Guitarist Roni Ben-Hur and bassist Harvie S have recorded together on three albums—Roni's Introspection (2018) and Stories (2021), and on vocalist CeCe Gable's More Than a Song (2020). Now there's a fourth and perhaps their most beautiful and intimate collaboration, with drummer Sylvia Cuenca. [Photo above, from left, of Roni Ben-Hur, Sylvia Cuenca and Harvie S]
Their new co-led album is Wondering (Dot Time), and the result is tender, seductive and swinging. Ever been in a home where several people are preparing an elaborate meal? You could knock over a vase and their attention to the food wouldn't be broken. That's the level of intensive focus and collaborative communication going on here. Roni and Harvie are busy chopping, cutting, slicing and simmering. Then Sylvia comes by and adds fresh herbs and spices, tastes with a wooden spoon and nods or tosses in something else.
Songs on the album have been sublimely selected, as if the music was carefully shopped at a jazz farmer's market: Miles Davis and Gil Evans's Boplicity, Bobby Hutcherson's For Duke P., Antonio Carlos Jobim's Ligia, Raul de Souza’s A Vontade Mesmo, Oscar Pettiford's The Gentle Art of Love, Harvie's Ray, Herbie Nichols's Some Wandering Bushmen, Kenny Wheeler's The Forks, Roni's What Was and Frank Wess's Ménage à Bleu. [Photo above of Harvie S by Nick Carter]
A quick round of applause for Roni and Harvie for selecting fresh songs that are lesser-known and work together joyfully. See, it is possible to find wonderful material that hasn't been hammered into listeners' heads over and over again. This is what true jazz artists do—they roll up their sleeves and dig deep to find powerful songs that have been overlooked. And the ones they picked that are more well known to jazz fans—Boplicity and The Gentle Art of Love—are truly timeless and always welcome. [Photo above of Roni Ben-Hur by Nick Carter]
Roni has such a sensitive, swinging touch, and his ringing guitar chords and runs are stellar. Harvie is a marvelous, elegant bassist with plenty of ache and joy in his notes. And behold Sylvia! Her brushes whisk with fire, her cymbals hiss like snakes and her soft, polyrhythmic figures are in constant motion and sustain a zesty atmosphere. [Photo above of Sylvia Cuenca by Chris Drukker]
Best of all, like our allegorical kitchen chefs mentioned earlier, all three musicians listen to what the other is playing and develop ideas from each other's suggestions. Another one of my favorites this year and perfect for that upcoming fireplace playlist.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Roni Ben-Hur and Harvie S's Wondering (Dot Time), with Sylvia Cuenca, here.
Joe "The Mouse" Bonati isn't widely known among most jazz fans. The saxophonist died in 1983 at age 53 after spending his latter years playing in Las Vegas. Born in 1930 in Buffalo, N.Y., Bonati had a less-than-desirable childhood and found solace in the alto saxophone at age 14. Two years later he was playing locally professionally. [Photo above of Joe "The Mouse" Bonati]
Bonati's first recordings were made in New Orleans in 1955. For whatever reason, Bonati found tranquility in narcotics. Arrests followed and he wound up moving often, from city to city, to escape the law and find work. He managed to play with the Frank Strazzeri Quintet on Frank Evans' Frankly Jazz TV show in Los Angeles, in 1962. There were a couple of recordings with Rick Davis at Dusty's Playland in Las Vegas in 1975 and on Davis's Meditations on the Zodiac in Las Vegas in 1976. His last known recording was with the Dan Terry Big Big Band in 1981, which had a book of arrangements by Gene Roland.
Now, Fresh Sound has pulled together all of Bonati's recordings that feature him soloing for a new release: Mouse Bonati: Portrait of a Jazz Hero. The compilation is superb, with excellent sound and detailed and illuminating liner notes by Jordi Pujol, who said he was turned on to Bonati by pianist Frank Strazzeri.
Based on my additional research, Bonati first stopped playing early in 1981 following a diagnosis of throat cancer. To help Bonati with his $2,000 in hospital bills and the cost of therapy, friends in Las Vegas threw him a benefit in the spring of 1981. He had recuperated sufficiently to play aggressively on the recording of Dan Terry's band in the fall. But the cancer returned and his home town of Buffalo held a benefit for him in November 1982 at Sam Noto's Renaissance II. Bonati attended with his wife, Diane, and their family, but he did not participate. At the event, Bonati reminisced about his years in town in the late 1940s at a club run by Tony Bafo and said that in Las Vegas, he most often backed singer Billy Eckstine.
Listening to Bonati's sole leadership date in 1955, the saxophonist showed enormous talent and promise, playing alto and tenor saxophone, as well as piano on a track called Improvisation. His sextet featured Benny Clements (tp) Joe "Mouse" Bonati (as,ts/p on Improvisation), Chick Powers (ts), Edward Frank (p), Jimmy Johnson (b), Jack Martin (d, fhr, b-cl/all on Improvisation) and Earl Palmer (d). Bonati's held notes and fills were remarkably similar to Charlie Parker's aching blues feel, but there was a West Coast feel as well. And his big band solos on alto, tenor and soprano saxophones are remarkable.
