June 2023 marks the centenary of the first surviving recordings by Sidney Bechet, arguably the first great soloist in the history of jazz. Those 1923 recordings, which Bechet made as the saxophonist and clarinetist in Clarence Williams' Blue Five as well as in other related configurations, have fallen into the shadow of Louis Armstrong's famous recordings with the Hot Fives & Sevens from a few years later. But they are just as important as the Armstrong records, as milestones in jazz's advance from its New Orleans origins toward what might be called its "classical" era as a soloist's music. Which, it should be said, wouldn't matter much to me if the 1923 recordings weren't also such a stirring, heart-tugging, eternally vibrant body of music. Pieces like "Kansas City Man Blues" and "Wild Cat Blues" are the explosive overture to more than 3 decades of recorded brilliance from Bechet.

It's fair to say that 2023 brings to a close the first Bechet century. But Bechet's music has a somewhat fraught place in the jazz canon. Although he continues to be revered in his adopted home of France, in his birthplace, his music has fallen into neglect. Despite an interesting 2018 album of Bechet themes by two major institutional figures in contemporary jazz, Dave Liebman and John Stowell, the Bechet catalogue has largely become the province of groups that wear suspenders, bowties, and porkpie hats and play for tourists. It is almost as if Bechet's own incredible force of personality daunts those who might take his concepts on and bring them into more contemporary modes of music-making.

This project is my attempt to put some material associated with Bechet into some new settings, and in so doing, do my part to encourage the millions of more talented musicians than myself out there to do the same, and start a Bechet revival -- to lead off the second Bechet century.

NOTES ON THE SONGS:

SUMMERTIME: This Gershwin composition from Porgy & Bess is one of the most exhaustively recorded songs in the whole jazz repertoire. But it is also strongly associated with Bechet, starting with his hit 1939 recording on Blue Note, one of the first records released by that storied label. Finding new shoes to fit this old warhorse is a tall order (and a tough row to hoe). Inspiration for this version was taken from some of my musical heroes of a later era than Bechet, namely Roger McGuinn and two painful recent losses, McCoy Tyner and Tom Verlaine. However, the coda is intended as a gesture toward Teddy Bunn's guitar intro to Bechet's version.

VIPER MAD: Originally recorded by Bechet with Noble Sissle's Swingsters in 1938 (with drummer O'Neil Spencer on vocals), this is one of many songs from that era extolling the virtues of marijuana in lightly coded language. (Armstrong's "Muggles" is another such song.) Bechet composed the melody, and announced it with his unforgettable opening chorus. I've given it a sort of jug-band treatment here; a resemblance to the Lovin' Spoonful is semi-intentional.

GIRL'S DANCE: Bechet had always been revered in France, and in the early ‘50s he finally moved there permanently. From then until his death in 1959, he recorded prolifically for the Vogue label, and these recordings (supported by young French acolytes like Claude Luter) may well be the finest he ever made. Although the French bands today sound quite “trad,” the records Bechet made with them were often much more up-to-date in material than the ones he made in the US at the same time, including some then-new pop songs like “It’s No Sin” and “That Old Black Magic.” It was in Paris during this time that Bechet realized a long-standing ambition to produce a classical work, a ballet entitled LA NUIT EST UNE SOCIERE, with a melodramatic book by André Coffrant about a murderous sleepwalker, his doomed lover, and the crafty valet who finally puts a stop to the violence. On its premiere, the work was not particularly well received, but it was full of wonderful music, some of which debuted on the album AMBIANCE BECHET on the Vogue label in 1953. This arrangement of the ballet's best-known theme makes the "dance" into a kind of tango, with new chords borrowed from Herbie Hancock. (Did you catch the little tribute to another of my heroes, the late Burt Bacharach?)

BECHET'S BIRTHDAY: Bechet was born on May 14th, 1897. He died -- on the same date -- 62 years later, in 1959. This tune reflects on the curiously ill-starred nature of birthdays, in a version of the style of jazz that had begun to sweep away Bechet's preferred idiom in Europe by the end of his life. It borrows bits and pieces from "Basement Blues" (recorded by Bechet with Noble Sissle in 1931) and "Blind Man Blues" from the 1923 Clarence Williams sessions.

ZOOT'S SOPRANO: When the great saxophonist Zoot Sims took up the soprano (and thus, the Bechet tradition) in the early 1970s, he named his horn "Sidney." This little ditty is a tribute to two geniuses of the instrument. But the main reason to listen is for my brother Frank's absolutely spectacular 5-string bass playing!

DEEP RIVER (DEAR OLD SOUTHLAND): "Deep River" is one of the most famous of all African-American spirituals. Adapted into a pop song ("Dear Old Southland") by Turner Layton and lyricist Henry Creamer in the early '20s, its significance for our story is the beloved version by the Noble Sissle group recorded in 1937, which begins with a staggering unaccompanied Bechet cadenza -- perhaps the most famous 10 seconds in the whole Bechet oevre. The Sissle recording is one of the times Bechet went toe-to-toe with Armstrong, whose 1930 pas-de-deux on the song with Earl Hines is one of his most touching and delicate performances. But countless versions of this elegiac melody exist, and one that particularly lingers in my memory is the one Grant Green recorded (but, inexplicably, didn't release) under its original title in 1962 during the session for his FEELIN' THE SPIRIT album. Here, the tune, basically unadorned, serves as a kind of overture to "side B."

