Eddie Bert at Birdland: I took the subway down to Birdland
Friday night in New York to catch trombone legend Eddie Bert. He was performing with the same group of British and American jazz musicians he played with at Birdland in London back in December.
The group included Ray Gelato and Leo Green on tenor saxophones, Howard Alden on guitar, Calvin Hill on bass, James Pearson on piano, Mike Campani on drums and Betsyann Faiella on vocals. The 
show's theme was a tribute to Frank Sinatra, and the group played 12 tunes using different instrument configurations.
Eddie, of course, was gorgeous. At 85, he still has his chops and outshines players half his age who play twice as many notes. You haven't lived until you've heard the trombone played by a master from the 1940s and 1950s. Gives you a taste of what those brilliant decades must have been like musically. It's all about tone and ideas. Period.
"Duke Ellington wrote the next song in five minutes—in a cab," Eddie announced halfway through the set in his inimitable Bronx accent. He then played a velvety Mood Indigo with just the piano, bass and drums—bringing down the house with his seductive phrasing.
Ray Gelato also had a terrific night. When he blows jazz, the
British tenor saxophonist has a tightly wound, warm Coleman Hawkins-Don Byas-Charlie Ventura sound. You close your eyes and hear shades of each tenor giant in his playing. He's also a throwback to watch. Ray—who has a passing resemblance to Robert De Niro in New York, New York—holds his horn slightly to his side, like a 1940s reedman. His stage presence that reminds you that blowing the tenor once demanded a signature look as well as a sound.
"I'm so old fashioned," Ray told me during the break. "I listen to records of Hawk, Lucky, Illinois, Flip Phillips, Georgie Auld and Don Byas all the time. I can't get enough of them. I just hope there's some of me left in there."
Eddie and Ray played together splendidly on Pennies from Heaven. Ray gracefully blew soft, giving Eddie's trombone plenty of room to shine through. "Eddie has so much history in his sound, I find myself listening to him while we're playing," Ray said.
It was also a pleasure to hear bassist Calvin Hill—who has recorded with Max Roach, Lee Konitz, Barry Harris, Junior Mance and many others since his first date in 1966. Hill brought all of that experience to bear with a full, woody sound.
As I was leaving Birdland, Eddie asked when we could talk again to cover his late 1950s recordings. As soon as he's ready, I told him, and we agreed to touch base by phone next week to set up a date.
The final installment of my Eddie Bert interview will focus on his recordings with Elliot Lawrence, Maynard Ferguson, Teddy Charles, Gene Krupa, Thelonious Monk, Buddy Rich and the immortal 1958 Swing Into Spring TV special that featured Benny Goodman, Harry James, Zoot Sims, Hank Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Jo Stafford and so many other jazz legends.
To read Parts 1-4 of my interview with Eddie, go here.
Paul Desmond on the web: Doug Ramsey, of
Rifftides fame, blogged last week that producer Paul Conley's NPR show on Paul Desmond, hosted by Nancy Wilson, is now available as a free mp3 download. To download the program, go here.
I found great version of Caravan by Duke here http://youtube.com/watch?v=Lz6cCVGURQE
Posted by: Tobias | January 07, 2008 at 08:15 PM