"Giant Steps" One Step Leads to Another

Mark Adams posted a YouTube item by pianist Don Friedman, a trio recording of John Coltrane's "Giant Steps". This led me to the YouTube of Tete Montoliu's recording of "Giant Steps", another fine recording, one of my favorite Montoliu recorded efforts. In turn, I was pushed to find Matthew Goodheart's article in Perspectives of New Music (Vol. 39, No. 2, pps. 63 - 95). In this very interesting article, Goodheart makes many insightful points, relating Coltrane's music and his "Giant Steps" composition to other music - Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, Miles Davis. I had first read Goodheart's article five or so years ago.
   Next, I thought about Jackie McLean's comments about "Giant Steps" in the fine documentary, Jackie McLean on Mars. Professor McLean was trying to explain to his students the difficulty that he experienced in learning "Giant Steps" - check this out on YouTube.
   As I recall, the first time that I heard a live performance of Coltrane's "Giant Steps" was at Bert's Black Horse Lounge, in Detroit (fabulous '60s). It was a remarkable performance by the Chicago saxophone legend, Eddie Harris (check out his "Giant Steps" on YouTube).
   Although I heard John Coltrane perform in person many times - in Detroit at the Minor Key, Drome Lounge, Cobo Hall and in New York at the Village Gate - I don't recall his having played "Giant Steps". When I got to Trane in person, the music or muse had taken him in other directions. The first time I heard Trane in person was at Ford Auditorium in Detroit when he was with Miles Davis - the legendary Miles Davis Sextet.
   Lastly, I recall being very fond of Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "Giant Steps" (check out his YouTube "Giant Steps"). I met this wonderful musician at the Half Note in NYC - Christmas Holidays 1959. Fabulous!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHQEujakWbw

Good-bye Pierre Boulez and Bye-Bye Facebook*

Today I discontinued my Facebook account. In the beginning, I started Facebook to keep up with my granddaughters. In the mean the time, they have, for the most part, moved on to other social media outlets -- I will not follow them in this move.
*Not quite, not so fast - post something? Facebook won't let go!
   Instead of spending my time answering liberal-hating, keyboard racists and suchlike, I thought that resuming blogging, reading, listening to music would be better for me.
   Pierre Boulez died yesterday at the age of 90. Maestro was one of my heroes. I have started listening to the 13 CD DG set of the Maestro's music.
   I certainly treasure having had the opportunity of meeting Pierre Boulez -- a great soul and a great composer-musician. Take a look at the link below.
   http://boulezian.blogspot.com/

Taking A Break From My Books

This morning I watched an interview on You Tube with the great tenor saxophone master, Sonny Rollins. Mr. Rollins said that he felt blessed for having been on the scene with so many other jazz masters and greats, with Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Lester Young. Indeed, Bud Powell and Jackie McLean lived in Sonny Rollins' Harlem neighborhood.
    So today I've devoted my attention to music, to Ben Webster, Mingus, Monk, Tete Montoliu. Try this from You Tube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqGQh52ZCB8

Happy Birthday Charles McPherson

West End Hotel News - In Walked Charles

Otis “Bu Bu” Turner

At the baby-grand piano,

Sings If You Could See Me Now beneath a triumphal arch,
Separating two rooms of beboppers, night-owls,

‘Players’ who knew what Bu Bu was saying,

Knew what he was playing,

Knew Diz and Dameron.

Blues In The Phone Booth

Alvin Jackson, a double-bass playin’ brother,

Brother of Bags, has completed his phone-call,

Leaves the door wide-open for the trumpet player who,

Prefers to jam sitting down - get down sitting down then.

Roy! Brooks! drummin' man,

Has set up his drummin’ stuff to one side of Bu Bu’s baby-grand.

Trumpet’s in the phone booth - was that Lonnie,
Lonnie Hillyer, inside with his Trumpet,
Pet?

Phone booth action happened on the other side of Bu Bu - at his left hand.

In Walked Charles of the McPherson clan - an alto playin’ Man!

Worst coffee in the world! But the West End Hotel's after-hours' hang,
Provided everything else that this young man’s soul required.

Man!

Teddy Charles - "Coolin'"

St. Mark's Place, NYC -- Five Spot Café and Jazz Gallery -- Summer Evenings 1961.