A GREEN GAL CAN'T CATCH ON: A "down-home" blues from the 1923 Clarence Williams sessions, originally sung by the marvelous Sara Martin. At that stage in jazz's history, there was less of a distinction between jazz and blues, and artists like Martin and Williams freely moved between both idioms. On this track and "Zoot's Soprano," I'm helped out by my brother Frank, who contributes his wonderful five-string bass.

AS-TU LE CAFARD?: Bechet composed prolifically during his time in Paris. This modified blues was first released on the Vogue album ON PARADE in 1952, one of the most popular and frequently-reissued Bechet sides and, indeed, one of the most beloved of all European jazz recordings. (The same record features such other classics as "Le Marchand de Poissons," "Si Tu Vois Ma Mere," "Dans Les Rues D'Antibes," and "Patte de Mouche," all of which are integral to the suspenders-and-porkpie-hat-band repertoire.) I've never been to Paris, but this arrangement for 3 acoustic guitars is my imaginary version of French cafe music. The title is a Gallicism that can be roughly translated as “have you got the blues?”

WHEN THE SUN SETS DOWN SOUTH: Another piece recorded in 1938 with Noble Sissle's Swingsters -- albeit this time with "Pops" Bechet credited as leader -- this is a haunting minor-key melody composed (like "Viper Mad") by Bechet himself. Sometimes confused with its original b-side "Blackstick," the tune is treated here (like "Deep River") as a quick sketch for solo guitar and bass. I was thinking of the Liebman/Stowell version, which was in my headphones while my daughter was being born in spring 2022.

WHOOP MISS WOLF AWAY FROM MY DOOR: In the late 1940s, Bechet made many recordings for clarinetist Mezz Mezzrow's King Jazz label. These sides, which usually feature Bechet and Mezz trading blues choruses, haven't attained the classic status of Bechet's prewar or French recordings, but they are some of his most informal and uninhibited music. This rowdy blues, originally sung (and probably written) by Coot Grant, dates from those sessions. The song exists in many title variations, but I have gone with what Ms. Grant actually sings! My pal Pretzel joins in near the end of this exercise in vocal harmony (if it can be called that).

COLTRANE'S BLUES TO BECHET: The soprano saxophone was still a rare instrument in 1960, when John Coltrane debuted his astonishing new arrangement of "My Favorite Things." But he had evidently been thinking of "doubling" on the smaller horn as early as 1957, when he stopped by the Blue Note offices in search of Bechet records (and made the handshake agreement that led to the recording of BLUE TRAIN that autumn). The influence of Bechet on Coltrane's soprano style can be hard to discern, but there may be a connection through Johnny Hodges, one of Coltrane's key inspirations and a disciple of Bechet. In any case, when Coltrane recorded this blues in 1960, he (or a producer) named it "Blues to Bechet" -- the one meeting point between the two pillars of the instrument. (Of course, Steve Lacy, Wayne Shorter, and David Liebman all made vital contributions to the lore -- not to forget Zoot!) As for me, this arrangement is meant to gesture at one of the indirect routes by which I came to jazz in the first place, through records like Spacemen 3's DREAMWEAPON. Probably some listeners will find this irritating, but then again, that may be true for everything here!

LADY LUCK BLUES: We close where it all began, with another piece from the 1923 Williams sessions, an exquisite ballad sung by Mamie Smith and accompanied by the "Harlem Trio" of Williams, Bechet, and Buddy Christian on banjo. Smith was known as the "Queen of the Blues" when Bessie Smith (no relation) was still in obscurity. The construction of this song, however -- with its stage-style verse and 32-bar choruses -- points toward the vaudeville origins of both Smith and Williams. Bechet's opening break and mid-song solo are some of his most delicate and touching playing ever. I couldn't think of what to do with this one except just sing it as true as I could. I also hauled out the mandolin that I played at my wedding.

Thanks for listening! -AYH

SONGWRITING CREDITS:

"Summertime": G. Gershwin
"Viper Mad", "Girl's Dance", "As-tu le cafard?", "When the Sun Sets Down South": S. Bechet
"Deep River": traditional
"A Green Gal Can't Catch On": C. Williams/S. Martin
"Whoop Miss Wolf Away From My Door": C. Grant
"Blues to Bechet": J. Coltrane
"Lady Luck Blues": C. Williams/W. Webber
"Zoot's Soprano," "Bechet's Birthday": A. Y. Heisler (c) 2023

Aside from "Zoot's Soprano" and "Bechet's Birthday," all songs are assumed to now (2023) be in the public domain in Canada, where this album was recorded and released.