Standing at over 3’5” tall and weighing as much as 20 kilos, the unwieldy baritone saxophone has by no means been as enticing to jazz musicians because the leaner, extra glamorous alto and tenor varieties. Even so, there have been some notable masters of the instrument, starting with the good Harry Carney, a long-time member of Duke Ellington’s band. Different well-known baritone specialists who made their mark on jazz historical past had been Gerry Mulligan, Pepper Adams, Leo Parker, and Serge Chaloff. The latter’s profession was exceedingly brief; Chaloff died in 1957, aged 33. As a consequence, his discography is small, consisting of simply 4 solo albums. However one in every of them, 1956’s Blue Serge, is a hard-bop basic that has saved the saxophonist’s title alive.
Born in Boston in 1923, Chaloff was immersed in music as a teenager, studying the piano and clarinet. However when he was twelve, he grew to become obsessive about the baritone sax after seeing the aforementioned Carney play with Duke Ellington. Later keen about bebop’s complicated musical language – and significantly the ornate solos he heard alto saxist Charlie Parker play – Chaloff translated fashionable jazz’s vocabulary to the baritone. “He could play (it) like a tenor sax,” recalled his brother. “He played it high…The only time you knew it was a baritone was when he took it down low. You couldn’t believe the speed he played.”
Chaloff grew to become well-known when he joined clarinetist Woody Herman’s Second Herd in 1947, which ultimately led him to make his personal information. Starting in 1954, he recorded for producer George Wein’s Storyville label earlier than signing with Capitol Data. His debut for the Hollywood label was Boston Blow-Up!, which regardless of its title was a fastidiously ready document helmed by the famous West Coast bandleader/arranger Stan Kenton.
In 1956, Capitol invited him to make one other document. This time, the baritonist desired a extra spontaneous session. “I decided to make a record just to blow,” he recalled. “I picked out what I felt was the best rhythm section around and just told them to show up…no rehearsals…no tunes set…and trusted to luck and musicianship.”
Chaloff’s sidemen had been musicians he had by no means performed with earlier than: The Oregon bassist Leroy Vinegar then rising to prominence on the LA session scene, and from the East Coast, pianist Sonny Clark and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Clark was having fun with a profitable solo profession at Blue Observe Data whereas Jones occupied the drum stool within the Miles Davis Quintet.
“Not having rehearsed together, we were naturally a little bit stiff,” confessed Chaloff, recalling their first session collectively, which befell one afternoon in March 1956. To assist loosen up the musicians, Chaloff revealed that his producer Invoice Miller “dimmed the lights way down low to make it more like a nightclub.” The trick labored, serving to the musicians to chill out and really feel at house.
The quartet lower eight tracks in two days, principally songs from the pages of The Nice American Songbook. The session’s highlights included hard-swinging takes on the jazz requirements “All The Things You Are” and “How About You” showcasing Chaloff’s athletic precision. Different standouts got here within the form of “The Goof And I” – a revamp of saxophonist Al Cohn’s bebop burner – and the equally vigorous “Susie’s Blues,” an unique Chaloff quantity.
Along with his plain technical brilliance, Chaloff confirmed a fragile facet with the nostalgic ballad “Thanks For The Memory,” the place his smooth and feathery tone was punctuated by occasional descents into the decrease register. On the finish of the periods, Chaloff was elated. “We were shooting for an impromptu feeling and we got it,” he enthused. “I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Sadly, Blue Serge was the ultimate chapter within the baritonist’s tragically brief profession. Sixteen months later, Chaloff – as soon as described by the eminent jazz critic Leonard Feather because the “No.1 bop exponent of the baritone” – died from spinal most cancers. Due to the magical jazz alchemy he conjured whereas taking part in with Sonny Clark, Leroy Vinegar, and Philly Joe Jones on Blue Serge, he won’t ever be forgotten in jazz circles.
Purchase Serge Chaloff’s Blue Serge on vinyl now.
