Phil Woods Interview – Carey Leverette Interview [transcript]

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:11:28 Leonard Feather: Saturday, March 12th, 1988.

00:00:12:00 - 00:00:16:08 Phil Woods: You know, I’ve always been a loquacious on the bench. We’re having such a good gig.

00:00:16:10 - 00:00:27:07 Leonard Feather: Oh, it’s nice. All right. Let’s try to move this back up the pool table a little. Yeah. Oh, boy. Yeah, it’s a hell of a table.

00:00:27:09 - 00:00:28:14 Phil Woods: Oh, you get a bucket.

00:00:28:16 - 00:00:32:06 Leonard Feather: You can’t do that.

00:00:32:09 - 00:00:33:08 Phil Woods: Man.

00:00:33:10 - 00:00:38:18 Leonard Feather: I guess you. Just want to get lost, and that’ll do.

00:00:38:21 - 00:00:41:29 Phil Woods: I’m just a man right now.

00:00:42:01 - 00:00:46:09 Leonard Feather: Oh. This is. This is.

00:00:46:12 - 00:00:49:03 Phil Woods: It’s not too much, but.

00:00:49:05 - 00:00:49:29 Leonard Feather: Oh, you didn’t stop.

00:00:50:00 - 00:00:56:22 Phil Woods: Oh. I’m sorry. It’s just, I’m pretty disappointed in myself. Keep pressing.

00:00:56:24 - 00:01:05:19 Leonard Feather: I was at Oscar Peterson. You know, reason I didn’t come in again last night. Yeah. Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, talk a little bit about each guy in the band.

00:01:05:21 - 00:01:06:24 Phil Woods: the octet or the quintet?

00:01:06:26 - 00:01:10:15 Leonard Feather: No, the quintet, because that’s what this is. And then afterwards.

00:01:10:16 - 00:01:11:11 Phil Woods: In relationship.

00:01:11:11 - 00:01:16:10 Leonard Feather: To the, you know, in relation to, in general, how you first got to know them, how they have to join the band on what you think of them.

00:01:16:11 - 00:01:25:08 Phil Woods: Well, the band was formed, like most bands are formed. We were working, we had a jam session. when I left California, I stayed with Bill Goodwin.

00:01:25:10 - 00:01:25:24 Leonard Feather: yeah.

00:01:25:24 - 00:01:30:25 Phil Woods: And the band was formed. Gilmore lived around the corner and the Delaware Water Gap, but we originally.

00:01:30:25 - 00:01:31:11 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:01:31:14 - 00:01:42:26 Phil Woods: We started jamming together. That was good, Lord. 14 years ago. Yeah. And, a lot of people say, how do you keep a band together? And, I’ve got to say, the dedication of the individual players.

00:01:42:28 - 00:01:43:21 Leonard Feather: Oh, absolutely.

00:01:43:23 - 00:02:00:19 Phil Woods: But also, I’ve got to give a little note of credit to, my wife Jill, who takes care of that business. Everything is straight. We try to keep a straight operation, when there’s a plum, we share the bread. Yeah, Gallagher’s been on the band. gee, but going on six years now.

00:02:00:25 - 00:02:02:14 Leonard Feather: Yeah, right.

00:02:02:16 - 00:02:24:17 Phil Woods: he’s. We worked together up, and Lenny’s on the turnpike. He’s from Boston. I’ve known how a long time that I helped him get his grant money from the National Endowment. I gave him a couple of letters of recommendation. He formed the band with the record brothers. No. Oh, yes. when he applied for the grant, which I did help him get, that was when he did the record brothers.

00:02:24:20 - 00:02:25:24 Phil Woods: So we go back quite a way.

00:02:25:24 - 00:02:26:18 Leonard Feather: Yeah. Oh, sure.

00:02:26:21 - 00:02:31:02 Phil Woods: And of course, town hero. What can I say about time, Harold, I think.

00:02:31:04 - 00:02:32:14 Leonard Feather: where did you first hear him?

00:02:32:16 - 00:02:46:14 Phil Woods: I heard Tom back in 74, 75. that’s when I came back from Europe. Spent a year in LA here, then went back to the East coast. And I heard one with Chuck Israels, national jazz ensemble.

00:02:46:15 - 00:02:47:21 Leonard Feather: Oh, right. I forgot about that.

00:02:47:28 - 00:03:07:15 Phil Woods: And, Oh, I heard about him. And then he was with, the Norman Schwartz label, which we don’t have to mention by name, but we were on the RCA label that way. Right? there is a tape of Tom of a suite that I conducted for RCA with strings and stuff. It’s not really that I don’t think RCA knows it.

00:03:07:15 - 00:03:27:25 Phil Woods: Got it. Thank you. So we, you know, we should tip our hand. so. And, if if he’s not a bona fide genius, I don’t know what it is. I think he’s, probably one of the greatest improvisers I’ve ever heard. He’s carrying the flame of, Clifford and Fats. He never wastes a note on there.

00:03:29:02 - 00:03:52:08 Phil Woods: I learned a lot working with him, and he’s a perfect foil for me. Yeah, and he has that instant, instant, instinctive and technical command. Plus the passion that I can say. Time behind Hal’s bridge. Let’s come. I come off the plus nine you come up to plus five diagrammatically that, you know, do that. Yeah. I played with a lot of musicians, but that’s that’s Tom, you know, and stuff.

00:03:52:10 - 00:04:00:11 Phil Woods: And he has total harmonic control. the material, I think it’s a pretty good blend, of stuff.

00:04:00:16 - 00:04:01:02 Leonard Feather: Yeah, a.

00:04:01:02 - 00:04:11:21 Phil Woods: Lot of neat stuff. We’re trying to keep the repertoire moving as much as possible. Tom stuff. And how was arrangements? And I think it was a good night. It felt. It felt good.

00:04:11:23 - 00:04:11:29 Leonard Feather: I mean.

00:04:12:00 - 00:04:15:00 Phil Woods: Listen, a matinee and, evening performance in Tokyo.

00:04:15:03 - 00:04:15:09 Leonard Feather: it.

00:04:15:10 - 00:04:16:05 Phil Woods: Was,

00:04:16:08 - 00:04:18:12 Leonard Feather: So you. How much about Bill?

00:04:18:14 - 00:04:19:19 Phil Woods: Bill was my brother in law.

00:04:19:25 - 00:04:22:04 Leonard Feather: I know that well. And that’s because, you.

00:04:22:05 - 00:04:25:24 Phil Woods: Know, Bill and Steve through charter charter members. Yeah, it’s.

00:04:26:00 - 00:04:28:08 Leonard Feather: Actually me, Joe. Through Bill.

00:04:28:11 - 00:04:29:17 Phil Woods: I met Bill through Jill.

00:04:29:20 - 00:04:30:24 Leonard Feather: Oh, really? You know.

00:04:30:25 - 00:04:36:17 Phil Woods: I, I went with Joe before, and, that bill, I knew his work.

00:04:36:19 - 00:04:37:23 Leonard Feather: Oh, yeah.

00:04:37:25 - 00:04:52:19 Phil Woods: But, no, I didn’t know him before. No. He’s, He plays the melody and drums, which I like. He’s, he’s got, like, buddy Rich has a photographic memory. You can hear a chart once, and he’s got it. And. And he plays the tune.

00:04:52:22 - 00:04:54:03 Leonard Feather: Is really great.

00:04:54:08 - 00:05:15:20 Phil Woods: And tries to stretch the time without, not getting lost. A lot of drummers are not quite aware of form. Yeah. You know, it’s very loose. But Bill, to be very loose and then within those confines is always there. And Gilmore is, is a rock. It keeps getting better and better. Oh yeah. As I say, we’re we’re like one of the last of the repertory.

00:05:15:23 - 00:05:20:13 Leonard Feather: Oh my doing before that I knew before the level. Oh, Gilmore.