Hats off to Jordi for gathering and packaging the material, including the never-before released audio of the Frank Strazzeri Quintet on Frankly Jazz, featuring Carmell Jones (tp), Joe "Mouse" Bonati (as), Frank Strazzeri (p), Bob Whitlock (b) and Nick Martinis (d). Hopefully, one day, we'll see the Frankly Jazz episode on YouTube, if it ever surfaces.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Mouse Bonati: Portrait of a Jazz Hero (Fresh Sound) here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Mouse's House from Bonati's sole leadership date, New Sounds From New Orleans, on the Patio label...
Here's Kid's Delight, by the Frank Strazzeri Quintet. Frank Evans mentions on the air that the group would be recording for Pacific Jazz shortly. That recording session took place but was never released...
And here's Jasmine by the Dan Terry Big Big Band, with Bonati on tenor saxophone. The song was co-composed by Dan Terry and Gene Roland and arranged by Roland...
In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actor and comedian Zach Woods for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Zach played Gabe in The Office, he was on Veep and he returns in the new season of the space-com Avenue 5. Zach talked about his OCD growing up, his love of jazz and how improv for the first time let him become completely absorbed in something. [Photo above of Zach Woods courtesy of HBO]
Also in the WSJ, for the Opinion section, I reviewed Eliane Elias's new album Quietude (Candid) (go here). It recaptures the intimacy and authenticity of Rio’s original beach music through Eliane's vocals sung in Portuguese and her piano embellishments and bossa solos. More prominently featured are three different acoustic guitarists accompanying her. The album can be found here.
I caught her opening night this week at New York's Iridium with her partner Marc Johnson on bass, Rubens de La Corte on acoustic guitar and Rafael Barata on drums and percussion. Great to catch up with Eliane and Marc after and to meet Rafael and Rubens. If you're in a city where Eliane will be performing (see tour schedule here), go and enjoy. She had a New York audience on their feet at the set's end howling for more. She's there again tonight (Saturday) before heading off to Boston.
You know you want it. Who wouldn't? The stories behind the writing and recording of 55 hit pop, rock and soul songs in the words of those who were there. Each one is a knockout. Learn the secrets of how hits were composed and then captured in the studio. Easy, fast reading. Pre-order here.
Chef's table. Jordan Frosolone is Executive Chef and partner of New York's Leopard at Des Artistes, one of the city's finest Italian restaurants a stone's throw from Lincoln Center Last week he sent along the photo above. After a long day creating in and overseeing the restaurant's magnificent kitchen, what better way to unwind than with Rock Concert (2021) or Anatomy of a Song (2016)—or both. Looks like Jordan will soon be ready for Anatomy of 55 More Songs (2022), coming December 6.
Ronnie Cuber, RIP. Last week, following the passing of baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber, I heard from the great pianist Roger Kellaway:
Marc, so sorry to hear about Ronnie’s passing. I didn't know him well, but I do remember in 1963 or so that I played a five-day run at the original Birdland with trombonist Kai Winding and his four trombones (including Bill Watrous and Carl Fontana). For some reason Kai needed a bass trombonist and couldn’t find one. Instead, Ronnie came to the gig and sightread the bass trombone book brilliantly, which wasn't easy. The baritone sax is up one octave and a sixth from the trombone. So if we were playing a song in C-major, he had to sight read in A-major. And because the baritone's range doesn't go as low as a bass trombone, some extremely low notes had to be played an octave higher as well as transposed. He did it all beautifully!
In Paris in November or December? Photographer Gilles D'Elia will be exhibiting at a fabulous restaurant, Birdie Num Num, at 91 Rue Lamarck in the 18th arrondissement, behind Montmartre. Eat, observe and love.
Francesca Tandoi. Unfamiliar with this spectacular Italian jazz pianist and singer? Let me put her on your radar. More from Francesca in the weeks ahead [photo above of Francesca Tandoi courtesy of Facebook]. For now, dig this...
Artie Shaw. I love the major swing bands of the late 1930s and '40s, but Artie Shaw's band arrangements and executions always have a hip elegance that's a cut above. [Photo above of Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw]
Here's a taste of what I listened to yesterday...
Here'sLove of My Life in 1940 with Anita Boyer on vocal. This is Shaw's arrangement and 24-piece band with strings...
Here's Lennie Hayton's arrangement of Dancing in the Dark in 1941. Love the way the strings hand off to the brass and then Shaw's rich swing clarinet...
Here's Shaw and Hayton's arrangement of Moonglow...
And here's Shaw and William Grant Still's arrangement of Frenesi...
And finally,here's Buddy DeFranco playing Autumn in New York, with Kenny Drew (p), Milt Hinton (b) andArt Blakey (d)...
Ernest Ranglin is one of Jamaica's finest jazz, ska, mento and rock-steady guitarists. Best of all, he has always mixed them up while playing with a technique that has always left me speechless. In 1962, when the James Bond film Dr. No was being shot in Jamaica, Ranglin was hired to compose music for some of the Jamaican scenes. The following year, Ranglin played guitar on and arranged My Boy Lollipop, sung by Millie Small. The song reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop chart. [Photo above of Ernest Ranglin]
In 1964, Ranglin was in London performing his captivating jazz guitar at Ronnie Scott's, backed by Malcolm Cecil on bass and Alan Ganley on drums. Fortunately, he was recorded there by Island Records. The tracks are Angelina, To-night, Wranglin', Reflections and Just in Time.
