Відео

Lorne Lofsky, who studied Ed's playing so much he could do a pretty passible imitation, said "The sound he got out of his guitar was very different. The first time I heard the 'Pure Desmond' album, I thought that it was an electric piano playing the chords." You could argue that with a $20K carved-top jazz box, Ed wouldn't have ever fully arrived at his signature sound. On his ES-175 in the 1960s, Ed always sounded like Ed, in terms of phrasing and feel...but he was closer to Kenny Burrell, with much less sustain, and without that "electric piano" vibe.

Hi Amy, Jamie didn't post this video (actually it's only audio), and I've actually never met or communicated with Jamie in any manner. I can't find any contact information for Jamie, but apparently as recently as 2019 he was playing jazz piano gigs in Guelph, Ontario, near Toronto. Wish I could give you more information than that, but he doesn't leave much trace online.

I agree, he makes the most of those two tracks, and it's a great shame this album could not be completed. Ed sounded so great with this style of tenor sax, it makes me wish he'd recorded with Zoot Sims. I do love the Buddy Tate record, another great pairing of Ed and a swing tenor.

@@jimdixon3470 A little respect for Fraser MacPherson. He was no slouch.

Ed told interviewer Joe Barth in 2005 that off all the albums he recorded with McConnell (and there were well over 25), this was his personal favorite. His reason was basically because he felt he didn't fall on his face! I personally like him most as a rhythm player when he's floating over a great bassist and drummer, enhancing the groove, but not 100% responsible for it, like his is here. But this album is fun almost in an academic exercise kind of way. He did some really great work in his duets with Rosemary Clooney where he is the only instrumentalist. On a ballad, he doesn't need any other instruments with him to make magic.

@@jimdixon3470 i have a tribute to ed on my channel. I have? 95% of everything he has ever recorded. Fi Didn’t have this. Ty.

I agree with all this--Ed sounded great in the 50s-60s when he played his Gibson 175, and he sounded great (and a bit different) playing a solid-body. Don Thompson once said "The Telecaster was his instrument, and I don’t think he could have done it on another guitar. It had a lot to do with that sound. It was so dark, giving the illusion the chords were way bigger than they were. It was that sustain, and he was so in tune that set him apart." I think what Don was getting at with the sustain comment was true, whether or not an actual Telecaster was required rather than some other solidbody. And Lorne Lofsky once said the first time he heard Ed on the "Pure Desmond" LP he thought he was hearing an electric piano. While guitarists do sometimes spend to much time talking/obsessing over equipment and not enough time thinking about a player's touch and other intangibles, in this case the equipment (combined with the light touch) really was important to the sound we love. I think it was sort of a happy accident, as Ed was not an equipment junkie in the least--he only bought gear out of professional necessity. All that said, buying a Telecaster doesn't get you a tenth of the way there! Lofsky really nailed the Bickert sound early in his career, much as Sonny Stitt got the Charlie Parker thing down pretty well. And Lofsky was playing a Les Paul in those days.

You can find the CD used on Discogs or Amazon at the moment. Bickert typically got 2-3 solos on the Boss Brass big band albums, so if you are new to Bickert, an album like "Out of the Past" or "I Wished on the Moon" might be the place to start. Also just reissued as a download album is Bickert's 1985 album with Lorne Loftsky, "Ed Bickert/Lorne Lofsky Quartet". Qobuz.com has it for a good price in hi-res. They did a follow up album in 1990 that is better known, called "This Is New". I initially got into the Boss Brass purely because of Bickert, but I've come to like the band a lot for the other players and arrangements as well. If you are hard-core on Bickert, the Mosiac boxed set of Paul Desmond Live in 1975 with Bickert is a must-have, and a limited edition that won't be around forever. 6 CDs feature a quartet with Bickert, some of his best work.

@@jimdixon3470 Thanks very much for the info, Jim. I'll check out the albums you mentioned.

The man had a song in his soul. Even when he's comping behind a soloist, those delightful song-like lines in his chords and voice leading turn the performance into a kind of duet between himself and the soloist. Steve Wallace said "Ed could also make more pure music just accompanying people than most musicians could when soloing or in the spotlight." It's all coming from the same love affair with melody, Ed's soloing and his comping. I do think this solo is one of his more memorable ones.

I hear some scales in there sometimes. He definitely knew his scales and arpeggios. But, he used them masterfully.

Jim Hall

@@rhmayer1 lovely player-not even close. Watch his interview about Ed.

@@golds04 Yes, I did. They both remind me of each other in a few ways. Both have the same sense of beautiful tone and subtle complexity with their harmonic sense.

Both Don and Gary Williamson are credited as playing piano on the album, but no specifics about who is playing what. I don't know Don's piano sound well enough to identify. Funny that a teacher would send a student to this album generally speaking--depending the on the student's age and experience level. This album could very will kill a budding jazz guitarist's interest in jazz completely, if not introduced with the proper context.

@@jimdixon3470 He gave me all the LP's of Ed. I even got introduced to Ed once at the Montreal Bistro cause I did a full transcription of everytime we say goobye. I think it was around 2001 or 2002

This particular song is on the Sackville Records CD "Vintage Nimmons 'N Nine: CBC Air Checks '59-'64", which is on Amazon and probably in other places. Many of the obscure tracks I've posted from the 60s and 70s are not on CD, and I found them on the "Museum of Canadian Music" website at citizenfreak.com/

Great hear from you, John. I wish I'd grown up in Toronto and had a chance to see all of you cats live over the decades. Collecting the records from afar, many years later, I've come to really appreciate all the players swirling around the Boss Brass axis. Clarke and Thompson together are particularly wonderful to me, especially on the live recordings from 1975 released by Jim Hall and Paul Desmond. Glad to hear Guido is still getting around. I hope more live recordings from all these players surface...there's so much soul in this scene.

John Sherwood is correct. That is most definitely Terry Clarke on the drums.