http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=141o_jwG7cA&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgaD54YcXpA&feature=related

WOW!!! watching Buddy play is simply amazing! Imagine having him record "Fills" for arranger Big Band styles etc..

I had the privilege of seeing Buddy perform live with his big band at Florida State in the early 70's. He and the band were amazing.

Joe

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Songman55
Joe Ayala

Joe they dont come any better ....it must have been a show you'll always remember.
He was the Consummate Showman & Ultimate Drummer......I remember seeing him doing solos & para diddle work on a wooden stool simply amazing! & this great performance in Frank's Show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5reK-_e-02Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQwBdHsVGag



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-12-2008).]

A superb musician... one of the greats.

He knew how to treat his sidemen, too! Some of those 'bus-tapes' are legendary!

PRE Computer age PRO-Musicians of any kind really had their instrument down pat, NO alternatives like we have today....if you wanted to play YOU had to learn, practice your butt off, & strive to be the best.
Faking wasn't an option like today, you had to pull your own weight. One of my Music Teachers from the High School Orchestra I played Alto Sax & Tympani/Percussion would single out EACH player At Random to play his or her parts SOLO in front of the band just to make sure you knew your parts perfect & to also cut out cheaters, it really kept you on you toes for sure.


ON another note watch some of these Big Band clips and Listen to each player, this in turn will let you be more knowledgeable and a better Arranger Player also because in reality that is what you are doing while you play an arranger KB.....you HAVE TO know how to play every instrument the right way with your styles in order to be accurately believable within each instruments abilities. This is where many make such terrible choices and might play a trumpet like a piano or an oboe like a guitar, it is imperative that your right hand knows what to do be it a SOLO melody or Accompaniment chords to you left hand to back up lead vocals or a mix of moth at times also.....herein lies the real secrets of being a great arranger player versus a mediocre one. Keep watching & Keep learning it never stops.

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-12-2008).]

Never saw Buddy live, but always wanted to. Lionel Hampton was a surprisingly good drummer....appeared on the Steve Allen show multiple times playing piano, drums and vibes, naturally.

Louis Belsom is one of my favorites. My son just bought an album recorded by the Belsom orchestra with James Brown....what a hoot!
Was acquainted with Louis, his brother (Tony, I think) and Louis' wife, pearl Bailey in the early 60's in California.

It was admirable that Pearl Bailey (Belsom's wife) always had a shot of her husband in the appearance contract. In the 50's, with race relations what they were, that was a BIG DEAL.

Good for them!

Russ




[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 05-12-2008).]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B09cED1_gvk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbMlHAFZXx0&feature=related

Thanks, Donny. The host is Steve Allen, one of my heroes, and a prolific author, composer and pianist. It's from the early 60's (about late 62) live syndicated show that originated from LA. Was canceled after about 14 months. Pit band was a "who's who" of the jazz community. I was a "gofer" for about a year.

Stuff like this happened live every night. It wouldn't have mattered if the president of the US was a guest. If "Hamp" showed up (usually unannounced...just walked on the set with that big grin), things dramatically changed gears. There were twin drums, vibes and pianos. Extemporaneous, "big band" jazz happened at a second's notice. It was a nightly, "seat of the pants" jam session.

Heady stuff for a 16 year old to be involved in. At the time, the best I could do was Ventures and Dick Dale surf tunes. Ultimately, Allen was canceled because he insisted on doing bits like "meeting of the minds", an intellectual discussion of current topics with bit players (himself, Louie Nye, his wife, Jane Meadows, and others) taking the position of a famous historical person (eg. Washington, Plato, Martin Luther, etc.).

I remember seeing Johnnie Carson at the time, thinking that his show was "dumned down pablum". It wasn't. Carson just realized that the TV audience was changing from an elitist one (early TV adopters-expensive equipment) to a mass media one.

Guys like Dick Cavet (sp?) and Steve never got it and/or weren't willing to "sell out". The lesson for me is/was, these guys over-intellectualized themselves out of a job. Same thing happens to most good jazz musicians...they progress to the point where they play themselves out of a job.

Steve Allen worked on PBS after the early 60's, at a fraction of the salary of Letterman or Leno. That was his choice.
He was a superior intellect, but wasn't willing to compromise his intellectual and musical commitments for success in the mass media.

Jazz players need to either be prepared to make the sacrifices required to stay true to their art, or accept the need to play other things for the compensation. The worst case is jazz musicians who blame the public for not appreciating their talent. It's not the public's fault. They don't spend every waking hour working on chord inversions...variations on a lead line, etc.

I'm so grateful for the contributions of the Belsons of the world. And, so sad that some (read most) of my music heroes had such tragic lives (drugs, poverty, lack of recognition). The exposure shaped many aspects of my life and made me commit to jazz and intellectual discourse as lifetime aspirations, but not rely on either for 100% of my living. Sadly, I wasn't willing to make the required sacrifices. And that bothers me to this day.


Russ




[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 05-14-2008).]

Russ...we all make choices in our lives and sometimes choose paths we think we should have taken but didnt. But we cant predict the future can we?....anyway, sounds like you have some great memories of the past for sure, cherish them always as it is the driving force behind our actions and aspirations of today. You still have Music in your Life & that is a wonderful thing no one can ever take from you. Now go put on a good old Jazz CD and some headphones, sit back and get excited listening baby!!



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-15-2008).]