Kurt McGettrick - Bari Sax Monster - R.I.P.
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I was talking on the phone yesterday with my good friend back in Maryland, Dave Smith, and we figured that Kurt was about 60 or 61.
Craig Thomas
Craig Thomas
The One and Only
I know it has been a while since Kurt's passing, but I thought perhaps many of you would enjoy some of my memories of Kurt.
I would have to go back to around 1970 when I attended a concert at Catholic University in Washington D.C. It was the Hank Levy band. In those days their claim to fame was that they didn't play anything in four. The band was tremendous. In the middle of one of their tunes the baritone sax player and the tenor sax player got into a battle of the saxes. Both trying to out blow the other. At the end of it both shook hands as if to say it was a draw. This was still in the middle of the tune.
So this was the legendary sax master of the greater Washington DC area. Kurt was very much in demand in those days, whether in a club band or doing a show he was one of the names that always came up in conversation when talking about the music scene in D.C. One story that I remember quite well was when Kurt was playing Peggy Lee's show. He got up and took a solo and she loved it so much she gave him another chorus and at the end of the tune she asked him his name. She said D.C. was really lucky to have such a great horn player.
Kurt played in many bands in the D.C. area. One of the most popular was a band that had a steady jazz gig. It was a trio that consisted of bass and drums and Kurt playing primarily Baritone Sax. A lot of us would go down to the Tenely Circle Henry's to hear the "Inscrotable Woo Brothers "perform. Bass, drums and baritone sax. Many of the local musicians would go down and sit in with the band. Years later when talking to Kurt about that gig, he remembered one thing that would happen with people that would sit in. The bassists Richard, whose last name escapes me, would from time to time stop playing. Now when you consider the instrumentation, that would leave drums and saxophone to continue to follow the structure of any given tune. Kurt said it kind of freaked him out the first time it happened. When he asked Richard about it, Richard said "Hey man, you know the tune, play it.!" Kurt said it really became interesting when Richard would suddenly do this when other people would sit in and the solo instrument would have drum accompaniment only.
Kurt and I became friends as we would meet from time to time on gigs in the D.C. area. In 1973 a few of us in the D.C. music community decided to leave the area and go to L.A. I had been in Los Angeles for a year or so when I got a call from Kurt one day. He was in the San Francisco area and was asking me about the music scene. Eventually he moved to L.A. We kept in pretty close contact for many years in L.A. We would gig from time to time together.
On one occasion a horn band I was playing in was losing its' tenor saxophonist. I asked Kurt if he would like to come out and play as the band was about to go to Japan. Kurt showed up at the rehearsal and brought only his baritone sax. At the end of the rehearsal the band leader (a trombonist) and Kurt were in what I would characterize as a pretty intense discussion. Kurt had played well and everyone was real impressed with him. There was one point that the band leader and Kurt continued to argue. As I was loading my drums into the car I could sort of eavesdrop on the conversation. Without being too obvious what I gathered from the dialogue was the band leader's desire to have Kurt play tenor and not just baritone. Kurt was saying that for him to play tenor the money would have to be considerably better. The intensity picked up a bit when the leader told Kurt that he couldn't believe that Kurt really thought that he could make a living playing the baritone sax exclusively. To that Kurt responded "Well man you're a trombone player, you play the trombone exclusively and your trying to make a living." I could barely hold my laughter in as I finished loading my car.
Kurt and I would always talk about the gigging situation in L.A. Kurt had done a lot of work in San Francisco. He was writing, and arranging for many record albums that were produced by David Rubinson. Kurt would always have funny stories about many of his gigs that on the surface could be thought of as negative. But if you'd read between the lines there were always positive things that were lying beneath the surface of the discussion. His wit was very, very dry.
