis Williams and the Charms recorded for Stone can be found on the Ace CD The Original Rockin' and Chart Masters, an essential CD for vocal group fans. Stone continued to record groups such as the Champions and the Evergreens, and Miami's Rockin' Doowop From the Chart Label, also on Ace, is highly recommended. Roy Gaines, Lightnin' Hopkins and Jimmy Wilson also recorded for Chart.

Henry Stone continued making records and compulsively starting new labels. A favorite of blues collectors is "A Fool No More" by Eddie Hope and the Mannish Boys on the Marlin label from 1956.

In 1960, Stone had an opportunity to pull Syd Nathan's chain. He recorded "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes," an instrumental by the James Brown band. Brown was under contract to King Records, so it was credited to Nat Kendrick and the Swans. Kendrick was Brown's drummer. It reached #8 on the R&B charts.

Disco!!! Henry Stone had his greatest success in the '70s with TK Records and its affiliate labels, Alston, Glades and Cat, which he ran with former pop singer Steve Alaimo. They called it "the Miami Sound" and it featured artists such as KC and the Sunshine Band, who charted 15 times and went to #1 three times, George McCrae, Gwen McCrae (his wife), Latimore, Timmy Thomas, and Betty Wright. The Miami sound guaranteed Henry Stone a comfortable retirement. The link below is for completeness. Click it at your own risk.

Henry Stone also recorded "Another One Rides the Bus" by Weird Al Yankovic. A documentary about Stone's life, Rock Your Baby, is said to be in production.

I'm grateful to the British magazine Blues and Rhythm for keeping me up to date on the deaths of musicians not considered important enough for my local newspaper.

Adolph (Al) Jacobs, guitarist with the Coasters on many of their greatest hits, died of cancer on July 23 at the age of 75. The Coasters at that time were Carl Gardner, Billy Guy, Leon Hughes and Bobby Nunn. Jacobs was included in many of their group photos, but was not on screen during their television appearances. With the exception of Lowman Pauling of the Five Royales, the accompanists of R&B vocal groups were not great guitarists. Evidence of Jacobs' solid support can be found on "Young Blood."

After leaving the Coasters, Jacobs worked as a session musician. In the '70s, the Adolph Jacobs Trio performed regularly at the Sportsman's Nightclub in Los Angeles. He also accompanied various Coasters revival groups.

Conrad (Cliff) Dunn, described as the "baritone lead" of the Philadelphia group the Dreamlovers, died on June 22. The lead singer of their biggest hit, "When We Get Married" (1961), was Morris Gardner. The other group members were Ray Dunn (Cliff's brother), Cleve Hammock and Tommy Ricks. I'm unable to identify any Dreamlovers sides on which Dunn sang lead. They all sound like Gardner to me.

The Dreamlovers also served as uncredited backup singers for Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp, the Dovells and others on the Cameo and Parkway labels.

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Video of the Week #72 (Ray Charles)

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Lynwood Slim (1953-2014)

Blues singer and harmonica player Lynwood Slim, whose real name was Richard Duran, died in Los Angeles on August 4. In 2011, he contracted hepatitis C, which led to cirrhosis of the liver. He was told he would need a liver transplant, but never received it.  He died following a stroke at age 60.

Richard Dennis Duran was born in Los Angeles on August 19, 1953. As a child, he played the trumpet. He took up the harmonica at age 15 and played in and around his home town. In 1974, he moved to Minneapolis, where his blues band was named best in the area in 1986. Following a brief stay in Amsterdam, he moved back to L. A. in 1988. He frequently teamed with guitarist Junior Watson and various alumni of the Hollywood Fats Band. Somewhere along the way, he learned to play jazz flute, an unusual blues instrument, but one that is compatible with his laid-back singing style.

Slim was leader or co-leader on eight CDs released between 1996 and 2010. He is best known for his last two, both on the Delta Groove label: Last Call (2006), and Brazilian Kicks (2010), with Brazilian guitarist Igor Prado and his Band. In this video, Junior Watson is the first guitar soloist, followed by Igor Prado.

Video of the Week #83

This week, a soul classic. Sam and Dave sing their signature hit, "Hold On, I'm Comin'," filmed during a Stax/Volt Revue European tour, in Oslo in April, 1967. Dave Prater, on the left, died in an auto accident in 1988. Sam Moore is still performing. They are backed by Booker T. and the M.G.'s, left to right: Al Jackson, Jr., drums; Donald "Duck" Dunn, bass; Steve Cropper, guitar; and Booker T. Jones, organ. The horn players are members of the Mar-Keys.

