Watch saxophone great Paul Desmond perform with Ed Bickert, Don Thompson and Jerry Fuller on Take 30 with hosts Paul Soles and Mary Lou Finlay.
Paul Desmond with Ed Bickert, Don Thompson & Jerry Fuller on Take 30
Shot for CBC-TV's long-running news and entertainment program Take 30 in the fall of 1975, this rare performance and interview footage of alto saxophonist Paul Desmond – who composed the jazz standard "Take Five" while a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and played the unforgettable saxophone part on the band's classic 1959 recording for the album of the same name – features an all-star support cast of Toronto-based musicians, including guitarist Ed Bickert, bassist Don Thompson and drummer Jerry Fuller.
Not only is the clip a rare CBC-TV document of Canadian jazz aces at their peak, it's also historically important for capturing Desmond in action, commanding as ever, less than two years prior to his death from lung cancer on May 30, 1977 at the age of 52. Desmond, who was a chain-smoker and known to enjoy a tipple as well, maintained his famously dry sense of humour even in the darkest moments. Upon receiving his terminal diagnosis, Desmond responded that he was delighted to hear that his liver was in tip-top condition. Unfortunately, the footage isn't the best quality but until the CBC does a proper release of the Take 30 broadcast from '75, a rough video transfer will have to suffice.
Check out Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer Stu Davis singing "Broken Love" recorded with the Adlibs in 1959.
Here's the scoop...
Although a mostly forgotten figure today, popular Canuck country & western performer Stu Davis – born David Stewart in Boggy Creek, Saskatchewan (near Regina) in 1921 – was ubiquitous on radio during the late 40s and on numerous CBC programs through the 50s and 60s. The man who came to be known as "Canada's Cowboy Troubadour" began his singing career with his brother Fred as the Harmony Boys on Regina's CKCK in 1939 before a stint in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
After the war, Davis settled in Calgary and found a new broadcasting home at CFCN. A few of his recordings were released Stateside by the Chicago-based Sonora label in September 1946 but none of the four 78s created much of a buzz for Stu Davis and the Northwesters. However, Davis suddenly became a much hotter commodity when an Eddy Arnold cover of his tune "What A Fool I Was" hit big and went on to become one of the biggest selling country songs of 1948. Unfortunately for Sonora, by then their contract with Davis had lapsed and Davis took up with RCA Victor. He subsequently played the National Barn Dance in Chicago and even made it to the hallowed stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
Other country music hotshots including Ray Price, Hank Snow and Wilf Carter also cut versions of some of the 300 songs Davis wrote but by the late 50s, Davis was already an anachronism. The younger record-buying public were more interested in hearing uptempo rock 'n' roll than lovelorn ballads crooned by lonesome cowpokes. In an attempt to reach the new audience in 1959, he tried changing things up with a song called "Broken Love," backed by a vocal group called the Adlibs. Have a listen below.
"Broken Love, a ballad written, arranged and vocalized by local talents, may hold new horizons for the group if its recording by a New York firm clicks. CBC stagehand Don Tomiuk penned the song in collaboration with Elmer Sexsmith and pianist George Reznik a year ago. Now put to the beat of rock n’ roll, the new version will be premiered by Stu Davis on next week’s Saddle Songs. Davis and a vocal group made the recording for London Records of Montreal a month ago and from there it went to New York. The boys, who are working on other songs, report this may be the door-opener for them." – Carole Kowalson – Winnipeg Tribune, January 16, 1959
Unfortunately, despite the positive publicity, "Broken Love" didn't click for Davis. On the upside, the CBC decided to commission Davis to compose and perform a song to welcome Queen Elizabeth II for her royal visit to the Calgary Stampede that year which he considered a career highlight. Watch The Queen Stampede's Canada right here. Davis continued on as the singing host of Red River Jamboree (which ran on CBC-TV from 1960 to 1965) followed by a 13-episode CBC-TV documentary series Trail-Riding Troubadour. Sadly, none of the footage of Davis shot by the CBC over the years has been made available for viewing since it originally aired.
Davis continued recording and releasing albums on London (15 LPs in all), Dominion in 1971 and as his 70s alter-ego "Johnny Canuck" for Birchmount in 1975. In 1993, Davis was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame He passed away on March 25, 2007 at the age of 85, better known to country music fans in the UK and Europe than at home in Canada where his recordings remain out of print.
Sadly, versatile trumpeter Guido Basso – who recorded with the Boss Brass, Jackie Mittoo, Lee Gagnon and Diana Panton – has passed away at the age of 85.
That's the first question many people ask upon discovering that Funkadelic's fourth release America Eats It's Young was largely recorded in Toronto by George Clinton and company while residing in the Big Smoke. Yes, after the 1971 release of Maggot Brain, Clinton and much of his P-Funk posse moved the base of their operations from Detroit to Toronto which would have a significant impact on the sprawling double album America Eats It's Young and alter their consciousness in strange and unexpected ways. You have to wonder what would inspire songs like Miss Lucifer's Love and A Joyful Process.
Toronto journalist and DJ David Dacks explores what the members of Funkadelic were up to 40 years ago while residing in Toronto The Good in his new audio documentary Funk Getting Ready To Roll, featuring interviews with George Clinton, Bernie Worrell, Frank "Kash{ Waddy, Cordell "Boogie" Mosson, Prakash John and others. Funk Getting Ready To Roll will air on CBC Radio 2 as part of Inside The Music onSunday, August 12 at 3 pm (EST) and again on CBC Radio 1 at 9 pm (EST). Check out the teaser clip below.
Incidentally, selecta David Dacks will be spinning as part of the Ghostlight and Eucalyptus double bill at Magpie (831 Dundas St. West) on Wednesday (July 25) starting at 9 pm.
Here's the Funk Getting Ready To Roll teaser clip:
