TRANSFORMING TRADITION - JerseyJazz APRIL 2021 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NEW JERSEY JAZZ SOCIETY

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TRANSFORMING TRADITION - JerseyJazz APRIL 2021 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NEW JERSEY JAZZ SOCIETY
THE MAGAZINE OF THE
NEW JERSEY JAZZ SOCIETY   JerseyJazz          APRIL 2021
                                       VOLUME 49 ISSUE 04

 EMMET COHEN’S
      Future Stride

TRANSFORMING TRADITION
TRANSFORMING TRADITION - JerseyJazz APRIL 2021 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NEW JERSEY JAZZ SOCIETY
IN THIS ISSUE
                                                                       ARTICLES/REVIEWS                   COLUMNS
                                                                       08    Saturdays with               03            All That’s Jazz
                                                                             Ramsey Lewis
                                                                                                          05            Editor’s Choice
                                                                       13    Emmet Cohen’s
                                                                             Future Stride                36            From the Crow’s Nest

                                                                       17    Jazz History: Scott LaFaro

                                                                       22    Talking Jazz: John Lee

                                                                       29    Rising Star: Jocelyn Gould

                                                                       33    Remembering                  CORRECTION

                                                                                                          The bassist who played with Renee Rosnes
                                                                             Carol Fredette               at the Paris Philharmonie and the Luxembourg
                                                                                                          Philharmonie in 2016 was Linda May Han Oh.
                                                                                                          Her name was misstated on page 14 of the
ON THE COVER   _ Emmet Cohen. ALL PHOTOS OF COHEN BY TAILI SONG ROTH   38    Other Views                  March 2021 issue of Jersey Jazz.

NJJS.ORG                                                                                                  JERSEY JAZZ             APRIL • 2021           02
TRANSFORMING TRADITION - JerseyJazz APRIL 2021 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NEW JERSEY JAZZ SOCIETY
ALL THAT’S JAZZ
BY CY DNE Y HA LPIN

A                                                                                                                      P
      pril is Jazz Appreciation         it’s potential, summed up and sanc-    please contact me at pres@njjs.org.          lease join me on Saturday, April
     Month (JAM). Originally in-        tified and accessible to anybody who                                                17 at 7 p.m. as we present our

                                                                               M
      tended as a catalyst to encour-   learns to listen” — WYNTON MARSALIS            osaic™ Box Sets for Sale.            Virtual Social featuring Chris-
age people of all ages to actively                                                     NJJS has received two in-       tian Fabian, Lance Bryant and Ja-

                                        J
participate in jazz, JAM heralds and        ersey Jazz magazine is a wonder-           credibly generous dona-         son Marsalis in a “conversation and
celebrates the extraordinary heri-          ful benefit of NJJS membership     tions of used Mosaic™ Limited           clips” presentation highlighting the
tage and history of jazz. I encour-         and starting in May, it will be    Edition Box Sets, one from Robin        legacy of Lionel Hampton and the
age you to celebrate and do some-       password protected with full access    Sinkway, the niece of the late, de-     New Lionel Hampton Big Band.
thing “jazz-centric” this month by      available to NJJS members only.        voted NJJS member Jack Sink-                For more information please
attending a virtual or live concert         Each month, you’ll receive a       way, and the other from Jean            see page 5 or visit our website www.
event or lecture, reading a book        new password when you receive          Field. We thank both families for       njjs.org/News. This informative
devoted to a jazz great; purchasing     the eBlast containing the link to      their kindness and stewardship.         and swingin’ streaming event can be
a CD or LP, Googling an artist or       the current month’s issue. You’ll be       Prized by collectors for their      viewed on our website homepage and
song you’re interested in finding       prompted to input the password af-     superior audio quality, most of these   on our New Jersey Jazz Society Face-
out more about … the possibilities      ter you click on the “View Digital     CD sets are in mint to very good        book page. I hope to “see” you there.
and opportunities are endless.          Issue” tab. Once you’ve accessed the   condition and would make a great            This program has been proudly
    However you chose to celebrate,     magazine, you’ll be able to down-      addition to your music collection,      supported by a grant from Investors
actively take part in the preser-       load it to your computer or other      with proceeds helping NJJS              Foundation.
vation and promotion of jazz and        personal device for ease of access     continue to promote and present

                                                                                                                       C
share your interest and enthusiasm      throughout the month. If you pre-      jazz. For more information on the            elebrate JAM and help fund our
of America’s great art form with        fer not to download the issue, keep    titles for sale and prices, please          programming! Along with our
someone else—perhaps introduc-          the monthly password handy so you      visit our website www.njjs.org/             newly acquired treasure trove
ing them to jazz for the first time.    can continue to access the issue       Donate/Merchandise or contact via       of Mosaic™ merchandise, we also
   “Jazz music is America’s past and    online. If you have any questions,     email JazzEducation@njjs.org.           have a very extensive collection of

NJJS.ORG                                                                                                               JERSEY JAZZ       APRIL • 2021    03
TRANSFORMING TRADITION - JerseyJazz APRIL 2021 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NEW JERSEY JAZZ SOCIETY
ALL THAT’S JAZZ

used CDs, LPs and books for sale.         Social, please contact me at            and more, with today’s finest jazz           of the AmazonSmile Gives program
   Thanks to the ongoing and hercu-       pres@njjs.org.                          musicians and educators of early jazz.      where 0.5% of the price of you eligi-
lean efforts of board members James                                               Weekend, one day, single session             ble purchases goes directly to NJJS!

                                          I
Pansulla, Dave Dilzell, Jay Dougherty        f you’re craving live music in a     and student passes are available. For            It’s the same Amazon you
and Pete Grice, you can find the avail-      beautiful and safe setting, the      more information or to sign up/reg-          know but a separate website.
able inventory lists on our website          Morris Museum kicks off their        ister visit www.nyhotjazzcamp.com.           Same products, same service
www.njjs,org/Donate/Merchandise.          outdoor “Concerts on the Back                                                       - but to generate financial dona-

                                                                                  T
                                          Deck” series Thursday, April 15 at           he circumstances of the past           tions to NJJS, you must ALWAYS

I
   ’m delighted to announce that          7:00 p.m. with a pre-season show             year have necessitated chang-           SHOP AT smile.amazon,com.
   for the fifth consecutive year, the    with Amani featuring Stephen                 es to every aspect of the way
   New Jersey Jazz Society has been       Fuller, Clarence Conover, Kenny         NJJS carries out its mission to pro-
awarded a grant from Morris Arts          Robinson, Larry Greenberg and           mote, present and preserve jazz.
to help in part fund our Jazz Socials.    Marty Eigen. Bring your dancing             I’d like to thank Christine Vaindirl-
We’re proud to be one of 28 arts or-      shoes! For more information and         is who’s provided guidance and techni-
ganizations helped by this funding,       tickets www.morrismuseum.org.           cal expertise as we’ve tackled present-
made possible through the Local Arts                                              ing online programming and expanded

                                          T
Program of the New Jersey State                he Second NY Hot Jazz Camp         our website to include homepage                 Log on to www.smile.amazon.
Council on the Arts/Department of              Virtual Weekend Workshop will      streaming and video enhanced News           com and select New Jersey Jazz
State, a partner agency of the Na-             take place April 16-18, 2021.      stories. She’s been a “game chang-          Society as your beneficiary, then
tional Endowment for the Arts.            Founded and co-directed by Molly        er” for NJJS and we’re very grateful.       shop as your normally do. Please
    The board of directors and I          Ryan and Bria Skonberg, this jam-                                                   tell your friends and family

                                                                                  I
wish to thank Morris Arts for their       packed weekend workshop will con-           f you’ve used Amazon this past          members about this amazing
continued support of NJJS.                sist of interactive workshops, master       year for in-home shopping, I’d like     opportunity for NJJS and thank
    If you’d like to sponsor an NJJS      classes, presentations, song studies        to remind you that NJJS is part         you in advance for your support.

