One night in Seattle in 1977, two guys named Bill Evans went out for dinner. One was the jazz pianist and the other the modern dancer. Bill Evans the dancer was prominent in the Northwest and making a name for his dance company nationwide. He first danced professionally in 1966 and formed the Bill Evans Solo Dance Repertory in 1970. Four years later he formed the Bill Evans Dance Company. Over the course of his career, he choreographed more than 250 works, a number of which with jazz musicians. Two of these works were with pianist Bill Evans.
Their little-known collaboration began after the pianist played a gig at Parnell's, a famously cozy Seattle jazz club founded by Roy Parnell. After the performance, the dancer went backstage and invited the pianist out for a meal. At the restaurant, the dancer told the pianist that people had often come to his "Bill Evans In Concert" shows in various cities expecting to hear the trio, not to see modern dance. [Photo above of Roy Parnell]
They laughed and then learned they both defined good technique as getting the biggest reward from the smallest expenditure of muscular energy. That evening, they decided to collaborate and did so twice—in 1978 and 1979. The first event, Double Bill, took place on March 17 and 18, 1978, at Meany Hall at the University of Washington in Seattle. According to notes from the dancer that appeared with the recent YouTube post of the performance, the work ran about 45 minutes and included several other Bill Evans compositions in addition to Waltz for Debby and Peace Piece. [Photo above of dancer Bill Evans]
The dancer continued:
I know that we danced to "Waltz for Debby." Bill brought bassist Michael Moore and drummer Philly Jo Jones. We performed together again in 1979, also at Meany Hall. This time, we repeated "Double Bill" and added another 45-minute piece called "Mixin' It Up." The new piece was choreographed to Bill's recordings of jazz classics by other composers, including "Nardis," "Sweet and Lovely," "How Deep Is The Ocean," "Hi-Lilli Hi-Lo "and other pieces, as well as an improvisation by his sidemen then—bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe LaBarbera. Reviews for both shows were overwhelmingly positive. We sold out the theatre for all performances. Working with Bill was one of the highlights of my performing career.
Here's the video of the 1978 performance, which seems to have been taped by an audience member but still affords us a look at Bill Evans the pianist accompanying Bill Evans the dancer and his dance company, and how the pianist altered his playing to fit the dancers' needs...
A special thanks to Dave Thompson and Rob Rijneke in the Netherlands.
Parisians are crazy about three things: Food, love and syncopation. I've always felt that the city's fascination with the latter has much to do with a romanticized impression of the years before World War II. But Paris's history with syncopation goes back even further. European classical modernists came under its influence at the start of the 20th century. Ragtime was likely at the Paris Exposition of 1900, where march king John Philip Sousa made a tour stop. [Photo above of a Parisian flapper in the 1920s]
Antonín Dvořák was a ragtime and cakewalk nut, as was Claude Debussy. Erik Satie, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud and other members of The Group of Six in Paris loved ragtime. Rags, New Orleans jazz, stride and hot jazz has always been at home in Paris just as it was in the 1920s. And let's not forget the Hot Club de France, a French organization founded in 1931 in Paris by jazz fans dedicated to traditional jazz, swing and blues. [Photo above of the the Hot Club of France Quintet]
Which is why Paris Washboard: Superswing is so marvelous. The quintet is wonderfully passionate about the music. Alain Marquet, clarinetist and owner of Paris's Jazz Museum store (see my recent post here), was kind enough to send the group's latest CD via Gilles D'Elia, who graciously mailed it along. The album swings like crazy and is wonderfully authentic and rich with syncopation.
The personnel features Michel Bonnet (tp), Alain Marquet (cl), Daniel Barda (tb), Louis Mazetier (p) and Charles Prévost (washboard), with arrangements by Daniel Barda and Louis Mazetier. The songs are Yacht Club Swing, Harlem Joys, The Mooche, In a Jam, Moonglow, Sweetie Dear, Streamline Gal, Crazy Rhythm, Sidewalk Blues, Undecided, If Dreams Come True, I'm Coming Virginia and Frolic Sam.
The entire album is alive and in love with early jazz. The group is all heart and heat. Magnifique! Merci beaucoup, Alain and Gilles!
JazzWax tracks: To inquire where to buy Paris Washboard: Superswing, go here here and click "send email."
In The Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed actor-comedian David Alan Grier for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). David appeared in the 1984 film version of A Solder's Story and the 2020 Broadway revival of A Soldier's Play. He also starred on TV's In Living Color in the early 1990s and currently co-stars in the Netflix sitcom Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! His father was William H. Grier, co-author of the 1968 bestseller Black Rage: Two Black Psychiatrists Reveal the Full Dimensions of the Inner Conflicts and the Desperation of Black Life in the United States (go here). [Photo above of David Alan Grier, left, and Jamie Foxx, courtesy of Netflix]
Up for two awards. Nominees for the annual awards handed out by the Jazz Journalists Association were announced this week. I'm among the six writers nominated for this year's Lifetime Achievement Award, the winner to be announced in May. JazzWax also is a nominee for the JJA's Blog of the Year. I'm honored and humbled. For more information, go here.
SiriusXM. This Wednesday, April 21, I'll be on Feedback (Channel 106) with Nik and Lori to talk about Al Stewart's 1976 hit Year of the Cat. Be there at 9 a.m. (ET). Don't miss it. The show will be fun as I break down this yacht-rock classic and spin my Hot 10 related songs.
