The response to my Horace Parlan post earlier this week was enormous. Parlan's body of work remains special and he should be thought of as one of the Top-10 post-war piano greats. Today, for the many newly minted Parlan fans, I thought I'd post a documentary of the pianist in Denmark during his later years. A special thanks to Ken Deifik for reminding me about the film.
Here's Don McGlynn's Horace Parlan By Horace Parlan (2002)...
JazzWax note: To buy this documentary, go here.
In the late 1950s, Irv Kratka began releasing albums that would change jazz. Not necessarily the music but the quality of playing by those who wanted to learn without taking lessons or just wanted to improve their chops. Known since 1950 as Music Minus One, the company founded by Kratka at first focused on classical, pop vocals and then Dixieland jazz. [Photo above of Billy Bauer]
By the late 1950s, modern jazz made it onto Music Minus One's roster. The label hired top jazz players such as George Duvivier, Elvin Jones, Stan Getz, Hal McCusick, Hank Jones and others and recorded them as backup players. The solo instrument was left out. That part was yours. The thinking was that with a club-level jazz group behind you, you'd have an easier time learning to swing and solo, and your confidence would grow. And it worked.
Music Minus One also created a revenue stream for the many jazz musicians who recorded on the albums. The paydays helped them earn a living, since jazz gigs and record dates often weren't sufficient to pay the bills. Muzak also served in this role—employing top jazz musicians to play easy-listening standards for bank lobbies, offices and supermarkets.
But before Kratka steered Music Minus One to the jazz market, guitarist Billy Bauer tried his hand at the concept. Following a career playing with Woody Herman, Lennie Tristano and Lee Konitz, Bauer played on a large number of studio dates for NBC TV and recording work behind hundreds of pop artists in the 1950s and beyond. [Photo above of Irv Kratka]
In 1953, Bauer recorded an album called Let's Have a Session. Recorded for Ad Lib, Bauer played rhythm guitar backed by Tony Aless (p) Arnold Fishkin (b) and Don Lamond (d). You were able to play along on virtually any instrument, though the album's cover urged you to "pick up your horn and blow."
Listening to the album 65 years later, the music is a nifty way to play with Bauer, Aless, Fishkin and Lamond. According to the 10-inch album's liner notes, all were television studio players at this point in time. The songs are Easy Walking Blues (in B-flat), Out of Nowhere (G), These Foolish Things (E-flat), Indiana (A-flat), Somebody Loves Me (F), September in the Rain (E-flat), Ghost of a Chance (C) and 'S Wonderful (E-flat).
But you don't have to be a fledgling musician. It's fun to hear what a top group would sound like if you were up there soloing. More important, it's weirdly fascinating to hear Bauer running chords on rhythm guitar and to listen to Aless play without the distraction of a big band. He was largely unheard on many of his jazz recordings as a studio sideman.
Billy Bauer died in 2005; Tony Aless died in 1988.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Billy Bauer's Let's Have a Session coupled with Bauer's terrific sole leadership date, Plectrist, on Fresh Sound here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Out of Nowhere...
And here's September in the Rain...
By now, it's no secret that Bill Evans is my favorite jazz pianist. In the No. 2 slot would have to be Horace Parlan. Born in Pittsburgh, Parlan at a young age contracted polio, which left his right hand partly disabled and disfigured. Two of the fingers in his right hand were out of commission. As a result, his left hand did double duty, delivering heavy harmony and bass treatment while the three operating fingers of his right hand handled melody improvisation. Parlan relocated to Denmark in 1972. [Photo above of Horace Parlan by Francis Wolff (c) Mosaic Images]
Despite the diminished use of one hand's digits, Parlan became a superb and much-in-demand hard-bop keyboard accompanist and a magnificent trio leader and solo player. For those little familiar with Parlan, the best place to start is his first leadership album—Movin' and Groovin'. Recorded in February 1960 for Blue Note, Parlan's trio consisted of Parlan on piano, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Al Harewood.
As much as I love Red Garland, I give Parlan the edge when it comes to taste and volume of superb material over the course of his career. He had a lovely sense of swing, every one of his songs expressed a joy to be able to play, and his chord voicings were sensational. All he seemed to care about was knocking out listeners. There was no idling or padding. Parlan was a sculptor who kneaded and crafted every song he played into a singular expression.
The songs on this album are C Jam Blues, On Green Dolphin Street, Up in Cynthia's Room, Lady Bird, Bags', Groove, Stella by Starlight, There Is No Greater Love and It Could Happen to You. All are sensationally executed. Even songs you may feel you've heard enough of, like C Jam Blues and Bags' Groove, are re-invented by Parlan's groovy bluesy attack. [Photo above of Al Harewood by Francis Wolff (c) Mosaic Images]
Parlan began his recording career in 1957 with Charles Mingus and then moved on to Lou Donaldson in 1959 before recording Movin' and Groovin'. I came to Parlan in college after picking up Dexter Gordon's Doin' Allright (Blue Note) and hearing Society Red.
Parlan so knocked me out on there that I began collecting. Everything I purchased by Parlan had his ambitious playing style. Best of all are his stylistic fingerprints that pop up often. These include building tension with chords in his left hand while swinging notes with his right, releasing with cascading block chords. Or his ascending scales with three-finger modal riffs and his soul-jazz chords clustered together. [Photo above of Sam Jones]
I could spend the next 30 days writing about Parlan's excellent albums as a sideman and as a leader, but I wouldn't dare. There are too many others to write about. But do yourself a favor. Explore the pianist yourself. Movin' and Groovin' is a perfect gateway. And dig Jones and Harewood here. Jones thumps it out and Harewood is all over the snare. Perfect jazz is such a splendid thing. [Photo above of Horace Parlan]
Horace Parlan died in 2017.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Horace Parlan's Movin' and Groovin' here and here.
JazzWax clips: The following two tracks are absolute knockouts. See if you can sit still when Parlan is on a roll. I find it impossible:
Here's Lady Bird (crank this up; five minutes of a sterling trio in action)...
And here's Bags' Groove...
Click the covers to order...
