Jazz Poems

BILLIE HOLIDAY 

Here lies a lady. Day was her double pain,

Pride and compassion equally gone wrong.

At night she sang, “Do you conceive my song?”

And answered in her torn voice, “Don’t explain.”

HAYDEN CARRUTH

from Jazz Poems ~ Selected and Edited by Kevin Young

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Patrick Godfrey was born in Toronto, Canada on June 25, 1948 and began playing piano for church dances at age 12. HIs early influences were Fats Domino, Henry Mancini, Leonard Bernstein and Bach. He played and sang in a number of Toronto rock bands, which led to session work with many well known Canadian musicians Bruce Cockburn, Murray McLaughlan, Raffi, Marc Jordan, Shirley Eikhard, Ben Mink, and Mendelson Joe among others.

Around 1970 he worked with singer Len Udow in Winnipeg, Canada and met Richard Condie and wrote the music for Richard’s first animation. The subsequent friendship resulted in him scoring all of his animations. Godfrey has worked with many other animators, including David Fine and Alison Snowden for whom he scored the Oscar winner Bob’s Birthday and all 52 episodes of the TV series Bob and Margaret.

In demand as a producer, Patrick has produced albums featuring artists such as Holly Cole, The Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, The Lafayette String Quartet, and Michael Jones. His personal recording career includes eighteen albums.

Pianist Patrick Godfrey continues to perform in concert and teaches improvisation, composition and songwriting at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, Victoria BC.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Charlie Margulis was born on July 24, 1903 in Minneapolis, Minnesota into a family of accomplished theater music performers in the 1920s. That was his introduction to the professional musician’s life which led to him working with territory bands led by Eddie Elkins and Paul Specht among others. Heading to Detroit, Michigan in 1924 he joined Jean Goldkette’s Book-Cadillac Hotel Orchestra under violinist Joe Venuti. His next move was to work with bandleader Ray Miller during a period when the trumpeter roamed back and forth between Detroit and Chicago, Illinois.

By 1927 Charlie began working with Paul Whiteman, the relationship lasting nearly three years and concluding in a traditional manner for progressive jazz bands, with various sidemen stranded on the West coast. He managed to straggle back to New York City, bad luck perched on his shoulder. He got so sick that he had to return to California in order to recover but by the middle of the ’30s was well enough to log in for a New York City recording session with the Dorsey Brothers.

Caught up in the excitement of the new swing style, Margulis tried out life as a bandleader as well as spending a year on tour with Glenn Miller. His role as a bandleader was offset with work in the recording studios embracing doo-wop and r&b styles. He would go on to freelance, sometimes under the name Charlie Marlowe in California, under his own name in New York City during the Forties and Fifties.

Trumpeter Charlie Margulis died on April 24, 1967 at the age of 63 in Little Falls, Minnesota.

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Requisites

Seven Steps To Heaven ~ Miles Davis | By Eddie Carter

This morning’s album from the library is a hidden gem in Miles Davis’s extensive discography. In 1962, his quintet was undergoing a significant transition. Hank Mobley departed to pursue a solo career, and the musical trio of Kelly, Chambers, and Cobb would soon become one of the most celebrated in jazz. Seven Steps To Heaven (Columbia CL 2051/CS 8851) is a product of two sessions by the trumpeter at Columbia’s New York and Los Angeles studios. His supporting cast includes George Coleman (tracks: A2, B1, B3) on tenor sax, Victor Feldman (A1, A3, B2), Herbie Hancock (A2, B1, B3) on piano, Ron Carter on bass, Frank Butler (A1, A3, B2), and Anthony Williams (A2, B1, B3) on drums. My copy is the original 1963 U.S. Stereo release.

Side One starts with Basin Street Blues by Spencer Williams. The first of three quartet performances opens with the foursome expressing the song’s softer emotions in the melody, featuring Miles using a mute. He sustains the gentle mood in the first solo before picking up the pace for a delightful conclusion. Victor gets into something good in a delightful reading ahead of the quartet, easing back into the theme. Seven Steps To Heaven by Miles Davis and Victor Feldman is off to the races from the rhythm section’s introduction to the quintet’s quick melody. Miles kicks off the solos, wailing, and then George swings vigorously into the second statement. Herbie takes an exhilarating turn next, preceding the reprise and close.

I Fall In Love Too Easily by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn first appeared in the 1945 musical comedy Anchors Aweigh. Miles is back on the muted trumpet for the quartet’s tenderness and warmth during the melody. The leader’s opening statement is reflective yet quite beautiful. Victor expresses great care and thoughtfulness in the second solo until Miles returns to deliver a gorgeous climax. So Near, So Far by Tony Crombie and Benny Green kicks off the second side with the quintet’s medium theme. Miles gets things started on the open horn. George picks up the baton and really shines in the following presentation. Herbie has the final word and delivers a terrific performance into the ensemble regrouping for the closing chorus.

Baby, Won’t You Please Come Home by Charles Warfield and Clarence Williams is a blues song from 1919 that brings Miles back on the muted trumpet. Victor opens with a solo introduction ahead of the quartet’s touching melody. The trumpeter opens with a delicately tender interpretation; then Victor brings the solos to a close into the foursome’s thoughtfully graceful ending. Victor Feldman’s Joshua turns the temperature up one final time. Miles’s fingers snap the quintet to attention for the song’s lively theme. Miles steps up first in the spotlight with an enthusiastic performance. George takes over to deliver long, flowing lines that are equally satisfying. Herbie wraps things up with a festive finale that hits a perfect groove into the quintet’s reprise and completion.

Teo Macero produced Seven Steps To Heaven, although it’s unknown who recorded both sessions. It doesn’t matter, however, because this is a terrific recording with a crisp, detailed soundstage that sparkles. It is the first time George, Herbie, Ron, and Tony have recorded with Miles. George wouldn’t make another studio album with Miles, but appears on three live albums with this group, ‘Four’ & More, Miles Davis In Europe and My Funny Valentine. Hancock, Carter, and Williams formed the nucleus of Miles’s second great quintet and would remain with him for the next five years.

Victor turned down Miles’s invitation to join his quintet because he was a successful West Coast session musician, so he and Frank remained in California. If you’re in the mood for an excellent album of ballads and uptempo tunes and are a fan of Miles Davis from the early sixties, I highly recommend checking out Seven Steps To Heaven. It’s a stellar album that not only gives a glimpse into what was to come from The Second Great Miles Davis Quintet but also stands on its own as a title worthy of any jazz lover’s library. You’ll find it a rewarding addition to your collection, and I’m confident it will bring you hours of musical enjoyment.

~ ‘Four’ & More (Columbia CL 2453/CS 9253), Miles Davis In Europe (Columbia CL 2183/CS 8983), My Funny Valentine (Columbia CL 2306/CS 9106) – Source: Discogs.com ~ Baby, Won’t You Please Come Home, Basin Street Blues, I Fall In Love Too Easily – Source: JazzStandards.com © 2024 by Edward Thomas Carter

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Eddie Miller was born Edward Raymond Müller on June 23, 1911 in New Orleans, Louisiana. In his early teens he got a job selling newspapers, so he would be eligible for a newsboys’ band. His professional career began in New Orleans at 16, with his recording debut occurring in 1930 with Julie Wintz.

He went on to work in Ben Pollack’s orchestra and then stayed when Bob Crosby took over its leadership. He stayed with Crosby until the band broke up in 1942. He had his own band for a brief time after that, before being drafted. However, he was discharged from the military early because of illness.

Settling in Los Angeles, California he worked with Pete Fountain, appeared in most of Crosby’s reunions, did club work and also played with trumpeter Al Hirt.

As a songwriter Eddie composed Slow Mood, which later became known as Lazy Mood after Johnny Mercer noticed the tune and composed lyrics. Miller was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1998. He won numerous Playboy and Esquire Jazz polls. Miller finished his career as the lead saxophonist with Pete Fountain, living in New Orleans.

Tenor saxophone and clarinet Eddie Miller died at age 79 in Van Nuys, California of pneumonia on April 1, 1991.

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