On the Alamo -- Wild Bill Davison 1984

On the Alamo -- Wild Bill Davison 1984
Recorded during a concert in Malmo, Sweden Wild Bill Davison and his band play a tune that Bill claimed had been written by his bassplayer. Jack Lesberg.
A very nice melody played here in Eb suits Bill well and he's backed up a few musicians from his earlier days and some from more recent times. Next to Lesberg on bass we also see Buzzie Drootin on drums.
From the next generation we have Chuck Hedges on clarinet, Bob Pilsbury ( from Boston's New Black Eagles Jazz Band ) on piano and the formidable trombone work of Bill Alred. I noticed the beginning with an intro by Jack Lesberg and when I edited the music I noticed that the overall tempo had slowed down somewhat.
Amazing though that even with the best in the jazz music world this sometimes happens and seems unavoidable.
Like a select group of other jazz instrumentalists, cornetist Wild Bill Davison had a talent that lives on long after his death. More than a decade after Davison died at the age of 83 in 1989, record companies continue to reissue some of the more than 800 songs he recorded during his 70-year career. Jazz aficionados never tire of talking about some of the more memorable engagements played by the colorful Davison around the world.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• jazz
• classic
• traditional
• wild
• bill
• davison
• alred
• drootin
• lesberg
• pilsbury
• hedges

[BillieJean42]

It never failed to amaze me that Chuck didn't pass out from all those long beautiful phrases. Rest in peace my friend.

[lesterwyoung]

Lovely thoughtful solo from Chuck Hedges on clarinet. Unfortunately, he died this week.

[SonnyDaye1]

Very sad, since there weren't many of the giants of jazz drumming that kept time as solid as he did...especially in his earlier years before he lost his hearing. But even with the loss of hearing, he never lost his spark and the magical way he drove the band!

[SonnyDaye1]

In his later years, Buzzy's hearing was extremely bad and he was reluctant to wear a hearing aid. This sometimes resulted in the time getting turned around - he couldn't hear the leader counting off in the beginning and couldn't hear what the other guys were playing so he could correct where the first beat of the measure was.

[guitaress1]

Thanks for verifying. :-) It's hard to know what to do in those moments, but luckily they came together. Chuck is great and it's nice to hear him. I love Drootin's style too.

[28handcraft]

Yeah, Drootin does turn it around but the ever reliable Chuck Hedges is keyed into the bass. Jack becomes crystal clear as to where the beginnings of each bar are, and Chuck stays right with him. It gets sorted with only slight discomfort... Nice to finally have some of Chuck's playing on YouTube. Thanks for posting these Bob!

[guitaress1]

It sounds like in the first chorus the beat is turned around, but could be just Drootin's eccentric playing.