The JAZZ CULTURE THE ENGLAND ISSUE, Part I
John Watson, piano, Miles Danso, bass, Louie Palmer, drums at The Palm Court, The Langham Hotel, London
REVIEW
JOHN WATSON TRIO by L. Hamanaka
Caught the John Watson Trio over the pond with Miles Danso, bass, Louie Palmer (who studied at Berkelee), drums at The Langham, [at 1C Portland Place, London W1B, 1JA, (207)636The Jazz Culture, VI:25
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1000] is an elegant hotel with high ceilings and huge windows. Like many of the larger hotels, the Langham has several food and beverage outlets, a bar like a cigar bar, the Palm Court, which is where the John Watson Trio holds forth weekends and carries on the long tradition of jazz piano trios. The Palm Court has a large selection of champagne, wines and cocktails, and an excellent continental menu with lots of side dishes, such as crusted prawns, a wide variety of vegetable sides and artful desserts. The restaurant won the Best Afternoon Tea Award in 2010 and rates 161 out of 10,000 venues in London. The ceiling of the Palm Court is about four stories high and there is a nightclub feel, projected by 25-foot Chinese red chandeliers with red velvet curtains, pillars in the room and a grand piano where the John Watson Trio plays. Mr. Watson also produces shows, besides being musical director at the Langham. Once a month, he is doing a jazz dinner show at the Haven Bar & Grill, www.havenbistro.co.uk, featuring established artists on the London jazz scene each month. This month, the guest singer with his trio is Shireen Frances. In addition to leading his own trio at freelance gigs, he has worked with such well-known British singers as Leee John, Nina Ferro and Mica Paris. Mr. Watson shares that this performance at the Langham was his second gig of the day, showing that he is a sought-after freelancer. The John Watson Trio plays both freelance and private gigs around England. Having studied music at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Mr. Watson came to London at about 18. This evening, John Watson is playing “Yardbird Suite,” by Bird. At about 175=quarter note, it’s a spirited swinging version with precise bop phrasing, his scalar lines making a break for freedom, and an unaffected lyric voice. Mr. Watson plays jazz from the blues up, swing, standards and bebop and intersperses pop requests from the tony crowd. “Basin Street Blues” follows, at about 96=quarter note, the pianist anticipating the downbeat with breaks in a slow swing, first The Jazz Culture, VI:25 2
poignantly and then chording with Reviews Renato D'Aiello 1‐6 repeated blue note rolls, a threeJazz at Foyle's Bookstgore 12‐16 note lick. The bass plays a double- Paul Pace at Ronnie Scott's triplet figure, accenting the A Life in Jazz 7‐12 downbeat with nice articulation. Jazz in the UK Synopsis The pianist reprises the theme Jazz Heritage 16‐17, 21‐27 with some soulful licks, the Elmo Hope by B. Hope drummer playing brushes Comments by Musicians throughout. How To Direct a Jazz Improv by H. Danko 18‐20
Whitney Houston’s “Saving London Photojournal 27 All My Love for You,” (a track on Let's Link 28 John Watson’s “Live at the Proofread by C. MacNamee Langham”) is next in 12/8 medley info@newyorkjazzproject.com with pretty arpeggiated downward info@thejazzculture.com runs. Another request, “Hey Jude,” is followed by another Beatles song, “Money Can’t Buy Me Love” (no it can’t, but it helps). “I’ll Remember April” follows, about 184=quarter note, up tempo, light swing with a whole-tone interlude in the break, he plays accenting the upbeat going up the keyboard in rapid fire and descending to a swinging line, meanwhile, a young couple jumps up and starts doing the Lindy, showing off turns, and like all good swing dancers, they feel they are performing when they dance. When there is applause, the dancers bow. The bass plays a series of octaves, then the trio trades 4’s, drummer still playing brushes, on reprise stating the theme, modulating up and ending in a crescendo. “In Your Own Sweet Way” is played at about 132=quarter note, as a waltz, the pianist diving into lines in a straight-ahead sound, showing inventive melodicism, with a lyric touch and classically informed fluency on piano. The bass solo has a lilting sound, as he subdivides the beat in units of 2’s and 3’s; the pianist restates the theme delicately in a chordal reprise, outlining the 3 The Jazz Culture, VI:25
melody as it ascends the keyboard. “All of Me,” with a chordal intro like “Killer Joe” with a repeated bass line, swings with blue notes and has a bright sound a little reminiscent of Earl Hines, John Watson, piano, Miles Danso, always maintaining the intensity bass & Louie Palmer, drums and confidence of a driving personality who has a grip on life. The drummer, who has been using brushes most of the time, switches to sticks and provides tasty support. The bass is relaxed in a stride feel while the pianist cascades down in a melodic run. The bassist stays close to the melody in his solo, with a nice fat tone in the middle register and plays with soul. Pianist plays triplet figure chords, exchanging 4’s with the drummer, then reprises the theme passionately. Playing “Besame Mucho” as a tango, Mr. Watson shows the ability, like Tommy Flanagan, to accent the upbeat in the left hand. His flowing lines are leaning forward, and he swings and hears the melody as if he were a horn player, although fluidity is easier on the piano. He used to be a trumpet player until an accident hurt his embouchure. Many pianists hear the quarter note and eighth note as vertical and play that way, but Mr. Watson is beyond the choppy effect of the vertical sense of rhythm. Mr. Watson then plays “Softly, As In a Morning Sunrise,” at about 200=quarter note, clipping along with infallible rhythm assurance, fluent and with a natural gift for accenting a surprising note in the line like a drummer. The trio moves through songs with simpatico, like a smooth music machine, having the luxury of a steady gig that has lasted a number of years. “Georgia,” as a ballad about 72=quarter note--the first 16 bars the piano plays alone; the next 16 bars are accompanied by the 4 The Jazz Culture, VI:25
A fan approaches John Watson at The Palm Court
bass with dramatic intensity, adding chords and then doubling the time, with pretty scalar lines. Then the trio goes back to the original tempo, with a romantic depiction of homesickness, playing the song with triplets and blue note obbligatos. In the finale there is excellent articulation, where the musicians seem to know the lyric and give the song the dignity of repressed longing.
A quick samba, entitled “Half a Minute,” brings tropical seas and shorelines to mind, brightening the atmosphere with a Brazilian rhythmic palette, with the piano solo using Latin rhythms in a happy, festive mood. The bass solo uses arpeggios and then fourths and fifths, ascending in a dancelike lilt in the upper register, opening up the melody, starting with a three-note motif that accents the upbeats. Seasoning the musical offering is a funky Reggae version of Sting’s “An Englishman in New York,” the flavor reminiscent of the Caribbean, played with sunny optimism, the song of immigrants who’ve travelled thousands of miles across the seas to work and send money back home; the bass plays a syncopated solo with rhythmic intensity. The pianist testifies with a bluesoriented solo and chords that ascend the keyboard with a downhome earthiness. Playing “Lover Man” in a misty high-voiced melody, skipping octaves with pretty notes, Mr. Watson is a pianist who knows how to place a melody in a jewel-like chordal setting so it can be heard to best advantage. The Jazz Culture, VI:25
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The “Pink Panther” theme follows, melody played by Mr. Watson in single notes, in a mysterious comic creeping quality, then stating the theme chordally and exploring the jazziness of descending notes to expand and uplift the theme in a syncopated groove. Triplets accenting the last note add surprise. Bass solo twangs insinuatingly with sprinkle of chords high in upper register. The drummer plays brushes to underscore the mystery. Mr. Watson tends to play ballads as if he were singing them, dramatically, surrounding the important notes of the melody with chords with rhythmic variety. With this dramatic setting, he delivers a song with great sincerity. A very fine talent deserving wider recognition, Mr. Watson will achieve his artistic acme and prominence and help British jazz to flower while maintaining the traditions of swing and bop in the 21st century. See John Watson at: Website; www.johnpianoman.co.uk, My space: www.myspace.com/ johnawatson YouTube: www.youtube.com/johnpianoman, Twitter: http://twitter.com/
READERS: Please note that in the November issue, The Jazz Culture will start accepting ADS that start at $25. Therefore, if you have an event, cd, venue, program, book that you want to advertise, please send an email to: info@ thejazzculture.com for a rate sheet. The deadline is October 30, 2012. Errata: Please note the following corrections from last week's issue: 1. Connie's last name is MacNamee, not McNamee. 2. Alex Milo was the bassist for Andrea Papini's Rome concert 3. Roger's last name is Crosdale, not Crosland.
