Back in March, I posted on The Baron, a terrific Fender Rhodes album led by drummer John "The Baron" Von Ohlen. It was recorded for Stan Kenton's Creative World label in January 1973. The Baron featured Claude Sifferlen (Fender Rhodes), Steve Allee (keyboard bass, piano, organ), Von Ohlen (drums) and Mary Ann Moss (vocals). Prior, I posted on the Steve Allee Big Band's terrific new album, Naptown Sound. [Photo above of Steve Alee]
Recently, I asked Steve about The Baron and how it came to be:
"In late 1972, I was discharged from the Army. Fortunately, I had been blessed to remain in the States playing cymbals with the 82nd Airborne Division Band rather than be deployed to Vietnam. Immediately after my service, I led a house trio at the Frog and Nightgown club in Raleigh, N.C.
"At the club, I played with trombonist Urbie Green and heard pianists Teddy Wilson and Earl "Fatha" Hines. I heard the Bill Evans Trio five nights in a row, and my trio even opened for him on the weekend (yikes!). Those were great memories.
"One day, pianist Claude Sifferlen introduced me to a club owner in Indianapolis who offered me five nights a week fronting a trio backing out-of-town vocalists and horn players. I accepted. A dream gig for me.
"Claude had just bought a Farfisa organ to play in another club that didn't have a piano. When he wasn’t working at that club, he kept the Farfisa next to his piano at home. When I went over to his house to hang out and play, we took turns running bass lines on the Farfisa to accompany each other on the piano.
"Claude then bought a keyboard bass by Fender Rhodes to keep the sound pure. I played it a couple of months at my new job when the bass player on my gig had to leave.
"I asked Claude if he would want to play together on a gig, each of us trading off on the keyboard bass. He agreed. One night, we were playing when drummer John Von Ohlen, Claude’s good friend, came by. He was fresh off the road with Stan Kenton, followed by a tour of India and Thailand with a Hindu group with which he was studying. John also was a fine pianist.
"Later that night, John said, 'I want to form a group with this sound and add a vocalist.' We rehearsed that summer and began playing six nights a week with John's group for about two years, including an appearance with the Stan Kenton Orchestra.
"The album, The Baron, was my first recording. Carroll DeCamp arranged the song, Why Did I Choose You for Mary Ann Moss, but I arranged all but one of the other songs on the album. I was particularly happy with my Fender Rhodes piano sound on The Baron. I thought it was one of the best—warm and percussive but not thin and dry. The recording engineer Mark Hood was wonderful. I was so grateful to have had the opportunity to play and learn from Claude and John. They have been my musical mentors for life.
"You’re probably aware of Every Time We Say Goodbye, Claude’s solo piano album, here...
"Also, John Von Ohlen’s solo piano album, The Pond. Go here...
"John was the one who asked me to arrange for his quartet. When we formed the big band, he encouraged me to write for it as well. He also influenced me as a pianist. His touch and harmony were sublime.
Here's Downtown Blues...
"Carroll DeCamp was an amazing pianist, arranger and composer. He also played with Wes Montgomery. He arranged John’s composition A Walk Thru Bombay on our Downtown Blues big band album. Go here...
"The 1970s were a great time for a young kid in the Midwest to meet musicians of the stature of John and Claude, true visionaries. They introduced me to the music of Wes Montgomery, Freddie Hubbard, Slide Hampton, J.J. Johnson. Of course, they also introduced me to Bartok, Ives, Takemitsu, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis band, Bill Holman, George Shearing, Woody Shaw and the list goes on.
"I was already a disciple of Coltrane and Miles along with James Brown and the Beatles. As a teenager, I also had the opportunity to hear Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Getz, Oscar Peterson, Ella, Zoot Sims and Roy Eldridge live in a concert hall.
"Buddy Montgomery used to come over to Claude‘s house. Claude had a jam session there three or four days a week. I lived close by, so I was over there quite a bit. The tenor saxophonists David Young, Al Kiger, Pookie Johnson, Russell Webster, Jimmy Coe and Chuck Carter were frequent visitors.
"Mary Ann Moss sang at various clubs and played shows around the Midwest. I think that’s where John heard her. She sang like an angel, and when we were playing those keyboard lines on The Baron, she sang perfectly in tune with us. I believe she took day jobs to make ends meet and moved to Florida for a while. She is now in North Carolina.
"I'm so appreciative that you are giving a voice to our Naptown [Indianapolis] jazz scene and to the countless musicians who dedicated their lives to this music and did it very quietly and brilliantly, even without social media.
"I’m spreading the word about JazzWax! Thank you!!
JazzWax tracks: For all of Steve's albums, you'll find them at his Bandcamp page here.
