[78-L] Mitch Miller Obit

[Jeff Sultanof]

I'd like to make a couple of distinctions if I may.

There are really three categories of Parker with strings: the Jimmy Carroll
arrangements, the Joe Lipman arrangements and what could be termed
miscellaneous. Joe Lipman has gone on record saying that he did exactly what
Parker wanted, that Parker was very proud of these sides in general. The
Parker with strings book currently resides at the Institute of Jazz Studies,
and I've edited several of them for publication, so I've been able to
examine manuscripts and gain a lot of insight into this music.

At this point in time, these recordings are not perceived by younger jazz
listeners the way they were heard back in the early fifties. Yes, many
considered them sellouts then, but frankly, they received a lot of airplay
and sold in nice numbers. The published arrangements that are out from this
repertoire (Just Friends, Temptation, What is This Thing Called Love are
some titles that can now be purchased to play) are selling well throughout
the world. Saxophonists want to play this music obviously.

The Carroll arrangements are not very good as a whole. Carroll was probably
recommended to Granz by Mitch Miller, as they were fellow students at
Eastman and were both members of the Alec Wilder Octet. There are a bunch of
arrangements by Carroll that weren't recorded and were probably not played
in public (They Didn't Believe Me is one). "Just Friends" happens to be
arranged by Carroll; most Parker fans think that this is one of his best
records, and I would agree.

When Parker and Norman Granz decided to make Parker with Strings a touring
act, they knew they needed more arrangements. These are what I call the
'miscellaneous' category. Jimmy Mundy (Easy to Love), Gerry Mulligan (Rocker
and an unfinished Gold Rush) and even George Russell  (Ezzthetic)
contributed to this book.

It was Granz who hired Joe Lipman; Granz was probably looking for an
arranger who knew jazz but who could write in a commercial vein. I happen to
like his arrangements very much, but it is true that these recordings are
not Parker at his best. Lipman did a nice job for what he had to do. Lipman
was a graduate of the Benny Goodman, Bunny Berigan and Jimmy Dorsey bands,
and his work is solid and professional. He was chief arranger for the Dean
Martin Show for many years.

David, you are certainly not alone in your opinion of these recordings. Are
there any jazz musicians with string sides that you do like? As we know,
Clifford Brown, Cannonball Adderley, Lee Konitz and a few more major names
made such albums.

Jeff Sultanof

On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 5:51 PM, David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca> wrote:

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> Can't stand those recordings. Not good jazz, not even good elevator music.
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