Herbie Mann - Interview

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Herbie Mann interviewed in 1964

You see, Brazilian music has shown me that music in general can still remain exciting and dramatic without having an overabundance of drums. In other words, the rhythm can be implied, rather than made obvious. We now have a more subtle approach, playing more straight jazz and bossa novas than anything else.
Sometime ago I spoke rather sharply about the many inferior and unsympathetic bossa nova recordings. I have changed my opinions slightly. I now feel that even though most of the non–Brazilian bossa nova records didn’t manage to capture the subtleties and warmth of the authentic Brazilian article, they shouldn’t be put down completely.
Jazz is a medium for individual approach to a song depending on the feeling or the interpretation of the musicians concerned—and that’s what I feel the majority of American produced bossa nova albums amount to.
In all honesty I think that our own group gets closer to the original than anyone else for a number of reasons. I believe that my own temperament is closer to that of the Brazilians than any American musicians who have entered this particular field. Moreover, the group has had more opportunities of hearing and playing new Brazilian compositions, and my guitarist, Attila Zoller, learned how to play bossa nova and other rhythms from listening to the recordings of guitarist Baden Powell. I consider Baden Powell to be the finest exponent in the world of authentic contemporary Brazilian music. In fact, I used Baden Powell as both musician and composer on the sessions I cut in Rio de Janeiro for Atlantic. I feel that the sessions I cut in Rio are the best examples of the bossa nova and the progressive samba on disc. It’s the only album that really captures the true feeling of this wonderful music.
As far as I am concerned, the bossa nova is a modern samba. Most of the rhythm players in Brazil don’t play set patterns, but improvise as they feel. And do they swing! Unfortunately, many American percussionists stick to repetitious patterns, making for stodgy and uninspired results. During the first week I was in Rio I listened to well over 75 compositions. From these I picked the ones I wished to record, then fixed arrangers, musicians and groups.
The numbers of Baden Powell and Antonio Carlos Jobim which I cut are true bossa novas, while the pieces of Sergio Mendez and Luis Carlos Vinhas are progressive sambas, for which the jazz group improvises on a progressive samba beat. For example, I recorded the late Clifford Brown’s “Blues Walk” with the Sergio Mendez Bossa Nova Rio Group. This fine sextet comprises Mendez on piano, Paulo Moura (alto sax), Pedro Paulo (trumpet), Duval Ferreira (guitar), Otavio Bailly, Jnr. (bass) and Dom Um on drums. On the sides I cut with Baden Powell we used a bass player called Gabriel and alternated with two drummers, Papao and Juquinha.
Besides recording with Powell and Mendez I also cut sides with pianist Luis Carlos Vinhas and his trio and with a large string orchestra conducted by Antonio Carlos Jobim, who also sang and played piano on his now famous composition, “Samba De Una Nota So” (One Note Samba). The other large group with which I recorded was the 17– piece Zezinho E Sua Escola De Samba (Zezinho and His School of Samba). This group is made up of carnival samba players who perform in the streets at a carnival or mardi gras, playing traditional music on such instruments as cuica, reco– reco, pandeiro, frigideira and surdo, among many others.
During trips taking me to South America and the African continent I have collected over a hundred different flutes. For public appearances and recordings I use a concert flute in C, alto flute in G and E flat flute, plus a number of hand– made native flutes. In the future I intend to incorporate more and more folk music from various countries into our programme. The bossa nova will stay a part of my catalogue, along with the music I have gathered from other parts of the world combined with jazz. I feel that gypsy music and the folk music of Eastern Europe and the Middle East contains some wonderful rhythms and melodies to improvise on.

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Bobby Hutcherson - As sideman

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selected discography of Bobby Hutcherson as sideman
(work in progress)

****** on BLUE NOTE ******

With Donald Byrd
▪ Ethiopian Knights (Blue Note, 1971)

With Dexter Gordon
▪ Gettin' Around (Blue Note, 1964)

With Grant Green
▪ Idle Moments (Blue Note, 1964)
▪ Street of Dreams (Blue Note, 1964)

With Eddie Henderson
▪ Sunburst (Blue Note, 1975)

With Joe Henderson
▪ Mode for Joe (Blue Note, 1966)

With Andrew Hill
▪ Judgment! (Blue Note, 1963)
▪ Andrew!!! (Blue Note, 1964)

With Jackie McLean
▪ One Step Beyond, (Blue Note, 1963)
▪ Destination... Out! - (Blue Note, 1964)
▪ Action Action Action (Blue Note, 1964)
▪ Hipnosis (Blue Note, 1967)

With Grachan Moncur III
▪ Evolution (Blue Note, 1963)

With Lee Morgan
▪ The Procrastinator (Blue Note, 1967)

With John Patton
▪ Let 'em Roll (Blue Note, 1965)

With Duke Pearson
▪ The Phantom (Blue Note, 1968)
▪ I Don't Care Who Knows It (Blue Note, 1969)

With Tony Williams
▪ Life Time (Blue Note, 1964)

****** more NEW THINGS style sessions ******

With Stanley Cowell
▪ Brilliant Circles (Arista-Freedom, 1969)

With Eric Dolphy
▪ Iron Man (Douglas, 1963)
▪ Coversations (Fred Miles, 1963)
▪ Out to Lunch (Blue Note, 1964)