johnpianoman, Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/JohnWatson/78494720527
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http://thejazzculture.com. The Jazz Culture Newsletter has been seen in 33 countries around the world and across the United States. Copyright© 2012, The Jazz Culture, Ltd. PO Box 2003 700 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10025, Tel: 646-312-7773. The mission of the Jazz Culture Newsletter is to draw the world jazz community together. If you have any comments, criticisms or suggestions please email us at: http://info@thejazzculture.com 6
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Jazz Club Soho-Pizza Express at Dean Street
Ross Dines, Music Director
Interview by L. Hamanaka
Pizza Express is a premier venue for jazz in England. The Jazz Club Soho Pizza Express at Dean Street, London is the original venue for jazz in the “necklace” of Pizza Express restaurants. There are over 400 Pizza Express restaurants throughout England. The chain is now owned by Cinven, of the Gondola group, a huge food corporation that bought Pizza Express in 2007. Last year, Pizza Express Jazz Club had its record number of covers. The club is open all year round, seven nights a week. Ross Dines is the Director of Music for the Jazz Room of Pizza Express at Dean Street. Mr. Dines graduated as a music business major in Kent. Mr. Dines played on the Steinway Grand B that he had bought for the music room, while photos were taken of the décor. “I took a day, invited really good pianists to The Jazz Culture, VI:25
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Steinway, and made it a day of trying out Steinway B’s. We had a ‘Steinway Festival’ of piano duos: there was Stan Tracey with Keith Tippett, Gwilym Simcock with John Taylor, and Julian Joseph Jazz Club Soho-The Pizza Express with Joey Calderazzo.” Mr. Dines smiles at the memory of a double hit--the successful PR event and obtaining just the right Steinway. He is a cheerful and optimistic music lover. Mr. Dines recalls promoting jazz in an unusual way for school kids. He plays a short video of a jazz band with a singer, performing for a bunch of kids from elementary school who came to Pizza Express to learn to make pizza. While they make the pizza, they are captivated by the jazz combo. It is a charming, effective video. Ross Dines smiles. “We had these groups of kids coming to learn to make pizza, I just added the jazz. A friend of mine edited it, a genius.” Clearly talented at PR, Mr. Dines says seriously, “You are only as strong as your weakest link. That’s why I bought the Steinway, have the best sound system, the best musicians,” he says. “We also do PR with our artists. We have to maintain a balance each month of big names, moneymakers, some foreign groups. I could never go through the thousands of applications I get. I rely on a group of people I know and word-of-mouth. And there has to be press. Last month, Charlie Watts did a gig here, and he was very nice, he went with me to BBC, I took him to all the djs for a round of interviews. There has to be a buzz-radio. Sometimes the artist has a press machine.” JC: What newspapers cover you? 8 The Jazz Culture, VI:25
Ross Dines: “The Evening Standard, The Guardian, Jazz UK, JazzWise.” Mr. Dines pointed out that at Pizza Express, they promote a wealth of variety in booking both cutting-edge musicians, such as “Fire,” a progressive avant-garde collective, or the “ReVoice! Festival” produced by a local singer, Georgia Mancio, that is 9 days long and features international vocal jazz singers. There are musicians who emulate world influences, and foreign groups. Mr. Dines mentions Sheila Jordan and Barry Harris. Dr. Harris offers an annual seminar at the club in improvisation organized by David Freidman, an American guitarist in London. Pizza Express operates in a supportive environment. There are music festivals that started in the mid-‘90s, Ronnie Scott’s around the corner on Frith Street, and a number of restaurants and hotels in London that offer jazz, as well as the London Jazz Festival in November. Recently, though, the Arts Council of London’s historical subsidization of music underwent cuts because of the world recession. Mr. Dines speaks of a VAT tax, where music venues are charged 20% on ticket prices, which amounts to a ticket squeeze. An alternative would be to let establishments offer music for the public good, as they do in Germany and France, where reduced service charges resulted in creating 100,000 more jobs, thus creating a wider tax base that benefitted the economy as a whole. Mr. Dines also mentions the Yamaha music company, which has put instruments into poor neighborhoods to keep kids off the streets. A champion of jazz in Soho, Pizza Express offers as an example its Pheasantry outlet on Kings Road, where successful programming has guaranteed a number of new jobs, as well as 80% of seats sold out. In the London Lifestyle Awards of 2012, the Pheasantry, which books duos to octets, was selected as the “Best Live Venue.” Running a successful food and beverage outlet with music is a delicate balancing act that Pizza Express has The Jazz Culture, VI:25 9
done for about fifty years. Mr. Dines points out that the Jazz Club Pizza Express has undergone expansion to include building numbers 9 and 10. The venue now has Dining Area at Jazz Club Soho-Pizza 115 seats, and does double shows of 90 minutes each. The price for music is about 15-25 pounds, depending on who is playing. They offer music seven nights a week, all year round. “Peter Boizot [the original owner] started Pizza Express in 1965 at Wardour Street. He had gone to Italy and liked pizza and brought it back to England. I don’t think it was planned. He liked pizza and he liked jazz, so he put them together. Peter had the music in a basement jazz room.” An entrepreneur who followed his passions, Peter Boizot started Pizza Express because he liked pizza, became a champion of jazz in London’s Soho because he liked jazz, bought a hotel in his hometown because his parents revered it, a soccer team, a movie theater where he used to watch movies where he wants to build an arts complex, he wants to erect a statue of Duke Ellington in London, raised funds to Save Venice, started a monthly magazine, “Boz,” his nickname, ran for Parliament twice in Peterborough, his home district, created a Soho Community Environment Fund to pedestrianize Soho--in short, he gave back. Peter Boizot is also a vegetarian, and so you will find little meat on Pizza Express menus. Thanks to Mr. Boizot, pizza is now the number-one convenience food in Britain. Mr. Dines: “In 1980, [Peter] he bought Pizza on the Park, a sort of jazz/cabaret, (a lovely two-story music venue in a beautiful building in a good neighborhood). Now we have the Pizza 10 The Jazz Culture, VI:25
Express on Dean Street, the Pheasantry on Kings Road in Chelsea, mainly singing with cabaret, and Maidstone in Kent, a lot of jazz and fusion and variety. Last year we did 820 live shows in three venues, and 64 of our [other] restaurants put on 564 performances of background (under conversation) music.” JC: What was Peter Boizot (founder) like? Ross Dines: “He was in touch with what he loved, his passions. He was the first to introduce pizza to the UK. [As for jazz] he never expected it to be a world-famous jazz venue.” Mr. Dines remembered that once Peter Boizot “was keen to put a piano” in the courtyard of Pizza on the Park. “The Westminster Council refused…He got lots of press, and a giant crane that held the piano elevated so it wouldn’t touch the ground.” Peter Boizot hired a piano player and had him play the piano in that position. Peter Boizot wanted to “pedestrianize” the street in front of Pizza Express. “He would lie down in the middle of the road to get it fixed” causing traffic problems, but bringing attention to his campaign. He once ordered champagne for his guests, but the waitress did not know how to open the bottle, so he took the waitress to the bar, where he lined up ten bottles of champagne, opened them one after the other, and said, “That’s how you do it.” An eccentric man who was a risk taker, Peter Boizot anecdotes abounded in the press and story repertoire of Londoners who admired the man who oversaw a pizza empire that sprouted up in England. New Pizza Expresses have opened in Egypt, Dubai, Tokyo: all told, 40 overseas venues. “Jazz was a big part of it, jazz is in the name of Pizza Express at Dean Street,” said Ross Dines. Check the music schedule of Pizza Express.com if you are visiting London. pizzaexpresslive.com [for info & Tickets: 0845 11 The Jazz Culture, VI:25
602 7017. The Pheasantry, Kings Road; Jazz Club Soho at 10 Dean Street; the Maidstone, 32 Earl Street, Maidstone, Kent] REVIEW The Steve Taylor Big Band
Owner Steve Rubie introduces the Steve Taylor Big Band
Caught the Steve Taylor Big Band at the 606 Club in London. Steve Taylor, drums; Jamie Salisbury, piano; Josie Frater, vocals, Rob Stathem, bass; trumpet 1: Giles Straw, trumpet 2, Johnny Mott, trumpet 3, Matt Winch, trumpet 4, Paul Jordanous, trombone 1, Ben Greenslade, trombone 2, Chris Fry, baritone trombone, Nathan Gush; alto saxphone 1, Johnny Griffiths , alto saxophone 2, Tommie Andrews, tenor saxophone 1, Vasilis Xenopolous, tenor 2, Tom Leaper, baritone saxophone, Mike Rubie. Like many English jazz bands, the Steve Taylor Big Band offers a mix of jazz, funk and pop tunes. The 606 Club has the atmosphere of a secret password club, because you enter through a steel screen door and it is in the basement. The entrance is not obvious--it is a red brick arched 12
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doorway at 90 Lots Road, opposite the big power station on Lot2 Road. The walls are painted with the faces of Monk, Bird, Billie Holiday. The Steve Taylor Big Band warms up at 606 The band Club kicked off with “Just In Time” at about 185=quarter note. Paul Jordanous, trumpet 4, gave a syncopated and swinging version of the melody, carrying on the tradition of British big bands, with a driving quality of a powerhouse machine, led by drummer Steve Taylor. The song modulated up, after a piano and bass intro, lighting up the grey British afternoon darkened by rain.
An original funk tune the band played was “Conspiracy Theory,” during which drummer Steve Taylor, the composer, said he wanted to get “down and dirty.” A funk tune with violent, short-clipped motifs, perhaps about the aggression and paranoia and fear propagated in post 9/11 life, sometimes to excess. Perhaps it was the space (the band took up much of the room), but the soloists could not be heard above the band. Later, the musicians asked for more monitor so the balance could be improved. An example of a pop tune was “Apron Strings,” a nice platform for vocalist Josie Frater who is also Mrs. Taylor in real life; who has good phrasing and a sweet soprano voice, in this song using mostly lower register; well arranged by Mr. Taylor with the sort of somewhere (but where?) melody typical of modern pop songs. Steve Taylor’s big band could very well be a dance band, as 13 The Jazz Culture, VI:25
its music was danceable. Next was “Senator Sam,” an original blues, kind of boogiewoogie, with horns propelling the band, the theme expressed Steve Taylor at the 606 on syncopated quarter notes with call and response used by the trumpet section. Ben Greenslade, trombone 1,’s solo was triplet-infused with a big fat tone. Second tenor Tom Leaper’s blues-infused solo wailed with lots of energy while descending chordally. When the theme was restated twice, the volume almost overpowered the room. “Live in London,” based on “Ode to Billy Joe,” at 200=quarter note in ¾ was a good arrangement for the well-known song. The vocalist sang as an instrument part with the band. The band switched to a swing beat after the first chorus, a conversation ensued between tenors 1 and 2, Vasilis Xenopolous and Tom Leaper, who traded 8’s, 4’s, 3’s, and then partook in unison blowing; then there was a well-constructed drum solo by Mr. Taylor, expressing the pain of modern isolation, and then the band took the song out. “Freedom Jazz Dance” was played at about 168=quarter note, a medium-up swing with heavy punctuation by the bass. It was played with a funk beat with improvisation. The first trumpet, Giles Straw, did some maneuvering on the whole-tone scale, his phrases answered by the saxes and trombones. The song expressed the feeling of the brutality of modern life with very angular lines, and a minimalist drum solo. The band turned to swing during the out chorus. On “Too Close for Comfort,” at about 160=quarter note, with 14 The Jazz Culture, VI:25
an arrangement by Larry Bach, it proved to be a good vehicle for the singer, with good diction, with a voice like an English bluebird, who can anticipate the downbeat, and did call-andresponse phrases with the horns, with a segue between the sections with triplets elongating phrases. Ms. Frater has good time. The band played “Count D,” some hard driving swing reminiscent of Kansas City swing, a fast shuffle, the trumpets vying with a powerhouse saxophone section, then segueing to a section where the trombones dominated, over a boogie-woogie feel on bass. The alto solo by Tommy Andrews ended in 16th note phrases that then went into a whole-note cadenza, punctuated by phrases by saxes and trombones. The Steve Taylor Big Band is full of good musicians. Mr. Taylor is clearly a veteran, who writes good arrangements and has a good singer, although sometimes her voice is difficult to hear above the horns. The band deserves to work more and could easily develop into a popular dance band. Sometimes the overall sound is a bit harsh, but they can swing; they just need to work together more and use more monitors for better balance. They are full of the raw energy of good musicians who want to blow. The Steve Taylor Big Band has a gig coming up in Enfield and hopefully will have many more gigs that give their soloists the opportunity to realize their concepts of jazz improvisation. The crowd applauded the Steve Taylor Big Band’s performance with enthusiasm. Before the band hit, the owner, Steve Rubie, gave a short background on himself and the club. Mr. Rubie is a flute and alto player. He took over the 606 Club in 1976 and moved to the current premises in 1988. He offers a mix of jazz and jazz-based music, Latin, Soul, R&B, with an entrance fee of 10-12 pounds. According to their license, non members must eat either a main course or two starters each in order to drink alcohol. This is a The Jazz Culture, VI:25
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legal requirement that is non negotiable, unfortunately. The food was excellent and reasonably priced, at the same quality as a good New York restaurant. Their salmon crusted with pistachios and lime, and fresh vegetables, their favorite item being a rib steak, but 606 also has vegetarian dishes. Expressing his philosophy, which helps him book 35-40 bands a month, Mr. Rubie said, “I am less concerned about style than a standard, we have all sorts, from young jazz groups to guys who have been around.� Mr. Rubie took personal interest in setting up the band and took time talking to individual patrons throughout the afternoon. See: 606Club.co.uk, 90 Lots Road, London, SW10, 0QD 0207 352 5953
JAZZ HERITAGE
ELMO HOPE & BERTHA HOPE
by Bertha Hope, Bio. Notes/Interview L. Hamanaka Bio otes: Elmo Hope was born June 27, 1923 in New York. He was a U.S. Army veteran, who studied at the Carnegie Hall Studios as a teenager. He was childhood friends with Bud Powell, and a contemporary of Monk. In New York Hope worked with Snub Mosely, a local bandleader. Then he worked with the Joe Morris Band, a territory band on the 16
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road in the southern states. Johnny Griffin and Philly Joe Jones were apart of that band and so was Matthew Gee in 1948. When Elmo Hope resettled in New York, he recorded for Decca, Atlantic, and Alfred Lion. Elmo Hope went on the road with Chet Baker to LA and decided to move there from 1957-1961. Bio otes: Bertha Hope:
“My father, C. Clinton Rosemond, was a dramatic baritone who sang German lieder and Italian bel canto art songs. He was my major influence, because I started playing for him in the traditional concert repertoire that ended with what they called at that time ‘Negro Spirituals.’ My father was a contemporary of Roland Hayes, so he was on the same circuit as Hayes and Paul Robeson. He worked for the same agency and did the same command performances for kings and queens all over the world. So he was my biggest inspiration. My mother, Corinne Meaux, was a dancer in the Cotton Club before I was born. They met in New York in 1928, after my father had spent 15 years on the road in Europe. He put together the cast for “Showboat.” She was in “Blackbirds” in 1928 and they moved to LA about 1934. I started playing when I was 3 and took private piano lessons from about 8 till about 14. I had a lush (“deep, wonderful, great”) experience in the public school system. From 7th to 12th grade, I was in music lessons, orchestras, and jazz camps. I went to the equivalent of Music and Art High School in LA. They had a great music department and a great art department. [I’d been playing professionally] Since I was about 17. I was just really beginning to meet people and my ear was beginning to be a little more sophisticated. JC: Was there a big jazz community in LA at the time you met Elmo? Bertha Hope: In LA at the time, the Watkins Hotel was one of the clubs on the jazz circuit, the Hillcrest Club, and the Troubador, and there was a club on the beach, the Cont. p.21 Lighthouse. The “IT” club, the Purple Onion, The Jazz Culture, VI:25 17
HOW TO-EXPERT ADVICE Improvising Composer/Composing Improviser-Part II
By HAROLD DANKO
“You don’t learn to improvise, you improvise to learn.” HD “Jazz music is characterized by improvisation and further defined by repertoire.” HD The premise of my “Improvising Composer/ Composing Improviser” Harold Danko workshops and classes is a Photo: Julia Radschiner product of almost five decades of performing, teaching, and composing. I feel strongly that improvisation is a natural tendency if it is not impeded by one’s education, and I have always been an improviser, in music as well as life. Years ago I made the statement “You don’t learn to improvise; you improvise to learn.” in a magazine interview, and this idea continues to motivate my personal and public educational efforts. My current teaching methods bring this to the forefront by using my own works to facilitate the integration of improvising and composing into performance practice. My book, The Illustrated Keyboard Series, maps out basic patterns of scale usage, and many of my own compositions are used as examples of how this process unfolds. Reprints of my published articles from Keyboard Magazine help to clarify and expand the concepts 18 The Jazz Culture, VI:25
presented. In my teaching I have compiled many checklists to structure and facilitate individual learning, and “Strategies for Improvisation” is a short list of important skills and content that I developed specifically for this course in order to encourage discussion as well as individual exploration. In 2011 during a semester-long pilot course at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, with the original title “The Composer as Improviser/Improviser as Composer” I came to see in no uncertain terms that for me improvising leads to composing and the resulting compositions then provide even further exploratory opportunities for improvisation. Thus my course title was simplified to “The Improviser as Composer” and can take on several formats, based on the level of participants and time allotted. In a college level course of one semester’s length (14 weekly meetings) we explore historic aspects of improvisation in western classical, ethnic/world, popular, and jazz styles and analyze works from all genres as to content, performance practices, and possible interrelationships. Depending on the background of students, performance demonstrations and even ad-hoc ensembles can become a part of the course structure. Examples from masters in all styles, my own works, and most importantly the works of students in the class, make the processes relevant to all. Research papers and performance/analysis of original music are also assigned. Students will explore the relationship of improvisation and composition in a variety of musical styles. Topics will include jazz improvisation and theory as it relates to its history, and an examination of the works and methodology employed by the instructor, Harold Danko, in research, study, practice routines, improvising, composing, rehearsals, live performance, and studio recording. Student projects will include composition and performances/presentations of at least two short pieces and a midterm paper to be revised during the remainder of the semester and 19 The Jazz Culture, VI:25
due at the final class. Attendance, preparation and active classroom contribution are expected throughout the course. I Discussion of the role of improvisation/composition throughout history in various music genres as it relates to members of the class and the instructor; variation principle; recreation vs. formal disciplines; performance practices, with examples from western classical, jazz, popular, and world musics; group and solo improvisation; Concepts/Process/Results. Traditions and Innovations. II “Strategies for Improvising” – discussion. Strategies for Improvising for the Composing Improviser/Improvising Composer By Harold Danko. General principles. See Harold Danko on ggogle.com
Jay Anderson, bass, JeffHirschfield, drums, Harold Danko, piano on Unriched
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JAZZ HERITAGE Cont. from p. 17
Elmo Hope/Bertha Hope
...The Oasis, is where I played with Johnny Otis. JC: When did you meet Elmo Hope? Bertha Hope: I met him at a nightclub when he was playing with Sonny Rollins in LA. I had been listening to Bud Powell and I immediately heard some similarities and I wanted to meet him because of that. I was working at the time in LA with Teddy Edwards, tenor saxophonist and alto saxophonist Vy Redd. We got married in LA in 1960. Monica [our daughter] was born in LA. We took a road trip across country and instead of going back to LA, Elmo decided that we should come to New York because he had several record deal offers that they did not want to record in LA. So he decided it would be a good idea to move back to NY. That was the Riverside offer , the 1961 Homecoming on the Riverside label with Frank Foster, Percy Heath, and Philly Jo Jones. The second LP was Hope-Full; I was invited to play three tracks with Elmo, and it has become a collector’s item. JC: Who were his friends? Bertha Hope: He and Johnny Griffin were very close. He and Philly Joe Jones were buddies and the relationship to Bud Powell is one that I wish I knew more about. He and Thelonious and Bud were like brothers in the musical neighborhood. Thelonious, Johnny Griffin, Bud and Elmo spent a lot of time moving around to different people’s homes looking for a piano, looking to have jam sessions, looking to play together. They spent a lot of time in Elmo’s mother’s house. I guess that had to be in the ‘50s. I met Bud in LA about 1952 or ‘53. I met Monk in New York around 1961 or ‘62. When we returned to New York, Elmo introduced me to Monk. The Jazz Culture, VI:25
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JC: Whose idea was it to have you on the album? Bertha Hope: That was Johnny Griffin’s idea. Johnny Griffin proposed the idea to Orin Keepnews. I was petrified. I’m on “Blues Left and Right,” “ Yesterdays,” and “My Heart Stood Still.” It’s two pianos. I think they thought that it was unique that we were a pair and there weren’t that many pairs playing jazz piano. I don’t know what they thought--I just know I was terrified. I would say that it has stood the test of time. I went to a second-hand shop to see if they had the original vinyl LP and he [the owner] wouldn’t put a price on it for me, he said, “This one is priceless.” He was very glad to meet me, but he wouldn’t sell it to me. JC: How did you feel about Elmo Hope at the time? Bertha Hope: I was absolutely--we were married by that time, we had a daughter, I was completely in love with him. JC: What kind of person was Elmo Hope? Bertha Hope: He was gregarious, he loved to have people all around all the time, he had followers, men who would follow him around from place to place; he had a very generous spirit. JC: Was jazz more popular in those days? Bertha Hope: I think it was, and more people were willing to share. That’s how Elmo acquired students, by offering to share his knowledge. He never gave a group class. If I had allowed it, the house would have been full of people all the time. I just couldn’t handle that. We had a small apartment and a baby. He was very interested in people and what they thought. We didn’t have a lot of sessions, but there were a lot of people who wanted to hear his story, and be around him. JC: What was the difference between LA and New York? Bertha Hope: Space, for one thing. If you were going to two nightclubs a night in LA, you better start at 5. A car is an essential in LA. Not in NY. You can walk from one club to 22 The Jazz Culture, VI:25
another in this city and find jazz. You can be in the Village and walk from Point A to another, or hop on the train. JC: Were there more jazz fans in NY? Bertha Hope: Yes, probably. Technology has changed the world so much. You can record simultaneously with people all over the world through sending files. But in terms of a fan base, still more fans in New York. JC: You were born into a show biz family. Were you aware you were meeting celebrities? Bertha Hope: I met so many people when I was in his company. All of it was a little daunting. I knew because I was already listening to their records, most were musicians from the East Coast. I never met Dave Brubeck, Shelly Manne, people on Fantasy Red vinyl labels, who were LA musicians. I listened to the LP’s, never met them in person or live.The people who came to play the San Diego, LA, San Francisco, Vancouver circuit, Sonny Rollins, Coltrane, Johnny Griffin, were the people who called Elmo to play when they came to the Coast. JC: Where did you live in New York? Bertha Hope: We lived in the Bronx, on Lyman Place, with Elmo’s mother and father, till we found an apartment on Webster Avenue in the Bronx. Then we moved to 71st Street in Manhattan. JC: Did you learn from him? Bertha Hope: I learned by listening. He wasn’t a teacher who wrote out a lesson in the traditional sense. He would write out a set of chord changes for you and you would learn those in all keys. Then he would write a melody on those changes the next week. I learned by listening to him play. He was very informal in that way. JC: In terms of composers and players of his era, where would you place him? The Jazz Culture, VI:25
