Makanda Ken McIntyre- Peace thru Jazz

I've been listening to jazz and buying records for more than 45 years, selling jazz records for around 20. I consider myself quite well informed about the music.

So when my good customer Derek Styles wrote to tell me he'd written a bio- discography of Makanda Ken McIntyre I tried to scrape together from what's left of my failing memory what I know about the saxophonist & multi-instrumentalist. Not much surfaced: a Prestige album with Dolphy, some later Steeplechases which I hadn't heard, a Blue Note double cd- ditto. Clearly I needed to read the book, to be reminded of his recordings with Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor, the Jazz Composers Orchestra, the Liberation Music Orchestra, of his participation in the Studio RivBea Wildflowers sessions.

Peace Thru Jazz is a chronological survey of McIntyre's work and recordings, with reviews, comments by musicians he worked with and short commentaries by Derek. He includes not only published recordings but details of the hundreds of tapes Makanda made at gigs and workshops, a few of which are available via the website maintained by his widow Joy Rosenthal.

What emerges is a rounded portrait of an undoubtedly significant and unjustly neglected musician who made a considerable contribution to jazz from the 60s on as player & composer, and as a pioneering jazz educator.

He was for sure a complicated and contradictory character; he preferred to call his music 'African American' rather than jazz but signed his letters 'peace thru jazz', he could be tough on his students- trombonist Steve Swell recalls him whispering 'You sound sick' in his ear- Swell agreed with his judgment!- yet encouraged a young inexperienced trumpet player to sit in with him at a gig and heaped praise on him afterwards.

He immersed himself in the music education world, teaching in schools and universities, then complained when he was not called on for gigs; he was bitter about the neglect he was shown by record companies & club owners and recalled the Down Beat review of Looking Ahead- 'Don't listen to this record if you have the slightest hint of a headache' - in his sleeve note to the Prestige two-fer reissue (under Dolphy's name). The book is full of praise for Makanda from fellow musicians- Roscoe Mitchell, Charlie Haden, Sonny Rollins, but a sentence from altoist Sonny Simmons stands out: 'Ken McIntyre?- we never liked each other.'

The 700 + tapes of Makanda which have now been placed in the Library of Congress in no way compensate for the paucity of issued recordings- an example: 8 years passed between Cecil's Unit Structures and Makanda's first recording for Steeplechase. His final recording, called with a nice irony 'A New Beginning' was issued on his own label CAAMO in 1999 but got no distribution; he died in 2001 not knowing it was to be reissued by Roscoe Mitchell on his Passing Thru label.

The neglect Makanda received during his career is reminiscent of the treatment of Herbie Nichols, so it's perhaps appropriate that there's a Makanda Project led by his ex-pupil John Kordalewski with the aim of recording some of Makanda's 400 unrecorded compositions.

Derek Styles sells antique silver for a living; this book is a sterling piece of research illuminating the life and work of an important musician.

Makanda Ken McIntyre; Peace thru Jazz by Derek Styles
Cadence Jazz Books 340pp paperback; ISBN 9781881993452
Price £20- signed copies available here

Autumn in New York

I'm organising a walking tour of the NYC jazz scene to take place in the first week of October.

The tour is aimed at people who have not visited NYC before or who have not explored its jazz scene. By the end of the tour participants should have good knowledge of the geography and attractions of the city & a thorough knowledge of the jazz scene past & (most importantly) present. And will have heard some great music.

The 5-day tour will include:

• Entry to Louis Armstrong’s house- now a museum- in Astoria, Queens
• A visit to Charlie Parker’s house
  
• Entry to the Jazz Museum in Harlem, with a ‘Harlem Speaks’ session if available
• A 'ghost walk' covering the sites of (vanished) jazz clubs past - (Café Society, Minton’s, Monroe’s, Apollo Theatre- still there but no longer presenting much jazz- Five Spot, 52^nd Street clubs, Slug’s) and other sites of jazz interest
• and present- (not only famous clubs like the Vanguard, Blue Note, Birdland, Jazz Standard) but also Small’s, 55 Bar, Jazz Gallery, Cornelia St Café, Tea Lounge, Bar Next Door, I-Beam, The Stone.)
• (At least) one recommended gig per night.
• Visits to the best places to buy jazz records and cds in Manhattan, Brooklyn & Princeton
• A meeting with a NYC-based musician for a discussion of the reality of the New York scene in the c21
• A back-stage visit to a prominent jazz club.
• A visit to the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, Newark, NJ
• A visit to WBGO, Newark’s 24 hour jazz radio station.

