Saturday, November 7, 2015

Legendary producer Orrin Keepnews to be honored at a Memorial Concert @ Yoshi's, Nov 29



Orrin KeepnewsWhen Orrin Keepnews passed away at his El Cerrito home on March 1, the day before his 92nd birthday, he left behind an unparalleled legacy as a jazz producer, advocate, and entrepreneur. Keepnews's brilliant career spanned more than 60 years, during which time he founded three forward-thinking labels (Riverside, Milestone, Landmark) and produced hundreds of major jazz artists including Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, Cannonball Adderley, Flora Purim and Mulgrew Miller.
 
Several of the artists he worked closely with -- vocalist Wesla Whitfield, pianist Mike Greensill, saxophonist Dave Ellis, and Kronos Quartet -- are Bay Area-based and will be among the performers at the Orrin Keepnews Memorial Concert, scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday, November 29 (1:00-3:15pm) at Yoshi's in Oakland. Bassist John Wiitala and drummer Lorca Hart will round out the Dave Ellis-led "house band" for the occasion. Proceeds from the benefit concert are earmarked for the Orrin Keepnews Scholarship Fund at the California Jazz Conservatory.
 
Orrin Keepnews, Wesla Whitfield, Danny Kopelson, Mike Greensill"I met Orrin in the 'Washbag' [the legendary San Francisco watering hole] in 1984,' recalls Greensill. "I was playing saloon piano and had just finished a version of Cy Coleman's 'It Amazes Me' when I felt a tap on the shoulder and this guy says, 'I didn't know anybody still knew that song.' And so I met, and drank with, Orrin Keepnews, a man with impeccable taste in songs, singers, and saloons. We became friends and I introduced him to my wife Wesla Whitfield and the rest, as they say is history."

"Orrin Keepnews was a master record producer," says Whitfield, pictured at left with Keepnews, engineer Danny Kopelson, and Greensill. "His decision to sign me to his Landmark Records label was the beginning of a wonderful recording relationship that spanned 16 albums. Orrin loved the 'songbook' as much as he loved jazz. He once told me that it was Cannonball Adderley who introduced him to legendary cabaret singer Mabel Mercer."

"Orrin and I first met when we were both on a panel for the California Arts Council, after which he drove me home from Sacramento," says David Harrington, Kronos Quartet's violinist and artistic director. "What a fantastic drive that was -- Orrin introduced me to the life of Thelonious Monk in the most riveting way, with his detailed accounts of various recording sessions and intriguing stories. What a fabulous storyteller Orrin was and what a force in music! By the time he dropped me off at my home we had it figured out that Kronos would record an album of Monk's music for Orrin's new label Landmark Records. I felt almost like I was on a first-name basis with Thelonious Monk because of Orrin's vivid recollections. And so began our 31-year friendship . . . ."
Martha Egan, Orrin Keepnews, Wesla Whitfield
                (Martha Egan, Orrin Keepnews, Wesla Whitfield)

In addition to the musical performances by the above-named artists, other musician friends will be on hand for a jam session, and friends and family -- including Orrin's widow, Martha Egan, and his sons Peter and David Keepnews, flying in from New York City -- will offer commentary from the stage.
 
The Orrin Keepnews Memorial Concert
Sunday, November 29
1:00-3:15 pm (doors open at 12:30)
Yoshi's
510 Embarcadero West, Oakland
510-238-9200
Tickets$10 students, $25 advance/$30 at the door
Photo of Orrin with Grammy Award: R. Diamond/WireImage

San Francisco Chronicle obituary
New York Times obituary 
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R.I.P.: Orrin Keepnews
So sad to know about the passing of my friend Orrin Keepnewsyesterday. He would turn 92 today. I had the honor to produce reissues of many albums he produced, as well as to include Orrin's tracks in some of my compilations. All true jazz lovers know that he is one of the most important producers in the jazz history (IMHO, he, Norman Granz andCreed Taylor).

We all owe a great debt to Orrin for what he did at his Riverside label in the early 60s, by signing people like Wes MontgomeryBill Evans, andCannonball Adderley, and producing their first solo albums. He later sold Riverside to Fantasy Records, but founded a new label, Milestone, in 1966, signing people like Jim Hall and Lee Konitz. 

