I want to thank a couple of readers of Played to Death who pointed out something that seemed to be an error but was more a miscommunication on my part. It's a good case in point of how sometimes the vision in a writer's mind doesn't make it to the page in a coherent way.
In Played to Death, Scott Drayco says that the first time he sat at a piano when he was a small child, he picked out Count Basie's "Take the A Train." Now, the classic jazz piece was composed by Billy Strayhorn, who played piano and wrote arrangements for Duke Ellington's band. But what I didn't point out was that Drayco had heard the piece in the later Count Basie version. My grandfather was a drummer in a Dixieland band, and Basie was also a drummer, so that seemed fitting. Plus, Basic learned how to play the piano from his mother, just like Drayco did.
Anyway, here's the original Duke Ellington version, followed by Count Basie's version and finally Oscar Peterson's solo piano version, which would be more like what Drayco played (in fact, it's fun to image a young Drayco, his feet not able to reach the floor, playing this piece):
Was Basie ever professionally a drummer? I have only been aware of him playing keyboards, mostly piano but also organ....going to Go Look...good stuff here...
Posted by: Todd Mason | May 01, 2018 at 04:25 AM
WIKIPEDIA has references to his memoirs where he notes he wanted to be a drummer till he saw how much better at drumming Sonny Greer was, when Basie was 15yo...so he concentrated on keyboards thereafter instead. Good to know...he certainly was often cited as the paragon of the percussive "arranger's pianist"...early inclination toward percussion would out thus, perhaps!
Posted by: Todd Mason | May 01, 2018 at 04:37 AM
Yes, Basie played and preferred the drums as a youngster, but switched over to the piano because he didn't think he'd ever be good enough on drums. I think he made the right decision! FYI, my grandfather played drums with Artie Shaw before Artie Shaw became a big thing. Wish he could have stayed with it, but Granddad had to make a regular living to take care of his family.
Posted by: BV Lawson | May 01, 2018 at 09:33 AM
And while the Artie Shaw band might've been a good paycheck eventually, Shaw further eventually preferred the writing of fiction to the playing of music before the public...though financial comfort never hurts when beginning one's fiction-writing career...
Posted by: Todd Mason | May 01, 2018 at 07:00 PM
Do you know of any Shaw band recordings with your grandfather playing?
Posted by: Todd Mason | May 01, 2018 at 07:07 PM
Well, the only thing that might exist are some records that were made at an amateur studio around that time that I came across while going through Mom and Pop's things. My husband is an audio engineer, so I'm hoping he'll be able to play these with his special gear so we can see what's actually on them. I don't know of any commercial recordings, alas. This was VERY early in Shaw's career before he hit the big time.
Posted by: BV Lawson | May 01, 2018 at 08:11 PM