Terry Waldo, who is now 80, has been a very busy and major classic jazz pianist and bandleader since the mid-1960s, several years before he met and began studying with Eubie Blake. He has produced shows both on stage and for television, authored the influential book This Is Ragtime (which grew out of his 26-part NPR series), and early on led the Gutbucket Syncopators. Since 1984 his main group has been known as the Gotham City Band.
Treasury Volume 1, the first of three scheduled releases, features Waldo and the 2022 edition of his Gotham City Band. The group is comprised of Waldo, trumpeter Mike Davis, trombonist Jim Fryer, clarinetist Ricky Alexander, Arnt Arntzen, Nick Russo or Jerron Paxton, on banjo, bassist Brian Nalepka, and drummer Jay Lepley with one appearance apiece by tenor-saxophonist Colin Hancock and bass saxophonist Jay Rattman. Paxton has two vocals including a version of “Bill Bailey” that happily includes the all-too-often overlooked verse, and there is one from Tatiana Eva-Marie on “I Get The Blues When It Rains.” The band features inventive solos and colorful ensembles that would fit very well into the 1929 period. Among the highlights are “Blame It On The Blues” (which puts the spotlight on Alexander’s Bechet-inspired clarinet), “Wolverine Blues,” and “Tiger Rag”; check out Waldo’s roaring tiger on the latter. Mike Davis’ playing, which ranges from Freddie Keppard to Bix Beiderbecke/Red Nichols throughout the set, is a particular joy.
The last two songs have slightly different lineups. “After You’ve Gone” is from a 2018 session that has the same personnel except for Evan Arntzen being on clarinet. It features superior singing (at two different tempos) from Veronica Swift. “Maple Leaf Rag” purposely uses primitive recording equipment, features a different lineup of musicians (Colin Hancock on cornet, trombonist Sam Chess, clarinetist Dennis Lichtman, Paxton, and Waldo) and could almost pass for a vintage record by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings circa 1923.
As for Terry Waldo, his mastery of the early piano styles makes every recording he has made through the years, which numbers around 40, easily recommended to anyone interested in classic jazz. One greatly looks forward to the next two volumes in his Treasury series.
Treasury Volume 1
Terry Waldo & the Gotham Jazz Band
Turtle Bay TBR 24005
www.turtlebayrecords.com
Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings.
Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.