NJJS.ORG                                                                                                                      JERSEY JAZZ        APRIL • 2021     04
TRANSFORMING TRADITION - JerseyJazz APRIL 2021 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NEW JERSEY JAZZ SOCIETY
EDITOR’S CHOICE
BY SA NFO RD JOS EPHSON

The Energy and Excitement                                                              ories of You.” At the Social, Fabian,
                                                                                      Bryant, and Marsalis will be showing
                                                                                                                                  gomery, guitarist Wes Montgomery’s
                                                                                                                                  older brother, played in Hampton’s
of Lionel Hampton                                                                     video highlights from Hampton per-          band in the early 1950s, and Hampton
                                                                                       formances as well as footage of the        convinced him to shift to the electric
                                                                                       current Lionel Hampton Big Band.           bass, which had recently been intro-
          No other single performer       special guest, vibraphonist Jason                By 1934, Hampton was leading           duced by instrument manufactur-
          in American jazz has so         Marsalis, will be celebrating Hamp-          his own band at LA’s Sebastian’s           er Leo Fender. In a September 1977
consistently and joyously incited         ton’s life and music at the New Jer-         Cotton Club. He was noticed by            Guitar Player Magazine interview,
and inspired his fellow musicians         sey Jazz Society’s Virtual Social on         Goodman, who invited him to join          Montgomery recalled what happened.
and listening audiences.” That’s how      Saturday, April 17 from 7-8 p.m.             his trio, with pianist Teddy Wilson       “Hamp handed me the Fender,” he
George T. Simon described Lionel              Fabian and Bryant played with            and drummer Gene Krupa. The                said, “and told me he wanted the elec-
Hampton in his book, The Big Bands        Hampton and will be telling some per-       importance of that collaboration,          tric instrument sound in the band ...
(Macmillan Publishing: 1967).             sonal stories about those days. Marsa-       according to The New York Times’          At first, I freaked out because I was in
    Hampton, who passed away in           lis will talk about Hampton’s influence     Peter Watrous (September 1, 2002)           love with my upright bass, but I made
2002 at the age of 94, received a Gram-   on him as a vibraphonist and what           “cannot be overstated, on both musical     up my mind to do it and did it well.”
my Lifetime Achievement Award last        motivated him to try to fill the master’s    and social grounds. Not only did Mr.           The Virtual Social on Lionel
month. (Jersey Jazz, March, 2021).        shoes in the current edition of the band.   Hampton and Mr. Goodman make               Hampton will be streamed on the New
He was nominated for the award                In 1927, Hampton was the drum-           exceptional music, but they, along with   Jersey Jazz Society website, www.njjs.
by the co-leaders of the current Li-      mer for Les Hite’s Orchestra in Los          the pianist Teddy Wilson, presented        org as well as on the NJJS Facebook
onel Hampton Big Band, created in         Angeles. By 1930 Hite’s band was being       a public, integrated face for jazz.”       page and YouTube channel. There is
2015 with the blessings of The Lio-       led by Louis Armstrong, who persuad-             Another of Hampton’s accom-            no admission charge, but donations
nel Hampton Estate. Three of those        ed Hampton to try the vibraphone. His        plishments was his support of the          are welcome and encouraged. This
co-leaders: bassist Christian Fabi-       first recorded solo on the vibes was the     electric bass as an important jazz         program has been proudly supported
an, saxophonist Lance Bryant, and         Eubie Blake/Andy Razaf tune, “Mem-          instrument. Bassist Monk Mont-              by a grant from Investors Foundation.

NJJS.ORG                                                                                                                         JERSEY JAZZ         APRIL • 2021     05
TRANSFORMING TRADITION - JerseyJazz APRIL 2021 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NEW JERSEY JAZZ SOCIETY
ABOUT NJJS

F
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NJJS.ORG                                                                                          JERSEY JAZZ             APRIL • 2021          06
TRANSFORMING TRADITION - JerseyJazz APRIL 2021 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NEW JERSEY JAZZ SOCIETY
Editorial Staff                                     New Jersey Jazz Society, Officers 2021
                                                      EDITOR                                              PRESIDENT
                                                      Sanford Josephson, editor@njjs.org                  Cydney Halpin, pres@njjs.org
                                                      ART DIRECTOR                                        EXECUTIVE VP
Magazine of the New Jersey Jazz Society
                                                      Michael Bessire, art@njjs.org                       Jane Fuller, vicepresident@njjs.org
VO LU M E 49 • I SSUE 04
                                                      INTERNATIONAL EDITOR                                TREASURER
                                                      Fradley Garner                                      Dave Dilzell, treasurer@njjs.org
                                                      fradleygarner@gmail.com
NJJS org                                              CONTRIBUTING PHOTO EDITOR
                                                                                                          VP, MEMBERSHIP
                                                                                                          membership@njjs.org
                                                      Mitchell Seidel, photo@njjs.org
                                                                                                          VP, PUBLICITY
                                                      CONTRIBUTING EDITORS                                Sanford Josephson, sanford.josephson@gmail.com
                                                      Bill Crow, Schaen Fox, Joe Lang,
                                                                                                          VP, MUSIC PROGRAMMING
                                                      Dan Morgenstern, Jay Sweet
                                                                                                          Mitchell Seidel, music@njjs.org
                                                      CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
                                                                                                          RECORDING SECRETARY
                                                      Jessica Cowles, Robert Kessler,
                                                                                                          Irene Miller
                                                      Taili Song Roth
                                                                                                          CO -FOUNDER
                                                      WEBMASTER
                                                                                                          Jack Stine
                                                      Christine Vaindirlis
Jersey Jazz (ISSN 07405928)                                                                               IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
is published monthly for members
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of The New Jersey Jazz Society                        Advertising
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TRANSFORMING TRADITION - JerseyJazz APRIL 2021 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NEW JERSEY JAZZ SOCIETY
SATURDAYS WITH RAMSEY LEWIS

