I’m not sure when I will get over this. But I am writing, trying to compose music for him, and to keep myself occupied as I avoid the little holes in my life that are now there, which used to be filled with our little routines. Even negative ones, for example that little drama of leaving your dinner plate out there exposed for a second while you retrieve the silverware or the beverage.  I would gladly replay those moments and have him take my food over and over again just to let BJ experience the gusto of life that was once coursing through his veins. As I once mentioned in an earlier blog, pet grief is particularly severe for the Raneys. Pet loss used to be one of the major triggers for my father’s alcoholic binges. I don’t have a drinking problem, so I basically cry in my little intimate moments. The last one was this morning where I had to throw away his uneaten food, his food bowl and his medicines. Particularly in the last year, my daily routine of kissing him on the top of the head and snout telling him, “Daddy loves BJ” before I went to sleep and watching as his eyes would get a bluish color (like a mood ring) was just an intimate moment of pure love, that intensified as his illness progressed further and further as I was clinging to him harder and harder, fighting the inevitable,  as I was pretty sure I would lose him within the year. In reality I’m not certain if he died of Cushing’s Disease or if in hindsight we had misinterpreted and it was dermatomyositis. Or maybe it was a combination of several things which also included his ongoing thyroid condition. It was likely of the auto-immune variety and medicines could not fully combat this illness which in reality was probably always with him since he was young but more or less under control.  But in the end it was a horrible thing, and my walk-up apartment only intensified his suffering and my guilt.

But to move away from things that will make me weep right here and make an effort to preserve the good things and cherish them. Here are a list of his most endearing unique features:

• Would drag his bowl across the kitchen floor (video hopefully pending) when there was no water in it.  He would often just give it a snap scooting it like a hockey puck so it was loud and we would get the message from the other room.
• He would pet his own head, basically as a suggestion for you to do the same.
• Would get up on the hind legs draped over bed, waiting for you to massage his back. He would bark until you did it.
• Couldn’t get enough of celery (see youtube video below) and carrots. A vegetarian dog owner’s dream
• Was afraid of cats. Would start dragging you across the street suddenly when he spotted one. Would attack a larger dog if threatened though. You figure.
• Would pull your arm off of your computer to make you stop typing (see above)

We Love you, B.J. You will always be in our hearts

R.I.P. BJ Raney (2001-2013)

Personality/Identity

For me one simple measure of artistic personality is quick recognition without prior knowledge of the artist or recording being listened to. Use Ben Webster as a reference point. There’s no mistaking him. The piano is a more difficult instrument to establish an identity than a saxophone in part because of the nature of the instrument. There is less direct contact and control of the means of sound production. So if you can establish pianistic identity, it’s an important measure of achievement. Even great pianists can sometimes only be deduced rather than directly identified based on how they’ve decided to express themselves. This can happen in more traditional players who build on similar language lines that do not use any particular signature licks, mannerisms or have striking feel differences that stand out, for example, players like Tommy Flanagan or Hank Jones. There are some, but it is more nuanced than let’s say some of the players below like Garland, Peterson or Kelly.

In my opinion these are the only pianists that are recognizable within a few measures:

Thelonius Monk
Art Tatum
Errol Garner
McCoy Tyner
Wynton Kelly
Bud Powell
Bill Evans
Oscar Peterson
Herbie Hancock
Chick Corea
Red Garland

A strong case could be made for the following pianists but it’s less sure fire strictly speaking:

Keith Jarrett
Barry Harris
Brad Meldhau (yes, him)
Lennie Tristano
Earl Hines

But there are only three that can be identified easily on ballads and with their approaches to harmony and chords.

Art Tatum
Thelonius Monk
Bill Evans

This is rarefied territory.

