"
Never think you are too hip, because two hips make an ass." — Clark Terry
Here is my second post on Clark Terry at the University of
Ellingtonia, complemented by David W. Niven's audio archive and his
selection of Terry's solos played and recorded over the course of two
years.
This collection is particularly interesting because of introducing more
flugelhorn solos into the Ellington repertoire.
I also quote passages from Clark Terry's
autobiography, where he is giving astute descriptions of other members of
Ellingtonia. The book, which aside from its invaluable insight into CT's
life is a great piece of literature, can be purchased
here.
This is how Mr Mumbles introduces his colleagues:
"
Harold "Shorty" Baker got his nickname because of his height. Sometimes we'd call him "Shorty Boo," just to mess with him...He had a gorgeous sound on his trumpet and played beautiful and interesting solos."
"We called
Ray Nance 'Little Dipper' in honor of Louis Armstrong, whose nickname was 'Big Dipper'. He was the sweetest cat in the world. Never harmed anyone. He smiled most of the time, and there was always a pleasant atmosphere around him. He played elegant trumpet solos and was an accomplished violinist, tap dance, and vocalist as well."
"Willie Cook came over from
Dizzy's band. He was playing 'à la Birks,'...Very small but a powerful player with
interesting solos. Dark-skinned with nice features—almost like a Native
American. He wore a conk all the time."
"We called Johnny Hodges 'Rabbit' because with his
long ears and small eyes, that’s what his face resembled. He was a
marvelous lead alto player with a very mellow sound. Quiet and
unassuming, but he could play his ass off."
"Russell Procope played alto. He was short and
more portly than Rabbit. Kinda intellectually talkative at times. He was
from the old John Kirby band. He was a dependable reader and had a
beautiful sound."
"Jimmy Hamilton was a tenor player who was
featured more on the clarinet. His old nickname was “Joe Trump” because
he had played trumpet in Philadelphia years before. Everybody loved his
playing. He was a little shorter than me, of average complexion and with
a little moustache. Sort of slow of speech."
"Harry Carney had been with Duke for a long
time—ever since he was seventeen. Ended up staying with Duke for
forty-five years. An incredible musician. First cat in the band I saw
doing circular breathing...Harry played clarinet, bass
clarinet, and baritoneax. He was a big guy with
intelligent conversations, and he was Duke’s favorite riding buddy. They
rode together often in Harry’s Chrysler while we rode on the bus."
"Juan Tizol played valve trombone beautifully. A
Cuban who spoke broken English. Olive complexion, and he wore glasses.
He was a hell of a composer, too."
"Britt Woodman was a studio man who played slide
trombone. Phenomenal chops, beautiful tone. And he could sight-read like
nobody’s business. Such a delightful person to be around. Kinda short,
with a light complexion. He was also sedentary, and would go to sleep on
you in a New York minute."
"
Quentin 'Butter' Jackson was
a master with the slide trombone and the plunger. He filled a great
void with his incredible plunger techniques after Tricky Sam left the band years before."
