Billy Bean "The Trio"

[silverfoxx]

There is a dearth of info and comment on Billy Bean , a great player, admired by Pat Martino
and others. If anyone has information on Billy and his work,equipment etc it would be of
interest please.

[David B]

You need the Billy Bean biography written by Seth Greenberg. I have the abridged e-book version. It's all in there.

Link: Billy Bean Biography ? Midoriyama Publishing

[dingusmingus]

Yeah, I love his clean, precise tone.

Here's a nice thread on Bean. In it, I posted a transcription I did from that Trio record:
https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/playe...illy-bean.html

[silverfoxx]

Yeah, I love his clean, precise tone.

Here's a nice thread on Bean. In it, I posted a transcription I did from that Trio record:
https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/playe...illy-bean.html

Thanks dingusmingus. i've now picked up on a thread from early last year on Billy Bean &
The Trio etc., been trying to pin down his remarkable style. IMHO shades of Tal Farlow
even a hint of Howard Roberts and of course Pat M. The Trio recording knocked me out
fantastic rapport between Bass ,Piano & Guitar.



Cheers Silverfoxx

[silverfoxx]

You need the Billy Bean biography written by Seth Greenberg. I have the abridged e-book version. It's all in there.

Link: Billy Bean Biography ? Midoriyama Publishing

David, thank you for the quick response and useful information.
you also seem to have sparked conversation over the pond
on The London Jazz Guitar Society, I'll take a look at your
blog when I have time.

Silverfoxx

[neatomic]

his 2 late 50's decca quintet recordings with john pisano are real good listens…recommended



billys also in the "peter gunn" show.. mothers house band

good player


cheers

[jbernstein91]

He played one of my favorite jazz guitar solos of all time on this Bud Shank record. Short but sweet (starting at 0:44 in):

[neatomic]

that shank lp is great!…soundtrack for early surf film of bruce brown pre endles summer

there's another shank surf soundtrack with dennis budimir on guitar, if i remember correctly

cheers

[silverfoxx]

Thanks for info on Billy Bean & Bud Shank , both superstar players
up there with the best.
I appreciate your replies, neatomic



Cheers

[wintermoon]

Thanks dingusmingus. i've now picked up on a thread from early last year on Billy Bean &
The Trio etc., been trying to pin down his remarkable style. IMHO shades of Tal Farlow
even a hint of Howard Roberts and of course Pat M. The Trio recording knocked me out
fantastic rapport between Bass ,Piano & Guitar.



Cheers Silverfoxx

just one thing Silverfoxx, you may hear Pat Martino in his playing, but that's because he influnced Martino, not the other way around.

check out these live performances recorded @ the end of his career, he really gets to stretch out.
click onto the poster's user name jp175r, there's several posted...

[wintermoon]

this is probably my favorite solo of his....

[silverfoxx]

Thanks wintermoon, i have been so impressed with the clarity and
quality of The Trio recording especially considering is was made in
the early 60's , a truly remarkable guitarist. I did arrive at the
conclusion that he influenced PM & not vice versa but I am grateful
that you pointed this out also.




Best

[silverfoxx]

this is probably my favorite solo of his....

+1 to that Groove Yard really grabbed me . prefer it to Wes' recording
( better put on my Steel helmet now anticipate "incoming" for that)

[David B]

Here's the only footage of Billy Bean:

[neatomic]

for info sake, here's the other surf film soundtrack of shanks with dennis budimir…another great player



the band would actually play live to bruce browns screenings



cheers

[feral guitar]

there's something special about his sense of time...

[coolvinny]

I have the book, and the albums The Trio, Slippery When Wet, West Coast Sessions (which I paid serious money for!) and Makin It/Take Your Pick. I've learned a ton from Billy Bean...but it all started with The Trio.

My favorite Billy solo? his 80 bar tour-de-force on The End of a Love Affair. Note how he changes the form during the solo - the tune is AABAC but he solos over AABAA AABAC. Not hard, but an interesting idea for multi-chorus solos.

[pubylakeg]

Thanks wintermoon, i have been so impressed with the clarity and
quality of The Trio recording especially considering is was made in
the early 60's , a truly remarkable guitarist. I did arrive at the
conclusion that he influenced PM & not vice versa but I am grateful
that you pointed this out also.

