In A Mellow Tone
Wednesday February 28th, 2024 with Heavy Ben & Ian M
Black History Month spotlights on Al Tanner and Hilario Duran
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| Hour one - Heavy Ben
James Bronson's Touché record label was a private enterprise, run from home, and had scant budget for promotion or expansion. His slogan "Record companies don’t make music, musicians do" spoke volumes as to his respect for the artist. The Al Tanner LP 'Happiness Is... Takin' Care of Natural Business... Dig?' was the first of just 3 albums the label was to release over the following 20 years. For an ambitious musician with ideas of fame and fortune, the situation may have appeared far from acceptable, but pianist Al Tanner didn’t have such aspirations. He may have recorded an album for Bronson, but his ambition of living his life as a working musician was fulfilled – he was a professional until the day he died – and that of being a recording star wasn’t a part of it. He was much more inclined to be a gigging jazzman, and was well-known as such in and around the local Bay Area nightspots. He was also heavily involved in musical education, and could be found performing at countless local community events, schools and recreation centres. He rarely travelled outside of the area. With Bronson’s limited resources and Tanner’s reluctance to put himself through the mill of touring, it was perhaps inevitable that the album would garner little attention nationally, or even within the wider California region. As noted in a 1967 review of ‘Happiness is…’ published in Downbeat Magazine, "Apparently Tanner is accorded a considerable amount of respect in San Francisco, though he has no national reputation. This isn’t unusual. Many gifted jazzmen stay on their home base for years, playing well but attracting little attention, while other, sometimes less talented musicians gravitate to New York and make names for themselves". After the release of 'Happiness Is' in 1967, Tanner subsequently carried on as he had always done, playing the Bay Area clubs and community centers he had come to love. For leisure Tanner would often play chess, going head to head with various local musicians and their associates who shared interest in the game. Among this group was an aspiring guitarist and singer - William Daron Pulliam - who went by the name Darondo, a larger than life character who cruised around the city in a white Rolls-Royce, wearing the kind of flamboyant threads that would be more suited to a Las Vegas stage. Al Tanner also noted in Pulliam a rare talent for riffs. Darondo sang in an impressive rich tenor falsetto. Taking a marked departure from the instrumental jazz he specialized in, Tanner offered to lend his ear and experience to help refine Pulliam's rough ideas into full-fledged songs. 'Didn't I' is a high water mark of 1970s soul. Nevertheless, reasons notwithstanding for a lack of commercial success, Tanner found happiness in the music that he made throughout his career. "I would say it’s a spiritual thing. I find a lot of love for the piano, and a love for music. And I try and express myself on the piano as I love it. Jazz is a spirit to me, there’s a spiritual side of jazz and there’s a side of jazz where you playing a whole lot of notes and you’re trying to get so many notes in one bar. I like the feeling and the spirit and the groove. If the music don’t groove, the people don’t move." |
| Zaltanica The Al Tanner Quintet - Happiness Is... Takin' Care Of Natural Business... Dig?! - Touché, Jazzman - 1967, 2023 |
| The Magi The Al Tanner Quintet - Happiness Is... Takin' Care Of Natural Business... Dig?! - Touché, Jazzman - 1967, 2023 |
| Kuba! The Al Tanner Quintet - Happiness Is... Takin' Care Of Natural Business... Dig?! - Touché, Jazzman - 1967, 2023 |
| Poor Me The Al Tanner Quintet - Happiness Is... Takin' Care Of Natural Business... Dig?! - Touché, Jazzman - 1967, 2023 |
| Bronson's Blues The Al Tanner Quintet - Happiness Is... Takin' Care Of Natural Business... Dig?! - Touché, Jazzman - 1967, 2023 |
| Rolon's Groove The Al Tanner Quintet - Happiness Is... Takin' Care Of Natural Business... Dig?! - Touché, Jazzman - 1967, 2023 |
| Didn't I Darondo - 7" - Music City, Luv N' Haight - 1973, 2006 |
| Won't Your Love So Bad / I Want Your Love So Bad Darondo Pulliam - 7" - Ocampo Records, Luv N' Haight - 1973, 2006 |
| La Samba Al Tanner - Jazz Tour De Force (Original Bay Area Hard Bop 1993) - Bassinlet Music Publishing |
| Lobby Lizards The Al Tanner Trio - 7" - Touché, Jazzman - 1967, 2023 |
| Hour two - Ian M
Hilario Duran, 70 years old, was born in Havana. In the 1970s he formed Los D'Siempre, which melded traditional Cuban elements with those of modern jazz. He joined Arturo Sandoval's band from 1981 to 1990. He also worked with Dizzy Gillespie's United Nation Orchestra and Michel Legrand. He formed a new group, Perspectiva, in 1990, and toured Central America and Europe. In 1998, he emigrated to Canada. He has received multiple Grammy and Juno nominations, winning the Juno for New Danzon and From The Heart. His latest album, Cry Me A River, was nominated for both a Grammy and a Juno. |
| Lush Life Hilario Duran - Francisco's Song - Justin Time, 1996 
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| Body and Soul Hilario Duran and David Virelles - Front Street Duets - Alma Records, 2022
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| Esperando la carozza Hilario Duran - Francisco's Song - Justin Time, 1996
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| Hot House Hilario Duran - Francisco's Song - Justin Time, 1996
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| Havana City Hilario Duran and Perspectiva - Encuentro en la Habana - Alma Records, 2006
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| Alfredo's Mood Hilario Duran and the Cuban All Stars - Killer Tumbao - Justin Time, 1997
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| Longina Hilario Duran and the Cuban All Stars - Killer Tumbao - Justin Time, 1997
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| El Manisero Hilario Duran Trio - New Danzon - Alma Records, 2004
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| Yemaya Olodo Hilario Duran Trio - New Danzon - Alma Records, 2004
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| From the Heart Hilario Duran and His Latin Jazz Big Band - From the Heart - Alma Records, 2006
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| Fantasia Impromptu Hilario Duran and His Latin Jazz Big Band - Cry Me A River - Alma Records, 2023
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What?! Really? I honestly never thought about this - I didn't realize that teeth are needed to play sax. Looking forward to the show. Thanks!
9:04 PM, February 28th, 2024