I've known Drew Techner for close to 10 years. Drew's father, Joe Techner, was a trumpeter and member of the Elliot Lawrence Band from the late 1940s until the early 1950s. He was a member of the band when the Lawrence band's home movies were filmed on the road in 1951 by pianist Bob Karch and drummer Howie Mann. They had a camera and early color film (for the full post with films courtesy of Drew Techner, go here). They reveal a post-war America just getting back on its feet, filled with optimism and promise. [Photo above of Joe Techner courtesy of Drew Techner]
Here's one of the films while the band was in North Carolina and in Utah...
Last week, Drew sent along the following email:
Hi Marc. I made further changes to my post on the Elliot Lawrence band. In addition to some corrections, I eliminated the footnotes and there are a lot of incredible links. Some out-of-print Metronome articles and Philadelphia Bulletin clippings. Also, the private recordings that I amassed over the past 20-plus years are linked throughout the article as appropriate, and they are listed at the end. Most of the recordings transferred myself from 1950s open reel-to-reel tapes, 78 discs, home recording discs, and 16-inch transcription discs.
Thanks Drew! Jump in, Elliot Lawrence fans. You won't believe how much stuff Drew has put together and how great it all is. For a fantastic adventure at Drew's site, go here.
A fireplace, a sofa, background music and a book. With these four in place, you can spend the day on that couch. And you'll feel rested and recharged. I know, because I've done just that several times. While I can't chop a cord of wood for you or design a plush couch or DJ at your house, I can suggest books that would be ideal for you or for friends and family who plan to kick back over the holidays.
Here's my JazzWax book gift guide...
Ode to a Tenor Titan: The Life and Times and Music of Michael Brecker (Backbeat) by Bill Milkowski. An immensely readable biography of a tenor saxophonist who, like his brother, trumpeter Randy, was a dynamic jazz force in the funk-fusion '70s and beyond. Brecker, who won 15 Grammy Awards, died in 2007 at age 57. Bill clearly has a passion for his subject, whom he credits as a hero and friend. Bill also went to great lengths to talk to everyone who knew and played with Brecker. Most interesting are the tight corners explored in the book, including Joe Henderson's accusations that Brecker lifted his licks without the proper credit or praise and how Brecker handled it. Lots of music and personal details about Brecker, including the saxophonist's triumphs and flaws along the way. A humanizing and detail-rich biography. Go here.
Times Remembered (University of North Texas), by Joe La Barbera. Joe was the Bill Evans Trio's final drummer, from the end of 1978 to September 1980, when Evans died. In addition to listening intently to Evans night after night on tour and conversing with the pianist through his sticks, mallets and brushes, Joe was an intimate eyewitness to Evans's swinging, introspective style as well as his self-destruction. Joe and his co-writer, Charles Levin, write lovingly but impartially about the trio's ups and downs and Evans's final hours prior to his passing. An informative first-hand read about a beautiful and tragic subject. Go here.
Reflectory: The Life and Music of Pepper Adams (Lulu), by Gary Carner. If Gerry Mulligan's baritone saxophone was a Brooks Brothers swinger, Pepper Adams's horn was a steel-mill blowtorch. Gary was close to Adams during the last two years of his life, a period of health decline one wouldn't wish on anyone. Gary conducted more than 250 interviews for the book, providing a pointillistic look at an artist most people knew only through his recordings and muscular drive. Go here.
Led Zeppelin: The Biography (Penguin), by Bob Spitz. When Bob Spitz sets out to write on rock, he knows only one way—definitive. His The Beatles delivered on narrative, details and drama, resulting in the only book you need on the band. Now Bob has done the same with Led Zeppelin: The Biography, tracing the rise and domination of Britain's most searing blues-rock band and pioneers of hard rock in the U.S. This 688-page profile gets to the heart of why this band has inspired so many listeners and how they set the pace for virtually all volume bands starting at the dawn of the 1970s. Do yourself a favor and order both this one and The Beatles. Go here.
Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child (Sterling), by Harvey Kubernik and Kenneth Kubernik. The brothers Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik know how to have a good time. In this book on the pre-eminent hard rock guitarist of the 1960s, they dip into their vast interviews vault and assemble a mosaic biography through dozens of oral history exchanges. What's more, the book is a virtual candy box of photos, colorful graphics and psychedelic imagery. It's a coffee table book you can hold with one hand. Your first pass will likely be to thumb through to look at the photos and posters before you return to the front and start reading. The only Hendrix biography that feels as it it's vibrating with feedback while you're reading. Go here.
The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire (Oxford University), by Ted Gioia. Ted's 2012 literary guide to jazz standards has been vastly updated with 15 new sections, hundreds of additional songs and tune-ups to previous entries. The book serves as a warm hand extended to the jazz newcomer and the seasoned listener curious about the story behind songs favored by jazz musicians or composed by them. Go here.
Miles on Miles: Interviews and Encounters with Miles Davis (Musicians in Their Own Words), by editors Paul Maher Jr. and Michael K. Dorr. The days of reading about an artist while their music is playing are long gone. Today, you'd even be hard-pressed to find music lovers just sitting and staring at speakers while an album is on. Now in paperback, this book is an ideal companion to any or all of the trumpeter's recordings. The editors selected 30 leading interviews with one of jazz's most complex and enigmatic musicians and pioneers who constantly reinvented himself and the music. Go here.
A Miles Davis Reader (Smithsonian), by editor Bill Kirchner; and The Art Pepper Companion: Writings on a Jazz Original (Cooper Square) by editor Todd Selbert also are worthy anthologies of previously printed material on their subjects by two editors who know their subjects well. Go here and here.
And don't forget my three books—Why Jazz Happened (University of California), Anatomy of a Song (Grove Press) and Rock Concert (Grove Press). Go here, here and here.
I have known and admired pianist-composer Denny Zeitlin for many years. My admiration dates back to the early 2000s, after I heard for the first time his four albums for Columbia recorded in the mid-1960s. I was blown away. Our friendship dates back to 2009, when I did a multipart JazzWax interview with him. We've been email penpals ever since.
Last week, Denny sent along an email urging me to give a listen to vocalist Suzi Stern sing his composition Quiet Now on her now-out-of-print album recorded in 1995. Suzi had uploaded the song to YouTube. You know Denny's song because it was part of Bill Evans's recording and gig repertoire for much of his career. I gave a listen to Suzi's track and had an idea. Would Denny be willing to share with me the story behind the song's birth and evolution? Denny eagerly answered my questions.
Here is my interview with Denny on the writing and recording of Quiet Now:
JazzWax: You were in college when you wrote Quiet Now. Where were you studying and what was your major? Denny Zeitlin: When I graduated high school in 1956, I left Highland Park, Ill., a relatively cloistered upper middle-class suburb of Chicago, and headed down to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. My primary goal was to get into medical school. While the University of Illinois's undergrad, pre-med curriculum was fixed, I also wanted to make the most of a liberal arts opportunity. Philosophy, with its history and adventures of ideas and grappling with major questions was an attractive focus.
JW: Was there a jazz scene on campus? DZ: Yes, an informal one. In and around town, I had a chance to play with some great players, like Joe Farrell, Wes Montgomery, Punchy Atkinson, and Jack McDuff. Being near Chicago, I’d frequently go in on the weekends to be part of the jam-session scene. I got to play with artists such as Ira Sullivan, Johnny Griffin, Wilbur Ware, Wilbur Campbell and Bob Cranshaw. All this constituted my continuing education as a jazz musician. There were no formal courses in jazz offered back then in the music department. Instead, I studied composition with Thomas Fredrickson, a faculty member who was fluent in jazz and modern classical composition and orchestration. He also was a hell of a bass player.
