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Show yrnnnr Jhe Salt Lake Tribune. Sunday, January l't, By Guy Boulton Tribune Staff Writer NEW YOHK Max Gordon is sitting at a table in his .small, dark dub. smuking a cigar, waiting for a piano Photo Ov Alison Perry, New Yok Times Max Gordon, proprietor of Village guard, started the famous New York jazz club years ago. Every great jazz musician of the last 30 years has played there. 50 Droll jazz pianist George Shearing will soon mark 50 years in music . wife who cleaned trains by night and kept house by day, headed off from his Battersea slum for his first job as a piano player and accordionist in a pub called the Masons Arms, a workingmans saloon in Lambeth. "I was paid the equivalent of about five dollars a week, and they put a box on top of the piano for the tips," Shearing recalled. My father used to take me there and then pick me up when I was through." He insists that if his old "da" had had his way. hed probably still be working at the Masons Arms. "Da" ... It is the one this reporter did NOT ask: "Have you been blind your whole life? His answer, if you're interested, is " .always the same: "Not yet London-bor- worked pany Shearing, 'but decidedly droll, had just finished his first set with his virtuoso bassist. Don Thompson. He not only had played the legendary baroque jazz piano pieces expected of him (including a bit of his most famous composition, "Lullaby of Birdland"), but also had rather mischievous ;sung some 'jarodies of "Cole and Noel" which he ?IJas been performing with great of late. ; i Throughout the set (he is doing two ; nightly, Tuesdays through Saturdays, trough March 1), the chic audience Remained so attentive one could hear 4 swizzle stick stir. When we on this phenomenon, Shearling laughed and said: I always ren n pianist-composer- ijempleton (another legendary blind pianist) hearing a tremendous crash r$f broken glass. He said: 'What is J that? t t A ago, half-centur- y George Shearing, the youngest of nine t children born to a coalman and his i tograph, and two letters of are being accepted ' forApplications the Kawai America Piano Compe-Jtitio- n for Utah, hosted by Summer-- i hays Music, to be held Feb. 21 through March 8. t t 's Piano maker sponsors contest ' s years with the same com- York's "beautiful people. one can appreciate the title of the official press biography -"From Tatters to Tails." As George Shearing celebrates his golden anniversary as an entertainer, he says he is doing exactly what he wants to in life entertaining people, cutting records and enjoying a new occupation. He is a disc jockey on a New York radio station. I'm not one to sit around, he said. "And that goes for geography, as well. My wife, Ellie, and I love to hit the road, and we've been all over in the Brazil. South Africa, India past few years, playing concerts." Shearing, born sightless, never was one to "sit around. Unaided by a guide dog or companion even as a child, he ventured out whenever the sometimes, optiopportunity arose mistically, on a bicycle. Today, at 66. member the story about Alec ; 50 Looking at the smiling Shearing in his evening suit, surrounded by New rel-lis- h recommendation, one from the private teacher and one from a parent or guardian. Competition dates are' Ogden and Northern Utah. Feb. 21 and 22; Salt Lake and Davis Counties, Feb. 28 and March 1; Provo, Orem, and Southern Utah. March 7 and 8. For more information or for application forms, call Brent Taylor or Elaine Romney at Summerhays Music, 5450 Green St Murray. Piano teachers may enter three students in each division junior (7th through 9th grades), and senior (10th through 12th grades). - Contestants must provide a com-- r pleted application form, a biographi-- I cal sketch, a pho- - he says the three things he'd like to do most are sight-reamusic, play tennis and drive a car. "I actually started playing the piano picking out little tunes I had heard on the radio when I was 3 years old," he said. "There aren't too many things a blind boy can do, you know. You just cant go out and play ball. And eventually, when I went off to a school for the blind, which was compulsory in those days, I began learning music formally, studying with a blind teacher. More than one inspirational novel could be developed as "The George Shearing Story," filled with recollections about Claude Bampton and his All Blind Band as Shearing described it, "16 blind guys, all taught to be musicians after being chair caners and basket weavers." Their theme d - Ill was song See in My Bird-land,- all-tim- song. Since the days of the wooden tip box, there have been honorary degrees, invitations to play before three presidents, countless professional accolades As we left the saloon together, a fan tried to guide him something, Shearing whispered, he "can do without." "Everybody wants to lead me," he said. "I don't know how to tell them I like to lead " g tuner Gordon, 82, a small, somewhat stooped man, is wearing a fedora and checkered tweed jacket. It is 2 p m What Gordon calls his "joint is empty His workday