Max Miller and your dad

[grinnell]

Hi Jon,

Your dad and my uncle, the late Andy Nelson, worked for the mercurial Chicago pianist, Max Miller. I don't remember the exact sequence, but it was wartime, and either your dad got drafted and then Andy got the guitar job, or vice-versa. Andy cut his first record with Max, on Max's original tune Heartbeat. I found the 78 at Chicago's Jazz Record Mart. Andy went on to tour with a midwest group, the Tune Toppers, until he got a job with Chicago Musical Instrument Co., as a salesman and clinician for Gibson and later Epiphone, a job he held from about 1955 to 1965. He then went on to Fender as a sales rep from 1965-1970 or so when he had to retire due to multiple heart attacks and a less-than-successful bypass operation. He soldiered on for another 25 years, popping nitro like candy, but having a ball and living life to the fullest. Like most musicians, he was at his happiest and most at peace when he was playing. In his last years, he played MIDI guitar with a Solton rhythm machine, backing his singer wife (the second of two Muriels).

I wrote a tribute to him a year after he died, and have it on my website, which you can freely download at http://www.grinnellfamily.org/images/andybook.pdf. He was quite a character, who introduced me to a number of great players through his extensive and well-battered LP collection, including records by your dad.

I read your dad's description of Max in a story he wrote for Downbeat, that was recently reposted on the jazz guitar newsgroup rec.music.makers.guitar.jazz, and thought I'd say hello.

I bought my first Jimmy Raney album somewhere around 1975 or 76--one of the Xanadu records. I was in my early 20s and still didn't "get" a lot of what Jimmy was doing, but really loved his solo of End of a Love Affair. It was so different than the burning version he recorded near the end of his life, with that Royce Campbell group memorializing Wes Montgomery. I bought that CD while on a business trip to Singapore. I have since tracked down and bought everything I could find of your Dad's on Xanadu, Criss Cross, and Steeplechase. Thankfully, I traveled a lot around the world in the late 1990s and spent a lot of money at record stores in Europe and Asia, not to mention Tower Records stores in nearly every major city in the US.

When I first heard your brother, I thought it was your dad (a common reaction, I'm sure). I was in the US Air Force, and was on a deployment to Bodo, Norway, probably in the winter of 1980. The chartered bus that took us from one part of the base to another was playing the local radio station, and I heard a trumpeter who also sang scat (turned out to be Chet Baker). I was so intrigued by the guitarist, I leapt off the bus when I got to my dormitory, got my radio out of my bag, found the radio station, and hung around for another 15 minutes or so until the announcer, in Norwegian of course, announced the tune as "But Not For Me" by Chet Baker and Doug Raney. The next day, I went back into town and found a tiny record store, and wouldn't you know it--they had the LP (on Stteplechase, I believe). Had a devil of a time getting it back to Germany in one piece, but I treasured that album, later replacing it with the CD release. I know record royalties are pretty grim, but I can assure you, I did the best I could to help out the Raney family. My Jimmy, Doug, and Jimmy and Doug recordings are prominent and well-played pieces in my 1300 CD collection.

I'm not a player (yet), but know the difference between good and not so good. It took me a long time to fully "get" your dad. I'm so happy I took the time to do so. I love his sense of space, and that he always had something to say. One of my big regrets is never having seen your father live. I've been fortunate beyond words to have seen so many others, but not having seen Jimmy is a loss as big to me as not introducing myself to Freddie Green at a concert in Miami in the mid 70s (long story for another time).

Thanks for your hard work making this site available as a place for those who loved and appreciated Jimmy's gifts.

Best regards,

Larry Grinnell
Greenacres,  FL

[wizard3739]

Hiya Larry,

My name is Howard and I also treasure every musical moment I can have listening to Jimmy and Doug.  Jimmy (IMHO) was the BEST bebop guitarist ever and as he grew musically into more modern jazz, he became truly a master jazz guitarist with a natural melodic sense that (IMHO) remains unmatched.  Doug is also a gifted musician and hopefully, he will be recognized by his peers as one of the best jazz guitarists playing today, truly another master guitarist well on his way.  Jon also is another gifted musician with excellent taste in jazz music and and his abilities and musical presentation speak for themselves on the cd he has released.  Wow!  The Raney family has established a great jazz legacy in the two generations I have been listening to them. 

best wishes,
Howard

[raneyjr]

Thanks for the kind words.
Larry that story wasn't published in downbeat to my knowledge, however the theme is downbeat and it was officially published by me (in the blogosphere). Meaning I think the rights to official publish my father's writings should be me: http://jonraneyblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/things-downbeat-never-taught-meby.html

Re: doug and chet baker. larry you're in good company. My father thought it was him too when he heard it on the radio before he realized it was Doug

Howard: re: me. Me, Ed Fuqua and Eliot Zigmund just came out of the recording studio yesterday. I think a lot of it is head and shoulders over anything I have done to date. I am holding off listening to it (ya know--the wait a week philosophy. My father gave it to Ted Brown for his 1985 date with him)

Thanks for keeping this board alive gents>>>

[grinnell]

My bad... I hadn't read your blog before adding my comments, and you are absolutely correct that proper attribution and more important than that, proper permissions should be obtained prior to publishing someone else's work at any time.

Newsgroups are the one of the last vestiges of the wild wild west on the internet, where anything goes, take no prisoners, get no permissions--mainly because most posters remain as anonymous as possible. Unattributed quotes notwithstanding, rec.music.makers.guitar.jazz is a great resource for players and fans alike. I will say that after someone posted that the Live at Bradley's recording was available for sale on eMusic.com, there was a relatively long thread, including comments by Jimmy Bruno, to the effect that this recording should be boycotted until proper royalties to the estate can be paid.

Interesting that this recording came from Spain. The Fresh Sounds label from Spain has also reissued a bunch of old Johnny Smith stuff. How much to you wanna bet that JS isn't seeing a dime, either?

That Baker/Raney/NHOP recording is one of my all-time favorites by both players. Chet was able to pull it together pretty well for that session (at least the published takes), and Doug was on fire. Funny where you can find the good stuff--like that small record store in a town 50 miles or so north of the Arctic Circle--certainly not on American radio anymore. Thank goodness for my iPod

Did your dad ever mention my uncle? I know Andy always held him in very high regard.

It was a pleasure chatting...

Larry

[wizard3739]

Jon,  My wife (another jazz fan)  & I will be looking forward to your new release (soon I hope).

best wishes,
Howard

[Sam]

Me, Ed Fuqua and Eliot Zigmund just came out of the recording studio yesterday.

Geez!  Just toss that in the back there, then, Jon!

So . . . what say?  What's it like to record with Eliot?  How does EZ's history weigh upon you, if it does?  How's the music, now that you've listened?  Don't be shy . . .

THANKS, BEST, SAM

[Ed Fuqua]

Hey, Sam'l. Just to put in my dos pesatos -

What's it like to record with Eliot? - Pretty much fun. He's a nice cat; during the couple of rehearsals we had in prep for the recording he had, what I thought, were some pretty insightful suggestions as regarded the music. In particular Jon's tune MAPLE WALNUT - there's a lot going on and it's pretty balls-to-the-wall; Eliot suggested playing the melody exposition twice through instead of once. It really seemed to ground the tune more. He's pretty open to whatever the experience is in the studio.

How does EZ's history weigh upon you, if it does? Hmmm. In a way, it doesn't really. At least at this point. Maybe if this had been the first time working together, but since it wasn't....
He's a pretty down to earth cat and, although it's not like he's trying to put you at ease, you just kind of ARE, cause there's no pretense or attitude or whatever.

How's the music, now that you've listened? Well, I'll let Jon chime in on this one mostly. I WILL say -it was some hard f**king music, I left a number of sore spots on a dear and tender piece of my anatomy. But, like the first record, I'm Very Happy to have been able to play on this and it is absolutely positively what I sounded like on that day. Personally, I liked my solo on one take of the ballad (A MUSING) and was pretty happy with one on LOOSE ENDS. There's a number of spots on there that I feel like we did get to a place where we were just playing TOGETHER, and not playing a tune or whatever.

Anyway, here's a coupla fotos of a gig we did with Eliot recently....

[raneyjr]

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