He did a record with the group called the "Meters" And on some of the tracks the "Tower of Power "horns performed. He would invite me over for dinner from time to time after these sessions and I would get the real scoop about what happened on the date. He told me that he had written a chart that the Tower horns would be recording. While they were in the studio apparently the Tower horns would raise their hands if they had made a mistake while recording the track. The first few times I guess Kurt was uncertain why they were raising their hands. Finally it seemed like invariably someone would raise their hand after each take. Finally they decided to go back in and repair the part of the track where the mistake occurred. They just could never get through a take without someone raising their hands. But no one ever said they made a mistake.
We use to talk about how the phone would ring off the hook for gigs when we would decide to take a vacation, especially one that would take us back east. And of course he got the call for the Zappa audition while he was on vacation or ready to go on vacation. This would be the gig that many of us had hoped Kurt would eventually get. What a great match, Kurt playing the music of Frank Zappa. So after he got the gig and started rehearsals the stories started to roll in. I was working a gig at the time at a place that was called the "Two Dollar Bills." I am not sure if at the time it was still called that, but that's where my gig was. I invited Kurt to come by after his Zappa rehearsals. He came in one night after the Zappa Band had what Kurt referred to as "beaming parties". Apparently the synclavier would print stuff out with either no beams or wrong beams. When I saw the charts I immediately could see why there was a problem. The complexity of Zappa's music made for tedious rehearsals. Even the beaming parties could be very tiresome. He came by my gig which was just a little gig where we would play original tunes with some really fine players. He came in and asked if he could sit in. I said sure and he came up on stage for the last set. We had a few drinks before we went on and we got about half way through the set when we decided to do a slow blues in twelve eight. You know the old school blues very laid back. Kurt always soloed as if it would be the last time he would every play. He had taken his first chorus and was working the second chorus building a little each time. Finally when we got to the last chorus Kurt ventured out into the audience, playing and interacting with them when suddenly he jumped up on to the bar which was a considerable distance from the bandstand. While standing on the bar Kurt proceeded to take four more choruses each one building into a wild frenzy with the audience going berzerk. People yelling, screaming, stripping, yes taking off clothes. We went into stop time. Kurt played like he was talking to the audience through his horn. People were going nuts. We played the tune out and got to the ending, going crazy, wild drum, guitar and yes baritone sax fills until Kurt cut us off by jumping off the stage into the audience. Doing that with a baritone sax hooked around your neck was at the very least……………………risky. But the people caught him as he jumped and he landed without incident. I asked him later what got into him that night and Kurt told me that he needed to play a simple blues to get an ear and brain douche.
I have so many stories like this about Kurt. I left L.A. to go back to Maryland in 1988. Kurt and I stayed in touch. Many of you probably know about Kurt's affinity for Maryland blue crab. Now if you are from Maryland you know of this body of water called the Chesapeake Bay. The bay throughout the years has had its' ups and downs with regards to pollution as it relates directly to producing blue crabs, and striped bass. Since returning to Maryland I have become a real fishing and crabbing enthusiast. So our conversations would generally center around the condition of the bay, crabs, size and amounts of crabs I would catch and striped bass. He visited Maryland last year and I didn't get to see him because my 92 year old dad was having surgery and Kurt was going to spend quite a bit of time with his mom. Our schedules just weren't going to allow us to hang out. I had just bought a boat and he told me he really wanted to go out fishing and/or crabbing with me and we would do it next time he was in town. I didn't know of his death until about a week after he passed. I didn't even know he was sick. But that was Kurt, never ever letting on that he was in pain.
On a personal note, probably one of the greatest musical moments in my life was when Kurt asked me to play on his demo. We did it at Devonshire studios in the mid seventies. When I got the charts I couldn't believe how much the drum parts were completely written out. He knew precisely what he wanted to hear from the drummer. But I was always a pretty good reader. I had one run through with Kurt before the session. It was one of those deals where there wasn't a lot of time to do takes over and over, so everyone had to be at their very best. Every tune was either first or second take. As with so many situations like that you never really know if you played well or not. You kind of just play and do the best you can and let others judge you. Kurt wasn't the kind of person to hand out compliments easily, and never about himself or his tunes. His original music was like him, one of a kind. I can't even begin to describe it. The experience was challenging but I really enjoyed the music. I still have the tape somewhere. Years later while talking to him on the phone he told me he was using some of those tunes on gigs he was playing with his own group. I asked him how the tunes were sounding and he said "Hey man you know who still to this day played those tunes better than anyone else every has?" "No who" I responded. Kurt replied "You man." Talk about knocking me over with a feather. Through a mutual friend it got back to me that Kurt had a nickname for me. He called me "Instant groove, just add water."
