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LondonJazzCollector
Adventures in collecting "modern jazz": the classical music of
America from the Fifties and Sixties, and a little Seventies, on
original vinyl, on a budget, from England. And writing about it,
since 2011. Travelling a little more widely nowadays, and at lower
cost
Richard Twardzik: The Last Set (1954-5)
Pacific Jazz G ALL E RY
Posted on November 30, 2013
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Selection 1: The Girl From Greenland (Twardzik) with Chet Baker, recorded in Paris 5:19
00:00 00:00
Selection 2: Yellow Tango (Twardzik) 5:28
00:00 00:00
Selection 3: ‘Round about Midnight (Monk) 3:52
00:00 00:00
Selection 4: I’ll remember April (Raye – de Paul – Johnston) 4:09
00:00 00:00
Selection 5: A Crutch For The Crab (Twardzik) 3:21
00:00 00:00
Artists
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RE P O RT T H I S A D
Richard Twardzik (piano) Carson Smith (bass) Peter Littman (drums)
recorded Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, N.J. October 27, 1954. The Girl From
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usesBaker (trumpet)
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use. Magellan, Paris, October 11,1955.
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Music
Fairly short tracks as was the practice in the mid Fifties world before microgroove LPs, so I
have thrown in a few more selections than usual to compensate Slightly Monk-like, slightly
Herbie Nichols-like, slightly Powell-ish, probably a few other influences, but an individual voice
is there, though never given the opportunity to develop. His take on ‘Round About Midnight is
poignant and tender, and I’ll Remember April is a joyous mischievous helter-skelter.
Allmusic artist overview for Twardzik:
Pianist Richard Twardzik remains one of the most tragic cautionary tales in the
annals of jazz — a gifted and original bop pianist on the precipice of
international renown, he died of a heroin overdose at the age of just 24.
Twardzik was a classically trained child prodigy who studied under Madame
Chaloff, the mother of the famed baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff; he began
his professional career at 14 playing the Boston nightclub circuit, and later
attended the New England Conservatory. While still in his teens, he also acquired
the heroin addiction that would ultimately end his life.
According to his biographer Jack Chambers (day job, Toronto U Professor of Linguistics),
Twardzik’s first recording was one track with Charlie Mariano in 1951, and he was soon
accompanying Charlie Parker during Parker’s Hi-Hat Club Boston sessions 1951-2: bop super-
group line up: Charlie Parker (as) Joe Gordon (tp) Bill Wellington (ts) Dick Twardzik (p) Charles
Mingus (b) Roy Haynes (d). He also played extensively with Serge Chaloff in the early 50’s,
recording on the Chaloff album Fable of Mabel ( LJC post December 6, 2011 – seems a long
time ago!)
The young Twardzik was brought to the attention of Richard Bock, of Pacific Jazz Records, by
pianist Russ Freeman. According to Chambers, Freeman recounts: “I told him (Bock) about this
fantastic piano player I had heard. And Dick said ‘Why don’t you do a recording?’ So we went
up to New Jersey to Rudy Van Gelder’s studio and did the album. I’m glad we did it, because
it’s one of the few things Dick ever recorded.” The recording location and engineer is not
credited on the liner notes, merely that the recording was “Produced by Russ Freeman”. Why
so shy? It seems to have been Van Gelder, at Hackensack. A strange omission from the credits,
but it explains the high quality recording by 1954 standards. Those cymbals, outstanding!
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RE P O RT T H I S A D
Twardzik never got to hear this record. Baker took Twardzik on his 1955 European tour, which
was recorded extensively in Holland, Germany and France, the last to be Twardzik’s final
set. He died of a heroin overdose in his Paris hotel on October 21, 1955. According to
Chambers:
He (Twardzik) was expected at a recording session with Baker, and when he
didn’t show, someone was sent to his hotel room. No one answered at the locked
door, and when it was finally broken, Twardzik was found, already dead, with
the spike still in his arm.
The Pacific Jazz liner notes describe Twardzik’s departure more tactfully – “died suddenly and
unexpectedly”. Add: and too soon. Perhaps heroin in Paris was less adulterated than that
supplied in Boston. Some have pointed out that, as ruinous as heroin is, its lethal property is
usually a consequence of its degree of purity, unregulated other than by criminals. Moral issues
aside, I prefer certain modern jazz players in their junkie phase, less so after they cleaned up.
Just sayin’ .
Vinyl: Pacific Jazz PJ37 1962 mono – 146gm vinyl.
Hackensack recordings first issued on Pacific Jazz 1212 – Russ
Freeman/Richard Twardzik Trio (right) one side of Twardzik, topped
up with Freeman tracks. Subsequently the session was issued as
PJ37 The Final Set, with additional Twardzik tracks, including one
with Chet Baker which was recorded two weeks before Twardzik’s
death.
