Three Wishes
The inquiry of three wishes came from the Baroness to Paul Bley who told her:
- “To never hear another chord!”
- “To be driven home to Fourteenth Street and Eighth Avenue. Thank you very much! I’ll tell you my other wish next time I see you.”
- “To have God on your side.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Sterling Belmont “Bozo” Bose was born on September 23, 1906 in Florence, Alabama and his style was heavily influenced by Bix Beiderbecke and changed little over the course of his life.
His early experience came with Dixieland jazz bands in his native Alabama before moving to St. Louis, Missouri in 1923. He played with the Crescent City Jazzers, the Arcadian Serenaders, and the Jean Goldkette’s Orchestra in 1927-28 after the departure of Beiderbecke. Following this he worked in the house band at radio station WGN in Chicago, Illinois before joining Ben Pollack from 1930 to 1933. He also worked with Eddie Sheasby in Chicago.
Moving to New York City in 1933, Bose had many gigs in the city during the 1930s to the mid 1940s, including time with Joe Haymes, Tommy Dorsey, Ray Noble, Benny Goodman, Lana Webster, Glenn Miller, Bob Crosby, Bobby Hackett, Bob Zurke, Jack Teagarden, Bud Freeman, George Brunies, Bobby Sherwood, Miff Mole, Art Hodes, Horace Heidt, and ending with Tiny Hill in 1946.
Following this period he did some further freelancing for the next two years in Chicago and New York, and finally moved to Florida in 1948, setting up his own bands there. Suffering from an extended period of illness in the 1950s, trumpeter and cornetist Sterling Bose, whose nickname was Bozo, eventually committed suicide in June of 1958. in St. Petersburg, Florida.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Joe Tarto was born Vincent Joseph Tortoriello on February 22, 1902 in Newark, New Jersey. He played trombone from age 12 before settling on tuba as a teenager. When World War I hit, he enlisted and played in an Army band where he was wounded, and received his release in 1919.
The 1920s saw him working with Cliff Edwards, Paul Specht, Sam Lanin, and Vincent Lopez, in addition to doing arrangement work for Fletcher Henderson and Chick Webb and playing in pit orchestras on Broadway. Throughout the 1920s recording copiously, he accompanied among others, Bing Crosby, The Boswell Sisters, Ethel Waters, Eddie Lang, Joe Venuti, Miff Mole, Red Nichols, The Dorsey Brothers, Bix Beiderbecke, and Phil Napoleon.
During the 1930s he spent two years playing with Roger Wolfe Kahn, then worked extensively as a session musician both on tuba and double bass. He also played with radio ensembles and in theater and symphony orchestras. He remained active as a performer into the 1980s, playing in Dixieland jazz revival groups in his last years. Tubist and bassist Joe Tarto passed away on August 24, 1986 in Morristown, New Jersey.
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Requisites
Green Street ~ Grant Green | By Eddie Carter
Grant Green steps into the spotlight with the second of four albums he released in 1961. Grant was one of the most interesting guitarists in jazz, possessing a gorgeous tone, speed of execution, and a distinctive lyricism in his playing that proved remarkably durable. He never failed to please his critics, fans, and peers throughout his career, but his time at Blue Note was particularly successful. Green Street (Blue Note BLP 4071/BST 84071) is a trio album like his label debut, Grant’s First Stand.
However, here the guitarist takes a different path than the usual organ/guitar/drums trio or a larger group featuring horns, a piano, or vibes to augment the rhythm section on later albums. His colleagues are Ben Tucker on bass, and Dave Bailey on drums. Both men provide a perfect backdrop for Grant to communicate a swinging style of jazz to the listener with rhythmic precision and finesse throughout the five-song set. My copy used in this report is the 2015 Music Matters Stereo audiophile reissue (MMBST-84071).
The first stop, No. 1 Green Street is a mid-tempo blues by the leader beginning with the trio presenting the catchy melody in unison. Grant takes over for the song’s only solo, giving him ample space to build an engaging statement that’s an ear pleaser with Ben and Dave pacing themselves behind him. ‘Round About Midnight by Bernie Hanighen, Thelonious Monk, Cootie Williams opens with a delicately tender theme by the trio continuing with an elegantly graceful showcase by the guitarist preceding a touching ending.
Green’s composition, Grant’s Dimensions ends Side One with high-spirited energy allowing Ben and Dave their first solo opportunity. Grant crafts a marvelous improvisation driving the rhythm firmly. Ben turns in a fine performance next with a bouncy bass interpretation flowing steadily into Dave’s impressive exchange with Green and Tucker ahead of the out-chorus.
Green With Envy by Grant begins Side Two affording each member a chance to speak individually with the leader giving the longest talk. After a vivacious melody by the trio, Grant delivers one of his most creative interpretations with a satisfying summation. Ben is up next, carefully selecting and bending his notes into an excellent reading with feeling. Bailey participates in an aggressive exchange with Green and Tucker for the final performance possessing a youthful intensity before a superb end theme.
Alone Together by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz was written in 1932 and featured in the Broadway musical, Flying Colors. The trio’s rendition lowers the temperature by a few degrees, opening with a subdued introduction and theme evolving into a virtuoso lead solo by Grant punctuated by the inspired foundation from Ben and Dave. The bassist provides a walking bass line on the final reading that’s clearly expressed and well-defined, swinging smoothly into the theme’s return and slow fade.
Anyone who’s heard or owns a Music Matters Jazz reissue knows of the attention to the music through their remastering of the original tapes by Rudy Van Gelder. The amazing gatefold photos, and the covers themselves are worthy enough to be considered as album art plus the meticulous pressing by RTI. I listened to Green Street after hearing my 1995 Blue Note Connoisseur Series Stereo reissue, using it for comparison since both are 180-gram audiophile reissues. I was impressed by the Connoisseur LP’s sound and the detail of the instruments is clearly defined. In my opinion, it’s one of the best-remastered albums I’ve ever heard from that series by Capitol Records. However, when the stylus dropped on the MMJ 33 1/3 reissue, I discovered an extraordinary soundstage across the treble, midrange, and bass spectrum that’s absolutely mind-blowing.
There’s only one error on the LP, it appears on the Side Two label. Track Two is incorrectly listed as the 1937 song, Where Are You? by Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson. That tiny issue aside, if you’re a fan of jazz guitar by Kenny Burrell, Pat Martino, Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Raney, and Joe Pass, I enthusiastically invite you to take a trip to Green Street on your next record hunt. There you will find a jazz album that’s a real pleasure to listen to and sounds just as fresh today as when first released by one of the elite guitarists of Hard-Bop, Grant Green at the peak of his creativity! ~ Grant’s First Stand (Blue Note BLP 4064/BST 84064); Green Street (Blue Note Connoisseur B1-32088) – Source: Discogs.com ~ ‘Round About Midnight, Alone Together – Source: JazzStandards.com © 2020 by Edward Thomas Carter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Akira Sakata was born on February 21, 1945 in Hiroshima, Japan and first heard jazz on short-wave radio and Voice of America, then became more interested in it from listening to film soundtracks. His serious study of music began in high school where he played clarinet. He played alto sax in a jazz band when at Hiroshima University and trained as a marine biologist before moving to Tokyo, Japan in 1969.
From 1972 to 1979 Sakata was a member of the Yamashita Yosuke Trio and toured internationally with them. In 1986, he performed with the group Last Exit with Bill Laswell. This performance was released as The Noise of Trouble: Live in Tokyo. Laswell went on to play bass on and produce Sakata albums such as Mooko, Silent Plankton and Fisherman’s.com, the last of which also featured the reclusive Pete Cosey on guitar. He later worked with DJ Krush and Chikamorachi with Darin Gray and Chris Corsano.
His career nearly ended in 2002, when he had a brain haemorrhage and he had to relearn the saxophone, only to return to performing after three months, but still had some remaining restrictions years later. Akira is also a television and film actor, as well as being a writer.
Free jazz saxophonist Akira Sakata, who has recorded fifteen albums as a leader, continues to perform and record.
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