Fact #88620
When:
Short story:
Buddy Emmons aka Buddie Emmons, is recording tracks for his Mercury Records album Steel Guitar Jazz, in Capitol Studios, New York City, USA.Full article:
Buddy Emmons Q + A
Q: What guitar and amp did you use to record this album? Did the band rehearse before putting it to tape? How did the New York musicians take to the sound of the steel guitar? "Bluemmons" is my favorite!
A: I used a Sho~Bud guitar and a Standel amp with a twelve-inch speaker. We ran the tunes down to get familiar with them before going to tape. The musicians didn't know what to think about the pedal steel, as most of them had never seen one before. I recall them filing by and looking at it as if it were some sort of relic in an antique store. I didn't bring charts to the session, and when we ran out of tunes everybody knew, I made up a blues melody off the top of my head. We recorded it and I named it Bluemmons.
Q: The liner notes to your steel guitar jazz album suggest that you were unhappy or uncomfortable with the recording circumstances, but if so, it doesn't come across on tape! If your ride on "Cherokee" was not recorded under optimal circumstances, I can't imagine how much better you would have played if you were really comfortable! If you wish to do so, could you perhaps talk a bit more about the session; how did you feel while playing; how was the interaction with the other players, etc.?
A: My discomfort was through a series of small events. I had planned to fly commercial but Ray Price was making a trip to New York City and offered to take me in his small plane. He said to travel light, so I took a Standel amp with a 12" speaker. When I set up, I couldn't find a warm sound for chords without distorting the amp, so I ended up with ear splitting highs. I made it clear to Quincy Jones up front that I knew nothing about reading music and couldn't do the album if it required it. So, I called off the list of tunes he had sent me and found the musicians weren't familiar with the changes to some of them, so we had to come up with tunes we all knew. Also, Quincy had to fly to Paris and they subbed a producer by the name of Hal Mooney. I felt that had Quincy been there, he could have supplied charts that would have gotten me through the tunes I had taken time to learn. Hal Mooney was a producer and was married to Kay Starr at some time, but that was about the only thing I respected him for. He got hot under the collar and said, "Why in the hell don't you have charts for these tunes." My response was, "These tunes were picked for me. Why in the hell didn't you hire somebody that knew them." Because of that and a few other things, including it being my first exposure to the city and its attitude, I was ready to go home the first hour. I knew when we came to the tune "Any Time," we had scraped the bottom of the barrel. It was after Any Time, that I came up with Bluemmons and put us all out of our misery. I got along well with Art Davis and Bobby Scott, and if it wasn't for Bobby's consideration, I might have eased over the edge.
Q: I'm not sure how to ask this, but... were the other musicians respectful and impressed with you? It's hard to imagine them not taking notice of the boy from Indiana who could play the Hell out of that contraption, despite the circumstances.
A: Jerome Richardson was fairly receptive to what was going on but Charlie Persip was a bit on the cool side. I guess if I had played drums for Dizzy Gillespie, I would have been cool too. Smile Knowing he worked with Dizzy didn't make things any easier.
on Cherokee:
Before running the song Cherokee, I asked Charlie Persip to give me a four bar drum intro. He obliged by playing four incredible intros, none of which I was able to count and come in on the first beat. I was noticeably upset with myself so Art Davis (tenor sax) suggested a simple intro that ended up sounding like something you'd hear in a 40's western movie with a band of Indians on the horizon. That embarrassing incident left me thinking my name would be one that Charlie would soon forget, so I truly appreciate his comment regarding the session. (CP said he was amazed at what Buddy played on what he referred to as a "Hawaiian Guitar")
That story is a good example of the caliber of jazz musicianship I speak of that sets the specialists apart from general practitioners. It also illustrates that Charlie's having to play at my level deprived the world of his true potential. I must say though that he took no prisoners on the rest of the track.
on recording with Pat Martino:
I don't know whether Pat has the same manager now but an album with Pat and myself was to be scheduled for last Fall with his present manager's blessing, and I put it off, simply because I felt I wasn't ready for it. I was told we could reschedule it in the spring of this year if I needed the time, but I'm still not comfortable with the timing. It would be the greatest of all musical accomplishments for me to be able to do it, but I've never gotten over the first jazz album I attempted in New York and don't want to repeat the same mistake of not being prepared.