Here's this amazing album without interruption by ads...
Anita Kerr, a session soprano and vocal arranger whose Anita Kerr Singers released a staggering number of mellifluous albums under the group's own name and as backup singers during the 1960’s and’70s, when easy-listening took hold in homes and on FM radio, died on October 10. She was 94.
In addition to recording as a lead group, the Anita Kerr Singers recorded background vocals on dozens of albums by country stars and by "beautiful music" maestros such as Ray Conniff, Percy Faith and Bert Kaempfert. The singers were among the most prolific and influential vocal session groups of the post-war years and were based in Nashville, the crossroads of mainstream music in the 1960s and beyond.
In the tumultuous 1960s and gloomier '70s, the Anita Kerr Singers' pop albums became an oasis for older listeners baffled by rock and soul and put off by classical. This largely suburban demographic preferred pop vocals with a straightforward approach that was both relaxing and an audio respite from the gripes of their rebellious teenage kids and the specter of ever-mounting bills. In many ways, the Anita Kerr Singers were the vocal version of a mixed drink—music that acclimated the soul as it re-entered home space and took the work edge off and erased lingering crankiness.
I must confess, I've long been a closeted Anita Kerr Singers fan—not in awe of their penchant for mediocrity and sappy takes on contemporary hits but Kerr's gift for tight harmonies and vocal arrangements. As a fan of hard work, perfection and tight execution, I could hear that Kerr was a master of all three. On the right songs with the right instrumentation, the Anita Kerr Singers slipped into elegant territory without forfeiting their bland turf.
Long ridiculed by the youth culture of the 1960s, the Anita Kerr Singers' albums were viewed as the fount of sunshine pop and the sound of conformity. But it's too easy to dismiss the group as glorified jingle singers. Kerr's vocal arrangements had style and could reach levels of sophistication and beauty. Kerr and her groups—the quartet format grew to eight at times—also inspired many commercial vocal groups that followed, including Singers Unlimited, the Ray Conniff Singers, Sergio Mendes and the Brasil 66 and even the Carpenters' overdubbed stacks of choral vocals.
Here are 10 of my favorites by the Anita Kerr Singers:
Here's the theme to A Man and a Woman. Kerr's voice was always on top...
In the mid-1950s and early '60s, female vocalists were in high demand at America's record labels. Never before had so many new pop and jazz singers found their way into recording studios. The reason was the arrival of the 12-inch album. Sales of new phonograph consoles that could handle the larger platter and 33 1/3 speed were surging as the suburbs and home ownership expanded throughout the country. Larger living rooms meant record buyers wanted the 12-inch format so they didn't have to get up from sofas as often to turn records over. In addition, advances in album-cover photography and printing presented an opportunity. Female singers posing seductively on the covers of 12-inch albums were ideal visual catnip for male buyers browsing LPs in local record shops.
What's especially fascinating about the female vocal category during this period is the increased number of women who recorded just one album and then disappeared. Either they left the business to raise a family, decided that performing was more their speed, pursued other career options or were dropped by record labels for one reason or another. Many were quite good and, in some cases, better than other newcomers who recorded multiple albums.
Here are nine tracks by super singers who recorded just one album:
Here's Paula Castle in 1955 singing Why Can't I, backed by Sam Most (fl), Ronnie Selbey (p), Chet Amsterdam (b) and Herbie Wasserman (d)...
Here's Janet Brace in 1956 singing Time Was, backed by Don Elliott (tp,mellophone,vib), Bob Corwin (p), Barry Galbraith (g), Vinnie Burke (b) and Don MacLean (d)...
Here's Laurie Allyn in 1957 singing I'll Never Smile Again, with a terrific West Coast session band and brief solo by trumpeter Don Fagerquist, who pops the mute in at the end. The band was Fagerquist (tp), Vince DeRosa (fhr), Marty Paich (cel,ldr), Al Viola (g), Red Mitchell (b), Mel Lewis (d,perc), George Barres, Joe Chassman, Paul Shure, Irma Neumann and Marvin Limonick (vln) Alex Neiman, Alvin Dunkin (viola) Eleanor Slatkin (cello) Stella Castellucci (harp)...
Here's Marlene Cord in 1957 singing Detour Ahead, backed by Mike Simpson (ts), Dick Marx (p), Johnny Frigo (b) and Jerry Slosberg (d)...
Here's Carol Stevens in 1957 singing In a Mellotone. She was backed by the cream of New York studio players: Nick Travis (tp), Don Elliott (tp,mellophone), Warren Covington or Eddie Bert (tb), Phil Bodner (eng-hrn,cl), Sol Schlinger (b-cl), Bernie Kaufman (b-cl,fl), Herbie Mann (alto-fl), Romeo Penque (woodwinds), Bobby Rosengarden (vib), Phil Moore (p) or Frank Berry (p), Barry Galbraith (g), Milt Hinton (b,) Osie Johnson (d) and Phil Kraus (perc)...
Here's Kiz Harp in 1959 with husband Dick Harp, who had a Jackie and Roy thing going in Dallas. As Bruce Collier notes: "After we recorded one ‘live’ album, she went to bed one night, age 29, and died of a cerebral hemorrhage. She died in 1960." Here's Kiz with Dick, on piano, singing Dearest, Darest I and Thou Swell...
