[Dixielandjazz] PEEWEE WAS A GENIUS

[Marek Boym]

A genius.  Definitely.  From start to finish.

And one does not really need to choose between Russell and the great
swing players.  I, for one, stil swaer allegience to His late Majesty
the King (of swing).  No nostalgia here - I first heard jazz in the
mid 1950's, after his kingdom had crumbled.  And i admire Artie, and
Mince, and Faz.  And many others.  So?

Russell was unique.  Perhaps the best illustration are his outings
with another absolutely unique musician - Red Allen (aptly described
in the liner notes to "Swing Trumpet Kings" as "the minority of one."
Two apparent "outsiders" playing their own thing, unlike anybody else,
and still squarely rooted in jazz mainstream (the avant garde
trumpeter Don Ellis described Allen as "the most avant garde trumpet
player in New York").

Cheers


On 27/05/2009, Robert Newman <bobngaye at surewest.net> wrote:
> I wasn't a PeeWee enthusiast.   I was an admirer of Benny, Artie, Johnny Mince, Barney Bigard, Faz, Matty --.    Shortly after PeeWee died in 1969 I was in New York on an assignment with my day job.    So I made it a point to talk to somebody about PeeWee.   I found Jimmy McPartland's group was playing there so I cornered his clarinet player (I didn't know of him) and asked him what he thought about PeeWee.   He looked at me like he thought I was from outer space and mumbled, "PeeWee was a GENIUS" -- and walked away.
>
> That same trip I caught Marshall Brown's group, which I had heard recorded with PeeWee, and whose great stock
> arrangements I really liked playing lead alto on.   I asked Brown what he thought about PeeWee.   He looked at me like he thought I was some kind of a nut and said, "Pee Wee was a GENIUS!" even with more emphasis.   And walked away.
>
> That made me think a lot about PeeWee and listen to his recordings a bunch.   What I heard and began to understand for the first time, was that he was a wonderful ensemble player.   A TEAM PLAYER.   He drove right through the group precisely where he made the ensemble sound beautiful.   And then his solos made a helluva lot more sense.   Perfect sense when you put it right in the middle of where he was -- with his perfectly matched buddies at exactly the right moment.
>
> Now -- if you want to hear a great tribute to PeeWee -- the best I've ever heard -- listen to Gary Shivers' broadcast -- done many years ago.
>
> I have an excellent recording of the broadcast -- given to me long ago -- don't know who Gary Shivers was or is -- but it's a real understanding tribute.   Anybody out there familiar with Gary Shivers?   I'd like to share that wonderful hour-plus broadcast with you but how is that possible?
>
> Bob Newman
> _______________________________________________
> To unsubscribe or change your e-mail preferences for the Dixieland Jazz Mailing list, or to find the online archives, please visit:
>
> http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
>
>
>
> Dixielandjazz mailing list
> Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
>