I've had an encouraging response to the idea and plan to repeat the trip in future years; I've also received information on the avant garde scene and encouragement from Kevin Reilly who works at the Stone and runs the Relative Pitch record label.

Even more information (including the correct address of Monroe's Uptown House, one of the birthplaces of bebop) came from Bill Birch, author of Keeper of the Flame, a history of the modern jazz scene in Manchester. Ken Vail in his book Miles' Diary places it incorrectly, but Bill tracked it down!

My thanks to them both; anyone with queries or suggestions can contact me at alan@jazzhouserecords.co.uk

Bill's book is reviewed here: http://www.pennilesspress.co.uk/northernreview.htm and Relative Pitch here: http://www.relativepitchrecords.com/

Favourite Things 3: Sid Catlett

A teenager in the 60s whose passion for jazz had expanded from UK trad bands to pretty much the whole jazz spectrum (though I never liked Brubeck or Kenton, and I hadn't yet been exposed to the avant-garde) my exploration of the music was rather hampered by my lack of disposable income.

I was happy to listen to the revivalists live, especially when I won a year's free entrance to the club at the Bell Inn on Oxford Road in Reading for knowing Bix's first names. Ken Colyer nights at the Bell I were pretty wonderful, especially the last number when Ken started waving around his metal derby hat mute.

And I listened to the radio of course, twiddling the dial to pick up Willis Conover on the Voice of America. But record buying was a problem. If I'd possessed a middle class acceptance of deferred gratification I guess I could have devised a wish list of essential recordings and saved my money until I could afford them; what in fact happened was that I scurried off to the local record shop as soon as I had the necessary to buy something- often a bargain issue or compilation.

One such, on RCA's Camden label, was Great Jazz Reeds (still available from your on-line record dealer!) It's a knock-out collection, if rather eclectic. Bechet, Pee Wee, Dodds, Mezz- great Ladnier so we'll forgive the hyperbole- Chu, Bud Freeman, Bird...and as the last track, Cadillac Slim by the Chocolate Dandies, with Ben Webster and Benny Carter. Of the ten tracks, that's the one that really excited me at the time, and still does.

Customers often ask me if I'm a collector myself; I always deny it, despite having a sizeable personal music accumulation- I'm simply too disorganised to deserve the accolade. If I had been a collector, I would no doubt have searched for the other sides from this session. As it is, I waited for them to fall serendipitously into my metaphorical lap, in the form of a Swing (France) reissue of tracks by Hawkins both with Michel Warlop and with his All Star Swing Band (Carter & Django), and Carter with an international band (Bertie King, Alix Combelle, Django). Plus, to fill up the 2nd side, the four Chocolate Dandies tracks recorded in NYC for the Swing label.

It would be nice to be able to report that all 4 tracks were masterpieces; nice but untrue. Sweet Georgia Brown has a bright chorus by Buck Clayton and a full-toned one from Carter. Sonny White plays well - Teddy Wilson out of Earl Hines- and Ben Webster growls 2 choruses before a jammed finish. Out of my Way is by Sid Catlett, sung by the composer. He puts down his sticks to take his vocal chorus, and is missed. He has a musical tenor voice, but there's only room for a split chorus between Ben, Al Grey and the final ensemble.

What'll It Be is a riff-based Carter original, with Benny taking the first bridge. Buck and Sonny White split a chorus with riffs behind, before Carter sails in serenely on alto to claim his composer's privilege of a full chorus.

What makes Cadillac Slim special?- it is after all just another Rhythm changes riff tune- by Ben Webster.

Big Sid must take much of the credit; not only does he kick off the side with a brilliant 8 bar intro, but throughout the 3 minutes his fills are beautifully timed to push the soloists and create excitement. Another reason is the way the track's divided between the soloists: after the drum intro there's 24 bars of ensemble, with Ben taking the bridge. He plays a full chorus, the tempo's fast but he resists the temptation to growl. Then he and Carter trade 4s, followed by a Carter chorus. Sonny White gets 24 bars with Al Grey taking the bridge, and Sid kicks Buck into his 24 bar solo- he begins by almost playing the first half of the Salt Peanuts riff. 8 bars of ensemble and out. I judge it to be a completely unpretentious but perfect track. Everybody's at the top of their game, and Catlett is astonishingly good. Thank you RCA Camden.

One question remains; why did a group as musically sophisticated as this one call themselves 'The Chocolate Dandies'? You can read the origin of the name here; what I can't understand is why Carter was still using it in the '40s. Brian Rust (RIP) in his sleeve notes to the Parlophone lp by various '28-'33 groups under this name suggests daringly that it has a 'slightly patronising, certainly period flavour about it' and suggests that those were 'less touchy times'.

