document

TheJAZZ CULTURE

The Jazz Culture, VI:25 1

THE ENGLAND ISSUE, Part I

REVIEWJOHN WATSON TRIO

by L. Hamanaka

Caught the John Watson Trio over the pond with Miles Danso,

bass, Louie Palmer (who studied at Berkelee), drums at The

Langham, [at 1C Portland Place, London W1B, 1 JA, (207)636-

John Watson, piano, Miles Danso, bass, Louie Palmer, drums at The

Palm Court, The Langham Hotel, London

2 The Jazz Culture, VI:25

1000] is an elegant hotel with high ceilings and huge windows.

Like many of the larger hotels, the Langham has several food and

beverage outlets, a bar like a cigar bar, the Palm Court, which is

where the John Watson Trio holds forth weekends and carries on

the long tradition of jazz piano trios. The Palm Court has a large

selection of champagne, wines and cocktails, and an excellent

continental menu with lots of side dishes, such as crusted prawns,

a wide variety of vegetable sides and artful desserts. The

restaurant won the Best Afternoon Tea Award in 2010 and rates

161 out of 10,000 venues in London. The ceiling of the Palm

Court is about four stories high and there is a nightclub feel,

projected by 25-foot Chinese red chandeliers with red velvet

curtains, pillars in the room and a grand piano where the John

Watson Trio plays. Mr. Watson also produces shows, besides

being musical director at the Langham. Once a month, he is

doing a jazz dinner show at the Haven Bar & Grill, www.haven-

bistro.co.uk, featuring established artists on the London jazz scene

each month. This month, the guest singer with his trio is Shireen

Frances. In addition to leading his own trio at freelance gigs, he

has worked with such well-known British singers as Leee John,

Nina Ferro and Mica Paris. Mr. Watson shares that this

performance at the Langham was his second gig of the day,

showing that he is a sought-after freelancer. The John Watson

Trio plays both freelance and private gigs around England.

Having studied music at Guildhall School ofMusic and Drama,

Mr. Watson came to London at about 18.

This evening, John Watson is playing “Yardbird Suite,” by

Bird. At about 175=quarter note, it’s a spirited swinging version

with precise bop phrasing, his scalar lines making a break for

freedom, and an unaffected lyric voice. Mr. Watson plays jazz

from the blues up, swing, standards and bebop and intersperses

pop requests from the tony crowd.

“Basin Street Blues” follows, at about 96=quarter note, the

pianist anticipating the downbeat with breaks in a slow swing, first

3The Jazz Culture, VI:25

poignantly and then chording with

repeated blue note rolls, a three-

note lick. The bass plays a double-

triplet figure, accenting the

downbeat with nice articulation.

The pianist reprises the theme

with some soulful licks, the

drummer playing brushes

throughout.

Whitney Houston’s “Saving

All My Love for You,” (a track on

John Watson’s “Live at the

Langham”) is next in 12/8 medley

with pretty arpeggiated downward

runs. Another request, “Hey

Jude,” is followed by another Beatles song, “Money Can’t Buy Me

Love” (no it can’t, but it helps).

“I’ ll Remember April” follows, about 184=quarter note, up

tempo, light swing with a whole-tone interlude in the break, he

plays accenting the upbeat going up the keyboard in rapid fire and

descending to a swinging line, meanwhile, a young couple jumps

up and starts doing the Lindy, showing off turns, and like all good

swing dancers, they feel they are performing when they dance.

When there is applause, the dancers bow. The bass plays a series

of octaves, then the trio trades 4’s, drummer still playing brushes,

on reprise stating the theme, modulating up and ending in a

crescendo.

“In Your Own Sweet Way” is played at about 1 32=quarter

note, as a waltz, the pianist diving into lines in a straight-ahead

sound, showing inventive melodicism, with a lyric touch and

classically informed fluency on piano. The bass solo has a lilting

sound, as he subdivides the beat in units of 2’s and 3’s; the pianist

restates the theme delicately in a chordal reprise, outlining the

Reviews Renato D'Aiello 1‐6Jazz at Foyle's Bookstgore 12‐16Paul Pace at Ronnie Scott's

A Life in Jazz 7‐12Jazz in the UK Synopsis

Jazz Heritage 16‐17, 21‐27Elmo Hope by B. Hope

Comments by Musicians

How To Direct a Jazz Improvby H. Danko 18‐20

London Photojournal 27Let's Link 28

Proofread by C. [email protected]

[email protected]


melody as it ascends the

keyboard.

“All ofMe,” with a chordal

intro like “Killer Joe” with a

repeated bass line, swings with

blue notes and has a bright sound

a little reminiscent ofEarl Hines,

always maintaining the intensity

and confidence of a driving

personality who has a grip on life. The drummer, who has been

using brushes most of the time, switches to sticks and provides

tasty support. The bass is relaxed in a stride feel while the pianist

cascades down in a melodic run. The bassist stays close to the

melody in his solo, with a nice fat tone in the middle register and

plays with soul. Pianist plays triplet figure chords, exchanging 4’s

with the drummer, then reprises the theme passionately.

