The Jazz Culture Feature
NEW YORK STATE OF THE ART JAZZ ENSEMBLE at Dizzy Gillespie's Birthday Celebration
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Two satisfied customers above at the Baha'i Center, waiting to hear the big band, one oftheir favorite jazz formats. The crowd spreads out in the lovely lobby at 53 East 11th Street, below.
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Annie Ross turns toward her pianist, Tardo Hammer, before she sang original song; in the background featured soloist Jimmy Owens. Below, the crowd samples delicious home made gourmet snacks.
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Memories of MARIAN MCPARTLAND
In These Pages Photos of Dizzy Gillespie Birthday Party 1‐4 Memories of Marian McPartland by Arnold J. Smith 5‐7 Photos of Loston Harris 8 How To‐‐What is a Jazz Singer Anyway 9‐12
By Arnold Jay Smith
2013 has already been a bad year for jazz pianists, and it’s only August. gone are Mulgrew Miller, George Duke, Cedar Walton, and now my friend MARIAN McPARTLAND. although inactive Ms. McP, as i called her, was always available for a phone call, or at the very least a response through a third party. We met at a Central Park Wollman Skating Rink concert when i was at Brooklyn College. some years later, in the 1960s when we were both Nassau County residents Marian played at Eisenhower –née Salisbury– Park during a short-lived series called the Long Island Jazz Festival. (i had presented Dizzy Gillespie with a Down Beat Award there.) i had gotten into the habit of inviting musicians on the Festival back to my house for some refreshment and the occasional jam. Marian sat down at my Baby Grand played a chord and jumped back as though electric shocked. it was badly out-of-tune. but she bore it and entertained my family. we remained friends and never stopped joking abut the badly-neededtuning instrument. (i eventually gave it to my divorce lawyer as payment; his son had concert aspirations.) during its 26 year run of my New School series, Jazz Insights, i persistently invited Marian to speak. she politely declinded citing scheduling until the two years prior to the course’s demise. alas, she was a last minute cancellation. we did the class with a sub, Murray Horwitz then with NPR, but she never forgave herself, hugging and aplogizing each we saw each other thereafter. i was at her 85th and 90th Birthday celebrations as well as her final performances at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola. i loved being that 4
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fly-on-the-wall in the green room when she and Dr. Billy Taylor would just sit around talking stuff. the prim and proper “veddy British” Ms McP would let go with expletives like the rest of the musicians. in my column, The OctoJAZZarians © you may find a more complete interview –expletives included– with Marian McPartland www.jazz.com. In addition to her book of reminiscences, “All In Good Time,” there’s also a recent bio by Paul DeBarros, “Shall We Play That One Together?: The Life and Art of Jazz Piano Legend Marian McPartland.” Her syndicated NPR radio series, “Marian McPartand’s Piano Jazz,” graces my collections on open reel tapes, personal cassettes, LPs and CDs. her quietly probing questions of so many historical musicians opened the ears and mind of one very young pianist. And they weren’t only jazz. her guests included the pianists from the 1950s kiddie tv show Kukla, Fran and Ollie, as well as the late 20th early 21st Century Prairie Home Companion radio show. her first guest was Mary Lou WIlliams who sternly gave Ms. McP some lessons. later rising to the occasion she went at it with the avant gardist Cecil Taylor. remarkably enlightening, that show was a draw. she even made mainstreamers like Joe Bushkin play abstract “portraits.” In short, if the ivory ticklers tickled Ms McP she and producer Sherry Hutchinson brought them before the mic for some two piano duets. on future shows musicians beyond piano appeared with McP. some of those shows have been archived on www.nprmusic.org. others have been recorded for Concord. (mine are going to the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) archives. more on that coup in a later post.) Marian McPartland was named a NEA Jazz Master in 2000. See: ajjazz9@earthlink.net The Jazz Culture, V.II:11
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GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
George Duke
Memorial for Cedar Walton Wednesday, November 13, 2013 at St. Peter's Church, 54th & Lexington
Marian McPartland
Mulgrew Miller 6
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Photos by Brian McMillen
Part of the JAZZ PIANO TREE whom we miss: Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson, Bill Evans, Hank Jones, Jaki Byard, Tommy Flanagan, Don Pullen, Red Garland, Gene Harris
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A complete story on the wonderful concert celebrating Dizzy Gillespie's Birthday thrown by Mike and Dorothy Longo at the Baha'i Center will be featured next week.
