Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Treme, episode 6

Just watching this 6th episode... pretty awesome Toronto Massey Hall reference.

Donald Harrison:
I've always been down with tradition myself.
Delmond Lambreaux: Yeah, I noticed. But you old school and cutting edge at the same time.
Donald: That's New Orleans, young'un. Many styles, many traditions.
Delmond: Yeah, but for me traditional is Bird and Diz playing "Salt Peanuts" at Massey Hall, with Bud Powell and Max Roach.
Donald: And Charles Mingus on bass.
Delmond: Right, exactly.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2010/05/17/126887618/-treme-episode-6-straight-ahead-striving-for-tone
http://www.nationalpost.com/arts/story.html?id=3065842

Here's the youtube audio of "Salt Peanuts" at Massey:


(there are a few other ones from the show there)

Jazz at Massey Hall is a reknowned jazz album featuring a live performance by "The Quintet" on 15 May 1953 at Massey Hall inToronto. The quintet was composed of some of the time's biggest names in jazz: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach. It was the only time that the five men recorded together as a unit, and it was the last recorded meeting of Parker and Gillespie.[1] Parker played a Grafton saxophone on this date; he could not be listed on the original album cover for contractual reasons, so was billed as "Charlie Chan" (an allusion to the fictional detective and to Parker's wife Chan). The record was originally issued on Mingus's label Debut, from a recording made by the Toronto New Jazz Society. Mingus took the recording to New York where he and Max Roach dubbed in the bass lines, which were under-recorded on most of the tunes, and exchanged Mingus soloing on "All the Things You Are."

The original plan was for the Jazz Society and the musicians to share the profits from the recording. However the audience was so small that the Society was unable to pay the musicians' fees. The musicians were all given NSF checks, and only Parker was able to actually cash his; Gillespie complained that he did not receive his fee "for years and years". (Wikipedia)

Download the torrent here to listen: http://isohunt.com/download/90730557/massey+hall.torrent (from here: http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/90730557/massey+hall?tab=summary)

Also, a brief rundown on Mardi Gras Indians and Chiefs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras_Indians



Long-time Mardi Gras Indian "Chief of Chiefs" Tootie Montana on Indian hierarchy:

"You've got first chief, which is Big Chief; First Queen; you've got Second Chief and Second Queen; Third Chief and Third Queen. First, Second, and Third chiefs are supposed to have a queen with them. That's just tradition. I found them doing that. Your fourth chief is not called fourth chief, he's the Trail Chief. From there on it's just Indians, no title. You also have your Spy Boy, your Flag Boy and your Wild Man. Your Spy Boy is way out front, three blocks in front the chief. The Flag Boy is one block in front so he can see the Spy Boy up ahead and he can wave his flag to let the chief know what is going on. Today, they don't do like they used to. Today you're not going to see any Spy Boy with a pair of binoculars around his neck and a small crown so he can run. Today a Spy Boy looks like a chief and somebody carrying a big old stick. It's been years since I seen a proper flag. Today everybody has a chief stick. The Wild Man wearing the horns in there to keep the crowd open and to keep it clear. He's between the Flag Boy and the Chief."



Here's a synopsis of some additional episode references: http://www.nola.com/treme-hbo/index.ssf/2010/05/treme_explained_shallow_water.html