Dameronia: The Life and Music of Tadd Dameron

Preface

Preface I was touched by the spirit of Tadd Dameron in the early 1960s. As a fifteenyear -old boy who lived for music and wanted to compose and perform, I was profoundly inspired by Tadd’s famous words,“There is enough ugliness in the world, I’m interested in beauty,” reprinted in Barry Ulanov’s A History of Jazz in America. This was not the first I had heard of Dameron; I already knew some of his writing for midsized bands, and I had already been to my first jam session, where I called“Good Bait” and nervously attempted to solo on it. But it was his words that had the greatest influence on me at the time, for they helped me to define my own aesthetic and my own sense of purpose as a musician. Over the years Dameron’s spirit, through his music and his inspiring words, stayed with me. Some time later, after writing a tune in which his influence was clearly evident, I went to the library to find a book about this man, whose words and music had made such a deep impression on me.“Surely,” I thought,“there must be a book about so great a musician.” I was wrong. So, for better or worse, in 1987 I decided that if no one else would write his story, I would. Never having written a book before, I had no idea what I was in for, but as I interviewed musicians I have admired for most of my life, they all made me promise that I would see this project through. Tadd Dameron was a very private man, and the story of his life presented here took a great deal of research. Sometimes, where there are gaps, I have had to resort to speculation. I have endeavored to be as clear about my speculations as possible, since in much of what has been written about him before, speculations have been presented as fact.While some readers might criticize my efforts to come to an understanding of Dameron’s state of mind at various times in his life, educated guesses are unfortunately our only recourse. Regrettably, Dameron did not keep a diary or journal, and he was vague in discussing personal matters, even with friends. My speculations are based on such information as xiv PreFaCe we have and are offered as possible explanations for the man’s sometimes perplexing actions or inactions. As a composer and arranger I am particularly interested in Dameron’s approach to melody, harmony, and formal structure. At times the discussion of these issues may prove a bit baffling for the general reader, but it would be irresponsible for me not to illustrate my observations. At the same time, I have endeavored to balance the technical discussions with ones of a more general nature. A great deal of the music discussed is available on recording, and it is hoped that the reader will make the effort to listen to it and in doing so will be able to understand the points made. This will be particularly important in the case of some discussions where getting permission to quote written music became impractical. Fortunately all but one of these discussions concern music that has been recorded. Regarding the music that has not been recorded as yet, it is sincerely hoped that much of it eventually will be. The following is a brief discography of CDs released in the last dozen or so years. Some of them are currently in print and will be easy to find. Others may be out of print, but because they are CDs, you should be able to find copies in good shape with a little hunting. This listing is by no means exhaustive, and there may be items not listed here that you can find by using various search engines. The contents of some of these items overlap. In roughly chronological order: Harlan Leonard and His Rockets—1940 Classics 670 Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra 1941–1945 Classics 862 Dizzy Gillespie and His Sextets and Orchestra Musicraft 53 Georgie Auld and His Orchestra Musicraft 56 Sarah Vaughan Proper Box 27, Classics 958 Babs Gonzales, 1947–1949 Classics 1124 Dizzy Gillespie— The Complete RCA Victor Recordings Bluebird 66528-2 Dexter Gordon—Settin’ the Pace Savoy Jazz SVY-17027 Fats Navarro—Goin’ to Minton’s Savoy Jazz 92861-2 Fats Navarro Featured with Tadd Dameron’s Band Fresh Sound CD 171 The Complete Blue Note and Capitol Recordings of Fats...