We Knew What We Had: The Pittsburgh Jazz Story

Whether you realize it or not, just about everyone has heard at least a little something from Pittsburgh’s jazz community. For instance, Erroll Garner had a monster hit with “Misty” and George Benson became the original jazz cross-over artist. Even if they do not ring any bells, virtually everyone will have heard the piano stylings of Johnny Costa, who for years scored Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. One of the richest regional jazz scenes gets its overdue ovation in Jeff Sewald’s We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told (trailer here), which airs this week on World Channel and throughout the month on finer PBS affiliates throughout the nation.

The honor roll of Pittsburgh jazz greats will make your eyes pop: Earl “Fatha” Hines, Art Blakey, Erroll Garner, Mary Lou Williams, Billy Eckstine, Ahmad Jamal, Ray Brown, Stanley Turrentine, Kenny Clarke, and the great Billy Strayhorn. To use an academic term: “wow.” If you are wondering how Pittsburgh got so hip, Sewald and his on-camera experts offer a cogent explanation of the historical dynamics. Pittsburgh was a river town that ported riverboats that trekked up from New Orleans. It was also strategically located as the first logical stop on a cross-country tour for musicians based in New York. Plus, it had integrated schools since the late 19^th Century, which meant African American student had access to music education.

Of course, that does not explain why so many legendary musicians happened to be born in western Pennsylvania, but the presence of so many greats clearly inspired successive generations. To its credit, WKWWH also gives due time and credit to talent that largely stayed local, like former Horace Silver sideman, drummer Roger Humphreys.

It is a shame outside political and cultural factors conspired to put a damper on the Pittsburgh scene, because this film would otherwise motivate viewers to book Amtrak tickets to Steel City. Frankly, it would probably be even stronger if there were a little less of the experts talking and a little more music. However, one of those experts is the late, great Geri Allen, who hailed from Michigan, but played Mary Lou Williams in Robert Altman’s Kansas City and taught jazz at the University of Pittsburgh. It is still hard to believe she is no longer with us.

Obviously, there is plenty to say about Pittsburgh jazz musicians, since at least three of them, Billy Strayhorn, Erroll Garner, and Mary Lou Williams have already been the subject of their own documentaries. Just about everyone else could also easily sustain their own profile, especially Blakey, Costa, and Hines. This is true jazz royalty, from a city of grit and industry. Clearly, Sewald gets that—and he keeps the film pacing along nicely, so he can touch all the necessary bases in the hour-long running time. Highly recommended, We Knew What We Had airs tomorrow (2/6) and Wednesday (2/7) on World Channel and next Thursday (2/15) on Pittsburgh’s WQED.

Tribeca ’10: Billy and Aaron (Short)

As an audition, a young Billy Strayhorn wrote “Take the A Train,” which quickly became Duke Ellington’s beloved theme song. Yet until only recently, many jazz fans were unaware of the nature and extent of his contributions to the Ellington band’s book. The trade-offs Strayhorn made in his career are the subject of Rodney Evans’s short film, Billy and Aaron, which screens as part of the “Hard Core” programming block at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

Duke Ellington took the bows and most likely a disproportionate share of the credit for his “collaborations” with Strayhorn. In return, he offered the musician-composer financial security and protection to live relatively open, despite the homophobic prejudices then not uncommon on the jazz scene. It was a bargain Strayhorn evidently made an uneasy peace with, as he explains to his friend-colleague-lover Aaron Bridgers on the eve of the latter man’s departure for Paris.

Evans uses Strayhorn’s standard “Lush Life,” a lyrical expression of worldly disillusionment, as the fitting touchstone for B&A. Performed by Aaron Diehl, a talented young jazz pianist with a strong affinity for Ellingtonia, it sets the perfect tone of elegant regret. However, the film’s somewhat coarse look is a bit at odds with the sophistication of its subjects. Still, it is a well conceived portrait of the musicians, featuring strong performances by Brandon Delagraentiss and Ignaro Petronilloia as Strayhorn and Bridgers, respectively.

