[Dixielandjazz] guitarist/vocalist Marty Grosz on Jazz Lives blog

[Norman Vickers]

To:  Musicians and Jazzfans; DJML

From: Norman Vickers, Jazz Society of Pensacola

 

Michael Steinman's Jazz Lives blog features guitarist/vocalist Marty Grosz
on "I'll be glad when you're dead you rascal you."  It's about six minutes.

If you listen to the end, another set of choices will come up and I
recommend listening to Grosz on "It's a Sin To Tell a Lie."  On this one
he's accompanied by Scott Robinson on curved soprano sax.  I don't recognize
the player on clarinet/straight soprano sax.( Some jazz scholar will clarify
this for us.)  Vince Giordono plays both his aluminum bass and his bass
saxophone.  His tuba is on stand behind him, but Giordono doesn't get around
to playing that on this particular number.

 

Marty is a great raconteur-and besides that, he can tell a good story
(smile)-and, to my mind, the funniest man in jazz today.  Plays acoustic
guitar only.  I once knew how he strings the guitar.  As I remember
correctly the 6th string rather than low E is tuned to Bb.  

 

If you're unfamiliar with his bio, look him up.  His father was famous
German satirical artist who was not a favorite of Hitler.  So, they
immigrated to Brooklyn and Marty fell in love with American music. Etc.

 

Permit me one Louis Armstrong anecdote-Armstrong was traveling with a group
in the 1930s and had a weekly national broadcast.  He'd make arrangements to
go to radio station in the city he found himself.  When traveling in
Memphis, he and group were arrested for breaking some segregation laws
prevalent at the time.  He and group were briefly booked  into the Shelby
County Jail and then released on bond.  When he did his radio show, he
dedicated a number to the Memphis Police Department.  The song, of course,
was "I"ll Be glad when you're dead, you rascal you!"

 

Here's the link:
http://jazzlives.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/marty-grosz-lets-us-know-it-2012/

 

 
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