                              April Online Concert Will
                              Reprise Songs from The In Crowd
                              His Saturday Salon Concert Series Covers
                              a Broad Spectrum of Musical Styles
                              BY SANFORD JOS E P HSON

                              A
                                     bout five years ago, pianist          Lewis will turn 86 on May 27. De-
                                     Ramsey Lewis and his wife,        spite his “official” retirement, he has
                                     Janet, were at Chicago’s O’Hare   continued to play the piano every day
                              International Airport, preparing to      at home, and in April 2020, shortly
                               fly out for a concert tour. “My wife    after live performances were ended
                               asked an attendant what gate the        by the pandemic, he began stream-
                               flight was leaving from, and when       ing one-hour concerts, called Sat-
                               she saw how far it was, she asked,      urday Salon, at 1 p.m. Central Time,
                              ‘Can you get a wheelchair for my         on the last Saturday of the month.
                               husband?’ That’s when I started         Each month has a different theme.
                              thinking it was time to retire.”             On April 24, he will be playing

NJJS.ORG                                                               JERSEY JAZZ        APRIL • 2021     08
TRANSFORMING TRADITION - JerseyJazz APRIL 2021 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NEW JERSEY JAZZ SOCIETY
SATURDAYS WITH RAMSEY LEWIS

songs from his chart-topping 1965            just a fun song, not the meat cut.”        azine described “the lines of fans
Argo album, The In Crowd. The ti-                The song was enthusiastically re-      snaking around the block,” adding
tle tune, written by Billy Page, was         ceived at the Bohemian Caverns, but        that, “Pianist Ramsey Lewis, 30, is
a Top 40 hit for vocalist Dobie Gray.        it was later during a nightclub date in    not only In, he is the hottest jazz art-
Lewis’ version sold more than one            Detroit, that Lewis realized the enor-    ist going. And, amazingly enough, he
million copies as a single, and the          mity of its popularity. “Phil Church      is going strongest in the rock-‘n-roll
album, which reached Number 1 on             of Argo Records told me, ‘I think you      market ... The younger generation, it
Billboard’s Rhythm & Blues chart             guys have a hit. You know that song,       seems, has adopted Lewis as the pur-
and Number 2 on its Top 200 Al-              The In Crowd? We’re going to put a        veyor of a new and wondrous sound.”
bums chart, won a Grammy Award               single out.” In January 1966, after            Lewis’ Saturday Salon series
for Best Instrumental Jazz Perfor-           The Ramsey Lewis Trio appeared at          covers a broad spectrum of musical
mance by an Individual or Group.             Chicago’s London House, Time Mag-          styles. On February 27, he presented
     Lewis, bassist Eldee Young, and                                                   “West Side Story and Other Stories of
drummer Redd Holt were sitting in a                                                    Love.” Those “Other Stories” included

                                                         “
coffee shop in Washington, DC, trying                                                   affectionate medleys of a wide range

                                                         I HAVE A LIST OF
to come up with one more song for                                                       of American Songbook favorites in-
the album they were going to record                                                     cluding Victor Young’s “My Foolish
live at Washington’s Bohemian Cav-                                                     Heart”, Harry Warren’s “The More I
erns. “The waitress came over,” he re-
called, “and said, ‘There’s a nice song      THREE OR FOUR HUNDRED                      See You”, Hoagy Carmichael’s “The
                                                                                       Nearness of You”, and Cole Porter’s
by Dobie Gray that everyone likes. We
have it on our jukebox.’ So, she went
over and played this song. And, we
                                                         SONGS I DEARLY LOVE.”         “So In Love”. Asked about his favorite
                                                                                        composers, Lewis responded, “I go by
                                                                                        songs rather than composers—songs
said, ‘Yea, that’s perfect.’ To us, it was                                              that I love. I have a list of three or four

NJJS.ORG                                                                               JERSEY JAZZ           APRIL • 2021       09
TRANSFORMING TRADITION - JerseyJazz APRIL 2021 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NEW JERSEY JAZZ SOCIETY
SATURDAYS WITH RAMSEY LEWIS

 hundred songs I dearly love, and I       Number 1 on the magazine’s Black
pick songs depending on the theme.”        and Jazz charts. His collaborator on
     The idea for Saturday Salon was      the album was Maurice White, who
 born one day while Lewis was play-        had founded Earth, Wind & Fire five
ing the piano. “I was trying to re-       years earlier. White, Lewis recalled,
member a Russ Freeman song that           “was a very quiet gentleman, almost
was on a Chet Baker album,” he said.       bashful, sitting behind those drums.
“It came back, and I played the whole     But, he gave us a lot of energy. The
thing through. My wife heard me           way he had the cymbals set up, the
playing that song, ‘The Wind’. She         audience could hardly see him when
recorded it on her phone, and, little      he played solo. One day, he brought in
 did I know, she sent it to my manager.    a thumb piano, a Kalimba. I said, ‘You
They talked to me and asked, ‘Would        got to get up from the drums and play
you be open to doing a show once          the Kalimba so people can see it.’ He
 a month? You can do it from your          did, and, wow, the reaction he got!”
 living room on your piano.’” (The             Lewis and the late vocalist Nancy
 album was the 1954 Columbia Re-          Wilson made three albums togeth-
 cords release, Chet Baker & Strings).     er—The Two of Us (Columbia: 1984),
     In 1974, Lewis moved from the        Meant to Be (Narada Jazz: 2001), and

                                                                                                                                         PHOTO BY ROBE RT KESSL ER
 acoustic rock ‘n roll of The In Crowd     Simple Pleasures (Blue Note: 2006).
to an electrified R&B-flavored Colum-     “Nancy Wilson,” he said, “was a nat-
 bia album called Sun Goddess. It was     ural performer. John Levy, my man-        Ramsey Lewis and
                                                                                    Nancy Wilson
 a crossover hit, reaching Number 20       ager, also managed Nancy. He saw
 on the Billboard Pop Album chart and      something in her that told him she

NJJS.ORG                                                                                               JERSEY JAZZ   APRIL • 2021   10
SATURDAYS WITH RAMSEY LEWIS

