Buddy Rich Big Band

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The Buddy Rich Big Band performing in the Arcadia Ballroom, New York City, circa May 1947. Photograph by William P. Gottlieb

The Buddy Rich Big Band , also Buddy Rich & His Big Band or Buddy Rich and the Big Band Machine was a big band led by the drummer and singer Buddy Rich . The band, founded in 1966, had a forerunner with an orchestra that existed from 1946 to 1948. In the 1970s, the Buddy Rich Big Band with the formations of Maynard Ferguson , Woody Herman and the Tonight Show Band under the direction of Doc Severinsen was one of the most popular jazz orchestras in the United States. "With big stars like the saxophonists Don Menza , Ernie Watts or Art Pepper , the trumpeters Bobby Shew or Chuck Findley , his big band became a world-wide celebrated headliner at all important jazz festivals," said Ulrich Habersetzer in BR-Klassik .

Buddy Rich and His Orchestra 1946-1948

Occupation 1946
Trumpet: Bitsy Mullens , Lou Oles , Pinky Savitt and Tommy Allison
Trombone: Al Lorraine , Earl Swope , Johnny Mandel
Alto saxophone: Jerry Therkeld , Les Clarke
Baritone saxophone: Sid Brown
Tenor saxophone: George Berg , Mickey Rich
Piano: Tony Nichols
Bass: Joe Shulman
Drums Buddy Rich, Stan Kay
singing Buddy Rich, Dorothy Reid

After drummer Buddy Rich and singer Frank Sinatra left Tommy Dorsey's swing orchestra , he founded his first big band in 1946 with financial support from Sinatra. George T. Simon , music critic at Metronome at the time , saw the big band's first appearances in January 1946 as "very impressive".

“She played a number of excellent modern arrangements by Ed Finckel , Tadd Dameron , Turk Van Lake and Billy Moore Jr., as well as some good sidemen like trombonist Earl Swope , trumpeter Lou Oles and clarinetist Aaron Sachs . By far the most outstanding man in the band, however, was Rich himself. His drumming, as always, was amazing. His singing, especially on "Baby, Baby, All the Time", was wonderful. "

With the orchestra, Rich also recorded a number of jazz numbers such as "Desperate Desmond" (Mercury 260-B), "Quiet Riot", "Route 66" (Mercury 301), " Carioca ", the bebop number "Oop Bap Sham Bam "By Dizzy Gillespie ," Ready to Go Steady "by Alec Wilder , the standards" I Cover the Waterfront "and" What Is This Thing Called Love ", also the vocal number" A Sunday Kind Of Love "with the singer Marjorie" Margie " Deans. The Buddy Rich Orchestra also played drummer Stan Kay (who later served as the band manager for Rich); he replaced the band leader on his vocal numbers "The Frim Fram Sauce" and "It's About Time". The other band vocalist was Dorothy Reid on "Day By Day", "You've Got Me Cryin 'Again" and "I'm Always Chasing Rainbow".

The Buddy Rich Orchestra had engagements at the Palladium in Hollywood on March 27th and 28th and at the Sherman Hotel in Chicago. In late 1947, George Handy and Al Cohn were both musicians and arrangers for Rich. Up to 1948, Richs made further big band recordings with changing line-ups. a. Johnny Mandel , Doug Mettome , Red Rodney , Hal McKusick , Terry Gibbs , Jimmy Giuffre , Warne Marsh and Allen Eager ("Daily Double", "Nellie's Nightmare") were involved. In 1948, Will Cowan produced a short music film with the orchestra; but the drummer had to break up the band due to a lack of engagement.

The Buddy Rich Big Band from 1966

Occupation 1967
Trumpet: Bobby Shew , Chuck Findley , John Scottile , Yoshito Murakami
Trombone: Jim Trimble , Ron Meyers
Bass trombone: Bill Wimberly
Alto saxophone: Ernie Watts , Quin Davis
Baritone saxophone: Marty Flax
Tenor saxophone: Jay Corre , Robert Keller
Flute: Ernie Watts, Jay Corre, Robert Keller
Piano: Ray Starling
Guitar: Richard Resnicoff
Bass: James Gannon
Drums Buddy Rich

After Buddy Rich had published a number of albums with larger ensembles such as This One's for Basie (Verve, 1957) or Richcraft ( Mercury , 1959) in the late 1950s and had worked for Harry James for five years , he posted in April 1966 formed a new 17-piece big band to record Swingin 'New Big Band , which was released on Pacific Jazz Records .