Playing “Besame Mucho” as a tango, Mr. Watson shows the

ability, like Tommy Flanagan, to accent the upbeat in the left hand.

His flowing lines are leaning forward, and he swings and hears the

melody as if he were a horn player, although fluidity is easier on

the piano. He used to be a trumpet player until an accident hurt his

embouchure. Many pianists hear the quarter note and eighth note

as vertical and play that way, but Mr. Watson is beyond the

choppy effect of the vertical sense of rhythm.

Mr. Watson then plays “Softly, As In a Morning Sunrise,” at

about 200=quarter note, clipping along with infallible rhythm

assurance, fluent and with a natural gift for accenting a surprising

note in the line like a drummer. The trio moves through songs with

simpatico, like a smooth music machine, having the luxury of a

steady gig that has lasted a number of years.

“Georgia,” as a ballad about 72=quarter note--the first 1 6 bars

the piano plays alone; the next 16 bars are accompanied by the

John Watson, piano, Miles Danso,

bass & Louie Palmer, drums


bass with dramatic intensity,

adding chords and then

doubling the time, with pretty

scalar lines. Then the trio goes

back to the original tempo, with

a romantic depiction of

homesickness, playing the song

with triplets and blue note

obbligatos. In the finale there

is excellent articulation, where

the musicians seem to know the

lyric and give the song the

dignity of repressed longing.

A quick samba, entitled

“Half a Minute,” brings tropical seas and shorelines to mind,

brightening the atmosphere with a Brazilian rhythmic palette, with

the piano solo using Latin rhythms in a happy, festive mood. The

bass solo uses arpeggios and then fourths and fifths, ascending in a

dancelike lilt in the upper register, opening up the melody, starting

with a three-note motif that accents the upbeats.

Seasoning the musical offering is a funky Reggae version of

Sting’s “An Englishman in New York,” the flavor reminiscent of

the Caribbean, played with sunny optimism, the song of

immigrants who’ve travelled thousands ofmiles across the seas to

work and send money back home; the bass plays a syncopated

solo with rhythmic intensity. The pianist testifies with a blues-

oriented solo and chords that ascend the keyboard with a down-

home earthiness.

Playing “Lover Man” in a misty high-voiced melody, skipping

octaves with pretty notes, Mr. Watson is a pianist who knows how

to place a melody in a jewel-like chordal setting so it can be heard

to best advantage.

A fan approaches John Watson

at The Palm Court

6

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The Jazz Culture, VI:25

The “Pink Panther” theme follows, melody played by Mr.

Watson in single notes, in a mysterious comic creeping quality,

then stating the theme chordally and exploring the jazziness of

descending notes to expand and uplift the theme in a syncopated

groove. Triplets accenting the last note add surprise. Bass solo

twangs insinuatingly with sprinkle of chords high in upper

register. The drummer plays brushes to underscore the mystery.

Mr. Watson tends to play ballads as if he were singing them,

dramatically, surrounding the important notes of the melody with

chords with rhythmic variety. With this dramatic setting, he

delivers a song with great sincerity. A very fine talent deserving

wider recognition, Mr. Watson will achieve his artistic acme and

prominence and help British jazz to flower while maintaining the

traditions of swing and bop in the 21 st century.

See John Watson at: Website; www.johnpianoman.co.uk, My space: www.myspace.com/johnawatson YouTube: www.youtube.com/johnpianoman, Twitter: http://twitter.com/johnpianoman, Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/JohnWatson/78494720527

READERS: Please note that in the November issue, The JazzCulture will start accepting ADS that start at $25. Therefore, if youhave an event, cd, venue, program, book that you want to advertise,please send an email to: info@ thejazzculture.com for a rate sheet. Thedeadline is October 30, 2012.Errata: Please note the following corrections from last week's issue: 1.Connie's last name is MacNamee, not McNamee. 2. Alex Milo was thebassist for Andrea Papini's Rome concert 3. Roger's last name isCrosdale, not Crosland.


Jazz Club Soho-Pizza Express at Dean Street

Ross Dines, Music DirectorInterview by L. Hamanaka

Pizza Express is a premier venue for jazz in England. The

Jazz Club Soho Pizza Express at Dean Street, London is the

original venue for jazz in the “necklace” of Pizza Express

restaurants. There are over 400 Pizza Express restaurants

throughout England. The chain is now owned by Cinven, of the

Gondola group, a huge food corporation that bought Pizza Express

in 2007. Last year, Pizza Express Jazz Club had its record number

of covers. The club is open all year round, seven nights a week.

Ross Dines is the Director ofMusic for the Jazz Room of

Pizza Express at Dean Street. Mr. Dines graduated as a music

business major in Kent. Mr. Dines played on the Steinway Grand

B that he had bought for the music room, while photos were taken

of the décor. “I took a day, invited really good pianists to


Steinway, and made it a

day of trying out

Steinway B’s. We had a

‘Steinway Festival’ of

piano duos: there was

Stan Tracey with Keith

Tippett, Gwilym

Simcock with John

Taylor, and Julian Joseph

with Joey Calderazzo.”

Mr. Dines smiles at the memory of a double hit--the successful PR

event and obtaining just the right Steinway. He is a cheerful and

optimistic music lover.

Mr. Dines recalls promoting jazz in an unusual way for school

kids. He plays a short video of a jazz band with a singer,

performing for a bunch of kids from elementary school who came

to Pizza Express to learn to make pizza. While they make the

pizza, they are captivated by the jazz combo. It is a charming,

effective video. Ross Dines smiles. “We had these groups of kids

coming to learn to make pizza, I just added the jazz. A friend of

mine edited it, a genius.”

Clearly talented at PR, Mr. Dines says seriously, “You are only

as strong as your weakest link. That’s why I bought the Steinway,

have the best sound system, the best musicians,” he says. “We

also do PR with our artists. We have to maintain a balance each

month of big names, moneymakers, some foreign groups. I could

never go through the thousands of applications I get. I rely on a

group of people I know and word-of-mouth. And there has to be

press. Last month, Charlie Watts did a gig here, and he was very

nice, he went with me to BBC, I took him to all the djs for a round

of interviews. There has to be a buzz-radio. Sometimes the artist

has a press machine.”

JC: What newspapers cover you?

Jazz Club Soho-The Pizza Express


Ross Dines: “The Evening Standard, The Guardian, Jazz UK,

JazzWise.”

Mr. Dines pointed out that at Pizza Express, they promote a

wealth of variety in booking both cutting-edge musicians, such as

“Fire,” a progressive avant-garde collective, or the “ReVoice!

Festival” produced by a local singer, Georgia Mancio, that is 9

days long and features international vocal jazz singers. There are

musicians who emulate world influences, and foreign groups. Mr.

Dines mentions Sheila Jordan and Barry Harris. Dr. Harris offers

an annual seminar at the club in improvisation organized by David

Freidman, an American guitarist in London.

Pizza Express operates in a supportive environment. There are

music festivals that started in the mid-‘90s, Ronnie Scott’s around

the corner on Frith Street, and a number of restaurants and hotels

in London that offer jazz, as well as the London Jazz Festival in

November. Recently, though, the Arts Council ofLondon’s

historical subsidization ofmusic underwent cuts because of the

world recession. Mr. Dines speaks of a VAT tax, where music

venues are charged 20% on ticket prices, which amounts to a ticket

squeeze. An alternative would be to let establishments offer music

for the public good, as they do in Germany and France, where

reduced service charges resulted in creating 100,000 more jobs,

thus creating a wider tax base that benefitted the economy as a

whole. Mr. Dines also mentions the Yamaha music company,

which has put instruments into poor neighborhoods to keep kids

off the streets.

A champion of jazz in Soho, Pizza Express offers as an

example its Pheasantry outlet on Kings Road, where successful

programming has guaranteed a number of new jobs, as well as

80% of seats sold out. In the London Lifestyle Awards of 2012,

the Pheasantry, which books duos to octets, was selected as the

“Best Live Venue.” Running a successful food and beverage

outlet with music is a delicate balancing act that Pizza Express has

1 0 The Jazz Culture, VI:25

done for about fifty

years. Mr. Dines

points out that the

Jazz Club Pizza

Express has

undergone expansion

to include building

numbers 9 and 10.

The venue now has

1 15 seats, and does

double shows of 90

minutes each. The price for music is about 1 5-25 pounds,

depending on who is playing. They offer music seven nights a

week, all year round.

“Peter Boizot [the original owner] started Pizza Express in

1965 at Wardour Street. He had gone to Italy and liked pizza and

brought it back to England. I don’t think it was planned. He liked

pizza and he liked jazz, so he put them together. Peter had the

music in a basement jazz room.” An entrepreneur who followed

his passions, Peter Boizot started Pizza Express because he liked

pizza, became a champion of jazz in London’s Soho because he

liked jazz, bought a hotel in his hometown because his parents

revered it, a soccer team, a movie theater where he used to watch

movies where he wants to build an arts complex, he wants to erect

a statue ofDuke Ellington in London, raised funds to Save Venice,

started a monthly magazine, “Boz,” his nickname, ran for

Parliament twice in Peterborough, his home district, created a

Soho Community Environment Fund to pedestrianize Soho--in

short, he gave back. Peter Boizot is also a vegetarian, and so you

will find little meat on Pizza Express menus. Thanks to Mr.

Boizot, pizza is now the number-one convenience food in Britain.

Mr. Dines: “In 1980, [Peter] he bought Pizza on the Park, a sort

of jazz/cabaret, (a lovely two-story music venue in a beautiful

building in a good neighborhood). Now we have the Pizza

Dining Area at Jazz Club Soho-Pizza


Express on Dean Street, the Pheasantry on Kings Road in Chelsea,

mainly singing with cabaret, and Maidstone in Kent, a lot of jazz

and fusion and variety. Last year we did 820 live shows in three

venues, and 64 of our [other] restaurants put on 564 performances

of background (under conversation) music.”

