Scott Wollschleger, Robert Cuckson, Aaron Diehl, Marta Sánchez, plus a few other new releases and notes (including comment on the late Jackie Williams)
I went to Howard. I could barely play at the time. I’d go to band class and just sit on the sidelines and listen and try to learn.
Grady Tate was around, as an adjunct professor or something. He came in to listen to the band one day.
He spoke to all of us on the subject of the pocket. He said, “without the pocket, it JUST-- DOESN’T-- MAKE IT!”
He pounded his fist into his left hand to emphasize each of those all-caps words. It was an all-caps point he was making.
It sounded like he believed that “not being in the pocket” was evil, and ruinous, like a scourge that we all had to fight against, for the rest of our lives.
I felt like I’d been deputized. I worked hard to get better, and years later I finally started feeling like I’d turned a corner with the pocket, and with swinging.
I’m not a great musician, or at least, not yet. I’m inching my way there.
But man, Grady Tate got under my skin that day. I’ve never forgotten it.
1) I sent your list of drummers as a text to Charles Rumback from Chicago who is flying out here this week for my famous —now — music series in sleepy Palo Alto.
2) speaking of Chicago I believe it was in Chicago where Babe Ruth, famously promised to hit a home run or pointed towards the grandstand, and then delivered. You were doing a version of that by mentioning in print that we are negotiating your show here. I hope that does not mean that other secondary market promoters are going to make me bid against them (Ethan appears at SfJazz earlier that week…Palo Alto is an hour away, away in the sense of being in the fog, beyond Bogie and Hepburn, then Rick says “Louis, this could be the start of a beautiful relationship “ excuse the mixed metaphors.
Wait a minute:
Ethan = Rick Blaine
Marta = Ilsa Lund
Weiss +~ = Conrad Veidt as Mj Strasser or Paul Henreid as Victor Lazlo or, as I said Claude Rains as Louis— I should not admit this, but I’d be willing to play Sydney Greenstreet to make this deal work
Thanks for the tip on the Russell Scarborough Big Band––I love large ensembles, I love Bandcamp.com, and am happy to support the group by purchasing the album. On top of that, great shout-outs (shouts-out?) to Ms. Sanchez, Aaron Diehl, Robert Cuckson, and the fascinating music of Scott Wollschleger.
Here’s a Grady Tate story.
I went to Howard. I could barely play at the time. I’d go to band class and just sit on the sidelines and listen and try to learn.
Grady Tate was around, as an adjunct professor or something. He came in to listen to the band one day.
He spoke to all of us on the subject of the pocket. He said, “without the pocket, it JUST-- DOESN’T-- MAKE IT!”
He pounded his fist into his left hand to emphasize each of those all-caps words. It was an all-caps point he was making.
It sounded like he believed that “not being in the pocket” was evil, and ruinous, like a scourge that we all had to fight against, for the rest of our lives.
I felt like I’d been deputized. I worked hard to get better, and years later I finally started feeling like I’d turned a corner with the pocket, and with swinging.
I’m not a great musician, or at least, not yet. I’m inching my way there.
But man, Grady Tate got under my skin that day. I’ve never forgotten it.
right on, Karl! Great story
Love that list of drummers!
A couple of ‘‘em came from you!!
1) I sent your list of drummers as a text to Charles Rumback from Chicago who is flying out here this week for my famous —now — music series in sleepy Palo Alto.
2) speaking of Chicago I believe it was in Chicago where Babe Ruth, famously promised to hit a home run or pointed towards the grandstand, and then delivered. You were doing a version of that by mentioning in print that we are negotiating your show here. I hope that does not mean that other secondary market promoters are going to make me bid against them (Ethan appears at SfJazz earlier that week…Palo Alto is an hour away, away in the sense of being in the fog, beyond Bogie and Hepburn, then Rick says “Louis, this could be the start of a beautiful relationship “ excuse the mixed metaphors.
Wait a minute:
Ethan = Rick Blaine
Marta = Ilsa Lund
Weiss +~ = Conrad Veidt as Mj Strasser or Paul Henreid as Victor Lazlo or, as I said Claude Rains as Louis— I should not admit this, but I’d be willing to play Sydney Greenstreet to make this deal work
Thanks for the tip on the Russell Scarborough Big Band––I love large ensembles, I love Bandcamp.com, and am happy to support the group by purchasing the album. On top of that, great shout-outs (shouts-out?) to Ms. Sanchez, Aaron Diehl, Robert Cuckson, and the fascinating music of Scott Wollschleger.