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Bobby Womack (1944-2014)

Video of the Week #59 (Otis Redding)

A Racist Who Loved the Blues

Joe Sample (1939-2014)

A second member of the Jazz Crusaders—later, simply the Crusaders—has passed away in less than a year. Pianist and keyboard wizard Joe Sample died on Friday, September 12 in Houston at age 75. The cause of death was mesothelioma. Trombonist Wayne Henderson died in April at the age of 74.

Joseph Leslie Sample was born in Houston on February 1, 1939, the fourth child in a family of five. He began playing piano at the age of 5. In addition to Sample and Henderson, the other permanent members of the Jazz Crusaders were Wilton Felder on tenor saxophone and Nesbert “Stix” Hooper on drums. Various people occupied the bass chair over the years. The group began in Phyllis Wheatley Junior High School in Houston, with Sample, Felder and Hooper playing as the Swingsters. When Joe Sample went to Texas Southern University to study piano, he met Henderson and added him to the group.

In 1960, the group members moved to Los Angeles and took the name the Jazz Crusaders as a tribute to the leading hard bop group of the day, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. From the beginning, they incorporated Gulf Coast rhythm and blues influences into their sound. Their first album for Pacific Jazz was Freedom Sound (1961). Joe Sample wrote the rousing title song. For a video of the Jazz Crusaders playing “Freedom Sound” on television in the early '60s, please go to my Wayne Henderson obituary.

All four of the original members shared songwriting duties. Here's another Sample composition, “New Time Shuffle,” from their eighth album, The Thing (1965).  

The Jazz Crusaders recorded 16 albums for Pacific Jazz between 1961 and 1969. As time passed, they simplified their sound, began to cover pop tunes, and released abbreviated single versions of some of their songs. Joe Sample had been experimenting with an electric piano for some time, but in 1970, he switched permanently, electric guitarist Larry Carlton joined the group, and the Jazz Crusaders morphed into the jazz-funk fusion group, the Crusaders. This brought them their greatest commercial success, including five songs that made the R&B charts between 1972 and 1984. One of their songs, “Street Life,” written by Sample and Will Jennings and sung by Randy Crawford, reached #36 on the pop charts in 1979.

Joe Sample released his first album under his own name, Fancy Dance, in 1969. The Crusaders finally broke up in 1987, although there were occasional reunions. In fact, he had been building a solo career for some time. Like many of his contemporaries, he stayed busy moonlighting as a session musician, working with folks like Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell, Tina Turner and Steely Dan. He has released about 20 albums on labels such as Blue Thumb, MCA, Warner Brothers and Verve. Many of them fall into the smooth jazz category, with Sample accompanying his piano with a synthesizer. His 1997 CD Sample This, produced by George Duke, is a sampler featuring re-recordings of many of his more popular songs with the Crusaders and beyond.

A popular feature of Joe Sample's live performances was his celebration of the work of past jazz pianists such as Scott Joplin, Fats Waller and Duke Ellington. Some of these can be found on his 2008 CD, Soul Shadows. This is Jelly Roll Morton's “Shreveport Stomps.”

His final CD, Children of the Sun, is due out this fall. Here are the Crusaders featuring Joe Sample and Wilton Felder doing “I Felt the Love” at the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2008.

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Video of the Week #82

Last week's death of Gerald Wilson reminded me of another great, underappreciated big band from the 1960s, the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra. This is a 30 min episode of Ralph J. Gleason's Jazz Casual from 1968. Jones conducts and plays fluegelhorn; Lewis is the drummer. Several soloists are identified during the program. Here's the play list and starting places on the video:

          Just Blues                                               0:00
          St. Louis Blues                                        5:25
          Interview with Ralph J. Gleason               17:50
          Kids Are Pretty People                            22:00
          Do Not Get Sassy (partial)                       27.40

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Gerald Wilson (1918-2014)

Gerald Wilson (1918-2014)

Even if you were chronologically decades or maybe generations younger than Gerald, you always felt that he was the youngest person in the room. He had none of that feeling that you were hanging out with a guy from the 1930s or 1940s.

                                                                      Loren Schonberg, National Jazz Museum

The versatile jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer and arranger Gerald Wilson died on September 8 in Los Angeles at the age of 96, after a brief bout with pneumonia. His career spanned eight decades; he was active well into his nineties. He was known for his complex, multi-textured but swinging arrangements, and for his active style of conducting. With his flowing mane of white hair, his flamboyant gestures served to cue the audience to what to listen for.

