The Violins of Harry Lookofsky, "Move" c/w "Moose The Mooche," Atlantic Jazz Series 45-5004 (rel. 9/1960)
The son of Jewish emigrants from Russia--the very people fellow Jew Stephen Miller wishes to dehumanize and deport--Harry Lookofsky grew up in Paducah, Kentucky, where he became an adept violinist in his youth. Born in 1913, he became a member of the St. Louis, Missouri symphony orchestra in his early 20s. Lookofsky admired jazz music as well: he was fond of its first virtuoso violinist, Joe Venuti, whose instrumental duets with guitarist Eddie Lang were imitated by Django Reinhardt and Stephan Grappelli.
Harry traded up to the NBC Symphony Orchestra, led by Arturo Toscanini, in 1938 while playing jazz in local clubs on the side. Lookofsky's fluid, playful style was ideal for the changes soon to sweep jazz music. The be-bop movement, which came to be during wartime, radicalized the music and polarized fans of its older styles. Such snobbery persists to this day in some circles, where admirers of pre-bop jazz were once dubbed 'moldy figs.'
Lookofsky didn't make recordings in the bop vein until 1954, when Epic Records released a four-song EP, Miracle in Strings, of which I remain the only documented owner on 45cat.com; a few more copies are reported on rival site Discogs. Lookofsky was a valued sideman on others' albums and singles, and his playing appears on many LPs, including those by Ahmed Jamal, Chris Connors, Al Cohn, Bobby Scott, Freddie Hubbard, Louis Armstrong, Astrud Gilberto, et al.
Harry traded up to the NBC Symphony Orchestra, led by Arturo Toscanini, in 1938 while playing jazz in local clubs on the side. Lookofsky's fluid, playful style was ideal for the changes soon to sweep jazz music. The be-bop movement, which came to be during wartime, radicalized the music and polarized fans of its older styles. Such snobbery persists to this day in some circles, where admirers of pre-bop jazz were once dubbed 'moldy figs.'
Lookofsky didn't make recordings in the bop vein until 1954, when Epic Records released a four-song EP, Miracle in Strings, of which I remain the only documented owner on 45cat.com; a few more copies are reported on rival site Discogs. Lookofsky was a valued sideman on others' albums and singles, and his playing appears on many LPs, including those by Ahmed Jamal, Chris Connors, Al Cohn, Bobby Scott, Freddie Hubbard, Louis Armstrong, Astrud Gilberto, et al.
Atlantic Records signed him to do his string magic for a jazz LP in 1959. On record, Lookofsky differed from his jazz peers in two major ways: he multitracked different violins for a tight ensemble sound and he wrote out all his musical moves, since the multitrack style didn't work for ad-libs. Modern jazz players rounded out his myriad strings; they might have overdubbed their parts after Harry did his many-layered thing in the studio. Milt Hinton and Paul Chambers (bass), Bob Brookmeyer (trombone) Hank Jones (piano) and Elvin Jones (drums) complemented Lookofsky's strings on an eight-track album of modern jazz standards given a quirky, appealing twist.
Stringsville was acclaimed and remained in Atlantic's jazz catalog for a time. In 1960, on the eve of the album's debut, the label, whose rhythm and blues singles were a mainstay of Black music in the 1950s, decided to try out some jazz 45s, as this Cash Box article notes:
Stringsville was acclaimed and remained in Atlantic's jazz catalog for a time. In 1960, on the eve of the album's debut, the label, whose rhythm and blues singles were a mainstay of Black music in the 1950s, decided to try out some jazz 45s, as this Cash Box article notes:
Harry was among some heavy-hitters here. Though none of these singles infiltrated the pop charts, they were respectable additions to Atlantic's 45 catalog. As the squib above notes, these silver and blue singles were ideal for jukeboxes. Two fine tracks from the LP were chosen.
"Move," penned by percussionist Denzil Best, was recorded by Miles Davis and his band for their Birth of the Cool album sessions in 1949. The tune has countless jazz versions, and its forceful, jet-propelled melody remains an ideal surface for improvisational and "written" jazz. Lookofsky delivers the throttling tune with astonishing results. Though planned, his solo passages sound extemporized and capture that excitement of risk and freedom.
