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A nice extract from a new recording by Belgian brazil-jazz guitarist Pierre Gillet:
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07-29-2024 07:43 PM
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Did your reply disappear because someone realised we're on a guitar forum?
Originally Posted by Mick-7
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So that’s why I could find the barbecue in the box….. Originally Posted by RJVB
Did your reply disappear because someone realised we're on a guitar forum?
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Wrong forum section: "Players." But cooks can play too, right? (and vice versa: players can cook and hopefully do) Originally Posted by RJVB
Did your reply disappear because someone realized we're on a guitar forum?
Yours may be the first post about a jazz harmonica player though (indirectly), but I imagine that Toots Thielemans, the father of jazz harmonica, has been mentioned at some time.
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If he hasn't been mentioned yet, let's include Howard Levy, a wonderful multi-instrumentalist who plays harmonica as well as anybody I've ever heard. He plays a diatonic but sounds like Toots, who plays a chromatic harp. We saw him with Brubeck at The Academy of Music in Philly many years ago and he was just amazing. Not only does he cook, he smokes!! Originally Posted by Mick-7
Here's a beautiful performance of My One and Only Love by Levy on piano and harmonica (which he picks up at 58 seconds) -
Here he is with the Prairie Home Companion band -
And here he is with Martin Taylor -
Last edited by nevershouldhavesoldit; 08-02-2024 at 02:18 PM. Reason: typo
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I hadn't heard of him but if he can't whistle like Toots too, then no contest. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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what if he can't play guitar like Toots? Originally Posted by Mick-7
I hadn't heard of him but if he can't whistle like Toots too, then no contest.
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nshsi, do you remember about when that concert at the Academy took place?
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IIRC, it was one of the last times Paul Desmond was with him. If so, it had to be ‘76 or ‘77. I’m pretty sure Levy came out barefoot. Desmond looked terrible and lacked his usual fire. But even so affected by his lung cancer, his playing was sweet and beautiful. Originally Posted by wintermoon
We saw Brubeck at the Academy some years later when he was playing with his sons. That may have been the time Levy was with him, but I’m not sure which it was and I can’t find a trace of evidence or info online.
It was definitely a long time ago.
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that IS a long time ago. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
reason for asking is I caught Brubeck there opening up for the Modern Jazz Quartet as part of the Kool Jazz Festival in the early 80s
by that time Desmond was gone and Mike Pedecin Jr was in the band along w/ Dave's sons
ps every morning upon arriving to work I'd hear Mike practicing in his apt next door and when I left at night he'd still be shedding!
fast forward a few months and there he was in Brubeck's band....
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AFAICT this is the section where people post about (new) albums. And in case anyone didn't realise, that's what this was about. And the guitar player on it. Originally Posted by Mick-7
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This is a good topic for the Players’ forum. For those who don’t know of him, Mike Pedicin Jr is a long time friend and a wonderful sax player. His father was a well known leader and sax player in Atlantic City when I was a kid. His band was a fixture at two of the 3 hot clubs in Somers Point (Tony Mart’s and Bayshores) after years of big band swing. Originally Posted by wintermoon
Senior’s band also had a good reputation as a society party band. Great jazz bands that can make a party jump are not that common, but we’ve had a few here. Pedicin Sr was gone from the scene by the time I needed it. So I asked Joe Sudler (The Swing Machine) to play my son’s bar mitzvah, and it was fantastic. He even brought Julian Pressley with him on sax.
Mike Pedicin Jr has had an eclectic career. He’s a great jazz player, but he’s done a lot more. He was the music director at the short lived Playboy Casino in AC, and he can play any style with the best of them. I played some dates with him years ago and always got a charge from seeing him walk in wearing sneakers with his tux. I don’t think I ever saw him on a gig in any other footwear. I’d love to have heard him with Brubeck!
I even sold him one of my favorite cars back in ‘73 - my yellow Beetle convertible.