JW: What about the social scene on campus? DZ: The fraternity-sorority system there was very strong and considered a major social stepping-stone. On arriving at the University of Illinois in 1956, I was immersed in fraternity “rush.” My high school experience in jazz performance and writing of stunt shows made me a highly desirable “pledge.” Stunt shows were musical-theater pieces that ran about 20 or 30 minutes each.
JW: Which fraternity did you join? DZ: I ended up at Zeta Beta Tau, which seemed the best all-around fit, and began the challenge of living with 60 or so guys in a big old house. Though I was not religious, my ethnic background was Jewish, and ZBT appealed to me since they were known to cross religion boundaries freely in events and dating. I also was drawn to the overall vibe of the members. [Photo above of the fraternity house where Quiet Now was composed]
JW: So your ability to play jazz piano at a professional level was an asset? DZ: For sure. Very soon, there was pressure on me to write music for the yearly competitive stunt shows where a fraternity and sorority pairs up and collaborates on writing and performing a 20-to-30-minute piece of musical theater. There was a lot of support from the music school. They provided a high-quality band and help with orchestration when needed. Competition was keen, and many of the entries were original and professional.
JW: What was the theme of the stunt show the year you wrote “Quiet Now”? DZ: The fragility of love—how fleeting love is, how delicate it is and how easily love came be broken. The final piece for this stunt show called for a ballad. So I wrote Quiet Now. The title, for me, focused on the awesome silence of aloneness.
JW: Where on campus did you write Quiet Now? DZ: I composed the music in the fraternity-house living room, at a medium-size grand piano. When I finished, someone in the fraternity wrote lyrics. All I can remember is the opening phrase: “Love has come and gone away.” Subsequently, the song, for me, had a requiem feel.
JW: Why did you choose the "awesome silence of aloneness” as a theme? DZ: The overall theme of loss came from the libretto, which I did not write. I attempted with Quiet Now to evoke a nuance, to capture that "awesome silence of aloneness."
JW: What personal experience governed your writing? DZ: It wasn’t romantic love, since I hadn’t experienced that yet. I was quite shy dating in high school and had never suffered a bad breakup. My resonance with that feeling came from my immersion in the ballads of the American songbook, which so often explore the heartbreak of lost love. Frank Sinatra's 1955 collaboration with Nelson Riddle on The Wee Small Hours had a profound effect on me.
JW: What was the writing process like on Quiet Now? DZ: Most of my writing for four different shows was done late at night, under time pressure, when the day-time racket from 60-plus fraternity brothers simmered down. Pieces emerged at different rates of time. Quiet Now was the last piece I wrote for that show sophomore year, and it crystallized quite quickly in just a few hours.
JW: Was it secretly written for a girl you liked on campus or wanted to impress? JW: No.
JW: When you played it for your fraternity days before the show, what was their initial reaction? DZ: They were really touched. I made no changes.
JW: What was the problem with the initial lyrics? DZ: I can't remember anything beyond the opening phrase. My sense is that the lyrics were appropriate for the production but not particularly inventive or special.
JW: Of the songs composed for that stunt show, Quiet Now stayed with you. DZ: It did. The song became part of my jazz repertoire on gigs off-campus at the University of Illinois. I also played it often while attending medical school at Johns Hopkins Medical School.
JW: And when you moved to San Francisco? DZ: I recorded it in March 1965 for Shining Hour: Denny Zeitlin Live at the Trident, my third album released by Columbia, with Charlie Haden on bass and Jerry Granelli on drums. I was in the city then for my medical internship and psychiatric residency.
JW: How different was the recording from your original version? DZ: There was no difference. The version I recorded was the same as how it was performed at the frat house.
JW: When did Bill Evans hear the song? DZ: Bill must have heard the piece on my album. He found so much in it that he kept the tune in his nightly repertoire for over a dozen years and recorded it about eight times.
JW: Did Bill ever tell you why he liked the song or did he say anything about it? DZ: He never mentioned particulars, but several times over the years he talked about how compelling he found the piece, and wondered about its creation. This exposure prompted a number of lyricists to send me lyrics for the song, but none of them worked.
