From Blakey to Brown, Como to Costa, Eckstine to Eldridge, Galbraith to Garner, Harris to Hines, Horne to Hyman, Jamal to Jefferson, Kelly to Klook; Mancini to Marmarosa, May to Mitchell, Negri to Nestico, Parlanto Ponder, Reed to Ruther, Strayhorn to Sullivan, Turk to Turrentine, Wade to Williams… the forthcoming publication Treasury of Pittsburgh Jazz Connections by Dr. Nelson Harrison and Dr. Ralph Proctor, Jr. will document the legacy of one of the world’s greatest jazz capitals.
Do you want to know who Dizzy Gillespie idolized? Did you ever wonder who inspired Kenny Clarke and Art Blakey? Who was the pianist that mentored Monk, Bud Powell, Tad Dameron, Elmo Hope, Sarah Vaughan and Mel Torme? Who was Art Tatum’s idol and Nat Cole’s mentor? What musical quartet pioneered the concept adopted later by the Modern Jazz Quartet? Were you ever curious to know who taught saxophone to Stanley Turrentine or who taught piano to Ahmad Jamal? What community music school trained Robert McFerrin, Sr. for his history-making debut with the Metropolitan Opera? What virtually unknown pianist was a significant influence on young John Coltrane, Shirley Scott, McCoy Tyner, Bobby Timmons and Ray Bryant when he moved to Philadelphia from Pittsburgh in the 1940s? Would you be surprised to know that Erroll Garner attended classes at the Julliard School of Music in New York and was at the top of his class in writing and arranging proficiency?
Some answers can be gleaned from the postings on the Pittsburgh Jazz Network.
For almost 100 years the Pittsburgh region has been a metacenter of jazz originality that is second to no other in the history of jazz. One of the best kept secrets in jazz folklore, the Pittsburgh Jazz Legacy has heretofore remained mythical. We have dubbed it “the greatest story never told” since it has not been represented in writing before now in such a way as to be accessible to anyone seeking to know more about it. When it was happening, little did we know how priceless the memories would become when the times were gone.
Today jazz is still king in Pittsburgh, with events, performances and activities happening all the time. The Pittsburgh Jazz Network is dedicated to celebrating and showcasing the places, artists and fans that carry on the legacy of Pittsburgh's jazz heritage.
This Monday November 4th is the November Edition of the popular "Jazz Monday @Park Bruges w/ house band: Hill Jordan & Slide Worldwide. Doors open at 7pm and there is a $5 cover at the door. Our Special Guest for the evening is the ever soulful "RONNI WEISS"!!! If you've been to Jazz Monday chances are good you've hear Ronni sit-in with the band & thrill the audience so we're really excited to FINALLY feature her. Also,…See More
This Monday November 4th is the November Edition of the popular "Jazz Monday @Park Bruges w/ house band: Hill Jordan & Slide Worldwide. Doors open at 7pm and there is a $5 cover at the door. Our Special Guest for the evening is the ever soulful "RONNI WEISS"!!! If you've been to Jazz Monday chances are good you've hear Ronni sit-in with the band & thrill the audience so we're really excited to FINALLY feature her. Also,…See More
Sept. 17 Joel Woller (History Department, Carlow University) Politics as Personal Expression in Jazz Performance: Nina Simone in Concert, 1965 Oct. 1 Timothy Williams (Music Librarian, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh) Jazz History Detective: True Stories From the Pittsburgh Files Oct. 15 Erik Lawrence (Saxophonist, Composer, Educator) Songs That Inspired Me to Soar Nov. 5 Mike Canton (Host and Producer, The Soul Show –WYEP 91.3fm) Jazz is the Teacher, Funk is the Preacher Nov. 19 …See More
Treat yourself to some holiday music, great food, drink and merriment with the Blues Orphans Trio featuring new originals from their recent CD "Hystericana." Reservations: opentable.com Menu: urbanspoon.comSee More
Treat yourself to some holiday music, great food, drink and merriment with the Blues Orphans Trio featuring new originals from their recent CD "Hystericana." Reservations: opentable.com Menu: urbanspoon.comSee More
"This was not a rehearsal. It was one of our monthly gigs at the Penn Brewery. The Blues Orphans DO NOT rehearse at all. Our CDs are all made with first takes as well. New songs are debuted on the job as well. Our…"
Born raised and embedded in Pittsburgh. Crescent Elementary, Baxter Jr. High, Westinghouse High and University of Pittsburgh.
