The Gone Sounds of Jazz with Sid Gribetz

Serge Chaloff

Serge Chaloff was a fleeting star on the baritone saxophone during his brief lifetime, one of Woody Herman’s “Four Brothers” and a bebopping legend as well.   He was a sophisticated musician and swinging performer.  Serge possessed a lithe, fleet, flowing conception propelled with a lighter tone and nimble execution on the big horn.
Raised by his prominent classical musician and educator parents in Boston, Serge Chaloff was born November 24, 1923.  His father Julius Chaloff was a pianist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and ran his own music school; his mother Margaret Stedman Chaloff, revered  by her many famous classical and jazz musician students as “Madame Chaloff”, was a long time teacher with her own studio and also at the New England Conservatory and other schools.
As a young child his parents taught him the piano, and he received formal lessons on the clarinet.  Inspired by Harry Carney he was self taught on the baritone saxophone and began performing in big bands.  Chaloff was also influenced by Charlie Parker and informed by the contemporary bebop scene, and he incorporated those styles as a major component of his expression.
Chaloff was hired by Woody Herman for the “Second Herd” band in 1947-1949 and excelled as part of its legendary saxophone section memorialized by the Four Brothers song and sound.
Unfortunately, Chaloff also absorbed another lesson from the bebop era and many contemporaries, succumbing to heroin addiction.  Chaloff was smitten and suffered more intensively than most, harming his physical health and inspiring erratic behavior to an extent that almost cost him his musical career, and his life.
Let go by Herman, Chaloff spent the early 1950's basically in local Boston clubs and with some brief prominent spots such as a stint in Count Basie’s octet.  He also spent some time on the road with low profile gigging.
By 1954, Chaloff began getting some treatment, and friends eventually  prevailed upon him to enter an intensive in patient rehab program.  Chaloff emerged totally clean and renewed his career with vigor.  Highlights included appearances at George Wein’s Storyville nightclub and his record label.  The “Fabel Of Mabel” album is a storied endeavor and a cult classic.  Chaloff went on significant national tours, appeared on the Steve Allen TV show, and recorded with Capitol Records - two LPs “Boston Blow Up” and “Blue Serge”- that are now considered masterpieces.
However later in 1956 Chaloff was stricken with cancerous tumors on his spine and after some initial surgeries that allowed him to endure, the tumors spread and he died in July 1957 at the age of 33.
With his short life span and limited body of recordings, Chaloff is not well remembered, but he was a significant figure who deserves lasting recognition.
 
originally broadcast February 15, 2026

Tina Brooks

Tina Brooks was a lyrical tenor saxophonist with a yearning, introspective, yet soulful sound. He attained a brief measure of recognition on several Blue Note albums in the late 1950's and early 1960's but never achieved great fame.
Harold Floyd Brooks was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina on June 7, 1932, into a musical family. (His older brother David “Bubba” Brooks, also a saxophonist, was a mainstay in the jazz world for many years). In his youth, Harold was nicknamed Tina from his teeny, diminutive size. The family moved to the Bronx in 1944 when he was 12 years old, and Brooks was a Bronx-iteHe came of age playing in Latin and Rhythm and Blues bands, eventually gaining major professional experience in the touring groups of Amos Milburn and Lionel Hampton. By 1956 and 1957, under the tutorship and close friendship of modern jazz greats Benny Harris and Elmo Hope, Brooks was playing in the thriving Bronx jazz scene, in clubs such as the Blue Morocco, 845, and Freddie’s Bar, with friends such as Oliver Beener and Larry Gales.
Introduced to Blue Note Records executive Alfred Lion, Brooks was immediately thrust in to the big leagues on a Jimmy Smith record session. His extended saxophone solos on Smith’s “The Sermon” gained great repute. He made tremendous contributions as a sideman with Freddie Hubbard (Open Sesame), Kenny Burrell (Blue Lights), and Jackie McLean (Jackie’s Bag).
In 1959 and 1960, Brooks also worked in theater, serving as an understudy in the cast of Jack Gelber’s legendary Off Broadway play “The Connection”, with live jazz music by Freddie Redd. As a result of this relationship, Brooks would record with Redd on some of his albums.
Blue Note eventually made four sessions with Tina Brooks as a leader of quintets, recording dynamic versions of American popular song standards along with lyrical and sophisticated original compositions, in association with band-mates such as Hubbard, McLean, Lee Morgan, and Sonny Clark. However, only one album, “True Blue”, would be released in his lifetime. Championed by critics and record executives such as Michael Cuscuna, his remaining albums would be released posthumously, as an early staple of Cuscuna’s connoisseur Mosaic label, and also on Blue Note.
Tina Brooks suffered from various health problems, as well as being saddled with the scourge of heroin addiction. He was not well enough to perform beyond his thirties, and he succumbed to kidney illness and the ravages of his drug use, dying on August 13, 1974 at the age of 42.
 