Once again, due to financial problems, he had to sold his trademark; and once again Fantasy got it (in '72). But they kept Orrin in creative control of Milestone, and soon it became one of the best jazz labes of the 70s, even signing the revolutionary Brazilian jazz vocalist Flora Purim in late '73 and producing the best six albums of her life (this photo below is from the "Open Your Eyes You Can Fly" sessions and shows Orrin sandwiched by Flora and Hermeto Pascoal, with George Duke and Airto on the back). 
(from left to right: Ndugu, Alphonso Johnson, Flora, Airto, Orrin, Duke, Hermeto; pic by Bruce Talamon, NOT used on the album)

He also signed Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner, Gary Bartz, OPA, Raul de Souza, Joe Henderson and many others. When Ron Carter left CTI, Orrin also got him, and formed the Milestone Jazzstars (with Ron, Tyner, Rollins and drummer Al Foster). In 1980, Orrin left Milestone, and created Landmark Records in 1985, which was distributed by...Fantasy! Among the main releases, were albums by Bobby Hutcherson, Kronos Quartet and the late Mulgrew Miller, to whom I was introduced by Orrin, back in 1987. Till some years ago, he continued to supervise (for Concord, who now owns the whole Fantasy catalog) many reissues of his albums. Respect & Love, Forever! 
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RIP: Orrin Keepnews
1953 grndeten die New Yorker Orrin Keepnews und Bill Grauer die Plattenfirma Riverside Records. Grauer, 1922 geboren, verantwortete die wirtschaftliche Seite, sein ein Jahr jngerer Freund Keepnews kmmerte sich als Produzent um die musikalischen Belange. Thelonious Monk war zwar nicht der erste Jazzmusiker, der von Riverside unter Vertrag genommen wurde. Doch die Alben, die der als kauzig und schrullig verrufene Pianist und Komponist zwischen 1955 und 1961 unter der Ägide von Keepnews im Studio aufgenommen hatte, begründeten den legendären Ruf dieses amerikanischen Jazz-Labels.

Auch wenn Monk mit der Idee, als erstes ein Album mit Duke-Ellington-Titeln aufzunehmen, nicht glcklich war, so war es dennoch ein geschickter Schachzug von Keepnews, weil er mit Plays Duke Ellington deutlich machte, was fr ein stilbildender Pianist Monk doch war. Und er konnte zeigen, dass er einen Riecher fr außergewöhnliche Jazzmusiker hatte. Den besaß er zum Beispiel auch, als er Julian Cannonball Adderley fr Riverside unter Vertrag nahm. Der Altsaxofonist war es dann, der ihm 1959 enthusiastisch den Gitarristen Wes Montgomery empfahl. Ich habe mich selbst immer als Katalysator verstanden, hat Keepnews einmal gesagt. Ich habe nie ein Instrument gespielt und fand heraus, dass genau dies meine Stärke als Produzent war. Mein Job war es, die bestmögliche Umgebung zu schaffen, in der Musiker sich verwirklichen konnten.

Sein Meisterstck machte Keepnews 1961. Auf zwei Riverside-LPs, Sunday At The Village Vanguard und Waltz For Debby, erschien der Livemitschnitt eines Konzerttages mit dem Bill Evans Trio im New Yorker Club Village Vanguard. Mit diesen LPs wurde die Besetzung Piano, Bass, Schlagzeug zur musikalischen Gattung - mehr noch: Diese setzten den Maßstab schlechthin für viele Jazz-Piano-Trios späterer Jahre. 1963 starb Bill Grauer unerwartet. Ein Jahr lang stemmte sich Keepnews gegen das Ende von Riverside. 1964 musste er aber aufgeben: Zu weit war der Spagat zwischen künstlerischem Anspruch und wirtschaftlicher Realität.

Aber Keepnews ließ sich nicht entmutigen. Zwei Mal sollte er noch Grnder von Plattenfirmen werden: 1966 von Milestone und 1980 von Landmark Records. Ab 1972 war er acht Jahre lang Head Of Artist & Repertoire fr das Label Fantasy Records, dem er zuvor die Kataloge von Riverside und Milestone verkauft hatte. Viermal bekam er einen Grammy, zuletzt 2004 den Trustees Award fr sein Lebenswerk. 2011 wurde er von der amerikanischen Stiftung National Endowment For The Arts zum NEA Jazz Master ernannt. Sein Name ist mittlerweile ein Gtesiegel: Unter dem Signet Orrin Keepnews Collection werden viele seiner Produktionen wiederveröffentlicht. Ein Tag vor seinem 92. Geburtstag, am 1. März, ist Keepnews im kalifornischen El Cerrito gestorben. Bereits 1962 schrieb der Pianist Bill Evans ein Stck zu Ehren seines Produzenten: Re: Person I Knew ist ein Anagramm des Namens Orrin Keepnews.

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