00:05:20:13 - 00:05:23:27 Phil Woods: Gilmore always been, was with Thad and Mel for a while.

00:05:23:29 - 00:05:25:01 Leonard Feather: That’s right.

00:05:25:03 - 00:05:40:12 Phil Woods: Oh, wow. Tone and Zoot, he worked with, he was in the Poconos for a long time. he was in Florida, work with IRA Sullivan. Yeah. One of the biggest bass players in the.

00:05:40:14 - 00:05:41:00 Leonard Feather: In the.

00:05:41:00 - 00:05:44:02 Phil Woods: Pocono region. He was at Mount Airy. Later gigs.

00:05:44:04 - 00:05:49:19 Leonard Feather: Let’s just go through the cuts. What is Herc to? He actually mean? Does that mean it doesn’t mean anything?

00:05:49:19 - 00:05:57:02 Phil Woods: But I loved, Anthony Braxton always has cryptic. Yeah. Cryptic titles. So I thought, you know, if you say it right to you.

00:05:57:05 - 00:05:58:06 Leonard Feather: It sounds like a.

00:05:58:08 - 00:06:02:05 Phil Woods: So. Yeah. No, just, that’s a play on words.

00:06:02:07 - 00:06:03:19 Leonard Feather: Yeah. You know.

00:06:03:20 - 00:06:06:20 Phil Woods: Hidden meaning.

00:06:06:22 - 00:06:14:16 Leonard Feather: I think, you know, I’ve made my own comments about the cuts that we don’t hear, the dreams full of them. And key to, Bob. Stu. Oh, that’s.

00:06:14:16 - 00:06:16:07 Phil Woods: A they calling the album Dreamville?

00:06:16:07 - 00:06:17:16 Leonard Feather: Apparently, that’s what it says.

00:06:17:16 - 00:06:20:15 Phil Woods: Yeah, because they realize a has got an album called Waynesville out.

00:06:20:16 - 00:06:22:16 Leonard Feather: Oh, that may I maybe I should tell them about.

00:06:22:16 - 00:06:22:28 Phil Woods: We we.

00:06:22:28 - 00:06:29:27 Leonard Feather: Have. Oh, boy. You should tell them. Yeah. What’s not right. Yeah. Okay. Cool. Anything else with the Bob? Stu?

00:06:29:29 - 00:06:30:28 Phil Woods: Bob Stu would be better.

00:06:30:28 - 00:06:32:22 Leonard Feather: You know, that’s a really. You got something closer.

00:06:32:22 - 00:06:33:11 Phil Woods: You like that?

00:06:33:13 - 00:06:38:04 Leonard Feather: That’s a funny cut because there’s so many quotes from different sources that I like to share them.

00:06:38:06 - 00:06:39:14 Phil Woods: So that’s good. Bob Stuart.

00:06:39:17 - 00:06:39:25 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:06:39:26 - 00:06:41:10 Phil Woods: I think they got to call it after doing that.

00:06:41:10 - 00:06:55:13 Leonard Feather: Pool butterfly it, you know bull butterfly was written in 1916. That is 73 double. Isn’t that amazing? Yeah. Raymond, how you think of the trombonist? Yeah, yeah 1960. And I look that up and I.

00:06:55:13 - 00:06:57:08 Phil Woods: And I don’t know anything else.

00:06:57:11 - 00:07:03:12 Leonard Feather: And also he told me to change theme to how’s your mama I knew it. Yeah. Is it mama?

00:07:03:12 - 00:07:04:28 Phil Woods: Mama, mama.

00:07:05:00 - 00:07:10:22 Leonard Feather: How’s your mama? Well, I think that takes care of that because, you know, I got my own.

00:07:10:27 - 00:07:12:13 Phil Woods: Yeah, I’m a standard.

00:07:12:15 - 00:07:15:20 Leonard Feather: So what does a CEO to.

00:07:15:22 - 00:07:20:28 Phil Woods: Coda is a celebration of the arts. That’s the festival we have over Water Gap every year.

00:07:20:29 - 00:07:26:21 Leonard Feather: I wanted to hear, you know, that every year at the dollar gap in the.

00:07:26:23 - 00:07:40:06 Phil Woods: There is actually a group of young high school students in junior high that we put together a band every year. We call them the Quarter gets us. But a celebration of the arts, you know, that remembers.

00:07:40:08 - 00:07:51:16 Leonard Feather: Oh, well, let me ask you a general question. Is this a pretty good time to be to be leading the world? So to have the security that you I have.

00:07:51:18 - 00:08:08:08 Phil Woods: I have no choice in, it’s what I want to do. And it’s we’ve been hanging in there for 14 years now and, it’s been a little tough. We work six months straight from July to December. Last year would have been six months straight. That’s amazing. You know? But then we get two months off.

00:08:08:10 - 00:08:09:08 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:08:09:11 - 00:08:34:26 Phil Woods: we try to plan the year so the guys can do their individual projects in that time period and. Good. Yeah. It’s tough without the, dedication of the band, it would be impossible. Yeah. But, what? I mean, it’s working out all right the longer we do it. We have a very nice audience out there, which we’ve acquired the hard way by playing in, you know, saloons and small rooms for years and years and years, 100 people at a time.

00:08:34:28 - 00:08:39:01 Phil Woods: You do that for 14 years. You can build up a nice, a nice following.

00:08:39:04 - 00:08:49:02 Leonard Feather: But what’s in it to them is, is so few small groups that or for that matter, even big bands nowadays that don’t just go to a town and pick up a local rhythm section, you know.

00:08:49:05 - 00:09:08:06 Phil Woods: I did that. I did my share of singles, but that’s not why I got into music. I’d rather I’d rather teach and keep playing Stella by Starlight and that’s giant steps. And what, I mean, I’ve nothing against those songs, but the so called common denominator, Green Dolphin Street. yeah, I remember April. I have trouble with it.

00:09:08:06 - 00:09:09:16 Leonard Feather: Yeah, I listened.

00:09:09:19 - 00:09:26:26 Phil Woods: I mean, when I did it when I was 24, it was was we were bored then trying to find new tunes, but I always tried to. And with, with an ensemble, you can take the music that much further and. Yeah. And explore the colors, which really interests me. I get so bored with the the way groups approach their sound.

00:09:27:01 - 00:09:47:19 Phil Woods: It’s always loud. It’s it’s turned up to too much. Everything is we, as you know, are as unobtrusive as possible without forsaking clarity. and it’s paying off. We’re doing well. We’re very excited about, signing with Concord. Yeah. we’re also going to expand into the, during an octet recording. Yeah.

00:09:48:09 - 00:10:09:02 Phil Woods: Well, I wrote a book for it. we did, Gil Evans gave me access to, miles ahead. That’s one of the things we’re doing on it. Did a couple of, CalPERS tunes. A lot of my stuff. What? Really stuff? We’ve got Nick Mignola on baritone. Got a young man by the name of Nelson Hill on tenor, a student of mine.

00:10:09:05 - 00:10:22:11 Phil Woods: He’s dynamite. you’re gonna hear more from him and, trombone? I’m not sure. Yeah, it’s, Steve Terry has been doing all the gigs, with a his backup is Jimmy Knepper, so we’re in good shape there you get ready.

00:10:22:13 - 00:10:23:05 Leonard Feather: Oh, you done a few.

00:10:23:05 - 00:10:45:01 Phil Woods: Good for the long. We did Fat Tuesdays, and we did, a couple of festivals. I did Amsterdam and the middle on, yeah. we were supposed to record for dinner, but they turned left on us, and it’s nice to have it for special projects since the quintet has been around so long. Yeah, occasionally a little different.

00:10:45:04 - 00:10:48:20 Phil Woods: And it gives me a chance to do more writing and stuff. Tom is doing some writing, right?

00:10:48:20 - 00:10:49:18 Leonard Feather: Yeah. If you can.

