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photo of Bob Zieff via Blue Sounds Records
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The Well-Kept Secret of Composer Bob Zieff’s Chamber Jazz
An Essay & Playlist
by Bob Hecht
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…..Jazz can be a cruel and unfaithful mistress. Countless talented musicians and composers have been kicked to the curb, their genius and bodies of work — whether small or large — betrayed by the fickleness of passing trends and the harsh realities of profit-driven recording companies. Such a victim, though by all accounts he never saw himself as such, was composer Bob Zieff.
…..In late March of this year, Zieff died at the age of 98. He left a small but brilliant recorded legacy, a mere eighteen compositions, the most famous versions having been made seven decades ago, in 1955-57. During the fifties and sixties, Zieff was highly regarded within the circle of advanced composers in jazz. He famously was co-orchestrator and co-producer for Gil Evans’ monumental Out of the Cool album.
…..Chet Baker adored Zieff’s music “I found Bob Zieff’s music a delight,” Chet was quoted as saying. “Every line and harmony was different to the next, never going the way you thought it would, but somehow complete, logical and unique.” * Among musicians, Zieff’s compositions were sometimes considered on the same high level as Brubeck’s Octet sessions and Davis’ Nonet recordings.
…..Baker would never have known of Zieff’s music had it not been for the brilliant young but ill-fated pianist Dick Twardzik, who knew and studied with Zieff back in Boston. When Baker hired Twardzik for his first European tour in 1955, the young man, just 24, carried Zieff’s charts with him on the Isle de France sailing to Paris, and recorded them there not long before he died of an overdose (that Europe heroin was reportedly a lot stronger than the Boston boy was accustomed to.)
…..Later Chet left the charts in a taxi somewhere and they were never recovered. But lucky for us, marvelous recordings were made in Paris, Chet playing extremely well and Dick leading the sessions and soloing and interpreting the music beautifully at the piano.
…..Composer Zieff was delighted by the success of the recording session in Paris. “He (Dick) and Chet were more than extraordinary in both the interpretation of the parts and in the improvisations,” he said. *
…..Issued on Dick Bock’s Pacific Jazz label, the album, Chet in Paris, Volume 1, received little promotion, reportedly the result of Bock not fully appreciating the uniqueness of the music, as well as feeling it wasn’t commercially viable. Consequently, these quiet chamber jazz pieces dropped like a stone in a pond and have mostly rested there on the bottom ever since. That is not to say, however, that they are not significant works that should receive more attention, even at this late date.
…..Matthew Ruddick, the author of the voluminous biography, Funny Valentine: The Story of Chet Baker, has offered the highest praise for that handful of Paris recordings with Baker and Twardzik playing Zieff’s compositions. “I would go as far as to suggest,” he has written, “that the album recorded with Dick Twardzik in Paris ranks amongst his finest achievements in a recording career that spanned thirty-five years, and included almost two hundred recordings.” *
…..Differing significantly from the bulk of Baker’s recorded output, which predominantly featured standard tunes and a handful of bop and post-bop compositions, these recordings may surprise the listener unfamiliar with this aspect of Baker’s artistry.
…..“In Bob Zieff,” wrote author Ruddick, “ he had found a composer of intricate, eloquent, original music that challenged the listener, and inspired him as a musician. And in Dick Twardzik, he had found the perfect partner from a musical perspective; a fine soloist and composer, but just as importantly, someone who was prepared to push him beyond his comfort zone: a pianist that approached harmonies from a less intuitive, more intellectual perspective, and constantly surprised Baker with his invention.” *
…..For the Paris sessions, the personnel included Baker, Twardzik, Jimmy Bond (bass) and Peter Littman (drums). Eight Zieff pieces were recorded by that band. Following Twardzik’s death, Baker recorded six more Zieff pieces, in 1956-57, with a chamber-like ensemble made up of Baker, Jimmy Buffington (French horn), Bob Tricarico (bassoon), Gene Allen (bass clarinet), Seymour Barab (cello), and Russ Savages (bass), the session conducted by the composer. In between, in 1956 in New York, Zieff arranged and conducted three more of his pieces in a group led by Anthony Ortega (alto, flute and clarinet), Art Farmer (trumpet), Dick Wetmore (violin), Biffington (French horn), Dick Hafer (bass clarinet), Bob Tricario (bassoon), and Ahmed Abdul-Malik (bass). Also included in the playlist is the Zieff composition “Shiftful,” recorded by Fredrik Carlquist (tenor), Michele Fabor (piano), Curro Galvez (bass) and Enrique Hereria (drums), in 2015.
….. Zieff reportedly continued to arrange and compose during the rest of his long life, though there is no recorded evidence of that. He considered himself an “underground composer,” relishing his non-conformist spirit. He hosted a long-running show, Jazz Pathways, on WDCV-FM, from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and often expressed his critical views of mainstream music. “If you want to know what’s bad,” he once said, “listen to what’s popular.”
…..The following playlist covers the various Baker recordings of Zieff’s works, as well as the three Anthony Ortega sessions.
* quotations from Funny Valentine: The Story of Chet Baker by Matthew Ruddick
For more information about Dick Twardzik, see Jack Chambers’ biography, Bouncin’ with Bartok
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Bob Hecht frequently contributes his essays, photographs, interviews, playlists and personal stories to Jerry Jazz Musician. He has a long history of producing and hosting jazz radio programs; his former podcast series, The Joys of Jazz, was the 2019 Silver Medal winner in the New York Festivals Radio Awards. In addition, he is a widely published fine art photographer, whose work has appeared multiple times in The Sun, LensWork, Black & White Magazine, Zyzzyva and other periodicals, as well as in the book, Dream of Venice in Black & White, published by Bella Figuera Publications. He lives with his wife in Portland, Oregon.
Bob recently published a new book, Haiku Eye, comprised of 65 of his color photographs, each accompanied by one of his original haiku poems. Click here for information about the book.
His photo website is roberthecht.com
Instagram: @roberthechtphotography2.0
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Click here to read about his book, Stolen Moments: A Photographer’s Personal Journey
Click here to read “Two Jazz Survivors,” his reflection on his personal friendship with Sheila Jordan
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In addition to putting together great playlists, Bob has conducted several fine interviews for Jerry Jazz Musician.
Click here to read Two of a Mind: Conversations on Creative Collaboration, featuring Bill Charlap and Sandy Stewart; Click here to read his interview with Pepper Adams biographer Gary Carner. Click here to read “Life in E Flat” – a conversation about Phil Woods – with pianist Bill Charlap and jazz journalist Ted Panken, and click here to read his interview with Alyn Shipton, author of The Gerry Mulligan 1950’s Quartets.
Click here to view all playlists published on Jerry Jazz Musician
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Other essays published on Jerry Jazz Musician
“La Fontaine,” Ashlee Trahan’s winning story in the 72nd Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest
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