Requisites
Introducing the Fabulous Trudy Pitts is the 1967 debut album that was recorded by the jazz organist and released on the Prestige label. The album is a compendium of mainstream standards and soul jazz covers.
Bill Carney composed thee songs except those indicated: Steppin’ in Minor, The Spanish Flea (Julius Wechter), Music to Watch Girls By (Sid Ramin), Something Wonderful (Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers), Take Five (Paul Desmond), It Was a Very Good Year (Ervin Drake), Siete, Night Song (Lee Adams, Charles Strouse), Fiddlin’ and Matchmaker, Matchmaker (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick).
The personnel included Trudy Pitts on organ and vocals, guitarist Pat Martino, drummer Bill Carney and Carmell Johnson on congas.
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Richard Tee was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 24, 1943 where he spent most of his life and lived with his mother in a brownstone apartment building. Graduating from The High School of Music & Art in New York City, he attended the Manhattan School of Music.
Tee went on to lead a jazz ensemble, the Richard Tee Committee and in 1981 he played the piano and Fender Rhodes for Simon and Garfunkel’s Concert In Central Park. Over the course of his prolific career he played with Quincy Jones, Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Stanley Turrentine, Rahsaan Roland Kirk,Chuck Mangione, Grover Washington Jr., George Benson, Herbie Mann, Doc Severinsen, Patti Austin, Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Barbra Streisand, Lou Rawls, Etta James.
Not limiting himself to jazz and blues, Richard also performed and recorded with Carly Simon, The Bee Gees, Aretha Franklin, Peter Allen, George Harrison, Diana Ross, Duane Allman, Bill Withers, Nina Simone, Juice Newton, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Kenny Loggins, David Ruffin, Peter Gabriel, Joe Cocker, Tim Finn, Peabo Bryson, Mariah Carey, Chaka Khan, Phoebe Snow, Leo Sayer and countless others.
He was a founding member of the band Stuff, ed by bassist Gordon Edwards and included guitarist Cornell Dupree, drummer Chris Parker and later adding guitarist Eric Gale and drummer Steve Gadd to the line up. Pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger Richard Tee, better known as a studio and session musician, passed away from prostate cancer on July 21, 1993 in Cold Spring, New York at the age of 49.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Tony Monaco was born on August 14, 1959 in Columbus, Ohio and began his musical journey learning to play the accordion when he was eight years old. At 12 he heard a Jimmy Smith album and instantly knew that jazz organ was his calling. He began playing jazz in nightclubs around his hometown while learning the art of the Hammond B3 organ and gleaning from influences Hank Marr and Don Patterson. This led him to Jimmy McGriff, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Charles Earland, Jack McDuff and Dr. Lonnie Smith.
On his sixteenth birthday Jimmy Smith called him, a friendship was struck and Smith began giving him jazz organ secrets over the phone. Four years later Jimmy invited Tony to come play with him at his club in Los Angeles, California. This would lead to future introductions and study with Hank Marr, Bobby Pierce and Dr. Lonnie Smith. At the turn of the century he met Joey DeFrancesco when he was playing Columbus and the two of them became instant friends. Recognizing Tony’s’ talents right away, he offered to produce a CD for him and Burnin’ Grooves was born with drummer Byron Landham and guitarist Paul Bollenback. He also recorded a few tracks with Joey, who was on either piano or trumpet.
Into the new millennium Monaco began performing every major festival and outdoor concert in Central Ohio as Burnin’ Grooves gained attention. He went on to release his sophomore project on the Summit Records label titled Master Chops T with his trio and trombonist Sarah Morrow, saxophonist Donny McCaslin and trumpeter Kenny Rampton. This he followed with his third project Live at the 501, began endorsing Hammond/Suzuki Organs and conducting his jazz organ clinic at the 2003 International Association of Jazz Educators in Toronto, Canada. He has played concerts with Lewis Nash, Red Holloway, Plas Johnson, Sonny Fortune, John Faddis, Mel Lewis, Eric Neymeyer among others.
Organist Tony Monaco has been voted in the Downbeat Magazine Critics and Readers Polls as well as voted by Jazztimes Readers Poll as being in the top 4 organists. He has released a dozen albums and continues to record, tour and perform worldwide.
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Daily Dose of Jazz…
James Edward Weidman, Jr. was born in Youngstown, Ohio on July 23, 1953 to a saxophonist father who led his own band. He began playing piano when he was eight years old and eventually became the electric organist in his father’s group.
Attending Youngstown State University after graduating James spent two years playing locally before he moved to New York City in 1978. There he worked with Pepper Adams, Cecil Payne, Sonny Stitt and Bobby Watson, then became Abbey Lincoln’s pianist in 1982. This association continued into the early Nineties.
He went on to work with Steve Coleman, from 1987 to 1992 replacing Geri Allen in his Five Elements band, and with Jay Hoggard later in the 1980s. Throughout the 1990s he worked with Cassandra Wilson, Talib Kibwe, Kevin Mahogany, Belden Bullock, Max Roach, Woody Herman, Gloria Lynne, Archie Shepp, James Moody, Greg Osby, Slide Hampton, Dakota Staton and Marvin “Smitty” Smith.
Pianist and organist James Weidman who has released several albums as a leader in is a member of Joe Lovano’s Us Five band, continues to perform, tour and record.
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Georges Arvanitas was born on June 13, 1931 in Marseille, France, to Arvanite Greek immigrants from Constantinople, Turkey. At age four he began studying piano and initially trained as a classical pianist. Influenced by Bud Powell and Bill Evans he switched to jazz in his teens.
At 18 he was called up for military duty and finding himself stationed in Versailles and his proximity to Paris, he was exposed to the city’s thriving postwar jazz culture. Soon he was moonlighting at clubs alongside American musicians such as Don Byas and Mezz Mezzrow. After completing his service, Arvanitas relocated permanently to Paris where he led the house band at the Club St. Germain before he graduated to the city’s premier jazz venue, the legendary Blue Note. There he played with Dexter Gordon and Chet Baker. As his notoriety grew, he became a leader and with bassist Doug Watkins and drummer Art Taylor recorded 3 A.M. in 1963. The trio would go on to win the Prix Django Reinhardt and the Prix Jazz Hot for the album.
Georges spent half of 1965 in New York City collaborating with saxophonist Yusef Lateef and trumpeter Ted Curzon on The Blue Thing and the New Thing for Blue Note. A year later he returned stateside on tour with trombonist Slide Hampton’s big band. A respected session player earning the nickname Georges Une Prise (One-take George) for his reliable efficiency and mastery and worked closely with Michel Legrand.
Best remembered for a series of LPs he cut with bassist Jacky Samson and drummer Charles Saudrais, the trio endured from 1965 to 1993. He was received the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres award in 1985. Unfortunately his failing health forced him to retire from music in 2003 and two year later pianist and organist Georges Arvanitas passed away in Paris on September 25, 2005.
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