Home » Jazz Articles » Book Excerpts » Jazz Orchestras
Jazz Orchestras
In addition to the productions of the dance band shows, being a Performing Arts producer meant that I had the opportunity to present artists from every genre imaginable. I steadfastly tried to adhere to some sense of objectivity listening carefully to comments and requests from students, faculty and patrons from the outside communities. Often, imaginative ideas arose out of discussions with these groups of all the music genres; however, one wound up pleasing everyone and coincidentally gave me a large measure of satisfaction.In 1976, the winner of the academy award for best picture was "Rocky." In addition to being the overwhelming sentimental choice, it had been a well-directed, well-acted film. The music score by Bill Conti not only won awards but seemed to resound throughout America that year. I was doing some musical producing in Philadelphia that year so I began hearing the "Theme from Rocky" in my sleep; as the setting for the film, and the focus of the bi-centennial the city in the center of the world's public eye. I went to the Robin Hood Dell concert center to see the
Maynard Ferguson
trumpet1928 - 2006
Born in Quebec Canada in 1928, Maynard had the usual credentials of a child prodigy. He played with the Jimmy Dorsey orchestra as a youngster, then moved on to Boyd Raeburn's band (not very successful commercially but memorable for its jazz innovations). From there Maynard had moved on to the
Charlie Barnet
saxophone1913 - 1991
Doc Severinsen
trumpetb.1927
Stan Kenton
piano1911 - 1979
At my 1976 concert, the band featured immortal sidemen such as
Bobby Militello
saxophone, altob.1950
Maynard had employed
Denis DiBlasio
saxophone, baritone
Jaki Byard
piano1922 - 1999
Alan Broadbent
pianob.1947
No jazz orchestra of the swing era had sacrificed more for his art than Stan Kenton. Founded in the midst of the dance band craze, the band had signaled loud and clear—"no dancing here." Stan had very clear ideas on what he wanted his band to accomplish. The challenge was to integrate the new harmonic development in both jazz and classical music against the best traditions of ancient polyrhythm.
Employing writers such as Johnny Richards, Bill Russo and
Bill Holman
composer / conductor- 2024
Anita O'Day
vocals1919 - 2006
June Christy
vocals1925 - 1990
Mel Lewis
drums1929 - 1990
Kai Winding
trombone1922 - 1983
Lennie Niehaus
saxophone, alto1929 - 2020
Since I had become an ardent jazz devotee as a child, I had thrilled to Kenton's music but because the band rarely toured in Gotham, I had never seen them. It was with titanic pleasure then that I called Richie B. and booked the band the first time. Stan was a totally independent guy. Stories of his rigidity abounded everywhere musicians gathered. He had his own record label and the only way he managed to sell records was at his concerts. His earlier contract with Capitol had resulted in constant fights as to repertoire and distribution so he had had to go it alone. I found him to be very professional, cooperative in every way giving interviews, publicity blurbs, and autographs for fans—and always dedicated. By the time he had arrived in New York to work my shows he'd had 30 years of jazz prominence behind him. Despite the relatively sharp aesthetic focus of his music, there were enough fans in the Metropolitan area to support the shows.
After the concerts, it was always heartening to see lines of fans from several generations who sought autographs, asked questions or simply wanted to congratulate him and shake his hand. He had withstood decades of opposition, eschewing time and again the easy commercial music that would have filled the coffers. Most of the fans who gathered outside his dressing room after the performances were musicians, writers and other insiders who knew what an important contribution he had made to American music.
I had presented the Kenton band several times in those years. One day, in late 1977, Richie called to tell me that Stan had been in an accident resulting in some loss of memory. But 3 or 4 months later, he was ready to back on the road and Richie asked if I wanted the New York date. Swiftly, the concert was arranged and the show was a great success and sold out. After congratulating Stan, who was clearly in great discomfort because of the accident, I said goodbye and wished him good luck on the tour. It was to be my last conversation with him and his final performance in New York. He died a few months later.
