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Dobbin's Den - May 15, 1997 |
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DOBBIN’S DEN By Len Dobbin Posted Thursday, May 15, 1997 Contents
Pianist Hugh Lawson died in New York City in mid-March. He was 62. Born Richard Hugh Jerome Lawson in Detroit on March 12, 1935, he attended Cass Tech. High and Wayne State University, where he studied the tenor saxophone as well as the piano. His career got a jump start when he joined the Yusef Lateef combo for an engagement at Klein's in Detroit in March of 1956. He stayed with that group through most of the 50s. The 60s found him working in the company of Sonny Rollins, Roy Eldridge, George Coleman, Charles McPherson and Stanley Turrentine. At the end of the decade he again worked with Lateef and McPherson as well as with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Joe Henderson, Joe Williams and the Harry Edison-Jimmy Forrest combo. In the 70s he was a founding member of the Piano Choir (Stanley Cowell, Ron Burton, Nat Jones, Webster Lewis, Harold Mabern and Sonelius Smith). He joined Charles Mingus in the fall of 1975 after having led his own trio (with Bob Cranshaw and Ben Riley) and worked with him on and off through 1982. Lawson did his first session as a leader on October 20, 1977 at the age of 42. He also taught composition and jazz arranging at the Henry Street Settlement House in New York's Nassau County. He later played and recorded with Charlie Rouse, Turk Mauro, George Adams and Dannie Richmond, as well as with his own trio (with Calvin Hill and Louis Hayes). In what was the forerunner of Mingus Dynasty, Lawson worked with Adams, Richmond, Jimmy Knepper and Mike Richmond after Mingus’ death. In the 90s he did a couple of record dates with trumpeter Harry Edison, with whom he'd worked 30 years earlier. Fellow pianist Horace Parlan called him an "under-exposed" artist. Lawson had his roots in Bud Powell, and like Detroit pianists Barry Harris, Hank Jones and Tommy Flanagan, did much to enrich the New York jazz scene after his arrival from the Motor City. Early in his career Lawson had named Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Errol Garner as the pianists he favoured. Among Lawson’s compositions are Ballad for the Beast from Bali Bali and a piece for seven electronic keyboards, Doomed Gloom, written on a NEA grant. Kenny Graham died in February at the age of 72. He was born Kenneth Thomas Skingle on July 19, 1924 in London, England. Graham was a reedman, best known for his tenor sax, clarinet and flute playing. He came from a musical family and got his start on banjo when he was 6 and was playing a C-melody saxophone by the time he was 11. He did some choir singing and later played with the bands of Jiver Hutchinson, Nat Gonella, Ambrose and Jack Parnell. Graham first garnered notice on the international jazz scene in the 50s when he formed his own group, The Afro-Cubists, one of the first band of its kind overseas. Among the musicians heard in that band were trombonists Jackie Armstrong and George Chisholm, bassist Sammy Stokes and Stan Tracey, who doubled on piano and vibes. That band worked in England and on the European continent through 1958 when ill health confined Graham to hospital for a year. He then gave up playing to concentrate on writing, composing and arranging for bands led by Humphrey Lyttelton and Ted Heath. Graham also worked as musical director on English recordings by people like Josh White and Big Bill Broonzy. He composed Beaulieu Suite for a 1959 Ted Heath appearance at the Beaulieu (England) Jazz Festival. David Meeker's Jazz In The Movies (1977) lists some 15 films that were scored by Graham. He did The Small World of Sammy Lee (1962), Night Train To Paris (1964) and Cuckoo Patrol (1965), plus a number of shorts, mostly of the industrial variety, including the 1961 Festival of Jazz, filmed at the Richmond (England) Jazz Festival and the mid-60s Our Time No.1, where the Ronnie Scott Quartet was heard. Some of his Afro-Cuban recordings, done for England's Esquire label between 1951 and 1958, were released in the U.S. by Prestige, his Moondog and Suncat Suites appeared on MGM, while Ted Heath did Graham's Australian Suite on the London label. He also recorded with Victor Feldman in 1955. Graham listed Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie as influences. Ernest Borneman in the 1958 (year) book, Just Jazz 2, includes Graham's Caribbean Suite, Keni B'sindika and Cuban Canon among his milestones of "Creole Jazz" recordings. In the latter part of his life Graham began concentrating on the alto sax and electronic keyboard instruments. This has been a most interesting week in music. Evidence (Jean Derome, Pierre Cartier and Pierre Tanguay) started things off at Isart with their special take on the music of Thelonious Monk. The Billy Georgette Trio with Éric Lagacé and Antonio Carlos Gill got the new lineup at Biddles in place on Monday night. On Tuesday, the jazz festival announced its indoor program [Editor’s Note: See News and Upcoming Events for Dobbin’s concert picks.] On Wednesday, the very together trio of Belgian pianist Nathalie Loriers with Sal La Rocca on bass and Hans Van Oosterhout on drums were joined by London-born Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine, who, at age 54, continues in the grand tradition of Django Reinhardt and René Thomas. This was the last concert in this year's Saison Jazz series at Salle Gesù. Loriers is a musician to keep an ear on. Joe Sealy, who cut his musical teeth in his native Montreal, was part of a marvellous multi-media presentation built around Timothy Findlay's writing, The Piano Man's Daughter. . .and Others, a most memorable evening at Concordia Concert Hall that also included Sylvia Tyson, Veronica Tennant, Michael Sean Marye, Jack Nicholsen and Findley himself. Among the pieces was Sealy’s Duke's In Town from his Juno-award winning Africville Suite. The CD also recently won this year’s SOCAN Award for best jazz composition and the Jazz Report award as best album of the year. The week was capped by