But what constitutes personality? Does it have to  do with decisions regarding the use of other artists’ work in the formation of your own style? Or how many artists you incorporate and from what instrument?   I don’t think adopting many different influences guarantees personal style. There are plenty of players out there that employ a litany of best practice ideas from different places but you still can’t figure out who they are, only that they play well enough to be remembered and replayed.  To say they are lacking in personality doesn’t quite answer the vexing question, “Why?” The most fundamental characteristic of personality is whether the artist’s language sounds like it’s living or not and whether it is put together in a way strikingly different than what is currently the norm. But that makes the case of Barry Harris an odd one. I find him readily distinguishable in his feel, lines articulation and chords despite how much language he derived from Bud Powell. This has to do with the sound logic and melodic conviction he has. He has such command of his language (albeit derivative from Powell) that you begin to identify him as someone that communicates lines at a very advanced level of architecture that is in the same spirit of his idols. To a degree technical skill becomes an identifier as well, but in isolation this only gets to the level of “deduction”. So in a sense Tatum and Peterson qualify on these regards but they have other expression traits separate from technical prowess that clearly identify them and do not in my opinion in players today like Eldar or Gonzalo Rubalcama.

So it would seem you have personality when you succeed in transmitting ideas that are uniquely yours and at a very high level of expression that raises you a notch above your peers. For me Evans is capable of that and that is what distinguishes him from his generation of players.  Here’s one of my favorites of his, “Re: Person I Knew” from his 1962 album, Moonbeams that for me demonstrates clearly:

Re: Person I Knew

This tune is an extension of the “sketch over harmonic pallette” type reflected in his collaborative modal work with Miles Davis on Kind of Blue. To start it uses his signature minor-major 7th sound (he also uses the same approach transposed on his m9b5 chords, ie. F-#7=D-9b5). But what really sets this solo so apart from anything happening at that time is the striking change from the existing concept of 4/4 time and forward motion against the meter.  It’s another animal entirely. It’s a more languid harmonically advanced tapestry with long chords filling the void as if it were a ballad with interjections on the 1+ and time inflections of triple meter. The time feels like its floating and pulsing with the opening thematic up and down scalar motive continually developing. The most fundamental thing I can say about this solo is that its practically conversational. A dialogue about the opening measures brought to its fruition. At the top of the 2nd chorus, the use of 8ves is poignant. It is taking the essence of the opening 9th melody and reemphasizing the theme stronger and more simply. I have listened to it many times and I have to ask myself. How did he think of doing that? How did he know it would work? Generally speaking, soloists move forward in their solo creation scheme, building more complexities and excitement. Evans has no issue back stepping and creating a different type of excitement. As if to say, “What about this? It’s simple. Listen!” He really began achieving this concept by late 1957 and continued on from there. And finally the climatic triplet line near the end of the solo is like nothing I ever heard either. It is not the line content itself, which is more or less standard bebop content; it’s the 4/4  content that has been recast into triplets.

Here is Evans take on this very hard subject. Put crystal clear and humbly as usual in the previously referenced NPR program, “Piano Impressionism”:

“I never said like I want to have an identity, in so many words. What I said was I want to build my music from the bottom up, piece by piece and kind of put it together according to my own way of organizing things. Yet I wanted to fit in and just have a reason that I arrived at myself for every note I play. I think having one’s own sound in a sense the most fundamental kind of identity in music but it’s a very touchy thing how one arrives at that. It has to be something that comes from inside and it’s a long-term process.”

Next  time: “continuity of conception”

*influence
*personality/identity
*continuity of conception
*motivic mastery
*harmony/inner voice mastery
*pianistic control
*song arrangement conception
*ballad conception
*compositional approach
*ideational permanance
*rhythmic conception

Here are the criticisms against leveled against Evans. Some of them I agree with. Some I don’t:

*Doesn’t swing
*Can’t play the blues
*Rushes
*Time feel issues
*Questionable repertoire
*Lacking spontaneity

This will be a lot to bite off in one sitting so this will be presented in several parts. Let take each area in depth.