There are many methods that employed by bandleaders to create the focus and unity that must always be present if the band is going to maintain its standards. Most leaders are tight disciplinarians and little nonsense is tolerated. Some can loosen up now and again and still get results. A very few can be constantly relaxed and enforce no rules at all and despite this, the band will still sound great.
Duke Ellington
piano1899 - 1974
Paul Gonsalves
saxophone, tenor1920 - 1974
It had been
Al Cohn
saxophone, tenor1925 - 1988
Zoot Sims
saxophone, tenor1925 - 1985
Serge Chaloff
saxophone, baritoneb.1923
Stan Getz
saxophone, tenor1927 - 1991
I opened the pages of the especially written charts still wet with ink from the copyist so Stan could sight read them. He turned over each sheet as rapidly as someone counting a pile of dollar bills. His reputation for having a photographic mind was legend but that night I observed it first hand. I almost couldn't believe it. In an instant he went down and out onto the stage and straight away had the Hall applauding wildly.
Woody Herman's affability was infectious. One night after just about any kind of technical snafu that one could imagine had occurred during one of my shows, we decided to go out after the show and put the evening behind us. We settled into a cozy booth at the Café Pierre and were relaxing listening to the
Bucky Pizzarelli
guitar1926 - 2020
Woody's good nature was ill served by bad management. Toward the end of his life he was hounded by IRS agents demanding restitution for non-payment of taxes. The financial people that he had trusted through the years had betrayed him. Even after his death, his children and heirs had years of misery because of this.
Ever since Benny Goodman had discovered a young
Lionel Hampton
vibraphone1908 - 2002
Through the next decades Lionel Hampton attained legendary status. By the 70's he had toured everywhere in the solar system with his "all-star" bands, played the most prestigious venues on the planet, received plaudits, honorary degrees and always gave 100% of himself on every gig just as he had in that appearance in Brooklyn when I was a kid. Because his music was so appealing and people who didn't even like jazz came to see his dazzling acrobatics, I booked the band often. During this time, I had my own production company and was producing concerts, plays and novelty shows. I'd been hired by others to put together entertainment packages and orchestras always figured prominently in all of this activity. Hamp's orchestra was important because he could play dances and concerts with equal success. During those years it seemed that I saw him every few weeks.
Hamp had been well mentored by Benny Goodman and he and his wife Gladys had learned how to invest wisely. Hamp had become a favorite of Richard Nixon, entertained during inaugurations and was a frequent visitor to the Nixon White House.
In 1999, as Hamp was aging, there was a concert a Pace with the band. I had to arrange to meet with him long before the show so I could interview him in connection with a biography of Clifford Brown that I was writing which was published the following year. It was going to be a bit sticky because I had to confront Hamp with an unpleasant situation that had occurred years before. In 1953, Hamp and Gladys were booked for the very first "Lionel Hampton All-Star" tour of Europe. Because bebop was in great demand in Europe, Hamp had hired Art Farmer,
Clifford Brown
trumpetb.1930
Quincy Jones
arranger1933 - 2024
Gigi Gryce
saxophone1927 - 1983
The story is a long saga in my book. Briefly, the beboppers were in great demand to record all over Europe but Hamp and Gladys issued an edict strictly forbidding anybody in the band from doing any outside recording. The boppers were conflicted but decided to sneak out after hours and drive to various studios in Paris, Stockholm, Oslo and other cities on the 4 month tour where producers and European sidemen were waiting for them to record. Clifford Brown was the center of all the attention from the record producers and in greatest demand. When Hamp and Gladys discovered what was happening there was huge acrimony as they fired the Annie Ross and George Wallington and refused to provide them with their return tickets back home. Huge resentment built up on the part of the boppers who were all eventually fired. Despite all of this, Clifford Brown's secret recordings resulted in an explosive response from writers, fans and critics making him instantly famous. I had to write about this episode in my book and had to ask Hamp some difficult questions. I also was hesitant to annoy him at such an advanced age (90 at the time) and I knew his eyesight was going. As we sat backstage at Pace, I made him comfortable and asked about the unfortunate events in Europe almost 50 years before. He shuffled his feet and indicated that he and Gladys had wronged the young boppers with unjust treatment of them. I sat back proud of Hamp for his candor and class. I asked what he thought about Clifford during this time and he gave me a dramatic quote for the book. Clifford had "set Europe on fire" said Hamp. I leaned over and hugged him then helped him to get ready for the Pace concert. Of course, he was a big hit.
Scholars often debate the origins of "swing" but most agree that none of the early bands of the style swung harder than those in Kansas City during the early 30's. I remember reviewing Robert Altman's fine film "Kansas City" and spreading the word among fellow critics about how powerfully Altman had portrayed the era. For whatever reason the film had received bad reviews and I worked hard urging everyone to see it because the first night critics had surely missed the impact of the film entirely.
The K.C. band that swung the hardest was that of
Bennie Moten
composer / conductor1894 - 1935
The rhythmic magic at the heart of the great swing orchestras lay in the interplay between the bass, the percussion, and the rhythm guitarist. Early on during the initial Basie years, the impact of
Freddie Green
guitar, acoustic1911 - 1987
Count Basie
piano1904 - 1984
The first time that I produced a Basie concert, I was standing at the curtain backstage having just introduced Bill and the band when someone began gently tapping me on the shoulder. Because it was so dark I had trouble focusing my eyes and identifying who it was and blinked my a bit when the person opened an overcoat that was so long it draped on the ground and revealed multi-pocketed inside compartments filled with all sorts of jazz merchandise—CD's, books, statues of stars, magazines and odd bits of memorabilia. It was as if an instant storefront had suddenly appeared from nowhere. My first thought was "who the heck is this clown and how did he get in here?" I was about to alert security when the guy blurted out "Hey, man this stuff is for intermission... you and me man... 50-50... we sell it in the lobby." As he spoke, I recognized him and started to amusingly shake my head in disbelief. It was Babs Gonzales—the original hipster and bebop "cool cat." Babs had snuck backstage and was finger popping as the Basie band swung wildly. I, too, was so enthralled the sound that I couldn't possibly chastise Babs. Later, he hawked his wares in the lobby and then simply slid out of sight. Babs's hip expressions in the 40's have become a part of mainstream American speech. Every time a student in my class begins a comment with the word "like" and then uses it exhaustively, I think of Babs.
The Basie band was such a great draw that, in the early 80's when Bill had had a heart attack and a concert date was imminent, Richie called wondering if I wanted to cancel the performance. I told him that the show should go on anyway because the band had helped make my jazz series very successful through the years. Pianist Nat Pierce led the band that night and the audience responded well even though we all missed Bill. Another time before a Basie show ABC Morning show host David Hartman showed up at the ticket office of a sold out performance asking for seats. I received a call and instructed the ushers to escort David and his wife backstage where I was and invited them to watch the show from the wings. He explained that he had a rare night off from a schedule of arising at 3:00 A.M. daily, that he and his wife rarely got out because of this wild schedule and their need to spend time with infant children. They hadn't been in town in months but when they discovered that "Bill" was playing they scotched their movie plans and rushed down to Pace. That was the excitement that a Basie performance engendered for almost half a century. As
Buddy Rich
drums1917 - 1987
Mel Torme
vocals1925 - 1999
In this book, Mel related one of he most amazing stories in American jazz history. Buddy Rich's parents were vaudevillians who constantly toured the country with an act dubbed "Rich and Renard." Shortly after their son Bernard was born, Marjorie and Robert began toting him to and fro crossing and re-crossing the country on the vaudeville circuit. When the infant was eighteen months old, the act was booked into the Bijou Theater in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In the usual fashion, Robert began passing out music to the orchestra as the act prepared to rehearse. He placed his infant son on the stage next to the drummer. No sooner had the music begun when all activity immediately ceased. Everyone was staring spellbound at the infant who had picked up the drummer's sticks and was tapping the stage keeping "perfect rhythm." When the tempo had changed, "the tiny hands adjusted to the new pace without missing a beat." Everybody naturally went ballistic; they could not believe what they were seeing. When the ooohing and aaahing finally subsided, the theater manager rushed over to Robert and told him he had to instantly revamp his act to feature his infant son. There were some parental hesitations but when the dust settled the child was brought on stage for the first show where he "paralyzed the Indiana audience. When the band finished the number and the toddler laid down the drumsticks, there was bedlam in the audience." Thus began the career of one of the most gifted musicians in all of American music.
After his meteoric rise to fame as a youngster, Buddy soon distinguished himself with great swing bands playing with Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw and others. He also became a celebrity hanging out with Frank Sinatra and causing rumpuses in Hollywood. His percussion skills were legend and he often participated in "drum wars" with
Gene Krupa
drums1909 - 1973
During the next decades in that period of the onset of rock n' roll where everybody in music had to scuffle, Rich was no exception. There were always gigs for Buddy but not necessarily ones that he loved. He had to eat and that was that. Then in the middle 70's he was able ,with the help and contacts of Willard Alexander, to get his own jazz band going and began the process of one-nighters albeit without the money that the dance bands could command. It was during this period that I booked the band and got to know him.
There were all sorts of stories about Buddy and his band leadership. He had continued to develop the legends of his youth by wowing his own band personnel. A new trombone player would be hired who might have a great reputation as a sight reader. He would be counting measures on a chart in rapid tempo; there might be a 40 bar tacit and then a darting punch from the bones that could consist of perhaps one-sixteenth note followed by 20 more tacit bars. Just to make sure that the new hire would be alert, Buddy would cue the entrance without looking him. After realizing what Buddy was doing, the new band member would quickly fall into line as a Rich worshipper. Although the band recorded several outstanding albums, the record business had become all but impossible for their music. Still, after recording a scintillating version of "Love for Sale" in a rocket tempo and a lengthy "West Side Story" medley with some breathtaking Rich solo work, these numbers became standard repertoire on tour.
Performances in the major concert halls of the world were well attended by legions of respectful fans who had been accruing since the old days. Buddy kept his "celebrity" image alive with many appearances on the Johnny Carson show. During the often hilarious dialogue exchanges between host and guest, Buddy would exhibit his rapid fire verbal repartee which had the audiences, along with Johnny, howling. Buddy's mental acuity and witty tongue were reminders of his precocious origins. One of the treats I looked forward to when Buddy worked my shows was the amusing show put on backstage between Buddy and saxophonist Steve Marcus. As the two clowned and traded hip, sharp-tongued lines the band members along with anybody else backstage would roar with laughter. This all happened, despite the fact that Buddy was a fearsome disciplinarian running the band. He was loud in his criticisms and often harsh with his personnel. In this connection, one of the funniest underground tapes in jazz became all the rage. It was not unusual for Buddy to chew out the troops after a gig he deemed unsatisfactory. As they boarded the band bus and settled in for the long ride to the next one-nighter, Buddy would stand up and launch into a tirade about the lack of harmonic cohesiveness in the trumpet section, the "clams" emanating from the soloists, the sloppy entrance of the reeds in the coda. He worked himself into a wild state often sounding like an incarnation of a Marine Corps drill sergeant. When he got this nuts, the band members often had to stifle giggles because his hysterical demeanor was so funny. One day somebody decided to tape the outbursts. The tapes were so outrageous that musicians all over begged for copies and if you didn't have your Buddy Rich "crazy speech" tape copy you just weren't anybody.
Always crusading for the art of jazz, Buddy decided to open a club—"Buddy's Place." He wanted a room where jazz would receive the same respectful silence during the performance that a symphony orchestra would receive in Carnegie hall. So he gave orders that drinks were not to be served during the sets. This and other strictures made the club a short-lived affair. People in clubs won't keep silent even if God is on stage.
