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Bill Crow
Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Crow is best known as a bassist but has been a trumpeter, saxophonist, trombonist, and drummer. He is also one of the few musicians who has bothered trying to write about his craft, beginning with a series of reviews he contributed to Jazz Review in the late '50s and eventually including two full-length books. He was also in charge of the lighting for an off-Broadway show in 1958.
Crow's first instrument was the piano, at the age of four. He started playing the trumpet in fourth grade and continued through baritone horn and valve trombone in various school and military bands. Jazz historians like to align the start of his career with the beginning of the '50s. At that time, Crow transformed himself from a drummer in dance bands to a jazz bassist, but one who was always ready to double or triple on other instruments. He was a trombonist in several Seattle orchestras, one led by Bumps Blackwell, the other by Buzzy Bridgford. Crow played drums, trombone and bass for bandleader Glen Moore in 1952, no relation to the musician of the same name from the Oregon band. In the summer of 1950, Buzzy Bridgford found a summer job in the Adirondacks, in Tupper Lake, New York. Crow explains, "He got me on it as a trombonist and then talked me into learning to play the string bass. He found a kid in town who had a plywood Kay bass, and rented it for the summer. We had John Benson Brooks on piano, Marty Bell on trumpet, and Freddy Greenwell on tenor. They all encouraged me to stay with the bass. By the time the summer was over, I could play the bass well enough to take gigs in New York City, and every gig was another lesson."
"I found a guy in the Bronx who had an old plywood Kay bass that he wanted $75 for. He held it for me, and I gave him a few dollars every time I could scrape some extra money together. Meanwhile I borrowed or rented basses for jam sessions and paying jobs. It was a great thrill when I finally took possession of my Kay."
On bass this artist has gigged and recorded with a flock of respectable jazz players, including saxophonists Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan and pianists Al Haig and Marian McPartland. Crow took part in baritone man Mulligan's sextet and quartet projects in 1956 and 1957, then returned for more collaborations in both 1958 and 1959.
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Interview: Bill Crow, Part 4
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Most non-musicians think all jazz bass players are fundamentally alike. They believe they aren't there for us but simply to keep time for the band, the way a transmission is for a car. As one person who isn't a bass fan told me some years ago, There's a reason they stand in the back, behind the piano." To be fair, they are indeed there to keep time for the band, like a human metronome. And in many cases, they do ...
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Interview: Bill Crow, Part 3
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
In the ealry 1950s, Bill became exquisite on the bass while playing and recording with some of the era's finest collaborative jazz musicians. Yesterday, Bill and I covered his year with Stan Getz. Today, Bill talks about working with a growing number of leading artists in tjhe 1950s, including Al Haig, Jimmy Raney, Marian McPartland, Jackie Cain and Roy Kral, Phil Woods, Sal Salvador, Sam Most and Gerry Mulligan. Along the way, he developed his chops and a reputation for ...
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Interview: Bill Crow, Part 2
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Bill Crow came to the bass accidentally in 1950. But he was ready for the challenge. Within two years, he was recording with Claude Thornhill and then Stan Getz. But Bill was no ordinary bassist. Listening to the Stan Getz recordings today. he's the second loudest instrument after Getz, his right hand driving the band with those strong thump-thump-thumps. In Part 1 yesterday, we learned where and how Bill grew up, and why he kept switching instruments. Today, I talk ...
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Interview: Bill Crow, Part 1
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
About 10 years ago, I interviewed legendary bassist Bill Crow at length for JazzWax Then the tapes went missing. Naturally, I was mortified and depressed. It was a great interview and sadly, our conversation seemed to be lost to history. My workload steadily increased and I forgot about the interview and the mishap. [Photo above of Bill Crow] Then a week or so ago, Paul Brown in Maine begged me to interview Bill. Paul's note jarred my memory. Frustrated with ...
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Documentary: Bill Crow, Jazz Journeyman
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
What do the following five recordings have in common? Stan Getz Plays (1951), the tenor saxophonist's first for Norman Granz's Clef label, which would soon become Verve. Here's Stella by Starlight... Al Haig's Isn't It Romantic from Jazz Will O' the Wisp (1954), one of the pianist's most beautiful trio albums. Go here... Jackie & Roy's Mountain Greenery (1955), which transformed jazz vocal harmony. Go here... Which, by the way, was lifted by Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore ...
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New Jersey Jazz Society 50th Anniversary Concert Set For October 9th
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Sanford Josephson
During the early 1970s, New Jersey jazz fans would gather at the Chester Inn to hear Chuck Slate’s Traditional Jazz Band or at the Hillside Lounge (also in Chester) to see cornetist Wild Bill Davison, or alto saxophonist Rudy Powell, or guitarist Al Casey. In October 1972, under the leadership of the late Jack Stine, these informal gatherings were transformed into regular concerts as the New Jersey Jazz Society was created. On October 9, 2022, the New Jersey Jazz Society ...
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Listen to the Bass Player: Part 3, Bill Crow
![Listen to the Bass Player: Part 3, Bill Crow](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/logo/dougramsey100.jpeg)
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Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
As you may recall from parts 1 and 2, our theme in this series is that by concentrating on the lines played by a good string bassist, you can gain an understanding of the shape and structure of a piece of music, feel its heartbeat, sense its soul. Duke Ellington's Jimmy Blanton in the early 1940s opened the possibilities of the bass as an improvising instrument in modern jazz. Oscar Pettiford followed, then Ray Brown, Charles Mingus, Red Mitchell (this ...
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Jazz Festival Featuring Jazz Greats, Bill Crow, Hendrik Meurkens and Chico Mendoza
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All About Jazz
Summer Jazz Festival at Mills Pond House The Smithtown Township Arts Council presents its third annual Summer Jazz Festival Saturday, July 12 from 5-10 pm. The concert will take place in the festival tent on the grounds of the Mills Pond House. Admission $15 ($10 by Advance Reservation) and $5 for students with ID. For more information, call 631-862-6575, or visit our Web site. Legendary Bill Crow Bill Crow has gained an international reputation as one of the finest double ...
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