would be a big star, and John got the
idea we should do something togeth-
er; and it went so well. She had big
                                                        “
                                                        I COULD WRITE A BOOK
ears. I would take certain liberties
as a jazz artist, but whenever I’d take      ABOUT BILLY AND OUR RELATIONSHIP.
                                                                 I’LL NEVER FORGET BILLY TAYLOR.”
a liberty, she would ad lib, reflecting
the fact that she knew what I was do-
ing. I was very sad the day she passed.”
    After pianist Billy Taylor’s death
in December 2010, Taylor’s wife asked
Lewis to speak at a special memorial       the road. We put together a nice show        feel of the best jazz improvisation.”    Charlie Parker. Other pairings com-
service for him a month later in New       of about 10 to 15 dates a year. I could          In 2006, Lewis hosted his own        bined Tony Bennett with Chick Corea
York. “Taylor,” said Lewis, “was a spe-    write a book about Billy and our rela-       television show, Legends of Jazz, pro-   and Ray Barretto and Benny Golson
cial guy and a special musician. I was     tionship. I’ll never forget Billy Taylor.”   duced by Chicago public TV station,      with Chris Potter and Marcus Strick-
a guest on one of his TV shows. He had          The two NEA Jazz Masters                WTTW, and aired on PBS stations          land. “It worked,” Lewis said. “It was
two pianos, and he would invite you to     made one album together, We Meet             across the country. Lewis inter-         great getting a conversation going
be the second piano. We had such fun       Again (Columbia: 1989). Reviewing            viewed guest artists who also per-       between people who knew of each
that we thought we should do some-         it in January 1990, the Chicago Tri-         formed, and he would strive to “not      other but didn’t know each other.”
thing else together. We did a concert      bune’s Howard Reich wrote, “Lewis            get musicians from the same side of         Tickets for the Ramsey Lewis
in a park in the Midwest. The concert      and Taylor work together elegant-            the street.” One typical episode had     Saturday Salon series are $20 per
was free, so there were thousands of       ly, producing a sound that`s big and         alto saxophonists David Sanborn          show and can be purchased online at
people to see these two pianos. The        brassy without being percussive. And         and Phil Woods together—the saxo-        StageIt.com/RamseyLewis. A por-
reception was great, so that told us       though the playing is polished and re-       phone star of the contemporary fu-       tion of the proceeds are donated to
maybe we should take this show on          fined, it never loses the loose, breezy      sion scene with the veteran protégé of   the Jazz Foundation of America.

NJJS.ORG                                                                                                                         JERSEY JAZZ        APRIL • 2021    11
Featuring
 Are you a jazz fan and love to cruise?
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FUTURE STRIDE

 Pianist Emmet Cohen
‘Fills in the Gaps’ Between
Traditional and Modern Jazz
New Release Follows Months of Weekly Online Concerts
BY SC HA EN FOX

A
      fter nearly 10 months of             AllAboutJazz’s Mike Jurkovic called
      streaming weekly concerts            the album, “a wildly entertaining
      online, the Emmet Cohen Trio         modern affair and history lesson all
released a new Mack Avenue album,          rolled into one madcap, immediate
Future Stride, to glowing reviews.         whole.” And, The Guardian said the
    “Close your eyes while listening       album, “stands out among a small av-
to ‘Symphonic Raps’, the first song        alanche of new piano albums because
on Future Stride, and you may find         it has the rare and elusive quality of
yourself transported back to swing-        charm. All 10 pieces are perfectly seri-
ing 1920s Harlem nightclubs where          ous, but not solemn; there are little ec-
stride piano players were all the rage,”   centricities and the occasional wink.”
wrote JazzTimes’ Veronica John-                Last March, the pandemic forced
son. But, Cohen, she added, “pumps         Cohen, drummer Kyle Poole, and
new life into the stride tradition.”       bassist Russell Hall to halt their ca-

NJJS.ORG                                                                               JERSEY JAZZ   FEBRUARY • 2021   13
FUTURE STRIDE

reers. Then two factors changed                                                                      keeping it free, we were able to reach

                                            “
things: First, Cecile McLorin Salvant                                                                those people, affect them positively
 and Sullivan Fortner held an online                                                                 and to keep expanding our audience.
 concert. “They did one in the very
 first week of quarantine,” Cohen re-       WE WERE TRYING TO CAPTURE                                We came up with a member-support-
                                                                                                     ed tiered subscription model. If peo-
 called. “I said, ‘We’ve got to do some-
thing for people, and bring us together            THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY                            ple were able to, they could support
                                                                                                     us that way. It allowed us to buy pro-

                                                   IN A JAZZ CLUB.”
in that way.’ Salvant and Fortner are                                                                fessional sound equipment, software
people I really look up to in the jazz                                                               and video gear, lighting and blinds.
 community.” Second, a canceled gig’s                                                                We’ve improving on the production
producer still offered to pay if Co-                                                                 every week. A friend had four cam-
 hen’s trio would stream the concert.                                                                eras and a live switcher which was
That garnered close to 50,000 views.                        ten with other people, to live music     used to toggle cameras in real time.
     Their own online concert series                        that is free, improvisatory and joy-         “There were many rewarding
 soon followed on YouTube and Face-                         ous. It really became a cool thing for   aspects to come out of this. One was
 book. Like so many other musicians,                        a lot of people who suddenly didn’t      the community we built. People were
their motives were both practical                           have a chance to hear musicians          so forthcoming about how much
 and empathic. Cohen explained,                             making music together in this time.      our concerts and our sense of com-
“People need something to fill the                              “I really wanted to keep the         munity helped them. I have a stack
void of being unable to go out and to                       stream free. There were so many          of thank you notes from people all
 have an experience with other hu-                          people who were going through            around the world who say, ‘This is
man beings. We were trying to cap-                          tough times and needed the music. It     the one thing we’ve looked forward
ture the sense of community in a jazz                       might have been difficult for some-      to for many, many months. We are
 club, that feeling of being able to lis-                   one to even pay $5 per ticket. By        missing the joy of live music, and you

NJJS.ORG                                                                                             JERSEY JAZZ        APRIL • 2021    14
FUTURE STRIDE

have brought it to us against all odds.   the music, they would bring me right      was in a position to create something     new recording’s January debut.
It helps keep us sane.’ The positive      back in the greatest possible way.        nice for them. It is a testament to the       Future Stride followed Cohen’s
effect it had on people’s lives was a        “Once we were established, it be-      music and Russell and Kyle that they      Master’s Legacy recordings, a series
great joy. And to create something        came a platform where I could show        would want to come and play with us.      done with Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb,
that could help Russell and Kyle to       some lesser-known musicians to the            “Each week is like a recording ses-   George Coleman, Benny Golson, and
keep us all afloat was another re-        world and invite other musicians,         sion. We don’t go in with too much of     Tootie Heath (See Talking Jazz: Em-
warding thing. I definitely could not     like Catherine Russell, Ken Peplowski,    a plan, but have a brief rehearsal and    met Cohen in Jersey Jazz, November/
have done this without them. When         Alan Harris, and Lezlie Harrison,         sound check and try to find common        December 2019). “I wanted to take
we were having technical difficulties     and create some work opportunity          ground and just create a meaningful       the things I’ve learned from the Mas-
in the beginning, I’d be trying to work   for them. They watched me grow up         moment. That has been the biggest         ter’s Legacy series and bring them
on the computer and play at the same      in New York and welcomed me with          lesson: we come together, and bring       to the masters of our generation.”
time, and they would have my back.        open arms. It has been a joy to de-       some joy out of our instruments for       In 2019, Cohen, Hall and Poole did
They would keep me going when I           velop friendships with people I’ve        all to benefit from.” Undoubtably,        a week-long educational residency
was stressed out, or if I got lost in     looked up to for all these years. Now I   the weekly attention helped their         with saxophonist Melissa Aldana and
                                                                                                                              trumpeter Marquis Hill. “We played

                         “
                                                                                                                              some of my compositions, and it
                                                                                                                              came together in an interesting way.

                         I LOVE TO TAKE TUNES THAT                                                                            I felt that if I ever wanted to record
                                                                                                                              with horns, I wanted this.” And that
                                                                                                                              came true. Aldana and Hill are fea-

      WERE DONE BY BIGGER GROUPS                                                                                              tured in two tracks on Future Stride
                                                                                                                              in Cohen originals, “Reflections at

                       AND PAIR THEM DOWN TO TRIO.”                                                                           Dusk” and “You Already Know”.
                                                                                                                                  Part of Future Stride is designed

NJJS.ORG                                                                                                                      JERSEY JAZZ        APRIL • 2021    15
FUTURE STRIDE

to showcase “all the hard work, play-                                                                                           style and our time, with our band.”
ing, touring, time and energy we                                                                                                    My favorite is the hauntingly
have put in as a trio. Also, to show                                                                                            pensive “Reflections at Dusk.” “This
the versatility and the holistic range                                                                                          piece,” Cohen explained, is supposed
 of music that we try to incorporate                                                                                            to be about finding that time at dusk
into our styles. There is so much that                                                                                          when there is very little going on and
we love and want to put it all into our                                                                                         you can hear your inner thoughts.”
music. That is where that tune “Fu-                                                                                             The most surprising selection is Co-
ture Stride,” (written by Cohen and                                                                                             hen’s “Toast to Lo.” It memorializ-
Poole) and that concept, come from:                                                                                             es another musician tragically lost
taking two things that are seem-                                                                                                (drummer Lawrence Leathers, who
ingly polar opposite and playing off                                                                                            was murdered in the Bronx in 2019),
the paradox to fill in the gaps of the                                                                                          but unlike other jazz tribute classics,
possibilities that lie between them.”     incredible intro. Kyle always hears         done by solo piano and build them up      Cohen said, “I wasn’t thinking of the
    “Symphonic Raps”, written by          this hip-hop kind of vibe in it. We         for trio. The trio has certain orches-    loss of him. I wanted to capture the
Bert Stevens and Irwin Abrahams           said, ‘Let’s see if we can do some-        tration possibilities where you can        feeling of what it felt to play with him
 and recorded in 1928 by Louis Arm-       thing with this in the trio.’ Playing       make things into something that is        and be in his aura. When I played
 strong, is another example of that.      it month after month in different           ornate, specific and free. There are so   organ with him, I felt like I was fly-
“We listen to a lot of music when we      settings, we let it evolve. It’s a great    many possibilities of what to do.” Co-    ing. He was always so kind. He taught
 are on the road,” said Cohen, “and       vehicle, and ties our world togeth-         hen selected four standards favored       me so much about music and life.”
Louis Armstrong is one of our favor-      er with the stride of the future.           by many past piano masters, because,          At presstime, Future Stride
ites. This is one of our favorite Louis       “I love to take tunes that were        “They are in the lineage and a way for     was Number 3 on the Jazz Week
Armstrong tracks. It’s such a unique      done by bigger groups and pair them         me to connect with that history and       charts after spending seven con-
 song built on ‘Tiger Rag,’ but with an   down to trio, or take songs that were       my heroes, but to play them in our        secutive weeks at Number 1.

NJJS.ORG                                                                                                                        JERSEY JAZZ         APRIL • 2021     16
JAZZ HISTORY

               Bassist Scott LaFaro:
               Unmatched Talent for
               Improvisation and Exploration
               Killed in a Car Crash at Age 25, He Would Have
               Celebrated His 85th Birthday This Month
               BY JAY SW E E T

               R
                     occo Scott LaFaro, one of the        right-hand two-finger technique that
                     most innovative and forward          allowed him to play melodic phrases
                     jazz bassists of his generation,     with a dexterity that had never been
               would have been 85 years old this year     achieved before on the bass. In his
               on April 3. Even after 60 years since      short career, LaFaro worked with
               his tragic passing, few bassists have      legendary figures such as Chet Baker,
               come close to matching his impact,         Stan Getz, Benny Goodman, Ornette
               technicality, and creativity. During his   Coleman, Thelonious Monk, Stan
               short but impressive career, LaFaro        Kenton, and John Coltrane. His most
               displayed an unmatched talent for          celebrated work came as a member
               bass improvisation and exploration.        of the Bill Evans Trio (1959-1961), a
               His innovations included an exten-         group known for its conversational
               sion of the bass’ range and a rapid        approach and its redefinition of the

NJJS.ORG                                                  JERSEY JAZZ        APRIL • 2021     17
JAZZ HISTORY

                                                                                               “
bass and drums’ role in a jazz context.    start playing the bass until the end of
    Born April 3, 1936, in Irvington,
NJ, LaFaro lived just 15 miles from
New York City. His father, Rocco
                                           his high school career at 18 years old.
                                          He only chose to play it when he was
                                           accepted as a music major at Ithaca
                                                                                               WITH LAFARO AND DRUMMER
Joseph, was a trained concert vio-
linist who had a keen interest in jazz
                                           College, where all attending stu-
                                           dents were required to play a string      PAUL MOTIAN, EVANS FOUND
and big band music. Throughout the
1930s, Rocco toured regularly with
some of the most famous names
                                          instrument. He took to the bass
                                           quickly and practiced incessantly.
                                          Within no time, he began working
                                                                                            THE PERFECT COMBINATION.”
in big band music, including Paul          local gigs, at times with his father.
Whiteman and Tommy Dorsey. When                In 1955, LaFaro left Ithaca and           In 1956, LaFaro began working        1958) showcase his incredible skills.
the music scene began to slow in          joined Buddy Morrow’s Big Band.            with trumpeter Chet Baker. The           In a 1960 article for the Jazz Review,
New York during World War II, the         Morrow was a Juilliard-trained             ensemble performed regularly and         LaFaro revealed that “I don’t even like
LaFaro family moved to Geneva, NY,        trombonist who played mainly in a          even appeared on the Tonight Show.       my records except for maybe the first
where Rocco worked first as a night       rhythm and blues style and became          By 1957, LaFaro was starting to get      one I did with Pat Moran.” One high-
watchman and part-time musician.          popular with hit records such as           noticed as one of the most exciting      light from these recordings is on the
    Naturally, music was encour-          “Night Train and “Rose, Rose, I Love       young bassists on the scene, and he      tune “Onilisor.” On this cut, LaFaro
aged in the LaFaro household, and         You.” LaFaro was not particularly          began making a string of small group     presents the melody and performs
Rocco would often take his family         inspired while working with Morrow,        recordings that showcased his abili-     an extended solo. His playing reveals
to area concerts. Scott showed an          and after several tours and record-       ty. The first of these recordings came   a fully realized harmonic, melodic,
early aptitude for music and first        ings, he left the group and settled in     as a member of pianist Pat Moran’s       and rhythmic concept that he would
began playing piano, bass clarinet,       Los Angeles, where he spent his days       trio. LaFaro’s playing on This is Pat    fully develop throughout his career.
and tenor sax in the school band at       practicing and his evenings going to       Moran, and Beverly Kelly Sings With          Another remarkable step in La-
a young age. Remarkably, he didn’t         as many jam sessions as possible.         The Pat Moran Trio (Audio Fidelity:      Faro’s career came as a member of