00:10:49:18 - 00:10:52:14 Phil Woods: Just fun. It’s fun. We call it the Little Big band.

00:10:52:17 - 00:10:52:29 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:10:52:29 - 00:11:06:16 Phil Woods: And the I just want to get it recorded and see how it goes and, you know, okay, somebody wants a little expanded version of the quintet, but it’s it’s a little different. It’s more featuring colors and writing. Yeah.

00:11:06:18 - 00:11:35:24 Phil Woods: Repertoire. But more I’m writing more for the for the Arctic than I am for the quintet. I can’t get Tommy to score anything. Get I get lead sheets. Really? He has trouble with orchestrations. Oh, I’m writing a book. You have started writing a book? Yes, I was, I started writing a saxophone book. And then I decided to maybe put in a few stories, and now it’s taking on,

00:11:35:26 - 00:11:37:25 Phil Woods: Well, it’s going to be a long project.

00:11:37:27 - 00:11:40:00 Leonard Feather: So,

00:11:40:03 - 00:11:56:15 Phil Woods: But, yeah, memoirs of my roots, Juilliard days. Dizzy Gillespie tours, Benny Goodman in Russia. Oh, right. Points interrupted by a song, music lesson. it’s going to be like a whole Earth bebop book.

00:11:56:17 - 00:11:57:15 Leonard Feather: That’s good.

00:11:57:17 - 00:12:04:10 Phil Woods: yeah, that’s a good. I want a different approach. I didn’t want to just make another improvization book, but there will be improv lessons. recipes.

00:12:05:29 - 00:12:31:27 Phil Woods: Poems. And just, but a lot of stories have a little, chapter on just alcohol and stuff and money stuff I want to write, because I was so fortunate to play with a lot of, giants, you know, and it’s not so much my life was important, but in relationship to what I know the cats did, like being with Bud Johnson and being with dizzy and working with monk and stuff.

00:12:31:27 - 00:12:52:09 Phil Woods: I know you just can’t be of interest. Quincy to Quincy, Oliver McFarland. I mean, I was in the middle of that heyday in retrospect, and it was so glorious. And I guess I’m thinking about my own mortality. I wish my Johnson had written the book. I wish Ali. Yeah, it’s a memoir. just to get it out.

00:12:52:09 - 00:12:54:19 Phil Woods: Have you got a laptop computer and,

00:12:54:22 - 00:12:57:07 Leonard Feather: I’ve been putting it on tape, but just put it on the computer.

00:12:57:09 - 00:13:18:20 Phil Woods: I’m working on a word processor. Yeah, can’t work with a tape. Yeah, I like the physical thing. I like moving words around it. It’s great. And I got a modem I can call Joe and put it into the big, hard, hard disk. The storage unit she’s got, she’s really computer nut. So that’s, And we plant a predator ourselves to.

00:13:18:22 - 00:13:19:19 Leonard Feather: Really no good.

00:13:19:19 - 00:13:28:02 Phil Woods: Yeah, well, ambitious, but I want to do it. I mean, it might not be as exciting as our peppers book, but I might. It’ll be funny.

00:13:28:04 - 00:13:28:20 Leonard Feather: Okay.

00:13:28:22 - 00:13:31:28 Leonard Feather: Let’s do it. We’ve had enough of those, in my opinion.

00:13:32:02 - 00:13:33:00 Phil Woods: No, I it’s.

00:13:33:00 - 00:13:43:28 Leonard Feather: That’s the only I’m sorry about with a bird movie. It’s another movie about a junkie. Yeah, well, you know, God knows After Midnight was a great movie, but I didn’t want to set a pattern, you know? Will I ever be,

00:13:44:00 - 00:13:45:16 Phil Woods: Will we ever on is that.

00:13:45:19 - 00:13:46:19 Leonard Feather: You know, that’s the trouble.

00:13:46:19 - 00:13:51:11 Phil Woods: That in that, Dorothy Baker image. Young man with the horn. Yeah. You know.

00:13:51:14 - 00:13:52:02 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:13:52:05 - 00:13:59:02 Phil Woods: Break the horn and get smashed. I mean, I’ll grant you that. Do we have that? But there’s another side to this story. That’s.

00:13:59:02 - 00:13:59:28 Leonard Feather: Yeah, that’s.

00:14:00:02 - 00:14:10:06 Phil Woods: Always the tawdry, seamy shit. so the bird I know was the nice man that was so polite to young musicians and encouraging me, too. I know, I’m told you don’t do this, you know?

00:14:10:07 - 00:14:10:20 Leonard Feather: Oh, yeah.

00:14:10:23 - 00:14:14:22 Phil Woods: You know. Hey, that has never mentioned his generosity.

00:14:14:22 - 00:14:18:27 Leonard Feather: And, well, Clifford could assure me that that part is being used in the movie.

00:14:18:28 - 00:14:21:04 Phil Woods: But who wants to see a movie about a nice guy? Right?

00:14:21:07 - 00:14:36:08 Leonard Feather: Well, yeah. Nevertheless, he does not a judge. Again, that’s a fact of life or so. So it’ll be on that too. But I think it’ll be a fairly tastefully done thing. I mean, Red Robin seen the script and made a lot of changes and yeah, show me that, you know, doing it sincerely.

00:14:36:08 - 00:14:58:15 Phil Woods: You know, we’ve always had that kind of thing in jazz. I mean, there’s a lot of people go see certain artists just to see if they’re going to show up and what shape they’re going to be in. It’s nothing to do with the music. They can be like like a legendary thing, that it’s part of it. But how about all the guys that have like Benny Carter and people that work right up all through their life and just do their job, man, and never make the headlines?

00:14:58:21 - 00:15:02:24 Phil Woods: Yeah, that that is not that’s not news.

00:15:02:27 - 00:15:04:00 Leonard Feather: Yeah. That’s right.

00:15:04:02 - 00:15:23:27 Phil Woods: But it’s it should at least be touched on that we’re not all I mean that that’s the degree of seriousness among the jazz community has never been touched on the rightness of the of the jazz musician. Most never read books, as you know, my town over Watergate, we got a whole lot of music.

00:15:24:00 - 00:15:24:10 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:15:24:13 - 00:15:29:28 Phil Woods: We recently lost our perhaps going to the Alcohol and Memorial Library at East Stroudsburg University.

00:15:29:28 - 00:15:30:27 Leonard Feather: Which is a nice and a.

00:15:30:27 - 00:15:45:06 Phil Woods: Large university. There we have access to, well, my music and hello. And, it’s going to, lose some stuff, maybe give Rutgers a little run for their money because, I mean, is we have so much jazz in the area. They have a little.

00:15:45:08 - 00:15:46:02 Leonard Feather: Lecture library.

00:15:46:02 - 00:16:11:16 Phil Woods: Dedicated to write with all of our scores and memorabilia and stuff, and the university is getting behind it. also, Max Maxwell t and you know the lawyer. Sure. he’s, resident. He’s very active in getting that. He’s good. He did the, little talk at Ellis Memorial around. Yeah, but it was just a plug for cat on here.

00:16:11:19 - 00:16:22:23 Phil Woods: These people are absolutely, absolutely delightful to work for. The club is great. So nice to see Ella with a bona fide a really a find room. Reminds me of Joey’s kind of atmosphere. I’m following.

00:16:22:23 - 00:16:23:20 Leonard Feather: Up, as always, but.

00:16:23:20 - 00:16:24:18 Phil Woods: For right down the.

00:16:24:18 - 00:16:25:15 Leonard Feather: Road, Shelly’s was.

00:16:25:15 - 00:16:45:10 Phil Woods: Yeah, but Bob and Carolyn are just first class people. Is workers pleasure. They respect, they pay well. Take care of you. They say they’re going to pick you up. They pick you up. You know, you and the audience is a bit more laid back where they they’ve been hooting and hollering as they packed up. We were that’s having a ball.