Here's Betty Blake in 1960 singing Blue Fool, backed by Marcus Belgrave (tp), Zoot Sims (ts), Roland Alexander (ts,arr), Teddy Charles (vib,arr), Mal Waldron (p,arr), Kenny Burrell (g), Addison Farmer and Eustis Guillemet, Jr. (b), Ed Shaughnessy and Charlie Persip (d) and Bob Dorough. This arrangement sounds like it belongs to Teddy Charles...
Here's Frances Bergen in 1960 singing All I Need Is You. Bergen was ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's wife and actress Candice Bergen's mother. She was accompanied here by the the Art Van Damme Quintet...
Here's Sue Childs in 1964 singing Lollipops 'n' Roses, backed by Bill Pasquale (g)...
For more information on these and other one-album female vocalists, see the Steve Hoffman Music Forum on "One Shot Wonders" here. For more on Carol Stevens, go here, here and here. And for Kiz Harp, go here.
JazzWax note: Many of these singers' albums can be found at Fresh Sound here.
When Alan Broadbent isn't playing extraordinary jazz piano with his trio, he's typically hard at work arranging and conducting a large orchestra for a jazz artist or vocalist. In the case of Swiss flugelhornist Franco Ambrosetti's new album, Nora (Enja), Alan is at the helm of a 22-piece string orchestra, and the result is gorgeous, reflective and perfect for this time of year. The album also features guitarist John Scofield, bassist Scott Colley, pianist Uri Caine and drummer Peter Erskine. [Photo above of Franco Ambrosetti by Jim Anderson]
Ambrosetti began his recording career as a leader on trumpet in Milan in 1965 with A Jazz Portrait of Franco Ambrosetti, featuring Franco D'Andrea (p) Giorgio Azzolini (b) and Franco Mondini (d). Remarkably, he is self-taught, and his tone is deliciously embracing. Coming up in Italy over the years, he played with a long list of touring American jazz greats, including Kenny Clarke, Dexter Gordon, Phil Woods, Cannonball Adderley, Geri Allen, Joe Henderson, Michael Brecker and Mike Stern.
John Scofield has recorded with Ambrosetti multiple times. The first was in 1978 on The George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band in Germany, followed by Movies in 1986, Movies, Take 2 in 1988, Cheers in 2017, Long Waves in 2019 and Lost Within You in 2020. For Alan, this is his first Ambrosetti collaboration. And what a score he has written. Ambrosetti was looking for a project on the same scale as Bird With Strings and Clifford Brown With Strings—two of his favorite albums that marry a strong soloist and an understanding orchestral background. Mission accomplished on Nora. [Photo above of Alan Broadbent by Jim Anderson]
The opening track is Nora's Theme by Ambrosetti, which sets the mood. Nora is Nora Helmer, the lead character in Ibsen's A Doll's House. Ambrosetti wrote the theme for a 1997 production of the play that starred his wife, Silli, in the Nora role. So in truth, Nora's Theme is a deep, passionate love song for his wife.
Moving forward, the album feels like the soundtrack to a romantic suspense movie set in Malibu, starring Kim Novak or Sandy Dennis. It's soft and panoramic, but there are undertones of psychological drama to come. The songs that follow Nora's Theme are George Gruntz's Morning Song of a Spring Flower, Miles Davis's All Blues, Victor Feldman's Falling in Love, the standard Autumn Leaves, Ambrosetti's Sweet Journey, Johnny Dankworth's It Happens Quietly and John Coltrane's After the Rain. Alan's arrangements remain wonderfully atmospheric and Ambrosetti's flugelhorn soars gracefully through the mist birdlike, but with strength and purpose. [Photo above of the album's string orchestra by Jim Anderson]
Ambrosetti's tone throughout has a melancholy, sunny afternoon feel—as if you're driving along country roads this fall with the trees ablaze in color. You can't help but think things over as you listen. The combination of Ambrosetti's soulful flugelhorn and Alan's empathetic and ruminative strings pull you in deeper on each track. [Photo above of Alan Broadbent conducting by Joe Vella]
Also unbeatable is the new 3D sound technology used to record the music. The fidelity creates the sensation that you're seated in the middle of the recording studio. As you listen, all that's missing are snapping logs in a fireplace. This album and Alan deserve a Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album and another for Ambrosetti for Best Improvised Jazz Solo.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Franco Ambrosetti's Nora (Enja) on CD and vinyl here. The digital download is here.
Ronnie Cuber, a saxophonist and flutist who primarily played the baritone and whose muscular solo approach landed him in top big bands in the 1960s and '70s and leading jazz, rock, pop, Latin, funk and soul orchestras and ensembles in the 1980s and beyond, including the Saturday Night Live band, died October 7. He was 80.
Ronnie died in his studio on New York's Upper West Side after suffering from internal injuries related to a fall near his home in the spring of 2020. His back and foot had become seriously injured in the fall, but he could not receive hospital treatment immediately as hospitals put surgeries on hold to cope with the large influx of Covid patients at the start of the pandemic. By the time non-Covid surgeries resumed in late May, an infection had extended into Ronnie's neck. Though the infection was resolved at the hospital, internal issues had done significant damage. At the time, Ronnie quipped to his road manager, Roberta Arnold, about his hospital stay, "I played all the big rooms there." Ronnie is survived by Roberta, his former wife, and his sons, Baird and Shain.
