SKF NOTE: This week I digitized my 35-year old interview with musician Jim Gordon. The interview back story — including the less-than-optimum circumstances under which it took place – is described in my blog post of Jim Gordon‘s Modern Drummer interview.
The Recoton audiocassette shown in this YouTube is my photo of the actual Jim Gordon interview cassette. Thank God for the Audacity app that enabled me to make my conversation with Jim Gordon audible.
Earlier in the interview, JIm said he listened to a lot of records as kid, and his preference was rock drumming. Knowing he had an active career as a studio player, I asked Jim if jazz drumming was an influence. That’s where this excerpt begins.
SKF NOTE: Excerpt #2 from my interview with Freddie Gruber in Buddy Rich’s NYC apartment circa 1983-84. Freddie was speaking about “legitimate” percussionists he’d studied with: Morris Goldenberg, Fred Albright, and Henry Adler. I asked if any of what he learned from those teachers was not valid for his, Freddie Gruber’s, own teaching practice.
“All of the things that they did were valid,” said Freddie.
Since his own playing seems mostly concerned with jazz ( “and bands,” Freddie interjected), why didn’t he study with jazz drummers?
This interview excerpt is Freddie’s answer to that question.
SKF NOTE: A favorite moment from my interviews with the great drummer Frankie Dunlop. Now, for the first time, listeners can hear Frankie’s impersonation of Charles Mingus as Frankie describes a moment on The Half Note bandstand drumming with Mingus.
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SKF NOTE: Leafing this morning, July 13, 2019, through my original edited version of my Frankie Dunlop interview, I came across this edited version of the full conversation in the YouTube video posted here.
If nothing else, the two versions give readers an idea of how bits-and-pieces of normal conversation — the spoken word — are left behind when editing the written words for reader clarity.
Scott K Fish: How did you get in Mingus’s band? What happened to Dannie Richmond?
Frankie Dunlop: This was for a job in Washington, DC. Dannie couldn’t make it. I knew that I was basically filling in for Dannie. But I knew that if Mingus liked my work, later on I might be recommended for other jobs — which did happen. Mingus recommended me to Sonny Rollins, who I did go with.
But playing with Mingus was an experience. It kept me together.
I remember one time when I was playing with Mingus at The Half Note. We were in the middle of a tune like Salt Peanuts, and Mingus says, “Hey, Frankie. Keep playing. I got to go over here and talk to Joe.”
Joe [Termini] owned The Half Note.
Well, the tempo was way upstairs and I wasn’t adjusted to playing that fast anyhow. I’d just gotten into New York.
Playing at that tempo was bad enough with the bass. Here I was with just a piano player.
Mingus finally comes back on the bandstand after several minutes, picked up his bass and starts playing. Same tune.
He turns to me and says, “Hey, man. Hey, Frankie. The tempo has gone down, man! That’s not the tempo I started.”
And I guess it had gone down. I was scuffling.
He didn’t tell me about that because he disliked me. If he didn’t think I could have made the gig, he wouldn’t have hired me. But Mingus was such a perfectionist, that the things the average musician or bandleader would say, “To hell” with, he wouldn’t let it slide.
All of the geniuses are like that. They may be eccentric, but deep down inside they’re concerned about their music. Monk, Mingus, Rollins, Miles Davis — they didn’t want any substitutions, nothing second-hand for what it was really supposed to be.
I’m glad I came up under the guiding light of those cats.
SKF NOTE: One of my favorite moments of my interviews with the great drummer Frankie Dunlop. Listeners can hear Frankie’s impersonation of Charles Mingus as Frankie describes a scene from a rehearsal for Mingus’s Tijuana Moods album.
The scene opens with pianist Bill Triglia using Mingus’s phone without asking Mingus. Younger viewers should remember this scene took place in 1957, long before cell phones, and long before cordless phones.
SKF NOTE: My overdue thanks to Dan Eggleston for his kindess when I was visiting St. Petersburg, FL last October. I have Dan’s permission to tell you he is “red66charger” on DrumForum.org — a terrific online gathering of drummers. I’ve been a DrumForum.org member since August 18, 2014.
Last October, under the subject line – “Scott K Fish Visiting St. Pete, FL” – I posted on the forum this simple message, “Hi – Visiting. Any recommendations for local music? Thank you” to any DrumForum.org member willing and able to help.
Dan replied with lots of insightful information that could be reprinted as, “A Drummer’s Guide to St. Petersburg.”
I had the chance to meet and thank Dan in person outside the Hideaway Cafe & Recording Studio in downtown St. Petersburg. Ours was a brief hello. Dan’s band, Cottondale Swamp, was at the Hideaway that afternoon to record a music video of an original song, Leave Me On The Suwannee.
Here’s Dan and I outside the Hideaway. And here’s the music video the band cut that day. Cottondale Swamp, Dan tells me, is performing at the Hideaway Cafe on February 11, 2017.
Scott K Fish 
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