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Bertha Hope: If you listen to his compositions, they’re varied and very sophisticated harmonically. They’re a little crowded, and I think that’s why people don’t want to dissect them too often. His music is not played often and I think it’s because there’s a degree of difficulty to it that some people don’t want to deal with. I’ve been told there are too many changes for his melody and so you have to make choices and people don’t want to. I think he’s a great composer whose music did not get played except by the people whom Elmo chose for his recording dates. He wrote for the date, for the people he was recording with, for example, the things he did with Sonny Rollins. “Carvin’ the Rock” was a composition on a date with Sonny Rollins. He and Sonny Rollins co-wrote that song for that date. I think a lot of the compositions he wrote were in preparation for recording sessions.He was a composer who wrote long piano lines, melodically speaking. He would just tell the horn players, “Find a place to breathe,” I heard him tell Harold Land. “The note is not on my horn.” “Well, find it,” Elmo said. He wrote what he heard. I think as Monk and Bud and Elmo wrote, they did not write with the idea of legacy. They probably would have written a lot more. Elmo left a lot of fragments of compositions. JC: Did it happen suddenly? [on May 1967 Elmo Hope died] Bertha Hope: He went to the hospital [with pneumonia] and was recovering, we thought, after about three weeks. The heart attack happened in the middle of the night. They called me very early in the morning. We had a funeral, but because the family was very involved, I acquiesced to his mother, and father. By the time he died, I was 31 or 32. The band, Elmollenium, is my testament and memorial to him, which I would love to resurrect. JC: Musically, you were able to interpret and record some of Elmo Hope’s compositions. What does that say about you? [given that they were so complex] Bertha Hope: I have no idea. I had a band called “Elmollenium” The Jazz Culture, VI:24 24
that never got a chance to record but played all of Elmo’s compositions, a sextet. Most of the gigs were at our home base, La Belle Epoque, a lovely Creole restaurant that went under in the year of Katrina. Leroy Williams, Charles Davis, Virgil Jones, me, Walter Booker, Ronnie Ben-Hur. We were all really interested in playing Elmo’s music. We didn’t play any other music except Elmo’s. The band was dedicated to keeping Elmo’s music alive. JC: Do you think there’s an international audience for his compositions and recordings? Bertha Hope: I think there is an underground cult kind of following for him in places all over the world, especially in Europe. JC: Where in Europe? Bertha Hope: Denmark, France, Germany, England. JC: Did he play abroad? Bertha Hope: He didn’t. Dexter Gordon wanted Elmo to come to Copenhagen and relocate there also. He never really shared with me why he didn’t leave. Personally, it would have changed his life forever, and he would have enjoyed a lot of success there, because at that time, he would have been the pianist of choice for any of the groups Dexter was putting together, and for other groups as well. It would have broadened the idea that his music was loved and appreciated in other parts of the world. JC: As a musical couple, did you help each other? Bertha Hope: I know he helped me, he was so much more advanced in the music than I was. I don’t know how much I helped him. He did appreciate my ability to hear so keenly what he was doing. I was working in other directions. Sometimes I’d play a chord and he’d look over my shoulder and say, “What is that?” I did try to help him understand that he was writing lasting music and he should not take ownership so lightly, and those were things he didn’t understand—how valuable his contribution was. The Jazz Culture, VI:25 25
He made some bad choices along those lines. He didn’t keep his publishing rights. He was victimized at the time, as were so many others. But many Institutes of Jazz do incorporate some of his compositions in their library, so young students know who he is and play his compositions now. His contribution is being recognized in that way and the music is available to them. Elmo would take great pride in knowing that his music is still being honored by younger musicians. Pub. ote on Bertha Hope: Hear Ms. Hope on: Nothing But Love (Reservoir), In Search Of, (Reservoir) and Elmo’s Fire, (Minor Music)-Between Two Kings. Bertha Hope is an esteemed member of the NY jazz community. She studied theory and harmony at Los Angeles City College, and privately studied piano with pianist Richie Powell, a member of the Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet and brother of Bud Powell. She was Artist in Residence at NJ Council for the Arts, where she played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat Adderly, Frank Foster and Philly Joe Jones. She received a Barry Award from Dr. Barry Harris. She also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival in the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C, She was in the first women's quartet to play for George Wein's Kool Jazz festival in Carnegie Hall, and she was a member of the first women's ensemble to open for Jimmy Heath for the Jazzmobile Festivals in New York. Bertha Hope will appear at Goddard Riverside, 593 Columbus Avenue at 88th Street on October 11, at 7 pm. Free, one set.
Listen to Elmo Hope: In 1949, he recorded for Decca, and in 1951 Mr. Hope recorded for Atlantic with Winone Harris.In June 1953, he recorded with Jackie McLean (Lights Out)Íž Introducing the Elmo Hope Trio, (Blue Note 1953); Meditations (Prestige 1953); Hope Meets Foster (Prestige, 1955); Informal Jazz (Prestige 1956); Trio and Quintet (Blue Note 1957); Meditations (OJC 1958); Homecoming (OJC, 1958); Plays His Original Compositions (Fresh Sound, 1961); The Final Sessions (Evidence, 1966) ; Memorial Album (Clifford Brown, 1953); Two Tenors 26 The Jazz Culture, VI:24
(Prestige, Coltrane 1956); The Fox (Harold Land, 1959); Moving Out (Sonny Rollins, Prestige, 1959); Jazz from Rikers Island (1963); Two albums for Herb Albertson Festival Records(May/August 1966).
Jazz in London Photojournal
Top Left, John Watson at the Palm Court, The Langham, Right, Ronnie Scott's, below, two swing dancers at The Langham, Below, The Pizza Express
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"Practice a Million Hours." -Junior Cook, Saxophonist "You can't take offwithout a launching pad." -Lonnie Hillyer, Trumpeter
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