What You'll Find Here: Music, Movies and Me

Since May 1976, I have written in journals. When I have nothing particularly resonant to say about my own inner turmoil, philosophic ramblings, sexual peccadillos or whining on about the state of the world around me...I have always fallen back on reporting the cultural time consumption that takes up in inordinate portion of my daily goings on.

In the 40+ years since my first concerts seeing Children's Symphony presentations on Sundays at the Pasadena Civic or The Hot Jazz Society's monthly Dixieland romps in an old meeting hall on the edge of the L.A. "River" across from Griffith Park, I have been sold heavily on the magic of live music. As Neil Young so aptly put it, "Live music is better bumper stickers should be issued."

Growing up a few orange groves and canyons length away from Hollywood also contributed greatly to my family's addiction to movie going. From the time I was a small there were weekly trips to the drive-in theaters that dotted the landscape, or the local Temple theater for the Saturday matinees. Once in a while we'd drive the 12 miles into Hollywood and see something in one of the magnificent old movie palaces like Grauman's Chinese, the Egyptian, The Pantages or later the Cinerama Dome. My dad loved Westerns and War movies, as if he didn't get enough shoot-'em-up as an L.A. County Sheriff in his day gig, my mom adored musicals and comedies. My brother and I loved them all.

At SDSU, I played in my first gigging band and began booking concerts on campus as part of the well-funded Cultural Arts Board, kindling for my future life in and around music.

So it's not surprising that my first jobs out of college were working in local video rental places (which were all the rage) or managing a couple of Sam Goody record stores in Mall's on the East Coast where we marveled at the new CD format and sold the first home computers and video games (yes Commodore and Pong and Atari).

So these are really just extensions of all of those journal entries talking about the great new movies I was seeing and LPs/CDs I was listening to.

Though iPODS/iPADs, apps, smart phones and downloads now make music and movies accessible in your own pocket, there is still nothing like sitting in front of a stack of speakers with a room full of people swaying to music created before your eyes. Nor is there anything that works quite so well for me to escape the real world and all of it's pressures just outside than two hours in a dark theater, absorbing the stories flickering across that wide screen as they pull you into their world.

But a really good taco runs a close third...

Sunday, October 2, 2011

LET'S NOT FORGET CORNELL DUPREE & JOE MORELLO



Better late than never...I wanted to be sure to not miss talking a bit about two of the music world's great musicians who passed away earlier this year.

Within two months of each other this past Spring, the music world lost two masterful musical treasures. JOE MORELLO, the innovative jazz drummer passed on March 11th and one of the major unsung heroes of the electric guitar, the great CORNELL DUPREE died on May 8th. Dupree was 68 years old and Morello, 82.

Having recorded on more that 2500 recording sessions, the word among musicians and fans alike was that Dupree always made everyone he played with sound better. His round tone and biting attack somehow complimented each other while his speed, tasteful choices and stylistic diversity made him an in-demand session man and band member.

If you have been collecting music for more than the past 5-10 years you will undoubtedly have numerous records in your stash featuring the smoldering licks of the always slick and tasty Mr. Dupree. Just a small illustration of the breadth and influence of this largely unheralded master, check out this very minor sampling of his session work. He has recorded with:

- King Curtis:
"Memphis Soul Stew"

- Esther Phillips
- Rahsaan Roland Kirk
- Wilson Pickett
- Freddy King
- Gabor Szabo
- Lulu
- Aretha Frankin
- Laura Nyro
- Les McCann
- David 'Fathead' Newman
- Carmen McRae
- Eddie Harris
- Leon Thomas
- Herbie Mann
- Grover Washington, Jr.
- Archie Shepp
- B.B. King
- Donny Hathaway
- Rufus Thomas
- Eddie Palmieri
- Stanley Turrentine
- Bette Midler
- Sonny Stitt
- Duane Allman
- Guess Who
- James Brown
- Lou Donaldson
- Billy Cobham
- Ashford & Simpson
- Jackie DeShannon
- Maggie Bell
- Buddy Rich
- Big Mama Thornton
- Hank Crawford
- Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson
- Michel Legrand
- Ian Hunter
- Ringo Starr
- Elvin Jones
- Etta James
- Gladys Knight
- The Average White Band
- Carly Simon
- Chaka Khan
- John Mayall
- The Crusaders
- Sam Cooke
- Michael Franks
- Lou Rawls
- Lightnin' Hopkins
- Lena Horne
- Andy Gibb (yes, Andy Gibb)
- Mariah Carey
- Delbert McClinton
- David Sanborn
- LaVern baker
- Dakota Staton
- Jackie Wilson
- Yusef Lateef
- Grant Green
- Duke Ellington
- Ray Charles
- Peter Wolf
- Jack McDuff
- Dusty Springfield
- Sam Moore
- Quincy Jones
- Brook Benton
- David Ruffin
- Miles Davis
- The Gadd Gang:

"Watchin' The River Flow":

More Gadd Gang "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" (not Stuff as it claims)



Many of you folks of my generation know him from his work on Paul Simon's There Goes Rhymin' Simon or his work from the mid-70s with Joe Cocker. Dupree appeared on these records with his bandmates in STUFF, who released five records for Warner Brothers during the same period. This particularly prolific period for Dupree also found him recording and releasing his first records as a leader.



Cocker was a wreck on this tour but Stuff was the tightest, most inspired band he'd ever front. Here's an audio track from the tour. Listen to guitarists Dupree and Eric Gale wail!

During his recording career, his guitar playing on his own records was as diverse and genre busting as his work as a sideman. Always with a round tone and smooth, tasteful choice of notes, both his rhythm and lead playing were funky and soulful whether playing rhythmic soul numbers of more expansive jazz melodies. His late 80s/90s output was decidedly more jazzy with 1992's live UNCLE FUNKY and 1994's BOP N BLUES being among my favorites. COAST TO COAST WAS NOMINATED FOR A GRAMMY IN 1988.

"Sunny":

I recently spotted Dupree near the end of the wonderful documentary on reclusive singer Bill Withers. Withers has disappeared from the recording and live performance scene for many years and near the end of this illuminating film, we see Withers re-inspired and joining Dupree for an impromptu live version of the singer's own "Grandma's Hands". A stirring and soulful moment.

There is a ton of Dupree video on YouTube. Check out any of it...

The tasteful sounds of Cornell Dupree live on in our music collections.

##


If the only session he ever cut was Dave Brubeck's "Take Five", Joe Morello's place in musical history would be assured. The fact is that he was a vital force in the Dave Brubeck Quartet during the years when they were not only the most popular jazz band in the world but a band who brought jazz back onto the pop charts and influenced a nation of college kids and jazz fans with their popularization of non-traditional time signatures, their melodic compositions and impeccable group interplay. In the rhythm section alongside bassist Eugene Wright, Morello redefined jazz drumming for a generation of music students. 

He was child violin prodigy playing with the Boston Symphony at age 6 but by the time he turned 15 he had decided that the drums were his musical calling. He studied and played around Springfield, MA before heading out on the road with Grand Old Opry star, guitarist Hank Garland. In short order he found himself drawn to NYC where he begins getting gigs with the likes of Sal Salvador, Stan Kenton Big Band, Tal Farlow, Gil Melle, Jimmy Raney and really  began to make a name for himself with pianist Marian McPartland's Hickory House Trio (with bassist Bill Crow) in New York in the early 50s. He passed on stints with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey to take a two-month tour with Dave Brubeck that would up lasting over 12 years.

When Brubeck disbanded the Quartet in 1968, Morello dove head first in academics given private lessons, clinics, lectures, etc. As a drum teacher he is raved about by all of his former students. He has mentored many young drummers through private lessons and instructional videos.

Delaware based drummer for the band Kombu Combo, John DiGiovanni remembers Joe:

"I took some lessons with Joe at Glenn Weber's Drum Shop in West Orange, where he'd been teaching for years. I don't know if he was completely blind at this point, but he didn't need to see well to know what I was doing! He was older at this point but he still had those blazingly fast hand chops. I was working through his Master Studies book at the time, putting 2 to 4 hours a day into it. Joe kept directing me to his teacher George Stone's book, Stick Control, which he basically took and made 10 times more challenging. The Master Studies book is arguably the best book for getting your hands together. Very unassuming and humble guy he was, and I wish I could have had more time with him. 

"Joe was one of the very best, one of the few drummers who could give Buddy Rich a run for his money, chops- wise, plus he had all of that sensitivity and great timing. After all, he played on the most famous jazz recording of all time!"


He eventually formed his own bands and played almost exclusively around the NYC area finding time over the years to record on over 120 records (including 60 with Brubeck).

Here are some examples of the late, great Joe Morello in action.
 
 Sounds of the Loop:


Take FIve in 1995 on Conan O'Brien


Heard here with Marian McPartland and Bill Crow in 1955:



and an hour long Drum Method video from Joe for all you drummers out there...don't say I never did anything for ya!





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