Switching it up a bit this weekend with a 1930s remote from the legendary Earl “Fatha” Hines, recorded at The Grand Terrace in Chicago on August 3, 1938 by NBC Radio.
Earl Fatha Hines was one of those artists whose presence and message carried over well into the small group era of the 1950s from his initial milestone work in the 1920s.
Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, “one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz”.
The trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie (a member of Hines’s big band, along with Charlie Parker) wrote,
“The piano is the basis of modern harmony. This little guy came out of Chicago, Earl Hines. He changed the style of the piano. You can find the roots of Bud Powell, Herbie Hancock, all the guys who came after that. If it hadn’t been for Earl Hines blazing the path for the next generation to come, it’s no telling where or how they would be playing now. There were individual variations but the style of … the modern piano came from Earl Hines.”
The pianist Lennie Tristano said, “Earl Hines is the only one of us capable of creating real jazz and real swing when playing all alone.” Horace Silver said, “He has a completely unique style. No one can get that sound, no other pianist.” Erroll Garner said, “When you talk about greatness, you talk about Art Tatum and Earl Hines.” Count Basie said that Hines was “the greatest piano player in the world”.
From all the accolades, there is no doubt the status Earl Fatha Hines achieved during his career. But to get an idea what he was doing during the Swing era, this remote from 1938 gives some indication what the fuss was all about.
All the more reason to sit back, relax and press Play – it’s Sunday, after all.
Dig in.