is beginning and will end around 1 a m Gordon's "joint" is the Village Vanand were it not the Vanguard guard. this dim basement in Greenwich Village, crowded with small tables, might indeed be considered a " "joint Hall of Fame Except for the walfjs lined with pictures of brillianj' jazz musicians. there is little to indicate the Vanguard is perhaps the most famous jazz club in world. Those walls, though, are a jazz hall of fame. Every jazz great of the past 30 Charlie Parser, Miles Davis,., years John Coltrane, Thelbnious Monk, Son,, , ny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Charlie-Mingushas played at Art Blakey the Vanguard. The Vanguard is to, jazz what the Louvre is to art The New Yorker says "This hollowed basement establishment is the most famous jazz club in the world." Shouts Over Ruckus The piano tuner shows up and begins banging keys. A half hour later the road crew for the night's show appears and makes noise on each in- strument Gordon shouts answers to questions over the ruckus. Gordon sends someone out on an errand. People Call A contract arrives. An employee brings him a cup of cappuccino It is a typical afternoon at the Van-- ' guard. But even Gordon is a bit excit- ed about tonight's show. A jazz trum-- ' a peter name Wyn(oh Marsalis is as heralded man the who young will begin a four-nignext Miles Davis stint. Marsalis' band whlks in and is followed by Marsalis, dressed in a red and red sweat pants. Whats Happening "Max My man. What's happening." Marsalis says. This musician and impresario clench hands. "Wynton, my friend," Gordon says Marsalis could probably earn as much money in .one concert as four nights at the Vanguard. But Marsalis, a traditionalist both in his music and his respect for jazz's history, wants to play at the Vanguard. "This is the Vanguard, man," Marsalis says. "Coltrane played here." A Japanese record company will tape Marsalis stint. More than 50 albums have been recorded at the Vanguard and the red curtains behind the tiny stage have appeared on the cover of numerous albums, including some of Coltranes best. It is as if a Hawthorne, Twain, Melville and Faulkner all had written at one desk Vanguard Sound sound "'of the Vanguard, theres something in the walls, the floor, that does something to the sound. Gordon'says. "Musicians love to play here. "Musicians are funny. They talk about the vibes, as if Coltrane was still there, as if Miles was still there. I don't feel it of course, but I'm here all the time." At 3 a m., during the end of Marsalis' third show, when the music has turned bluesy, when smoke is hanging three feet fro'fn the ceiling, you need not be a musician to feel the Vanguard's vibes. People from the audience get up to "The su in tor band members Oilier musicians mysteriously appear on stage to jam with the band Marsalis is off talking to people at the side of the stage Magical Trance And in a magical trance, induced by music and aided by weariness and liquor, you feel this is 1955 and believe Davis or Coltrane will appear any minute For 50 years, since Gordon moved Ins club to its current location, this magic has bewitched audiences Gordon started the club with $300 d "I borrowed $100 from a shylock. from a friend who went to Columbia, and I had $100, he says "I $100 didn't have any license or nothing I just took a gamble The club has since become as much a Greenwich Village landmark as Washington Park. Word Is Creativity "The Village is the place people come to if they want to do something creative. Creativity is the word And they still come." Gordon was one of them, coming to the Village from his native Oregon (His brother, Sam Gordon, was a rabbi in Salt Lake City for 17 years.) "I came to New York as a writer, but I couldn't make a living at it, he says His mother wanted him to be a lawyer and he spent a year at Columbia Law School. "But I didn't want to be a lawyer I wanted to be a writer I wrote it 45 And I wrote a book " years later Extraordinary Autobiography The book. Lire at the Village Vunguard, was published in 1980. and went into a second paperback printing in 1985. The introduction was written by by jazz critic Nat Hentoff and the New Yorkers Whitney Bal-lie- t called the book "an extraordinary autobiography. ' "He started out as an arts major. indeed like the arts and the who create them, says Henpeople toff Jn an interview Hp does I didn't know anything about nightclubs. There weren't any in Oregon." Gordon says of the Vanguard's early days. "It started as an artists' hangout. Artists Hangout The Vanguard's walls could just as easily be lined with the painters, poets and writers who have hung out there. The club originally featured folk music, improvisational acting grobps and writers and poets who gave readings. Many of them would perform for free and the crowd would throw quarters on stage. . "I paid the poets something," Gordon says. Among the folk singers who have performed at the Vanguard are Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly and the Weavers. Judy Holliday performed with an acting company called the Revuers. Harry