Favorite Pittsburgh musicians/performers
Pittsburgh musicians are the best in the world. There are too many to name especially since I have played here for 50+ years. I have had the honor and privilege of playing with a few of the legends of Pittsburgh, e.g., Billy Eckstine, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Kenny Clarke, Art Blakey, Stanley Turrentine, Sam Johnson, Joe Harris, J.C. Moses, Dakota Staton, Lena Horne, Grover Mitchell and Walt Harper.. My mentoring came from Warren Watson, Joe Westray, Carl Arter, Eddie "Rabbit" Barnes, Sam Hurt, Harold & Jerry Betters, Jerry Elliot, Bobby Jones, Art Nance, Cecil Brooks II, Bobby Boswell and Ahmad Jamal. My teachers were Fanetta Gordon, Carl McVicker, Sr. and Matty Shiner. My favorite pianist of all is Ahmad Jamal. If I went further to include my peer group down through the young lions of today I would run out of space.
Favorite Jazz Radio or media station
WDUQ, WYEP (blues), WRCT
Favorite Pittsburgh Jazz Venue
The Crawford Grill #2 is my favorite stage to play in the entire world. There was also the Midway Lounge, the Hurricane, the Diplomat, the Ebony Lounge, the Crescendo, the Rendevous, the Florentine, the Loendi Club, the Local #471 Musicians' Club in S'Liberty, Horseley's, the Loft, Ramseys II, the Pirate Inn, the Copa, the Encore I & II, the Pink Cloud, the Pitt Pot, the Black Magic, the Tiger's Tail, the Zebra Room, etc. to bring back a few memories of the erstwhile clubs.
About Me:
Ph. D. in clinical psychology, educator, composer, archivist, lyricist, arranger, ASCAP, playwright, speaker, photographer; veteran trombonist of the Count Basie Orchestra featuring Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan, Helen Humes, Joe Turner, Eddie Vinson, Dennis Rowland (‘78-80 incl. Japan tour); played with Dionne Warwicke, The Supremes and The Temptations (’64), Joe Westray (1962 – 72); Sonny and the Premiers (1963 – 67); Walt Harper (1967-70); James Brown (’67-68); Nathan Davis (1970-75); Lena Horne and Tony Bennett (‘74), Billy Eckstine and Earl "Fatha" Hines (1975), Kenny Clarke (‘79), Liberace (’77), Nancy Wilson and Melba Moore (’78), Sammy Davis, Jr. and Aretha Franklin (’79), Perry Como and Johnny Mathis (‘80), Bobby Vinton (’81), Ginger Rogers and Glenn Campbell (’82), Jay McShann (‘87), Slide Hampton (‘86), Nelson Riddle (’84) Marvin Hamlisch (’97) and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans (’98) to name only a few; inventor of the "Trombetto," a compact brass instrument with four valves that plays a chromatic range of six octaves with a trombone mouthpiece; played at festivals in New Orleans, London, Edinburg, Sacramento, New York City, Seattle; clinics and lectures in Santa Cruz and San Jose, CA, Quebec City and Montreal, Canada, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cleveland, New York and Toronto; scores written to movies by Georg Sanford Brown and John Russo and plays by Richard Wright, August Wilson and Rob Penny; lyricist of 125 bop standards; featured horn soloist avec vocalese with the Pittsburgh Connection Big Band at the 2007 IAJE Convention in NYC; nationally recognized expert on Pittsburgh jazz history.
Currently active in Pittsburgh with The Blues Orphans, Roger Humphries Big Band, Wee Jams, and my own The World According to Bop, Jazz ‘N Jive, Dr. Jazz and the Salty Dawgs, Blue to the Bone, and Nelson Harrison and Associates.