• I saw and heard Teddy Charles, vibes perform at the Jazz Gallery with Mal Waldron, piano and Ed Shaughnessy, drums. Seated at a table in the front row were three Jazz Messengers -- Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter and Bobby Timmons with two or three women of or from the Orient.
• Outside the Jazz Gallery that evening, a woman was trying to have a chat with Thelonious Monk. Monk in his green suede shoes was dancing 'round his would-be interlocutor. 
• I had met Mal Waltron one evening at the Five Spot Café. I was outside the Five Spot the night of the legendary Eric Dolphy's live recording at the Five Spot, a group that featured Mal Waldron, Booker Little, trumpet, Richard Davis, bass, Ed Blackwell, drums and Eric Dolphy, reeds. 
• The Five Spot, 5 Cooper Square in the Bowery and the Jazz Gallery, 80 St. Mark's Place were owned and operated by the Termini brothers. The Five Spot has a very rich history musically. It was also a favorite hang for New York artists and literati. I lived across the street at 326 Bowery during the summer of 1961.
• Listening to Teddy Charles' recordings today prompted the above.

Ornette Coleman R. I. P.

Ornette Coleman, the master musician, died on June 11, 2015 at the age of 85. In 1958, before Amazon there were neighborhood record stores -- Sears, department stores, appliance stores &c. sold vinyl recordings. In Highland Park, Mi. at that time neither Sears nor any of my vinyl-record suppliers were apt to stock Ornette Coleman's debut recording Something Else. So I had to special order it. There have been only two occasions, prior to the Compact Disc Era, on which I special-ordered vinyl disc: the Something Else!  and David Murray's 1976 debut recording Low Class Conspiracy (Columbia Record Club orders don't count).

Touching on People and Places 
   In the summer of 1961 I went to New York City to stay with a former high school friend who, with another artist, had an artist loft located at 326 Bowery. This address was across the street from the famous and fabulous Five Spot Café. When I went out on my  first evening in NYC the first person I ran into was Barry Harris, the renowned Detroit piano master. We were both on our way to hear Ornette Coleman at the Five Spot. I returned many times to the Five Spot during Ornette Coleman's engagement there. The trumpet chair in the Coleman group was held by Bobby Bradford, Charles Moffett, was the drummer. The bassist was, I believe, David Izenzon. I had never heard Ornette Coleman in person before. The music was, needless to say, breathtaking. I had a number of talks with Bobby Bradford, who was very kind to me.
   The next time I heard Ornette Coleman in person was on a very hot June 1973 afternoon at the Strata Concert Gallery, 46 Selden St. I was there with my friend Jim Murphy and I recall the artist Ellen Phelan being there too. It was a trio setting this time with Charlie Haden on bass and Ed Blackwell on drums -- totally sublime music making.
   In the fall of 1980, I heard Ornette Coleman with the Pat Metheny group at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit. I don't remember much about this event -- that's the way I am with guitars, usually.
   February 18, 1982, my friend, the writer Bill Harris, and I heard a performance by Ornette Coleman's Body Meta/Dancing In Your Head/Prime Time group -- Charles Ellerbee and Bern Nix, guitars, the amazing Jamaaladeen Tacuma, bass guitar, and two drummers. This fantastic music took place at the Power Center at the University of Michigan.
   The last time that I heard Ornette Coleman in person was March 19, 2004 in Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan. I was with Peter Fylonenko and Jim Murphy. The group consisted of two basses, one of whom was Greg Cohen and Mr. Coleman's son Denardo on drums. The music was very lamentation-like, a hymn to the all the artists; rather like Ornette Coleman's pre-Skies of America writing for his group and a small set of strings. A beautiful evening of music.
   Ornette Coleman appeared many times at the Minor Key in Detroit in 1961. I don't recall hearing him there. I think I was in New York at the time.
   Ornette Coleman's music has meant a great deal to me during the past 50+ years of listening to his wonderful music. Ornette Coleman and Thelonious Monk were the record holders at the Five Spot Café for the number of weeks of continuous performances. Charles McPherson who had performed at the Five Spot as a leader and with Charles Mingus told me something that I didn't know about this venue's policy: performers were able to perform at the Five Spot as long as the audiences supported the musicians, i. e., Ornette and Monk were all-time drawing cards at the Five Spot Café.
   Let's listen to this music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0sAuMPhFt8
 

Mozart - The Physical and the Mental

I've been pursuing Mozart's music lately, especially his music for wind instruments. Charles Rosen directed me to Hermann Albert's massive 1515 page biography, W. A. Mozart. I bought my copy a few years ago at a great price. Today for $29.00 plus $3.99 for shipping it can be yours.
    There are two problems for me. (1) I hurt my left wrist by frequently grabbing onto Cook & Morton's 1725 page The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. (2) Charles Rosen had a photographic memory; something I haven't got!
    I shall press on though. I'll let you know about my wrist and memory.