Belafonte and Pearl Bailey started at the Vanguard. USED & Grands Uprights Etc Come The Schubert Singers Ladies Chorus will hold audition: Jin. 28 and Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. in Eisenhower Junior High School music room, 4351 S. Redwood Road. People should be prepared to sing a scale and one selection. An accompanist wjill be provided. Jhe chorus sings for church and savs Eight years after opening the Vanguard. Gordon and a partner opened the Blue Angel, a famous nightclub that closed in 1963. When asked why the Vanguard has endured while other famous jazz clubs went under in the '60s, he says. "I don't know We pay the rent." Gordon still works seven days a week. "But I don't stay to the bitter end like I used to," he says. "I used to be here until four in the morning " Not Rich I I can't say I'm a rich man. bought my daughter's apartment for her I've got a little money, Gordon says "There are years I've made money and there are years I've lost money. I've had some bad years when I didn't make any money. But Hentoff says Gordon never gave up. never turned to other types of music that would have made more money. He almost exemplified the survivability of the music, Hentoff says "The name Vanguard itself is so important. It resonates with jazz. "It is one of the few clubs that it doesn't matter what night you go down. You know whoever is playing is going to be good," he says. He has to have a high level of taste or he won't book those people there year after year." Likes New Jazz Gordon simply says. "First I tend to book music I like. Next I book music that will bring people in. I'm 82 years old. I grew up with traditional jazz. But I'm not an old jazz fan. I like new jazz. But I don't go in for the crazy fusion jazz. The Vanguard, in its own way, has made a contribution to jazz music -although Gordon denies this. "I don't have that feeling of public service. This is my job. This is my work. This is my life. I dont have this feeling of giving to the public. Yet the 1985 Kool Jazz Festival in New York was dedicated to Gordon and featured a concert entitled "Jam Session for Max. No Thoughts of Retiring Gordon has, after 50 years, no thoughts of retiring: "It's the only thing I've done. Its my life. People say. When are you going to retire? What would I do? Sit home and watch television? Nightly, musicians are there on the Vanguard's tiny stage, continuing the tradition of Davis, Coltrane, Rollins, Mingus, Monk, and contributing to an g art form that comes closest to pure creativity. Jazz is improvisation, and no one knows what music might not have been created, what albums might not have been recorded, had the Vanguard not existed. In that sense. Max Gordon's contribution to jazz is immeasurable. ever-evolvin- For more information, call Mrs George Finlinson or Mrs. Rober Baer. ; . Rehearsals are every Tuesday at p.m. FIND WHAT YOU WANT WITH CLASSIFIED. civic functions throughout the year and is currently preparing its annual spring concert. 237-200- 0 NANNETTE new of Consoles Spinels m lor REAL BARGAINS!1! We nave me ngm piano tor you at the right price terms Piano rentals Iron $25 00 per month In the early 1950s. the club began to concentrate on j ui What Happens Makes It "You open the place, but what makes it is what happens there. The culmination of the years." Gordon Schubert Singers call auditions PIANO BARGAINS Rental Returns Symphony hJ iah You Dreams." There were the war days, when Shearing was caught in a taxi (the cabbie having slipped out) while the Blitz raged around him. There were the early days in Manhattan, when chiseling agents cheated him out of his union wages as a "cocktail pianist." There were the times he was told there was no job for a blind entertainer because of insurance problems." Then came his recording of September in the Rain," and the birth of the legendary George Shearing Quin" tet. Later came his "Lullaby of e an jazz classic which Shearing admits he composed in 10 minutes when that most famous of all jazz nightspots needed a theme NEW y o r;k Presents and New York Bridal ftrFfcYTn Clearance r- . ?6o&OOTHM04(jrfAS; Every Bridal in Stock Now on Sale & Evening Gown - fkzM. , I Designer Bridal Gowns ou -- oak , ; EYIEIUAIYMEYI CENTERS $50 Kgs and up & Surfing at 1 20 f to Mothers Gowns $10 and Pageant Gowns 50 Up off very Gown in Stock oil at least 20 IHOH -- -- S 'Am c.l-'- I I veiling whi I' II IJill' wll'i flii fymv h ViKk I in ii (J ii Mir T Village Vanguards tiny stage a hallowed shrine of jazz Van- anniversary as an entertainer, was sitting in Manhattans most elegant saloon, the Cafe Carlyle, sipping a glass of milk and, no doubt, expecting that awful question which begins almost all of his interviews. i I'DUi nmi By William A. Raidy Newhouse News Service . NEW YORK George Shearing, who in a few weeks will mark his 50th iTiH i rn n-i- t h is ,t vf'V funny slim Im' 1 '!' I kilnw Ally ifl InlhrllMorlf OI.I) CARDNER MILE MW.'. W. 78(H) h s. fl J No Layaways Wo accept Visa. ,21-020- 4 Alterations Available Masteu ard and American Express 65 West 100 South |
