23. Other Major Players

23. Other Major Players s the 21st century began, a small army of jazz "Woody never told us in advance what tunes we would artists from Cleveland were making their marks play," said Fedchock, "but the band would know what A on world jazz stages. Perhaps never before had the upcoming number was after a couple ofwords ofthe so many excellent musicians from Cleveland received little rap he gave the audience." such widespread recognition simultaneously. After touring with the Herman Herd for a couple of In addition to Joe Lovano, Jim Hall and Ken years, Fedchock wrote his first arrangement for the Peplowski, there were many world class musicians from band, a tune called "Fried Buzzard." Cleveland playing and recording. Some traveled In 1985, when Woody was doing a small group tour, extensively; others remained in their hometown and Fedchock returned to Eastman and fmished up his made Cleveland their base of operations. masters. Here is a closer look at some of them: Five months later, he returned to the Herman Orchestra and became Herman's music director and an John Fedchock arranger. He did 16 or 17 charts for the band. Looking In 1974, when Woody back, Fedchock said, "Woody didn't like to do the old Herman and his Orchestra stuff." were in Cleveland for a series In a radio interview, Herman said, "We try to find of performances, they went new material and try to find things that are reasonably to Mayfield High School on new and different. I think that I would have lost interest Wilson Mills Road to playa a long, long time ago if I had been very stylized and concert and conduct a clinic. stuck to a particular sound." In fact, according to In the front row was an 11th Fedchock, Herman was bugged when people requested grader from Highland the old tunes. One time at a dance hall in Iowa, a Heights who was playing customer complained to Woody that he wasn't playing trombone in school bands. his old big band hits. Fedchock said Woody asked the He was excited about the man, "What did it cost you to get in here?" Woody music and the band, and got whipped out a twenty dollar bill, gave it to the man, and John Fedchock the autographs of all the said, "See you later, Pal!" players on a record cover. He began collecting Woody In Herman's autobiography, Woodchopper 's Ball, Herman records and Herman became his musical idol. Fedchock said, "Woody would ride on the bus After he graduated in 1975, the young trombonist, occasionally, but he didn't interact too much with the John Fedchock, went to Ohio State University where he guys. His only rule was to get on the stand and swing got a degree in music and education and began studying and play great. That was it!" On the bandstand, he for a masters degree at the prestigious Eastman School wouldn't say anything, butthe Clevelander remembered, of Music in Rochester, New York. At Eastman, "Y ou could tell from how he was looking at someone in Fedchock met alumni who were on the Herman band. the band ifhe wasn't digging it." Ifhe wasn't digging a He sent a tape to Gene Smith, Herman's lead trombonist. solo, "he'd bring forward a second guy to play it,just to In the summer of 1980, while still studying at show the first guy, 'Hey, you're not making it.' He Eastman, Fedchock received a call at four o'clock in the didn't have to say anything." morning. He got a leave of absence from Eastman and Fedchock was "making it" and remained with the joined the touring Herman band in Chicago. For the Herman band for seven years, from 1980 until Woody's young trombonist from Highland Heights, it was a death in 1987. The Clevelander later toured with Gerry dream come true. Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band, Louie Bellson' s big band From his record collection, Fedchock already knew and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. most ofthe Herman band's book. "I even had some of In 1989, Fedchock and fellow Eastman graduate my parts memorized," he said. Reading the Maria Schneider formed a band together. arrangements was no problem. In the 1990s, Fedchock formed his own band, the By the second night, Herman started calling the 22 New York Big Band, and began recording with it in year-old Clevelander "Too Tall John" and began 1995. One of the tunes on the band's second CD, On featuring him frequently on solos. At the Concord Jazz The Edge, is titled "The Chopper," one of Herman's Festival in A~gust of 1981, Fedchock soloed with the nicknames. Fedchock wrote "The Chopper" to honor his band on ''North Beach Breakdown." boss at a Carnegie HaJJ concert. John said he tried to Fedchock was touring the nation with the Herman "evoke the feeling of some of the great medium-groove Orchestra, playing concerts, dances and radio broadcasts. charts we played with the (Herman) band." Other Major Players 213 In the 1999 DownBeat magazine Readers' Poll, One day, when Ernie was Fedchock's New York Big Band was voted number five in eighth grade, he later in jazz. As a trombonist, he was voted number five. recalled, "I suddenly And, as an arranger, he was voted number four. There discovered 1 really enjoyed were similar results in the 2000, 2001 and 2002 polls. practicing. 