(Source : https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=314160&sid=b17e5852c1946c0568246492b3a53aae)
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Q: What guitar and amp did you use to record this album? Did the band rehearse before putting it to tape? How did the New York musicians take to the sound of the steel guitar? "Bluemmons" is my favorite!
A: I used a Sho~Bud guitar and a Standel amp with a twelve-inch speaker. We ran the tunes down to get familiar with them before going to tape. The musicians didn't know what to think about the pedal steel, as most of them had never seen one before. I recall them filing by and looking at it as if it were some sort of relic in an antique store. I didn't bring charts to the session, and when we ran out of tunes everybody knew, I made up a blues melody off the top of my head. We recorded it and I named it Bluemmons.
Q: The liner notes to your steel guitar jazz album suggest that you were unhappy or uncomfortable with the recording circumstances, but if so, it doesn't come across on tape! If your ride on "Cherokee" was not recorded under optimal circumstances, I can't imagine how much better you would have played if you were really comfortable! If you wish to do so, could you perhaps talk a bit more about the session; how did you feel while playing; how was the interaction with the other players, etc.?
A: My discomfort was through a series of small events. I had planned to fly commercial but Ray Price was making a trip to New York City and offered to take me in his small plane. He said to travel light, so I took a Standel amp with a 12" speaker. When I set up, I couldn't find a warm sound for chords without distorting the amp, so I ended up with ear splitting highs. I made it clear to Quincy Jones up front that I knew nothing about reading music and couldn't do the album if it required it. So, I called off the list of tunes he had sent me and found the musicians weren't familiar with the changes to some of them, so we had to come up with tunes we all knew. Also, Quincy had to fly to Paris and they subbed a producer by the name of Hal Mooney. I felt that had Quincy been there, he could have supplied charts that would have gotten me through the tunes I had taken time to learn. Hal Mooney was a producer and was married to Kay Starr at some time, but that was about the only thing I respected him for. He got hot under the collar and said, "Why in the hell don't you have charts for these tunes." My response was, "These tunes were picked for me. Why in the hell didn't you hire somebody that knew them." Because of that and a few other things, including it being my first exposure to the city and its attitude, I was ready to go home the first hour. I knew when we came to the tune "Any Time," we had scraped the bottom of the barrel. It was after Any Time, that I came up with Bluemmons and put us all out of our misery. I got along well with Art Davis and Bobby Scott, and if it wasn't for Bobby's consideration, I might have eased over the edge.
Q: I'm not sure how to ask this, but... were the other musicians respectful and impressed with you? It's hard to imagine them not taking notice of the boy from Indiana who could play the Hell out of that contraption, despite the circumstances.
A: Jerome Richardson was fairly receptive to what was going on but Charlie Persip was a bit on the cool side. I guess if I had played drums for Dizzy Gillespie, I would have been cool too. Smile Knowing he worked with Dizzy didn't make things any easier.
on Cherokee:
Before running the song Cherokee, I asked Charlie Persip to give me a four bar drum intro. He obliged by playing four incredible intros, none of which I was able to count and come in on the first beat. I was noticeably upset with myself so Art Davis (tenor sax) suggested a simple intro that ended up sounding like something you'd hear in a 40's western movie with a band of Indians on the horizon. That embarrassing incident left me thinking my name would be one that Charlie would soon forget, so I truly appreciate his comment regarding the session. (CP said he was amazed at what Buddy played on what he referred to as a "Hawaiian Guitar")
That story is a good example of the caliber of jazz musicianship I speak of that sets the specialists apart from general practitioners. It also illustrates that Charlie's having to play at my level deprived the world of his true potential. I must say though that he took no prisoners on the rest of the track.
on recording with Pat Martino:
I don't know whether Pat has the same manager now but an album with Pat and myself was to be scheduled for last Fall with his present manager's blessing, and I put it off, simply because I felt I wasn't ready for it. I was told we could reschedule it in the spring of this year if I needed the time, but I'm still not comfortable with the timing. It would be the greatest of all musical accomplishments for me to be able to do it, but I've never gotten over the first jazz album I attempted in New York and don't want to repeat the same mistake of not being prepared.
(Source : https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=314160&sid=b17e5852c1946c0568246492b3a53aae)