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Tommy
Flanagan,one of the great voices of the
piano, died November 16, 2001 in New York
City. His wife Diane reported he suffered
from an arterial aneurysm.
Tommy Lee
Flanagan was born in Detroit on March 16,
1930. He was interested in music from
early on, and after losing the battle on
clarinet, he began to play piano at 11.
Tommy attended Northern High School, and
also started to hang out at The Bluebird
Inn, a west side club quite famous in its
time. Soon,
Flanagan
went from listening from the street to
performing and becoming the regular
pianist. Detroit was a hotbed of musical
activity at the time and produced the
likes of Hank, Thad and Elvin Jones,
Roland Hanna,
Barry
Harris, Donald Byrd, Pepper Adams, Kenny
Burrell, Yusef Lateef, Louis Hayes, Paul
Chambers, and others who became jazz
greats.
With that
level of local players and many visiting
stars coming through and sitting in at The
Bluebird, Flanagan was more than ready for
a move to New York City in 1956. While
visiting that year he found himself
sitting in on short notice for idol Bud
Powell for two weeks at Birdland.
Soon he
was playing and recording with Miles
Davis, Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson and
virtually all of the mainstream jazzmen on
the New York scene. Flanagan quickly
developed a reputation as a supportive,
sensitive accompanist as well as a great
soloist with his own bluesy lyricism.
Early on he would find himself on classic
dates like Sonny Rollins' Saxophone
Colossus and John Coltrane's epic Giant
Steps.
While
Flanagan excelled at playing with many of
the more modern players of the time, he
also worked quite a lot with some of the
swing-era stars like Coleman Hawkins, Roy
Eldridge and Jimmy Hamilton. He also cut
his first sessions as a leader in the late
'50s, one of which was the legendary The
Cats, featuring John Coltrane and Kenny
Burrell and some fine playing and writing
by Flanagan.
In 1963,
Flanagan began an association with Ella
Fitzgerald that lasted on and off until
1978. Touring with Fitzgerald, one of the
most popular singers in jazz, was both a
financially and musically rewarding time
for Tommy, although many missed his more
featured role in small groups.
Playing
with Fitzgerald gave Flanagan the chance
to play for royalty at the kind of places
most jazzmen or any person would never
experience, and her musicianship was
always first rate. He left to start his
own group in 1978, after all the touring
brought on heart problems and a yearning
to go out on his own.
While
recording many sideman dates throughout
his career, from this time on Flanagan
began working mostly with his own trio. He
also began recording some wonderful trio
albums for the German Enja label that
announced he'd lost nothing of his earlier
intensity or inventiveness during his
tenure with Fitzgerald. He began using
George Mraz on bass and often old pal
Elvin Jones on these dates that gave
flight to Flanagan with the support of
Mraz's precision and Jones'
heat.
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Sadly,
there is about a seven year void between
the Enja sides and documentation of the
longest steady groups of Flanagan's
leadership. First Mraz and then Peter
Washington occupied the bass chair, while
Kenny Washington, known for his work with
Betty Carter and Johnny Griffin, and the
wonderful Lewis Nash played drums in the
last groups of Flanagan's career.
These were
tight, completely emphatic groups that set
a new standard for piano trio as much with
its virtuosity as with its ability to
breathe as one with the leader. Flanagan's
last record date as a leader was recorded
live at The Village Vanguard, and his
playing is still fantastic, especially for
someone celebrating their 67th year. Just
this last year, Flanagan was the first act
to play at the Vanguard just a few days
after September 11. Owner Lorraine Gordon
felt that Tommy was the Most logical
choice to follow the worst tragedy to ever
hit New York.There is an incredible legacy
of what I call the three phases of Tommy
Flanagan's career, a career in which he
recorded over 250 albums over almost 50
years. The first part consists of his
incredible early sideman dates.
Some of
the many highlights and personal favorites
are; Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus;
John Coltrane, Giant Steps; Wes
Montgomery, The Incredible Jazz Guitar;
Gene Ammons, Boss Tenor; Blue Mitchell,
Smooth As The Wind; J.J. Johnson, First
Place and Dial J.J.; Philly Joe Jones,
Blues For Dracula; Wilber Hardin, Jazz Way
Out; Art Farmer, Modern Art; Kenny Dorham,
Quiet Kenny and Trompeta Toccata; Roy
Haynes, Out Of The Afternoon; Dexter
Gordon, The Panther; Clifford Jordan, The
Adventurer; Hank Jones/Tommy Flanagan, Our
Delights; Wayman Reed, 46th and 8th; and
his own The Cats.
The next
set of music comprises just about any Ella
Fitzgerald date from 1962 to 1965 and 1968
to 1978. Most of these are to be found on
the Verve and Pablo labels, and I must
confess I'm not an expert on what the best
of these are. This is considered by
critics to be a time when Ella was
performing at a high standard.
The last
group of recordings feature Flanagan at
the helm of his own trios. My own personal
favorites include Eclypso, Confirmation,
Giant Steps, Thelonica, The Jazz Poet,
Beyond The Bluebird, Sea Changes, and
Sunset And The Mockingbird.
Whether in
support of others, taking his own solo
flights or leading a Tasteful trio, Tommy
Flanagan always maintained the highest
standard of excellence. He was in such
demand for recordings and performances
because he always fit in so well with so
many different musicians. He always seemed
to add just the right feel to the music
and it seems impossible to imagine all of
the classic dates he was on with any other
pianist. Flanagan's elegant touch gave the
kind of solid, unobtrusive support that
many musicians enjoyed. He was also a
master in his approach of Monk, Powell,
Coltrane, and the blues, and his playing
continued to be refined over the years. He
also championed great jazz composers like
Tom McIntosh and Thad Jones.
Tommy
Flanagan became so much a part of jazz
that he will never truly be gone. I only
regret the cancellation of a Kansas City
concert last year took away a chance for
me to hear him live, but that's a little
selfish. We will celebrate Tommy Flanagan,
one of the great people in jazz, and I
feel so lucky to have enjoyed so much of
his music over the years.
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