JC: What was Peter Boizot (founder) like?

Ross Dines: “He was in touch with what he loved, his passions.

He was the first to introduce pizza to the UK. [As for jazz] he

never expected it to be a world-famous jazz venue.” Mr. Dines

remembered that once Peter Boizot “was keen to put a piano” in

the courtyard of Pizza on the Park. “The Westminster Council

refused…He got lots of press, and a giant crane that held the piano

elevated so it wouldn’t touch the ground.” Peter Boizot hired a

piano player and had him play the piano in that position.

Peter Boizot wanted to “pedestrianize” the street in front of

Pizza Express. “He would lie down in the middle of the road to

get it fixed” causing traffic problems, but bringing attention to his

campaign.

He once ordered champagne for his guests, but the waitress did

not know how to open the bottle, so he took the waitress to the

bar, where he lined up ten bottles of champagne, opened them one

after the other, and said, “That’s how you do it.” An eccentric man

who was a risk taker, Peter Boizot anecdotes abounded in the

press and story repertoire ofLondoners who admired the man who

oversaw a pizza empire that sprouted up in England. New Pizza

Expresses have opened in Egypt, Dubai, Tokyo: all told, 40

overseas venues.

“Jazz was a big part of it, jazz is in the name of Pizza Express at

Dean Street,” said Ross Dines.

Check the music schedule of Pizza Express.com if you are

visiting London. pizzaexpresslive.com [for info & Tickets: 0845


602 7017. The Pheasantry, Kings Road; Jazz Club Soho at 10

Dean Street; the Maidstone, 32 Earl Street, Maidstone, Kent]

REVIEWThe Steve Taylor Big Band

Caught the Steve Taylor Big Band at the 606 Club in London.

Steve Taylor, drums; Jamie Salisbury, piano; Josie Frater, vocals,

Rob Stathem, bass; trumpet 1 : Giles Straw, trumpet 2, Johnny

Mott, trumpet 3, Matt Winch, trumpet 4, Paul Jordanous,

trombone 1 , Ben Greenslade, trombone 2, Chris Fry, baritone

trombone, Nathan Gush; alto saxphone 1 , Johnny Griffiths , alto

saxophone 2, Tommie Andrews, tenor saxophone 1 , Vasilis

Xenopolous, tenor 2, Tom Leaper, baritone saxophone, Mike

Rubie. Like many English jazz bands, the Steve Taylor Big Band

offers a mix of jazz, funk and pop tunes.

The 606 Club has the atmosphere of a secret password club,

because you enter through a steel screen door and it is in the

basement. The entrance is not obvious--it is a red brick arched

Owner Steve Rubie introduces the Steve Taylor Big Band

1 3The Jazz Culture, VI:25

doorway at 90

Lots Road,

opposite the big

power station on

Lot2 Road. The

walls are painted

with the faces of

Monk, Bird, Billie

Holiday.

The band

kicked offwith “Just

In Time” at about 185=quarter note. Paul Jordanous, trumpet 4,

gave a syncopated and swinging version of the melody, carrying

on the tradition ofBritish big bands, with a driving quality of a

powerhouse machine, led by drummer Steve Taylor. The song

modulated up, after a piano and bass intro, lighting up the grey

British afternoon darkened by rain.

An original funk tune the band played was “Conspiracy

Theory,” during which drummer Steve Taylor, the composer, said

he wanted to get “down and dirty.” A funk tune with violent,

short-clipped motifs, perhaps about the aggression and paranoia

and fear propagated in post 9/1 1 life, sometimes to excess.

Perhaps it was the space (the band took up much of the room), but

the soloists could not be heard above the band. Later, the

musicians asked for more monitor so the balance could be

improved.

An example of a pop tune was “Apron Strings,” a nice platform

for vocalist Josie Frater who is also Mrs. Taylor in real life; who

has good phrasing and a sweet soprano voice, in this song using

mostly lower register; well arranged by Mr. Taylor with the sort of

somewhere (but where?) melody typical ofmodern pop songs.

Steve Taylor’s big band could very well be a dance band, as

The Steve Taylor Big Band warms up at 606

Club


its music was

danceable.

Next was “Senator

Sam,” an original

blues, kind of boogie-

woogie, with horns

propelling the band,

the theme expressed

on syncopated quarter

notes with call and response used by the trumpet section. Ben

Greenslade, trombone 1 ,’s solo was triplet-infused with a big fat

tone. Second tenor Tom Leaper’s blues-infused solo wailed with

lots of energy while descending chordally. When the theme was

restated twice, the volume almost overpowered the room.

“Live in London,” based on “Ode to Billy Joe,” at 200=quarter

note in ¾ was a good arrangement for the well-known song. The

vocalist sang as an instrument part with the band. The band

switched to a swing beat after the first chorus, a conversation

ensued between tenors 1 and 2, Vasilis Xenopolous and Tom

Leaper, who traded 8’s, 4’s, 3’s, and then partook in unison

blowing; then there was a well-constructed drum solo by Mr.

