In late 1963, as gigs and recording work slowed in New York for drummer J.C. Heard, he began to listen more intently to his brother-in-law, bassist Al McKibbon. If you want more work, McKibbon said, come out to Los Angeles. A seasoned protege of Papa Jo Jones, Heard had played with many of the top big bands and recorded behind virtually every major jazz leader since 1939. In the 1940s and '50s, he could play swing, bop, blues and everything else in between. [Photo of J.C. Heard above by Francis Wolff]
After moving to L.A. at the start of '64, Heard was introduced to bassist Howard Rumsey by McKibbon. Rumsey managed the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach. The Lighthouse had been the gateway to employment for almost every jazz transplant from New York since the dawn of the 1950s. Newly arrived, Heard likely had to "work off his card," which in L.A. meant full-time residence for six months before he could be issued an L.A. union card. [Photo above of Howard Rumsey]
The card was necessary to work in the record and film studios and earn real money. So Rumsey did what he had done for musicians for more than 10 years. He hired Heard to lead a group at the Lighthouse.
Heard formed a quintet comprised of Bill Perkins (ts, bar), Frank Strazzeri (p), Jim Hughart (b), Heard (d) and Joe Pass (g). In February 1964, when the band played at the Lighthouse, Rumsey had tape rolling. The result is J.C. Heard-Bill Perkins Quintet Featuring Joe Pass: Live at the Lighthouse 1964 recently issued by Fresh Sound.
Here's the story behind the recording from Fresh Sound's Jordi Pujol:
The tape was recorded by Howard Rumsey. He gave it to Perkins, who sold it to me years later. The titles on the reel box were handwritten by Perk. Heard wanted a saxophonist in the group, and Perk, who was heavily involved in studio work at the time, wanted to play jazz at the club, so he joined the group. For some reason, this group led by Heard lasted only a few weeks. As far as I know, Heard spent very little time out west in L.A. [Photo above of Bill Perkins by Ray Avery/CTSImages.com]
Many years ago, I transferred the recording to DAT [digital audio tape] in preparation for its release on CD. But after Perk died in 2003, I stopped the project, and the years went by. Last year, I re-listened to the DAT and still liked it very much. So I decided to release it.
The tracks are Oliver Nelson's Bob's Blues, Billy Strayhorn's Passion Flower, Oliver Nelson's Don't Stand Up, Frank Foster's Blues in Hoss's Flat, the standard There Will Never Be Another You, Neal Hefti's Cute, Heard's J.C.'s Tune, the standard Sometime Ago and Heard's Mambo-Bop. [Photo above of Lester Young, left, and J.C. Heard at the "Great Day in Harlem" photo shoot in 1958 for Esquire magazine; photographed by bassist Milt Hinton]
Here are the album highlights...
- According to Heard's voice on the album, Nelson wrote Don't Stand Up specifically for him. It's a superb rollicking swinger.
- Joe Pass, who most often is heard on recordings leading his own groups, sounds fabulous here as a sideman. His leadership career had just begun in '63.
- Perkins on baritone saxophone is rather interesting and his attack is quite different from his traditional instrument, the tenor. Why he bothered with the baritone on this date is unknown.
- Cute is faster than you'd expect, and Pass's solo is quite a ride. Despite the tempo, the song's brightness is retained.
- Pass is terrific on Sometime Ago.
- Mambo-Bop provides a fascinating example of Heard's drumming skills.
It's hard to know why Heard didn't stick around on the West Coast. In all likelihood, studio work for him either wasn't plentiful enough or was too tedious and lacking in artistic freedom.
J.C. Heard died in 1988.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find J.C. Heard-Bill Perkins Quintet Featuring Joe Pass: Live at the Lighthouse 1964 (Fresh Sound) here.
The album also is available at Spotify.
JazzWax clips: Here's Don't Stand Up....