00:16:45:12 - 00:16:57:24 Leonard Feather: You know dizzy is going in there next week. He was there before and they paid a lot of money and they had to charge $20 at the door on Saturday. And they still did it right, because the people were lined up outside. They people like the room. If the towel is right, you know, it.

00:16:57:27 - 00:17:01:28 Phil Woods: Was getting a big band together under no, Jack Nimitz and, you know.

00:17:02:00 - 00:17:04:18 Leonard Feather: Maybe so. Yeah, we only.

00:17:04:20 - 00:17:09:19 Phil Woods: Yeah. You got to rehearse in the daytime. Taking it to Anderson.

00:17:09:21 - 00:17:12:25 Leonard Feather: Place, but also the acoustic in different movements. Oh, the peace.

00:17:12:29 - 00:17:14:15 Leonard Feather: That’s a great idea. Yeah.

00:17:14:18 - 00:17:36:25 Leonard Feather: Because I really love them both. I would like at this point in my life, I couldn’t see excluding either. Yeah. there’s certain parts of my personality, musically that I feel that come through on the six string. It’s kind of almost like playing tenor sometimes because it has a nice range and. Yeah, and then also it has a very orchestral thing in the low end with the low B, you know, you can go, well.

00:17:36:25 - 00:18:04:08 Leonard Feather: Well, I like the acoustic bass. is an instrument that I fell in love with pretty early on as well in life. And, I really there’s a certain expressive things that come through on that, that are specifically on that instrument with the bow, and there’s a piece on the record and the end of the record where chick wrote a piece of me where I play with the bow, before that, and, I play a pizzicato solo, but the, the melody and everything is on the bow.

00:18:04:11 - 00:18:29:29 Leonard Feather: And that plus it’s such a such an old instrument. It’s been developed. Yeah. for centuries. Yeah, centuries. And now guys are really again. Again. There’s still a new frontier on that as well, though, in that people are trying to take the instrument further, and I’m certainly trying to, get looser on it myself. I’m getting more. You have a more free.

00:18:30:05 - 00:18:35:11 Leonard Feather: You know, if you listen to over ten or so, it’s just.

00:18:35:13 - 00:19:01:07 Leonard Feather: it’s the only instrument to that, that, that that has a way. of course, unless you look at the keyboard, they, they’ve had all sorts of expansions in the electric world, but the, the acoustic bass, the keyboards. So it’s such an old instrument. It’s older than the bass. And I think it’s pretty amazing that within the last 20, 30 years, the bass has has jumped as far as it has.

00:19:01:07 - 00:19:11:06 Leonard Feather: And you have guys that got real serious about studying the instrument as if it was a violin or a saxophone. Learning the instrument inside and out.

00:19:11:08 - 00:19:24:05 Leonard Feather: Yeah, that’s really that’s one of the older guys way behind. I was at this, this jazz, by just hearing about talent in my mind, the John Clayton is not only statuary, but he’s a protege of it. Yeah.

00:19:24:07 - 00:19:37:09 Leonard Feather: Yeah, he he’s sort of he’s got all the values that Ray has in terms of, the importance of and the maturity. But I think he’s taken with the bow. He’s taken it even a step further.

00:19:37:11 - 00:19:42:07 Leonard Feather: Yeah. Okay. If you want to talk about your relationship to Mike.

00:19:42:09 - 00:20:04:28 Leonard Feather: Now, Mike, Mike is somebody I’ve known for. Wow. How long has it been now? Probably seven years or so. I’ve known Mike thorn, and, we hit it off as friends first. I used to, when I was living down there, I met him, and I. And I heard him playing. I couldn’t believe it, you know, that he could play like that.

00:20:04:28 - 00:20:28:03 Leonard Feather: And then we became friends. We used to have sessions at his house. Yeah. And he was living with his folks. I was to live with my folks, and we used to get together and play the gigs down there. And spend a lot of time together hanging out, and and, I really liked him a lot. And at the time,

00:20:28:06 - 00:20:46:03 Leonard Feather: It was really ironic because, my sister had been dating all these guys, and she wasn’t very happy with any of them. And I’ve gotten really close with Mike. And I said, you know, you ought to ask my sister out. She’s really great. And so they wound up going out. And then the years later they got married, and now he’s part of the family.

00:20:46:05 - 00:20:50:06 Leonard Feather: This is the name Renee.

00:20:50:08 - 00:20:53:02 Leonard Feather: Renee, who’s both r e n e.

00:20:53:03 - 00:20:56:16 Leonard Feather: Oh really. Him. Yeah. We’re a night.

00:20:56:19 - 00:21:02:21 Leonard Feather: And she’s an opera singer. Oh yeah. She’s great.

00:21:02:23 - 00:21:05:07 Leonard Feather: Because Glenda.

00:21:05:10 - 00:21:16:00 Leonard Feather: Carlino is getting ready to go back to school where she’s really interested and she knows quite a bit about nutrition. She might become a nutritionist or, I’m not sure what she’s going to do.

00:21:16:03 - 00:21:17:17 Leonard Feather: She ought to be a model.

00:21:17:19 - 00:21:34:15 Leonard Feather: People have said that many times. She’s not really interested in it, though. Well, yeah, I think sometimes for her, it’s it’s hard because, she’s.

00:21:34:17 - 00:21:52:18 Leonard Feather: Very forward thinking. And she’s, she knows a lot about art and a lot of different things. And she really wants to use our creative mind and all that. And all through growing up, people have always said, well, you ought to just capitalize on your your looks and things like that. She’s not really. Yeah. I think it’s a good idea.

00:21:52:25 - 00:21:56:23 Leonard Feather: Her way.

00:21:56:25 - 00:22:03:10 Leonard Feather: She’s done a lot of different things. She traveled around before I met her. She traveled around the world a lot. And,

00:22:03:12 - 00:22:04:26 Leonard Feather: When you married.

00:22:04:28 - 00:22:13:13 Leonard Feather: It’s our anniversary. Is this Thursday? Oh. Can go can be five years, 25th. Three days from now. Yeah. Yeah.

00:22:13:16 - 00:22:14:18 Leonard Feather: That’s right.

00:22:14:20 - 00:22:34:03 Leonard Feather: And, it’ll be four years and, she knows a lot about music too. She actually, she has a beautiful voice, although she opted not to go into that. She for a while there, she was toying with maybe doing it and then she sort of got the stage discouraged when she saw the singers go up against, you know.

00:22:34:05 - 00:22:35:06 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:22:35:08 - 00:22:37:02 Leonard Feather: And,

00:22:37:04 - 00:22:42:28 Leonard Feather: And I said, oh, yeah.

00:22:43:00 - 00:22:48:10 Leonard Feather: You want to would you like to form your own group permanently, or do you think that’s not not a good idea for a bass player?

00:22:48:16 - 00:22:53:13 Leonard Feather: So.

00:22:53:16 - 00:23:02:20 Leonard Feather: I think somewhere in between. I’m definitely going to keep my group going. Both of them. I have the acoustic in the electric.

00:23:02:26 - 00:23:05:10 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:23:05:12 - 00:23:11:26 Leonard Feather: branch out and do things, but I think I always want to make room to play with other people, too.

00:23:11:29 - 00:23:12:16 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:23:12:19 - 00:23:29:23 Leonard Feather: Because I don’t like just, I mean, obviously be lots of fun and we have a great time doing it. playing, you know, with my group and the both of them, I have a lot of fun. But I also like getting input from other musicians, especially.

00:23:29:24 - 00:23:30:28 Leonard Feather: From.

00:23:31:01 - 00:23:38:22 Leonard Feather: Like, I was really happy on my record to get Mike Brecker and, you know.

00:23:38:24 - 00:23:58:16 Leonard Feather: People like that. I want to continue because I, I enjoy the way they play and people like chick. I’ve learned a lot from just being around them, watching their approach to composition. And,

00:23:58:19 - 00:24:01:04 Leonard Feather: So how many originals you have on the album?