I really appreciate the things that are being said and done to keep Kurt's legacy alive.I hope we will continue to remember him through the music and the memories he left us. He was truly an original. Perhaps not a household name but there will never be another Kurt McGettrick. You know a few years ago Kurt was asked to come back to his Alma Mater, Shenandoah Conservatory. He was going to be their featured speaker. He would be entering their hall of fame. One of their own had made it big. Kurt addressed the eager young musicians by telling all of them that they really needed to look into some other line of work because the music industry was not a good place to be. Who else do you know would have the balls to say that?..................................Only Kurt!
Rest in peace my friend. See you on the other side. We have a date to do some crabbing.
David Smith
Eldersburg MD
Aug.5,2007
I know it has been a while since Kurt's passing, but I thought perhaps many of you would enjoy some of my memories of Kurt.
I would have to go back to around 1970 when I attended a concert at Catholic University in Washington D.C. It was the Hank Levy band. In those days their claim to fame was that they didn't play anything in four. The band was tremendous. In the middle of one of their tunes the baritone sax player and the tenor sax player got into a battle of the saxes. Both trying to out blow the other. At the end of it both shook hands as if to say it was a draw. This was still in the middle of the tune.
So this was the legendary sax master of the greater Washington DC area. Kurt was very much in demand in those days, whether in a club band or doing a show he was one of the names that always came up in conversation when talking about the music scene in D.C. One story that I remember quite well was when Kurt was playing Peggy Lee's show. He got up and took a solo and she loved it so much she gave him another chorus and at the end of the tune she asked him his name. She said D.C. was really lucky to have such a great horn player.
Kurt played in many bands in the D.C. area. One of the most popular was a band that had a steady jazz gig. It was a trio that consisted of bass and drums and Kurt playing primarily Baritone Sax. A lot of us would go down to the Tenely Circle Henry's to hear the "Inscrotable Woo Brothers "perform. Bass, drums and baritone sax. Many of the local musicians would go down and sit in with the band. Years later when talking to Kurt about that gig, he remembered one thing that would happen with people that would sit in. The bassists Richard, whose last name escapes me, would from time to time stop playing. Now when you consider the instrumentation, that would leave drums and saxophone to continue to follow the structure of any given tune. Kurt said it kind of freaked him out the first time it happened. When he asked Richard about it, Richard said "Hey man, you know the tune, play it.!" Kurt said it really became interesting when Richard would suddenly do this when other people would sit in and the solo instrument would have drum accompaniment only.
Kurt and I became friends as we would meet from time to time on gigs in the D.C. area. In 1973 a few of us in the D.C. music community decided to leave the area and go to L.A. I had been in Los Angeles for a year or so when I got a call from Kurt one day. He was in the San Francisco area and was asking me about the music scene. Eventually he moved to L.A. We kept in pretty close contact for many years in L.A. We would gig from time to time together.
On one occasion a horn band I was playing in was losing its' tenor saxophonist. I asked Kurt if he would like to come out and play as the band was about to go to Japan. Kurt showed up at the rehearsal and brought only his baritone sax. At the end of the rehearsal the band leader (a trombonist) and Kurt were in what I would characterize as a pretty intense discussion. Kurt had played well and everyone was real impressed with him. There was one point that the band leader and Kurt continued to argue. As I was loading my drums into the car I could sort of eavesdrop on the conversation. Without being too obvious what I gathered from the dialogue was the band leader's desire to have Kurt play tenor and not just baritone. Kurt was saying that for him to play tenor the money would have to be considerably better. The intensity picked up a bit when the leader told Kurt that he couldn't believe that Kurt really thought that he could make a living playing the baritone sax exclusively. To that Kurt responded "Well man you're a trombone player, you play the trombone exclusively and your trying to make a living." I could barely hold my laughter in as I finished loading my car.
