Ronnie Pierce
Ronnie Pierce and Friends Recording Sessions 2004
Cheek to Cheek
Blue Skies
Ronnie Pierce (1928-2018) was a mainstay of the Seattle jazz scene for 74 years. A fine saxophonist and clarinetist,
he performed in many of Seattle's historic big bands, includng those of Bumps Blackwell and Ken Cloud, the latter of which he
and I worked in together for ten years. We also worked together in his small combos, playing mostly Dixieland classics.
This recording session was in 2004, when he assembled a great group of Seattle stalwarts in the studio at the Art Institute of Seattle,
where we were recorded by student engineers. I was honored to be a part of my old friend's session.
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Crinkle Music Studio in the late 1970s
Two Tracks from the White House 1974
Track 1
Track 2
In 1974, while between full-time gigs, I hung out with musical friends at a big white house in Lynnwood, WA north of Seattle.
We did a lot of jamming there, along with partying and generally hanging out. We had a regular group of players that worked on material there; Noel Shick on guitar; Mark Johnson on guitar; Hugh Girard on bass guitar; and yours truly on drums. One day I brought a stereo Sony reel-to-reel deck over and we recorded two short songs that we'd learned. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of either one, so I've simply designated them Track ! and Track 2 until one of the remaining guys who played on it gets back to me with (hopefully) the names of the tunes! I think that Track 1 was an Allman Brothers instrumental - if anyone recognizes it, please let me know!
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Maia Santell
Maia Santell is a longtime blues and jazz singer in the Seattle area. Part of a very musical family, she has led her own groups for years. I was privileged to be employed in her band for about ten years. This performance was just before Christmas 1989 in the iconic Latona Pub just north of Seattle's University District. I was only one of two drummers in all Seattle that was allowed to play in this big, cavernous, glassy bar! Maia Santell-vocals; Ron Weinstein-piano; Phil Demaree-bass; Fred Taylor-drums |
Inquest in 1976
Inquest Demo 1976
Dolores
May Dance
From Now 'Til You
Flutterby's Waltz
Four Winds
The original Inquest was a trio that Gary Rollins and I put together in 1976. Our first bassist was Bruce Phares, a brilliant young musician just graduated from high school. Bruce and I had played with the fusion band Rorschach prior to this. Inquest worked around the Seattle area for a couple of years; playing a concert at Freeway Park and at venues like
The Other Side Of The Tracks in Auburn and the Alpine Tavern in Lynnwood. The group disbanded in 1978 and reformed as a quartet in 2000.
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Dana Brayton and Steve Bartlett
Trio 1978
Trio 1978 jam
Another great recorded improv session was this one in 1978, which featured pianist Dana Brayton and bassist Steve Bartlett, with whom I worked in Rorschach
and several other groups. Much more adventuresome than the 'April Fools 1978' session, this one jumped all over the place and presents a very interesting
listening experience - definitely not relaxing! 42 minutes, unedited |
Bruce Phares in 1976
Bruce Phares Quartet 'Miracle Music/Right Off' improvisation 1977
'Miracle Music/Right Off' 1977 jam
Sometimes, the most extraordinary music is composed and created on the spot; no discussion, no countoff, no plan - someone starts playing something,
everyone else picks up on it, and interesting things happen.
The talented Bruce Phares, bassist from Bellevue, Washington, was and still is a mainstay of the Seattle jazz scene.
In 1977 he called me to play a party in the 'U-District', at which we were joined by my high-school friend, guitarist
Charles Meserole, and another guitarist who had just left top saxophonist Dave Liebman's band, whose name I can't recall but
will edit it in after I e-mail Dave and ask him. We jammed for about 45 minutes, in one of the most intense spontaneous jams I've ever participated in.
Toward the end, we segued into a version of "Right Off" by Miles Davis. I had a cassette recorder going (as always, back then) to capture the session.
My girlfriend at the time was so taken with it that she dubbed it 'miracle music', and I've called it that ever since. Hang on to your hats! |