Discography: Live at the Attic (1969) with the Walt Harper Quintet (Birmingham Label); Makatuka (1970) (Segue Label) and Suite for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1971) (Tomorrow International Label) with Nathan Davis; Kansas City Shout (1980) with the Count Basie Orchestra (Pablo Label); On A Coconut Island( 1993), Don't Give Up the Ship (1995), Burgundy Street Blues (1996) and Honky Tonk Town (1997) with the Boilermaker Jazz Band (Biograph Label); Tuesday Night at James Street (2002) with the RH Factor, Don’t Give Up (2003) with the Roger Humphries Big Band; Moonlit River (2003) songs by Fred Moolten, (MGO Media Label); 21st-Century Musicism (2005) compositions by Karlton E. Hester (Hesteria Records); If I Can’t Dance, It’s Not My Revolution (2006) Anne Feeney; Schism ‘n Blues (2005) & Root Rot (2007) with the Blues Orphans (Staggerin’ Fitz Label) which are the first commercial recordings of the trombetto, Not from Concentrate (2007) Genie Walker & Harmonique (Hip Tip Label).
He is is cited in the Marquis publication Who’s Who in the East (1979) and received the Renaissance Too Magazine Professional Men in Jazz Award (1989) and the East Liberty Hall of Fame (1991), the Westinghouse High School Hall of Fame (1995), Evolution of Jazz: Bridging the Gap Mentors Award (2006), the Walt Harper All That Jazz Award (2008), the Legacy Arts Project Keepers of the Flame Award (2008), the Build the Hill Award (2008) and the MCG Jazz Pittsburgh Legends of Jazz Award (2008), African American Council on the Arts Rob Penny Lifetime Achievement Award (2009).
NOTE: The following was received via email on August 19, 2008 from Ahmad Jamal
Dear Nelson:
Salamo Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatoho!
For all those who think they know all the history about fellow Pittsburghers please note that Tommy Turrentine and Ahmad Jamal were room mates on the road with George Hudson.
I got him the trumpet chair with George and also got Jimmy Royal (one of my favorite bassists) in the band as well!!
Tommy taught me my first flatted fifth chord and we shared the stage at the Musician's Club (Local 471 on Wylie Avenue during many jam sessions there).
George Hudson was also from Pittsburgh originally and this was the band that housed me, Ernie Wilkins, Clark Terry and other well known musicians. This was perhaps Tommy's first big band hiring, the rest came later.
He and I were with George at the Apollo Theatre which was a first for both of us!!
Thank you for the fine information you have let me now about. i wish it could be broadcast on network tv and AM radio!!
The music (and your poem about Johnny Griffin and all your writings) are really fine and a breath of fresh air as well as blow for mental health!! I hope to get back to Pittsburgh again and look forward to meeting you (and playing with you) when I do.
I'm back from a week in Denver, hiding out again at the farm working around the clock on my new piano concerto for its upcoming premiere. My series of concerts for the Democratic National Convention took place August 22-28, where I was designated as the composer-in-residence. It was a real honor to have been a small part of the historic week in Denver.
My opening concert at the convention Sunday, August 24th was called....
"Outside of Convention- From Fanny Lou Hamer to Martin Luther King to Barack Obama: How the Civil Rights Movement changed American politics"
This gala event (free to the public in Denver as well as to the delegates and their families) was sponsored by Nation Magazine, the Democratic National Convention, the Denver Public Library and PBS, (both the English and Spanish speaking stations) who taped my opening concert as well as other events, including the August 24th program at Convention Center, which took place at the Convention Center the night before the opening of the convention. Over a thousand people came, and it couldn't have been any better!!
My musical contributions included my Three Songs for America, settings of speeches by John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy for bass voice and orchestra, written 40 years ago for PBS. The singer, operatic bass Steven Taylor was really exceptional. It was the best performance that the piece has ever received.
For the second piece on the program, I conducted the Colorado Children's Chorale (a killer 100 voice prize winning choir) in three pieces for children's chorus for which I composed both the words and the music, dedicated to three great musicians I have played with over the years. They are Native American master musician and actor Floyd Red Crow Westerman, jazz innovator Thelonious Monk and ambassador of Afro-Cuban music, band leader Machito. I conducted the chorus, accompanied by my Denver-based trio.