Kurt and I would always talk about the gigging situation in L.A. Kurt had done a lot of work in San Francisco. He was writing, and arranging for many record albums that were produced by David Rubinson. Kurt would always have funny stories about many of his gigs that on the surface could be thought of as negative. But if you'd read between the lines there were always positive things that were lying beneath the surface of the discussion. His wit was very, very dry.
He did a record with the group called the "Meters" And on some of the tracks the "Tower of Power "horns performed. He would invite me over for dinner from time to time after these sessions and I would get the real scoop about what happened on the date. He told me that he had written a chart that the Tower horns would be recording. While they were in the studio apparently the Tower horns would raise their hands if they had made a mistake while recording the track. The first few times I guess Kurt was uncertain why they were raising their hands. Finally it seemed like invariably someone would raise their hand after each take. Finally they decided to go back in and repair the part of the track where the mistake occurred. They just could never get through a take without someone raising their hands. But no one ever said they made a mistake.
We use to talk about how the phone would ring off the hook for gigs when we would decide to take a vacation, especially one that would take us back east. And of course he got the call for the Zappa audition while he was on vacation or ready to go on vacation. This would be the gig that many of us had hoped Kurt would eventually get. What a great match, Kurt playing the music of Frank Zappa. So after he got the gig and started rehearsals the stories started to roll in. I was working a gig at the time at a place that was called the "Two Dollar Bills." I am not sure if at the time it was still called that, but that's where my gig was. I invited Kurt to come by after his Zappa rehearsals. He came in one night after the Zappa Band had what Kurt referred to as "beaming parties". Apparently the synclavier would print stuff out with either no beams or wrong beams. When I saw the charts I immediately could see why there was a problem. The complexity of Zappa's music made for tedious rehearsals. Even the beaming parties could be very tiresome. He came by my gig which was just a little gig where we would play original tunes with some really fine players. He came in and asked if he could sit in. I said sure and he came up on stage for the last set. We had a few drinks before we went on and we got about half way through the set when we decided to do a slow blues in twelve eight. You know the old school blues very laid back. Kurt always soloed as if it would be the last time he would every play. He had taken his first chorus and was working the second chorus building a little each time. Finally when we got to the last chorus Kurt ventured out into the audience, playing and interacting with them when suddenly he jumped up on to the bar which was a considerable distance from the bandstand. While standing on the bar Kurt proceeded to take four more choruses each one building into a wild frenzy with the audience going berzerk. People yelling, screaming, stripping, yes taking off clothes. We went into stop time. Kurt played like he was talking to the audience through his horn. People were going nuts. We played the tune out and got to the ending, going crazy, wild drum, guitar and yes baritone sax fills until Kurt cut us off by jumping off the stage into the audience. Doing that with a baritone sax hooked around your neck was at the very least……………………risky. But the people caught him as he jumped and he landed without incident. I asked him later what got into him that night and Kurt told me that he needed to play a simple blues to get an ear and brain douche.
I have so many stories like this about Kurt. I left L.A. to go back to Maryland in 1988. Kurt and I stayed in touch. Many of you probably know about Kurt's affinity for Maryland blue crab. Now if you are from Maryland you know of this body of water called the Chesapeake Bay. The bay throughout the years has had its' ups and downs with regards to pollution as it relates directly to producing blue crabs, and striped bass. Since returning to Maryland I have become a real fishing and crabbing enthusiast. So our conversations would generally center around the condition of the bay, crabs, size and amounts of crabs I would catch and striped bass. He visited Maryland last year and I didn't get to see him because my 92 year old dad was having surgery and Kurt was going to spend quite a bit of time with his mom. Our schedules just weren't going to allow us to hang out. I had just bought a boat and he told me he really wanted to go out fishing and/or crabbing with me and we would do it next time he was in town. I didn't know of his death until about a week after he passed. I didn't even know he was sick. But that was Kurt, never ever letting on that he was in pain.
On a personal note, probably one of the greatest musical moments in my life was when Kurt asked me to play on his demo. We did it at Devonshire studios in the mid seventies. When I got the charts I couldn't believe how much the drum parts were completely written out. He knew precisely what he wanted to hear from the drummer. But I was always a pretty good reader. I had one run through with Kurt before the session. It was one of those deals where there wasn't a lot of time to do takes over and over, so everyone had to be at their very best. Every tune was either first or second take. As with so many situations like that you never really know if you played well or not. You kind of just play and do the best you can and let others judge you. Kurt wasn't the kind of person to hand out compliments easily, and never about himself or his tunes. His original music was like him, one of a kind. I can't even begin to describe it. The experience was challenging but I really enjoyed the music. I still have the tape somewhere. Years later while talking to him on the phone he told me he was using some of those tunes on gigs he was playing with his own group. I asked him how the tunes were sounding and he said "Hey man you know who still to this day played those tunes better than anyone else every has?" "No who" I responded. Kurt replied "You man." Talk about knocking me over with a feather. Through a mutual friend it got back to me that Kurt had a nickname for me. He called me "Instant groove, just add water."
I really appreciate the things that are being said and done to keep Kurt's legacy alive.I hope we will continue to remember him through the music and the memories he left us. He was truly an original. Perhaps not a household name but there will never be another Kurt McGettrick. You know a few years ago Kurt was asked to come back to his Alma Mater, Shenandoah Conservatory. He was going to be their featured speaker. He would be entering their hall of fame. One of their own had made it big. Kurt addressed the eager young musicians by telling all of them that they really needed to look into some other line of work because the music industry was not a good place to be. Who else do you know would have the balls to say that?..................................Only Kurt!
Rest in peace my friend. See you on the other side. We have a date to do some crabbing.
David Smith
Eldersburg MD
Aug.5,2007
I had the opportunity to meet and hear Kurt play in around 1982 or 1983. He was with on tour with Graham Parker and I was out with a Rolling Stones clone band called DFX2 out of san diego (two hit wonders on MCA records). I had told a friend, Sam Riney, that I was going to be running into Kurt and he hipped me to him. DFX2 opened for Graham Parker on about 6 dates, Chicago, Rochester, etc. He began the gig on tenor because that was the call, but Kurt brought his baritone with him. Kurt played the tenor and bari on about 2 dates and then showed up only with his bari. I asked what happened to his tenor and he said he got the okay from Graham to ship home. That is an example of how extensive and facile a range he had on Bari. His Bari solos soared into the altissimo with a fluidity I have never heard from anyone else. His intonation and time impeccable. Kurt was hugely impressive. He literally could pin your ears against your head with his technique and his creativity was massive, deep, beautifully over the top. I can only confirm what others have said in this post about his beautifully honest approach to music. When I ran into Sam Riney again I mentioned Kurt and he said he was not just a great saxophonist but he was also had an incredibly fine flutist. When I run into a particularly fine Bari player I have often mentioned his name and most have no distinct knowledge of him. That is a shame and his passing is terribly sad to me. Thanks for the fine posts on this important musician.
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Good Kurt stories, Dave and chedoggy. Great to read that stuff.
Kurt's experiences with Tower of Power caused him to never miss an opportunity to refer to them as the "Tower Of Jello". Ha Ha!
Kurt always had bad memories about Zappa's Synclavier and the non-human music and notation that spewed out of that machine.
Nice to read about Kurt's early days in D.C.
Kurt's experiences with Tower of Power caused him to never miss an opportunity to refer to them as the "Tower Of Jello". Ha Ha!
Kurt always had bad memories about Zappa's Synclavier and the non-human music and notation that spewed out of that machine.
Nice to read about Kurt's early days in D.C.
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Kurt McGettrick Memorial Concert and Wake.
August 20th 7pm-10pm
Bands to perform:
Andre Caporaso Quintet
Ladd McIntosh Big Band
Steve Spiegl Big Band
perhaps others??
At:
Vitello's Restaurant
4349 Tujunga Ave (just south of Moorpark) in Studio City.
818 769-0905. For more info: www.vitellosrestaurant.com.
August 20th 7pm-10pm
Bands to perform:
Andre Caporaso Quintet
Ladd McIntosh Big Band
Steve Spiegl Big Band
perhaps others??
At:
Vitello's Restaurant
4349 Tujunga Ave (just south of Moorpark) in Studio City.
818 769-0905. For more info: www.vitellosrestaurant.com.
I hope you gents don't mind an addition to this thread more than a year after the fact. I would like to thank you for the links to the videos of Kurt. I met him once, about a year before his demise. It was at a party. We had a great chat about flutes, and westerners learning Japanese instruments, and his being known by Hans Zimmer as "the impossible sax part" goto guy. Really cool guy. I was sorry I only met him the one time. Because it was in a social setting, I had never seen him play. It was great to see him in action, thank to the links you posted here.
Someone in this thread mentioned Steve Larrance. He and Bill Holland are how I met Kurt. I thought you gents might enjoy a relatively recent photo of Kurt, Steve, wives, and a couple more friends. For you DC guys who remember Walter Salb, this was taken at his last birthday part, which also ended up being his wake.
![]()
Front, Left to Right: JoAnne McGettrick, Marianne LaRoche (Bill Holland's wife), Greta Mosher (Steve Larrance's wife).
Back, Left to Right: Kurt, Steve Larrance, Michael "Rico" Pettrucelli
Everyone in the back row played sax at one point or another! As did I, once many, many moons ago.
Thanks again!
Cynthia Verdow
Classical flutist turned computer geek
Someone in this thread mentioned Steve Larrance. He and Bill Holland are how I met Kurt. I thought you gents might enjoy a relatively recent photo of Kurt, Steve, wives, and a couple more friends. For you DC guys who remember Walter Salb, this was taken at his last birthday part, which also ended up being his wake.
Front, Left to Right: JoAnne McGettrick, Marianne LaRoche (Bill Holland's wife), Greta Mosher (Steve Larrance's wife).
Back, Left to Right: Kurt, Steve Larrance, Michael "Rico" Pettrucelli
Everyone in the back row played sax at one point or another! As did I, once many, many moons ago.
Thanks again!
Cynthia Verdow
Classical flutist turned computer geek
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254 Posts
Thanks for reviving this thread. And thanks for adding the photo. Kurt was a killer musician, and it's good to be reminded of his incredible skills and prowess.
I miss playing with him.
Kurt never called it a "Bari" or a "Sax". He always said, "baritone saxophone".
BTW, Andre Caporaso is preparing a new CD. Kurt used to play in this group. Some of the new songs were built in the studio around unreleased tracks of Kurt's playing. I'll give a shout out when the CD becomes available. Meanwhile, go find Andre Caporaso's "5th Avenue" CD, which has tons of Kurt McGettrick's playing all over it.
I miss playing with him.
Kurt never called it a "Bari" or a "Sax". He always said, "baritone saxophone".
BTW, Andre Caporaso is preparing a new CD. Kurt used to play in this group. Some of the new songs were built in the studio around unreleased tracks of Kurt's playing. I'll give a shout out when the CD becomes available. Meanwhile, go find Andre Caporaso's "5th Avenue" CD, which has tons of Kurt McGettrick's playing all over it.
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Steve,
We spoke about some recordings I had of Kurt playing back in the early 90's with Michael Stephans (they called themselves "The Inscronable Duo-Tones" - they played together as a duo group on and off for 20 years! (BTW - Stephans has new CD coming out - this time the duo is him and Dave Liebman!). Well, I know it took forever, but I finally found the cassette tape and digitized it! I'd love to share - He just destroys "Tangerine" (in a good way!)...
