Big Band Jazz - Post 1950

PeppermintPatty said:
I’m an alto, soprano sax player who use to play in a jazz/ stage band.
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Nice thread Patty! I think it's so cool that you are a sax player who's played in a band Patty! I hadn't heard of this band until now, when I did a search for big band music, but they are sounding good. Don't know when this was recorded but I'm sure it's "post 1950".

 

I proudly post these...the William Paterson University Jazz Ensemble. WPU is my alma mater. I used to look forward to going to the Jazz band's concerts every year when they were under the direction of Chico Mendoza (I hope I can find one of those videos on YT). I hadn't seen them in over a decade. I see they have a female sax player too.


WPU Chamber Winds.

 
OneEyedDiva said:
I proudly post these...the William Paterson University Jazz Ensemble. WPU is my alma mater. I used to look forward to going to the Jazz band's concerts every year when they were under the direction of Chico Mendoza (I hope I can find one of those videos on YT). I hadn't seen them in over a decade. I see they have a female sax player too.


WPU Chamber Winds.

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Yes, what a great group of musicians! I loved the choice's of songs.

So many college's have great jazz bands. I our cover band we would visit the jazz band at the University of Missouri and talk to players to see if they would be interested in making some money. :)
 
OneEyedDiva said:
Nice thread Patty! I think it's so cool that you are a sax player who's played in a band Patty! I hadn't heard of this band until now, when I did a search for big band music, but they are sounding good. Don't know when this was recorded but I'm sure it's "post 1950".

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I thought you’d like it. Thats a great jazz band.
As soon as I saw this thread , I thought of you. It’s got some great stuff in it. Thanks for looking.
 
Paco Dennis said:
This is an experimental Jazz piece by the Stan Kenton Orchestra. It is pretty unique. :)

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After WWII, big bands were winding down from their heyday in the 30s and 40s. And innovators such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie were introducing a new style of jazz called "bebop" which featured blistering tempos (like this one) and chord patterns that favored upper extensions of those chords. Stan was just trying to keep up! And he did with charts like this one (Stan doing the narration):

 
We can't forget the service bands. These Army Blues guys from the U.S. Army Band (Pershing's Own) smoke.

Toshiko Akiyoshi, who composed this chart, is a Japanese piano player and composer who, along with her American husband Lew Tabackin, a tenor saxophonist, led a big band from 1973-2003. The tuning note in this chart is, of course, B-flat. ;)

 
A double whammy here! The U.S. Air Force "Airmen of Note" perform Gordon Goodwin's "Big Phat Band" chart, "Hunting Wabbits".

Definitely worth a listen. Precision, articulation, swing, it's all there!

 
Buddy Rich's signature chart in his later years. Steve Marcus, tenor sax soloist. When Buddy was asked why he preferred Marcus to solo more than others, his response was, "No clams." (No, that ain't a food -- "clams" are errors in tempo (especially important to Buddy), wrong partial, i.e., "bad notes", or other error.)) Marcus is granted a long cadenza in this chart, and he delivers. But Buddy is the star of the show and he comes away dripping with sweat as a result.

Other soloists: Chuck Schmidt, trumpet. Alto - Andy Fusco (I think), but don't quote me.

Buddy would wind up with at least two heart attacks during his career (one in 1959 and the other in 1983). He underwent surgery in 1987 to address a malignant brain tumor, but died in recovery from cardiac arrest.

 
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Eupher said:
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Buddy would wind up with at least two heart attacks during his career (one in 1959 and the other in 1983). He underwent surgery in 1987 to address a malignant brain tumor, but died in recovery from cardiac arrest.
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That was pretty much the same fate as Louis Prima, who died as the result of brain surgery in 1978. Years back I went over to the Metairie Cemetery (New Orleans) to see his grave. What an entertainer!
 
Many critics of Maynard Ferguson point toward his gravitation toward popular music, especially after his success with the "Rocky" theme in the late 1970s. So to somewhat address that, here's a chart from Marty Paich, with solos by Maynard on trumpet (very subdued, btw) and Frank Hittner on bari sax. Recorded on Roulette in 1961. More info on YT:

 
Here's a short documentary about Woody Herman's career over 50 years, from his start in the late 30s till his death in 1987. One of Woody's trademark innovations was his incorporation of three tenor saxophones and a bari sax to accompany his own lone alto sax and clarinet (no 2nd alto) within the big band.


That saxophone lineup can be clearly seen in this chart, recorded in the 60s:

 
Duke Ellington at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956. This is the one where tenor Paul Gonsalves soloed 27+ choruses of "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue." None other than Cat Anderson on lead trumpet at the end.

That performance put Duke back on the map.

