“New York does not relinquish its position as center of the arts in the United States when it comes to the one native American art form, jazz. Through the years, the New York scene has been rich in jazz of all different types and styles. Most of the important jazz recording is done here and countless musicians, neophytes and the more established, mark it as a personal triumph when they have appeared in clubs like the Half Note, Five Spot, Vanguard or Birdland. Harlem, while not the fertile territory it was in the Thirties and Forties, still is an active force with clubs like Basie’s and Smalls’ and the Apollo Theatre is once again featuring jazz shows between the weeks of rock n roll.
Although, as stated before, New York houses all types of jazz, one particular variety seems to be more representative of “the Apple” in the last fifteen years. In the mid-Forties, when it had really become a force in modern jazz, I was discussing the music of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie with a friend from Chicago. Jim said to me, “You know, when I got out of the Army and Come home, my friends had those records that Hawk (Coleman Hawkins) and Dizzy made together (Bu-Dee-Daht, Disorder At The Border, Woody ‘n You) and we didn’t call it Bop, we called it New York jazz.”
Of course, Bop was not formed solely in New York but it was here that its main exponents gathered, played and developed the style. The name New York jazz has never been applied in the sense that New Orleans, Chicago or Kansas City were to the music that emerged from their .environs during the course of jazz history but I feel it fits the playing which has been called Bop.
The bright, hard swing of the musicians carrying on the Parker-Gillespie tradition has been a strong contributing factor to the jazz of the New York area during the Fifties too. Among those playing in this general style are several cliques of musicians which, although they interchange at times, usually exist as separate, related entities.
During 1955, George Wallington led two different quintets in engagements at the Cafe Bohemia in Greenwich Village. The first of the two had Donald Byrd. Jackie McLean, Teddy Kotick and Arthur Taylor. Byrd and Kotick, also in the second group, were joined by Phil Woods. They can be heard in Jazz For The Carriage Trade (Prestige 70329). In the mid-Fifties, these musicians worked together quite a bit. Woods, Stabulas and Kotick made many gigs in the metropolitan area and for a time the latter two comprised the rhythm section for the George Wallington trio. In 1958, Phil, Nick and George were reunited in Wellington’s quartet at the New Orchid in Jackson Heights. Nick is still with the trio in 1959.
In Salah is a Mose Allison original which was originally recorded by its pianist-composer in a trio version on Prestige 7091. Its minor-keyed, neo Eastern flavor is vigorously swung with fluent solos by Woods, Byrd and Wallington. Chases between the horns and Stabulas lead back to the North African town which bears the title name.
” – Ira Gitler [written in 1957].