We also performed the premiere of a new piece "You Are Somebody Too" for which I composed both the words and music, based on the "I am somebody" statement of Rev. Jesse Jackson in a version which I conducted with the children's choir, based in part on the use of phrases by the people of Denver who were interviewed on the street by sociologist Dr Audrey Sprenger, for a film she created for the convention as well as for the Denver Public Library, documenting their statements ("I am a cabdriver,
I am a student, *I am a Bronco's fan, I am a future doctor, I am a proud father....etc)
All of these statements were sung and chanted, with audience participation, as a call and response, accompanied by my jazz trio, with special guest Jose Madera, leader of the Latin Giants of Jazz.
Congressman John Conyers was honored for his work in civil rights, interviewed in a discussion with John Nichols, editor of Nation Magazine, about the progress over the past sixty years of everyone's civil rights in America. Congressman Conyers is also a lifetime supporter of jazz as a national treasure (as well as his being someone who truly appreciates the symphonic masterpieces of European culture and how they relate to jazz as music which endures)
We ended the evening with my "Theme and Variations on Amazing Grace" which I performed on my Irish double D penny whistle, followed by the grand finale with my trio playing Now's the Time by Charlie Parker, honoring the early civil rights slogan "Our moment is Now," with audience participation.
I performed at a series of concerts for radio station KUVO in Denver with some outstanding musicians which was simultaneously broadcast by WWOZ in New Orleans, and at one of the late night jam sessions afterwards played with Hugh Masekela, whom I hadn't seen in forty years.
I also appeared at Red Rocks (a gorgeous amphitheater which holds 14,000 people). i was a guest artist with the bands of Jerry Jeff Walker and Willie Nelson. Earlier that day I presented a program for teachers and students at the Denver Academy, showing how the principles of musical construction in countries around the world could be used to teach geography, linguistics, social studies, history and developmental skills in all disciplines, and how a no more walls approach towards music (and life) helps us all in adapting to a global culture.
And between all the hectic activities, I worked in my motel room on my piano concerto. Composing into the wee hours every night kept me from getting into trouble!!!
I am now in relative hibernation, except for playing with Willie Nelson and his band for Farm Aid September 20, a few local engagements, and going to Iceland to perform for the world premiere of the film for which I composed and conducted the score "The Frontier Ghandi," created by Teri McCluhan, (Marshall McCluhan's daughter). The film will then be screened at the Lincoln Center in NY.
Other than this, I have a stretch of five weeks to work around the clock on my piano concerto, which will be premiered January of '09 in San Jose California.
I wish you extra energy in all you do, as well as joy and inspiration.
Best cheers always.
THEY CAN'T STOMP US OUT!!! Creative music and those who make it are here to stay!!!
David
P.S.
Here is a copy of the opening program for the Democratic National Convention. I wish you could have been there, it was standing room only and a real thrill to do. Eventually it will be on PBS and You Tube
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The National Democratic Convention, Nation Magazine, Rocky Mountain PBS and the Denver Public Library present
FROM FANNY LOU HAMER TO BARACK OBAMA A CELEBRATION IN WORDS AND MUSIC OF CIVIL RIGHTS In AMERICA
Representative John Conyers
Composer/conductor/multi-instrumenallst David Amram
Nation Magazine Editor John Nichols
The Colorado Children's Chorale
August 24th
Convention Center
Denver Colorado
5-7 pm
FREE ADMISSION
l. Three Songs For America for Baritone and Orchestra......................................David Amram
(Composed for National Educational Television 1968)
a. John F. Kennedy
b. Dr. Martin Luther King
c. Robert F. Kennedy
Steven Taylor vocalist
ll. Three songs for Young People. (1996) .........................................David Amram
a. Rabbit Song For Floyd Red Crow Westerman (based on traditional Lakota round dance melody Mastinchila Wachipi Olwan)
b. Summer Song For Thelonious Monk
c. Son Montuno For Machito
The Colorado Children's Chorale, Deborah DeSantis Artistic Director
Conducted by the composer with the Amram jazz trio.
Interview with Representative John Conyers and John Nichols
Music Honoring Jesse Jackson's Legacy
Variations on Amazing Grace- (2002) .................Amram (based on Traditional Spiritual)
David Amram Irish double D whistle
I am Somebody for chorus and jazz ensemble (2008).............Amram
(Based on Jesse Jackson's words and statements recorded by people from Denver. Composed for the Democratic National Convention 2008 )
Now's the Time (1945)---------------------Charlie Parker
Honoring the civil rights motto "The time is Now," The music by Parker and his colleagues, who were at the vanguard of the civil rights movement.
