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GeneG€rE LeesLrc Ad LibitumLibitwm G JazzletterJazzletter PO BOXBox 240,240, OjaiOlai c./-\CA93024-024093024-0240 Septetrber 2005 Vol. 23 No. 9 things. Club dates. But you couldn’tcouldn't work in a steady job.job' The Great Herb Geller This leader said he wanted to put Stan Getz on the solo tenor and me on the second tenor. I said, ‘Yeah,'Yeah, that’sthat's cool. I’mI'm we From time to time, one hears some talking head on television not much of a tenor player anyway.’anyway.' So Stan came in and we some decrying the effects of the Internet. One of the laments is that become good friends. I said, ‘I’d'I'd really like to take some his it isolates people and makes them lonely. This is, to use a term lessons from you.’you.' He had an apartment, he and Beverly, his and Santa Monica. I went to the from the 1930s1 930s (or earlier), pure hooey. On the contrary, it lets firstfirst wife, near Western and Santa Monica. I went to the people, especially older people, establish and maintain place and Stan asked me who I liked on tenor.tenor- And I said I’dI'd contact, and it has a peculiar ability to create and sustain beenLeen listening to Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins and friendships. This happened to me most recently with the great Chu Berry. He said, ‘Uh-uhn.'Uh-uhn. Listen to Lester Young.’Young.' I He'd alto saxophonist Herb Geller, whom I had admired for years spent three or four hours there. We drank some wine. He’d practice.' He showed yet never met. That is because he has lived for more than forty showrho* -"me things. ‘Here’s'Here's a lick that I practice.’ He showed "Stan years in Germany, and he is not as well known in America as me some minor chromatic thing.”thing." Herb sang it. “Stan said, he deserves to be. He comes back from time to time but never ‘Learn'Learn that.’that.' like long enough to consolidate a beachhead before he returns to ‘“Okay,"'Okay, great.’great.' At that time he was holding his tenor like Hamburg, where he has had a long career playing with and Lester Young, out to the side. He showed me all these things, arranging and composing for the Norddeutscher Rundfunk, and then he said, ‘No,'No, you need another mouthpiece.mouthpiece' Here, 'Here, that that is to say the North German radio and television networks. take this one.’one.' He gavegavememe aamouthpiecemouthpiece and said, ‘Here, that The German networks don’tdon't just play records, they put will get you that Lester Young sound.’sound.' musicians on staff in both symphony orchestras and jazz “He"He and Beverly had a child,o-hild, no money. I was living at for the bands, both big and small, doing far more for this music than home with my parents. I said, ‘How'How much money for the American broadcasting has ever dreamed of doing. He also lesson?’lesson?' He said, ‘Nothing.’'Nothing.' He spent all that time with me has had a busy career teaching and, in the months of his and even gave me a mouthpiece. And I think it was the best jazz. vacation time, playing gigs all over Europe. lesson I ever had in my life about how to play jazz. _ had just finished “Herb"Herb Geller is a monster,”monster," composer Johnny Mandel said “Another"Another time, I was visiting London.tondon. I had just finished good recently. a little tour, and Tubby Hayes was on it. We were good just and Herb was born in Los Angeles on November 2,2,1928,1928, andand friends. I wasn’twasn't working, I was just there for a few days and 'Where are you was playing with Joe Venuti by the same he was eighteen. I wanted to see some show. Tubby said, ‘Where are you Herb said, “In"It 1946,1946,II was going to L.A. City College. I staying?staying?'’ I told him the name of the hotel, somewhere around was taking a course for musicians on how to play in the Piccadilly. He said, ‘Come'Come and stay at my house.house' My studios, play all sorts of different styles.styles' There was a guy girlfriend just left me, and I’veI've got a whole big house.’house" I named Dick Pierce who started a band, using a lot of these moved into his house. musicians. He had some arrangementsalrangements made. Copies of “That"That night he was going to play at Ronnie Scott’sScott's club.club' Lunceford style things. He wanted me to play tenor. He had I went to the club. And Stan Getz was there. He was playing and a friend who wanted to play lead alto. I was not fond of his somewhere else. And he immediately came up to Tubby and concept, although he was a competent player. said, ‘Hey,'Hey, let’slet's hang out tonight. Let’sLet's go to the Playboy any “Stan"Stan Getz came to town. He had just left Benny Good- Club.’Club.' I was on a limited budget, and Tubby didn’tdidn't have any man. He wanted to put in his Los Angeles union card. At that money. I said, ‘I'I don’tdon't think that’sthat's such a good idea.’idea.' Stan paid time, you had to live there six months without doing certain said, ‘Come'Come on, I’llI'11paypay your way.’way.' So we went. He paid the kinds of studio or recording work. You could do occasional admission. He said, ‘You'You guys want to gamble?’gamble?' He gave us 1 September 2005 r Ertegun wanted to record me in New each ten pounds. I went to the roulette table and bet on black.black' Herb said, “Nesuhi"Nesuhi Ertegun wanted to record me in New And I said that whatever It came up red about four times, and I was out. And Tubby York. He said, ‘Think'Think of aaproject.'project.’ And I said that whatever on it. My favorite pianist was lost his at the craps table. We stayed out till late, just talking. it was, I wanted Scott LaFaro on it. My favorite pianist was a of people were doing show To me, Stan was one ofofthethe most generous, nicest people, plus Hank Jones. At that time a lot of people were doing show great score. Jule Styne did an idol. To me he was the epitome of a great jazz musician.”musician." albums. I had seen Gypsy.Gypsy.ItIt had a great score. Jule Styne did 'How “Yes,”"Yes," I said, “and"and he left Beverly,Beveily, strung out, in Los the music, Stephen Sondheim did the lyrics. I said, ‘How Gypsy? And Nesuhi said, Angeles in a motel room with no food for herself or the baby.baby' about doing the music fromfrom Gypsy? And Nesuhi said, that I needed A friend called Stan in New York and told him the condition ‘Okay.’'Okay.' I started writing and I told Hank Jones that I needed and he said, 'Get my two she was in and said he should do something about it, and Stan a trumpet player and a drummer, and he said, ‘Get my two that. said he would and he had her declared an unfitunfit mother and brothers.’brothers.' So Scotty was thrilled about that. down Broadway, and I ran took the child from her. “I’m"I'm walking down the street, down Broadway, and I ran you remember “She"She was Buddy Stewart’sStewart's sister. Dave Lambert was like into this girl, black girl. She said, ‘Herb,'Herb, don’tdon't you remember you in Milwau- their older brother. Stan strung her out on heroin and then me? I sat in with Shelly’sShelly's band when you were in Milwau- yeah!'She was a fantastic abandoned her.h er. In 196219 62 in New York, Bill Rubinstein, whom kee. And I sang.’sang.'II said,said,'Oh‘Oh yeah!’ She was a fantastic a show album and she should I met when he was Carmen McRae’sMcRae's pianist, took me to some singer. I told her I was doing a show album and she should and told him and bar in the Village. You could hear someone singing in a back sing a couple of the tunes. I called Nesuhi and told him and room, and I said, ‘Who'Who the hell is that?’that?'BillBill said, ‘Come'Come on he said, ‘Okay,'Okay, I’llI'll take a chance.’chance.' four tunes and she back and I’llI'll introduce you.’you.' It was Beverly. She was about “I"I rehearsed with her. I showed her the four tunes and she were recording the whole thirty-six as I recall, but her teeth were gone and she looked learned them immediately. We were recording the whole day and Elvin Jones sixty. God! Could she sing. But Dave never forgave Stan for thing in two days. I got there the firstfirst day and Elvin Jones what he did to her. Nobody ever hated Stan Getz the way was not there.”there." Dave Lambert did.”did." . “Oh"Oh oh,”oh," I said. Elvin had that reputation. we could Herb said, “I"I saw her once in New York. She had no “I"I called up and he was still sleeping. I said we could spoke in a teeth.”teeth." rehearse the girl until Elvin got there.

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