Influence

As mentioned in the previous post, The Bill Evans Question, the most objective yardstick for artistic contribution is influence on other players. His documented influence on 3 major pianists of our era, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Michel Petrucciani should be enough to dispel any hyperbolic claims to the contrary. Keith Jarrett is often quoted as being influenced but I have never heard him mention it so I leave him out. But other noted jazz pianists for sure would include Richie Beirach, Fred Hirsch, Lyle Mays, Eliane Elias, Bill Charlap, Alan Pasqua, Steve Kuhn, Chucho Valdez, Marion McPartland, Kenny Drew, Jr, George Duke, David Benoit, David Hazeltine, Enrico Pieranunzi, Andy Laverne, Danny Zeitlin and Warren Bernhardt. There are probably countless others, however these are ones I can verify for sure. Much of Bill Evans influence could be best summed up through his own words, that many people can realize styles through his approach. Quoted from the noted NPR Restrospective (narrated by Nancy Wilson):

“I could see where I could be an influence because I think what I’ve done is I’ve put something together which is not eccentric and it’s something that somebody could pass through also;  they could  become influenced by it and its not so highly stylized- I think. At least that’s the way I see it.”

This kind of humility is rare. One more thing to love about Bill.

Generally speaking Bill Evans laid the strongest foundation for the contemporary style of piano we are using today. If not him, who else in the 50s could you attribute it to? Ahmad Jamal to a degree. But this really was the line to Red Garland and Hampton Hawes and Carl Perkins which also intermingled with Oscar Peterson and Phineas Newborn. It was just an entirely different sound and style emphasizing the hard-swinging approach.  As soon as Bill exposed his musical approach with his unique partner, Miles Davis, everything changed. The moody, sophisticated harmonic style of piano was now announced. Where he sat in the continuum and the innovations he introduced specifically when he introduced them (~1957-1961) is very important. He was a very specific voice that was different than his contemporaries who were moving much more slowly on continued lines. Bill’s restraint and flexibility in not pushing 4/4 “tipping” style was just something he heard. He sometimes seemingly moved backwards against the beat and took many unexpected rhythmic turns. Maybe some preferred the straight-ahead style but this was another voice that had obvious impact on the direction of music out of the 50s and into the 60s.

There was also the cause célèbre from pianist, Brad Mehldau who on a few occasions, in liner notes and in a double interview with Pat Metheny, basically said that Bill Evans was “not that great a pianist.” I attributed some of his prior commentary against Evans as a result of irritation from the constant critical comparison (in this interview and before) which I agree is basically unfounded. His strongest stylistic influence to my ears is Keith Jarrett, although he also denies Jarrett’s trio influence, which he has stated as “not caring for.” Some have termed this condition the anxiety of influence. In a way I can understand it. It’s kind of like saying, “Can you stop pigeon-holing whom you think I sound like and just listen to what I’m doing?”

Still, as a person whom I respect in terms of his achievements in establishing an identity in jazz, with considerable intellectual gifts and jazz history knowledge, I find Mehldau’s statements both puzzling and frankly irritating. The fact is that Evans changed the whole paradigm for jazz piano, the lexicon or whatever fancy names you’d like to call it. If Evans wasn’t there, there’s no inspiration for Hancock, Corea or Jarrett  to build on that model and consequently Meldhau. He is clearly building on that moody jazz piano house  and language that Evans started more or less single-handedly and helped perfect, whether he feels that or not. He’s a branch or sub-branch of that claiming no relation to the root. Clearly Miles Davis knew how great he was, and is quoted as such. Hancock and Corea certainly didn’t think that Evans was “not that great a pianist.” They knew better and their influence is far greater than Mehldau’s. Suppose Evans didn’t exist and all there was was Peterson, Jamal, Silver and Kelly? They are all great but Evans is a huge hole to fill in terms of the progression of jazz piano and jazz music generally towards modernity. Who would play the music he played between 1959-1962:  Nardis? Blue in Green? Re: Person I Knew? Who was playing jazz waltzes the way and frequency Evans was playing them? And playing with such freedom and authority mixing 3/4 and 4/4 meters before anyone else was doing it? Who had so much personality in both his lines and chords that after just a few notes you could immediately identify him? And I’m sure Meldhau knows this but it seems like a fruitless argument to argue what is self-evident. And you don’t have to love, transcribe or even embrace the majority of artist’s work to acknowledge their influence. Prime example, Brad Meldhau. I’m not a huge fan of his playing personally, but I acknowledge his influence on players and style because I can hear it, for example in players such as Robert Glasper, Aaron Parks and others. And he’s raised the bar technically for every pianist that has come after him. Influence is the key objective yardstick.