With Pharoah Sanders
▪ Rejoice (Theresa, 1981)

With Archie Shepp
▪ On This Night (Impulse!, 1965)
▪ New Thing at Newport (Impulse!, 1965)

With Prince Lasha & Sonny Simmons
▪ Firebirds (Contemporary, 1968)

With McCoy Tyner
▪ Time for Tyner (Blue Note, 1967)
▪ Sama Layuca (Milestone, 1974)
▪ Together (Milestone, 1978)

****** others ******

With Luis Gasca
▪ Collage (Fantasy, 1975)

With Al Grey
▪ Snap Your Fingers (Argo, 1962)
▪ Having a Ball (Argo, 1963)
▪ Night Song (Argo, 1962)

With John Handy
▪ New View (Columbia, 1967)

With Roy Haynes
▪ Thank You Thank You (Galaxy, 1977)

With Barney Kessel
▪ Feeling Free (Contemporary, 1969)

With Harold Land
▪ The Peacemaker (Cadet, 1967)
▪ A New Shade of Blue (Mainstream, 1971)
▪ Choma (Burn) (Mainstream, 1971)
▪ Xocia's Dance (Sue-sha's Dance) (Muse, 1981)

With Billy Mitchell
▪ This Is Billy Mitchell (Smash, 1962)

With Grassella Oliphant
▪ The Grass Roots (Atlantic, 1965)

With Harold Vick
▪ The Caribbean Suite (RCA, 1966)

With Gerald Wilson
▪ Everywhere (Pacific Jazz, 1968)
▪ California Soul (World Pacific, 1968)
▪ Eternal Equinox (World Pacific, 1969)

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Bobby Hutcherson - Selected Discography

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Discography 1963-1971
(work in progress)


1963 - The Kicker
Bobby Hutcherson - vibes
Joe Henderson - tenor saxophone
Duke Pearson - piano
Grant Green - guitar (tracks 4-6)
Bob Cranshaw - bass
Al Harewood - drums
Recorded: December 29, 1963


1965 - Dialogue
Bobby Hutcherson: vibraphone, marimba
Joe Chambers: drums
Andrew Hill: piano
Sam Rivers: woodwinds
Freddie Hubbard: trumpet
Richard Davis: bass
Recorded: April 3, 1965


1965 - Components
Bobby Hutcherson: vibraphone
Joe Chambers: drums
Herbie Hancock: piano
James Spaulding: alto saxophone, flute
Freddie Hubbard: trumpet
Ron Carter: bass
Recorded: June 10, 1965


1966 - Happenings
Bobby Hutcherson: vibraphone
Herbie Hancock: piano
Joe Chambers: drums
Bob Cranshaw: bass
Recorded: February 8, 1966


1966 - Stick-Up!
Bobby Hutcherson: vibraphone
McCoy Tyner: piano
Herbie Lewis: bass
Billy Higgins: drums
Joe Henderson: tenor saxophone
Recorded: April 14, 1966


1967 - Oblique
Bobby Hutcherson: vibes
Herbie Hancock: piano
Albert Stinson: bass
Joe Chambers: drums
Recorded: July 21, 1967


1968 - Patterns
Bobby Hutcherson - vibraphone, marimba
Joe Chambers - drums
James Spaulding - alto saxophone, flute
Stanley Cowell - piano
Reggie Workman - bass
Recorded: March 14, 1968


1968 - Total Eclipse
Bobby Hutcherson - vibraphone, marimba
Joe Chambers - drums
Harold Land - saxophone
Reggie Johnson - bass
Chick Corea - piano
Recorded: July 12, 1968


1968 - Medina
Bobby Hutcherson - vibraphone, marimba
Harold Land - saxophone
Joe Chambers - drums
Stanley Cowell - piano
Reggie Workman - bass
Recorded: November 11, 1968 and August 11, 1969


1969 - Now!
Bobby Hutcherson - vibraphone, marimba
Gene McDaniels - vocals
Stanley Cowell - piano
Kenny Barron - piano
Harold Land - saxophone
Joe Chambers - drums
Wally Richardson - guitar
Herbie Lewis - bass
Recorded: October 3 - November 5, 1969


1970 - San Francisco
Bobby Hutcherson - Vibraphone, Marimba, Percussion
Template:Harold Land - Tenor Sax, Flute, Oboe
Duke Pearson - Producer
Joe Sample - Piano, Electric Piano
John Williams - Bass, Fender Bass
Mickey Roker - Drums
Recorded: July 15, 1970


1971 - Head On
Bobby Hutcherson - vibes, marimba
Oscar Brashear - trumpet, flugelhorn
George Bohanon, Louis Spears - trombone
Willie Ruff - french horn
Fred Jackson - piccolo
Harold Land - tenor saxophone, flute
Delbert Hill, Charles Owens, Herman Riley, Ernie Watts - reeds
Todd Cochran - piano, arranger
William Henderson - electric piano
Reggie Johnson, James Leary III - bass
Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, Nesbert "Stix" Hooper, Woody Theus - drums
Warren Bryant - conga, bongos
Donald Smith - vocals
Recorded: July 1 & 3, 1971

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