John Abercrombie, 1944-2017

 

John Abercrombie, in 2001

One of the finest guitarists in jazz, John Abercrombie, passed away this past Tuesday, August 22, 2017. John’s recording career was as varied as his early guitar influences, which included Chuck Berry and Barney Kessel. His work ranged from heavy fusion with the band called Dreams, to introspective recordings on the ECM label. John explored the possibilities that electronics offered, employing the guitar-synthesizer combination, but eventually found that his guitar and one amplifier was all the resources he needed. In our interview conducted before a concert at Hamilton, he took note of the proliferating number of young musicians entering the market, and offered sage advice for newly minted music school graduates:

MR:         If you had the opportunity to address those thousand plus guitar students at Berklee, what would you say to them about how to prepare for the future of where this music is at?

JA:         Oh man, I mean you could just tell them don’t quit your day job, you could say, I mean the hardest thing is with a lot of players, and what I always tell the ones, I mean and I can’t address a thousand of them at a time, but even with the students I have, if they play really good I just tell them look, I hope you really like this music, because if you don’t I mean there’s a lot of you guys around right now. I mean there’s a lot of good young players. I have a couple of students at the New England Conservatory where I teach now about eight times a year. I mean they can really play.  I’ve had a few that you kind of go wow, this guy can play. Really play. And when he gets out in the real world and he’s more of a — he’s really going to be able to play. But where are all these guys going to work? And I always try to tell them, I always try to say look, keep yourself open to all the aspects of music, whether it’s being a jazz player or maybe it’s writing songs, maybe it’s as a producer. I mean there could be a place in music for a lot of people but there’s only so many places that people who are going to be quote unquote performers, especially jazz performers, are going to be able to play. I mean the amount of venues haven’t changed dramatically since when I was starting to play and there’s like a hundred times more players out there. I’m lucky I have a record label and a reputation. To be a young musician coming now, it has to be tough from that point of view, because there’s so many guys and there’s just not enough places to play. So I just tell them make sure you really love this stuff because you’re going to have to be doing it for that reason if you want to be a jazz player because there’s not going to be, and don’t even worry about anything else. Just only do it for that. As long as you can get by and then if you’re really true to what you do things will come your way probably, you’ll make a living and you’ll be able to play your music and hopefully maybe you’ll get very successful.

Fresh from the Fillius archive, here is a link to the full YouTube interview I conducted with John on April 19, 2001.

Jazz Centennial

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The centennial of the first jazz recording by the Original Dixieland Jass Band titled “Livery Stable Blues” is observed this year (see our blog dated 2/26/17) . If an extraterrestrial had heard their rendition they could never have imagined the diversity and the artistic heights that jazz would accomplish in the hundred years that followed. A significant portion of that history began coincidentally in 1917 with the birth of an impressive number of future jazz stars. Most significant were the innovators of bebop, Thelonious Monk, born on October 10, and John “Dizzy” Gillespie, born in the same month on the 21^st. Two other notable artists whose technical skills have never been surpassed are Buddy Rich, born on September 30, and Ella Fitzgerald, born on April 25 (see our blog dated 4/25/17). Those four musicians alone qualify 1917 as an important year in jazz history.

Other notable musicians who were born in 1917 include vocalists Lena Horne (October 4), Jo Stafford (November 12), and Dave Lambert (June 19); pianist Tadd Dameron (February 21); bassist Curly Russell (March 19); and Latin percussionist Mongo Santamaria (April 7). Perhaps a future jazz artist has already been born in 2017 and will contribute to the ever-evolving story of this music.

Jon Hendricks, An Appreciation

Jon Hendricks, in 2000

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Too often we wait until a person has passed before we reflect on their accomplishments. If I had to pick ten of my favorite interviews from the 340 we have gathered for the Fillius Jazz Archive, both of our sessions with Jon Hendricks would make the cut.

Jon Hendricks is now 95, retired from performing and unfortunately is beset with health issues. He is a man who enjoyed a remarkably creative career and could speak intelligently about seemingly any subject. Jon was a fascinating storyteller. During our initial interview in 1995, he related this tale about Count Basie:

MR: You had quite a wonderful association with Count Basie.