Singer-Pianist Loston Harris with guitarist Mark Whitfield just before his CD party at Birdland on November 12, 2013.
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HOW TO “How To Develop An Ear. What Is A Jazz Singer, Anyway.” by L. Hamanaka
1. One way is to listen, listen, listen. Try to find the songs, cd’s or albums you like that represent the artist’s best work. To that end, I recommend that all singers listen to the following:
JAZZ SINGERS SHORT LIST: Ernestine Anderson, Louis Armstrong Mildred Bailey, Chet Baker, Tony Bennett Nat King Cole, Cab Calloway, Betty Carter, June Christy, Harry Connick, Ida Cox Blossom Dearie, Bob Dorough Billy Eckstine, Kurt Elling Ella Fitzgerald Astrud Gilberto, Dizzy Gillespie Loston Harris, Johnny Hartman, Jon Hendricks, Billie Holiday, Shirley Horne, Helen Humes, Alberta Hunter Al Jarreau, Eddie Jefferson, Sheila Jordan Dave Lambert, Cleo Laine, Peggy Lee, Abby Lincoln Carmen McCrae, Bobby McFerrin, All photos of jazz singers Mark Murphy courtesy of Brian McMillen King Pleasure Anita O’Day Ma Rainey, Ellis Regina, Annie Ross, Jimmy Rushing The Jazz Culture, V.II:10
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Photos courtesy of Brian McMillen Bob Dorough Carmen McCrae & Chet Baker
Dizzy Gillespie, Flora Purim, Eddie Jefferson, Jon Hendricks,
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Jimmy Scott, Bessie Smith, Skeeter Spight, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Mary Stallings Clark Terry, Leon Thomas, Mel Torme Sarah Vaughan Dinah Washington, Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson These are just a few, you get the idea. In the old days they used to tell horn players to sound like singers and singers to sound like horn players. So that means as a singer you have to listen to horn players too. Here are a few, picked because
A few of the horn players singers should listen to: Frank Foster, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, George Coleman
they sound different: Trumpet: Louis Armstrong, Freddie Hubbard, Miles, Thad Jones, Lee Morgan, Clifford Brown, Fats Navarro, Howard McGhee, Dizzy Gillespie, Lonnie Hillyer, Red Allen, Chet Baker, Bix Beiderbecke, Doc Cheatham, Johnny Coles, Kenny Dorham, Jon Faddis, the Dorsey brothers, Harry Sweets Edison, Mark McGowan, Chris Alpert, Bill Hardman, Trombone: JJ Johnson, Slide Hampton, Curtis Fuller, Kioni Zuwadi, Booker Little, Rex Stewart, Bob Brookmeyer, Glenn Miller, Tricky Sam Nanton, Jimmy Knepper, Jack Teagarden, Juan Tizol, Doug Purviance, Britt Woodman Clarinet: Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Saxophone: Bird, Cannonball Adderly, Lester Young, Sonny Rollins, Yusef Lateef, Charles McPherson, Sidney Bechet, Johnny Hodges, Don Byas, Jimmy Heath, John Coltrane, Lou Donaldson, The Jazz Culture, V. II:10
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Frank Foster, Gene Ghee, Dexter Gordon, Rhasaan Roland Kirk, Eric Dolphy, Ben Webster, Frank Wess, Cecil Payne When listening, listen to punctuation, phrasing, rhythm, tone quality, emotion, interpretation of lyrics, dynamics and swing. Don’t be afraid to move and dance. This is just a start but you should become intimate with the music so that it plays in your head while you are doing everyday things like riding the subway or cooking. You should begin to view jazz improvisation as another way of talking. Memorize solos—start with easy, short ones.