two nights of jazz improvisation of the highest order from the tenor saxophone of Montreal-born Steve Hall, in from New York for two nights at Upstairs. The atmosphere in the club was so charged that lighting a match was a dangerous act. Hall stands alongside the great living jazz improvisers. If jazz is indeed the "sound of surprise," then Hall stands near the top of its exponents. It was also an opportunity to hear the inventive piano of Steve Amirault. If all was right with the jazz world, people would be lined up around the block each and every time these two Steves made a public appearance. If you weren't at Upstairs, then watch this space for Amirault's next local appearance [Editor’s Note: Amirault is playing May 15, 16 & 17 at Café du Commerce. See Concert Picks page.] Mark October 7 on your calendar as that's the date that Steve Hall comes in with pianist Kevin Hays and Doug Weiss for a concert at Maison de la culture Frontenac. Until then Hall's appearance at Upstairs remains THE event of the year. THIS WEEK IN MONTREAL (May 15-21) Jazzons has the trio of Monik Nordine, Holly Arsenault and Fraser Hollins on Friday and the Johnston brothers (Steve and Paul) on Saturday. Out at Café Boomers in Pointe Claire village, the trio of pianist Jan Jarcyzk will work on a few pages of the American popular songbook on Friday and Saturday. Toronto-based Don Thompson will be uncrating his vibes for a two-night stay at Upstairs on Friday and Saturday. Don't be surprised if he plays some piano, bass and drums as well, as this is a multi-talented musician. He'll be joined by guitarist Mike Berard, bassist Brian Hurley and drummer Dave Laing. Thompson was born in Powell River, B.C. on January 18, 1940 and gained early experience in Vancouver playing with legendary pianist Chris Gage. Thompson’s prolific career as a recording artist began in 1964. He's since become an international jazz figure, having toured with John Handy, Paul Desmond and Jim Hall, and George Shearing. This is a rare opportunity to hear him up close in a club setting. By the way, if your last name is Thompson or Thomson, and you think there's any chance that your children will become jazz musicians, please don't name them Don (or Dawn for that matter) as it's confusing enough already with the Don who's coming to town; Don "D.T.", a marvellous tenorman now in Vancouver, and guitarist/vocalist Dawn, who now resides in Brooklyn. Some jazz festival suggestions: The entire 5 PM Jazz d'Ici series at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, in particular the Steve Amirault trio; the first night of the Ray Anderson Invitation series, when he'll be heard with Mark Helias and Gerry Hemingway and with Christi Doran and Han Bennink, one of the world's great jazz percussionists; Brad Mehldau, the young pianist to hear if you're only hearing one; Martial Solal, a piano giant, with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian as a super added bonus; the piano of "Mr. Taste", Tommy Flanagan; two of the great living altomen in Jackie McLean and Lee Konitz; for those with a Latin bent, Roy Hargrove along with pianist Chucho Valdes and the very talented young David Sanchez; "Doc" Cheatham, with the very special guest of fellow trumpeter Nicholas Payton; and, for things a little more on the edge, the Jazz dans la Nuit series at the Gesù. May 22
May 23
May 23 & 24
May 24
May 29 - June 1
May 30 - 31
May 31 & June 1
June 10 -15
Releases by John Hicks (solo) and by the Joe Sullivan Ensemble are due out momentarily. Jazz vocalist Arlene Smith's second CD is titled Stirred Not Shaken. She's joined by Brian Dickinson, Mike Downes and Jerry Fuller. Reg Schwager did the arrangements. Club owners please note that at the end of May, Smith will be in town visiting relatives for a couple of weeks. If you have an opening, I would be glad to put you in contact with this superb jazz singer and ex-Montrealer. The Evidence label has another batch of new releases. These include Hands On, another notch in the Paul Bley discography, a March 1993 solo piano session done in New York. In the seven Bley originals played here there is plenty for other pianists to steal. The piano Bley dominates on this recording is a Bosendorfer Imperial. Trumpeter Ted Curson was a frequent visitor to Montreal in the early 60s. On one engagement at the Tête de l'Art, Charles Mingus dropped into town to sit in for two nights. Curson's probably best known for sharing the Mingus combo front line with Eric Dolphy. He also had a very fine musical relationship with the late reedman Bill Barron, Kenny's big brother. This session, Traveling On, recorded in 1996, has saxophonist Mark Gross as Curson's foil. Saxophonist Bill Easley's Easley Said is a 1994 session that features George Coleman on tenor, trumpeter Bill Mobley and a rhythm team of Donald Brown, Ron Carter and Billy Higgins. The standards here are I Want To Be Happy and the lesser known Nina Never Knew. Besides pieces by the leader, Brown and Carter, there are originals by Kenny Burrell and a pair of Memphis kiddies. Alex The Great is by Harold Mabern and Extension 27 and Runnin' are by Frank Strozier. The latter piece, in its original Strozier-Booker Little version, was the theme for The Modern Beat, my very first radio series, on Radio McGill in 1962. Neil Shee was co-host. Bassist Curtis Lundy's Just Be Yourself is a reissue on CD of a 1985 session that was originally released on the New Note label. It marked the debut of Lundy’s sister, singer Carmen Lundy, who appears on Funny and her own Never Gonna Let You Go. The other excellent players here are vibraphonist Steve Nelson, Bobby Watson, Hank Jones and Kenny Washington. A Tribute to Magic Sam is a salute to the late bluesman Samuel Maghett who was born in Grenada, Miss. on February 14, 1937 and who died of a heart attack at age 92 on December 1, 1969. A number of bluesmen including J.W. Williams, Billy Branch, Magic Slim, Lafayette "Shorty" Gilbert, Mighty Joe Young and tenorman Eddie Shaw, pay tribute on this September 1994 session done in Chicago.
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