A financial snapshot from the jazz life - 1966

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 27 Feb 2010 4:10 pm

Andy, you might be able to answer that question if you take a visit to Salem State College. See here:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living ... he_campus/

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 27 Feb 2010 4:42 pm

I was still in Philly during the end of Lennie's North Shore of Boston heyday but just a bit too young to catch acts like Cream and Hendrix at The Electric Factory on 23rd st.

Philly had a great free jazz in the parks program in the late 70s however. I saw Dizzy, Max Roach, Brubeck, Ray Bryant, Archie Shepp,and others. I wonder if they made $425 wk by that time.

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 28 Feb 2010 1:43 am

Andy

Pretty cold financial reality for a such a brilliant improviser. Net $50 bucks for a week's work. Was "wife" an alimony payment?

My assumption would be that the wife payment is the money he sent home to his wife who took care of the household while he was on the road. It is likely that he was doing quite well. Doing that well for a week long gig in a small market would mean that there were plenty of gigs to be had at the time.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 28 Feb 2010 6:59 am

A few of my favorite Jazz records were recorded at Lennie's: Jaki Byard, Live! At Lennie's Vol. 1 and 2 with the amazing Joe Farrell on tenor.

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 28 Feb 2010 7:25 am

A few of my favorite Jazz records were recorded at Lennie's: Jaki Byard, Live! At Lennie's

Yeah, not to get off topic, but this is a great album. Jaki Byard had a encyclopedic knowledge of jazz piano, from early stride to the most avante guard, a knowledge he expressed in each solo he took.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 28 Feb 2010 7:49 am

What the heck, let's go off topic. One of my all-time favorite piano performances is Jaki Byard's renditon of Amacord from "Amacord Nino Rota", an early 80s collection of jazz interpretations on Nino Rota's film scores for Fellini movies.

Back to the topic, here's the Milt Buckner info site where I got the original account book image. All the Buckner info you'd ever want. He was a killer player on both piano and organ.

http://www.jazzdocumentation.ch/buckner ... kner1.html

and if you scroll down the page, you come to this shot of Bernie McKay on the Gibson Electroharp!

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 28 Feb 2010 8:28 am

Whoa! Where can I hear Bernie MacKay on steel?

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 28 Feb 2010 11:55 am

Good question,b0b.He's a new name to me but given Buckners usual cohorts, he must have been a swinging steeler. Anybody have any info on Bernie?

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 28 Feb 2010 12:13 pm

Here's a recording of Trapped with Terry Gibbs on vibes and Milt Buckner's Organ Trio.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 28 Feb 2010 12:43 pm

That's the Electraharp!

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 28 Feb 2010 12:56 pm

Mike Neer wrote:Here's a recording of Trapped with Terry Gibbs on vibes and Milt Buckner's Organ Trio.

That's great! Vibraharp and Electraharp together with Hammond. Very cool! Thanks, Mike.

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 28 Feb 2010 2:32 pm

That gives new meaning to the term microtonal.

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 28 Feb 2010 5:22 pm

REMOVED

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 28 Feb 2010 7:17 pm

Note in the Milt discography that it was thought Floyd Smith was the guitarist/steel guitarist on those tracks as he was the most visible of the black jazz guitarists who doubled on steel and this does sound similar to "Floyd's Guitar Blues" that he recut for King with Krazy Kris And The Swinging Gentlemen about the same time. Floyd played lap steel and never used a pedal guitar.

The Electraharp was a pedal guitar, no? Someone on that recording of Trapped says "That's the Electraharp" (at about 00:54). It definitely has a tone similar to Alvino Rey's old records.

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 28 Feb 2010 7:46 pm

REMOVED

Russ Wever · Post by **Russ Wever** » 28 Feb 2010 8:12 pm

. . was probably going to "Illinois" to record . .

If ya 'digitally' flip the expense sheet posted
above so that the 'print-thru' from the other side
of the page becomes readable, it shows towards the
top of the page that Moline is obviously the Illinois destination.
~Russ

Russ Wever · Post by **Russ Wever** » 28 Feb 2010 8:33 pm

This pic appears to be in the same
venue as the one posted above and
shows a glimpse of the steel a
little closer and from
a different angle.
~Rw

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 28 Feb 2010 9:08 pm

Yup, when you flip the image, it looks like "First Week, Moline, Ill" and also has a list of expenses for this date, with what appears to $100 to "Wife". Kinda' hard to make out most of the other numbers. One blog talking about this speculated alimony, but it could be that he sent that amount home to his actual wife - ya' know, to take care of home expenses and so on. How else would a touring musician get money back to his wife at home? What a concept - take some of your gig money and send it home.

Milt was a very cool player - he swung like nobody's business and that block style influenced not only Shearing - I think especially of Red Garland and Oscar Peterson also. There are some very cool videos on youtube with Illinois Jacquet and Jo Jones in France from 1975:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcxMqP-xZDo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXVVeAALyoc

and 3 other parts linked from there. I think like Jacquet, Milt deserves wider recognition.

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 28 Feb 2010 9:51 pm

REMOVED

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 1 Mar 2010 3:34 am

I started this thread with a little bit of knowledge and one point of view. I've unexpectedly learned quite a lot about the real deal of life in the 60s for a touring musician and was introduced to a new (to me) steel player. Thanks for the education everyone!

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 1 Mar 2010 10:48 am

Jim Cohen wrote:He made a math error; his expenses were $360.14. He only cleared $40, not $50.

Milt was way ahead of his time. He was already using the "new math" that we were being taught back in the 1960's.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 1 Mar 2010 11:01 am

... and you can see where this type of deficit financing landed us...