Gerald Stanley Wilson was born in Shelby, Mississippi on September 4, 1914. He learned piano from his mother, a music teacher in the public schools. After a brief stay in Memphis, he moved to Detroit when he was 16, where he graduated from Cass Technical High School. After playing briefly with local bands, he was hired by Jimmie Lunceford to replace trumpeter Sy Oliver. It was there he learned composing and arranging. One of his songs was the 1941 Lunceford standard, “Yard Dog Mazurka.” The song was later stolen by Stan Kenton and recorded under the title “Intermission Riff.”

Wilson served in the Navy during World War II. He first formed his own big band in 1944. Featuring such musicians as trumpeter Snooky Young and trombonist Melba Liston, the band combined swing arrangements with bebop solos. He recorded many single records between 1945 and 1954, but they are hard to find. Here he is doing a version of “One O'Clock Jump” for the Black & White label in 1946.

At a time when big band bookings were hard to come by, he broke up and reformed the group several times. During hiatuses, he played with Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie and accompanied Billie Holiday on tour of the South in 1949. After he finally disbanded the group, he studied classical music. Beginning in the '50s, he relocated to Los Angeles and did free lance arranging and studio work for both jazz and pop artists. He wrote arrangements for Basie, Gillespie, Benny Carter, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Ray Charles, B. B. King and Nancy Wilson, among others. He composed and conducted TV and movie scores.

Gerald Wilson is best known for ten highly acclaimed albums he recorded for Pacific Jazz in the 1960s, beginning with You Better Believe It! in 1961. Here he is on TV's Frankly Jazz performing the second-best-known version of Miles Davis's “Milestones.” (The soloists are identified after the performance. The intro and outro is "Blues for Yna Yna.")

Many of Wilson's compositions had Spanish or Mexican themes. His wife, Josafina Villasenor, is Mexican, and he was a bullfighting afficianado. “Viva Turado," featuring guitarist Joe Pass, was named for a Mexican bullfighter. In a different vein, one of my favorites, "Lighthouse Blues," features Roy Ayers on vibes.

Toward the end of his time with Pacific Jazz, he began recording pop hits in the hope of attracting a younger audience to jazz. 1969's California Soul charted the highest of any of his albums, but to most jazz fans, the quality had declined. All his Pacific Jazz recordings are collected on an out-of-print Mosaic box set released in 2000 which is well worth seeking out.

During the ensuing decades, Wilson remained active, recording occasional albums for the Trend and Discovery labels. He taught jazz composition at Cal State and UCLA. He composed for and conducted the LA Philharmonic in 1972. He hosted a jazz radio show on KBCA in Los Angeles from 1969 to 1976. 

He had a comeback of sorts with the critically-acclaimed CD State Street Sweet on the MAMA label in 1995. Beginning in 2003 with New York, New Sound, he recorded five CDs for Mack Avenue. The most recent was Legacy in 2011. Here he is, in the studio, recording "Before Motown" from the 2009 CD Detroit.

Gerald Wilson was nominated for six Grammy Awards but never won. He was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1990. Wilson's son is jazz guitarist Anthony Wilson and one of his daughters is married to Johnny Otis's son, guitarist Shuggie Otis.

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Video of the Week #81

This is Jazz at Studio 61, an 18-min TV show from 1959. I picked it because it contains rare footage of the Ahmad Jamal Trio. As a bonus, we get our second look in three weeks at a group led by tenor saxophonist Ben Webster. Here's the set list, along with approximate starting points.

Ahmad Jamal Trio
            Darn That Dream                                 0.00
            Ahmad's Blues                                    5.37
Ben Webster Sextet
            Chelsea Bridge                                    9.24
            C-Jam Blues                                      13.25

Webster and his group stand behind the Jamal Trio as they play. You may also notice jazz critic Nat Hentoff, with the beard and pipe.

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Video of the Week #80

Because Black people were seldom booked on network television, we have few early videos of even some of the most popular pioneers of rock and roll. Fortunately, there were low budget movies. Here's Little Richard lip-syncing "Tutti Frutti" from the 1956 film Don't Knock the Rock. Unfortunately, he's not looking at the camera, and he's upstaged by dancers.

"Long Tall Sally" from the same film is more watchable. The tenor sax solo is by Lee Allen. The three men seated at the table are Alan Freed, Bill Haley and pop singer Alan Dale, the male lead of the film.

Richard also appears briefly on screen (in color) in The Girl Can't Help It, but his performance is buried by the film's insipid dialogue.

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