A Few Hundred Words About Charlie Rouse

no pressure...but Monk's watching

Yesterday I tossed Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophonist, at you without much preamble or story. I was too damned cold and barely had feeling in my digits to post to the blog. Yes, it was that cold. Still is. 

Charlie Rouse was born in Washington D.C., so he grew up with some snow over the winter, but has that city ever seen -40 degree temperatures? Doubtful. That city is all about the heat. Not some sort of metaphorical heat linked to his status as seat of government, but literal heat with records being broken each summer.

Rouse knew about heat, some of the metaphorical kind, as sax player in Thelonious Monk’s band from 1959-1970. This was not an easy gig. Monk could be a tough boss, as a genius can be I guess, and he expected his players to be able to pick up what he wanted from them quickly and without much direction. He didn't want players to learn from a written score since he felt learning without it helped them understand the music on a deeper level. 

Rouse seemed to fit in with the eccentric player and he played on many Monk albums in the 1960s including the all-time classics “Criss Cross”, and “Monk’s Dream”.

rouse on sax, watkins on french horn

In the 1950s, Rouse made several albums with Julius Watkins, who is, as far as I know, the only French horn player in jazz. Okay, surely there are others out there but I’ve never heard of them. They formed a group called The Jazz Modes and I like some of their recordings, but as soon as vocals kick in on some of the tracks…I’m out. It dates the record. 

You could always find those albums and make a playlist out of the non-vocal tracks if you care to. Have a listen to them on Bohemia.

This band also features the obscure and fabulous Gildo Mahones, who didn’t record nearly enough under his own name.

Years after Monk's band, Rouse played on one of my favourite live albums, and one that I’ve discussed before, “The Seagulls of Kristiansund” (Soul Note, 1987) by the Mal Waldron Quartet. That album also features Woody Shaw and is essential listening.

Charlie Rouse is a fantastic player and I know you like Monk and have listened to him often, so you’re probably familiar with his outstanding talent without realizing it.

I hope this makes up for yesterday's brevity.

Woody 'n' Me

Woody's deep into it

I love Woody Shaw.

Every time someone starts going on about how Miles Davis is the one and only trumpet god (remember when Tim went on about that? The whole Dark Prince thing?) I sputter and say Louis Armstrong! Art Farmer! Lee Morgan! Charles Tolliver! And of course, Woody Shaw!

My love for Woody came from his recordings with other leaders including Hank Mobley, Horace Silver, the early 1970s incarnation of the Jazz Messengers, and especially Mal Waldron's amazing "The Seagulls of Kristiansund" (Soul Note, 1987), which I will have to write about in detail some time soon.

I love that Live at the Village Vanguard album and it marks another concert that I wish I would have attended. I wish I could have sat there and had a dry vodka martini (does the Vanguard make a decent martini?) and let myself get pulled away by the 26 minute title track.

one of my favourites

Woody's playing is fresh and modern and to my ears, his songwriting places him near the top of jazz composers.

As I write this, I'm listening to "Night Music", which was the first album by Woody that I ever owned. The track is Orange Crescent. It's a great place to start. The fact that the great Bobby Hutcherson guests on the album certainly helps. Steve Turre, who might be the best trombonist you've never heard of, also adds some melodic fire.

Woody's recordings under his own name came in the 1970s and 1980s when jazz was starting (or continuing) its decline in popularity. I think that's the only reason he isn't a legend. Well, he's a legend to me. He was consistently strong and he put out some incredible albums including "The Moontrane" (Muse, 1974), "Little Red's Fantasy" (Muse, 1976) and any of the live albums he recorded. His Columbia recordings are also musts. "Rosewood" (1978), "Stepping Stones" (1979), "Woody III" (1979) "For Sure!" (1980) and "Untitled" (1981).

This is creative, energetic, beautiful music and I urge you to sample some of the riches that he left for us.

This is quite a list of incredible music, and all the more amazing is that he put it all out there before the age of 44, when he died tragically, but let's not talk about his sad end, okay? Let's focus on the music.