Taylor, expressing the pain ofmodern isolation, and then the band

took the song out.

“Freedom Jazz Dance” was played at about 168=quarter note, a

medium-up swing with heavy punctuation by the bass. It was

played with a funk beat with improvisation. The first trumpet,

Giles Straw, did some maneuvering on the whole-tone scale, his

phrases answered by the saxes and trombones. The song

expressed the feeling of the brutality ofmodern life with very

angular lines, and a minimalist drum solo. The band turned to

swing during the out chorus.

On “Too Close for Comfort,” at about 160=quarter note, with

Steve Taylor at the 606


an arrangement by Larry Bach, it proved to be a good vehicle for

the singer, with good diction, with a voice like an English

bluebird, who can anticipate the downbeat, and did call-and-

response phrases with the horns, with a segue between the

sections with triplets elongating phrases. Ms. Frater has good

time.

The band played “Count D,” some hard driving swing

reminiscent ofKansas City swing, a fast shuffle, the trumpets

vying with a powerhouse saxophone section, then segueing to a

section where the trombones dominated, over a boogie-woogie

feel on bass. The alto solo by Tommy Andrews ended in 16th

note phrases that then went into a whole-note cadenza, punctuated

by phrases by saxes and trombones.

The Steve Taylor Big Band is full of good musicians. Mr.

Taylor is clearly a veteran, who writes good arrangements and has

a good singer, although sometimes her voice is difficult to hear

above the horns. The band deserves to work more and could

easily develop into a popular dance band. Sometimes the overall

sound is a bit harsh, but they can swing; they just need to work

together more and use more monitors for better balance. They are

full of the raw energy of good musicians who want to blow. The

Steve Taylor Big Band has a gig coming up in Enfield and

hopefully will have many more gigs that give their soloists the

opportunity to realize their concepts of jazz improvisation. The

crowd applauded the Steve Taylor Big Band’s performance with

enthusiasm.

Before the band hit, the owner, Steve Rubie, gave a short

background on himself and the club. Mr. Rubie is a flute and alto

player. He took over the 606 Club in 1976 and moved to the

current premises in 1988. He offers a mix of jazz and jazz-based

music, Latin, Soul, R&B, with an entrance fee of 10-12 pounds.

According to their license, non members must eat either a main

course or two starters each in order to drink alcohol. This is a


legal requirement that is non negotiable, unfortunately. The food

was excellent and reasonably priced, at the same quality as a good

New York restaurant. Their salmon crusted with pistachios and

lime, and fresh vegetables, their favorite item being a rib steak,

but 606 also has vegetarian dishes.

Expressing his philosophy, which helps him book 35-40 bands

a month, Mr. Rubie said, “I am less concerned about style than a

standard, we have all sorts, from young jazz groups to guys who

have been around.” Mr. Rubie took personal interest in setting up

the band and took time talking to individual patrons throughout

the afternoon.

See: 606Club.co.uk, 90 Lots Road, London, SW10, 0QD 0207 352

5953

ELMO HOPE & BERTHA HOPEby Bertha Hope,

Bio. Notes/Interview L.

Hamanaka

Bio otes: Elmo Hope was born

June 27, 1 923 in New York. He

was a U.S. Army veteran, who

studied at the Carnegie Hall

Studios as a teenager. He was

childhood friends with Bud

Powell, and a contemporary of

Monk. In New York Hope

worked with Snub Mosely, a

local bandleader. Then he

worked with the Joe Morris

Band, a territory band on the

JAZZ HERITAGE


road in the southern states. Johnny Griffin and Philly Joe Jones

were apart of that band and so was Matthew Gee in 1948. When

Elmo Hope resettled in New York, he recorded for Decca,

Atlantic, and Alfred Lion. Elmo Hope went on the road with

Chet Baker to LA and decided to move there from 1957-1961 .

Bio otes: Bertha Hope:

“My father, C. Clinton Rosemond, was a dramatic baritone

who sang German lieder and Italian bel canto art songs. He was

my major influence, because I started playing for him in the

traditional concert repertoire that ended with what they called at

that time ‘Negro Spirituals.’ My father was a contemporary of

Roland Hayes, so he was on the same circuit as Hayes and Paul

Robeson. He worked for the same agency and did the same

command performances for kings and queens all over the world.

So he was my biggest inspiration. My mother, Corinne Meaux,

was a dancer in the Cotton Club before I was born. They met in

New York in 1928, after my father had spent 1 5 years on the road

in Europe. He put together the cast for “Showboat.” She was in

“Blackbirds” in 1928 and they moved to LA about 1934.

I started playing when I was 3 and took private piano lessons

from about 8 till about 14. I had a lush (“deep, wonderful, great”)

experience in the public school system. From 7th to 12th grade, I

was in music lessons, orchestras, and jazz camps. I went to the

equivalent ofMusic and Art High School in LA. They had a

great music department and a great art department. [I’d been

playing professionally] Since I was about 17. I was just really

beginning to meet people and my ear was beginning to be a little

more sophisticated.