Thanks to David Hajdu’s biography, a PBS documentary, and a host of tribute CDs, Strayhorn’s contributions to American music are generally well known by most jazz listeners today. Strayhorn, who would eventually join Bridgers in Paris, died tragically early. One of the best tributes to “Strays” was indeed the first, And His Mother Called Him Bill, recorded by the still grieving Ellington and his Orchestra. Everyone should become acquainted with the music of Strayhorn (and Ellington). Hopefully, B&A will intrigue Tribeca patrons to seek out further listening. It plays again as part of the “Hard Core” program on Thursday (4/29) and Sunday (5/2).

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life
Original Soundtrack
Blue Note Records

When PBS finally gave some primetime air to jazz, they did the music right. Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life, which aired in most markets in February, profiled the man who served as Duke Ellington’s largely unheralded arranging and composing collaborator. The filmmakers understood the importance of Strayhorn’s music to their story, and gave extended screen time to performances of his tunes by some of top names in jazz today. While giving prominence to the music, they did cut off most performances at some point, so the Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life companion soundtrack is a welcome release, making the entire performances available.

Few musicians are as attuned to songwriters as Bill Charlap, so he is perfectly matched to this project. The disk opens with his jaunty solo version of Strayhorn’s little known “Fantastic Rhythm.” He later returns for another solo—a sensitive interpretation of Strayhorn’s classical composition “Valse.” Charlap also has the pleasure of playing a duet with Hank Jones on “Tonk,” originally a four-handed feature for Ellington and Strayhorn.

The personification of elegant swing, Jones is another natural for this endeavor. His solo feature, “Satin Doll,” is tasteful and sophisticated. Jones has developed a rapport with Joe Lovano, playing with him on a number of occasions and on several sessions in recent years. With stellar rhythm section-mates George Mraz and Paul Motian, Jones and Lovano keep that good thing going on tunes like “Johnny Come Lately” and particularly Strayhorn’s lovely, under-recorded “Lotus Blossom.”

The vocal tracks are a bit more of a mixed bag. Certainly one of the highlights is Elvis Costello’s “My Flame Burns Blue” (originally “Blount Count”). Costello, Mr. Diana Krall, has been doing more jazz oriented work, recording with the Metropole Orchestra and frequently performing for Jazz Foundation benefit concerts. The lyrics he wrote to the melody of “Blood Count,” first recorded with the Metropole and heard here with the stellar backing of Lovano and Charlap, well fit the milieu of Strayhorn’s work.

With six features, Diane Reeves has the highest profile in the film and soundtrack. She has a beautifully strong and clear voice, but on “Lush Life” she does not seem to connect with melancholy at the core of the Strayhorn classic. However, on “Something to Live For” she brings a convincingly hopefully sound to what could be a downbeat lament.

Lush Life has been sitting atop the Jazz Week radio play charts for several weeks, and it is easy to understand why. It features a nice blend of the well known Strayhorn and relatively recent discoveries, while the performances range from solid to beautiful.

Strays on PBS

There must have been a blue moon last night, with WNET 13 actually showing jazz programming in primetime. Independent Lens’ Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life was broadcast on the New York PBS affiliate from 10:00 to 11:30 PM—still probably too late to introduce kids in school to a jazz great, but the first primetime showing for jazz on WNET in several years, none the less. (Call me a snob, but I just can’t count the Chris Botti special.)

This space has been critical of PBS and 13 for claiming to champion jazz during the broadcast of Ken Burns’ Jazz and the attendant pledge solicitations, but delivered precious little since. Terms like “bait and switch” may have been used here. So give credit to PBS and WNET for Lush Life last night.

It was a comprehensive and entertaining look at the artist so closely associated with Duke Ellington. While chronicling Strayhorn’s all too brief life, Lush Life frequently returned to the music itself. The filmmakers nicely blended archival footage with newly recorded tracks predominantly from Blue Note artists. Elvis Costello would probably be the marquee name performing, but the best matches of artist to material were Bill Charlap interpreting “Valse” and the great Hank Jones swinging his way through “China Doll.”

Obviously, Lush Life has been in the works for some time, given the original interview footage with the late Luther Henderson. It probably would have been helpful for viewers not obsessively familiar with things Ellingtonian to have some context for who the interview subjects were, but that’s a minor quibble. Overall, it was definitely worthy programming.