JH: Oh, yeah. It was gorgeous. He was a great man. I mean he was great in such a quiet way. There wasn’t any flamboyance about him. What it was about him, I think was his magnetism. He just set still and was quiet. But nothing happened until he moved. I mean the band would be on the bandstand, and everybody would be sitting there and he’d come and make that introduction, and the whole band would come to life. You know he was such an honest man that it was funny, I mean it was joke the way he would just let the truth come out of his mouth. Like one time we went to London with him. And he asked me to come by his hotel you know, because he was going to do an interview with the London Times. And he was kind of worried about it, and wanted to make sure that everything went well. So he wanted me there in case I had to translate for him for the reporter. So this man sits down and he says, [with a British accent] “Tell me, Mr. Bahsie” he says, “you have a style of playing the piano” he says, “you don’t seem to play too many notes. You’re sort of economical in your style of playing.” He says, “How did you arrive at such a style?” And Basie said, “I just can’t play no more piano.” And I was sitting there and I went into the bathroom and cracked up. Because it was so true but totally unexpected. And then when we saw the article the next day, the guy remarked on how Mr. Basie was so — what did he call it — so modest. He said he was so modest. He wasn’t modest, he was telling the truth.

Jon is often cited as an influence on current vocal groups due to his participation in the iconic jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. His fortuitous meeting with cab driver Tim Hauser helped jump start Manhattan Transfer, a jazz vocal ensemble that is still performing after forty years. From Part 2 in 2000:

JH: I tell the story of the formation of the Manhattan Transfer. Their idea was to be a group like Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. That’s why I helped them. That was their aim. I met Tim Hauser in a taxi. He was a taxi driver. And I got in his cab with my brother. And he says, “I know you, you’re Jon Hendricks.” I said, “How do you know me?” He says, “I know you. My name is Tim Hauser and my girlfriend Janis Siegel and I live in Brooklyn and we’re going to start a Lambert, Hendricks & Ross type group called Manhattan Transfer.” I gave him my card, and I said, “Any time I can help you, let me know.” And that was how they started. I said so that’s what vocalese is. It’s the setting of lyrics to established American jazz instrumentals in a form so that it tells a story with a beginning, a middle, an end, a plot, a cast of characters, the horns become the characters, and they make a commentary on the subject matter which is determined by the title.

Janis Siegel, an original member of the Manhattan Transfer, speaks of Jon Hendricks with reverence and respect:

MR: How did you get connected?

JS: Well we’ve been doing his stuff from the very beginning honestly. And certainly we were aware of vocalese. For the first album Tim and I wrote a vocalese to “You Can Depend on Me” in the style — I mean influenced certainly by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross and Jon in particular.  I think “Vocalese” is something that we’re very proud of, continuing the tradition of. And we did a whole record of vocalese with Jon and tackled some very meaty things. And Jon was able to tackle some meaty subjects in his lyrics, particularly “Joy Spring,” “Airegin” really amazing lyrics. And he was in the video of “Rock House” and he was in the video of “Night in Tunisia.” And whenever we could perform with Jon it’s always a blessing.

Individual singers have also been influenced by Jon’s singing and his remarkable skill with the practice of vocalese. In our interview in 2015 Giacomo Gates commented on Jon’s skill:

GG: Jon Hendricks is amazing. And every time I would get something of his I’d say, “Wow, this is the better than the last one.” And then “Freddie Freeloader,” did you ever hear that? It’s amazing what he wrote, and that he sings a John Coltrane solo. I mean who could sing a John Coltrane solo? Jon Hendricks.

Click here to see the full interview with Giacomo Gates.

The thing I will remember best about our sessions with Jon is his eloquence and passion when speaking about humans, humanity and human nature.

JH: The philosophy that we had as my father’s children, you know. Like he was a very spiritual man and he taught us that we were children of the living God. And every man, woman and child on this planet were our brothers and sisters. And never mind that they didn’t feel that way, that was their problem. It was our job to remember that we are brothers and sisters to every human being. So I find it solved all the racial problems I might have had. Because I’ve never really had any. You know, anybody comes to me, I give them the love I would give a brother. So if they have animosity toward me, first it’s got to get through that. And that’s pretty hard. That’s pretty hard to get through. So I find I have no problems you know. I don’t accept anything but God’s children. And I read Paul, God is no respecter of person. So who is man to cause problems, and to have all this racial — all these politicians talking about the problems between black and white, already are expressing gross ungodliness. And lack of belief in any real God you know. And thus I’ve had no part of that.

MR: We can all learn from some of those comments. That’s wonderful.

JH: I just will not have anything to do with that. Mankind? That’s me. I’m there. If you want something for mankind? Okay. But I will not compartmentalize it you know.

Click here to read the full Part 1 interview, conducted in 1995.

Click here to read the full Part 2 interview, conducted in 2000.