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147 10 1957–1961—Incarceration After Mating Call, only a couple of pieces of Dameron’s music survive from the 1956–58 period. The year 1957 is another one for which we have little information , but he was probably in New York much of the time. Presumably, he would have needed to report to his probation officer on a regular basis. Jackie McLean, who worked with Art Blakey in 1956 and ’57, remembered Tadd dropping by Birdland when they were playing there. McLean recalled that Dameron would join the band for a few numbers and sit in one of the booths “gossiping” with Blakey on the breaks. As a younger musician he did not get to know Dameron, and so he was not party to the conversations.1 Also, in July of 1957, Woody Herman recorded a new composition written for him by Dameron, titled, depending on one’s source,“Slightly Groovy,”“Slight Groove,” or“Small Crevice.”2 “Small Crevice” is a trombone feature written to spotlight Bill Harris. It may have first been documented in a live recording made in June 19573 and was recorded later in the year for Verve.“Small Crevice” appears to be a variation on another tune, “The Rampage,” which was submitted for copyright along with “Handy Andy” (the Bregman, Vocco and Conn version of “Gnid”) in the fall of 1956. Identical in ABAC form and chord changes, these two tunes also share significant portions of melodic material in the B and C sections.As heard on the Verve recording, the arrangement is brief but exciting, showing off both Harris and the band to good advantage. There is evidence of Dameron writing for Stan Kenton in 1958. There are two items, presumably parts, labeled “Look, Stop and Listen” in the Kenton Collection at the University of North Texas. These are dated 1958, and pianist George Ziskind reported Tadd mentioning that he had written “Look, Stop 148 DaMeroNIa and Listen”while at Rikers Island (the prison of New York City),4 where he was held after his 1958 arrest. Unfortunately, these parts are among many that have become so dry that opening them for viewing would cause them to disintegrate. Efforts are being made to save these manuscripts,but for the time being they are off-limits. Fortunately, the score itself is in the collection of Bob Curnow, and it presents an arrangement of“Look, Stop and Listen” significantly different from the version Dameron would record on his own Magic Touch LP in 1962.We will consider the two versions together in the next chapter. There is a curious notation on the back of the score paper:“Look,Stop + Listen”arr.by“[Tadd’s brand, with the T,A,and D incorporated into one symbol] + Jeru.”Beneath this it says, “Forward to: Stan Kenton 941 La Cienaga Blvd., Hollywood, California.”“Jeru,” Gerry Mulligan’s nickname, is crossed out and just barely visible. One does not know exactly what to make of this. The piece is so unlike anything Mulligan ever wrote that there is little question that he had no hand in composing it. Perhaps Jeru was entrusted with getting the score to Kenton. Another piece from this time is the waltz“This Night of Stars,” with a lyric by Carl Sigman. It is the only waltz in the known body of Dameron’s work— although there is a reference to “two ‘bop’ waltzes” in the July 1949 Music Fare article. The tune is only thirty-two bars long, rather short for a piece in 3/4. The melody and harmonies are graceful yet deceptively difficult. It is one of those melodies that sounds simple but is actually rather sophisticated. The opening interval is a diminished fifth (E to B♭ in the key of C), and the melody is harmonized with several altered chords.To date, the tune has never been recorded, but the author has performed it. The response of both fellow musicians and audience members has been notably positive. Second Arrest On January 17, 1958, Tadd Dameron was indicted in federal court. The indictment reads, “The Grand Jury charges: On or about the 13th day of December 1957 in the Southern District of New York, the defendant, unlawfully, wilfully and knowingly did receive, conceal, sell and facilitate the transportation, concealment and sale of a narcotic drug . . . heroin.” Dameron was in possession of more than an ounce of the drug this time, and he was also charged with evading the taxes that would have been...

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