TT 475: Farewells

Alex Riel, Anthony Pinciotti, Barre Phillips, Martial Solal, Peter Leitch

I just learned that drummer Alex Riel passed away in June 2024. Riel is on many excellent European albums by American jazz greats, for example the three volumes of Swiss Nights documenting some truly remarkable Dexter Gordon. Mark Stryker told me about this astounding take of “Tenor Madness.” Kenny Drew and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen complete the band.

Riel is also present at a rehearsal where he is learning the Bill Evans book with Eddie Gomez on bass. I wish there were more videos of the jazz masters rehearsing the repertoire.

---

Anthony Pinciotti was a treasured member of the current New York scene. I saw him with Joel Frahm a few times, they were a nice combination.

Spike Wilner wrote something on FB on January 1:

Last night at Mezzrow was poignant. After Anthony's death I didn't want to play New Year's. But a day ago a powerful image of Tony came to my mind and said to me: "hey man, don't bail on the gig just because I'm dead", and I heard him laugh at his own joke. He was right - the music must go on and should go on. I didn't want to call another drummer so I left the drum throne empty with just a candle and flower. Pete Bernstein came to play guitar and Paul Gill and myself got into a beautiful musical vibe, as we always do. The result of 30 years playing music together.

On the second set we were playing a tune - I can't remember which, but an uptempo. Paul was taking a bass solo and Pete and I were both comping. Suddenly (and this is the God's Honest Truth - Pete will corroborate). there was a tasty hit on the cymbal exactly on the downbeat of the last A section. It startled me and I looked at Pete. We both smiled, kind of shocked. After the set we discussed it at the bar. He suggested that it was Paul's bow accidentally hitting the cymbal after his solo. But the thing is I was watching Paul while I comped. Furthermore, the hit came on the last A, so Paul was still soloing. Pete says, of course, that he didn't hit the cymbal accidentally. The thing was, it was so spot on and so beautiful - only a master could have hit that downbeat. It SOUNDED like Anthony.

I have no further explanation of what might have happened but to me I'm sure he was just standing there in the room watching us play and he just couldn't help add his thing. Rest in Peace my friend.

---

Barre Phillips learned from the New York City avant-gardists in the 1960s (that’s Phillips playing bass with Archie Shepp on New Thing at Newport) before taking that knowledge over to Europe. Richard Williams has a good overview.

On the soundtrack to Naked City Phillips plays trio with Ornette Coleman and Denardo Coleman as well as with Howard Shore’s symphonic score. When Coleman passed away Phillips wrote a valuable note for The Wire.

The (mostly) duo with Ornette on “Intersong” is just great:

Sankt Gerold is another favorite, an album of superb trio improvisations with Paul Bley and Evan Parker for ECM.

---

I have commissioned a memorial essay from a friend who knows Martial Solal’s music well.

For now, I took a quick re-listen to Kenny Clarke Plays André Hodeir from 1957, a somewhat obscure album (at least it is obscure in America) that I learned about from Anthony Creamer. Hodeir’s pompous and overly critical book Jazz: Its Evolution and Essence is something that came up in my early studies, but I had no idea Hodeir was such an interesting composer and arranger. The music for this date — nominally led by Kenny Clarke after the great drummer moved to Paris — is full of counterpoint and blues. The Solal piano improvisations are highlights.

This upload of three Hodeir compositions is a blindfold test for the ages. On the opening “Oblique” Billy Byers is featured as a terrific trombonist, although posterity may remember Byers better as a key arranger for Quincy Jones and Count Basie in the 1960s (the Byers chart on “All of Me” is famous).

---

Peter Leitch was a lyrical bebop guitarist who also took excellent photos and wrote a candid memoir, Off the Books: A Jazz Life.

Leitch hadn’t been active for some time as a player but he made a splash in the ‘90s, releasing several tasty albums of straight ahead music. Of special note is a 1999 live album with Gary Bartz, for it quite rare to hear guitar/sax duos in the common practice language. “Uncle Bubba” is Bartz’s tribute to Thelonious Monk. It’s a lot of fun to listen to Bartz’s fiery modal/bluesy lines over Leitch’s four-to-the-floor comping.