Like many promising young jazz players who came up through university big bands at the close of the 1950s, Ronnie studied at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music before auditioning for Marshall Brown's Newport Youth Band in 1959. He joined Slide Hampton's band in 1962 followed by Maynard Ferguson's band from 1963 to 1965, George Benson Quintet in 1966 and 1967, and Woody Herman's band from 1967 to 1969. He then performed and recorded as a prolific leader and sideman. In recent years, Ronnie toured extensively in Europe, and earlier this year recorded solos on Michael Abene's new WDR Big Band album (go here).
In the mid-1960s, Ronnie helped advance and widen the heavy soul-jazz and jazz-funk sound of the baritone saxophone, which would increasingly appear on albums and in TV house bands of the early 1970s. The funk approach on the horn had already been pioneered by Maceo Parker of James Brown's band, but Ronnie's hefty, jazz-flavored riff solos in the 1960s and early '70s were soon ubiquitous thanks to players such as Stephen 'Doc' Kupka of Tower of Power, Stan Bronstein of Elephant's Memory and studio saxophonist Lew Del Gato of the original Saturday Night Live band. Interestingly, Chicago and Blood Sweat & Tears didn't routinely feature a baritone saxophone.
In tribute to Ronnie, here is my two-part interview with him combined in 2011 on his years with Maynard Ferguson. I have also added 11 favorite clips plus bonus tracks...
JazzWax: Where did you grow up? Ronnie Cuber: South Brooklyn. Most of the guys my age were jazz fans.
JW: What was your first instrument? RC: The clarinet. I was 9 years old when I started playing. Then in my first year of high school, there was a need for a sax player. So my father bought me a tenor. In my senior year, I switched to baritone. My music teacher at the time got me an audition for the Newport Youth Band. The audition was held at the apartment of Marshall Brown, the head of the youth band.
JW: Where did Brown live? RC: Marshall was married to a painter. Their crib was on 86th and Park Ave. I auditioned on tenor. He had a piano player there and a trumpeter for accompaniment. Marshall had been head of Farmingdale High School’s band in Farmingdale, N.Y., before being asked to form a big band with high school players who lived in the Tri-State New York region.
JW: How did your audition go? RC: Well. I was in the Newport Youth Band in 1959 and 1960. From the band, there was a nucleus of guys who would get together and play some small ensemble stuff, which was mostly written by Mike Abene. The guys included me, Al Abreu on tenor, Benny Jacobs-El on trombone, Harry Hall on trumpet, Mike on piano, Eddie Gomez on bass and Larry Rosen on drums. Maynard Ferguson played the Newport Jazz Festival then, as did most of the bands, and heard us. He was impressed.
JW: Was the youth band good? RC: Very. Andy Marsala, our lead alto, was playing so well that he started to sound like Cannonball Adderley. Ernie Wilkins wrote duet charts for Andy and Cannonball to play together at Newport, which was recorded. They’d trade eights, and at one point on the recording you couldn’t tell who was who.
JW: What happened when the youth band ended? RC: I did a lot of big band work, going out on dance bands and Latin dates. I also played and recorded with Slide Hampton. It was like big band time for me.
JW: How did you get the call to join Maynard Ferguson’s band in 1963? RC: Mike Abene had joined Maynard’s band right off the youth band. Then Mike wound up recommending me. Upon Mike’s recommendation, Maynard didn’t feel it was necessary to audition me. He hired me for the next gig to see how I'd fit in.
JW: Were you intimidated? RC: Well, yeah. I had to get on the edge of my seat and zero in on those notes. I had to both play the parts and be part of the band and blend. I was about 21 years old. But because there were guys on the band I had already played with, I wasn’t alone and it was exciting. Maynard was always smiling. He was so jovial. After the first night, I was asked to play on other gigs. I felt like I had passed the initiation on the very first gig.
JW: How was touring with the band? RC: We did a lot of dances. We toured everywhere—a lot of ballrooms in Pennsylvania mixed in with clubs in Chicago and Detroit. College kids were dancing to Maynard's music just before rock took over. Maynard kind of had a jazz book and then he had his dance set, too, with tunes like Hey There and Give Me the Simple Life.
JW: What was one of your favorite songs in the book when you started? RC: I dug Frame for the Blues. I knew the tune from listening to it. Slide Hampton wrote the chart. Maynard had recorded it on his album A Message From Newport in 1958.
JW: Was playing with the Ferguson band as exciting as that music was to hear? RC: Amazing. I remember doing a week at this club called the Minor Key in Detroit. Drummer Rufus Jones was still with the band. Maynard sent me out on an up-tempo blues in B-flat, and I was on there for six or seven minutes with Rufus driving me.
JW: How did it feel? RC: Great. I could feel at one point that everything was clicking just right. I felt light as a feather. I wasn’t even thinking. I saw this blue light off in the distance on the club’s back wall. I just concentrated on that light. I looked at that light and was fixed on it. Finally the band broke it down, and I went back to my seat. Willie Maiden, who was the straw boss and a salty guy, said to me, “Yeahhh.” That felt fantastic.
