Working on the Victor Feldman chapter for my forthcoming Profiles in Jazz and Its Makers Volume 1″ –
Mike Hennessey in his insert notes to Dynavibes: The Jeff Hamilton Trio featuring Frits Landesbergen [Mons MR 874-794] comments that, Landesbergen, the excellent Dutch drummer who plays vibes on this album, “ … also has a high regard for the late Victor Feldman. He says: ‘Victor was a great, all-round musician who played piano, vibes and drums and who was a fine composer and arranger. I think his vibraphone playing was more advanced harmonically than most other players.”
Victor had one of the most astute harmonic minds in Jazz, a fact that would be exemplified in his ability to re-harmonize something as pedestrian as Basin Street Blues, as well as, to infuse interesting harmonies with advanced rhythmic structures to create tunes like Joshua and Seven Steps to Heaven.
Returning to my Keepnews interview, Orrin implied that Victor’s hiring by Cannonball validated him on the New York Jazz scene. For example, it made possible Victor’s own release on Riverside of Merry Olde Soul, as well as, his appearance on other Riverside album’s such as those by James Clay and Sam Jones, who even named one of his Riverside dates after Victor’s tune – “The Chant.” On this album, Victor shared principal arranging responsibility with Jimmy Heath.
The driving force behind much of this activity was Cannonball who had become a kind of ex officio A & R [artists and repertoire] man for Orrin at Cannonball. One of the reasons for Cannonball’s status in this regard according to Orrin was that, unlike many musicians, “Cannonball was extremely articulate and therefore able to express his ideas very clearly. Cannonball’s approval of Victor’s playing and his work gained for him instant acceptance with me and some of the giants of the music including Miles Davis who had tremendous respect for Cannon.”
Orrin further reflected that had Victor remained in the New York area, the natural course of events would have been such that he would have made a major mark on the Jazz scene. As it was, Miles Davis looked him up when he went to “the Coast” in 1963 and the result was the Seven Steps to Heaven album.
However, the rigors of traveling which impacted adversely on his recent marriage to Marilyn and their plans for a family [they would eventually bring three sons into the world] along with the monetary lure of the Hollywood studios proved too great and he returned to Los Angeles in 1961.