Vinyl Magic

 Tommy Flanagan, John Coltrane and Me…

I like to play like a horn player, like I'm blowing into the piano. The sound of a piece – its overall tonality – is what concerns me.

               Tommy Flanagan

A great American pianist and composer, Tommy Flanagan was born in Detroit in 1930, and his early influences were Art Tatum, Nat King Cole, and Teddy Wilson. He moved to New York in 1956 and participated on two very important and seminal jazz recordings: Sonny Rollins' landmark Saxophone Colossus (1956) and John Coltrane's equally iconic Giant Steps (1960).

Tommy was very prolific and he recorded over thirty-five albums as a leader, and he played on over two-hundred as a sideman. He was also the music director and accompanist for Ella Fitzgerald (1962-65 and 1968-78) and Tony Bennett in 1966.I saw Tommy many times over the years and his trio was a regular at the Village Vanguard, the oldest and most famous jazz club in New York City, if not the world. One of the last times I saw Tommy was at the Jazz Standard in NYC. He was touring and showcasing his live release, Sunset And The Mockingbird (1997) recorded at the Vanguard. The title track is a gorgeous Duke Ellington ballad, rather obscure, but in Tommy's skilled hands, an exquisite masterpiece of Ellingtonia. It was nominated for a Grammy, one of five nominations which Tommy received in his storied career.

After the show, I went back stage to get some albums signed. Sitting with Tommy in his dressing room was Jimmy Heath, a renowned jazz saxophonist, composer and educator. I had seen Jimmy Heath many times and he was part of a very rich musical family: older brother Percy was a bassist for the Modern Jazz Quartet for forty years, and younger brother Albert “Tootie” Heath was an equally gifted drummer.

As Tommy signed the albums, he paused and looked carefully at Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. He loved Sonny and was glad to be part of such an important recording. I asked him about John Coltrane's Giant Steps. Tommy and Jimmy both laughed as Heath and Trane grew up in Philadelphia and were very close, Tommy said, "Shit man, everyone always asks me about Giant Steps. What was it like? What was Coltrane all about? Man, Trane had that shit all figured out long  before we got there. The record company told me to be at the studio at 2pm on a Tuesday and that's what I did. I showed up. Trane had it all figured out. We just played. It was just another gig for me and the rest of us."

So that's how one of the great jazz masterpieces was created? Tommy just showed up for the gig? I think Tommy was being exceedingly humble and gracious, but there's no doubt "Trane had that shit all figured out." Tommy laughed when he saw The Magnificent album cover. His eyes were slits. Maybe you had a cold, or allergies? I suggested. "Maybe I was on some bad shit," he laughed as he signed near his almost shut eyes.

Kenny Barron, a great jazz pianist, described Tommy Flanagan as his hero: "He became an influence and continued to be an influence till the day he died. And he still is."

A beautiful and loving tribute to a beautiful and elegant jazz pianist.