JW: How did everyone stay so loose? RC: Everybody on the band had their little thing. A lot of us smoked grass. Maiden was a juicer. He had his martini before dinner and that was his groove. Maynard really loved him. Willie was very thin and had a Midwestern personality. Maynard was just a straight-up, straight-ahead guy. Very level-headed.
JW: How so? RC: I remember one time we were playing a college dance. In the middle of a set, some kid stuck his hand out to shake Maynard’s hand. Something happened where the kid took his hand and started squeezing it really tight. It started to hurt Maynard, you know?
JW: What did Ferguson do? RC: Maynard pulled his hand away hard from the guy. The guy was looking to hurt him. So Maynard got pissed, threw his trumpet down and walked off the stage mid-number. His trumpet was all bent up. A few minutes later he returned with his other trumpet. But I noticed he was wearing a pair of rubber galoshes.
JW: Galoshes? RC: Yes. I was thinking, what the heck was he doing that for? He told me later he was wearing them for traction, in preparation for physical confrontation. He had dress shoes on and didn’t have sneakers, so he put those snow rubbers on and continued the gig.
JW: And Maiden? RC: While Maynard was backstage, I leaped up and said to the kid, “You son of a bitch, I’m going to kick your ass.” Willie jumped up and said, “Whoa, hey Ronnie, sit down, sit down. Keep quiet.”
JW: Why did Maiden react that way? RC: The kid was with a bunch of drunken college friends. Willie knew that mixing it up could escalate and cost us more than the kids. All of a sudden, the kids just disappeared, so the problem resolved itself.
JW: Did kids often get snotty with musicians when bands played clubs and ballrooms? RC: Yes. It also happened quite a bit when I was with Woody’s band in 1967. I remember one time we were on a break, walking around, and I had a paper cup with a beer. Some kid came over and smacked it right out of my hand. He had his buddies around. That really took me by surprise. I thought the kid was crazy.
JW: What did you do? RC: I looked over and saw Woody watching me. I had to think fast. Should I start something or is Woody waiting for me to back off and leave it alone? Or did he want me to fight? I just stepped back and acted like nothing had happened. Woody never said anything. To this day I don't know whether he approved or not.
JW: Did you play in New York with Ferguson? RC: Yes. I remember we played Birdland quite a bit. Back then, when you went to Birdland, there would almost always be another band opposite you. On some weeks there might even be three bands on the bill. One time, there was the Irene Reid Trio and The Jack McDuff Quartet with George Benson. Another time, we did a week opposite King Curtis.
JW: What did you think of him? RC: He was good. I had a habit of leaving my horn on my chair when I went to get a drink on break. On one occasion I was sitting there at the bar watching King Curtis on stage. All of a sudden he picked up my baritone and was looking at the reed. I guess it was all funky and stuff, and he was trying to clean it off with his thumbnail. He went to play it and nothing came out. I had a kind of hard reed but he finally got it to play. I used a 3½ with a large-tip opening. [laughs]
JW: Of all the tunes you're on with Ferguson, I think I dig Lady’s in Love from Color Him Wild the most. RC: [Laughs]. When I was on the Mingus Big Band in 2001, trumpeter Kenny Rampton was listening to a track on his iPod. He came over to me and asked me to listen. It was Lady's in Love. When I heard the baritone solo, I said, “Wow, who is that?” Kenny said, “It’s you” [laughs].
JW: Were the Ferguson charts tough to record in the studio? RC: Not really. They were already played through on the road. We just went into the studio and knocked them off for albums—a couple of takes for each tune. When I’d hear Maynard’s high notes on live gigs, like on tunes like Maria, he’d leave you in suspense. You’d think, “Wow, is he going to make it?” And every night he’d hit that triple high-C.
JW: How did he get up there? RC: He told us he had a little secret that enabled him to get ready for high triple-Cs. He said he’d tighten the muscles in his stomach, which would give him support. I also noticed he’d always have these thick-soled English brogue shoes. He’d give a stamp with his left or right foot to really get grounded before hitting the high notes.
JW: How did you travel around, by bus? RC: No, we traveled in three station wagons. I guess it was the cheapest way to go. Guys in the band who drove would earn extra money. In my car, alto saxophonist Lanny Morgan drove. We’d go through snowstorms and everything, and be out for two weeks at a time. There would be long drives, too, like from Chicago to New York. We’d take uppers to stay awake. Maynard had his own car, but other times he’d ride with the car I was in.
JW: By the late '60s, rock was coming in. RC: Yeah, I was with Woody’s band by then. We’d play things like MacArthur Park, which I absolutely hated, and Light My Fire. Awful stuff for a big band.
JW: Did you sense the music was changing? RC: Yeah. The popularity of rock was astonishing in the late '60s. I sensed I had to be flexible to earn. I knew I had to keep my jazz chops. A lot of young guys got on bands in the early '60s and forgot that they might not always be sitting on a bandstand reading music.
JW: What did you do? RC: I was tight with band pianist Mike Abene. We always made sure to jam in the afternoon when we got to a gig. While everyone else was at the hotel, we’d play some tunes just to get away from the big band thing. By playing charts all the time, you risk getting stale and mechanical. I also didn’t get much solo space in the band, so jamming kept my chops strong. Or Mike and I would join jam sessions in different towns.
