So I was hanging out in the library the other day and I picked up a copy of Icons in Jazz: A History in Photographs 1900-2000, which pretty much sums up the big names in jazz — everyone from Cannonball Adderley to Lester Young. It’s a pretty great read if you want to get a quick glance at the jazz greats (I find myself guilty of knowing the name Charles Mingus but having absolutely no idea who he was. Maybe it’s because he plays bass. Hah.) but I was pretty disappointed to see that they left out some names.
Red Garland, for example. How could you leave out Red Garland?
And no Frank Sinatra. Nor was there Tony Bennett. It’s not like they were leaving out vocalists – Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald are both listed in the table of contents.
Yes to Pat Metheny. But no to Freddie Green?
So I’m going to give you a brief look at these four musicians since they were so rudely left out of the book.
RED GARLAND (William “Red” Garland). Hard bop pianist. Born in Dallas, Texas to a totally non-musical family but tried out clarinet and alto sax before he met his soulinstrument, the piano. Like he did with Bill Evans, Miles Davis made this man famous as well; Red was the pianist in the Miles Davis Quintet albums I showed you in my blurb about Miles Davis. When you hear Red, you’ll hear this in his comping: offbeats. Great thing about offbeats? As opposed to a downbeat (which has its importance as well), offbeats push the solo forward. And besides, the bass and the hi-hat of the drumset play the downbeat anyways. Oh, did you know he was also a semi-pro prizefighter? Woah. (UPDATE: the photo of Red Garland that was previously posted here is credited to Brian McMillen. Sorry about that, Brian!))
Before I swamp you with my verbiage, I’ve got one more question: Where’d he get the name “Red”? It obviously didn’t come from William.
…And after some frustrating research, I still haven’t found the answer. Does anyone know?
FRANK SINATRA. I first started listening to Sinatra when I heard someone tell me that they’d fallen in love with his voice. I didn’t believe it, but after hearing “Moon River,” I definitely fell into the same hypnosis. He’s probably got the classiest, richest voice — if you want to get a good listen at Frank Sinatra, check out the album Nothing But the Best. Also, check out the Rat Pack, a group of singers including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. (There’s a popular imitation Rat Pack group that performs in Vegas that’s coming to the my area to perform at the College of the Canyons theater — I’m definitely going to be there.)
TONY BENNETT. 15 Grammy’s! 2 Emmy’s! This guy is absolutely amazing. The most important thing, before I begin, is that Bennett is still alive today. So if you’re into jazz vocals, get off your tush and go find a Tony Bennett concert — you might miss your chance. You can see where he is now by going to his website and clicking “TOUR” (which is usually the general format for any jazz musician’s website).
Like Frank Sinatra, Bennett’s got incredible vocal chords. You might know him pretty well from his signature “I Left My Heart in San Francisco;” Bennett sung for the first recording of this song and it’s stuck with him ever since. If you really want to get into Bennett, check out the album, Duets: An American Classic or The Ultimate Tony Bennett.
FREDDIE GREEN. As a pianist and a jazz listener, I’m pretty guilty of drawing blanks in the guitar department. Nevertheless, the first name I always think of when I think jazz guitar is Freddie Green — not because of his fame or influence or popularity, but simply because he had the most standout picture in Downbeat’s article about jazz guitar greats. First of all, he had this huge guitar on his lap, sans neck strap, with the strings almost facing towards the ceiling instead of out to this audience. And then he was all leaned back, all jazz-like, one leg crossed over the other, as if playing that hollow-body guitar was a piece of cake. Freddie just looked so absolutely mellow.
It’s not really a good reason to tie Freddie Green to jazz guitar, but hey, the guy left a pretty outstanding mark on jazz history. If you’re at all familiar with the Count Basie Orchestra (oh please, please watch them play behind Sarah Vaughan), Freddie Green played guitar as a part of their “All-American Rhythm Section” with Jo Jones, Walter Page, and Count Basie himself. He pretty much established himself as a musician here, in a way pioneering the way his guitar fit in with the orchestra, saying that “you should never hear the guitar by itself. It should be part of the drums so it sounds like the drummer is playing chords—like the snare is in A or the hi-hat in D minor.”
Check out Freddie Green in Twenty Minutes After Three and Mr. Rhythm.
Before I go, I want to make sure that you know about Pat Metheny performing at the Walt Disney Concert Hall this coming April. Be sure to check it out along with the Sonny Rollins concert.
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Caravan/Jazz Piano Anthology: Swingers/Hank Jones
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Please add photo credit to the Red Garland photo. I am the photographer, Brian McMillen.