originally broadcast July 21, 2024

Hot Lips Page

Trumpeter and vocalist Hot Lips Page was a key figure in early jazz, the swing era, and rhythm ‘n’ blues.
Oran Page was born in Texas on January 27, 1908. As a teenager, he began a career with the “territory bands” and the southwestern swing tradition.  From a young age he possessed a sizzling style and command of the trumpet, which perhaps was the source of his nickname, although his friends noted his enjoyment of the early ‘20's Henry Busse/Paul Whiteman record “Hot Lips”, too.
Page made his mark with the Blue Devils and other seminal Kansas City bands, and he was an important member of the early Count Basie and Reno Club orchestras.
Leaving Count Basie to embark on a solo career, Page made a key contribution as a leader of small combos during the swing era and the 52nd Street nightclub scene.  In that milieu he made numerous significant recordings.  He also appeared as the featured trumpet soloist for a time with the Artie Shaw band in 1941-42.  After World War II, Page was a key figure in the development of the rhythm and blues sound, both with his own records and backing singers like Wynonie Harris (“Good Rockin’ Tonight”).
You’ll enjoy “Lips” for his dynamic approach on the trumpet and an earthy, down home singing style, all of which conveyed a deep humanity and emotional connection with the music.
Page died of pneumonia and heart trouble at the early age of 46 in 1954. 
 
originally broadcast September 27, 2015; rebroadcast May 9, 2021

Max Roach 3

WKCR presents a marathon broadcast celebrating Max Roach annually, on his birthday anniversary, January 10.
Here’s my segment from the 2020 edition.  It begins with a survey of Sonny Rollins collaborations with Max (81 minutes), then takes a relaxing visit to the Royal Roost to hear the Charlie Parker Quintet in live performance (18 minutes), and finally over an hour of selections of Max Roach as a sideman on recordings from the late 1940's bebop era, by Dexter Gordon, Allan Eager, J.J. Johnson, Stan Getz, Don Byas and Buddy DeFranco.

Johnny Griffin

Johnny Griffin earned the nickname “The Little Giant” for his short physical height but big powerful sound on the tenor sax.  Coming out of the blues and swing of his Chicago roots but also informed by the sophisticated developments of the bebop era, Griffin’s proficiency on his instrument and the fleet and darting lines of his attack make him one of our greats.
Griffin was born in Chicago on April 24, 1928 and attended DuSable High School under the tutelage of its legendary teacher, Captain Walter Dyett.  As a teenager he played professionally in blues groups with T-Bone Walker.  Immediately upon his high school graduation Griffin joined Lionel Hampton’s big band.  In the late 40's and early ‘50s Griffin also played in R&B groups such as Joe Morris and appeared on some of the early Atlantic rhythm and blues records.
Griff established himself on the modern jazz scene of New York later in the 1950s. He was a key member of Art Blakey’s 1957 edition of the Jazz Messengers; he replaced John Coltrane as the saxophonist in Thelonious Monk’s Five Spot group and stayed for several months in 1958; signed to the Riverside label he made numerous significant recordings with great compadres; and in the early 1960's he teamed with Eddie Lockjaw Davis for a swinging Tough Tenor combo.
Griffin moved to Europe in 1963 and forged an international career as one of the leading expatriate American jazz artists. For many years he made many frequent trips to the US to visit Chicago, and the Village Vanguard in New York, with a regular group that included Michael Weiss, Dennis Irwin and  Kenny Washington.  He had a productive and active performing life into this century.
Griff died in 2008 in France at the age of 80.
originally broadcast January 18, 2026

Tiny Grimes

Tiny Grimes was one of the innovators of the early days of the electric guitar, and he was a significant figure in the development of both jazz and rhythm and blues.
His first major professional engagement was with the popular novelty vocal group “The Cats and the Fiddle” in the early 1940's.  Next, he became a key figure in the regular piano trio of the legendary Art Tatum.
After his experience with Tatum, Tiny Grimes remained a vital participant in the small group swing of the 52nd Street night clubs.  During this period, Grimes also participated in recordings with jazz greats such as Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Billie Holiday, Buck Clayton, and Ike Quebec, all to be heard on the program.
Shifting gears, in the late 1940's and early 1950's, Tiny Grimes was an important figure in the beginning days of rhythm and blues and nascent rock and roll, with his “Rocking Highlanders” groups, work with Screaming Jay Hawkins, and participation in the early R&B recordings of Atlantic Records.
In the late 1950's, Tiny Grimes made some great mainstream jazz records for Prestige, and later, he was a key figure in classic jazz revival of the 1970's, performing frequently in Europe, and in New York venues such as the West End Café.
Grimes passed away in 1989 at the age of 72, after some debilitating illnesses.
originally broadcast December 20, 2009

Clifford Brown 2

WKCR presents an annual marathon 24 hour tribute to trumpet virtuoso Clifford Brown on October 30, his birthday anniversary.
From the 2021 edition, here are two thematic segments – Clifford Brown with vocalists (Sarah Vaughan, Helen Merrill, and Dinah Washington), about 85 minutes, and Clifford Brown in California in the spring and summer of 1954, about 50 minutes – along with several tracks of classic recordings for general listening at the beginning and end of the program.