JW: You left Maynard in 1965. Why? RC: There was a point in time when Maynard disbanded and moved to India. He had some tax problems as well. I moved on. In the '60s I recorded with people like Dr. Lonnie Smith, George Benson and Woody. In the '70s there were many dates for Creed Taylor's CTI label, with Esther Phillips and others. I've been busy ever since, both as a sideman and soloist. But Maynard's band was special. It was a terrific experience that I think about every day.
Here are 11 favorite clips of Ronnie in action:
Here's the Newport Youth Band in 1959 playing Brunch, an Ernie Wilkins chart, with solos by Harry Hall on trumpet, Ronnie on baritone saxophone and Mike Abene on piano...
Here's the band playing Tiny Kahn and Al Cohn's Tiny's Blues in 1959, with solos by Benny Jacobs-El (trombone), Andy Marsala (alto sax), Ronnie (baritone sax) and Mike Abene (piano)...
Here's Ronnie in 1966 with the George Benson Quartet playing Clockwise, with Dr. Lonnie Smith (org), George Benson (g,vcl), Jimmy Lovelace (d) or Ray Lucas (d)...
Here's Ronnie soloing onThe Song Is You, recorded with Maynard Ferguson in 1963...
Here's Ronnie's monster solo on Lady's in Love with Maynard Ferguson in 1964...
Here's Ronnie playing Sudwest Funk with Barry Harris (p) Sam Jones (b) Albert "Tootie" Heath (d) in 1976...
Here's Ronnie with Sam Noto on Notes to You in 1977...
Here's Ronnie with the Lee Konitz Nonet soloing on Giant Steps in 1977, with solos by Burt Collins on trumpet, Lee on alto saxophone, Lee and Ronnie together on a sax soli, with Kenny Washington on drums...
Here's Ronnie playing Whiter Shade of Pale with the Gadd Gang in 1988...
Here's Ronnie on Dig with Kenny Drew Jr. on piano in 1995...
Here's Ronnie in action with trumpeter Randy Brecker, and saxophonist Bill Evans with the SoulBop Band in San Sebastian Jazz Festival in 2003, backed by (I believe) Dave Kikoshi on piano, Hiram Bullock on guitar, Victor Bailey on bass and Steve Smith on drums...
Bonus 1:Here's Bret Primack's tribute to Ronnie...
For Bret's on-camera interview series with Ronnie, go here.
Bonus 2: From Roberta Arnold, Ronnie's road manager and former wife who knew him since 1959, here's Ronnie at the Novisad Serbia Jazz Festival in Serbia in 2007 with the incomparable pianist Kenny Drew Jr., drummer Steve Johns and bassist Ruben Rodriguez...
In The Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed comedian and actor Nick Kroll for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Nick is a one-man entertainment machine. Currently, he has a stand-up special on Netflix (Little Big Boy), he's in the film Don’t Worry Darling and season 6 of Big Mouth, the Netflix animated comedy series he co-created and co-stars in with his voice and depiction starts Oct. 28. Growing up, Nick was in a tailspin until he was handed a flyer in college for a campus standup competition. He bombed but, as he noted, "I bombed funny” and was invited to join an improv group. The rest is history. [Photo above of Olivia Wilde and Nick Kroll in Don't Worry Darling, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures]
Here's Nick recently on Late Night With Seth Meyers...
More about me.Here's Part 5 of Bret Primack's recent on-camera interview of me...
If you've missed any parts of the interview series, you can find the previous four episodes here.
Latin in Manhattan. If you missed hearing me last week on Lou Pomales's Fifty Shades of Jazz radio show on WRTW-FM in Hartford, Ct., you're in luck. Lou asked me about growing up in Manhattan's Washington Heights in the 1960s and my exposure to the boogaloo and my passion for Latin music in general. You can listen to our conversation for free by going here (move the time bar to 29:16).
You're gonna love it. My upcoming book, Anatomy of 55 More Songs (Grove Press) is going to knock you out. Not only is it a followup to my 2016 Amazon bestseller, Anatomy of a Song, but it also contains fresh history and one column that never appeared in The Wall Street Journal—my interview with Arthur Brown on the writing and recording of his hit, Fire, which inspired Alice Cooper and many other shock rock bands in the ealry 1970s. Pre-order now by going here.
While you're at it, grab my last book,Rock Concert, an oral history of live rock events that began in 1951 and became a muti-billion-dollar phenomenon. The book is now No. 9 in Amazon's "Interviews" category and has been as high as No. 2. Go here.
Twyla Tharp. In New York in two weeks? Two of her ballets will be performed at the New York City Center—Nine Sinatra Songs and In the Upper Room. The performances will run from October 19 to 23. Best of all, Twyla will be there at each performance. For more information and to buy tickets online, go here.
Ed Soph, a powerhouse drummer who played with Woody Herman's band in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and recorded with Clark Terry, Bill Watrous, Walter Bishop Jr., Joe Henderon, Chris Connor and others is a JazzWax fan. Three albums to check out with Ed Soph on drums are Marvin Stamm’s Alone Together (2006), Matt Criscuolo’s Headin’ Out (2014) and Kevin Brunkhorst’s Otherwise (2015). Early yesterday, Ed sent along the photo above and the following:
Marc, attached, my morning practice routine. I’m using my new Signature Brushes, available at a supermarket near you!
Here's the Woody Herman band with Ed on drums playing Giant Steps in 1973...
