Terry Gibbs Mongo Santamaría
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ENCORE for Las Vegas and he asked me if I’d like to be an act. We rhythm sections. If a pianist played wrong chord ended up playing the vibes duet, which would break up changes, I played his. But if a drummer slowed down TERRY the show so much that you couldn’t follow it. While we and sped up, it was hard to play. It’s not like a saxophone were there, he said, ‘I have a TV show coming up, would where you can hold your note until you know where you like to be musical director?’ He let me run the whole you’re at. You can’t hold a mallet and look like a statue.” thing. I’ve been a bandleader since 1950, so I really know Gibbs’ son Gerry has recorded often for Whaling GIBBS how to treat musicians and get the best out of them. City Sound and its founder was frequently calling That’s why my bands have always been good.” Terry. “Neal Weiss has been after me to record for by ken dryden Gibbs’ small groups with clarinetist Buddy years. I told him 80 years is enough, I’m having fun DeFranco proved to be popular. “From 1979, we played doing nothing.” But in late 2015, he played in a jam Terry Gibbs retired from performing after celebrating together as co-leaders for 20 years. We were booked as session at his home with Gerry on drums, pianist John his 90th birthday, but his energy, irascible humor and singles with a band, each playing for a half-hour, at Campbell (who lived nearby) and a young bassist enthusiasm make him sound like someone decades Ronnie Scott’s in London. Ronnie suggested that we named Mike Gurrola. Gerry’s wife videotaped the younger. A native New Yorker, Gibbs was a classically play a song together at the end. Benny Goodman and second song, “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue trained musician with a scholarship to Juilliard as Lionel Hampton made that instrumentation so famous, Sea”. Gibbs continued, “She put it on Facebook and a snare drummer and timpani player. He recalled, “But when you get any two idiots playing clarinet and vibes, overnight it went viral, getting 46,000 hits!” Gibbs I got thrown out of school. I went on the road drumming it sounds good.” finally agreed to record a CD for Whaling City Sound. with big bands and played in the army with a 38-piece Terry Gibbs’ memoir, Good Vibes: A Life In Jazz, “I made several conditions: that we do it at my home orchestra. I had all this technique and didn’t know published in 2003, is full of hilarious stories, plus one and I only worked when I felt like it. They paid the what to do with it. When I heard Charlie Parker and that occurred after its publication. He explained, guys for four days. We recorded 31 songs over four Dizzy Gillespie, I had sort of a nervous breakdown and “Scarecrow Press doesn’t go into stores. They’re online. days without hearing a playback. I didn’t think about then really started to play vibes.” I got this call about my book and started to tell this guy anything but having fun playing.” It was released this Gibbs’ first recording as a leader was in 1949, but where to get it and he was calling to tell me my book past spring as 92 Years Young: Jammin’ at the Gibbs fate intervened. “We were all in the Woody Herman won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award as best book of House. Gibbs celebrated his 93rd birthday on Oct. 13th band. Then Stan Getz became famous, so the company the year. I said, ‘Tell your mother I said hello,’ and and says he is through with recording and performing, put it out under his name. We had no contracts, just let hung up on him. I thought I didn’t need this crap. After though he admits, “D.W. Drums made me a drumset us play. I’ve been that way all my life.” Gibbs worked ten minutes, I thought about it and called this friend of for my guest house and I go out there three to four with Benny Goodman during the early ‘50s, but soon mine in New York who worked for ASCAP. When I told times a week to play. I’m getting my chops back and his career took off and the vibraphonist recorded on him about getting a call from some idiot telling me that having fun. But I just play for me.” v a regular basis into the mid ‘60s. After moving to the I won, he said, ‘Yeah, we’re all talking about it.’ They West Coast, his Dream Band was recorded live in flew me and my wife in to New York. It was wild For more information, visit whalingcitysound.com/wcs092.htm several clubs, but most of the music was long getting to talk about the book. I’m not a writer, but unavailable or unissued until Contemporary released I have all these favorite stories, with Benny Goodman, Recommended Listening: six CD volumes beginning in 1986. Gibbs shared, Buddy Rich, people I really had fun with. [Historian] • Terry Gibbs—Quartet (featuring Terry Pollard)/ “I love recording live. I don’t want multiple takes. With Cary Ginell checked every one of my stories. The good Mallets A-Plenty (EmArcy-Fresh Sound, 1955-56) my Dream Band, we would play three days and record things you can’t help but remember. I never had a goal, • Terry Gibbs Dream Band—Vol. 1-6 three days. So when you play the same song, any night things just happened. I never thought of playing with (Contemporary, 1959-62) could be a different tempo. You can’t edit when you Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker or Dizzy Gillespie.” • Terry Gibbs—Bopstacle Course (Xanadu, 1974) record live.” Although Gibbs’ recorded output slowed a bit late • Terry Gibbs/Buddy DeFranco—Chicago Fire Gibbs’ friendship with TV’s Steve Allen went back in his life, he remained active playing in clubs. “When (Contemporary, 1987) into the ‘50s and they recorded a number of LPs together. I get on stage, I don’t know that there’s an audience, • Terry Gibbs—From Me To You—A Tribute to He recalled, “Steve Allen was a big fan of mine in New I just try to play what I hear. I like a good rhythm Lionel Hampton (Mack Avenue, 2002) York and when he had me on the show he’d play with section, especially a drummer, and I can’t do better than • Terry Gibbs—92 Years Young (Jammin’ at the my quartet. In the ‘60s, he was putting a show together my son. I used to go out as a single and work with local Gibbs House) (Whaling City Sound, 2016) LEST wE FORGET Then, as now, New York seemed to be where it was which dovetailed with the get-up-and-GO-GO vibe of all happening. Santamaría joined the exodus of Cuban the ‘60s. Despite newfound mainstream acceptance and MONGO percussionists to New York City. In 1950 he had his popularity, Santamaría didn’t leave his Cuban roots American performing debut with popular bandleader behind; he adapted hits of the day (from the pop/R&B/ Perez Prado. Further opportunity beckoned with the rock chart hits) to his fiery style, presenting them as big band of Tito Puente and the jazz groups of Dizzy only he could (with the help of some boss brass SANTAMARÍA Gillespie and Cal Tjader, both who had acquired an arrangements from Marty Sheller). abiding passion for AfroLatin styles. Santamaría’s magic did much to spread the by mark keresman Santamaría may be best known for composing AfroCuban gospel to a wider audience. His tunes were “Afro Blue”, a song that has not only become a standard recorded by a variety of artists including Gillespie, Conga player Ramón Santamaría Rodríguez, best of the jazz canon but is famous for its connection to Gov’t Mule, Derek Trucks and Robert Glasper. known as Mongo Santamaría (born 100 years ago last John Coltrane. In the late ‘50s Santamaría recorded his Cinephiles might have caught a reference/homage to April) was among the musicians that forever changed first albums as a leader for the Fantasy label. His bands him, as part of a pun, worked into Mel Brooks’ comedy the flow of the waters of American music. As a player, would combine the traditional Cuban folkloric forms classic Blazing Saddles. He kept on, recording for bandleader and composer, Santamaría further with jazz and, in the ‘60s, aspects of R&B and Atlantic, Fania, Chesky, Tico, Pablo, Vaya and Concord developed and built upon the common ground between mainstream pop. These bands featured young fellows Picante and performing globally until a stroke took him jazz and AfroCuban music and styles and later between on the way up, so to speak: Hubert Laws, Chick Corea beyond this world on Feb. 1st, 2003. v funk, rhythm & blues and pop music(s). and Herbie Hancock, to name but three. Santamaría grew up in Havana, Cuba in a culture As luck would have it, a less-than-successful gig in Recommended Listening: in which religion, sense of community and music the Bronx gave birth to a boost to Santamaría’s career. • Mongo Santamaría—Changó [Drums and Chants] intertwined. But like many young people, Santamaría On a break during a sorely underattended club date in (Tico-Vaya, 1954) yearned to play it his way yet all the while learning 1963, Hancock unveiled a bluesy tune he’d been • Mongo Santamaría—Mongo (Fantasy, 1959) from assorted conga and bongo players around town.