Ben Webster in the 1940s

Ben Webster was nicknamed “The Brute” due both to his sometimes tempestuous temperament and also for his vigorous power on the tenor saxophone.  But he was “The Beautiful” as well, with a personal sensitivity within his soul, and an elegant, romantic approach on the softer numbers, projecting  a breathy tone with “air to spare”.
Webster (1909-1973), coming out of Kansas City,  was already recognized as one of the original  saxophone giants by the late 1930s.  But when he joined Duke Ellington’s famous orchestra in 1940 his career reached a higher plateau, immortalized as the soloist on many Ellington/Strayhorn masterpieces such as “Cottontail” and “Raincheck”.
Webster left Ellington in 1943 and pursed a career as a “single”, fronting many small groups in various styles.  In that regard Ben made many notable and powerful recordings, albeit not as famously remembered.  In 1948 he briefly rejoined Ellington, although the orchestra did not make any studio records during that period. In 1949 Ben returned to Kansas City and participated in some fine bluesy activity.
Accordingly, this five hour program features a varied presentation of tasty music touching on these aspects of his career.
originally broadcast December 21, 2025

Dexter Gordon Centennial

Celebrating the Centennial of Dexter Gordon on February 27, 2023, WKCR presented a marathon broadcast.
From my segment, here’s a detailed survey of Dexter’s early work in the 1940s.  About 115 minutes, bookended for casual listening by a potpourri of some 1970s recordings upon his magical return to the US.

Miles Davis 1953-1954

Miles Davis is one of the “superstars” of jazz, a dynamic trumpet master renowned throughout the world for many varied achievements during his decades long career.
For this radio program, I isolated a lesser remembered period, to put a sharp focus on his activity during the years 1953 and 1954.
Miles Davis was born in Alton, Illinois May 26, 1926.  A teenage wunderkind, he arrived in New York in 1945 to play with Charlie Parker and join in forging the nascent bebop movement of modern jazz.  By the late 1940's he was working on further innovations such as his creative arrangements for nonet orchestras, later named “The Birth Of The Cool”.  In 1949, he was famous enough to be one of the headliners of the International Jazz Festival in Paris, a significant event returning American jazz to Europe in the postwar renewal of the continent.
In the legend and lore of Miles’s career, he had a triumphant “comeback” at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival.  This was to be followed soon by major landmarks we all know –  the quintet including Red Garland and John Coltrane, Gil Evans orchestras, Kind Of Blue, the 1960's groups with Wayne Shorter, and all the further milestones until his death in 1991.
So then, what happened after 1949 that Miles needed a comeback?  First, he succumbed to the demons hovering around the jazz world of the time and suffered the scourge of heroin addiction.  However, the ravages of his drug use were not so great that it prevented him from performing, and he continued to tour the country and make records with different groups.  During this time Miles was in a period not just of personal self-doubt and struggle, but also of re-assessment of his musical conceptions and trumpet tones.  By some time in 1953 he had finally beaten the drug addiction, and with recuperation came renewed strength and consolidation of skills.
Jazz itself was also going through a period of re-assessment in the early 1950's, on the one hand searching for avenues to take the be-bop breakthroughs to whatever next levels would come, but on the other hand popular musical tastes were changing and rhythm and blues also on the rise.
So this is where we find Miles Davis in the early 1950's.  He had signed with the young independent jazz label Prestige and starting in 1951 made dozens of records in the 15 or 20 dates he had with them.  At first not an exclusive deal, he also had three sessions for Blue Note.  Most of these recordings were not by regular working “groups” but amalgamations of those with whom he played regularly – saxophonists such as Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean and Jimmy Heath, trombonist JJ Johnson, pianists Horace Silver and John Lewis, and drummers Art Blakey and Kenny Clarke, to name a few.
These records might also not be as well known in his oeuvre, but they do include some that should be considered classics.  Perhaps another reason for their lack of lasting fame is that this was a period when record companies were in the transition to the long playing era, and these discs were originally issued as 78s, 45 EPs, 10" LPs, and other soon to be esoteric formats, and only later reissued in ersatz album groupings.  Accordingly, they could not be so coherently known with common monikers so as to fit in a Davis “canon”.
With these factors in mind, this program features the years 1953 and 1954, with records such as Kelo and Tempus Fugit, When Lights Are Low and Tune Up, his definitive cool version of Old Devil Moon, the extended performance on Walkin’, and concluding with the legendary tempestuous date with Thelonious Monk, Milt Jackson and the Modern Jazz Giants on Christmas Eve 1954.
These 1953-4 records are glorious on their own merit and just as impressive as other Miles Davis offerings.  As some have said upon reflection, one might think that the critics who had called 1955 a “comeback” were the ones who had been away, and not Miles.  
And these recordings are key to study as a preface to the next level that Miles and other jazz artists took the music in the late 1950's.  As Dick Katz perceptively wrote about the musicians on Walkin’: “To me they represent a sort of summing up of what had happened musically during the preceding ten years.  It’s as if they all agreed to get together to discuss on their instruments what they had learned and unlearned, what elements of bop they had retained or discarded”.
originally broadcast December 22, 2019