Tony Levin

The great bop-to-free drummer Tony Levin died on February 3rd.

A few memories:

A gig he played with a remarkable pick-up band at our club in the early 80s- Ian Carr on trumpet, my friend and jazz educator Conrad Cork on alto, music teacher Ron Reah on piano, free-jazz pioneer and now composer Gavin Bryars on bass and Tony. It shouldn't have worked, and in truth there are some rough patches, but I'm glad it was recorded and still play the cd with pleasure. *

A performance in Birmingham at Tony's club with Evan Parker and a tuba player (Melvin Poore) where Tony and Evan got into what Evan described as 'that Coltrane and Elvin at the Vanguard' thing. We ate afterwards at a Balti place which had a hypnotist and magician who worked the tables, dropping customers to the floor and making money disappear under our nose. Maybe I dreamt the whole thing.

When Evan was teaching at de Montfort University he played a series of duo gigs in the tiny cafe underneath my bookshop - you remember bookshops? There was a disco in the cellar next door and the noise pollution started around 10pm. No problem the night Tony played.

Tony did a short tour last year to celebrate his 70th birthday and one date was in Leicester; first he played with Aki Takase and John Edwards, then with Mujician- Keith Tippett, Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers. I can't fault John Fordham's Guardian review.

And what must have been one of his last gigs- with Peter King's quartet- Steve Melling, Geoff Gascoyne at the Y in Leicester on January 19 this year. It was clear Peter was pacing himself- each set had a piano feature and he sat at the back of the stage when not playing- but Steve Melling was on steaming form and the music was driven and forceful; no sign that Tony was struggling to keep up though he looked a bit frail at the end of the gig.

So the news of his death was a shock; we'll miss him.

* Conrad Cork adds:

This gig almost didn’t happen. A few weeks before it was due, the regular drummer’s wife left him, and he took himself off to be consoled by friends in Bangkok. Fortunately Tony Levin stepped in. Then the day before the gig, it turned out that the promised grand piano was not forthcoming, so there was a scramble to find anything, and anything turned out to be a low quality Wurlitzer electric job.

Bryars barely made it to the gig (minutes to spare) because he came in from Paris where he was in the course of overseeing the run of his opera Medea, produced by Robert Wilson. Bryars and Rhea, incidentally, comprised the entire fulltime staff of the (classical) music department at the then Leicester Polytechnic.

There was no time for rehearsal or prior discussion, and Ian called the tunes and keys as the evening went on.

Back to Llareggub

I wrote in 2008 of my admiration for Stan Tracey and Bobby Wellins, and expressed the hope that I might one day hear them play live the music from Stan's Under Milk Wood suite.

That day came last Wednesday at the Y in Leicester, and I'm proud of my small part in making the gig happen.

I was emailed by one of the organisers of a short Leicester literary festival asking if I knew a band who could play the UMW music to accompany a reading of Thomas's radio play. I jokingly replied that he could always ask Stan & Bobby and quoted a fee (too low as it happened!) which I was sure would be beyond their budget. To my surprise and delight he contacted Sylvia Rae Tracey (who handles Stan's bookings) and booked the quartet (Andrew Cleyndert & Clark Tracey) paying 25% more than the sum I'd conjectured.

It was worth every penny. Having recently heard Stan, Bobby and Guy Barker at the Scarborough festival playing Stan's usual live repertoire of standards, show tunes and blues I knew how committed and driving the band could be at its best, but I suspected that a performance of the UMW music would be special; in the event the two readers had little to do and most of the evening was devoted to music, so inevitably most of the pieces were extended past their recorded length. The performances that night won't displace my recall of the 1965 recording; the purity of Wellins' tone now has a burred edge and Andrew Cleyndert's bass-playing- fine though it is- lacks the late Jeff Clyne's exquisite note choices; listen to his first phrase after the piano introduction to Starless and Bible Black, just before Wellins jumps in to play the melody- at the Y Andrew made an ostinato of his first figure and Bobby paused a couple of beats before entering.

But it was a delight to hear those compositions played so well. As an aside I read a report that audiences during Stan's recent American tour were surprised to hear him playing show tunes, assuming he'd play his own compositions. The writer wondered: did he play them to ingratiate himself with a US audience? - not realising that he's always much more likely to play Body & Soul than Pluck's Gutter. (Francis Davis, in the book from which I stole the title of this blog tells of Muhal Richard Abrams' reluctance to play any of his compositions more than once- he'd rather move on to something new.) In Stan's case something old made new, and I'm not complaining.

I recently heard that Stan's started composing again; I know the details of the new project but I'll keep them under my hat- I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.