00:24:01:06 - 00:24:02:22 Leonard Feather: I wrote ten of the 12.

00:24:02:24 - 00:24:03:28 Leonard Feather: No clue.

00:24:04:00 - 00:24:14:18 Leonard Feather: And, chick wrote one. And then one of the tunes was a Latin tune that I wrote. He arranged it. I don’t know how far you got through listening, but,

00:24:14:21 - 00:24:18:14 Leonard Feather: Only part of the facade. Most of the person.

00:24:18:16 - 00:24:36:17 Leonard Feather: Did you hear this? The one with the record. The one calls her.

00:24:36:19 - 00:24:39:08 Unknown On the way home.

00:24:39:10 - 00:24:55:28 Leonard Feather: Yeah. It’s, It’s the one who’s sitting there. Okay, so I know. There you go. Every Friday, March 18th or something. Here. Friday, March 18th, 19. okay.

00:24:56:01 - 00:24:57:10 Unknown Speaker: Okay. Why don’t you sit there and I’ll.

00:24:57:12 - 00:25:07:18 Leonard Feather: Know you sit. listen, listen. Hear. You’re talking. Tell me about Dante’s. Oh, Jesus. It’s a long story. Did you get any old pictures up for me?

00:25:07:21 - 00:25:08:29 Unknown Speaker: Any old pictures?

00:25:08:29 - 00:25:12:02 Leonard Feather: I thought I left the messages it because I think you might have some.

00:25:12:02 - 00:25:19:26 Unknown Speaker: Oh, no. I might have two classic shots. Yeah, the one you would have. Those would be Bob Powell, you know.

00:25:19:28 - 00:25:21:00 Leonard Feather: Yeah, well, I better.

00:25:21:03 - 00:25:29:11 Unknown Speaker: Well, he’s got all the slides and some incredible things you know. You know he’s got pictures of Frank Russell you know and then Blue Mitchell together and things.

00:25:29:13 - 00:25:39:04 Leonard Feather: Yeah. Could you. Well briefly rundown of what you were doing before the club started and how you and Max got together. I think we should get into it.

00:25:39:05 - 00:26:00:29 Unknown Speaker: Well, of course, as you know, I was a, a dancer and choreographer at MGM and many different studios. And I met a lot of the musicians over there at MGM, you know, and because they would we they would play the music and we’d be near the room dancing to see the tempos. Everything. Right? You know, Johnny Green and Georgie Stoll.

00:26:01:01 - 00:26:12:14 Unknown Speaker: I met the brothers Ray Brown, Howard Robertson, people like that. And, Sonny was a waitress here before.

00:26:12:14 - 00:26:13:01 Leonard Feather: It was a.

00:26:13:04 - 00:26:18:21 Unknown Speaker: You know, she was a waitress here at the time we opened up, and John Russo and I were original partners.

00:26:18:24 - 00:26:20:09 Leonard Feather: Because. How do you spell Iris?

00:26:20:11 - 00:26:32:27 Unknown Speaker: I ccl we used to have a red chimney and the in the, and, the place on Sunset Boulevard with, with Pat. he died also, but that was close matter.

00:26:32:27 - 00:26:34:12 Leonard Feather: But you and he were partners here? Yeah.

00:26:34:12 - 00:26:35:05 Unknown Speaker: Originally, yeah.

00:26:35:05 - 00:26:35:21 Leonard Feather: Oh, I didn’t.

00:26:35:21 - 00:26:40:24 Unknown Speaker: Read before Sonny came in. Oh, and then she told me about, you know.

00:26:40:26 - 00:26:43:21 Leonard Feather: When did you actually take over the place.

00:26:43:23 - 00:26:44:12 Unknown Speaker: From Sonny.

00:26:44:12 - 00:26:47:01 Leonard Feather: And Bill? No, no, I mean, no, no, I mean, originally started.

00:26:47:06 - 00:26:50:21 Unknown Speaker: We started in June 19th, what, 22 years ago?

00:26:50:24 - 00:26:51:12 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:26:51:14 - 00:26:54:26 Unknown Speaker: And I in fact, I was out shooting a film when I came back was open.

00:26:54:29 - 00:26:57:16 Leonard Feather: Was it called Dante’s before you took it over?

00:26:57:19 - 00:26:59:17 Unknown Speaker: No, it was closed.

00:26:59:19 - 00:27:00:09 Leonard Feather: Oh, really?

00:27:00:09 - 00:27:22:03 Unknown Speaker: Oh, the place was closed. It used to be a thing. Call a direct line. We came in and then. Did you see all the telephone lines? We had a pull out of the walls because, you know, we every table had a telephone line, you know, the entire grounds of a guy. Sorry. Pretty chick across the room. He died a number, you know, and one of the cats was very foolish.

00:27:22:04 - 00:27:41:02 Unknown Speaker: Put his name on a application for the license. He had felonies, so they just denied him. I said I lost a lease. Now the building was empty and we’d. We looked around, looked around. We found out that had been a very successful place. It was, what the heck was a shell Scirocco where Bobby Troup played many, many years ago?

00:27:41:05 - 00:27:47:18 Unknown Speaker: You know, it was always successful with the club, you know? So I took it over and, you know.

00:27:47:21 - 00:27:50:10 Leonard Feather: When did Sonny Bill come into the picture?

00:27:50:12 - 00:28:12:25 Unknown Speaker: later on that year, I think sometime in October. That’s why we kind of celebrate anniversaries in October. Yeah. On a rather than in June when I actually opened up, you know, and it was great because we could take care of the kitchen and they’d be in here during the day. And I mean, at nighttime, you know, took care of the bar and cooking and the publishing stuff.

00:28:12:25 - 00:28:14:15 Leonard Feather: And then it took care of and.

00:28:14:18 - 00:28:23:10 Unknown Speaker: Was you took care of the girls and all that stuff that with the hosting, you know, like. Yeah. Which, which. So we were three people split, you know, the.

00:28:23:13 - 00:28:25:06 Leonard Feather: responsibility. Yeah.

00:28:25:08 - 00:28:40:13 Unknown Speaker: So I used to laugh at Bill would get so angry at Little Irishman. And if he didn’t, something didn’t turn out right. You could hear him throwing pots across the kitchen and breaking dishes, you know, and everything was like, he’s doing a golf course anywhere. He’s, you know, the first,

00:28:40:15 - 00:28:41:04 Leonard Feather: Was it Hampton.

00:28:41:04 - 00:28:48:03 Unknown Speaker: Horse? Hampton horse and Red Mitch and Red Mitch was in the other night and it was just a duo. Remember? We had a piano bar that was backwards?

00:28:48:03 - 00:28:48:17 Leonard Feather: Yes.

00:28:48:20 - 00:29:08:13 Unknown Speaker: The bass player was in the wrong spot and the drummer was in the wrong spot. And it took all that money, and. And John wasn’t too sure about, you know, getting a drummer and, and Hampton and Red used to ask me, so I just put it in my pocket. No, I’m in my pocket and hired Donald Bailey. You know, you couldn’t see him half the times.

00:29:08:16 - 00:29:12:10 Leonard Feather: When the John Rosella put up.

00:29:12:13 - 00:29:13:17 Unknown Speaker: I guess in October.

00:29:13:17 - 00:29:15:10 Leonard Feather: Oh, he sold out to Sonny and Bill.

00:29:15:13 - 00:29:18:02 Unknown Speaker: Yeah, yeah. He did. Yeah.

00:29:18:02 - 00:29:19:12 Leonard Feather: I say you.

00:29:19:14 - 00:29:23:05 Unknown Speaker: He was having problems at home and things to.

00:29:23:07 - 00:29:26:06 Leonard Feather: Well, when did you start expanding from just a small group to us?