Kioni Zawadi, Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Charles McPherson
some of the horn players singers should listen to for phrasing, timbre, rhythm and articulation 12
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The Jazz Culture Newsletter
Private Jazz Tours in NYC are available; also music teachers in various countries for students & jazz lovers. email: info@thejazzculture.com. Ads are available in The Jazz Culture Newsletter. The Jazz Culture Newsletter has been read in 58 countries in the past year. Brian McMillen is a contributing Photographer, and Connie MacNamee and Arnold J. Smith are sometimes contributing writers." Countries: US, UK, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Burma, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam
Lionelle Hamanaka's single, "Lost Puppy Blues" is available on CD BABY for kids, with Richard Wyands, Ron McClure and Leroy Williams. see: lostpuppyblues.com
November Listings Ray Blue, Tenor saxophonist‐November 9‐Induction into Jazz Blues Hall of Fame, Peekskill, NYl Kenney Gates, pianist. Philadelphia, Tues., Sun. some Sats.‐ High Note Cafe on Tasker & 13th, 5‐9 p.m. George Gee Orchestra at Swing 46, (346 W. 46 Street bet. 8th/9th Ave.) Tuesdays; sm. Sat. 9:30‐free dance lesson beforehand. Loston Harris November 12, Birdland, also Tues‐Sat. 9:30 p.m. Bemelman's Bar Mad. Ave & 76 St Lafayette Harris‐Nov 15 Jazz 966,966 Fulton St. in Brooklyn $20 donation
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November Listings Cont. Nov. 19 Little Branch 10:30, 22 7th Ave South Nov. 21 at 10:30‐ 1am, The Garage 99 7th Ave South, with Trio Nov. 24 at 9:00 p.m, The Garage, 99 7th Ave South Bertha Hope: Memorial to Carline Ray Nov. 18 Kim Clarke‐Germany Tour 11‐16, Memorial to Carline Ray Nov. 18, Club A on Nov. 29 & 30. Mike Longo‐ Every Tuesday at the Baha's Center, 53 East 11th Street Jim Malloy, Swing 46, 9:30 p.m. Every Thursday Ron McClure: Solo piano at McDonald's at 160 Broadway in Manhattan from 12‐4 PM on Tuesdays & Saturdays. Kuni Mikami: Japan Tour John Mosca & Michael Weiss: Vanguard Orchestra Every Monday night at the Village Vanguard Valery Ponomarev: Big Band at Zinc, Nov. 6, 9:30 p.m. Bill Saxton: Bill's Place every Friday, 148 West 133 Street, 9 p.m. Ranked #25 among 305 attractions in NYC November 17: Bill's Place Tribute to Billie Holiday and Re‐Naming 133 Street as Swing Street‐3 p.m.‐free admission Rick Stone‐ Saturday, Nov. 9 2pm Tribute to Diz, Satch and Big Nick at Langston Hughes Library, 100‐01 Northern Blvd., Corona, NY http://www.queenslibrary.org/langston‐hughes Thursday, Nov. 2121 6‐10pm Rick Stone Trio at the Garage Restuarant. 99 7th Avenue South Nov. 30, 7:15‐8:45 Seagrams Building Evans Thompson Ensemble Nov. 30 Sugar Bar, 72 Street bet. B'way and West End two sets starting at 8:00 p.m. ENGLAND: John Watson Trio at the Palm Court, Langham Hotel, London, 1c Portland, Regent St. 207‐636‐1000 Fri‐Sat JOE LEADER/JOHN WATSON QUARTET Live At The Haven On Wednesday 27th November 2013! 020 8445 7419 or email: jazz@haven‐bistro.co.uk 8:45 p.m.
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