Back to the Erdre

I've written about the Nantes Jazz Festival before (in 2007); I'm returning to the subject because it still does not have the recognition it deserves.

2010 was the 24th year of a festival which has expanded to include 8 main 'scenes' in the city along the banks of the river Erdre, plus other 'scenes off' including concerts in hospitals and a prison. Add to that gigs in neighbouring villages, a record fair and a round table on promoting jazz. And a regatta of sailing boats, old and new. There are food stalls from the francophone culinary world- the big hit this year was the fouée, a Breton variation on pita with sweet or savoury filling, some excellent bieres artisanales and Muscadet, and all the concerts (80+) were free of charge.

The organisers' aim is to present 'tous le jazz' - including music this old jazz snob finds hard to recognise as jazz at all- but that's ok, there's always something of interest going on, and at least the 'did I really pay good money to listen to this?' feeling is absent!

The Scene Nautique is the largest, holding 10000 people and always filled to overflowing; it's a large platform in the middle of the river- the audience sits on the bank facing the band, with the overflow on the other side. It's for big stars - disappointing like Charles Lloyd's Coltrane-lite 2008 performance and last year's phoned-in Ron Carter gig, exciting like the Henri Texier Strada Sextet with Roswell Rudd, and engaging like the Louis Sclavis Trio. This year's stars included the Roy Hargrove Quintet- I wasn't sure I'd come to the festival this year until I saw they were appearing, but I loved their cd 'Ear Food' and I was knocked out 2 years ago to hear the Hargrove Big Band corseted into the tiny Jazz Gallery in NYC. In the event they were great to hear, though all the time you longed to be there with them in the confines of a club. Saturday night was Django night, with Daniel Givone, Romane, Angelo Debarre & Christophe Lartilleux, but by the time we got to the 'scene' it was overflowing, so we had an early night.

We did arrive in time on Sunday to hear Le Gros Cube- a band comprising some of the big names of the regional scene playing the music of Queen (honestly!). No less than 3 singers attempted to invoke the spirit of Mr Mercury, and they and the band were obviously amusing themselves enormously. Much of the huge crowd seemed to be having fun also, but after 2 numbers ( no solos) we made our excuses and left. Not so much 'tous les jazz' as 'pas de tout le jazz'.

The heart of the festival is the Scene Sully, a sloping area holding up to 3000 people, around 1000 seated on chairs whose devilishly uncomfortable seats are still imprinted on my cul. It's worth it though for the quality of the music, from the quiet classicism of trombonist Yves Robert to the Mingus-like Andy Emler MegaOctet. China Moses channeled the spirit of Dinah Washington, Sophie Alour (ex-Rhoda Scott tenorist) played a brave set with just bass and drums which was perhaps a little under-powered, though my colleague had to be restrained from storming the stage when she announced one number as 'When Ah Meuve Ma Beudy.' Well, he's a fan, and he likes her saxophone playing too.

The best music at Sully was the quartet of Helene Labarriere, a virtuoso bassist whose quartet played an uncompromising set of enormous power. The worst was a silly set by the Trio D'En Bas, whose leader played approximate tenor and sang Zappa songs badly, although he apparently didn't realise it.

There's also an Electro-Jazz scene- but my ears can no longer stand p a turned up to eleven so I missed Bristol's Get the Blessing.

To conclude, it was a mixture as always- I'll certainly be back next year when I'm sure there will be something special for the quarter century. See you there.

I'd hoped to meet up with the formidable Gérard Terrones at the festival- he runs the wonderful Futura-Marge record labels- but we missed each other. We caught up in Paris and I stocked up on his recent cds, then went to hear the Franck Avitabile Trio at Sunset- as a jazz club promoter it was encouraging to see a club completely full for the gig, though as an audience-member I would have preferred not to sit with my arms pinned to my side while breathing into Franck's collar. He's been compared to Michel Petrucciani and Martial Solal; although he lacks Petrucciani's steely touch and Solal's free-flowing melodic imagination. But he has a lyrical power of his own, and Henri Texier and Aldo Romano were predictably superb.

An Englishman in New York- a cautionary tale

I prefer not to stay in hotels when visiting foreign cities.

Hotels, at least the ones I can afford, are mostly under-lit, overheated, cramped and impersonal. No doubt I could pay more and stay in better-lit, well ventilated and spacious places, but I prefer to spend my cash in other ways- jazz clubs, concerts, books, restaurant meals – and used to be happy to treat my hotel room as a box with a bed, nothing more. But I’ve realised that, with the help of the internet, it’s not hard to find alternatives.