JC: Was there a big jazz community in LA at the time you met

Elmo?

Bertha Hope: In LA at the time, the Watkins Hotel was one of

the clubs on the jazz circuit, the Hillcrest Club, and the

Troubador, and there was a club on the beach, the

Lighthouse. The “IT” club, the Purple Onion,Cont. p.21

HOW TO-EXPERT ADVICE


ImprovisingComposer/ComposingImproviser-Part IIBy HAROLD DANKO“You don’t learn to improvise,

you improvise to learn.” HD

“Jazz music is characterized by

improvisation and further defined

by repertoire.” HD

The premise ofmy

“Improvising Composer/

Composing Improviser”

workshops and classes is a

product of almost five decades of

performing, teaching, and composing. I feel strongly that

improvisation is a natural tendency if it is not impeded by one’s

education, and I have always been an improviser, in music as well

as life. Years ago I made the statement “You don’t learn to

improvise; you improvise to learn.” in a magazine interview, and

this idea continues to motivate my personal and public educational

efforts.

My current teaching methods bring this to the forefront by

using my own works to facilitate the integration of improvising

and composing into performance practice. My book, The

Illustrated Keyboard Series, maps out basic patterns of scale usage,

and many ofmy own compositions are used as examples of how

this process unfolds. Reprints ofmy published articles from

Keyboard Magazine help to clarify and expand the concepts

Harold Danko

Photo: Julia Radschiner


presented. In my teaching I have compiled many checklists to

structure and facilitate individual learning, and “Strategies for

Improvisation” is a short list of important skills and content that I

developed specifically for this course in order to encourage

discussion as well as individual exploration.

In 201 1 during a semester-long pilot course at the Eastman

School ofMusic in Rochester, NY, with the original title “The

Composer as Improviser/Improviser as Composer” I came to see in

no uncertain terms that for me improvising leads to composing and

the resulting compositions then provide even further exploratory

opportunities for improvisation. Thus my course title was

simplified to “The Improviser as Composer” and can take on

several formats, based on the level of participants and time allotted.

In a college level course of one semester’s length (14 weekly

meetings) we explore historic aspects of improvisation in western

classical, ethnic/world, popular, and jazz styles and analyze works

from all genres as to content, performance practices, and possible

interrelationships. Depending on the background of students,

performance demonstrations and even ad-hoc ensembles can

become a part of the course structure. Examples from masters in

all styles, my own works, and most importantly the works of

students in the class, make the processes relevant to all. Research

papers and performance/analysis of original music are also

assigned.

Students will explore the relationship of improvisation and

composition in a variety ofmusical styles. Topics will include jazz

improvisation and theory as it relates to its history, and an

examination of the works and methodology employed by the

instructor, Harold Danko, in research, study, practice routines,

improvising, composing, rehearsals, live performance, and studio

recording. Student projects will include composition and

performances/presentations of at least two short pieces and a mid-

term paper to be revised during the remainder of the semester and


due at the final class. Attendance, preparation and active

classroom contribution are expected throughout the course.

I Discussion of the role of improvisation/composition

throughout history in various music genres as it relates to

members of the class and the instructor; variation principle;

recreation vs. formal disciplines; performance practices, with

examples from western classical, jazz, popular, and world musics;

group and solo improvisation; Concepts/Process/Results.

Traditions and Innovations.

II “Strategies for Improvising” – discussion. Strategies for

Improvising for the Composing Improviser/Improvising

Composer By Harold Danko. General principles. See Harold

Danko on ggogle.com

Jay Anderson, bass, JeffHirschfield, drums, Harold Danko,

piano on Unriched

JAZZ HERITAGE


Elmo Hope/Bertha Hope

. . .The Oasis, is where I played with Johnny Otis.

JC: When did you meet Elmo Hope?

Bertha Hope: I met him at a nightclub when he was playing with

Sonny Rollins in LA. I had been listening to Bud Powell and I

immediately heard some similarities and I wanted to meet him

because of that. I was working at the time in LA with Teddy

Edwards, tenor saxophonist and alto saxophonist Vy Redd. We got

married in LA in 1960. Monica [our daughter] was born in LA.

We took a road trip across country and instead of going back to

LA, Elmo decided that we should come to New York because he

had several record deal offers that they did not want to record in

LA. So he decided it would be a good idea to move back to NY.

That was the Riverside offer , the 1961 Homecoming on the

Riverside label with Frank Foster, Percy Heath, and Philly Jo

Jones. The second LP was Hope-Full; I was invited to play three

tracks with Elmo, and it has become a collector’s item.

JC: Who were his friends?