Dan
We spoke about some recordings I had of Kurt playing back in the early 90's with Michael Stephans (they called themselves "The Inscronable Duo-Tones" - they played together as a duo group on and off for 20 years! (BTW - Stephans has new CD coming out - this time the duo is him and Dave Liebman!). Well, I know it took forever, but I finally found the cassette tape and digitized it! I'd love to share - He just destroys "Tangerine" (in a good way!)...
Dan
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43 Posts
Was just searching this site for info on great baritone saxophone players, and stumbled upon this thread. I was fortunate to have seen the Zappa band in Cleveland on their 1988 tour (back when I studied clarinet at nearby Oberlin), and indeed, as stated above, the horns were stunning. That concert still ranks in my mind as one of the very best performances I've ever witnessed, for its intensity, precision, musicianship, and beauty. I'm sorry to learn so late of this loss, and will definitely check out more of McGettrick's work. Would have been fun to have heard a duo on contrabass saxes or clarinets - or anything - with Braxton.
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- THANK YOU. THis thread needs to stay flowing. Kurt, was more than just a Baritone player, he was a total musician. TODAY, as in any era in jazz etc etc there is just a void of acceptance for those really " steppin up" to the plate of originality.
Over 30 plus years ago I heard Kurt, what kept his name in my mind?
I tell you what!!!! His playing. His approach to a NON-CLICHE based style.
I'm glad at this point in life ( for myself ) that I had _PLAYERS_who were teachers @Berklee ; guys like Charlie Mariano, John LaPorta, Andy McGhee and Joe Viola that were more than just teachers. Guys that would stop you in a solo if you were playing LICKS and bring you to the mat. Stop you and ask you if you intended to " play any more Sears and Roebucks licks? ". lol.
Right now Kurts style, his essence ring true of the era in which he appeared. Guys that were at Berklee with us, like Justo Almario, Victor Brazil, Ero Krovistonian etc were already dealing in the sign posts of getting the music together NOT just regurgiating someones style in a cheesy manner or a popular sound. RIGHT NOW, jazz is loaded with repeater pencils as Prez said. More so a bunch of guys who never had an original thought in their life. Kurt passed any of those issues and stood tall as a VOICE on his horn.
There was a really cool radio show my buddy Kim Richmond gave me that he did on Kurt. ( as well as Bill Perkins) Kurt talked heavily about the influence of Mariano.
At the time I heard Kurt, I had been aware of John Surman. Heard him with
" The Trio" and John McLaughlin. Kurt had the same tools as John.
He was an amazing player, but what about the guys who played with Zappa aside of him?
- ALBERT WING- A killin tenor player who just smokes
- Paul Carman- the inventor of CD metronome.
Guys who should be as popular as Shamus Blake/ Cris Potter etc etc or anyone doing world class stuff.
There are aspects of this BIZ that turn my stomach, the dead ears and frozen minds that only back things that are so trendy that its silly. Yea lets all rally to " BAD PLUS" when they really copped two songs from Rachel Z's live Minneapolis concerts before she recorded them- and so it goes. That ivey divey jivey BIZ that holds nothing but $$$, and then some. That same BIZ that Zappa, or Miles and others resented. Kurt was heard by the " powers that be" when he was with Zappa. He shoulda got air time.
- In a way- I'm glad I am aware of him. Glad he gave me vision on the baritone sax cuz' it helped me. Just like other peers like Ion Muniz, Ray Pizzi, Watts and others did. Bobby Eldridge played with George Russell, also Benson. He should be better known as well, and a sweet cat who knws his horn big time. Always dug him too.
When I think of what Kurt could of recorded, it affects me like this because he should of.
Think about it.......:line6:
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Thank for adding to this valuable Kurt McGettrick thread, Tim.
I thought of something else the other day. About 15 years ago I was rehearsing some music with Kurt. Someone pointed out that Gerry Mulligan had once again won the DownBeat Poll on Bari Sax for like the 25th year in a row. Kurt snorted derisively, "I can't believe it. Gerry's like some kind of Dixieland player these days ! " You had to know Kurt to dig his ever present cynical edge. I think that on some level Kurt appreciated Mulligan, but Kurt found it ridiculous that in the 90's, such an old style player as Mulligan was still winning all the polls by a wide margin, over everybody who was trying to do something new and different on the instrument.