00:29:26:06 - 00:29:46:25 Unknown Speaker: Well, Bill and I, we first got together, we decided we didn’t want just trios and stuff, like there were piano bars. Matter of fact, we cut it right in half and threw it out, even though it was a very expensive piece of, you know, it was expensive thing where we threw it out, decide we want two bands and yeah, you know, we we were I think we were actually the first club prior to out.

00:29:46:28 - 00:29:54:25 Unknown Speaker: I got to her big bands in Los Angeles on a regular basis. Yeah. Yeah. You know, like Mike Brown’s big band was here for five years in a row on Wednesdays.

00:29:54:26 - 00:29:55:19 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:29:55:21 - 00:30:19:23 Unknown Speaker: And I remember Stan Kenton seen up there when he came in. I guess he was the first named big band that came in. And he says, you probably wonder how Carrie can afford the big band. She says, go with the band. The guys in the band, out drink the customers. Well, you know, we had unfortunately, Stan Kenton and Woody Herman and, Count Basie basically it he.

00:30:19:26 - 00:30:38:05 Unknown Speaker: Yeah, she was in here. And, you know, we couldn’t clear out the room and he’d start he’d start right at the piano, start right away, and the people would want to leave. You know, we were trying to turn the room over to cover his feet. Yeah, but he had the piano on the floor over there, like, on the floor, which just used to have it on the on the bandstand.

00:30:38:05 - 00:30:42:15 Unknown Speaker: We give him the floor, you know, and he was here, buddy. Rich was here.

00:30:42:17 - 00:30:43:24 Leonard Feather: Ellington. But not Duke. Right.

00:30:43:26 - 00:30:45:14 Unknown Speaker: We had Mercer. Yeah, well, you were here.

00:30:45:14 - 00:30:46:15 Leonard Feather: We must have to do.

00:30:46:17 - 00:30:46:26 Unknown Speaker: Yeah.

00:30:46:29 - 00:30:48:11 Leonard Feather: You got up to get him in here?

00:30:48:13 - 00:30:57:10 Unknown Speaker: Yes. We had that white tie or something special or something. I think he wrote it up. Yeah. Chuck. Man. Johnny. Joe, has Lee written, when he was in.

00:30:57:12 - 00:30:58:09 Leonard Feather: For a long time. Right.

00:30:58:09 - 00:31:00:08 Unknown Speaker: Well, Joe is here for ten years.

00:31:00:08 - 00:31:01:26 Leonard Feather: Every Monday night.

00:31:01:26 - 00:31:10:14 Unknown Speaker: Monday night. And that was that was said guitar night was responsibility. Unfortunately, again, another person who passed out was, Jack Marshall.

00:31:10:14 - 00:31:10:20 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:31:10:20 - 00:31:34:11 Unknown Speaker: He organized he organized it. You know how it. Roberts. You sit back and sit with Jack and take care of, you know, pass the buck and buck and Jack did. Jack used to call up every boy. Oh, boy. Well, you know, we had some incredible guitar players, but I had to tell the story about how, you know, I was not being, an exchange or whatever.

00:31:34:14 - 00:31:53:03 Unknown Speaker: I remember a certain friend of mine or a gentleman used to drive back and lived near here. Used to drive by and call me on the telephone and say, Carrie, you didn’t spell so-and-so’s name right. His name was Leonard Feather. The critic nearly died. I remember we used to call me and say, okay, what did he play?

00:31:53:03 - 00:32:07:22 Unknown Speaker: You know, I remember I used to call you up first and not mention the guy. I can see what’s his can’t do, you know? What does he play? What’s he done? you probably want to know what my my P’s are. The, the,

00:32:07:25 - 00:32:11:00 Leonard Feather: I would say. What what are some of the outstanding evenings? You know, most.

00:32:11:03 - 00:32:18:13 Unknown Speaker: Of the outstanding even just would be very hard to be very unfair to me. Try to, you know, say that you succeeded.

00:32:18:20 - 00:32:20:15 Leonard Feather: And had that talk session one night. Yeah.

00:32:20:15 - 00:32:28:14 Unknown Speaker: He came in. That was something he did. Yeah, I was on. And all the guys extend and I never did get a copy of that or was supposed to.

00:32:28:17 - 00:32:30:12 Leonard Feather: Have that on his suite said. Yeah.

00:32:30:12 - 00:33:11:23 Unknown Speaker: And I was bags and all those guys came in and you know, did that thing, you know, and I remember we used to have Mort Sahl here on weekdays and I had to change him to weekends because most of the people that were Mort Sahl fans were doctors and lawyers and professional people and sort of had can only get off on weekends, during weekdays or in court or something, you know, I remember one night, Carmen McRae used to work here a great deal, you know, and she was singing here, and, Sarah Vaughan was in and Morgana King and the three run the stage singing together, and I and I had, like, eight

00:33:11:23 - 00:33:18:02 Unknown Speaker: tape machines, and all of them were loaned out. I didn’t have one in the house. I was, you know, I had.

00:33:18:04 - 00:33:19:13 Leonard Feather: 50.

00:33:19:16 - 00:33:20:14 Unknown Speaker: Eight, you know.

00:33:20:16 - 00:33:26:14 Leonard Feather: Just like that. Okay.

00:33:26:17 - 00:33:56:18 Unknown Speaker: you know, it didn’t the beautiful thing was, frankly, is it was hearing all this music that I, you know, I could never I never recaptured again. I just hope that it. I’m a widow that, he records some of this stuff because it’s music that’s gone by. And, guys, and, you know, I hate to even think of all the, all the great talent that’s, you know, gone on, you know, you know, God.

00:33:56:20 - 00:34:28:10 Unknown Speaker: And you had you had at times faithfulness and unfaithfulness, you know, like Art Pepper would never play anywhere else but here because he said that I helped him out and lean times and, you know, and then he became my New Year’s Eve attraction all the time, you know, and and it was great. You know, I remember when the, we had a, a bus tour, of all the women from Pasadena.

00:34:28:13 - 00:34:49:03 Unknown Speaker: And Bobby Hutchison was playing here with, Harold Land. All right. You know, and the people just sitting in his room were just sitting there staring. They didn’t know. What did you know? They were drinking like soda. Bob was going crazy because most of the drinks from mixed drinks on the blender. Oh, yeah. You know, which means he has to wash it and, you know, constantly.

00:34:49:06 - 00:35:10:25 Unknown Speaker: And how are was just playing and looking out there like, you know what the hell’s going on Carrie? You know. But a lot of them came up and said goodbye and oh, we were crowded and said, oh, that’s jazz, I think I like it, you know, and and happened. Didn’t say anything, you know, but there are many things like, it’s, Louis Belle’s jazz band was here for, what, three years on Thursday night?

00:35:10:26 - 00:35:32:29 Unknown Speaker: Street in the road, you know. And remember, Red Fox used to come in and walk up and take over the mic and, and and particularly when Pearl Bailey was, he’d tell dirty stories. She made her nervous. You know, Joe from terrible, you know, did one thing I, I, I kind of felt, heard about it a couple of times.

00:35:32:29 - 00:35:39:17 Unknown Speaker: There’s been so many musicians have gone through here that,

00:35:39:19 - 00:35:56:24 Unknown Speaker: Got help from being here. Actually got exposed to me here. Yeah, a lot of them come to me and thank me. They secure. You know, if it wasn’t for having played at Dante’s, I wouldn’t have gotten this and this. And I say, well, it’s not because I playing Dante’s because of your ability. And you had a place. That’s what Dante’s actually is for.

00:35:56:24 - 00:36:01:09 Unknown Speaker: Because certainly you know, the musicians didn’t make money here.

00:36:01:09 - 00:36:01:18 Leonard Feather: You know, but you.

00:36:01:18 - 00:36:08:13 Unknown Speaker: Get the times are checked weren’t any good anyway, you know. And they loved that. Yeah, that was true. They had a place to play. And that’s what made the club go.

00:36:08:13 - 00:36:09:04 Leonard Feather: That’s right.