 
What a set! Gonsalves sure earned his money that night!
At first glance when I saw the two bass drums the drummer was using, I thought it must be Louis Bellson. But then when they panned up to his face I realized it was the great Sam Woodyard. He was one of the best ever, but personally he tended to be a little erratic.

Ellington and his big band came to play with us in the Cincinnati Symphony in the mid '60s. He said Sam was expensive to carry because he had a habit of hocking his drums to buy dope, then Ellington would have go and buy them back...😄 Later in the '60s the band I was in by then played on the same bill with Ellington at a couple of jazz festivals.

In '69 we played Newport Jazz Festival. I couldn't believe that many of the guys I listened to when I was younger, and read about in Downbeat, were there, and I was playing the same gig with them!!
 
Bill Watrous playing his own chart "Fourth Floor Walkup" with his NYC big band Manhattan Wildlife Refuge released 1974. The cadenza will blow you away.

Bill's characteristic sound on trombone was reminiscent of Carl Fontana's and Urbie Green's, but he had his own style. Incredible technician whose sound was like warm honey.

Flugelhorn solo - Danny Stiles.

 
Paco Dennis said:
Imagine trying out for a part in one of these big bands. Or maybe you have tried out for one. What was it like?

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Not sure who you're directing the question toward, but in my experience, most of the time it's just "sitting in" and sight-reading. Soloing for those who can and will.

My last big band job was very informal - unpaid - and since they didn't have a bari sax player, I sight-read the parts on bass trombone. It seemed to work OK, though I definitely could not crank up the volume (would've drowned out the rest of the sax section). And a bass trombone is no substitute for a real bari sax, but they wanted the part covered.

Other than that, it boils down to opportunity. Even the pro bands will have guys on call. For example, Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band employs Wayne Bergeron as lead trumpeter, but in a recent video he wasn't there -- probably a scheduling conflict. So they called another guy in to play the book and he did fine.
 
I had hesitated to post lead sheets or transcriptions since - I'm guessing - only a few people on this thread could read them. But I'll post this transcription of the reduced score to Bill Watrous' "Fourth Floor Walkup" (full chart is posted above) which includes the intro, the A section, and then Watrous' incredible cadenza.

 
Paco Dennis said:
Imagine trying out for a part in one of these big bands. Or maybe you have tried out for one. What was it like?
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Depending upon what type of ensemble it is, oftentimes a player doesn't really have to audition. The leader has heard of him, and just asks him to join. Surprisingly many rock bands have auditions, especially to replace a player who has left.

And of course all major symphony orchestras, and I presume concert bands, audition for vacancies. There are a lot more openings for string players, whereas Tuba and timpani don't come up that often because there's only one per orchestra.

In my own case I got the gig for the first name band I was in without realizing it was an audition. I thought I was simply getting hired to play extra on some recordings as a one time session musician...😄
 
ChiroDoc said:
Depending upon what type of ensemble it is, oftentimes a player doesn't really have to audition. The leader has heard of him, and just asks him to join. Surprisingly many rock bands have auditions, especially to replace a player who has left.

And of course all major symphony orchestras, and I presume concert bands, audition for vacancies. There are a lot more openings for string players, whereas Tuba and timpani don't come up that often because there's only one per orchestra.

In my own case I got the gig for the first name band I was in without realizing it was an audition. I thought I was simply getting hired to play extra on some recordings as a one time session musician...😄
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My situation was unique in that I tried out for my part by phone, in 1983. A show band from Texas needed a guitar player. I played my stuff for the band leader. He had been second chair trumpet for Stan Kenton's band. He hired me then and there. :)
 
Buddy again, sitting in with The Tonight Show band. This is a Horace Silver composition "Nutville" arranged by Hopkins. Buddy recorded it with his band as the opening chart in his 1974 album "Roar of '74".

Solos - Lew Tabackin, tenor; Conte Candoli, trumpet

 
Eupher said:
Buddy again, sitting in with The Tonight Show band. This is a Horace Silver composition "Nutville" arranged by Hopkins. Buddy recorded it with his band as the opening chart in his 1974 album "Roar of '74".

Solos - Lew Tabackin, tenor; Conte Candoli, trumpet
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Man, that really cooked! And no one could drive a big band, or play like Buddy. Simply the best. And on someone else's drum set!

But as you know Ed Shaughnessy was one of the best big band drummers himself. He had the tonight show gig with Severinson for many years, which band was considered top of the line in the U.S. I believe Ed and Buddy did a couple of drum duels, probably on the Tonight Show. Ed was one of the best.
 
Haven't posted in a while.

Diane Schuur with the Count Basie Band, probably in the mid-80s. Basie died in 1984, but the band was led by Frank Foster. Freddie Green still chunkin' away on guitar, but Freddie died in 1987.

Diane "Deedles" Schuur was blind, but she kicked some vocalist butt there for awhile in the 80s.

 


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