There's a Cop on the Vibes!

The vibes…ringing those bells can drive some people crazy and no matter the player they balk and their eyes glaze over as soon as someone (like me) says “Hey, listen to this vibist.”

I love the vibes and I’ve written about some of the greats. Milt Jackson, Walt Dickerson, Red Norvo (though I wasn’t terribly kind to him in that post) and today I’m going to tell you about another one of my favourites who I hope  you will listen to with an open mind. Isn’t that part of what makes jazz so fantastic? Listening to music that pushes boundaries?

Let’s talk about Lem Winchester.

the cop jazzman

He didn’t record very much, so I understand if you aren’t familiar with him. He was born in Philadelphia and was sort of an accidental jazz musician. He was actually a police officer who played music on the side. This explains his choice of hat on his debut recording “New Faces at Newport” (Metrojazz, 1958), an album her shared with the great Randy Weston.

That album gave him enough exposure that he was able to focus on music fulltime and he recorded some great post-bop albums. He only recorded six albums as a leader and I enjoy them all. I want to give you the best possible introduction to the man’s music, so let’s focus on my favourite: “Another Opus” (New Jazz, 1960).

The band is a good one with a couple of all-stars:

Lem Winchester – vibraphone

Frank Wess – tenor saxophone, flute

Hank Jones – piano

Eddie Jones – bass

Gus Johnson – drums

Okay, I can see you cringing in my mind’s eye. Vibes and flute?? Trust me, Frank Wess is fantastic and can swing. He’s one of the top flautists in jazz and this album will give you an indication as to why. I'll tell you more about him sometime soon.

Hank Jones is certainly a legend and he plays well here, as you’d expect. Eddie Jones and Gus Johnson may not be household names, even in my jazz-centric home, but they sounds great backing up this group.

great band, album and cover

Have a listen to Both Barrels. It shows the band at its toe-tapping best.

Sadly, Lem is yet another on the looooooong list of jazz musicians who died too young. I know we focus on the positive on this site, but the circumstances of Lem’s passing are worth noting.

I’m not sure if his background as a cop meant he was a law-abiding person, but it wasn’t using illicit drugs that got him, unlike so many others. It wasn't even a car accident, which claimed so many others as they criss-crossed America going from gig to gig.

The story goes that we was showing off and doing tricks with his pistol and he accidentally shot himself dead. Pretty ridiculous way to go and it’s a pity he didn’t make it past age 32 or Lem might have risen to the point where he was placed alongside Milt Jackson as one of the greats. Dumb way to die, but he laid down some great jazz in his all-too-short three-year recording career. 

Let's talk about him next time we get together. I'm free tomorrow night after 8 if you are.