Phil Schaap: The Singular Collective Memory of Jazz
Aug 24 '01
The Bottom Line Check out Phil Schaap on WKCR Radio or at their web site: www.WKCR.org
I got to this topic by clicking on a button that said, “Jazz Music Background Information.” Then, somehow I got dumped into a review of Major Performers in Jazz Music. Remembering who the Major Performers in Jazz are is important an important thing... but it would be a lot harder if we didn’t have Phil Schaap.
Phil Schaap, also known as the “Dean of Jazz” is a major jazz historian. He has reasserted and researched countless recordings for Polygram Records, including the Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker box sets. He won three Grammys for these box sets. Schaap is considered a leading scholar of Charlie Parker’s work.
I guess you could also say that Schaap is a performer of sorts. He hosts several radio shows on WKCR (Columbia University Radio Station in NYC) where he continues to educate listeners and students during his programs "Out to Lunch," "Traditions in Swing," and "Birdflight," his forum for scholarship on Charlie Parker. I’m lucky enough to live within earshot of WKCR and I’m a regular listener.
Phil Schaap is a unique and gifted expert. He began collecting jazz records at the age of 6 by buying used 78's from Triboro Records in Queens, where he was born and raised. As a sophomore at Columbia and only 19 years old, he was hired by the university as a guest lecturer. Today he also continues to spread the sound of jazz in his teaching at Princeton and Rutgers.
Schaap has rescued and preserved numerous artifacts and musical segments. He has been instrumental in saving the recordings of Dean Benedetti. He was a saxophone player and amateur recordist who was so impressed with Charlie Parker he asked the musician if he could record his sets. Benedetti started the machine when Bird was soloing, and stopped it as soon as the solo was over. Benedetti used a mike, placed right in front of Bird's instrument. Except for bass directly behind Bird, little else was captured on the disc.
I enjoy listening to Phil Schaap on the radio. His unique, dry style and attention to minuet details is fascinating. Not only does he play wonderful music, but he also uses his radio shows as a forum for education. He will often play multiple takes of a song, pointing out the unique features of each version and comparing and contrasting their musical virtues. Sometimes he will just play a few bars of piece over and over so we can hear a musical technique or style. In addition to the music itself, he collects information surrounding the history of the music, the making of the music, and the lives of the people involved. His discussions of the music include the historical events that created the music.
Phil also has a wonderful talent for interviewing music giants and the people around them. I have listened to hours and hours of interviews with Doris Parker (Charlie’s first wife) as they discuss Charlie, his music, and his contemporary music scene.
I highly recommend the entertaining and educational radio shows of Phil Schaap to anyone who loves Jazz, loves music in general, or even just loves history. If you live in the New York area, you can hear WKCR on the radio. But anyone can listen to the wonderful programming offered by WKCR by accessing their web site at:
http://www.wkcr.org/
Here is a brief description of Phil Schaap’s shows taken from the WKCR web site:
Traditions in Swing
Saturday, 6pm - 9pm
Hosted for 30 thirty years by Phil Schaap, this award-winning Saturday night staple presents focused thematic programs dealing with jazz up until about World War II. Schaap presents the music, much of it incredibly rare, from the best sound source, which is often the original 78 issue.
Bird Flight
Weekdays, 8:20am - 9:30am
For several decades now, the music of Charlie Parker has been heard on WKCR every weekday morning at 8:20am. Charlie Parker expert Phil Schaap is the host, and presents in-depth explorations of Bird's music from a variety of standpoints.
Here is a sampling of the over 120 recordings Phil Schaap has contributed to in the capacity of Digital Mastering, Liner Notes, Producer, Remastering, Compilation Research, Reissue Producer, Restoration, and / or Transfers:
Sketches of Spain
Miles Davis
Released Sep 23 1997
Ella and Louis
Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong
Released Mar 7 2000
Weary Blues
Charles Mingus
Released Jul 1 1991
The Best of the SongbooksElla FitzgeraldReleased Sep 21 1993
Porgy and Bess
Miles Davis
Released Mar 25 1997
The Complete Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife
Ella Fitzgerald
Released Aug 17 1993
The Complete Birth of the Cool [Blue Note]
Miles Davis
Released May 19 1998
Lady Sings the Blues
Billie Holiday
Released Mar 21 1995
Love Songs: Best of the Songbooks
Ella Fitzgerald
Released Jun 18 1996
The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings [Columbia/Legacy]Louis ArmstrongReleased Aug 22 2000
Jazz 'Round Midnight: Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Released Mar 19 1991
First Issue: Great American Songbook
Billie Holiday
Released Jun 21 1994
Bird: Complete on Verve
Charlie Parker
Released Oct 25 1990
Diz and Getz
Dizzy Gillespie
Released Jun 19 2001
Getz/Gilberto #2
Stan Getz
Released Oct 12 1993
Billie's Best
Billie Holiday
Released Sep 22 1992
The Original Mambo Kings
The Original Mambo Kings
Released Feb 23 1993
The Irving Berlin Songbook
Fred Astaire
Released Feb 5 1991
Live at the Apollo [1963]
James Brown
Released May 18 1990
Sings the Rodgers & Hart Song Book, Vols. 1-2
Ella Fitzgerald
Released May 20 1997
The Billie Holiday Story, Vol. 5: Music for Torching
Billie Holiday
Released May 23 1995
Cuban Blues: The Chico O'Farrill Sessions
Chico O'Farrill
Released Nov 5 1996
Ella in Rome: The Birthday Concert
Ella Fitzgerald
Released Oct 25 1990
Miles Ahead
Miles Davis
Released Sep 23 1997
Lady in Satin
Billie Holiday
Released Sep 23 1997
Solo: Live in New York
Chucho Valdés
Released Feb 13 2001
Bird and Diz
Charlie Parker
Released Jul 29 1997
Pete Fountain Presents the Best of Dixieland
Louis Armstrong
Released Jan 23 2001
The First Lady of Song [Box]
Ella Fitzgerald
Released Apr 20 1993
The Complete Gershwin Songbooks
Released Oct 24 1995
The Leprechaun
Chick Corea
Released Oct 12 1993
Max Roach Plus Four
Max Roach
Released Feb 9 1993
Gerry Mulligan & Paul Desmond Quartet
Gerry Mulligan
Released Nov 16 1993
Hamp and Getz
Lionel Hampton
Released Oct 25 1990
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