Pittsburgh's Own Regional Notables of Jazz
AFRO-AMERICAN MUSIC INSTITUTE CELEBRATES 36 YEARS
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PITTSBURGH JAZZ
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, Parlan to 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.
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Duke Ellington is first African-American and the first musician to solo on U.S. circulating coin
MARY LOU WILLIAMS
INTERVIEW
"No One Could Tell You How To Play"
By Jerry Granelli
"I was born in 1940 so I remember when the Tenderloin had music and when Market Street had all those clubs. My dad was a drummer, not a professional musician but he just loved the instrument.
I remember Jimbo's Bop City but I also remember Bimbo's 365 Club. The Italian Village, just all these night clubs. I grew up in those nightclubs.
Julian Priester once said, "you would start playing on a Friday Night and you wouldn't stop till Monday Night. That was the goal. Jimbo's Bop City was the Mecca with Ronnie's Soulville and "The Plantation."
Jimbo's started at two in the morning. At it's purest form it was a place where you could go and play because you weren't getting paid. No one could tell you how to play. It was a melting pot of what became jazz music.
It was the education system, it was harsh and there was a pecking order. You knew where you stood. When I first went to Bop City I stood around till 6 in the morning and I would play with the Dregs of humanity. Because that's basically the level I was playing at.
I went to places like the Coo Coo Clun" and I would get a couple of beats in and someone would just take the sticks away. That was harsh but I didn't give up. At it's corrupted form it was just like anything else. I prefer to remember it for what it produced and it was community. It was a real sense of community.
Dick Berk and I were in High School together along with another great drummer Eddie Moore. There was only one guy that was going to get to play. We were rooting for each other. Trying to cut each other's throat and trying to support each other too."
© 2024 Created by Dr. Nelson Harrison.
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