[Kritavi]

This is a smokin' soprano solo by a not very well known player.Anyone know more about him?

 

[Nefertiti]

Either that guitar player influenced George Benson or Benson influenced him. The lick at 2:23 I've heard Benson do a ton.

 

[sideC]

Bartee might have been an Indianapolis based musician. My friend Edgar Bateman, who was from St Louis and spent much of his pre NYC and Philly career in Indianapolis, spoke of Bartee often. They worked together in the 1950's, and Bateman's stories seem to place them in Indianapolis at that time. So Bartee might have been working with people like the Montgomery brothers, James Spaulding, Freddie Hubbard, Larry Ridley, and Ray Appleton, who were on the Indy scene back then.

I should've asked more questions when he talked about people like Bartee, Basie Day, and Jimmy Coe. But back then, I didn't realize their historical importance.

 

[Kritavi]

Either that guitar player influenced George Benson or Benson influenced him. The lick at 2:23 I've heard Benson do a ton.

You don't know Grant Green? Steve, I think you will really enjoy checking out one of the true guitar masters.

 

[Kritavi]

Bartee might have been an Indianapolis based musician. My friend Edgar Bateman, who was from St Louis and spent much of his pre NYC and Philly career in Indianapolis, spoke of Bartee often. They worked together in the 1950's, and Bateman's stories seem to place them in Indianapolis at that time. So Bartee might have been working with people like the Montgomery brothers, James Spaulding, Freddie Hubbard, Larry Ridley, and Ray Appleton, who were on the Indy scene back then.

I should've asked more questions when he talked about people like Bartee, Basie Day, and Jimmy Coe. But back then, I didn't realize their historical importance.

As far as historical importance that would include Edgar whom I had the pleasure of meeting and hearing play at a recording session in NYC. My friend Bob Moses talks about him as his greatest influence and mentor on the drums. They did a recording together here that is currently being mixed for release.

 

[BOPITY FUNK]

You don't know Grant Green? Steve, I think you will really enjoy checking out one of the true guitar masters.

Grant Green--Blue Note--1960's-- Beatiful, great guitar player, I reckon George B copped a few of Grant's licks.

 

[agathafroo]

Great stuff, Kritavi. I'm familiar with Grant Green's earlier recordings, but not so much with his 70s stuff. The drum solo is burnin' too!

Steve - Check out Grant Green's 'Idle Moments.' Joe Henderson plays on it and sounds great, with a huskier tone than usual.

 

[soybean]

Bartee played on a few of Grant Green's records. He's one of the few sax players who tongues almost all the notes. This sort of articulation is very difficult for most players but gives a very definite sound to his lines.

 

[sideC]

As far as historical importance that would include Edgar whom I had the pleasure of meeting and hearing play at a recording session in NYC. My friend Bob Moses talks about him as his greatest influence and mentor on the drums. They did a recording together here that is currently being mixed for release.

Kritavi, I had a very long history with Edgar, dating back to when he hired me into his quintet back in 1973. We would rehearse as a duo as much as we could, just saxophone and drums, and after I moved to the NYC area from Philly, I would drive down to do duos with Edgar. This went on to the very end of his life, which would be the summer of 2009, if my memory is correct. He took much pride in his mentoring of Bob Moses, and was proud of the recording you mention, which was done in 2008, I believe. I met Moses at Bateman's funeral, where I led a quintet that played Edgar's composition, "Journey To Life." You'd better have a strong sense on the "1" when you were hitting with Bateman, he wasn't there to give it to you!

I remember a story Bateman used to tell about a gig he was working with Bartee, back in St. Louis or maybe in Indianapolis. Seems that in the middle of the gig, the club was to be visited by a high ranking city official, maybe the mayor, and the band was to stop it's regular set and play a fanfare for this person's entrance. Edgar said that the bandleader's trumpet was basically held together with adhesive tape, and that his drums were set up precariously close to the edge of the stage, to make room for some shake dancers who were working the show. So he said that when the cue was given to play the big shot on, the trumpet player started the fanfare and the tuning slide of the trumpet immediately fell off, dissapearing into the stage lights at the floor of the bandstand. At the same time, one of the spurs on Edgar's bass drum broke, and the drum rolled off the stand out into the audience. Bateman said that Bartee couldn't take up the slack, couldn't play because he was trying very hard not to laugh.

 

[Kritavi]

Thank you for posting that SideC. It is a shame there is so little of Edgar Bateman on record so this cd should really help.
That story is really pretty damn funny too, I can see it like I'm watching a movie.

 

[Tim Price]

Claude played on Pucho & the Latin Soul Brothers first two albums, "Tough" and "Saffron and soul". These other two guys of Pucho's, Willie Bivens and Neal Creque joined Grant's band in the late 60's. To me, I regret never hearing him live ever.

I played in McDuffs bands in the mid 70's and we would follow Grants bands into the city organ bars that had jazz 6 nights a week- with usually matinees. 9 times out of 10 right across from the club, would be a Milner Hotel where the bands would stay. If you were looking to contact a player to try to " get on" a organ band, and you hung, you could get an inside to who might be spiting, or no show.
FWIW- Grants bands were talked about musically, people loved them. Reality is they also missed gigs via the _life style_and so on. etc etc. . .

I remember his burning playing on on "Carryin' on", "Green is beautiful", "Alive", and "Live at the Lighthouse". GREAT PLAYING...And very original.

Neal Creque, organ is on a lot of those. I played a bit with Neal in Walt Harpers club in Pittsburgh, and also a gig in Gary Indiana. It was as drummers gig from Cleveland- but still an organ gig that I remember fondly. Neal spoke of Claude a lot- and his attack was a funky spitty one, with a bop note choice. IF...you were to describe it. < I tried to do me best there>

I teach a sax player on SKYPE- he was in the Isley Brothers.He is a old school gentleman with great memory's. I saw this post, and I asked him tonight if he heard Claude ever. As this man,the Skype student, was from Covington Kentucky, and traveled with the Isley Bros in the day. The remark he made was interesting, he said he heard Claude with a soul singer George Clemons aka KING GEORGE in the early 1960s,at Harlem night clubs VIA the Apollo. He mentioned all these bands were always at the Apollo-especially the King Curtis Band. Which got him to make friends with a very young Jimi Hendrix < who later did play with the Isleys as well, before his fame hit> and he refereed to things that Claude did with Hendrix as well at jams due to their extensive knowledge of all musics!.He noted that King George had a great life when he moved to Denmark. This was way before Grant Greens stuff with Claude, by a number of years.

Speaking of Grants style, I played with a guitarist named Josh Breakstone, with projects Ernie Krivda put together. Josh was a huge Grant fan. I feel that that guitar style was based in Charlie Parker, and his approach was therefore almost exclusively linear rather than chordal, then applied to funk, vamps and R &B.
Grant did a cool thing < almost Pat Matino like but not really with the amp> From what you hear, it's punchy and funky. That's because it was a known fact he'd turn all the bass and treble off the amp, and max midrange. Then he could get his signature tone. Pat Martino did something close to that...but not with the midrange maxed like that.

I heard also sadly, that sometime in the 90's Claude Bartee passed in California. From what the word was, a organ group buddy told me this as we were talking about another player from those records named Marvin Cabell. ( Who was on John Patton stuff and he is ANOTHER bad boy of that kinda playing. Saxello too, which is right in my world )

I bet Benson and Grant were tight. Grant might of even recorded at Bensons club or something. But I'm not certain, but I'd bet they were tight. Two different styles tho for sure. But that single line BOP phrase was part and parcel to both- but to what degree? WHAT AN ERA!!

I REMEMBER THIS TUNE...Being played a lot on radio then in 1973 when I lived in the Bronx.

Grant Green - Sookie,Sookie

HTH.

 

[Kritavi]

Thanks for adding to this thread Tim. I'm checking Sookie Sookie out and of course it is killer. I overlooked guys like Grant Green when I was young because Bitches Brew etc kind of overshadowed some other great music. Now I listen to a lot of Grant Green, he had a lot of great album concepts.As for Claude Bartee he was really something special and I wish he had gotten more recognition.

One of the best versions of Django from Idle Moments

 

[Naiade S]

I remember a story Bateman used to tell about a gig he was working with Bartee, back in St. Louis or maybe in Indianapolis. Seems that in the middle of the gig, the club was to be visited by a high ranking city official, maybe the mayor, and the band was to stop it's regular set and play a fanfare for this person's entrance. Edgar said that the bandleader's trumpet was basically held together with adhesive tape, and that his drums were set up precariously close to the edge of the stage, to make room for some shake dancers who were working the show. So he said that when the cue was given to play the big shot on, the trumpet player started the fanfare and the tuning slide of the trumpet immediately fell off, dissapearing into the stage lights at the floor of the bandstand. At the same time, one of the spurs on Edgar's bass drum broke, and the drum rolled off the stand out into the audience. Bateman said that Bartee couldn't take up the slack, couldn't play because he was trying very hard not to laugh.

What a funny story! I can imagine it.
I knew Claude Bartee in San Francisco in the early 1980s. I thought he moved to New York, and we lost touch. I just read that, sadly, he passed away in Oakland, CA in the late 1990s. Here's one of my Claude stories:
He was always pining for New York City. He said SF wasn't exciting enough for him. He missed the electric pace, the jangling atmosphere of NYC. He told me that the NY subway was like listening to percussion instruments; he began tapping his fingers on the table in syncopation to the NYC of his memory, riffing on the sounds of subway cars, the open and shutting of the doors, the sound of shoes clicking down the subway stairs--all the NY city noises were a soundtrack to him, a grand coreography.

Sitting here, remembering this, I miss him.

 

[soybean]

Naiade, thanks for the story and welcome to SOTW.

 

[mkmossop]

Does anyone know what song the original video in this thread linked to? The video was taken off youtube and I desperately want to know! lol

I'm not usually into sax too much (more of a guitar guy) but I had to look up the sax player after listening to Grant Green's cover of Hurt so Bad:

Also, does anyone have any other recommendations of songs of Grant Green with Claude?