At the height of “ Beatlemania ”, Buddy Rich's idea of ​​starting a big band was “crazy”, wrote Digby Fairweather ; the bandleader brushed aside all objections:

" Everybody said: 'Who the hell wants a big band?' But I said, 'Well, who knows better than me? We don't know if the kids want it yet - they've never been exposed to it! '“
"Everyone's like, 'Who the hell needs a big band?' But I say, 'Well who knows this better than me? We don't know if the young people want it now - because they never really came into contact with it! "

The arrangements for the album were mostly from Oliver Nelson (such as his composition "Hoe Down" or the King Curtis number "More Soul"), others were directed by Bill Holman ("Ready Mix"), Phil Wilson ("Basically Blues"), Jay Corre and Don Rader . Soloists of this short-lived band (only three musicians were to be present in the following production) were the trumpeter Bobby Shew , the alto saxophonist Pete Yellin , the pianist John Bunch and the guitarist Barry Zweig .

The second album by the Buddy Rich Big Band Big Swing Face (Pacific Jazz) contained recordings that were made when the orchestra had an engagement at the Chez Club in Hollywood in early 1967. The arrangements for Rich's orchestra came from a. by Bill Holman, Shorty Rogers , Bob Florence, and Bill Potts ; The soloists included the newly added alto saxophonist Ernie Watts , as well as Bobby Shew, Jay Corre on tenor saxophone and the bandleader on drums. Rich had also added pop hits of the time to the repertoire such as the Beatles number " Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) " and "The Beat Goes On"; In the song, which was first interpreted by Sonny & Cher , Rich's twelve-year-old daughter Cathy took over the vocal part. Another successful title of the band was a ten-minute medley from the West Side Story .

“In the late sixties and seventies, Buddy became more and more favored for the modern sounding arrangements, many of them showing his inclination towards rock ,” wrote George T. Simon: “Obviously he wanted to appeal to the young audience, and he did quite successfully. His band performed in rock clubs, where they received thunderous applause and often standing ovations. "

In contrast to Don Ellis , Buddy Rich “renounced all experiments.” According to Joachim Ernst Berendt, “his big band celebrated the spectacular drum aesthetics of its leader in an effective way. The Buddy Rich Big Band produced show business in the conventional sense, but they did it so professionally and enthusiastically that it attracted a young audience. ”In 1969, the big band performed together with the English rock band The Who .

Ernie Wilkins 1976

Richie Cole (alto saxophone), Pat LaBarbera (tenor saxophone) and David Dana (guitar) were among the soloists who appeared in the orchestra on LPs such as Mercy, Mercy (1968) and the live recording Buddy & Soul (1969) in the late 1960s. , 1970 alto saxophonist Jim Mosher , trombonist Rick Stepton and trumpeter George Zonce . His repertoire of the Budy Rich Big Band included jazz standards like “God Bless the Child” (1972, with Joe Romano as soloist) as well as current pop hits like Paul Simon's “Keep the Customer Satisfied”, songs from the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar and the Muppets Show (“Bein 'Green”), Paul McCartney's “Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey”, Stevie Wonder's “Uptight” or Van Morrison's song “Domino”. At the end of the 1960s, Don Sebesky worked , then in the early 1970s a. a. also Ernie Wilkins , John LaBarbera , Manny Albam , Greg Hopkins and Don Menza ("Time Check") as arrangers for the big band;

After Rich had temporarily performed with smaller ensembles in his jazz club Buddy's Place in New York in 1974/75 , he put together a big band formation again. In the middle of the decade, the funk influence in the band's music (initially with the album Big Band Machine ) increased; This came to full fruition in 1976 with the recording of the album Speak No Evil (RCA Victor, 1976), produced and arranged by Richard Evans , in-house producer and arranger for Chess sub-label Cadet . For the session, Rich brought in soloists and session musicians such as Joe Farrell , Steve Marcus , Dave Tofani , Turk Mauro , Lew Soloff , Jon Faddis , Bob Cranshaw , Ross Traut (who was also co-producer) and Kenny Barron on the electric piano . The program alternated between funky-oriented big band jazz, sophisticated pop music and soulful instrumental numbers that bordered on disco , such as the Natalie Cole / Chuck Jackson number "Sophisticated Lady [She's a Different Lady]", as well as funk tracks such as "Fight the Power ”By the Isley Brothers , Gino Vannelli's “ Storm at Sunup ”,“ Games People Play ”by The Spinners and the son“ How Long (Betcha Got a Chick) ” popularized by the Pointer Sisters .

