The Iris Bell Trio: something else (Cadillac)

Virtually unknown mid-60s Jazz /Soul belter from the Iris Bell Trio, featuring young Jazz drummer Butch Miles who played, sang and wrote this song.
Miles later played with such artists as Mel Tormé, Count Basie, Sammy Davis Jr. & Frank Sinatra. Bandleader and piano player Iris Bell passed away in 2008, aged 74.

Mr. Miles kindly provided me this information:

" (...) it was released on the Cadillac Records label - a very small company in Michigan. I wrote and sang it and the personnel were me on vocal and drums, Iris Bell on piano and her husband Derek Pierson on bass. Both Ms Bell and Mr. Pierson have passed on. We recorded it during an extended (years) engagement at a night club in Ann Arbor, Michigan called the Rubiyat. We might have sold a few hundred copies (if that many) mostly to some fans, our friends and families. I don't recall it being a major hit recording on American radio. I'm not even sure of the year. Might have been 1969 or 1970. I don't really remember. I do believe that it was our first record though and we followed up with a self-produced album.
Ah memories. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. That was a loooooong time ago.

Best wishes always.

BUTCH MILES"




From a local Newspaper:


"Friday May 2, 2008
Charleston jazz artist Iris Bell dies

As a teenager, she heard Sarah Vaughan and fell in love with jazz. She taught herself to play jazz piano and learned songs by listening to the radio and scribbling lyrics in shorthand. Playing by ear, she built a repertoire of more than 7,000 pieces.

In 1956, at age 22, she formed the Iris Bell Trio. The only female bandleader in the area, she entertained regularly at the Press Club, Army Navy Club, Owl's Club and Charleston Athletic Club.

"We would play anywhere, work anytime, and got some good engagements," she said in a 1977 newspaper story. "Most of the dates were in bootleg clubs, but I was only raided once."

She wrote more than 20 songs, including one that was released on the flip side of a Paul Anka recording. In 1963, she wrote "This Is My West Virginia," the official West Virginia Centennial song adopted by the Legislature as a state song.

In the late 1960s, she took her trio on the road and settled for seven years in Ann Arbor, Mich., where she headlined at the Rubyiat Supper Club. In 1975, she performed at Mr. Kelly's in Chicago, a coveted booking for jazz musicians. That summer, she appeared at the National Women's Music Festival with Melissa Manchester.

In 1977, she returned to Charleston. Battling depression triggered by her mother's death, she limited appearances for many years to the annual West Virginia Jazz Festival at the Science and Culture Center.

She revived her career in the 1990s and played frequently at the Fifth Quarter. In later years, beset with worsening health problems, she remained a virtual recluse.

She died in Buckhannon, where she moved recently to be near her youngest daughter. Her body was cremated. A memorial service is planned from 1 to 4 p.m. May 31 at the West Side Methodist Church, 401 Roane St. A jam session will follow the service."

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Jazz
• Brasil
• Bossa
• Nova
• Soul
• Funk

[aprilkeating]

This is my mother, Iris Bell, with her trio, the Iris Bell Adventure. Butch Miles (drummer for Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Mel Torme, and others) began his career with her in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the early 1970s. They played to large audiences in the Rubaiyat for several years. My father, Derek Pierson, was bass player, guitarist, and sound technician. They were very popular and had a loyal following there. She wrote many originals, including Over Thirty, One Strong Woman, and Honkey Games.

[Jazzadelia69]

@aprilkeating :

hi there, found this 45, years ago and sold a copy to Tobias of Tramp records, suggesting to re-release it - which he did. Nice one!

[aprilkeating]

@Jazzadelia69 Yes, he has since got hold of me and is putting one of my favorites of hers on one of his compilations. Thanks! Where did you get the 45, and out of curiosity, how much did you get for it?

[Jazzadelia69]

@aprilkeating

sorry can´t remember my source after all those years, but sold it at a pretty moderate price, when memory serves me right...

[rocket88a]

@aprilkeating

The Iris Bell Adventure opened for Delaney and Bonnie and Friends at Bell Auditorium in 1969 or 1070 and blew me away with the first, and best, cover version of Elton John's "Take Me to the Pilot" I ever heard. I wish someone had recorded that concert; they were awesome and a U of M student body favorite.

[aprilkeating]

@busseynova That's my father, Derek Pierson. Look me up. There are a few photos of the band back then...April Pierson-Keating on facebook. Look at the album of my mother, Iris Bell.

[tobiaskirmayer]

for everyone who likes this song as much as I do, you can find it on a forthcoming compilation on Tramp Records entitled MOVEMENTS 3. we licensed the track from the drummer, so not only we appreciate if you BUY the song (or the album) but also the musicians who performed this wonderful song.

Tobias @ Tramp Rec.

[monkeybooboo75]

oh---- yeeeeaaah!

[busseynova]

Bloody hell! I usually hate bass solos, but that's on a DOUBLE!!