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When I said, "wrong forum section," I meant I didn't realize this is "The Players" section when I made the first post you asked about: "Did your reply disappear because someone realized we're on a guitar forum?" Originally Posted by RJVB
But it's funny that instead of commenting on the guitarist you brought to our attention, people immediately began to discuss players of other instruments: harmonica (probably my fault), saxophone, etc.
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Julian is great to work with, he's got that Cannonball thing going and picks hip tunes. Hadn't heard Sudlers name in awhile, he had that big band w guest artists, once Phil Woods was featured, it might still be on the tube. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
I was a little jarring hearing Pedecin on tenor in Paul Desmond's spot, their styles are so contrasting. The main topic in the corridor at intermission was the fact they didn't play Take Five which was the tune everyone wanted to hear of course, maybe it was in deference to Paul.
But the main reason I was there was to see the MJQ. They hadn't been to Philly in quite awhile iirc and came out in tuxes, total class, the crowd was super respectful and treated it like a chamber concert, politely clapping.They really brought the house down though, especially when home town favorite Percy Heath played a couple solos, they were cheering him on.
A really memorable night!
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It’s just stream of consciousness, my friend. The spirit of William James is alive & well at JGO. Originally Posted by Mick-7
But it's funny that instead of commenting on the guitarist you brought to our attention, people immediately began to discuss players of other instruments: harmonica (probably my fault), saxophone, etc.
Gillet is a wonderful guitarist who plays a 7 string, so he’s high on my list. Here’s a beautiful piece from Gillet with another 7 player plus an accordion -
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To keep to the forum theme, here's a bit more about the players we're discussing. Joe Sudler's Swing Machine was a very fine local band with great charts, top sidemen, and (as Wintermoon says) surprising guest players like Phil Woods and Clary Terry. We had a decent local band play our older son's bar mitzvah because the trumpet and tenor players were and still are friends with whom I've played for decades. But the band wasn't exciting, and son #2 (who was already a decent drummer in middle school) asked me to get a better band for his. So when the next event rolled around a few years later, I called Joe and asked him if he'd play the party. He was reluctant, but I finally persuaded him to do it - and he brought 9 pieces. He didn't use a guitar player (!), so I played much of the night with them. The band was fabulous, everybody loved the party, and I had an absolute blast. Originally Posted by wintermoon
Several guests wanted Joe's card so they could hire him. I asked him to put some out and he said "no". He told me that he did it as a favor for me, but he didn't want to do it regularly. Having played at least 1000 such affairs in my life, I understood why. But that night (which was probably the only bar mitzvah he'd ever attended, let alone played), he was surprised with a room full of people who really got the music, loved the band, and appreciated having them. And the band responded with greatness!
As a footnote, it may come as news to those of you who haven't played this circuit that the band rarely gets fed much at weddings, bar mitzvahs etc. When we do, it's usually bar food in a back room (to which the band has been "confined" on breaks more often than not). But the band got a table with the guests at out affairs. I even made my in-laws spring for a table for the band at our wedding, which they absolutely couldn't understand but reluctantly did. Moral of the story: one way to get the best from your sidemen is to feed them well! But seriously, we aren't often shown much respect when playing affairs like these and it's been one of my biggest sore spots my entire life.
Here's some Joe Sudler, including the concert with Phl Woods. Look at the credits on this one. Ed Scott is on guitar, Tyrone Brown on bass, Uri Caine on keys, great Philly stars John Swana on trumpet and Julian Pressley on alto, Bryan Pastor on trombone, plus Ronnie Cuber. The whole band is tops! I love Scott's solo starting at 31:25 - there's not a cliché in it. And Tyrone's bass solo right after Scott finishes up just blows my mind.
Here's a 1986 video of Joe's band at a local jazz festival. Leading players like Tyrone Brown are working here with some of Philly's best players of today when they were up and coming (like Jim Holton on piano). As was often the case, there's no guitar in Joe's band. Even so, there's a lot for us to both learn and enjoy in the playing.
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