JW: Something changed in the 1980s? DZ: Back then, singer-lyricist Suzi Stern sent me a cassette after she completed an album on which she wrote lyrics to jazz compositions and recorded them, including Quiet Now. I'm not sure if the album was ever formally released, but I was very impressed, and accepted her lyric for copyright.
JW: What made her Quiet Now lyrics different? DZ: I was knocked out by both the lyrics and her voice. She is one of my favorite singers. She combines a deep, sophisticated musicality with a haunting, pure sound and a rich amalgam of strength and vulnerability. She’s a brilliant lyricist, navigating the complex terrain of jazz compositions. Suzi showed me that Quiet Now can be a beautiful love song celebrating the moment of connection, not just the fragility of love.
JW: How did she discover the song? DZ: I believe her initial contact was listening to Bill Evans’s 1969 live recording released on a 1981 album entitled Quiet Now, which then took her back to my original recording in 1965. In 1995, Suzi's album Seven Stars was released by Mad Moon Records. It's out of print now and hard to find. On the album, she sang Quiet Now with me on piano, David Friesen on bass and Alan Jones on drums.
JW: What did you think? DZ: I thought the chemistry was very special. The album had limited distribution, but Suzi (above) recently uploaded Quiet Now on YouTube, and I’m very happy to hear it brought back to life.
JW: Ever been back to the campus piano where you wrote Quiet Now? DZ: I've never been back to Champaign-Urbana. I just checked Google Maps on the web. I see that our ZBT house is still active at the same address. I wonder if that old grand piano survived.
JazzWax notes: For more on Denny Zeitlin, go here. For more on Suzi Stern, go here.
Denny's latest album, Telepathy (Sunnyside), can be found here.
My four-part JazzWax interview with Denny starts here (links to subsequent installments can be found if you scroll up above each post's red date at the top).
JazzWax clips:Here'sSuzi Stern singing Denny's Quiet Now, with Denny on piano, David Friesen on bass and Alan Jones on drums...
And here's Bill Evans in January 1979 at the Maintenance Shop in Ames, Iowa, playing one of his most exquisite renditions of Quiet Now, with Marc Johnson on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums..
In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Jimmy talked about the World Book encyclopedia set his mother bought from a door-to-door salesman when he was little, why his biggest goal in life as a teen was being able to get up and do what seemed most interesting, and how he made that possible as an adult by creating Wikipedia, which, in my opinion, after Google and YouTube, is the web's most significant free resource. [Photo above of Jimmy Wales courtesy of CoinGeek]
The Washington Post, along with several other online publications, reviewed my new book, Rock Concert, last week. To read the Post's review, go here.
Just four three signed copies of Rock Concert left at BookHampton! You can order one or more of them online for yourself, friends or family by going here. But hurry! [Photo above by Durell Godfrey]
Or why not make it a triple. Order all three of my books—Rock Concert, Anatomy of a Song and Why Jazz Happened—at Amazon by going here, here and here. Wonderful gifts for music lovers.
SiriusXM. Catch me with Nik and Lori next week on SiriusXM's Feedback (Ch. 106) when I talk about my interview with Mickey Guyton for my recent "Anatomy of a Song" column in the WSJ on the writing and recording of her song, Indigo. Lori reminded me last time that we're celebrating our fifth year together. Wow!
Margo Guryan. Last week, after my post on singer-songwriter Margo Guryan, I received the following from pianist Roger Kellaway...
Hi Marc. Very sorry to hear about Margo‘s passing. We had known each other for many many years but mostly through her marriage to David Rosner. I really enjoyed your essay on her. It gave me so much information important to my understanding how much musical knowledge she had. I would say a major adventure in her life would have been her marriage to valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer. I remember my wife, Jorjana, and I had dinner once with Margo and David out here in Los Angeles. On this occasion, she told us a story from her relationship with Brookmeyer. Apparently, she was in the bathroom longer than he thought she should be and he slipped a note under the door that said, “FIRE!” Also, at one point, she was looking for a piano. I turned her on to Bluthner. She bought a six-foot grand. Thanks and stay well.
More Margo. Mark Cathcart sent along a link to his post on Margo at his Creed Taylor tribute site (go here).
And finally,here's Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 performing Pretty World...
Just over a week ago, Anatomy of Pop: The Music Explosion was uploaded to YouTube. The rare 1966 documentary was directed by Jonathan Donald and Stephen Fleischman, and written by Fleischman, and aired on ABC TV. There are appearances by Tony Bennett, the Carter Family, Skeeter Davis, Duke Ellington, the Temptations, Bill Monroe, Cousin Brucie, Berry Gordy, the Supremes, Peter Paul & Mary, Tex Ritter, Billy Taylor and more. The footage is extraordinary, though the language is archaic in places. By the way, the conductor at the Tony Bennett session featured in several places? That's Johnny Mandel, and the Columbia album they were recording was The Movie Song Album. Tony appears at the beginning and the end recording The Trolley Song and at 41:35 recording The Days of Wine and Roses. Incredible access throughout!
I tried. I really did. Eager to interview Stephen Sondheim for my "House Call" column in The Wall Street Journal, I sent along an email to him in 2013. [Photo above of Stephen Sondheim by Jerry Jackson/Courtesy of HBO]
Here's what Stephen sent back:
Thanks for the invitation, Mr. Myers and for the compliments, but I've sworn off all extracurricular activities until I finish the show I'm writing. Please forgive me.
Stephen Sondheim
Of course, one thing led to another, as is the case in in my business, and I moved on to other well-known actors, musicians and artists. Now, given Sondheim's passing on November 26, I wish I had been a little more of a pest or circled back. But you can't get 'em all. While we're on the subject, everyone should know more about Sondheim and what made him special. He was exceptional and passionate in every way, with an impeccable wit and daring lyrical judgment.
Today, I figured I'd show you why Stephen Sondheim is considered the father of the modern American musical:
Margo Guryan, a singer-songwriter and sunshine pop pioneer whose first and only commercial album in 1968 was notable for its swinging, breathy approach and layered vocal overdubs, died on Nov. 8. She was 84.
Guryan's album, Take a Picture, for Bell Records, had a happy-go-lucky, bedroom-and-incense feel and still sounds of the era—between San Francisco's Summer of Love and before the violence at the Democratic Convention in Chicago in the summer of 1968. The album also has a distinctly young, female perspective with powdery soft vocals, light articulation and a sound that exuded sophistication and curiosity. Her biggest song was Sunday Mornin', recorded by Spanky and Our Gang and covered by other artists.
Before she recorded the album, Guryan was known to George Wein, Miles Davis and other musicians on the New York jazz scene. In fact, Dave Frishberg, a friend, converted her to sunshine pop in 1966 after playing her God Only Knows from the Beach Boys' newly released Pet Sounds album. In 2001, she released another album, 25 Demos (Franklin Castle), featuring polished vocal versions of her songs with complete arrangements recorded over the years. In many ways, the album was the second volume of the first—deliciously upbeat, flower-power free and focused on love, the sun and the rain.
To read Neil Genzlinger's terrific New York Times obit, go here. For an interview with Guryan, go here.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Take a Picturehere and 25 Demoshere. Both are available on vinyl, with the latter featuring 29 demos.
JazzWax clips: Here'sSun (and a playlist for the rest of the album's tracks)...
And here'sWhy Do I Cry (and a playlist for the rest of the tracks on 27 Demos, a version with two more tracks than the original album)...
Guryan also recorded a playful classical piano album called The Chopsticks Variations,here...
Marc Myers writes regularly for The Wall Street Journal and is author of "Anatomy of 55 More Songs," "Anatomy of a Song," "Rock Concert: An Oral History" and "Why Jazz Happened." Founded in 2007, JazzWax has won three Jazz Journalists Association awards.