I have told of some unreleased McGettrick music, but so far none of it has surfaced.
A note or two about Bobby Eldridge, who Tim mentioned. Bobby is another guy who gets a really great sound on Baritone Saxophone. Bobby was recruited to take Harry Carney's place in Mercer Ellington's band. Bobby can play in the Carney style very convincingly. On the other side of the style spectrum, some people might remember witnessing Bobby Eldridge play the Baritone chair in Muhal Richard Abrams band in the late 80's, and DOMINATE the sax section - playing on an old Selmer E rubber mouthpiece.
Bobby toured with Stevie Wonder in the 70s (Billy Pierce was also in the section at that time). And Bobby orchestrated "Do I Do" for the recording by Stevie, after recording sessions in both NYC and LA had failed to give Stevie the exact sound that he was looking for. Bobby's orchestration was the winning ticket.
Bobby Eldridge has played on many Broadway shows - he and Frank Wess were some of the first Black woodwind players to do that circuit. Eldridge has done a lot of other significant work in the music world. There must be a listing of his musical accomplishments somewhere.
Bobby and I were roommates for several years on Lyle Lovett's tours, and I can tell you that Bobby is one hell of a funny dude, and a great friend.
I thought of something else the other day. About 15 years ago I was rehearsing some music with Kurt. Someone pointed out that Gerry Mulligan had once again won the DownBeat Poll on Bari Sax for like the 25th year in a row. Kurt snorted derisively, "I can't believe it. Gerry's like some kind of Dixieland player these days ! " You had to know Kurt to dig his ever present cynical edge. I think that on some level Kurt appreciated Mulligan, but Kurt found it ridiculous that in the 90's, such an old style player as Mulligan was still winning all the polls by a wide margin, over everybody who was trying to do something new and different on the instrument.
I have told of some unreleased McGettrick music, but so far none of it has surfaced.
A note or two about Bobby Eldridge, who Tim mentioned. Bobby is another guy who gets a really great sound on Baritone Saxophone. Bobby was recruited to take Harry Carney's place in Mercer Ellington's band. Bobby can play in the Carney style very convincingly. On the other side of the style spectrum, some people might remember witnessing Bobby Eldridge play the Baritone chair in Muhal Richard Abrams band in the late 80's, and DOMINATE the sax section - playing on an old Selmer E rubber mouthpiece.
Bobby toured with Stevie Wonder in the 70s (Billy Pierce was also in the section at that time). And Bobby orchestrated "Do I Do" for the recording by Stevie, after recording sessions in both NYC and LA had failed to give Stevie the exact sound that he was looking for. Bobby's orchestration was the winning ticket.
Bobby Eldridge has played on many Broadway shows - he and Frank Wess were some of the first Black woodwind players to do that circuit. Eldridge has done a lot of other significant work in the music world. There must be a listing of his musical accomplishments somewhere.
Bobby and I were roommates for several years on Lyle Lovett's tours, and I can tell you that Bobby is one hell of a funny dude, and a great friend.
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Im glad to see this thread alive, why it was such a big hit when I went on my Kurt hunt around the time of his passing... but I admired him with out ever even seeing him in person or getting to hear him live but that is a thing of the past and much apperciate all the efforts to keeping this ol' beast alive. Id love to hear more storys of Kurt, it never fails to amaze me how he reminds me of my father (NO... he was not related to me, and my father cant even turn the radio on, so im not getting at that). now I want a Lawton... mmm lawton
Hi Rick! Your childhood neighbors. Hedy and I (baby Shelley, now 65!!!)were talking about your family and I thought I'd see if I could find you. Please give a holler if you get this!
Hedy 720-933-6711
[email protected]
Hedy 720-933-6711
[email protected]
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