From the late 1970s onwards, Buddy Rich went on numerous tours and festival guest performances worldwide with his later big band formations (such as at the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal in 1982), but recorded only a few albums, including Buddy Rich Plays and Plays (1977) and Buddy Rich Orchestra (1981).

The Buddy Rich Big Band performed regularly until 1986, shortly before the band leader's sudden death in April 1987 at the age of 69.

The Ghost Band and tribute concerts

Just one year after Buddy Rich's death, Steve Marcus , who had played with Rich from 1976 to 1987, made a first attempt to reactivate the Buddy Rich Big Band as a Ghost Band under his direction ; In April 1988 he performed with the big band on three evenings at the New York jazz club Blue Note . Steve Marcus, who died in 2005, led the Buddy Rich Memorial Band for over ten years, in which Steve Smith played the drums. In the 2010s, Rich's daughter Cathy Rich and drummer Gregg Potter ran the Buddy Rich Band as the Ghost Band.

Neil Peart during a drum solo at the Xcel Energy Center, 2008

In 1994, the two-part album Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich appeared on Atlantic Records , which rock drummer Neil Peart had produced with the Buddy Rich Big Band ; the band included Chuck Bergeron , Chuck Loeb , John Hart , Andy Fusco , Dave D'Angelo , Steve Marcus, Walt Weiskopf , Greg Gisbert , Joe Magnarelli , and Scott Wendholt . Along with Neal Peart, Kenny Aronoff , Bill Bruford , Billy Cobham , Steve Ferrone , Steve Gadd , Omar Hakim , Manu Katché , Joe Morello , Simon Phillips , Max Roach , Ed Shaughnessy , Steve Smith , Marvin "Smitty" Smith and Dave Weckl played the drums .

On the occasion of Buddy Rich's hundredth birthday, the big band was revived and performed on six evenings in May 2017 at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London ; the formation around the drummers Gregg Potter and Dave Weckl included the soloists Simon Gardner , Mark Nightingale , Nigel Hitchcock , Bob Bowlby , Matt Harris and Laurence Cottle . Among the veterans from the original band, who had performed frequently in the London club between 1970 and 1986, were Bowlby and Harris, the Scottish baritone saxophonist Jay Craig , who played with Rich in 1986.

Discography

Buddy Rich Orchestra 1946–1948

Singles (selection)
  • It's About Time Rich-ual Fire Dance (Mercury 3038 and 5043, 1946)
  • Ready to Go Steady / OOp Bop Sh 'Bam (Mercury 3037, 1946)
  • Route 66 / The Iggidy Song (Mercury 3025, 1946)
  • It Couldn't Be True / Dateless Brown (Mercury 2068, 1946)
  • Claude Thornhill and His Orchestra / Buddy Rich and His Band Troubador / Nellie's Nightmare ( V-Disc 490, 1947)
  • Buddy Rich and Band / Tony Pastor and His Orchestra: A Man Could Be a Wonderful Thing / The Carioca / S 'Wonderful / Movie Tonight (V-Disc 891, 1949)
  • Joe Bushkin , Bobby Hackett / Raymond Scott Quintet / Buddy Rich and Band: You Do Something to Me / Three Little Words / Four Rich Brothers (V-Disk 899, 1949)
Albums and compilations
  • One Night Stand - 1946 - Live Sessions at the Palladium, Hollywood (Musidisc / Jazz Anthology)
  • Buddy Rich and His Legendary 1947-48 Orchestra (Hep)
  • Buddy Rich And His Orchestra - 1946–1948 ( Classics , ed. 1999)
  • Complete Buddy Rich: 1946–1956 (5CD box set)

