AIRMAIL
SPECIAL
Our
old friend Dick Laurie put your editors
in touch with one of our neighbours the
other day, a jazz bassoonist of all things!
Never having imagined one could make jazz
come out of a bassoon, we were intrigued
- and treated to a wonderful evening at
PIZZA ON THE PARK (POTP) listening to
BASSOON AND BEYOND, a jazz quartet led
by Daniel Smith. Here's a little of what
he told me afterwards...
"Glad
you were able to come to the POTP last
week. I have gone through Killer Diller
and will now tell you things that will
surprise you. I took up music at the age
of 16 because of BENNY GOODMAN! I knew
absolutely nothing about music, having
come from a family with no cultural surroundings.
I was watching TV one New Year's eve,
and saw the Benny Goodman trio being reunited
for a special New Year's show. I was mesmerised
by what I saw and heard. I went out later
that week to sign up for music lessons
on the TRUMPET at a local studio.
Why
the trumpet? Because when they asked me
'why' at the music studio, I told them
that I saw a Mr. Goodman play the trumpet
on TV and described a long black instrument.
This was my first introduction to music
via Benny Goodman's amazing trumpet playing!
Over the years, I majored in clarinet,
studied saxophone (with the same teacher
who had taught Stan Getz), got one degree
on flute and others afterwards. I took
up the bassoon at age 24 while playing
solo piccolo and flute with the West Point
Band. Much later on I played with the
NY Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra,
etc. Lots of interesting stuff in between,
all of which led up to what you saw at
the POTP.
While
still very much underage, I got into BIRDLAND
(the legendary NY jazz club) countless
times using a phoney draft card. I saw
many of the greats there; Count Basie,
Lester Young, Dina Washington, Stan Getz,
Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Duke Ellington,
Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell,
and many others too numerous to mention
here.
Later
on I played sax, clarinet and flute with
many jazz, swing and Latin bands, including
Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, Larry Elgart,
Billy May, Guy Lombardo, Xavier Cugat,
Johnny Richards, etc. etc. I also did
many Broadway and off-Broadway shows.
I
saw the humorous article in Killer Diller
about Tommy Dorsey under investigation
for 'swinging' as taken from another publication,
The Onion. By coincidence,
I just happen to have with me here in
London the 'Onion Book of the 20th Century'
and already knew of this article. Small
world!
So,
now you know that I am not just a bassoon
player coming from a conservatory background
who along the way branched out into jazz.
Thanks
again for coming to hear me at POTP.
Daniel Smith
P.S.-
One of the more interesting things
about my background are the years I played
in Latin bands in the NY area. I witnessed
violent riots, knife fights, beatings,
things you can't imagine (What else
is there? Ed.) Quite a different world
from Mozart and Beethoven in the concert
hall.
-
Judy Martin
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