Maybe by the same token, there may be some too quick to cite Bill Evans as the king of jazz piano and ignore his more overtly swinging counterparts, Red Garland, Wynton Kelly and Oscar Peterson. I think much of this stems from the dedication exclusively to art of the jazz piano trio. There were frankly not so many models for the piano trio post Nat King Cole and Bud Powell.  When Evans came to forefront, the other models were Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal primarily. This is the yin side to Evans yang. So Evans more coloristic and contrasting approach stood in particular stark relief. This is something jazz critics and buffs frustratingly ignore, the context of artistic achievements at the time they happened. In other words, how did Evans think of playing the way he did given the available models at the time? The artistic achievement is stunning.

Let’s get back to the original question of the Evans contribution. Firstly, I love Bill Evans, that’s obvious. Some of this is a generation thing. He was situated perfectly in terms of my age and my appraisal of the jazz continuum. I grew up listening to him in my house in addition to my father, brother, Stan, Brookmeyer and all my father’s classical records. When I was a kid, Evans was the most popular pianist, generally speaking. In subsequent years, Hancock, Tyner, Corea and Jarrett took the top honors and then everyone else since then. Yet inevitably I keep coming back to Evans. And I have to ask myself. Why is that? Is it a generational thing? or something else?

To describe Evans as a poet although apt feels a little trite. What Evans has is a complete understanding of his melodic language and a complete dedication to every note and phrase he lays out there in musical space. He always reconciles what he plays. This is the onus of compositional integrity. He rarely plays things for frivolous reasons. There was also that artistic balance in his playing so that he didn’t go in endless tangents and micro-studies in barrages of notes. This is because he had a sense of larger structure and eschewed ideas that didn’t meet with the criteria of that bigger picture as it unfolded. He had maturity and melodicism. He also had a sense of humility and modesty about his achievements. These qualities are what I find lacking in many pianists and in Meldhau truth be told. This is not to say, I love every note Evans has ever played or I don’t find faults. Everyone knows he rushes and this trait grew worse later as well as his tendency towards the hyper-romantic. The fact is, I could find fault with many artists that I listen to and admire, including Evans. Really the question is which artist consistently has records that are head and shoulders above the rest and stand up to repeated listens. And who was specifically devoted to the piano trio and its particular niche and requirements? To my ears, before Keith Jarrett revived the jazz piano standards trio based on the Evans mold in the early 80s  no one else was really doing it consistently. And everyone else followed after this.

In my next post I will get into the specifics of what makes Evans great and also address some of the specific criticisms against him.

He was active on the jazz scene first in Chicago in the 40s and then New York in the late 40′s and 50s. He and Dad knew each other during that time. My father held him in highest esteem. It’s actually too bad I didn’t speak with him in depth about their relationship but I may do a follow up after I speak with my brother, Doug who may have heard some more stories.