00:36:09:07 - 00:36:20:18 Unknown Speaker: And because like some of the, the, the the artists from The Tonight Show, they’re sitting there playing with song on a piece of paper someone else is doing where at least I hear they’re doing what they wanted.

00:36:20:18 - 00:36:24:28 Leonard Feather: Well, that’s not I mean, you had the whole Doc Severinsen band without doc, didn’t you? Well, he.

00:36:24:28 - 00:36:27:01 Unknown Speaker: Played here with Louis Bellson, one time member.

00:36:27:03 - 00:36:27:25 Leonard Feather: As a sideman.

00:36:27:27 - 00:36:29:13 Unknown Speaker: Yeah, it was in the section.

00:36:29:20 - 00:36:30:10 Leonard Feather: No kidding.

00:36:30:10 - 00:36:31:17 Unknown Speaker: Yeah, it was in the section some.

00:36:31:17 - 00:36:34:11 Leonard Feather: But then one time, Tommy Newsom brought the whole band together.

00:36:34:11 - 00:36:51:04 Unknown Speaker: Oh, yeah, I was. That was our anniversaries. You should do that. And then I think, I think it’s. I think doc or somebody put a stop to that, I don’t know. What do we get? Tommy used and he loved it. He said he thought he loved it because he said it. It really gave the band a chance to really play loosen up, you know, loosen up.

00:36:51:06 - 00:37:16:17 Unknown Speaker: Sort of playing the. Yeah, you know, the stuff that they do on The Tonight Show, you do. But, what I was going to say is that, you know, so many the guys have gone through, you know, when I call them, say, look, it’s my 20th anniversary or my 19th of my 18th or the 21st, whatever. How about, you know, coming in and playing that night and, well, they were too busy or they had managers now and this and that, and that’s okay, you know.

00:37:16:19 - 00:37:29:14 Unknown Speaker: Yeah. And I just felt kind of put down and but that, you know, because, some of them were discovered here. Yeah. And went on to the things which they certainly musically deserved, but they didn’t, you know, and.

00:37:29:17 - 00:37:30:17 Leonard Feather: You know, that belong to.

00:37:30:20 - 00:37:54:07 Unknown Speaker: My pet peeves when it is like today happen. Okay. Somebody’s the urinal in the men’s room was overflowing. And I mean, there, you know, like, we have to be doing it. Have two times the girls that come security have no toilet paper in women’s rooms, I gotta run, I have to get the toilet paper looking and, you know, running, put toilet paper in there, do this and that and and they get the mop, mop up, the water from the floor.

00:37:54:09 - 00:38:14:04 Unknown Speaker: Well, I call the one of the rooted companies today, and they came out and, they got to after 4:00, it was time and a half. And the guide to God, 20ft of twine at at it. So somebody had to spend time stuffing it down there. I mean, it didn’t fall down there, so someone had to get a hanger or something and shove it down the guy.

00:38:14:04 - 00:38:33:25 Unknown Speaker: So he was surprised. He’s seen many things. Another time I was here alone three, three, 30, 4:00 in the morning and I heard water running. And I thought, well, gee, maybe the gardener didn’t turn this the water release on front off, or the maintenance crew didn’t turn the water out in the back and I ran around. Look, didn’t wasn’t that.

00:38:33:25 - 00:38:55:25 Unknown Speaker: And and I run around a club and I heard this water in the front of the woman’s room. So I open the door and we like a river. So I take off my pants and my shoes and socks and wait in there. And some woman apparently had a fight with her old man or a boyfriend or something. That night, had taken the lid off the water closet, threw it on the ground, busted it, had taken the ball.

00:38:55:26 - 00:39:20:24 Unknown Speaker: It did, did cuts off the water and snapped it off. Oh my God. And then took the return line, which is plastic and clipped on there and turned it upside down. The water was shooting up in the ceiling. you know, I mean, those are just some of the things that you go through, you know, and then people like, people go out and tear up your he the guarding out in front of when Bill McKay.

00:39:20:24 - 00:39:35:21 Unknown Speaker: Remember when he remodel room came in, he had these huge candelabras and we had the the circular booths at the time. Yeah. Well, you know, they were probably stood three feet high and they were people would steal and put in winter jackets. I mean, the coach.

00:39:35:23 - 00:39:37:08 Leonard Feather: Yeah. Jesus.

00:39:37:11 - 00:39:58:29 Unknown Speaker: it just, you know, it’s, I don’t know. I guess, you know, I’m not going to miss that kind of stuff. I am going to miss. Certainly is is, you know, it’s amazing the difference between I don’t want to generalize because I can’t people of people, you know, some guys are. Yeah. Really. nasty of a lot of musicians.

00:39:58:29 - 00:40:17:01 Unknown Speaker: I have to say, you’ve been very cooperative, you know, and give me time. I don’t have the money. So you don’t have the money, you know? So, like, even last night or a couple of nights ago, Bill Perkins had four chicks. He couldn’t care. And finally I gave him. I was able to pay him off and and Count Ross never bothering Connick and doing Ross.

00:40:17:01 - 00:40:37:03 Unknown Speaker: Thomas that. You know, that’s one of the best things about that. And he was the Thursday night band kind of can go in. Ross Thompkins and whoever they had on bass. And most of the times is when McCurdy on drums, when he was in town, you know, Chuck Burghoff is usually the bass player, you know, but they were, you know, they’d come in in the times you, Ross, come in like tonight, you know, playing.

00:40:37:05 - 00:40:48:02 Unknown Speaker: He doesn’t like to do that. There’s no one to come in. He says, I don’t want to play when I have to sit down and read music. So I do that for a living. Yeah, I want to come in and play. Yeah. You know, how.

00:40:48:02 - 00:40:55:12 Leonard Feather: About because probably the most dramatic thing was, was Warren Marsh collapsing. on the backside of mine was nothing else that match that one?

00:40:55:12 - 00:41:21:15 Unknown Speaker: Oh, no. That’s the only time that to be happy. Him actually dying on the stage, you know, and all the guys froze, you know, except for Bob Powell and, Peter Hicks, who was working at NBC, you know, and Ross had run away. He knew he was gone. Yeah. And he knocked down Lawrence Marable’s, drums and punched you know, just froze there.

00:41:21:15 - 00:41:24:12 Unknown Speaker: But I think it’s amazing, too.

00:41:24:12 - 00:41:29:18 Leonard Feather: I think he missed any name. So, you know, you mentioned Carmen. Carmen singer.

00:41:29:24 - 00:41:41:01 Unknown Speaker: Anita De sang here. I won the Grammy for. I go, Marianne McCall. I talked to her. of course, Ruth Price did a lot of time. Irene Krall.

00:41:41:04 - 00:41:41:20 Leonard Feather: yeah.

00:41:41:20 - 00:41:46:13 Unknown Speaker: But she won over the Grammy nominations. You know, she was in the year.

00:41:46:15 - 00:41:50:10 Leonard Feather: you have Sarah. I mean, not as a as a guest, but I mean, actually working here, I guess.

00:41:50:10 - 00:42:04:06 Unknown Speaker: You know, she did a lot of, you know, she came in and depending on who was playing, she’d get up there and sit in. And she’s always was great. I know Dizzy Gillespie sat in with blueberries band one time and she came up to play, you know,

00:42:04:09 - 00:42:06:20 Leonard Feather: And, yes, a marvelous nice.

00:42:06:22 - 00:42:38:14 Unknown Speaker: Oh, God singer, you know, and I remember, like, it’s. You saw the guitar night that how that Jack Marshall did. Larry Carr, came in and broke the records. All the records, you know, were just kind of huge. And things we use all the different people. He used to use different rhythm sections every time. And that was when Jeff Porcaro, before the they formed their own group, the Cat, Toto.

