DOC NYC ’15: The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith

It was the jazz loft scene before the “Loft Jazz Scene.” In the mid-1970s, downtown lofts like Sam Rivers’ Studio Rivbea were an important venue for the fiery Free Jazz artists that were not getting commercial club bookings. They were sort of following in the tradition of W. Eugene Smith, who hosted round-the-clock jam sessions in his Flower District living space from 1957 to 1965. As a professional photographer and amateur reel-to-reel tape-recorder, Smith documented a great deal of the music and the comings and goings of the musicians drawn to his scene. Treasures from his chaotic archive are revealed in Sara Fishko’s The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith, the documentary component of WNYC’s multimedia Jazz Loft project, which screens during this year’s DOC NYC.

In the late 1950s, Smith was widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading photo-essayists, but like a good jazz musician, he badly mismanaged his career. Although not a musician himself, he shared a natural affinity for jazz artists, like his neighbor, Hall Overton. If jazz fans are having trouble placing that name, Overton was an accomplished jazz and classical composer who co-led sessions for Prestige with Jimmy Raney and Teddy Charles. He also arranged Thelonius Monk’s compositions for a ten-piece orchestra performance at Town Hall. Naturally, they rehearsed those demanding charts at the Sixth Avenue loft space, where Smith duly recorded them at work.

Fittingly, one of the musicians Fishko interviews is the great Freddie Redd, featured in both the Off-Broadway production of Jack Gelber’s The Connection and Shirley Clarke’s film adaptation. Indeed, its fictional narrative seems not so very far removed from events that transpired there. Unfortunately, that included heroin use, as drummer Ronnie Free explains in detail.

There is a lot of great music in Jazz Loft, but Fishko also gives Smith his due as a photographer. Thanks to his painstaking printing techniques, the contrast between light and shadow in Smith’s black-and-white images is often resembles Renaissance painting. In some ways, the film also functions as a time capsule, incorporating eccentric details of the late 1950s-early 1960s era, such as radio show hosted Long John Nebel, a sort of forerunner to Art Bell and George Noory, to whom Smith often set rather bizarre but expensive telegrams.

In addition to Redd and Free, Fishko includes the reminiscences of Phil Woods (always a lively interview subject), David Amram (who seems like a nice fellow based on a few email exchanges), Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Dave Frishberg, Bill Crow, and Overton’s colleague, Steve Reich, as well as some contemporary perspective from Jason Moran. That is quite a diverse but talented ensemble.

Arguably, one point Fishko might have emphasized more was the stylistic openness of the sessions. Apparently Zoot Sims ruled the roost whenever he was in town, but Dixieland trumpeter Wingy Manone was equally welcome as his Hardbop, Bebop, and Swing colleagues. That was cool and very jazz. In fact, the entire film is a nostalgic, finger-snapping celebration of music and photography. At times, Jazz Loft is distinguished by a tone of clear-eyed sadness for the human weaknesses that sabotaged so many remarkable artists, but it is mostly just a swinging good time. Highly recommended hip eyes and ears, The Jazz Loft Scene According to W. Eugene Smith screens this Friday (11/13) at the Chelsea Bowtie and next Monday (11/16) at the IFC Center, as part of DOC NYC.

Phil Woods Plays A.A. Milne

The Children’s Suite
By Phil Woods
Jazzed Media

Considered the truest heir to Charlie Parker on the alto saxophone, Phil Woods even married Bird’s widow, Chan Parker. However, his latest CD is a definite change of pace for the bop titan that has actually been a longtime coming. Chancing across his children’s A.A. Milne books in 1961, Phil Woods was inspired to write several songs based on his Winnie-the-Pooh stories and verse, but rights difficulties prevented him from recording them for well over forty years. Previously only heard in private performances, Woods’s Milne compositions can now be widely heard on his recent CD, The Children’s Suite.

British actor and Milne family friend Peter Dennis would finally make the project possible, facilitating permissions from the Milne estate and the Disney Company. Sadly, Dennis recently passed away, but his narration can be heard throughout Woods’s Suite. Both a jazz fan and the only actor allowed to interpret Milne’s work on-stage in his one man show Bother!, Dennis clearly had enthusiasm for the project. While many jazz fans will probably find themselves skipping his solo readings like “Sneezles,” younger listeners might well be captivated by them.

Both audiences are likely to be thoroughly charmed by Bob Dorough’s twangy idiosyncratic vocals. Famous for his long stint composing and singing for Schoolhouse Rock, Dorough’s credits also include work with Miles Davis and Allen Ginsberg. He makes a tune like “Pinkle Purr” sound hip and sly rather than cutesy, also contributing a funky electric piano solo. On several tracks he is joined by vocalist Vicki Doney for duets clearly inspired by his Schoolhouse sessions with Blossom Dearie. Doney rises to challenge quite well, bringing a mischievousness to “The Good Little Girl” that Dearie probably would have approved of.

Woods is still a force to reckon with on alto, soloing with power and sensitivity on the ballads “Come Out with Me,” “Solitude,” and “Buttercup Days,” where he shares the spotlight with fellow alto Nelson Hill and baritone Roger Rosenberg. Woods and Hill also spar good-naturedly on the swinging “Us Two.” While the string quartet often gives the session a lush vibe, there is still plenty of swing throughout the Suite, particularly the up-tempo bop number, “The Morning Walk.”

Composer-conductor Woods has assembled a fine ensemble, including his frequent associates, drummer Bill Goodwin and bassist Steve Gilmore, who swing the band nicely. Doney’s husband Eric rounds out the rhythm section on acoustic piano, also providing tastefully supportive accompaniment to Dennis’s dramatic recitations.

Woods’s musical settings of Milne would be a great introduction to jazz for young people that should not drive their parents to distraction when forced to endure incessant listening. Children’s Suite also happens to be a legit jazz session, with plenty of rewarding moments for Phil Woods fans. In addition, it should be noted a portion of the proceeds from Children’s Suite will go to Pocono Area Transitional Housing (PATH), a 501(c)3 non-profit providing shelter to families in need.