Recently thru the internet I’ve come into contact with Ronnie’s sister, Joyce Glantz who has made the rounds on my site and some others on the subject of Ronnie. She also (re)pointed me to a prior email contact of mine, guitarist Axel Hagen. Hagen, although not so well known here, is established on the scene in the Netherlands and Germany and is a fine guitarist. He has a new website and a whole page tab devoted to Ronnie Singer AND has the additional lost cuts of Ronnie Singer. Originally there were only 3 available on the net thru guitarist Felix Lemerle. Axel’s site has 7. There are pictures that have never been seen from Ronnie Singer’s childhood. He also has some interesting stories to tell on the search for Ronnie Singer. In 1993, the year of Jimmy’s stroke he managed to spend an entire afternoon discussing music with Jimmy, and the subject of Ronnie Singer came up. Axel had been there to to talk with his idol Jimmy and he had previously never heard of Ronnie. Dad referred to the tape he had received from a friend that had Ronnie on it (which he let me listen to in 1985 when I was staying with him in Louisville), but he could not locate the tape for Axel. At the point my father’s house was in chaos, so I have no doubt it would’ve been hard to find. This was the starting point of Axel’s quest for the lost Ronnie Singer music.

Here is the link to Axel’s Ronnie Singer page. The actual recordings of Ronnie can be heard on the recordings subtab. If you don’t know already these are the only known recordings of Ronnie and the quality is poor. Nevertheless they are a wonderful document. Axel has posted his transcription of Ronnie’s Solo to “All the Things You Are” on the site as well.

So thanks to Axel, Joyce for continuing to keep the legend of Ronnie going. Hopefully more info will surface in the future.

But let us take today to appreciate my brother’s contribution to the art of jazz guitar. He is still one of the finest that have ever played, displaying the hallmarks of any great jazz artist – timing, feel, sound and authentic jazz feeling. These are somewhat rare commodities these days.

We should also be celebrating his recent comeback to the jazz scene and the great reviews he has been receiving. Long overdue. Welcome back, Doug!

At left is a picture of Doug when he was beginning his journey into the jazz scene at around age 19.

(photo by Raymond Ross)

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 17 years since his passing. Every year I have to pinch myself that I was so lucky to have someone so brilliant in my life, whose work has touched and inspired not only me and my brother Doug but many, many musicians both young and old. I continue to marvel at his genius and hope that more and more people begin to appreciate this under-appreciated, soft-spoken man who just was able to cut through all the bullshit and deliver the truth, whether from his words or his guitar.

Those of you who know me and the significance of this date in time, review all the tabs on this website. You will find some changes and surprises.

All the best

Jon

He is the guitarist featured in the 1993 Louisville clinic videos I have on my youtube page . He is also interviewed in Glen Hodges’ Jimmy Raney thesis work.

When I was woodshedding in Louisvlle in 1985 we frequently hung out and jammed and were on a few gigs together. We also played on Dad’s memorial. He and Dad did many duet gigs together and often subbed for each other.

He will be missed by all. So tragic to die so young.He was 53.  Scott Henderson  Obituary

FYI- He should not to be confused with the jazz fusion guitarist, Scott Henderson who is still living.

Below is an excerpt from a Louisville weekend section article from 1985.

A Tale of two guitarists: Jimmy Raney and Scott Henderson

Bach’s “Goldberg’s Variations” poured from the stereo speakers in jazz
guitarist Jimmy Raney’s East End apartment.

Sitting on a couch between the speakers was guitarist Scott Henderson,
shaking his head and marveling at the music’s intricate patterns.
“Scott’s about the only young jazz guitarist I know who likes to come over
here and listen to classical music with me.” Raney said.

But Raney and Henderson have a lot more in common than their love of
classical music.

Henderson, 27, has been an ardent fan of Raney’s music ever since
Henderson’s family moved to Louisville during the early 1970s. Back then, he
sought out the world famous guitarist and became one of his pupils. Last
week, Henderson and Raney began playing together as a guitar duo on Sundays
at the Phoenix Hill Tavern, 644 Baxter Ave.

Henderson, who graduated from Westport High School in 1976, has come a long
way since the days when he was so enamored by Raney’s playing he transcribed
an entire book of his recorded solos.