Mr. L played a variety of violins, chosen for their timbre, and the blend is spot-on. If the other musicians added their parts later, the recording doesn't betray that; it sounds played as an ensemble. The album's liner notes don't discuss the process. It's possible that Harry played a main track with the sidemen and then overdubbed, a la guitarist Les Paul, up to a dozen passages on violin, tenor violin and viola. Atlantic's ace engineer Tom Dowd developed a way for the artist to multi-track on this stereo recording also released in mono, as with this single.
"Move," penned by percussionist Denzil Best, was recorded by Miles Davis and his band for their Birth of the Cool album sessions in 1949. The tune has countless jazz versions, and its forceful, jet-propelled melody remains an ideal surface for improvisational and "written" jazz. Lookofsky delivers the throttling tune with astonishing results. Though planned, his solo passages sound extemporized and capture that excitement of risk and freedom.
Mr. L played a variety of violins, chosen for their timbre, and the blend is spot-on. If the other musicians added their parts later, the recording doesn't betray that; it sounds played as an ensemble. The album's liner notes don't discuss the process. It's possible that Harry played a main track with the sidemen and then overdubbed, a la guitarist Les Paul, up to a dozen passages on violin, tenor violin and viola. Atlantic's ace engineer Tom Dowd developed a way for the artist to multi-track on this stereo recording also released in mono, as with this single.
"Moose the Mooche" was penned by alto saxophonist Charlie Parker. Rumor has it that its name came from an alias of a drug dealer Parker frequented. First recorded by its composer in 1946, it became a modern-jazz standard. Its bright, freewheeling melody epitomizes the vibe of modern jazz. Based on the Gershwin Brothers standard "I Got Rhythm," it has a sophisticated air. Harry plays a long, lyrical solo passage on the deeper-toned tenor violin sans multitracking. This gives a window into his prowess with the bow; his lines are passionate, adventurous and compelling. Pianist Hank Jones gets a moment or two and his playing anchors the quirky time-signature, which waddles like your choice of waterfowl.
Though Stringsville was acclaimed, Lookofsky didn't continue in its vein. He found steady work as a studio sideman and producer. He embraced rock 'n' roll, and his credits are found on many New York-made singles and LPs. He adopted the alias of "Hash Brown" and made an LP of quirky instrumental-vocal pop music for Philips Records under that name. The Hash Brown Sounds, from 1962, is an album I'm sure I own; I need to digitize that puppy.
His son, Michael Brown, worked with him, first with the girl group Reparata and The Delrons, then with two art-rock bands he led, The Left Banke and Stories. Harry co-produced and played baroque-style strings on the hits "Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina," and the Left Banke's first album has several moments of father-son collaboration.
Harry Lookofsky passed on in 1998; son Michael left this mortal coil in 2015. Both men left their mark on American music. Neither were household names, but their work continues to influence young musicians. YouTube has several examples of youth violinists playing Harry's violin parts and marveling at their dexterity and invention.
Tomorrow: Little Richard delivers his most sought-after single for OKeh Records, which couples a deep-soul classic with a haunting theme song to a 1967 film. Another Tacoma score for your enjoyment.
His son, Michael Brown, worked with him, first with the girl group Reparata and The Delrons, then with two art-rock bands he led, The Left Banke and Stories. Harry co-produced and played baroque-style strings on the hits "Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina," and the Left Banke's first album has several moments of father-son collaboration.
Harry Lookofsky passed on in 1998; son Michael left this mortal coil in 2015. Both men left their mark on American music. Neither were household names, but their work continues to influence young musicians. YouTube has several examples of youth violinists playing Harry's violin parts and marveling at their dexterity and invention.
Tomorrow: Little Richard delivers his most sought-after single for OKeh Records, which couples a deep-soul classic with a haunting theme song to a 1967 film. Another Tacoma score for your enjoyment.
Jazzy Violins?! Wowzie; fab! (Also, this made me LOL: "his playing anchors the quirky time-signature, which waddles like your choice of waterfowl.")
ReplyDeleteListening to these all I could see was how hard these must have been to play. I can mentally see close-ups of "Hash Brown" smiling, his bow happily sliding back and forth, hitting those strings and him fingering the those strings like a mad man.
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