Jazz Portraits from the WGBH Archives



		Jazz Portraits from the WGBH Archives Produced between 1993 and 1997, these portraits in words and music set the standard for radio musical documentary. Listen as such artists as Mili Bermejo and Yusef Lateef retrace their personal histories and recollect their musical inspirations. Interwoven among these memories is the music for which these artists are famous. Tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp (28:40) Producers: Steve Schwartz, Margot Stage Engineer: Alan Mattes John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Cecil Taylor were giving birth to the jazz avant-garde when Archie Shepp appeared on the New York jazz scene in the late 1950s. Shepp tells his story of meeting these giants, recording with them, and developing his own personal sound and concepts. We listen in on one of Shepp's music history classes at UMass Amherst. He has divided his time between playing and teaching as far back as the late 1960s. Shepp speaks his mind, both musically and politically, with straightforward emotion. More about Archie Shepp Bassist Avery Sharpe (28:25) Producers: Steve Schwartz, Margot Melnicove Engineer: Jane Pipik Bassist Avery Sharpe is best known or his long tenure with piano giant McCoy Tyner, but he has many other irons on the fire. Sharpe tells us in his own words and music about growing up in a musical family, his enrollment at UMass Amherst, and coming under the tutelage of jazz greats such as tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, drummer Max Roach, and bassist Reggie Workman. Sharpe's "Extended Family" series of recordings are featured throughout this portrait. He also tells us how he has tried to pass on the lessons that he has learned from his mentors. More about Avery Sharpe Pianist George Russell (28:41) Producers: Steve Schwartz, Margot Stage Engineer: Jane Pipik George Russell's career in music spans six decades. He tells us how he went from being an aspiring drummer to become one of the most freethinking composers, educators, and theorists in modern jazz. Russell talks about his concept behind the famous composition "Cubano Be, Cubano Bop," made famous by the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, which was part of that band's pioneering experiments in fusing bebop and Cuban jazz elements. We find out how he developed his Lydian chromatic concept. Russell has been part of the New England Conservatory faculty for 40 years, and we sit in on one of his classes. More about George Russell Trumpeter and Educator Herb Pomeroy (27:23) Producers: Steve Schwartz, Margot Stage Engineer: Alan Mattes Pomeroy began his musical career as a sideman in the big bands of Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, and Stan Kenton until forming his own big band in the late 1950s. A master of music theory and improvisation, Pomeroy has a passion for jazz performance rivaled only by his dedication to teaching. Here, Pomeroy describes how he went from intending to become a dentist to becoming one of the most respected trumpeters and educators in jazz. Pomeroy paints a picture of the 1950s Boston jazz scene and tells us how he came to play with Charlie Parker, who often hired Pomeroy when he hit Boston's Hi-Hat and Storyville clubs. We also hear Pomeroy in the classroom at Boston's Berklee College of Music, where he taught for more than 40 years. Pomeroy died on Aug. 21, 2007, after a long struggle with cancer. More about Herb Pomeroy Vocalist Mili Bermejo (28:57) Producers: Steve Schwartz, Margot Melnicove Engineer: Jane Pipik Critics have described Mili Bermejo's sound as "part poetry/folk, part Sarah Vaughan sophistication" and a place "where jazz meets Latin with elegance and soul." Bermejo recalls music from her formative years in Argentina and Mexico, including indigenous music she heard as a child and her first encounter with a Miles Davis record. Bermejo describes what it was like to enter a foreign culture — geographically and aesthetically — to pursue her dream of becoming a jazz vocalist. She also conveys her experiences as an instructor at Boston's Berklee College of Music. More about Mili Bermejo Drummer Alan Dawson (28:35) Producers: Steve Schwartz, Margot Stage Engineers: Alan Mattes, Jane Pipik Alan Dawson's performance credits read like a who's who in jazz. He has played alongside Oscar Peterson, Charles Mingus, Woody Shaw, Lionel Hampton, Dexter Gordon, Earl Hines, and Charles McPhereson, to name a few. Here, Dawson talks about how his life changed after he heard drummer Papa Jo Jones play with the Count Basie Orchestra. We travel back and forth from Boston to New York as Dawson balances teaching, recording, and club gigs. Dawson's former students include Tony Williams, Keith Copeland, and Bobby Ward. We sit in on a lesson at his home studio and experience his teaching style firsthand. More about Alan Dawson Clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre (28:48) Producers: Steve Schwartz, Margot Stage Engineers: Alan Mattes, Jane Pipik Giuffre describes his life in jazz, which began when he joined Woody Herman's big band in the late 1940s, for which he wrote the acclaimed "Four Brothers" (1947). In the 1950s, Giuffre was at the epicenter of the West Coast jazz movement, leading Claude Debussy-inspired drummerless trios. In the early 1960s and '70s, Giuffre experimented with improvisational jazz and began long tenures at the Lenox School of Jazz in western Massachusetts and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Giuffre died on April 24, 2008, after suffering from pneumonia and complications from Parkinson's Disease. More about Jimmy Giuffre Saxophonist Yusef Lateef (29:00) Producers: Steve Schwartz, Margot Stage Engineer: Jane Pipik Yusef Lateef reflects on how growing up in the Detroit jazz scene in the 1930s fueled his desire to play jazz at an early age. He talks of driving from Michigan to New York with fellow Detroiters such as pianist Barry Harris, drummer Louis Hayes, and trumpeter Donald Byrd for recording sessions and scurrying back to be on time for work at the auto plant first thing Monday morning. Lateef invites us to one of his music classes at UMass Amherst, where he taught for more than 14 years, the last two as a Five-College Distinguished Professor of Music. More about Yusef Lateef Saxophonist Jackie McLean (29:40) Producers: Steve Schwartz, Margot Stage Engineer: Engineer: Alan Mattes Growing up in Harlem in the 1930s and '40s, Jackie McLean (1932–2006) was literally surrounded by legends. He recalls the informal tutoring that he received from neighbors such as Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, and Charlie Parker and the recordings he made with Miles Davis, Art Blakey, and Charles Mingus as a young man. We visit McLean in his classroom at the Hartt School at the University of Harford, where he taught for more than 25 years. McLean created the university's African American Music Department (now the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz) and its jazz studies degree program. More about Jackie McLean