Song Of The Day: Oct. 23, 2018

One of the most fascinating jazz compositions of all time–with a truly compelling story about the recording sessions.  The ambitious piece was almost impossible to play, despite the participation of hall-of-famers Sonny Rollins and Max Roach. During the sessions, both bassist Oscar Pettiford and sax player Ernie Henry ‘checked out’ from time to time.   I love this anecdote:

During one of the takes, producer Orrin Keepnews and others in the control room could not hear Pettiford’s playing and checked his bass microphone for a malfunction, but ultimately realized that he was pantomiming his playing.

Twenty-five takes, none of them complete. Keepnews ‘ultimately pieced together the album version from multiple takes.^‘

Right before his death, producer Keepnews said of the sessions: “That, probably, will stand, after half a century, as my most debilitating experience in a recording studio.”

The result?: