The Band and it's Happenings |
"I don't know if you believe in this stuff, but...You have 'that sound'." Associate Professor Berklee - Henrique DeAlmedia
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When I was starting out playing this music, a bit older than the average musician that starts this journey (about 16 yrs old) many people were put into my path to help me hone my skills (Dad's teacher's were Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie "Bird" Parker) mine were Leon Reubenhold, Victor Aleman and Philip Diaz or aka Philip John or Sleepy, these cats really helped me a lot I had many others that came later but this group the Outlaw Blues Band with their originality, fire and leanings toward the Jazz and Latin sounds really caught my ears.
They would always let me sit in at jam sessions; Victor was always letting me use his drums for gigs as mine were in the hock shops because times were tough and we were all just scuffling along to eat and pay our rent.
I learned a ton from this band and to get the opportunity to record with them was a thrill (scared to death at the time but wouldn't show it a lick).
Hence at this famous recording session Victor Aleman thought graciously as he always was "Hey I think Levey has got this one" so he motioned over to me and all the members nodded their heads, cool, lets do it. Also add to the tension and the mix the legendary producer Bob Thiele was in the booth, he had produced Coltrane and a list of other big jazz stars of his time. This made you think "man I make one mistake I am out of here. I was real real careful that I nailed it no second chances for me on this one and I knew it and I kind of sensed in my gut that this tune had one chance to because it was bit different for the time period. We see now with it's simplicity and being right to the point it became a trend setter
I was not going to let these cats down nor would I let the music suffer, they figured out the lines and I listened intently and figured out this little James Brown feel and Kick thing that I had been dissecting. My interest was to see how I could make a musical statement without playing or being to busy and just have the essence of what I was saying rather than a whole bunch of drum licks and fills. This is a style and concept I got from my Old Man, keep it simple and swing.
Anyway it all worked out the cut was used and it became very very famous, fast forward 40 yrs later people are still doing it and love it and I was glad to be a small part of its and the OLBB's success.
Bob "Tasty Wolf" Levey
We're very democratic. Someone will have an idea, and the rest of us will say, yeah, let's go for it. Bob's a strong supporter. First of all, he's a brother. He's not flashy, but he listens hard, like his dad. Bob has that drive-that aspiration-to do something valuable. These young guys, Justin and Ashton, were solid. You definitely can hear the classical influence in Justin's playing, and Ashton's sound comes out really clear. Clarity is his strength.
I, too, bow to my dad as my major influence. Our family sang every night-barbershop quartet. Dad played Count Basie stuff on the piano. The singing tradition of my family afforded me the path to improvising.
We were given a gift of recording time at the studio. There's something pretty risky about recording it all on one day. You're going to have to get in the groove-find that zone and tap in. I'm with Bob there. When those doors open, I try to acknowledge The ALMIGHTY
More comments my long time great and I think Oldest friend (no one else could put up with me that long) Paul Barrare, incredible singer, song writer guitarist from "Little Feat" "cool stuff, really cool old school jazz my friend-and i got them either way, the mp4s are good as well as the wma's that play on quick time hope you and yours are all swinging"!
Stan Levey was one of our finest jazz drummers and was a key figure in the be bop era. Stan's fiery playing can be heard on countless recordings with the be bop pioneers, not the least of which is Charlie Parker, with whom Stan was a very close friend. Stan is alive and well today, and we were recently contacted by his son Bob, with the idea of restoring Stan's snare drum to its original state.
The drum is a 4x14 20s era Ludwig & Ludwig brass shell 6 lug standard snare drum, and the drum has an incredible history. Stan used this drum on countless recordings and also used it throughout the 60s. It can be heard on the soundtracks for TV shows such as Mission Impossible, Mannix, Batman and more. The drum sounds amazing, and should put to rest once and for all the often debated issue that 6 lug drums are only 'student model' drums and not worthy of true professional players.
When the drum came to us many of the parts were not original. Stan had replaced the top rim with a triple flanged variety; clips and tension rods were mismatched; the snares were held on with shoelaces, which is how Stan affixed the snares when no snare cord was available; and one of the tube lugs was broken.
Bob indicated to us that the broken lug was caused by Philly Jo Jones. Apparently, Philly Jo came into a club where Stan was performing and thought he'd take a shot at 'cutting' Stan on the kit. Philly Jo wasn't successful, but he played the drum so hard that he broke the lug, which irritated Stan to no end. He and Philly Jo were good friends, but they almost came to blows over this. Philly backed off, (which was a wise thing for Philly since Stan was a heavyweight contender).
For the restoration we acquired a similar drum from the same era for the lugs, tension rods and clips. We used chrome over brass hoops, and new snares. We also used a goat skin head for the batter. The shell, strainer and butt plate are from the original drum. Cleaning the shell was the biggest challenge, and the before-and-after photos shown here tell the story better than we can in words. The drum now looks and sounds remarkable, and we returned it to Bob recently and he and Stan were both thrilled.
Stan and Bob are now working on a documentary of Stan's career. I have been fortunate enough to see a brief portion of the proposed video and it is terrific. Stan and Bob are working to obtain the rights to more of the film footage of the era so that more clips of Stan can be used. Hopefully, Ludwig will get behind this initiative with Bob and Stan since Stan was a devoted Ludwig player and endorser for many, many years.
Also, check out Ken Burns' video series on the jazz world and you will see Stan providing a lot of the commentary about Charlie Parker and the be bop era in general.
Melodic drummer and big influence on my playing, this shot was taken in 1953 when I first got to meet my Dad after a bit of separation due to life's circumstances. I worked at Shelley's Mann Hole briefly as a doorman.
Me at the orginal recording of Deep Gully with the Outlaw Blues Band in 1969 this later was sampled by De La Soul and Cypress Hill, Breakestra and several other very famous rap groups.
Bob with Poncho Sanchez at Steamers in Fullerton Ca.
Surprise! I lent Miles Tackett of "Breakestra" my timbales and conga's for a concert in Glenwood Springs Co and low in behold he was a big fan of my original "Deep Gully" groove and had recorded on his first cd.
An Evening of BeBop with Jazz Greats at the Glenwood Springs Center for the Arts. ( 9/23/2006 )
Musicians: Tim Fox, Bob Levey, Matt Cristuolo, Dennis Woodrich, Artt Frank
A New Jazz DVD Documentary Featuring Jazz Bop Pioneer Drummer 'Stan Levey' And The History of Jazz & Bebop From StanArt Productions
