HOT LICKS, COOL JAZZ OLD PROS PASS THE TORCH TO NEW GENERATION.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
VAN NUYS - It's all about respect, the kids say, slipping in the back door of Charlie O's Thursday night to go to school. Jazz school. Out of the corner of his eye from a small makeshift stage, veteran jazz drummer Earl Palmer Earl Palmer (born October 25, 1924) is a legendary drummer and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He started his career at the age of five as a tap dancer, joining his mother and aunt on the black vaudeville circuit in its twilight. sees them slide quietly into a back booth. ``The kids are here,'' he whispers to his good friend, bass player John Heard John Heard (born March 7, 1945 [1]) is an American actor. Biography Early life Heard was born in Washington, D.C. to John and Helen Heard.[2] He finished high school at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. . Both men, well into their 70s, smile and nod. School is about to begin. It is here, in this Van Nuys bar and grill on Thursday nights, that the torch is being passed. That a couple of jazz greats whose careers have stretched from the waning days of vaudeville through rock 'n' roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. and beyond, are now passing the torch to some talented young jazz musicians This is a list of jazz musicians on whom Wikipedia has articles. Some of the most notable jazz musicians
But they will. They're too good not to. They have just wrapped up a month at the prestigious Henry Mancini Institute at University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. , basically a finishing school fin·ish·ing school n. A private girls' school that stresses training in cultural subjects and social activities. finishing school Noun for the finest young musicians in the country. And it's here at Charlie O's on Friday and Saturday nights where they're paying their dues as the group called Odyssey. But on Thursday nights, they slip in the back door to come to school. To let Palmer, Heard, and Perry Como's former pianist, Ed Vodicki, teach them how it's done. ``Fifty years from now, you think there'll be some kid sitting out in the audience saying `Hey, man, that's Lyman Medeiros on bass'?'' Medeiros from Indiana asks pianist Chris Sargent from Vermont and drummer Bill Wyasake from Seattle. The kids start laughing, but there's an edge to it. They sure hope so. Jazz guitarist Jazz guitarists are guitar players who play jazz music using an approach to playing chords, melodies, and improvised solo lines which is called jazz guitar playing. The guitar has a long history in jazz music, both as an ensemble instrument performing chordal accompaniment, and as Carol Kaye Carol Kaye (born March 24, 1935) is an American electric bass player and Los Angeles session musician who performed on hit records during the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. Kaye worked on several Phil Spector, David Axelrod and Brian Wilson productions, was the bassist for The , who instructed the kids at the Mancini Institute in rhythm section Noun 1. rhythm section - the section of a band or orchestra that plays percussion instruments percussion section, percussion section - a division of an orchestra containing all instruments of the same class , slides into the booth to tell them they'll be filling in tonight when the pros take their break. She might just as well have told them Count Basie and Duke Ellington were in the house. The kids couldn't wait to play. It was Kaye, a renowned electric bass teacher and studio musician, who introduced the kids to Palmer because she knew he had something to offer them no finishing school could ever teach. ``He's got that old-fashioned, paternal thing going, where he's always on the lookout to help and encourage young kids with talent,'' Kaye said. ``And I knew these kids had serious talent. ``Earl saw it, and he recommended them to Charlie O. He got them this gig.'' And now, the man who tap-danced with his mother and sister in vaudeville, played every dark, smoke-filled club in New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded and backed up the likes of Fats Domino, Little Richard Little Richard, 1935–, American musician and singer, b. Macon, Ga., as Richard Wayne Penniman. One of the first rock musicians in the 1950s, he recorded "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally," and "Good Golly Miss Molly." Since then, he has turned to religion. and Sam Cooke on their record albums, was slowly walking over to the table to tell the kids it was time to go pay their dues. He was taking a break. Earl, 77, has been trying to retire for a couple of years now, but he just can't seem to get around to it. ``I heard Charlie was trying to, ah, extend his music quality here, so I came in to see him a few months ago,'' Earl said, as Charlie Ottaviano laughed. Earl was being nice to the owner of the place. Before the old pros arrived, it was Charlie O and his two brothers, Tony O and Johnny O, holding down the musical fort. The extension in music quality, everyone agrees, has been, ah, very appreciable since the brothers hung up their instruments. ``We were driving customers out,'' Charlie O says. ``These guys are bringing them in.'' Earl smiles, but his eyes never leave the young men filling in for the old pros taking a break. A couple of weeks ago, he had to tell Chris, the drummer, that he was playing too loud. ``The kid toned it down immediately,'' Kaye said. ``Instant respect.'' Earl leans back and relaxes, liking what he's hearing from the drums now. ``It's nice to hear quality from someone so young,'' he says. ``You can see they respect the music, they're not just playing it. ``These kids will make it someday because they're too good not to,'' he says. ``But first, they've got to pay their dues like we all did.'' Kaye thanks him again for getting the kids this gig at Charlie O's. Earl tells her it's not necessary. ``Somebody helped all of us coming up, even if we don't want to admit it,'' Earl said, smiling. With that, the man inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Blues Halls of Fame nods at his partners Heard and Vodicki. It's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a for the pros to go back to work, and let the kids get back to school at Charlie O's. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Drummer Earl Palmer, left, and bass player John Heard get a kick out of teaching the fine points of jazz to young musicians, just as they were taught so many decades ago. (2 -- color) Drummer Bill Wyasake and bass player Lyman Medeiros get their own turn when the old pros take a break. Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News |
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