This blog is all about classic rock, pop, and soul songs, primarily from the 1960s and 1970s, but every now and then I like to shake things up and feature a track from a different genre. Today is one of those days.
When you think big band music, most people typically think of the swing music of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and other bands from the 1930s and 1940s. Post-WWII, big bands began to wane in favor of smaller combos and ultimately the rock groups of the 1960s and beyond. But the 1960s and 1970s also saw a resurgence in big band music, not as dance music (like swing was back in its day) but rather as energetic, sophisticated jazz for discerning listeners.
That resurgence was kicked off, IMHO, by Buddy Rich, followed closely by the bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, and Don Ellis. (Count Basie was always there, of course.) After years of working as a (well-paid) sideman for Harry James and other waning big bands, Buddy got some funding from his pal Frank Sinatra and formed a new band in 1966. This new band made its debut on 1966’s Swingin’ New Big Band album and attracted national attention at concerts, jazz festivals, and a lot of appearances at high schools and colleges. Buddy also made a ton of television appearances, most notably with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, both by himself (he was a definite personality) and with his band.
That Swingin’ New Big Band album, along with follow ups like 1967’s Big Swing Face, 1968’s Mercy, Mercy, and 1970’s Keep the Customer Satisfied, revitalized big band jazz for a new generation and inspired legions of younger jazz musicians. Buddy was a dynamic drummer, perhaps the most talented drummer who ever lived, and he brought a fire to the big band genre that was both exciting and modern.
Today’s classic song of the day may be the pinnacle of Buddy’s modern big band recording. The tune is “Channel One Suite” and it first appeared on 1968’s Mercy, Mercy album. On that album it appears as an almost 13-minute version recorded live at Caesar’s Palace. The long tenor sax solo and cadenza in the middle was played by the great Don Menza; the shorter alto solo near the end was by Art Pepper. Buddy, of course, played one of the most incredible drum solos on record, and drove the band like a hellcat throughout.
“Channel One Suite” was written and arranged by Bill Reddie, based on his work with a musical production at the Dunes casino in Las Vegas. The story goes that the Dunes had a production with a giant robotic octopus on stage—surrounded by half-naked dancers, of course—that was always breaking down. The machine was controlled remotely on the sound system’s channel one, hence the name.
Buddy’s swingin’ new band first started playing “Channel One Suite” in January of 1968, as recalled by Pat LaBarbera, who was playing sax with Buddy’s band at the time:
“The first rehearsal was in January 1968 in the lounge at The Sands hotel where we were on a double bill with Frankie Randall who was the headliner. My brother Joe was the drummer with Frankie so he had to play Buddy’s drums as they were set up no moving them. Buddy asked Joe to make the daytime rehearsal for some charts so Joe was the first one to play “Channel One.” After Buddy heard it he moved Joe off the drums and played it like he had been playing it for years. Somewhere I have cassette tapes from that day. We played it for a year before recording it.”
If you’re listening to “Channel One Suite” for the first time, note that it is actually a suite in three sections. There’s a fast opening section that then segues into a slower middle section, complete with tenor sax solo. That then moves into the faster final section, which is capped off by an extended drum solo by Mr. Rich.
For your edification, the personnel on this recording of “Channel One Suite” included Al Porcino, David Culp, Kenneth Faulk, and Bill Prince on trumpets; Jim Trimble, Rick Stepton, and Peter Graves on trombones; Charles Owens and the great Art Pepper on alto saxes; LaBarbera and Don Menza on tenors; John Laws on bari sax; Joe Azarello on piano; Walter Namuth on guitar; and Gary Walters on bass.
I can’t think of any big band recording that tops “Channel One Suite.” There are some other outstanding arrangements (of which Buddy’s version of “West Side Story,” also by Bill Reddie, must be mentioned), but “Channel One Suite” has it all. It gets your heart pounding and your blood flowing then, after a bit of a breather in the middle section, kicks it up another notch or two at the end. It is terrific.
The classic modern era of big bands coincided neatly with my years in junior high and high school. That was a time when your high school big band could go to a weekend-long jazz festival, typically at a nearby college, play for competition, then hear a concert by a major big band in the evening. The big big bands also did a lot of regular concerts back then, so an eager jazz lover had plenty of opportunity to hear the best bands of the day.
(Not coincidentally, I played drums for three years in my high school’s big band, although we never attempted any Buddy Rich charts. That’s me on drums in the picture below.)
I had the opportunity to hear Buddy Rich and his band twice when I was in high school, both times at the Beef & Boards dinner theater in Indianapolis. I distinctly remember one of those concerts where my friends and I were seated right next to Buddy himself, at a table next to Buddy’s two large toms. (He only used the second one to hold his water and towel, of course.) The man was a force of nature. I still lust over his Slingerland kit from era and listen to all his ’60s and ’70s albums today.
Buddy kept playing “Channel One Suite” in concert for his entire career. For today’s daily bonus video of the day, here’s a particularly epic 23-minute version of the chart from his band at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland on July 15, 1978. It is incredible. That’s the mucho talented Steve Marcus playing the tenor solo this time around. The complete band included Mike McGovern, Chuck Schmidt, Mark Ohlsen, and John Marshall on trumpets; Glenn Franke, Dale Kirkland, and George Moran on trombones; Steve Marcus, Andy Fusco, Chuck Wilson, Gary Pribek, and Greg Smith on saxes; Bob Kaye on piano; and Tom Warrington on bass. Plus the legendary Buddy Rich on drums, of course, this time around playing a Ludwig kit. Wow.