Audiophile tasting notes: After a recent slew of records with missing
or rolled-off top end, it’s a delight to hear early Van Gelder engineering in fine form pressed I
assume on the West Coast by Pacific Jazz – those cymbals! If he could do it in 1954…why not
other engineers? (It’s just hearsay but I have read that it was efforts to reduce tape hiss that
resulted in cut high frequencies)
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Collectors Corner
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Central London record store, where in conversation with the jazz buyer about this record the
word “rare” cropped up several times. This record is apparently quite rare, and for once, being
rare does not equate with being expensive: Twardzik is relatively unknown.
Full Twardzik Discography is found here. It is quite short, but offers an interesting insight into
the Boston jazz scene of the very early Fifties.
Postscript
Can labelling jazz as West Coast or East Coast help understand or anticipate anything better?
Taking my lead from some of the comments below, I have had a go at a classic two-dimension
XY venn diagram.
My conclusion after trying to do it is “no” . Where the hell do you put Thelonious Monk, let alone
Sun Ra? Neither geography not “coolness” captures what is going on in jazz.
LJC.
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15 THOUGHTS ON “RICHARD TWARDZIK: THE LAST SET (1954-5) PACIFIC JAZZ”
Geoffrey Wheeler
on March 16, 2018 at 15:14 said:
Four tracks from Pacific Jazz were issued on (Swedish) Artist 7-inch EP AEP 1017
“Richard Twardzik Trio”: Bess, You is My Woman; Albuquerque Social Swim, I’ll
Remember April, and ‘Round About Midnight. The EP opens at the top rather than the
right side and has the same cover art as the Pacific Jazz 12-inch LP 1212 that pairs
Twardzik with Russ Freeman. The Swedish EP is not listed in the Twardzik discography
published on the Internet, nor is the 1982 12-inch LP “The Great Lars Gullin ’55/’56 Vol.
1 with Chet Baker & Dick Twardzik,” Dragon DRLP 36, Side A tracks 4 and 5, Cool
Blues, and Brash; and Side B tracks 1 and 2, Lover Man, and I’ll Remember April.
Growing up in the Boston area as I did, I saw Twardzik, bassist Jimmy Bond, and
drummer Peter Littman play.
of this album seems to be available and I can only wish that more people get acquainted
with this beautiful music.
LondonJazzCollector
on December 1, 2013 at 09:03 said:
How so? Au contraire, there is little if anything finer than RVG recording and
mastering for Blue Note, Prestige and Impulse. (This record is unusual as it ap-
pears RVG was responsible for the recording, but not the mastering, presumably
done at Bock’s behest on the West Coast)
If I have any issue with Rudy it is his approach to early stereo. Here I think
Contemporary’s Roy DuNann wears the crown, shared with Columbia’s unsung
hero Fred Plaut and the acoustics of Columbia’s 30th St studios.
It is with some trepidation I put on an RVG Stereo. He was fine on live record-
ings, it was the studio sessions where he made choices I would not have. From
which speaker will each of the artists appear? I am told it was due to the first
Ampex mixers having only a three position switch left, right or centre. Rudy’s in-
clination was to put lead instrument on left, second lead instrument if any on
right, bass and drums right, piano centre, or some other balance-disturbing
combo. There is a well-worn path from my sofa to the right speaker just to check
it is still working.
As for the impossible to ignore relationship of heroin use with Jazz music: Setting aside
the merits of music produced under the influence, the human wreckage is hard to
ignore: Just glancing at the musicians mentioned in this post (beyond the obvious
examples of Charlie Parker and Chet Baker). Serge Chaloff’s career was significantly
curtailed by his drug use (although he was ultimately able to kick). Joe Gordon is
another tragic story: Early in his career he was favorable compared to Miles Davis, but
after years of heroin use he died in a house fire most likely caused when he nodded off
in bed with a lit cigarette.
I can’t deny that I too prefer the output of some musicians when they were “on” (the
Miles Davis Quintet springs to mind), but it’s sometimes hard to read down the causality
list and not wonder how much great music was silenced as a result.
The other aspect of this record which interests me is the “West Coast” dimension. Too
often, West Coast players (with the possible exception of Chet Baker) are dismissed
whole cloth as less creative, less accomplished and more commercial. While it’s not
hard to understand how this perception arose, there are many important exceptions, as
your find demonstrates. And as for “commercial”, let’s not forget that both Ornette
Coleman and Cecil Taylor’s first records were released on Lester Koenig’s
Contemporary label.
Russ Freeman, I think, is a another pianist who is underrated due to the West Coast
stigma. After his great work on Pacific Jazz both solo and with Chet Baker, like so many
others, he ultimately ended up going into session work and commercial music. I think in
the end, there just wasn’t enough work on the West Coast for innovative jazz musicians.
on December 1, 2013 at 19:20 said:
The difference between Zoo York and Lost Angeles? This is deep water,
to mix metaphors.
Somewhere I have a John Handy album called “No Coast” which could
be a useful starting point. Any thoughts out there to shape a discussion
on West Coast and East Coast Jazz, please chip in
and introducing a set of criteria in which to pigeonhole any music
form we encounter. Thereafter we can choose names.