In recent years Henderson has traveled all over the United States and Europe
playing and teaching jazz – but Raney is still his favorite guitar player.

“I’ve always wanted to make my guitar sound clean and precise like a
trumpet. I think Raney was the first jazz guitarist to get that kind of
sound and feel,” Henderson said.

Raney, who is a Louisville native, patterned his revolutionary guitar style
after the bebop lines of alto saxophonist Charlie Parker. Raney’s
“horn-like” improvisations on recordings with jazz greats like Stan Getz,
and Red Norvo during the late 1940s and early 1950s were an important part
of the evolution of the jazz guitar.

Henderson said that Raney’s style is very compatible with his own.

“I’ve studied a lot of Jimmy’s music over the year’s,” Henderson said.
So, I’m very familiar with his technique. One of my friends said the other
day that when we play together we almost sound like one guitar.
That’s really the effect we’re shooting for.”

Raney added, “It’s a traditional thing for two guitars to play together.
I even made an album in Jamey Aebersold’s play-along series called “Play
Duets with Jimmy Raney,” for guitar players who live out in the boondocks
and don’t have another guitar player to play with.

“The guitar is a ‘complete’ instrument like the piano. But it doesn’t have a
piano’s overbearing tonal qualities. Two guitars blend well together,” he
said.

The music Henderson and Raney create can be compared to classical chamber
music, Henderson said. “We play a lot of standards like ‘There Will Never Be
Another You’ and ‘Our Shining Hour,’ plus a few originals.
But it’s different from a lot of jazz you hear. We play many lines in
counterpoint. And the volume is down real low.”

Henderson just returned from New York City, where he led a trio with another
Louisvillian, drummer Mark Plank. “Since I’ve been back in town, I’ve been
playing all the Broadway Series shows. I get a lot of calls for those jobs
because I read music well and can fit right in,” he said.

But Henderson never intends to become just another everyday studio musician:

“I know if I got involved with that studio nonsense it would hurt my
playing. I think that it’s important that there are people around like me
determined to play jazz. Jazz is the most significant art form of the 20th
century, and someone has to keep it alive,” he said.

In the near future Henderson hopes to go back to New York City and record a
jazz album with an all-star rhythm section.

Raney said he was very happy to see his former pupil doing so well.
“He’s really come through the process perfectly. He has good phrasing and
ideas, plus originality,” he said.
Henderson, who has eclectic musical loves, has composed a ballet; his tastes
in classical music range from Bach to Charles Ives. He said that jazz is an
international language.

“Last year when I was teaching jazz in Europe with Jamey Aebersold, some of
the musicians I encountered couldn’t speak English well, but they knew all
these jazz tunes. We couldn’t communicate verbally, but as soon as we
started playing, bang! They were right on it. They were familiar with the
jazz style, the stock endings, everything.”

Danny O’Bryan
The Louisville Times “SCENE Magazine
Sept 7, 1985

I was late to discover this unfortunately. Bob died of cardiopulmonary arrest just short of his 82nd birthday on Dec 16th, 2011 in New Hampshire. He was quite active at the end and I interviewed him earlier this year about Dad and life. I kind of picked up on a personal dichotomy; on the one hand he described to me having finally arrived at marital bliss with Janet and a beautiful home in NH and a new record in the works, he nevertheless had political concerns about this country and I thought I picked up on a certain amount of general restlessness. He has made a home in many places both here and abroad. Perhaps some of that is a given in this case. I never got his approval on the final transcript but I intend to release it posthumously with any incriminating names or references made removed (he had strong opinions:)).

Obviously his connection to my father was primary. His closest friends/colleagues in no particular order were Stan Getz, Bob Brookmeyer, Jim Hall, Attila Zoller, Red Mitchell, Teddy Kotick, Hall Overton and Howie Collins.

Below is the NPR broadcast about him:

Bob Brookmeyer/NPR broadcast

Bob was an exceptional trombonist, arranger, pianist and composer and he will be missed.