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I stumbled across this little article in the NY Times and thought I'd pass it along.
Is This the Greatest Photo in Jazz History? - The New York Times
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03-13-2019 01:40 AM
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Thanks for the photo and link!
These cats sounded magical on every instrument they could get their hands on, though I think that among all the horn brands that Charlie Parker used (or often had to use) his 'holy grail' sax was this King Super 20 alto (# 295173), specifically made for him in the late 1940s (sold for $265,000 around 2005).
The same is with Charles Mingus who played on dozens of basses throughout his career, but the legendary violin-shaped bass on that gig was what he simply called "The Bass". It was made in the late 1920s by one of the numerous small, but fabulous workshops in Markneukirchen, Saxony: Ernst Heinrich Roth (EROMA). The company is still putting out very high quality stringed instruments, on a small scale. I guess it's not easy to manage an enterprise through two world wars, nazism, communism, globalization, the collapse of traditional family structures, etc. … (www.roth-violins.de ).
Btw., the "Lion's (or Dragon's) Head" carving on that bass is a later addition.Today, the "custody" of this bass has Boris Kozlov, a great bass player based in NYC (Bass shot of the day - Jason Heath's Double Bass Blog - scroll down to comments).
Last edited by Ol' Fret; 03-13-2019 at 07:35 AM.
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Here's another.......called a 'Great Day in Harlem'........not sure how it'll enlarge on this site......
...it's as many jazz greats as ever assembled for one photo.......
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Most people will have seen this but if you have not worth a watch
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I've always heard this was the most famous jazz photo - there's even a kid's book dedicated to it, which I found particularly amusing. If I'm ever in New York again, I plan on trying to find that spot.
Originally Posted by Dennis D
Here's another.......called a 'Great Day in Harlem'........not sure how it'll enlarge on this site......
...it's as many jazz greats as ever assembled for one photo.......
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They did a follow up photo, I'll see if I can find it. It's pretty stark in contrast...we've lost so many of the greats...
edit: found a low res...
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Found it, see site below
A Great Day … 55 Years Later | native to the place
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Ah, 55 years later. I was searching for 50 years later...apparently that makes quite a difference in the quality of the results.
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Out of curiosity I checked, and it turns out I have seen 8 of these guys, wish I'd been able to see more! Originally Posted by Dennis D
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Some will be glad that the jazz greats didn't die off as fast as the inhabitants of Oceana were doing in the last years. Darned Oxycodone-craze, a tragedy … Do they think the pharmaceutical industry and some docs would not be greedy, or that these pills would be candies?
Then, there is the mass of not so famous jazz photos, home brews … for capturing the disciples of the jazz greats.
Here's Jesse Davis, and it took me a while to figure out what was unusual on Jesse's alto sax - only noticed it later in my shot:
Jazz guitar players, IMO, are more often - ahem - buttoned-down folks (I don't mean their clothes), at least not as photogenic as some singers or horn players:
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Another famous jazz photo. Ben Webster and John Coltrane, photographed in 1960.
Article: The Intimacy Behind Jazz’s Seminal Image - The New York Times
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He's got a curved neck like a tenor, instead of the straight neck altos usually have. Why does he use that? Originally Posted by Ol' Fret
Some will be glad that the jazz greats didn't die off as fast as the inhabitants of Oceana were doing in the last years. Darned Oxycodone-craze, a tragedy … Do they think the pharmaceutical industry and some docs would not be greedy, or that these pills would be candies?
Then, there is the mass of not so famous jazz photos, home brews … for capturing the disciples of the jazz greats.
Here's Jesse Davis, and it took me a while to figure out what was unusual on Jesse's alto sax - only noticed it later in my shot:
Jazz guitar players, IMO, are more often - ahem - buttoned-down folks (I don't mean their clothes), at least not as photogenic as some singers or horn players:
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Never seen that, it's like a teacher embracing his student Originally Posted by David B
Another famous jazz photo. Ben Webster and John Coltrane, photographed in 1960.
Article: The Intimacy Behind Jazz’s Seminal Image - The New York Times
Thanks for the post!
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...and now in 2019, there only two adults from the original photo still with us: Benny Golson and Sonny Rollins. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
They did a follow up photo, I'll see if I can find it. It's pretty stark in contrast...we've lost so many of the greats...
edit: found a low res...
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Originally Posted by sgcim
Yes, that remains a bit puzzling!
Jesse's vintage alto sax was heavily modified. Just like with old archtop guitars, the sound of these instruments is unmatched, but sometimes there are certain disadvantages in terms of comfort and intonation that a good technician can improve.
In any case, the adaptation of a tenor sax neck to an alto saxophone, in combination with a corresponding mouthpiece, requires a considerable amount of acoustic knowledge and craftsmanship.
Here was a little discussion about that topic: https://forum.saxontheweb.net/archive/index.php/t-275097.html
Some demos of the "Talto tenor-shaped alto neck" - it seems horn players are just as susceptible to gear and gimmicks as guitarists!
and a clip of Jesse's sound on a modified Buescher TH& C alto with regular neck:
https://vimeo.com/channels/saxon/121873570
I have heard Jesse many times before. At that concert above, as always, he sounded great to my ears with a timbre that might go a bit towards tenor sax sound - which is fine for me.
Last edited by Ol' Fret; 03-14-2019 at 07:52 AM.
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Just returning to this thread to thank you (jockster) for posting that video. I really enjoyed watching it, yesterday! Originally Posted by jockster
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Great picture and great article.
What a time to be alive and part of the scene. That’s one of my daydreams, to be able to go back in time to that particular era.
Along with Bud Powell and Dizzy. A lot of giants walked the earth in those days.
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This is what's called an infamous jazz photo....
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Okay, it's 1953. You just happen to stop in at a little place called "The Open Door" to hear some good jazz. The guys are setting up, and there's an announcement... "Our guitar player couldn't make it. Can anybody sit in for him tonight?" You remember your guitar is right outside in the car. What do you do?
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Originally Posted by strumcat
Depends on who exactly those guys were. In relation to the photo above it is a rhetorical question.
Monk didn't like to play with guitar players - except Charlie Christian. So, if your name was Charlie Christian, you could have sit in.
I can accept Monk's decision. Too often a piano and a guitar player in one band clash harmonically and rhythmically, overloading the music, giving too less freedom and 'breathing'. The exception proves the rule. The same is with some combos where the singing piano player sees himself primarily as a singer, not so much a piano player.
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Cue for a caption competition? Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
This is what's called an infamous jazz photo....
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haha “man, you look silly in that jacket”
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Yeah I was thinking more like ‘WTF are you doing on my stage MF, get the F outa here!’
Which I believe is probably what Miles actually said when Wynton invaded the stage.
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I read the article, but wish I hadn't, it didn't reveal anything about the photo, which remains, at least to me, quite mysterious. For one thing, I've often thought that the old guard guys like Webster would have treated Coltrane with suspicion, even as early as 1960. Rollins was about the only other tenor guy that seemed to really get Trane back then... Originally Posted by David B
Another famous jazz photo. Ben Webster and John Coltrane, photographed in 1960.
Article: The Intimacy Behind Jazz’s Seminal Image - The New York Times
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Well it’s obvious, Ben is trying to strangle Coltrane. Originally Posted by princeplanet
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