Serge chaloff wiki
In July , he joined Boyd Raeburn 's short-lived big band, where he played alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Al Cohn , who became a lifelong friend. While with Boyd Raeburn, Chaloff first heard Charlie Parker , who became his major stylistic influence. Stuart Nicholson argues that, rather than imitating Parker, Chaloff was inspired by his example 'grasping more the emotional basis for Parker's playing and using it as a starting point for his own style.
Any time he had the chance he would pal with him. He would sit in with him at night My brother used to say that he was up till 4,5,6, in the morning with the Bird All the beboppers found each other out' [ 11 ]. Alongside his work in big bands led by Georgie Auld and Jimmy Dorsey , Chaloff performed and recorded with several small bebop groups, On 'Pumpernickel' Chaloff shows off his inexhaustible and leonine approach to the baritone sax.
By , Chaloff, following the example of his hero, Charlie Parker, was a heroin addict. According to Gene Lees , Chaloff was the Woody Herman band's 'chief druggist as well as its number one junkie. Serge would hang a blanket in front of the back seats of the bus and behind it would dispense the stuff to colleagues. The trumpeter Rolf Ericson , who joined Herman's band in , described the impact of drugs on the band's performances: 'In the band Woody had started on the coast When the band started a night's work they sounded wonderful, but after the intermission, during which they used the needle or lushed, the good music was over.
It was horrible to see them sitting on the stage like living dead, peering into little paper envelopes when they weren't playing. One night in Washington D. Herman told Gene Lees: 'He was getting farther and farther out there, and the farther out he got the more he was sounding like a fagalah. I was so depressed after that gig.
There was this after-hours joint in Washington called the Turf and Grid I had to fight my way through to get a drink, man. All I wanted was to have a drink and forget it. I'm straight, baby, I'm straight. And then I remember an old Joe Venuti bit. We were jammed in there, packed in, and I peed down Serge's leg. You know, man, when you do that to someone, it takes a while before it sinks in what's happened to him.
Serge chaloff discography
And when Serge realized, he let out a howl like a banshee. Chaloff's bandmate, Terry Gibbs , told Ira Gitler stories of his chaotic behaviour: 'He'd fall asleep with a cigarette all the time and always burn a hole in a mattress. In about twelve hotels. When we'd go to check out, the hotel owner — Serge always had his hair slicked down even though he hadn't taken a bath for three years I'm the winner of the down beat and Metronome polls.
How dare you? Except one time when the band got off on an air-pistol kick Serge put a telephone book against the door and was zonked out of his bird So when he went to the check out, the guy said, 'Mr Chaloff, it'll cost you. He 'how-dared' him a few times. Couldn't get away with it. He said 'Well listen, if I'm gonna pay for the door I want the door.
So he paid for the door. I happen to be standing close by. We're walking out of the hotel with a door.
Serge chaloff wiki
Al Cohn described Chaloff's driving: 'I don't know how we kept from being killed. Serge would always be drunk. He was quite a drinker. Everything he did, he did too much. So one time we're driving, after work.
It's four o'clock in the morning, and he makes a left turn, and we're wondering why the road is so bumpy. Turned out he made a left turn into the railroad tracks, and we're going over the ties. Zoot Sims also talked about Chaloff with Gitler: 'When Serge was cleaned up, you know, straight, he could be a delight, really to be around, a lot of fun.
He knew how to handle himself. He had that gift. He could get pretty raunchy when he was strung out, but he could also be charming.
This important session has retained all its power. Scott Yanow , writing for Allmusic. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. Serge Chaloff. In the mid s, Serge Chaloff left the Boston area for Los Angeles, hoping to give his career a kick-start.
Sadly, he developed a tumor on his spine and suffered through several operations which left him partially paralyzed.
Serge chaloff biography
However, despite being in a wheel chair, he continued to play, and it was in this period in that he recorded his greatest album, one that would be considered one of the finest jazz records of the s, Blue Serge. Memorial: We the Cool and Blue buy. A Proper Introduction Igloo buy. Blue Serge Capitol Records buy. Dizzy Gillespie trumpet.
Serge Chaloff – Wikipedia
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Serge Chaloff – Wikipedia: Serge Chaloff (November 24, – July 16, ) [1] was an American jazz baritone saxophonist. One of bebop 's earliest baritone saxophonists, [ 2 ] Chaloff has been described as 'the most expressive and openly emotive baritone saxophonist jazz has ever witnessed' with a tone varying 'between a light but almost inaudible whisper to a great.
Lionel Hampton vibraphone. Ike Quebec saxophone, tenor. Last Updated: October 21, Buy Now.