NJJS.ORG                                                                                                                      JERSEY JAZZ        APRIL • 2021     18
JAZZ HISTORY

pianist/percussionist/vibraphonist
Victor Feldman’s group. On the album
The Arrival of Victor Feldman (Con-
temporary Records: 1958), LaFaro
is prominently featured on every
track. His work on Arrival may be the
best-recorded representation of his
true virtuosity. LaFaro would record
and perform with Feldman several
more times during his career, includ-
ing the album Latinville! (Contem-
porary Records: 1960). Other notable                                                                                                                From left, LaFaro,
                                                                                                                                                    Bill Evans, Paul Motian
recordings from the period include
the Cal Tjader-Stan Getz Sextet 1958
Fantasy recording, For Real, where          and often bold in his views, he insist-     and Herb Geller, and His All-Stars        stint with the Miles Davis Sextet and
LaFaro is again featured extensively.       ed that Kenton replace his drummer          Play Gypsy (ATCO Records: 1959).          was now looking for a new direction
     In 1959, LaFaro briefly took a         in favor of one of his approval. As a re-       On October 28,1959, Scott LaFa-       where he could develop a concept in
break from small group playing and          sult, he was fired from the gig. At this    ro’s life changed when he first met pi-   which the bass and drums were not
toured with Benny Goodman before            point, LaFaro returned to freelance         anist Bill Evans at a recording session   to be used primarily as a rhythmic
joining the modernistic Stan Kenton         activities where he continued to work       for clarinetist Tony Scott. LaFaro was    entity but as an equal countrapunc-
Orchestra. LaFaro was an admirer of         at several Los Angeles jazz clubs and       already interested in Evans’ playing      tual voice. With LaFaro and drummer
Kenton’s music from childhood but           on some fine albums such as Modern          and had told many of his peers that       Paul Motian, Evans found the perfect
felt limited in his role within the band.   Touch of Marty Paich-The Broadway           he desired to work with the pianist.      combination that would create the
Extremely confident in his abilities        Bit (Warner Bros. Records: 1959)            Evans had just come off a celebrated      mood he envisioned for his new trio.

NJJS.ORG                                                                                                                          JERSEY JAZZ       APRIL • 2021       19
JAZZ HISTORY

The sound of Evans’ trio was first      lived a clean and disciplined life.   in a free context. Many found the        June of 1961, the Bill Evans Trio had
revealed on the 1959 recording Por-         During breaks with Evans,          music jarring and dissonant while       a two-week engagement at the Vil-
traits in Jazz (Riverside: 1960). The   LaFaro hooked up with another great    others found it freeing and a sig-      lage Vanguard in New York, and the
album created an incredible interest    jazz innovator in Ornette Coleman.     nificant creative achievement.          trio was recorded on their closing
in the trio and in LaFaro’s bass in-    Coleman changed jazz’s trajectory          By 1961, LaFaro was mostly di-      night on June 25. These recordings
novations. LaFaro remained a mem-       with his “free” approach, which       viding his time between Evans and        were released on the album Bill Evans
ber of the Bill Evans’ Trio until his   eliminated the overuse of written      Coleman while still finding time to     Sunday at The Village Vanguard and
death; however, the group was often     and preconceived arrangements.         play and record with other jazz ex-     Waltz for Debby (Riverside: 1961). The
forced to take breaks due to Evans’     With Coleman, LaFaro recorded          perimentalists such as trumpeter        albums now serve as a dedication to
struggles with heroin addiction. The    the controversial album Free Jazz     Booker Little and composer/conduc-       LaFaro’s life and the achievements
incredible impact drugs had on Ev-      (Atlantic: 1961) which is a 36-min-   tor Gunther Schuller. He also began      of Evans’s first great trio. After the
ans and many of LaFaro’s contempo-      ute experimentation in which two      taking a serious interest in composi-    Vanguard sessions, LaFaro joined
raries was a constant frustration for   separate groups play unrelated        tion, of which he only completed two,    Getz, drummer Roy Haynes, and
the bassist, especially since LaFaro    material together at the same time    “Gloria’s Step” and “Jade Visions.” In   pianist Steve Kuhn at the Newport
                                                                                                                       Jazz Festival on July 2. The Newport

                   “
                                                                                                                       gig would be his final performance.
                                                                                                                              On July 5, 1961, LaFaro, who

                   DURING BREAKS WITH EVANS,                                                                           liked to drive fast, traveled eight
                                                                                                                       hours from Newport to Geneva to
                                                                                                                       visit his mother. He then spent the

LAFARO HOOKED UP WITH ANOTHER                                                                                          day swimming and hanging out with
                                                                                                                       old friends. Late in the evening, he

           GREAT INNOVATOR IN ORNETTE COLEMAN.”                                                                        and his childhood friend, Frank Or-
                                                                                                                       tley, drove 80 miles to Warsaw, NY,

NJJS.ORG                                                                                                               JERSEY JAZZ        APRIL • 2021    20
JAZZ HISTORY

where he met up with several more                             It has been over six decades since    lene LaFaro-Fernandez (Reissued in
acquaintances, including musicians                        LaFaro’s death, and still, he is recog-   2014 by the North Texas University
Gap and Chuck Mangione. After a                           nized as one of the most outstanding      Press). Grammy-nominated bassist
night of drinking coffee and listening                    bass technicians of all time. Even        and producer Billy Mohler summed
to records by Chet Baker, and Bela                        today, few professionals can match        up LaFaro’s impact on jazz bass play-
Bartok, LaFaro and Ortley decided                         his technicality and inventiveness        ing by calling him “one of the elite
to make the long drive back to Ge-                        on the instrument. Since LaFaro’s         bassists that I would call a virtuo-
neva. Around 1:45 a.m. LaFaro fell                        death, new recordings have surfaced       so. His lyrical hornlike phrasing and
asleep at the wheel and crashed into                      of his playing. His life has been com-    advanced rhythms put him in his
a tree. The car exploded, and both                        memorated in the biography, Jade          own league as a bass soloist. Scott’s
LaFaro and Ortley died instantly.                         Visions: The Life and Music of Scott      playing made shockwaves in the jazz
    Scott LaFaro’s death rocked the                       LaFaro, written by his sister He-         world that are still felt to this day.”
jazz world and the musicians who
loved him. Bill Evans was so dis-                                                                   Bassist Jay Sweet is an Adjunct

                                            “
traught that he barely performed in                                                                 Professor in the Department of Music

                                            SCOTT LAFARO’S DEATH
public for a year. With his passing,                                                                and Theatre Arts at Monmouth
LaFaro joined a group of jazz innova-                                                               University in West Long Branch, NJ,
tors such as Bix Beiderbecke, Clifford                                                              and is the Founder and Director of
Brown, Charlie Christian, Jimmy
Blanton, and Booker Little, who died              ROCKED THE JAZZ WORLD AND                         Sweet Music Academy in Howell, NJ.
                                                                                                    He studied Bass Performance and
in their 20s at the peak of their de-
velopment. Of course, one can only
imagine what more could have been
                                         THE MUSICIANS WHO LOVED HIM.”                              Composition at the Berklee College
                                                                                                    of Music in Boston and received a
                                                                                                    Masters in Jazz Research and History
achieved had LaFaro lived longer.                                                                   from Rutgers-Newark University.

