[Dixielandjazz] Big Sid Catlett

[Ken Mathieson]

Hi John et al,

Many thanks for your response. Yes, I've got the Rex Stewart book and the
Barney Bigard book, which has a brief section on Catlett and of course Burt
Korall's fine book Drummin' Men, which devotes a whole chapter to him, as
well as containing numerous cross-references in chapters on other drummers.
There's actually a great deal of info about him in print, but the problem is
that it's spread around thinly in a large number of sources. Burt Korall's
chapter is the most comprehensive source I've found so far. What's needed is
a biog to bring together the best of this existing material in a coherent
manner and new information culled from personal interviews, analysis of
recordings etc.

It's hard to compare different players objectively, as personal taste is
such a big factor, but for me, what characterises Sid was his musicality: he
was a consummate musican whose instrument happened to be drums, whereas a
lot of the big-name drummers may be fine musicians, but are first and
foremost outstanding drummers. With Sid there was plenty of showmanship, but
the concert recordings show that, even when there's obviously stick-throwing
and other business going on, his drumming still makes musical and rhythmic
sense. I get the strong sense that the music always came first and that his
conceptual approach to playing (varying his support for other musicians,
playing on the front of the beat and driving the performance with urgency,
constructing solos around melodic ideas, subordinating technique in the
pursuit of musical ideas) was very influential among the drummers of the
next generation.

Indeed, Max Roach once described him to me as "The Bridge", the crucial link
between the older drumming styles and the (then) revolutionary jazz of the
be-boppers. "Big Sid was 'The Bridge' and we all crossed over on what he
laid down" was his quote. If I can get the book written before I become too
old and decrepit, it'll be called The Bridge.

I really need to get up to speed on Catlett with Condon, which I'm ashamed
to say is a totally new topic for me, so I'd appreciate listers' advice on
the best Condon recordings to further my education.

Regards and thanks,

Ken Mathieson
www.classicjazzorchestra.org.uk




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Petters" <jdpetters at btinternet.com>
To: "Ken Mathieson" <ken at kenmath.free-online.co.uk>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 10:33 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Big Sid Catlett


> Hi Ken,
> Very interested in your bio on Big Sid. Presumably you have the article
> by Rex Stewart in his book.
> Sid was beyond doubt a genius. I always maintained that Louis' Allstars
> had a downward progression of drummers. Sid, then Cozy, not so good,
> Kenny John, good swinger, Barrett  Deems, not in the same league as Sid
> or Cozy and finally the awful Danny Barcelona.
> Sid, along with Baby Dodds is one of the most difficult drummers to
> imitate. Both Zutty snd Gene are relatively easy to approximate - and I
> do mean approximate. But no one can get close to Baby or Sid.
> An interesting note on the Condon recording of O Katharina from 2 Dec
> 1943, we  see that Sid was human after all. He SLOWS down in his solo.
> It is really heartening for us mere mortals to realise that these
> geniuss suffer from many of our shortcomings!
> Many of Sid's records would be desert island discs. Steak Face from the
> Symphony Hall concert, the wonderful  Teddy Wilson Sextet session from
> the early 40s, Victory Stride, either take, with James P, any of the
> Bechets.......Don't foreget the Esquire jazz concert...
> Sid left us too early. Its time for an in depth study of his legacy.
> Eagerly awaited
> Keep swinging
>
> -- 
> John Petters
> Amateur Raduio Station G3YPZ
> www.traditional-jazz.com
>
>
>
>
> Ken Mathieson wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> While we're debating live versus studio recordings, my favourite Louis
>> Armstrong All-Stars record is their 1947 concert at Boston's Symphony
>> Hall, partly because the whole band is clearly having a ball, as is the
>> audience (that 2-way electricity thing), and partly because the recording
>> balance puts the peerless Big Sid Catlett right at the centre of the
>> performances so you can hear exactly why he was Louis' favourite drummer.
>>
>> Out of curiosity, did any of this list's members attend that concert or
>> hear the All-Stars when Catlett was on drums. I'm interested in any
>> eye-witness reports and personal observations and reminiscences as I'm
>> gathering material for a biog of Big Sid and will be delighted to give
>> name-checks. There aren't too many people around now who heard or played
>> with Big Sid, but I was able to talk to Arvell Shaw, Max Roach and Dick
>> Cary before they passed, as well as recording extended interviews with
>> Bob Wilber, Sweets Edison and Humphrey Lyttelton, so additional
>> eye-witness input and anecdotage would be much appreciated.
>>
>> I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I'm much less familiar with the Condon
>> Town Hall recordings, which in part got the "Live versus Studio" debate
>> going, so observations, anecdotes etc about Catlett with Condon would be
>> enormously helpful.
>>
>> Thanks in advance for your input,
>>
>> Ken Mathieson
>> www.classicjazzorchestra.org.uk
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>


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