1 couldn't put The Cleveland area native who first saw and heard the hom down." the Herman Orchestra when he was a 16-year-old 11 th He didn't begin playing grader at Mayfield High School, had become a major the saxophone until he was player in the world ofjazz. 16, but he learned the instrument quickly and was John Fedchock Discography soon playing jazz gigs around Cleveland. As a sideman: 1978 - Uve at Camegie Hall &Montreaux with Herman Shortly after he 1979 - Best of Woody Herman and his Big Band graduated from Holy Name 1979 - Concord Jazz Heritage Series High School, Krivda went 1980 - Farthest Comer of My Mind 1981 - Uve at Concord Jazz Festival with Herman on the road (in 1963) with 1982 - World Class with Herman the Jimmy Dorsey ghost 1983 - My Buddy with Rosemary Clooney band. He returned to 1989 - Treasure Island 1986 - Woody Herman's 50th Anniversary Tour Cleveland in the mid 1987 - Woody's Gold Star with Herman 1960s, enrolled in 1988 - Ebony with Richard Stoltzman Baldwin-Wallace College . 1989 - Fired Up with Lew Anderson Orch. 1989 - Feelin' Good, Yeah! with Lew Anderson Orch. and played in the bands of 1989 - Straight to My Heart: The Music of Sting two Cleveland jazz Ernie Krivda 1990 - Treasure Island with Bob Belden legends, organist Eddie 1992 - Turandot with Bob Belden 1993 - The Best of Woody Herman Baccus and guitarist Bill de Arango. 1994 - Voices in Standards From 1970 to 1975, Krivda was the leader of the 1994 - The Third Degree house band at the Smiling Dog Saloon where he shared 1994 - Forced Air Heat 1994 - Evanescence with Maria Schneider Orch. the stage with such national touring artists as Chick 1994 - Passion Dance Corea, Elvin Jones, Ahmad Jamal, McCoy Tyner and 1994 - Uve at Newport &the Hollywood Bowl Freddie Hubbard. 1996 - Under the Influence 1996 - Vintage Year Krivda won the Scene magazine poll as "The Top 1996 - Loyalties Jazz Musician in Cleveland" in 1972 and '73. Critic 1996 - Friday Evenings at Sardi's Bernard Larait wrote, "Ernie Krivda should be ranked 1996 - Planet of Tears 1998 - Currents with the top musicians in jazz." 1998 - In Good Company with George Rabbai In the mid-1970s, he became a soloist with Quincy 1999 - From Broken Hearts to Blue Skies Jones' last orchestra which included Frank Rosolino and 1999 - Blues for an Old New Age 1999 - Gallery Sahib Shihab. They toured the U.S. and Japan and, in 1999 - Uve in London at Ronnie Scott's - Herman band 1976, recorded an album, Mellow Madness. 1999 - Music of Sting with Bob Belden Krivda moved to New York in 1976, signed a 2000 - Things For Now contract with Inner City Records and made three albums Leading his New York Big Band: for the firm. 1995 - New York Big Band At one point, Miles Davis was quoted as saying, "I 1998 - On the Edge 2000 - Hit the Bricks want that white boy in my band." But Krivda declined 2002 - No Nonsense the offer. Davis at the time was using three loud electric guitars in his group and Krivda didn't want to live and Ernie Krivda work in New York. In an interview with Northern Ohio Unlike contemporaries Lovano, Peplowski and Live (January 1990), Krivda said, "In New York you Fedchock, tenor saxophonist Ernie Krivda decided to have to do all sorts ofthings to keep your life together. make Cleveland his base of operations and won wide 1 played in discos and worked at a bank during the day, praise for his music. and I still couldn't pay my rent. I didn't have time to Krivda, a native of Garfield Heights, was also concentrate on my stuff, which is why I went there in the exposed to jazz early. His father played tenor sax and first place. The emphasis there is on making cash. It is frequently listened to records by Coleman Hawkins and not a contemplative environment." Benny Goodman. He started his son on the clarinet. Krivda returned to Cleveland in 1978 and began 214 Cleveland Jazz History concentrating on his stuff - a number ofalbums with his with guitarist John Abercrombie.

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