Bertha Hope: He and Johnny Griffin were very close. He and

Philly Joe Jones were buddies and the relationship to Bud Powell

is one that I wish I knew more about. He and Thelonious and Bud

were like brothers in the musical neighborhood. Thelonious,

Johnny Griffin, Bud and Elmo spent a lot of time moving around

to different people’s homes looking for a piano, looking to have

jam sessions, looking to play together. They spent a lot of time in

Elmo’s mother’s house. I guess that had to be in the ‘50s. I met

Bud in LA about 1952 or ‘53. I met Monk in New York around

1961 or ‘62. When we returned to New York, Elmo introduced

me to Monk.

Cont. from p. 17


JC: Whose idea was it to have you on the album?

Bertha Hope: That was Johnny Griffin’s idea. Johnny Griffin

proposed the idea to Orin Keepnews. I was petrified. I’m on

“Blues Left and Right,” “ Yesterdays,” and “My Heart Stood

Still.” It’s two pianos. I think they thought that it was unique that

we were a pair and there weren’t that many pairs playing jazz

piano. I don’t know what they thought--I just know I was

terrified. I would say that it has stood the test of time. I went to a

second-hand shop to see if they had the original vinyl LP and he

[the owner] wouldn’t put a price on it for me, he said, “This one is

priceless.” He was very glad to meet me, but he wouldn’t sell it to

me.

JC: How did you feel about Elmo Hope at the time?

Bertha Hope: I was absolutely--we were married by that time, we

had a daughter, I was completely in love with him.

JC: What kind of person was Elmo Hope?

Bertha Hope: He was gregarious, he loved to have people all

around all the time, he had followers, men who would follow him

around from place to place; he had a very generous spirit.

JC: Was jazz more popular in those days?

Bertha Hope: I think it was, and more people were willing to

share. That’s how Elmo acquired students, by offering to share his

knowledge. He never gave a group class. If I had allowed it, the

house would have been full of people all the time. I just couldn’t

handle that. We had a small apartment and a baby. He was very

interested in people and what they thought. We didn’t have a lot

of sessions, but there were a lot of people who wanted to hear his

story, and be around him.

JC: What was the difference between LA and New York?

Bertha Hope: Space, for one thing. If you were going to two

nightclubs a night in LA, you better start at 5. A car is an

essential in LA. Not in NY. You can walk from one club to


another in this city and find jazz. You can be in the Village and

walk from Point A to another, or hop on the train.

JC: Were there more jazz fans in NY?

Bertha Hope: Yes, probably. Technology has changed the world

so much. You can record simultaneously with people all over the

world through sending files. But in terms of a fan base, still more

fans in New York.

JC: You were born into a show biz family. Were you aware you

were meeting celebrities?

Bertha Hope: I met so many people when I was in his company.

All of it was a little daunting. I knew because I was already

listening to their records, most were musicians from the East

Coast. I never met Dave Brubeck, Shelly Manne, people on

Fantasy Red vinyl labels, who were LA musicians. I listened to the

LP’s, never met them in person or live.The people who came to

play the San Diego, LA, San Francisco, Vancouver circuit, Sonny

Rollins, Coltrane, Johnny Griffin, were the people who called

Elmo to play when they came to the Coast.

JC: Where did you live in New York?

Bertha Hope: We lived in the Bronx, on Lyman Place, with

Elmo’s mother and father, till we found an apartment on Webster

Avenue in the Bronx. Then we moved to 71 st Street in Manhattan.

JC: Did you learn from him?

Bertha Hope: I learned by listening. He wasn’t a teacher who

wrote out a lesson in the traditional sense. He would write out a set

of chord changes for you and you would learn those in all keys.

Then he would write a melody on those changes the next week. I

learned by listening to him play. He was very informal in that

way.

JC: In terms of composers and players of his era, where would

you place him?


Bertha Hope: If you listen to his compositions, they’re varied

and very sophisticated harmonically. They’re a little crowded,

and I think that’s why people don’t want to dissect them too often.

His music is not played often and I think it’s because there’s a

degree of difficulty to it that some people don’t want to deal with.

I’ve been told there are too many changes for his melody and so

you have to make choices and people don’t want to. I think he’s a

great composer whose music did not get played except by the

people whom Elmo chose for his recording dates. He wrote for

the date, for the people he was recording with, for example, the

things he did with Sonny Rollins. “Carvin’ the Rock” was a

composition on a date with Sonny Rollins. He and Sonny Rollins

co-wrote that song for that date. I think a lot of the compositions

he wrote were in preparation for recording sessions.He was a

composer who wrote long piano lines, melodically speaking. He

would just tell the horn players, “Find a place to breathe,” I heard

him tell Harold Land. “The note is not on my horn.” “Well, find

it,” Elmo said. He wrote what he heard. I think as Monk and Bud

and Elmo wrote, they did not write with the idea of legacy. They

probably would have written a lot more. Elmo left a lot of

fragments of compositions.

JC: Did it happen suddenly? [on May 1967 Elmo Hope died]

Bertha Hope: He went to the hospital [with pneumonia] and was

recovering, we thought, after about three weeks. The heart attack

happened in the middle of the night. They called me very early in

the morning.

We had a funeral, but because the family was very involved, I

acquiesced to his mother, and father. By the time he died, I was

31 or 32. The band, Elmollenium, is my testament and memorial

to him, which I would love to resurrect.

JC: Musically, you were able to interpret and record some of

Elmo Hope’s compositions. What does that say about you?

[given that they were so complex]

Bertha Hope: I have no idea. I had a band called “Elmollenium”


that never got a chance to record but played all ofElmo’s

compositions, a sextet. Most of the gigs were at our home base,

La Belle Epoque, a lovely Creole restaurant that went under in the

year ofKatrina. Leroy Williams, Charles Davis, Virgil Jones, me,

Walter Booker, Ronnie Ben-Hur. We were all really interested in

playing Elmo’s music. We didn’t play any other music except

Elmo’s. The band was dedicated to keeping Elmo’s music alive.

JC: Do you think there’s an international audience for his

compositions and recordings?

Bertha Hope: I think there is an underground cult kind of

following for him in places all over the world, especially in

Europe.

JC: Where in Europe?

Bertha Hope: Denmark, France, Germany, England.

JC: Did he play abroad?

Bertha Hope: He didn’t. Dexter Gordon wanted Elmo to come to

Copenhagen and relocate there also. He never really shared with

me why he didn’t leave. Personally, it would have changed his life

forever, and he would have enjoyed a lot of success there, because

at that time, he would have been the pianist of choice for any of

the groups Dexter was putting together, and for other groups as

well. It would have broadened the idea that his music was loved

and appreciated in other parts of the world.

JC: As a musical couple, did you help each other?

Bertha Hope: I know he helped me, he was so much more

advanced in the music than I was. I don’t know how much I

helped him. He did appreciate my ability to hear so keenly what

he was doing. I was working in other directions. Sometimes I’d

play a chord and he’d look over my shoulder and say, “What is

that?” I did try to help him understand that he was writing lasting

music and he should not take ownership so lightly, and those were

things he didn’t understand—how valuable his contribution was.


He made some bad choices along those lines. He didn’t keep his

publishing rights. He was victimized at the time, as were so many

others. But many Institutes of Jazz do incorporate some of his

compositions in their library, so young students know who he is

and play his compositions now. His contribution is being

recognized in that way and the music is available to them. Elmo

would take great pride in knowing that his music is still being

honored by younger musicians.

Pub. ote on Bertha Hope: Hear Ms. Hope on: Nothing But Love(Reservoir), In Search Of, (Reservoir) and Elmo’s Fire, (MinorMusic)-Between Two Kings. Bertha Hope is an esteemed memberof the NY jazz community. She studied theory and harmony at

Los Angeles City College, and privately studied piano with pianist

Richie Powell, a member of the Max Roach-Clifford Brown

Quintet and brother ofBud Powell. She was Artist in Residence at

NJ Council for the Arts, where she played with Dizzy Gillespie,

Nat Adderly, Frank Foster and Philly Joe Jones. She received a

Barry Award from Dr. Barry Harris. She also received a Lifetime

Achievement Award from the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival in

the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C, She was in the first

women's quartet to play for George Wein's Kool Jazz festival in

Carnegie Hall, and she was a member of the first women's

ensemble to open for Jimmy Heath for the Jazzmobile Festivals in

New York. Bertha Hope will appear at Goddard Riverside, 593Columbus Avenue at 88th Street on October 11, at 7 pm. Free,one set.Listen to Elmo Hope: In 1949, he recorded for Decca, and in

1951 Mr. Hope recorded for Atlantic with Winone Harris.In June

1953, he recorded with Jackie McLean (Lights Out); Introducingthe Elmo Hope Trio, (Blue Note 1953); Meditations (Prestige1953); Hope Meets Foster (Prestige, 1 955); Informal Jazz(Prestige 1956); Trio and Quintet (Blue Note 1957); Meditations(OJC 1958); Homecoming (OJC, 1958); Plays His OriginalCompositions (Fresh Sound, 1961 ); The Final Sessions (Evidence,1 966) ; Memorial Album (Clifford Brown, 1953); Two Tenors


Jazz in London Photojournal

Top Left, John Watson at the Palm Court, The Langham, Right, Ronnie

Scott's, below, two swing dancers at The Langham, Below, The Pizza Express

(Prestige, Coltrane 1956); The Fox (Harold Land, 1959); MovingOut (Sonny Rollins, Prestige, 1 959); Jazz from Rikers Island(1 963); Two albums for Herb Albertson Festival

Records(May/August 1966).

Let's Link/Musician Friends of Jazz Culture

KuniMikami.com@CDBaby‐"Hamp's Boogie"

Dr. Frank FosterPhoto: Brian McMillen

QUOTATION:"Practice a Million Hours."

-Junior Cook, Saxophonist

"You can't take offwithout a

launching pad."

-Lonnie Hillyer, Trumpeter


Clarence Banks, Count Basie

Trombonist, Clinics, Private

Lessons, Seminars, call: 917-

428-6746

Singer

Connie

Macamee

Richard Williams' debut at

Triad with Frank on piano

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See Barry Harris.com

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