The David Amram Trio
Tony Black drums
Artie Moore bass
David Amram piano, French horn, flutes, percussion and scat vocals
Special guest Jose Madera, leader of the Latin Giants of Jazz, congas and Latin percussion
i could listen to guys like wardell all nite..and not get bored. so many of those tenor men...in that long ago period..there was just something about them..something they all had in common. they all PLAYED THE TUNE! So important..and many players today miss that. entirely too much emphasis on playin lots of notes, lots of scales and runs and phrases. seems like the further they can get from the melody..the better. they are all well schooled, they all read their asses off..i dont mean to demean them but..seems like the "heart" is missing.Sometimes I can walk in after only one minute..and dont know what the hell they're playin, even tho its obvious they're good! If ypou've got good ears, you can pick up the chord progressions and recognize the tune. its almost like these cats WANT to keep you guessin' about the tune's title! You and I could name maybe 3 doz guys, like Dexter and Mobley and Getz (stop now) and never get tired diggin. they were different..and yet...all the same...in that very important way. maybe it was they put THEMSELVES into the tune, rather than bein so clinical. thanks much for sending this
Well, I was just getting ready to turn in and danged if you didn't light another fire. Dexter Gordon. In 1961, in the late spring and summer, I was at the University of Illinois and I used to really dig the live show on Chicago FM that I could pick up on my tuner. All of a sudden, the announcer would say, with great excitement, hey there, jazz fans, once again, it is a special time coming to you live from (I don't know if I am spelling it right) but it was Mackie's Disc Jockey Lounge with Sonny Stitt, Gene (Jug) Ammons and Dexter Gordon. Oh, how I dug that whole scene. Here I was a white, 21-year old kid from a farm town getting ready to go in August of that year to summer (boot) camp at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton,Va., and remember the Cadet across the hall who had gone to Howard University and kept telling me for a white guy, I sure had rhythm and knew my music. Well, who could listen to that live program and also go to the Southerland Lounge, which I did about three times in 1960 and 1961 to see, Jimmy Smith and Kenny Burrell, then Les McCann and all that Shout stuff he was doing at that time, and it was at that place that Dizzy had his first bent horn stolen. I think upstairs there was an apartment over the lounge and all I know is that Daddio Daley or someone said, damn, Dizzy had his instrument stolen, and I'm talking about that bent thing that he blows, and of course that was funny but not to Dizzy. I am pretty sure he had to get another one. Anyway, my life was being wonderfully blessed by so much good music, so I just took it for granted, but every once in a while it seemed unusual. Well, thanks for the memories, but just mentioning one word-DEXTER. I think Jug was wasted, Sonny was Sonny, but in my memory, the guy that seemed to be the glue that made it all work so well was Dexter. It was almost too much. I just get goose bumps remembering how fortunate I felt to have an apartment with all that music. I am sure that is why I didn't make better grades or focus more. Think about it, Steve Sample was my room mate the first semester of my sophomore year and he was getting a 98 on his Physics final!! And he used to stick his head in the back bunk room and ask me sometime to turn down the music. I dream of having a music room again like I did when I first met you. Since I am dreaming, I would like to have a 9'4'' Bosendorfer in there and a device where I can write and record a bunch of music that is rolling around in my head. Some of it is special and I just want to get it out as a gift to anyone that hears it. You and I know that some that are tone deaf will be like the song went, "Just walk on by", but maybe a few would be touched, but I know I will, because as I am typing right now, I can hear it and it is so fine. Sorry for such a long paragraph, but I always know that you are one person that can understand and it is kind of fulfilling to be able to express myself and know that someone will share the joy.
Keep on blessing Pittsburg and the rest of the world. Why, ole chap, I think you are getting famous like never before. Thanks for the World Wide Web and the gifts God has endowed you with. Your friend, Cado
HI, MISTER NELSON, I POSTED SOME PAINTINGS TODAY FROM SOME TO YOUR MOST JAZZ INFLUENCES...CLARK TERRY, LEE MORGAN AND CLIFFORD BROWN. THIS GUYS PAVE US MANY WAYS.