Ronnie Scott. Soon after my post on the documentary, Ronnie's, last week, it was pulled down. I reached out to the director-writer Oliver Murray, thinking he had uploaded the film on YouTube. In fact, he hadn't, and his representative in the U.S. had pulled it down. My apologies to Oliver and JazzWax readers. Here's what he said regarding the documentary:
Hi Marc, That’s OK. We have someone stateside watching for uploads because a distributor bought the rights to a cinema release and is waiting for theaters to open. Currently, it's available to stream on the BBC and also through Hotdocs in Canada. U.S. fans will have to wait a few months for Greenwich Entertainment to announce a date. I’ll make sure they alert you to their plans. If you're in Canada, go here.
Bob Porter, a record producer whose name appears on a long list of superb soul-jazz albums in the 1960s and '70s and who went on to become a leading blues and R&B DJ on WBGO starting in 1981, died on April 10. He was 80. [Photo above of Bob Porter by Jim Eigo]
Bob was a great friend of JazzWax, emailing often to commend, amend or debate positions in my posts. He produced many great albums on the Prestige label, including those by Charles Earland, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Jimmy McGriff, Pat Martino, Hank Crawford, Johnny "Hammond" Smith, Leon Spencer Jr. and dozens of others. Many developed the 1970s soul-jazz feel with organ trio and horns. In fact, among my first jazz albums at the dawn of the '70s—Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons's You Talk That Talk and Leon Spencer Jr.'s Louisiana Slim—were produced by Bob. My posts on Bob are here and here. Bob will always be in my thoughts. I'll miss those "Portergrams."
Dance Along With Basie. Last week, following my post on Count Basie's Dance Along With Basie (1959), I received an email from Hans Doerrscheidt, who pointed out that while Thad Jones arranged much of the album, Frank Foster was responsible for Secret Love, Misty and Back to the Apple. I've fixed the original post. Thanks, Hans! [Photo above of Frank Foster, left, with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis in 1957 by Chuck Stewart]
Bill Evans in Rochester, N.Y. In the wake of my post on the Bill Evans Trio's performance at the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, N.Y. on April 12, 1977, I received the following from Brett Gold...
Marc, a belated thanks for your Bill Evans post. I was a student at the University of Rochester at the time and regularly went to jazz concerts at the Eastman Theatre. I'm surprised I didn't remember the concert, but apparently I had a conflict that night, an orchestra rehearsal, so couldn’t make it. The title of the TV show "At the Top" refers to an occasional PBS show that was taped at a high-end restaurant near Eastman called Top of the Plaza, which regularly featured jazz groups. I went to a couple of shows there during my time in Rochester. I think I saw Maynard Ferguson’s band and Bill Watrous’s Manhattan Wildlife Refuge. Top of the Plaza was located on the top floor of Midtown Plaza (photo above), which apparently was the second indoor mall in the U.S. and the first in a downtown area. It has since been partially torn down and repurposed as condos. For more information on Midtown Plaza and Top of the Plaza, go here, here and here.
And here’s a PBS show from 1973 that was actually taped at Top of the Plaza, featuring the Buddy Rich big band. The only non-Rich band member I recognize is the second alto, a very young Ray Ricker, who was a long-time saxophone professor at Eastman and is now retired...
Baden Powell. Last week, Paris photographer Gilles D'Elia sent along the following video of Brazilian guitarist-singer and songwriter Baden Powell...
CD you should know about:
David Thompson—Waiting (DBT). You may recognize Dave's name from the Soundcloud clips I include in my weekend posts from time to time featuring Dave playing piano in the style of Bill Evans. Dave's new solo album features 14 tracks—three originals and many songs that Evans recorded, including the original ballad Laurie that Evans wrote for his romantic companion, Laurie Verchomin. As Dave writes in his liner notes: "Bill Evans's music continues to be a great source of inspiration to me, and a singular source of remarkable beauty in my life unlike any other." To listen to audio clips and buy, go here.
Antonio Carlos Jobim. Jazz saxophonist, arranger, composer and New School educator Bill Kirchner (above) has been busy. Now into his third semester of online teaching via Zoom, Bill and his jazz ensemble recorded Jobim's If You Never Come to Me. Bill says it was accomplished by layering a track at a time through a software program called Soundtrap. The quartet was truly global—the trombonist was in Israel; the guitarist in Seattle; the bassist in Austin, Texas; and the drummer in New York. The musicians: Dor Asaf (tb), Ravi Sharma (g), Daniel Foose (b) and Zan Babar (d).
Benny Golson radio. On Sunday, April 18, from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET), "Symphony Sid" Gribetz on WKCR-FM in New York will present a five-hour radio broadcast celebrating the career of composer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson on “Jazz Profiles.” To listen from anywhere in the world, go here. [Photo above of Benny Golson courtesy of Benny Golson]
And congrats to Sid. He has been nominated for the JJA's Marian McPartland-Willis Conover Award for Career Excellence in Broadcasting. Fingers crossed.
Charles Mingus radio. The bass player's birthday broadcast will be held on WKCR-FM on Thursday, April 22, when Mingus's recorded music will be played on the air for 24 hours. To listen from anywhere in the world, go here.
Natalia Lafourcade. Take a seat. You're about to fall in love with a voice. Natalia is a Mexican pop-rock and folk singer and songwriter who, since her debut in 2002, has been one of the most successful singers in Latin America. Here are three examples of the 37-year-old's stunning vocals and passion singing romantic boleros [Photo above of Natalia Lafourcade courtesy of LA Phil]:
Here's Natalia with the legendary Cuban singer-dancer Omara Portuondo...
Marc Myers writes regularly for The Wall Street Journal and is author of "Anatomy of a Song" (Grove) and "Why Jazz Happened." Founded in 2007, JazzWax is a three-time winner of the Jazz Journalists Association's best blog award.