NJJS.ORG                                                                                            JERSEY JAZZ         APRIL • 2021     21
TALKING JAZZ

A Jersey Jazz Interview
with John Lee
BY SC H A E N FOX

B
    assist John Lee spent 10 years with Dizzy Gillespie
    and continues to keep his music alive through
    several tribute groups such as the Dizzy Gillespie
Alumni Band, the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars, and the
DG Afro-Latin Experience. At presstime, he was
scheduled to perform with the Afro-Latin Experience
in May at the South Orange Performing Arts Center.

NJJS.ORG                                                  JERSEY JAZZ   APRIL • 2021   22
TALKING JAZZ

JJ   Are you from a musical family?                                                                                                   He called me on a Sunday morning,
JL No. Actually, my father was a                                                                                                      and said, “Max Roach is having au-
Methodist minister, but he had played                                                                                                 ditions up in New York. You should
all the bass clef instruments in the                                                                                                  do an audition. It’s good experience
Navy band. He played tuba and trom-                                                                                                   for you. You won’t get the job, but
bone and bass, and he had a great                                                                                                     you should do it.” So, I got a buddy of
love of jazz. Both my parents did.                                                                                                    mine to drive me to New York. I au-
                                                                                                                                      ditioned with Max, and I got the job.
JJ  How did they feel about                                                                                                               The dean had a policy that if any
your being a musician?                                                                                                                music students were able to get a
JL They were very supportive. I start-                                                                                                professional job and had to go on the
                                         From left, Jimmy Heath, Lee, and Rich Okun, retired Floor Manager of New York’s Blue Note.
ed playing the string bass in fourth                                                                                                  road — if he approved it — you could
grade in the Amityville, Long Island,                                                                                                 go for a few weeks, and study on the
school system. They had a great          trained, and there were a lot of great          er died when I was 15. Then I lost           road. Monday morning, I told the dean
music program, and a great teach-        programs in Long Island at that time            my father when I was 25. He ac-              I had the job with Max Roach. He was
er, Carolyn Lush, who taught all the     for classical music, but I always had a         tually met Dizzy once and always             quite impressed, and I got to go with
string instruments. She was a great      love of jazz. My parents were always            talked about that. He did see one of         Max. The thing was, I learned more
inspiration to many of us. When I was    playing Dizzy, Count Basie, Sarah               my first big gigs with Max Roach.            about jazz in the first two weeks with
in the ninth or 10th grade, one of the   Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Ella Fitz-                   After I graduated from high school       Max than I learned the whole semes-
seniors, a cello player named Ronnie     gerald, and Duke Ellington at home.             in Philadelphia, I went to what is           ter in school. I decided I would take a
Feldman, auditioned for the Boston                                                       now known as the University of the           year off to pursue that course. At the
Symphony and made it. For all of us      JJ Did your folks get to see                    Arts. I was in school with a great           time Reggie Workman was Max’s reg-
young musicians it was an amazing        you playing with Dizzy?                         bass player named Stanley Clarke,            ular bass player. He had gone to South
thing to witness. I was classically      JL No, unfortunately my moth-                   who was a few years ahead of me.             America to work with Stanley Cowell

NJJS.ORG                                                                                                                              JERSEY JAZZ        APRIL • 2021      23
TALKING JAZZ

and Charles Tolliver. When he came
back, Max encouraged me to go back
to school and finish getting my degree.
                                                               “
                                                               DIZZY JUST HAD                                                      When Gerry and I broke up our
                                                                                                                               band, he moved to Los Angeles. He
                                                                                                                               was more interested in the R&B world.
    Right after that, Stanley took
me over to Herbie Hancock’s house.             SUCH A GOOD TIME ON                                                             I stayed in New York and joined Mc-
                                                                                                                               Coy Tyner’s band in ‘82. Gary Bartz
Herbie had a good friend in Hol-
land, a flute player named Chris
Hinze. Herbie said, “This guy is on
                                                         STAGE EVERY NIGHT.”                                                   called me one night and said, “McCoy
                                                                                                                               wants an electric bass player. He just
                                                                                                                               made an album with Stanley Clarke
CBS Records like myself. He’s look-                                                                                            and Phyllis Hyman, and the music
ing for an American rhythm section                                                                                             was written for electric bass. Carlos
for a year.” Stanley said, “Well, I just   helped us develop our playing, too. We   New York, and that’s where I kind of       Santana was on the album. And he still
joined Chick Corea’s band, but may-        spent about a year and a half more       started my career as a leader. I started   needs a guy that can also swing and
be John’s interested.” He gave me the      than we had planned with Chris. We       freelancing with people like Pharoah       play fast tempos on the electric bass.”
address, and I sent a little tape over     developed a lot of relationships with    Sanders, Lonny Liston Smith, Nor-          There aren’t many of us who could do
to Holland. About two weeks later, he      up-and-coming musicians in Eu-           man Connors; and I got the gig with        that. So, that kind of worked out. And
called and said, “I want to hire you for   rope. In particular, the Belgian gui-    Larry Coryell and the Eleventh House       I did that for about 2 1/2 years. Then
a year and whoever that drummer is         tarist Philip Catherine, German pi-      (a jazz fusion group). I did a few re-     McCoy broke up that band in ‘84,
on the tape with you. I’d like him to      anist Joachim Kühn, and the Dutch        cords and toured all over the world
come, too.” That was Gerry Brown.          pianist Jasper Van’t Hof. After that     with him for about 2 1/2 years. That       JJ  Then you went with Dizzy.
    I was just 20, and Gerry was           job was over, we spent the next few      took me up to about ‘77. And then          How did that happen?
21. Fortunately for us, our neighbor       months living there and traveling        Gerry Brown and I formed our own           JL I was supposed to be subbing for
in Holland was a great saxophon-           around Europe. We finally came           band. We did two records with Blue         Bob Cranshaw on a gig, and he called
ist named Charlie Mariano. Charlie         back to the States in October of ‘74.    Note Records and two for Colum-            me at the last minute to tell me, “Diz-
became like a godfather to us and              When we came back, we moved to       bia Records right up to about ’82.         zy needs a bass player Friday night

NJJS.ORG                                                                                                                       JERSEY JAZZ         APRIL • 2021     24
TALKING JAZZ

in Memphis. He just fired his bass
player, and you’re perfect for the
job.” I flew down to Memphis, and
played with Dizzy. After the gig, he
asked me to join his band. That end-
ed up being almost 10 years. I was
the mainstay through three different                                                                                                                From left, Abelita
incarnations of his bands plus the                                                                                                                  Mateus, Lee,
                                                                                                                                                    Tommy Campbell,
big band and the United Nation Or-
                                                                                                                                                    Sharel Cassity.
chestra. He always kept me along.