And here's Ed on drums with Marvin Stamm (tp), Bily Mays (p) and Rufus Reid (b) playing Gemma's Eyes in 2006...
Nicki Leighton-Thomas—One Good Scandal. On her new album, Nicki Leighton-Thomas takes on the inventive music of Simon Wallace set to lyrics by the late Fran Landesman, with one song exclusively by Landesman and another by the late Tommy Wolf, her longtime writing partner. Nicki's vocal approach has cabaret warmth and tenderness, leading you to feel you're listening to an album of lost Stephen Sondheim songs. Of particular note, Simon plays piano throughout and there's superb tenor saxophone blowing by Dave O'Higgins. It's Only a Movie is by Landesman and This Little Love of Ours is by Wolf. Go here.
Say She She—Prism (Colemine). If you love smart disco as much as I do, you'll swoon over Prism by Say She She. The Brooklyn-based female pop trio's new dance release is lush and hypnotic, with flecks of Samantha Sang, Jenn Cuneta, Tom Tom Club, Philadelphia's Saphires and The Three Degrees. Singers Nya Gazelle Brown, Piya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham front a seven-piece band and rekindle the essence of disco purity, with smartly produced dance beats and vocals that have a somnambulistic sophistication. Go here.
The !!! Beat. Perhaps the hippest music TV show in 1966 was The !!! Beat, which aired in syndication for 26 episodes. The Nashville, Tennessee, broadcast was hosted by local DJ Bill "Hoss" Allen and a house band led by Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Bill Kirchner reminds me that Blues in Hoss Flat by Count Basie was dedicated to Hoss Allen, after Frank Foster initially named it Blues in Frankie's Flat. On this particular show, Hoss welcomed Sonny Rollins's favorite saxophonist, Louis Jordan, with his Tympany Five, and blues guitarist Freddie King. Go here...
Sax for sale. Up for auction by Bonhams in Los Angeles is an alto saxophone played by John Coltrane on Gene Ammons' All Stars: The Big Sound for Prestige in 1958. Coltrane borrowed the Buescher alto saxophone from jazz critic-writer and amateur player Ira Gitler, who was at the session with his horn. Ira had coined the phrase "sheets of sound" to describe Coltrane's unique style. The saxophone is expected to fetch between $50,000 and $70,000. The starting bid is $40,000 and the auction ends on October 19. For more information and bidding, go here. [Photo above of John Coltrane playing Ira Gitler's alto saxophone by Esmond Edwards/CTSImages]
Here's the full album, with Coltrane on alto on The Real McCoy...
Gigs, gigs, gigs.
New Jersey. Short notice, but this Sunday (October 9), there will be a concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the New Jersey Jazz Society. The program will be a tribute to bassist Bill Crow and tenor saxophonist Houston Person. Among those performing will be Larry Fuller (co-music director and piano), Matthew Parrish (bass), Jason Tiemann (drums), Don Braden (co-music director and saxophone/flute), Warren Vache (cornet), Lucy Wijnands (vocals) and Leonieke Scheuble (organ/piano). For more information, go here. To order tickets by phone: (973) 229-0543.
Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Jazz Institute and director Ken Poston will celebrate the great arranger, composer and tenor saxophonist Bill Holman from October 20 to October 23 at the Sheraton Four Points near Los Angeles International Airport. There will be 14 concerts covering Bill's amazing career as well as rare films, panels and special presentations. There's even a pre-festival event, Jazz Party at the Lighthouse, to be held at the famed Hermosa Beach club. Here's your opportunity to experience first-hand the sound of West Coast jazz. For more information and tickets, go here.
Here's Bill's composition and arrangement of Bags, featuring Stan Kenton bassist Don Bagley in 1953...
New York. Birdland will host the Django Reinhardt N.Y. Festival, produced by Pat Philips, from November 1 to November 6. Start times for sets on November 1- 3 are at 7 and 9:30 p.m.; on November 4- 6, at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. For the first time, vocalist Stefi Schmitt and guitarist Stenli Schmitt—daughters of lead guitarist Samson Schmitt—will join the group on stage. For more information and reservations, go here.
Thelonious Monk radio. New York's WKCR-FM will present its annual "Thelonious Monk Birthday Broadcast" on Monday October 10, playing his music for 24 hours on the radio. The Monk-a-thon starts Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET) and lasts until midnight on Monday. Listen from anywhere in the world by going here.
And finally,here's guitarist Kenny Burrell playing Autumn in New York with Bobby Timmons (piano), Sam Jones (bass) and Art Blakey (drums)...
In 1960, clarinetist Buddy DeFranco and accordionist Tommy Gumina got together with bass and drums to record the first of five albums—Pacific Standard (Swingin') Time. It was on Decca. The next four were on Mercury, including their first for the label—Presenting the Buddy DeFranco/Tommy Gumina Quartet, recorded in 1961. The tracks on Presenting were When Lights Are Low, Street of Dreams, Runaway, Never On Friday, Gone With the Wind, ´S Wonderful, On Green Dolphin Street, Scrapple From the Apple, Playin´ It Cool and You Are Too Beautiful.
Backing Buddy and Gumina on the album were bassist Bill Plummer and drummer John Guerin. To read my 2011 post and interview with Buddy on this unusual quartet, go here.
Here's the complete album without ad interruptions...
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.