Although known for toughness and lack of warmth toward many, Buddy seemed to take to me. He realized that my booking the band was an attempt to aid the cause and not to make money. He respected that and he said so. He began taping shows at the dawn of the cable TV era and asked me to produce some of the sequences. They were tough outings with constant interruptions for technical reasons. He became tired, impatient and irritable but never once lost his professionalism. Until the end, he remained the consummate artist.
One of the most memorable nights I ever had as a concert producer came as the immortal Benny Goodman said "Oh, alright" when I hounded him to perform at a series I was producing at the Colden Center in Queens. No one in the American instrumental arena had a greater name than Goodman. I was producing the Colden series independently and when Benny agreed to perform, I quietly jumped for joy because I knew the show would sell out in a heartbeat. In addition, Benny Goodman was a boyhood hero of mine as he had been for every reed player in the cosmos. The apotheosis of the American dream. Benny had done it all—been the "King of Swing" with all of the accompanying financial rewards from movies, records etc., established himself as the greatest clarinet improviser, led the first integrated jazz group in 1936 and set high standards as a classical musician. He was an icon in American culture and a world renowned artist.
After he said "Oh, alright," he added "but you have to put the band together." I quickly responded "No problem." Excited by all of this, I began to put all of the proverbial pieces for the show together. I had no trouble hiring "the" guys as sidemen for the show—
John Bunch
piano1921 - 2010
Warren Vache
cornetb.1951
Scott Hamilton
saxophone, tenorb.1954
Bunch stopped talking and placed his hands on the keyboard and lowered his head to stare at the keys in weird concentration. The others put horns to mouths, hands on strings and sticks on snares. They were all instantly immobilized—a tableau of drawn statues. Benny raced up and down the scales, played a gorgeous cadenza and roared into the head of "Avalon." On the downbeat release of the first note of the melody, all six sidemen hit correct notes precisely on the money. No one in the room had the slightest idea which tune he was going to play. "Avalon" progressed brilliantly, precision improvisations of one chorus each, 4 bar trades that were spontaneously extended for an additional half chorus with everyone smiling at the leader's decision, a crisp 16 bar drum solo, back to the head and then out with precise variation of the Basie ending... The performance had been executed so meticulously I was wishing it had been recorded. At the conclusion there was no congratulatory banter as there usually is when star musicians know they have just nailed a performance... The statuesque poses returned again with the guys waiting for the clues in Benny's next cadenza as to what the next tune would be...Later, exasperated, I pulled Bunch aside and mumbled "How the hell did you know what tune he was going to play?" He chuckled and said "You've just seen a Benny Goodman rehearsal...they're always like that... you've got to be ready every second!" I had heard about Benny's disciplinary reputation, but this was something I'd never encountered before in music and I had been to rehearsals of Toscanini conducting the N.Y. Philharmonic.
In my memory, although the concert was a huge success, the rehearsal will always stand out. There were over 2500 seats at the Colden Center and they were all sold out within hours of the initial announcement. Benny was very happy with the reception and he reached out to the crowd with his best effort. The music swung mightily and I made enough money to pay for my daughter's entire college tuition in one night. Thank you Benny Goodman.
Learn more about New York Nights: Performing, Producing and Writing in Gotham. © 2008, Nick Catalano
Tags
Book Excerpts
Nick Catalano
United States
Maynard Ferguson
Charlie Barnet
Doc Severinsen
Stan Kenton
Bobby Militello
Denis Di Blasio
Jaki Byard
Alan Broadbent
Bill Russo
Bill Holman
Anita O'Day
June Christy
Mel Lewis
Kai Winding
Lennie Niehaus
duke ellington
Paul Gonsalves
Al Cohn
Zoot Sims
Serge Chaloff
Stan Getz
Bucky Pizzarelli
Lionel Hampton
Clifford Brown
Quincy Jones
Gigi Gryce
Bennie Moten
Freddie Green
Neil Hefti
Count Basie
Buddy Rich
Mel Torme
Gene Krupa
John Bunch
Warren Vache
Scott Hamilton
Comments
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Support All About Jazz
All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.
Buy Now