JJ  Did you have to change any-         his big band days and then the small        bebop, swing music, bossa nova, Latin      tired we were, once we hit the stage,
thing in your playing going from        group, of course, and then there            music, Afro Cuban, ballads or music        it was a party. Dizzy just had such a
the small groups to the big band?       is the United Nation Orchestra.             influenced by Argentina from his days      good time on stage every night. He so

                                                                                                                                                                              PHOTO COU RT ESY O F NEW B RU NSWI CK JAZZ PROJ ECT
JL A lot of the songs were the              Dizzy always said he loved the          with Lalo Schifrin. He would cover         enjoyed playing music and his audi-
same, the big band arrangement          music south of the border. Dizzy was        all different styles and keep it fresh.    ences. That’s what I remember the
of “A Night in Tunisia” and things      also one of the first jazz musicians                                                   most: the joy of it. It was great joie de
like that. The thing was, with Dizzy    to explore Brazilian music with his         JJ  What are your best memories            vivre with Dizzy. But he was a man of
there were a lot of different musical   early recordings of “No More Blues”         of being with Dizzy?                       very, very profound wisdom. I always
avenues. We would do a lot of con-      and “Desafinado.” Stan Getz gets all        JL One thing I should point out is         used to say that it felt like there were
certs with symphony orchestras.         the credit, but Dizzy was actually first,   that we traveled constantly. In those      three different relationships there:
He had his music arranged for an        before “Girl from Ipanema.” The won-        days, I was on the road 250 days a year.   There’s the leader-sideman relation-
82-piece symphony orchestra. Then       derful thing about playing with Diz-        No matter how hard to travel was, or       ship, the father-son relationship, and
there is the classic big band from      zy was a typical concert would have         how far away we had to go, or how          a brother relationship. But he was

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TALKING JAZZ

just a down-to-earth real soul. We        his wife asked if I’d be interested       group records. Now there is a third      JJ  Tell us about your Jazz
played for many heads of states and      in doing some kind of program to           band called The Afro-Cuban Expe-         Legacy Productions (JLP).
monarchs. He treated the president        continue his music. I started a pro-      rience or the Afro-Latin Experience.     JL After Dizzy left, I got further
the same way he treated a garbage         gram called “Dizzy, the Man and the       So, there’s actually three separate      into producing at a small record
man. There was no pretension at all.     Music.” We’d go to colleges and do         projects. The big band, the All Stars,   company called Jazz Legacy
                                          a multimedia presentation of Diz-         and the Afro-Cuban Experience.           Productions. We put out about
JJ   How did you find out                 zy’s music with films, and photos.                                                 20 Records. Except for the Monty
about Dizzy’s cancer?                         At the time, I was producing          JJ I was going to ask; do                Alexander albums, which were
JL Oh man! We were out in Seat-           some records for Shanachie Re-            you have any gigs coming                 done live, they were all recorded
tle, and Dizzy got sick. That turned      cords. They asked if there was any        up? And then I just realized,            in my house, in my present studio.
out to be our last engagement. We        pet project that I wanted to do. I said,   we’re still in a pandemic.               They’re all a labor of love.
were actually on our way to Argen-       “I’d like to do a tribute album to Diz-    JL We actually have a gig on the             The record business got harder
tina and South Africa. Instead, we        zy.” We did an album called Dizzy’s       books in May at SOPAC with the           and harder to make money in, but
came back to New Jersey, and Diz-         80th Birthday Party — myself, Jon         Afro-Latin Experience, featuring         I’m still continuing to produce.
zy was diagnosed and had surgery.        Faddis and Cyrus Chestnut, among           Paquito D’Rivera as special guest on     Actually, one of my productions
That was kind of the end of it.           others. That’s where the whole Diz-       May 8, God willing. We’ll see how this   won the Latin Grammy last year
                                          zy Gillespie Alumni thing started. It     goes with the pandemic. (The Gi-         for the best jazz album of 2019, so
JJ  How did you get involved in          was then called The Dizzy Gillespie        ants of Jazz concert produced every      I’m a Grammy winner now. The
the Gillespie tribute groups?            Alumni All-Stars. About a year after       year by Lee at SOPAC is tentatively      album, called Jazz Bata 2, is with
JL I was the straw boss in the band      that, we restarted the big band. By        scheduled for November 20. Last          the great Cuban pianist Chucho
for the last five years. I would do a     about ‘95, we had the Dizzy Gilles-       year’s GOJ was canceled. The 2019        Valdes. It was a really joyous
lot of the business for him, helping     pie Big Band going and the Alumni          event honored the late Harold Mab-       project, and we got nominated
with payroll and things like that. So,   All-Stars. Since then, we’ve done          ern and was covered in the January/      for the Grammy. It was a really
about a year after Dizzy passed away,    three big band records and two small       February 2020 issue of Jersey Jazz).     nice surprise when we won.

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TALKING JAZZ

JJ  When you moved to New Jersey       Rosnes and Bill Charlap live around
were you looking for a place to        the corner. Dave Stryker lives five
convert into a home studio?            minutes from me. Vic Juris lived
JL Oh yeah, definitely. I just want-   across the street from him. Rosean-
ed a house big enough where I could    na Vitro just moved down the street
isolate some of the musicians. Good    from me. Thelonious Monk Jr. and
recording is about isolation so all    my old partner Gerry Brown live in
the sounds blend when you’re put-      South Orange. Oscar Perez and Chris
ting the record together. The house    Berger are over in West Orange.
we found has a nice place for the          We lost so many people around
control room. Then I wired it up       here last year. Within two months, we
so I could isolate the musicians       lost Claudio, Jimmy Heath, Wallace
in different places in the house.      Roney, Vic Juris ,and Lee May, the wid-
                                       ow of the great bass player Earl May.
JJ  I read that you were influen-      Earl was with Dizzy in the old days.
tial in getting other musicians
to move into the area and that         JJ  Is there any film, novel or
you lived close to Claudio Roditi.     play that you feel would give us
JL I’m up the hill from where Clau-    non-musicians a good idea of
dio was. I actually found his house    what a musician’s life is like?
for him. There are so many guys        JL The most memorable jazz mov-
around here now. I don’t know how      ie in recent years is Round Midnight
instrumental I was with the others.    with Dexter Gordon, which is really
Don Braden lives here, and Renee       the story of Bud Powell and his friend

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