Buddy Rich Big Band 1966–1986

Singles
  • Mercy, Mercy, Mercy / Big Mama Cass (Pacific Jazz, 1968)
Albums
  • Swingin 'New Big Band (Pacific Jazz / Blue Note, 1966)
  • The Sounds of '66 (Reprise, 1966), with Sammy Davis, Jr.
  • Big Swing Face (Pacific Jazz / Blue Note, 1967)
  • The New One! (Pacific Jazz, 1968)
  • Mercy, Mercy (Pacific Jazz / Blue Note, 1968)
  • Buddy & Soul (Pacific Jazz, 1969)
  • Keep the Customer Satisfied (Liberty, 1970)
  • A Different Drummer (RCA, 1971)
  • Very Alive at Ronnie Scott’s (1971)
  • Stick It (RCA Victor, 1972)
  • Buddy Rich in London (RCA, 1972)
  • The Roar of '74 (Groove Merchant, 1973)
  • Ease On Down the Road (Denon / Lester Recording Catalog, rec. 1973/4, ed. 1987)
  • Big Band Machine (Groove Merchant, 1975)
  • Speak No Evil (RCA Victor, 1976)
  • Buddy Rich Plays and Plays and Plays (RCA, 1977)
  • Europe 77 (Magic, ed. 1993)
  • Class of '78 (Century Record Manufacturing Company, 1977)
  • Together Again: For the First Time (Gryphon / Century, 1978), with Mel Tormé
  • Live at Ronnie Scott’s (DRG, 1980)
  • The Buddy Rich Band (MCA, 1981)
  • Buddy Rich Big Band Featuring Richie Cole - Big Cole (Liberty, 1982)
  • Rich and Famous (Amway, 1983)
  • Mr. Drums: Buddy Rich & His Band Live on King Street (Mobile Fidelity, 1985)
  • At Stadthalle Leonberg, Germany 10th July 1986 (Jazz Band Records, ed. 1994)
  • The Solos (Lightyear Entertainment, ed. 2014)
  • Birdland (Lightyear Entertainment, ed. 2015)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tim Boomer, Mick Berry, Chaz Bufe: Bassist's Bible: How to Play Every Bass Style from Afro-Cuban to Zydeco . Sea Sharp Press, Tucson 2009.
  2. ↑ Ulrich Habersetzer: With a swaying heartbeat. 2017 in BR-Klassik
  3. ↑ a b c George T. Simon : The golden era of big bands. Hannibal, Höfen 2004, ISBN 3-85445-243-8 , p. 346 f.
  4. ↑ Mercury 3000-series at 78discography.com
  5. ↑ Buddy Rich And His Orchestra - Great Moments 1946 at Discogs
  6. ↑ Buddy Rich - One Night Stand - 1946 - Live Sessions At The Palladium, Hollywood at Discogs
  7. ↑ At the end of 1947, Tommy Allison, Bill Howell, and Charlie Wald (trumpet), Bob Swope, Mario Daone, Jack Carman and Seymour Koenigsberg (trombone), Mickey Rich, Al Cohn , Harvey Lavine, Eddie Laine and Nick Sands played in Buddy Rich's orchestras (Woodwind instruments), in the rhythm section were Tommy Terlizzi (guitar), Tubby Phillips (bass), George Handy (piano) and (next to Buddy Rich) Stanley Kay (drums). The band singer was Margie Deans. See Billboard November 1, 1947.
  8. ^ Review of the album Buddy Rich 1946–1948 by Scott Yanow at Allmusic (English). Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  9. ↑ Buddy Rich Big Band in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  10. ↑ a b c Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 2, Rowohlt TB, Reinbek 1993, p. 974.
  11. ^ A b c Ian Carr , Brian Priestley , Digby Fairweather (eds.): Rough Guide Jazz. 1995, ISBN 1-85828-137-7 , p. 535.
  12. ↑ Review of the album Swingin 'New Big Band by Scott Yanow on Allmusic . Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  13. ↑ Review of Scott Yanow's Big Swing Face album at Allmusic . Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  14. ^ Joachim Ernst Berendt , Günther Huesmann: Das Jazzbuch . Fischer TB, Frankfurt am Main 1994.
  15. ↑ Tony Fletcher: Dear Boy - The Explosive Life of Keith Moon . Bosworth, Berlin 2010.
  16. ↑ Review of the album Buddy & Soul by Scott Yanow at Allmusic (English). Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  17. ↑ Review of Scott Yanow's album Different Drummer at Allmusic (English). Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  18. ↑ Review of Scott Yanow's album The Roar of '74 at Allmusic (English). Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  19. ↑ Review of the album Big Band Machine by Michael G. Nastos at Allmusic (English). Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  20. ↑ Review of Thom Jurek's album Speak No Evil at Allmusic (English). Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  21. ^ William Minor: Monterey Jazz Festival: Forty Legendary Years. Angel City Press, 1997, p. 162.
  22. ↑ a b Buddy Rich Big Band at Ronnie Scotts 22 May 2017, first night of residency, first house. Review by Frank Griffith in London Jazz News (2017)
  23. ↑ Will Friedwald : Ghost Bands Very Much Alive. In: The New York Times . 1988.
  24. ^ Obituary in the Telegraph (2005)
  25. ↑ Web presence of the Buddy Rich Band
  26. ↑ The Buddy Rich Big Band: Burning For Buddy - A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich at Discogs