Big Band Man Don Menza fronts the WDR Big Band on his composition 'Groovin' Hard' Great Tenor solos by Menza & Olivier Peters,Frank Chastenier on pno.and Saxophone Section.Rec.Germany,no date but guessing mid 90ies.
The drummer here is Menza's fellow UpState New Yorker Joe LaBarbera, who had played with Woody Herman and the Bill Evans Trio. Very musical family, with brothers John and Pat. There's something in the blood of Italian UpState New Yorkers I guess.
@@jasongarey8329 I'm guessing you mean Pat, not Joe. Pat's a great tenorman who was indeed with Buddy Rich for quite a long while. Pat and Don were indeed in Rich's band in late 1968 into 1969. Obviously, Joe LaBarbera wouldn't have been in the Rich band, but he did play with Woody Herman, as I said.
"Red" graduated from Grover Cleveland HS, Buffalo, NY, 2 bears before I did; if not, then it was 4 years. I had privilege of hearing him at a jazz club in Buffalo; unbelievable. Menza and Coltrane, God, best of best.
Monday nights at the Riviera, my favorite memories of annual trips to Las Vegas. Thank you Don for the music, arrangements, and great playing. A great band including young and old, all playing with lots of heart and energy.
When I was going to Fredonia "Red" would come down from Buffalo with Charts he had written for the Band. Sometimes in the 50 mile trip he would write a 16 pcs Chart in the back seat, no piano, out of his Head ... this was the year after He and the Band won the Villanova Jazz Festival, Best Soloist, and Best Arranger. 1962
man funny how his kid in Mgadeth got me curious to chek him out...and now not only i dig his son's (Nick menza-ex magadeth drummer) but also Don, he is fantastic!
How I envy you - a dream of all of use who love these musicians and the music they play. I heard a similar anecdote told by Tubby Hayes when he was about 22: Jimmy Hamilton was taken ill a few days before a London concert, so the Duke asked him to play in the concert. Not till he sat took his chair at the rehearsal did he realize where he was when he turned his head and saw - Paul Gonsalves and to the right Johnny Hodges to the left!
Jeff Sandberg sorry, but at the crescendo - he is no big band drummer. Don is trying to get him to drive the band- as a big band drummer. Spoilt this great WDR performance.
@ansyf125, It vamps 2-5-1 in g-minor until the bridge, and then goes Cm7 during the bridge for two bars, then back to Gm. Then it does some chromatic 2-5s to get back to Gm. Hope that helps.
I love watching Menza play easier stuff so the other tenor is like I can take him...then when they duel each other Menza walks over everything that dude plays. The other tenor is good too which makes Menza even more awesome...even though he's a jerk in real life XD
Good points. Isn't it funny how some of greats are just SO nice/wonderful as human beings (Louie Bellson) and don't have anything to prove and just want to share with other people. But others are not (Buddy Rich) even though they didn't get the memo that they also have nothing to prove in that area as well.. go figure..
Don Menza was a guest artist with our jazz ensemble at TCU in 1977 or1978. I was a TA in the bands and picked him up/drove him to the hotel, etc. After our concert, there was an "official reception" with people from the music department and some of the jazz ensemble. Don just wanted to go and party with the grad students and others in the band and ditch the "adults." We took him to my and my room mate's apartment (a ranch house) and had a great time with him. He could not have been more gracious. We expected him to talk about music/stories of gigs, etc. but he wanted to talk about his hobby of restoring cars from the 50's in his garage. We took him back to the hotel later. When we picked him up in the morning to take him back to the airport, he had bought a special light for my special plants! He couldn't have been nicer. And I think he was wearing the same leather jacket as in the video.
Heard Don In Munich ca 1984, in a Jam session in a jazz bar in Schwabing he played about close to 20 chorusses,maybe he was a Bipolar bear?? exciting stuff though.
@hommefriday Yea Butch would swing the band through this great chart, although pat worked with bill evans etc, i thought he plays great on the W. Herman album The Raven Speaks circa 1972 . what a band!
Someone commented that he's playing a Brihart Ebolin. Actually it's probably a "Tonalin" (White, nor Ebony?) but I can also guarantee you that the mouthpiece has been hugely modified by Don. He buys old rubber pieces and changes them. I'd love to try one. He has or had his own line of custom mouthpieces out there. Anyone know which horn he's playing here? The video is kinda fuzzy and I can't tell.
@hommefriday Hi, I was thinking the exact same thing! I would loved to have taken a shot at this chart myself. I have some of my solo drum clips on here (I'm not a professional player though). I used to see Don Menza every week at the Rivera Hotel in Las Vegas years ago. About the only place you could find real jazz in this town. I really miss those concerts. Music is pretty much dead here in Vegas now. Sad for guys like me.
@TimPriceJazz I felt he was not the driving type of drummer for this arrangement. Butch Miles would have been the ideal - and done justice to the original Buddy Rich recording.
Olivier Peters (a.k.a. The second tenor player) is one of the best tenor sax players in Europe and also played on Buddy Rich's band in the United States among others. He is right up there with the best of them!
2nd tenor plays with a wonderful, straight-ahead and dare I say "Coltranesque" sound that comes right out of the tradition, he swings and phrases too. Some cats pontificating below need to get an education - or go shine trump's shoes. Dig?