So in recent years I’ve stayed in apartments in Budapest, Krakow, Paris and Barcelona- all humble places but offering more space, facilities and privacy than any hotel room, and at comparable cost.

A few years ago a friend introduced me to Craig’s List, an online classified ads service covering the major US cities and including vacation rentals. So for my last trip to New York I found a room in an apartment house on E 3^rd St owned by a religious organisation that did good works around the city; a modest room modestly priced, and including a ‘make-your-own’ breakfast in a communal kitchen-cum-sitting room. The rooms were decorated ecumenically with pictures of Jesus, Buddha and Hindu deities, but the owners did not proselytise and the religious music they played in the breakfast room in the mornings was quite soothing.

And it was in an interesting neighbourhood- the East Village- made more interesting by the presence of the New York Chapter of the Hell’s Angels next door. ‘Please do not sit on our neighbors’ bench’ read the sign in out hallway. As if we’d dare.

The previous year I’d found- also through Craig’s List- a 2-bedroom apartment on Suffolk St (just south of E Houston on the Lower East Side) for myself, my daughter and her man. It was owned by an artist and was decorated with his paintings and his thoughts on art, life & commerce- on the walls and ceiling. We never got to meet Zito- he moved into his friend’s place whenever he had tenants & was by his own admission ‘not a morning person’- but we communicated adequately by message and text. The apartment was certainly a more individual experience than any anonymous midtown hotel. Just down the street once stood the anarchist café where Emma Goldman first met Alex Berkmann. And just round the corner is Yonah Schimmel’s Knishes.

During my first trips to NYC I never ventured out of Manhattan- there was just too much to experience on that small island to think of visiting the other boroughs. More recently I’ve been exploring Brooklyn, so decided to find some accommodation in Williamsburg (a hip Brooklyn neighbourhood) for my next trip- planned for the first week in July.

A room in the apartment of a young couple in the fashion business, 2 subway stops from Manhattan, seemed ideal. My own entrance, use of the kitchen and bathroom, and a great coffee shop down the road. No deposit required.

A week before my flight they emailed me to say they had been offered work in LA and sorry, the room was no longer available. Time to consult Craig’s List again, quickly.

This is where this post changes direction – no longer in praise of NYC apartment living, more caveat emptor.

The standout offer was for a studio apartment at 105 E 9^th St- advertised with photographs- and yes, it was available for my dates. Please sign this 3 page agreement. Please send a 50% deposit by Western Union only, and to the owner’s daughter in Virginia. Alarm bells should have rung, but I was anxious to secure the

apartment, and sent the money. I was emailed that the money had been received, and the booking was confirmed. I wrote to ask how I would recognise the apartment when I arrived at the building; no reply. I looked on Street View and saw there indeed was an apartment building at 105, with a keypad at the entrance, so wrote to ask what numbers I should enter; no reply. Still my flight was booked, and surely everything would be clear when I arrived.

Clear it certainly was; none of the tenants in the building know anything of my apartment- owner, and there were no studio apartments in the building. It had been a con, elaborate, professional. I booked a couple of nights in a nearby hotel to give myself some time to think, but by the end of the first night I’d decided to come home as quickly as possible- the shine had been rubbed off the holiday with a vengeance.

The airline took pity on me and only surcharged me $105.

How was I conned so easily? Leaving aside the saying containing the words ‘no’, ‘fool’ and ‘old’ and the fact that I needed to book somewhere in a hurry, I’ve concluded that the honesty of the jazz community is to blame. (Poor joke, I know.)

Each year hundreds of customers send me cash in advance, trusting that I’ll be honest and send them the goods they’ve ordered. Each year I send out hundreds of packets with invoices, trusting my customers will pay up. No-one has ever been let down. An expectation of honest dealing develops; I’m not ashamed of my naivety, but furious at this breach of trust.

Some advice and practical matters: never send money by Western Union to someone you don’t know- they have none of the anti-fraud procedures of Paypal. And please don’t book an apartment (in NYC or elsewhere) from sherri.gordon@gmail.com (who may well not exist) aka Unique-Suite Vacation Rental or from Wendy Accurso, 12 Aunt Lilly Lane, Annandale VA 22003 (who presumably does exist, because you have to take valid ID to the Western Union office to collect cash.)

I intend to pursue these crooks as far as I can, with Craig’s List, Google, Western Union and the Annandale VA police department. I’ll let you know how I get on.

Since making the original post I've learned that this is a large, well-organised scam covering several US cities and involving several individuals- or more likely one individual using several names and email addresses. I'm clearly not the only person who's been conned- not that I feel any better for that.

I've alerted Craigs List- no reply to date.