Best

Check out the Dennis Sandole thread..

https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/playe...s-sandole.html

[neatomic]

watched dvd of bruce browns first surf "epic"- slippery when wet-…in added prologue, brown tells the story of going to hermosa, to the lighthouse and asking bud shank if he'd do the music for his film…shank told brown he'd never done a film soundtrack before, and brown confessed he'd never directed a film before!!…gave shank 250$ for the job..budget too small for a studio, they cut it in a backroom at the world pacific offices…brown projected the film onto a wall, through a mail slot and the shank quartet played along (and were recorded!)...

amazing interplay between shank and billy bean throughout…particularly when shank plays flute…just great


bean also worked with paul horn to very good effect…horn used guitarists john pisano and billy bean



cheers

[silverfoxx]

Thanks for the heads up on the DVD if
it is still available. I will acquire it I've
become a Bean a'holic . Seriously tho '
I'm a big fan of 50's /60', Jazz pre Beatles
era when it was at it's peak this side of the
pond.
Cheers

[AlsoRan]

I know its an old thread, but I finally had a chance to sit down and listen to "The Trio" CD for an extended period. I can only say two things. First, it was a dynamic group. Those three guys filled the air with music, and Billy Bean was so clear and concise. And second, it has kind of changed my point of view on drummerless bands. The absence of drums creates a certain type of atmosphere that I can now appreciate much more.

Now I have to go back to a couple of Jim Hall's Albums with Bill Evans to see if my appreciation for that drummerless setting has improved.

[fasstrack]

just one thing Silverfoxx, you may hear Pat Martino in his playing, but that's because he influnced Martino, not the other way around.

check out these live performances recorded @ the end of his career, he really gets to stretch out.
click onto the poster's user name jp175r, there's several posted...

Yeah, great stuff: the ideas and flow. Nice, fat (though a bit hollow) tone, too. Certain young 'name' hotshot players on the scene today who think they're the schlitz would do well to listen and learn. Thank you Mr. Bean, too, for playing Strayhorn's changes, not Trane's, at the end of Lush Life. Well done.

I first heard the Trio when Eddie Diehl played me a record. Lest we forget, it was a hell of a TRIO. Hal Gaylor and Walter Norris ain't exactly chopped liver, now.

I had heard that Mr. Bean wasn't too well toward the end, over-toping and a guy told me he was speaking in a put-on Irish accent:

'So you want to pluyay BEBWOP, lad?'

He deserved a better fate than to be assigned 'legend' status after he was gone and couldn't use it to pay bills...

[NSJ]

I know its an old thread, but I finally had a chance to sit down and listen to "The Trio" CD for an extended period. I can only say two things. First, it was a dynamic group. Those three guys filled the air with music, and Billy Bean was so clear and concise. And second, it has kind of changed my point of view on drummerless bands. The absence of drums creates a certain type of atmosphere that I can now appreciate much more.

Now I have to go back to a couple of Jim Hall's Albums with Bill Evans to see if my appreciation for that drummerless setting has improved.

I'm telling you, there is a trio featuring Oscar Moore on guitar with this piano player who also sings. I hear they're pretty good

Mosaic put out at 18 CD box set . It was long out of print, but I stumbled upon it used. Like I said, I hear they're pretty good. You should check them out . Maybe you can Google "Oscar Moore drummerless trio "

[BeanSinger]

As a self proclaimed Bean freak, of course I love this record, but it is informal jam stuff that shows him at his very best I think. And someone mentioned his time feel, yes, that is my favorite part of the many things to love about his playing. And it seems clear that Martino must have heard him growing up. Is there any record of that?

[AlsoRan]

I'm telling you, there is a trio featuring Oscar Moore on guitar with this piano player who also sings. I hear they're pretty good

Mosaic put out at 18 CD box set . It was long out of print, but I stumbled upon it used. Like I said, I hear they're pretty good. You should check them out . Maybe you can Google "Oscar Moore drummerless trio "

They were apparently called the "Three Blazers." Oscar's brother, Johnny Moore was in it and Wikipedia writes that Oscar joined him in the band in its latter stages. The link below also identifies that "pianist/singer" you wrote about.

I will see if I can find some of their recordings.

Thanks!

Johnny Moore's Three Blazers - Wikipedia