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.

Albums That All Humans Should Own #7

I have written a great deal about Milt Jackson on this site and friends, if you haven't taken this hint and tracked down some of his music, this post may compel you to do so.

Milt had a recording career that spanned more than half a century and he released (under his own name, as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet, or as a guest artist) more than 100 albums so it is no easy task to pick one to showcase. I let Milt chose his opus for me.

'Bag's Opus' (1959) by Milt Jackson is my seventh pick of essential albums that all humans should own.

In the coming days I may realize that I should have named another of his albums here, since so much of his recorded output is wonderful. He is my favourite vibist (with Walt Dickerson, Bobby Hutcherson and Lem Winchester behind him) and he brings that bebop intensity to all his playing, even the ballads. He never hits a poor note and his tone is gorgeous on an instrument that can be a bit grating in the upper register (I'm afraid some late-career Walt Dickerson is, in my humble opinion, guilty of this).

I've mentioned several times that the band makes the recording and this album features one of the great ensembles. Check out this lineup:

Milt Jackson:  Vibraphone
Art Farmer:  Trumpet
Benny Golson:  Tenor Saxophone
Tommy Flanagan:  Piano
Paul Chambers: Bass
Connie Kay: Drums



the great Benny Golson

It doesn't get much better than that. Only Tommy Flanagan isn't a legend, but if you consider that he played on Coltrane's Giant Steps, and Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane,  along with some of Curtis Fuller's finest records and on and on, perhaps we need to look and Mr. Flanagan's place in the pantheon one of these days...

This disc also benefits from some fantastic arrangements by Benny Golson, who is one of the best in the business. Shortly after this album, he and Art Farmer would form the Jazztet, one of the greatest bands in jazz history.

Have a listen to "Whisper Not". Great stuff, isn't it? Enjoy!