00:42:38:16 - 00:42:54:12 Unknown Speaker: Toto, whatever it is, Toto, Toto with which is us named sun, you know, they came and they got their big hit and, you know, it’s, I can’t even start to think of the people at him. Well, you got, you know, very.

00:42:54:12 - 00:42:55:18 Leonard Feather: Very good bunch of names.

00:42:55:23 - 00:43:05:11 Unknown Speaker: You know, Bill Holman’s big band, you know, Don mangers, big band. Don price of big band. And when Don price tribute.

00:43:05:13 - 00:43:06:06 Leonard Feather: Has been hasn’t.

00:43:06:08 - 00:43:34:17 Unknown Speaker: Yet. Gerald. Many, many years ago, you know, dashiki or c lute to back in sir in their big band. was of course Zoot Sims and Alcorn in individuals and played here. And as always, Ross would always come to the rescue with a rhythm section. You know, we always knew who to pick for all these, imported talented people, you know?

00:43:34:17 - 00:43:38:29 Leonard Feather: And what is what is the latest word on, when the changeover is taking place?

00:43:39:00 - 00:43:44:21 Unknown Speaker: I don’t know yet. Lots of trouble, you know. Was it recently? Was I still good space on there?

00:43:44:23 - 00:43:45:20 Leonard Feather: Yeah, it’s all right.

00:43:45:23 - 00:44:05:12 Unknown Speaker: We had originally shot. We were supposed to be March 5th, and then he didn’t. You know, we’re here from Japan and to about a part of last month. Yeah. Postings up is up on the, week from Thursday the 24th. So everything is clear. That should be it. Now go to the end of the month and I guess, and stop.

00:44:05:14 - 00:44:06:25 Leonard Feather: But you’re booked through the 31st.

00:44:06:27 - 00:44:10:14 Unknown Speaker: Yeah, yeah. My closing app will be the Mariners.

00:44:10:17 - 00:44:11:08 Leonard Feather: Really know whose.

00:44:11:08 - 00:44:13:16 Unknown Speaker: Act I’ve been doing. You know, I’ve been I’ve stayed in that.

00:44:13:16 - 00:44:14:10 Leonard Feather: You’ve been choreographed.

00:44:14:10 - 00:44:20:28 Unknown Speaker: Yeah. Oh, yeah. I get a whole act from them. What do they do? They change personnel. But but you know, I mean, you know.

00:44:20:28 - 00:44:21:11 Leonard Feather: Yeah. That’s.

00:44:21:19 - 00:44:32:03 Unknown Speaker: And I just talked to in the Navy going to New York for one night. So Paula Kelly and and they loved it. You know, it was fun working with singers. You know particularly with microphones. And I couldn’t change.

00:44:32:05 - 00:44:34:11 Leonard Feather: So, June 1st, I mean, April.

00:44:34:11 - 00:44:59:19 Unknown Speaker: First, I think I should be. Well, unless I’ve got to be out by April 15th, he’s got to do something about that. So I got to call Pat Senator Monday or tomorrow and ask him what the latest he has, because, yeah, I guess he’s in touch for them because the guy gave him some money to come in and, you know, to bring an architect in and different things like that, to look it over to see what they have to do.

00:44:59:21 - 00:45:05:06 Unknown Speaker: he told me they plan to close to June. Middle of June. Which two backers?

00:45:05:11 - 00:45:06:27 Leonard Feather: Oh. Are you going to put you on the hospital?

00:45:06:29 - 00:45:09:23 Unknown Speaker: Yeah. When I get it all signed up, I’m going to put myself in.

00:45:09:23 - 00:45:10:21 Leonard Feather: And just really.

00:45:10:27 - 00:45:11:23 Unknown Speaker: You relax. And to.

00:45:11:23 - 00:45:12:08 Leonard Feather: Yeah, you.

00:45:12:08 - 00:45:13:01 Unknown Speaker: Know, get it over.

00:45:13:01 - 00:45:14:22 Phil Woods: With. In the interim.

00:45:14:25 - 00:45:18:05 Unknown Speaker: I’ll eat three square meals a day. I don’t like hospital food.

00:45:18:07 - 00:45:20:28 Leonard Feather: Well, at least food right there.

00:45:20:28 - 00:45:22:18 Unknown Speaker: Yeah. You know, it’s.

00:45:22:20 - 00:45:29:13 Leonard Feather: A reasonably comfortable place to sleep and not have the tensions. You know, it’s just it’s terrible gone through all this. I know what you’ve been through. You know,

00:45:29:15 - 00:45:46:13 Unknown Speaker: You know, people don’t really like. One night, Betty and Betty and Bill Berry came in the back, and I’m out there crushing up the boxes of beer boxes and set and put them in the trash rather than the maintenance crew. Always just throw them in as they are. And and that thing gets so high and insecure. What do you do?

00:45:46:13 - 00:45:52:07 Unknown Speaker: And he said, well, I got to do that, you know, other work he got. What else do you do? Right. So I like you ashtrays.

00:45:52:11 - 00:45:53:00 Leonard Feather: That’s what the.

00:45:53:00 - 00:45:53:19 Unknown Speaker: Salt pepper.

00:45:53:19 - 00:46:02:17 Leonard Feather: Shakers. You. Yeah. It’s too much for one person. That’s why, you know, I really feel for you. But anyway, it’s been a wonderful time.

00:46:02:19 - 00:46:25:26 Unknown Speaker: It has now. Oh, now I also, I have to make another comment about. I’ve had certain male waiters in here didn’t make a lot of tips, but they were good. Like you. oh, man, a very sweet guy. Yeah. That was. I never remember when I would. You had you and watch Chuck Niles. And I don’t some Jim Liska.

00:46:25:26 - 00:46:30:06 Leonard Feather: You, me yeah, yeah I see okay. Yeah. So he writes for the times. What’s the word?

00:46:30:06 - 00:46:47:28 Unknown Speaker: Yeah, I think I did see him anywhere. I had done pies out of ten bar back there. So someone I happened to be just going back there. So I’m going to ask for a tall scotch, some water so he could talk. Was what you call a zombie glass and practically fill that up with scotch? And I said, Don, what do you do?

00:46:47:28 - 00:46:54:20 Unknown Speaker: And he says, well, they wanted that tall Scotch water. So you know what they want to tell Scotch and water. They don’t want to taste the scotch. Yeah, they want to taste the water.

00:46:54:20 - 00:46:56:10 Leonard Feather: They want to dilute it. Yeah. Oh.

00:46:56:10 - 00:46:58:26 Unknown Speaker: He says, I thought maybe they want a lot of sky.

00:46:58:28 - 00:47:00:26 Leonard Feather: Oh. Oh, boy.

00:47:00:28 - 00:47:15:03 Unknown Speaker: You know what? If you get just what? You used to have a big band here, he started downbeat, start the band on and then move. Walk back here to the girl station, sit down in the corner and just watch the band. And then at the end, you walk up and cut him off.

00:47:15:03 - 00:47:16:06 Leonard Feather: That’s right.

00:47:16:08 - 00:47:18:13 Unknown Speaker: You never would, you know, conduct like.

00:47:18:14 - 00:47:19:19 Leonard Feather: Oh yeah. Right. Yeah.

00:47:19:22 - 00:47:21:05 Unknown Speaker: The Barton was the conductor.

00:47:21:11 - 00:47:21:25 Leonard Feather: Oh yeah.

00:47:21:25 - 00:47:31:01 Unknown Speaker: Remember that agreement. And Carrie Frank should not used to come in here. And Herb Albert used to come in here. Yeah. Clint Eastwood was a big man for.

00:47:31:02 - 00:47:31:12 Leonard Feather: Yeah.

00:47:31:18 - 00:47:34:11 Unknown Speaker: Oh, yeah, he loved it. Oh.

00:47:34:13 - 00:47:35:28 Leonard Feather: Yeah. Well, thank you, Carrie.

00:47:36:01 - 00:47:41:08 Unknown Speaker: Thank you.