Victor Feldman
Jowett, Garth S.
was part of my initiation into jazz in the 50s.
Victor Stanley Feldman was born in England on 7/4/34. He was mainly
self-taught, and played his first gig on drums at the age of seven..he
was hailed as a prodigy in England at the time. He started to study
piano at nine, vibes at 14. He had his own trio when he was 8, guested
with the Glenn Miller band in 1944, when he was 11, and played with
Vic Lewis and Ted Heath. He won major awards as the tops vibes player
in England in the 40s and 50s, and came to the U.S. in 1955. He toured
with Woody Herman, and played with the Lighthouse AllStars, and then
settled in L.A. in the late 50s. He won the Downbeat Poll for New star
on vibes in 1958. He was in constant demand for studio work, and was a
brilliant musician according to everyone who worked with him. His two
albums on Contemporary in the 1950s are still favorites of mine, As
well as the work he did on Interlude. He was a favorite of Henry
Mancini, and was widely used on his recordings such as "Peter Gunn".
See Contemporary S7549 "The Arrival of Victor Feldman" with Feldman on
vbs and p; Scott La Faro , b; and Stan Levey d. Great album.
Contemporary C3541 "Suite Sixteen -- Big Band/Quartet/Septet" English
musicians...wonderful playing and arrangements, never been reissued as
far as I know. One of the rearest Contemporary albums.
The Victor Feldman All Stars "Soviet Jazz Themes" with Nat Adderly,
Harold Land, Jow Zawinul, Frank Butler, and Bob Whitlock. (Also
Carmell Jones and herb Ellis on side 2). Russian themes set to
jazz...again very inventive, swinging music..Ava AS 9.
"Latinsville" Contemporary S9005. With Conte Candoli, Frank Rosolinno,
Walter benton, ts; and authentic Afro=Cuban Rhythms...again, very
spirited, and some fine solos...
One of my favorites: "Together Again" with Shelley Manne, and Monty Budwig
(all now gone, alas), great straight ahead piano trio on Yupiteru
YJ25-7015. 1978.
Perhaps OJCs of the Feldman stuff will appear on CD soon. The
Contemporary catalog is far from exhausted.
I hope that this post causes RMB members to realize that Victor Feldman
was no "fly by night" musician.
Garth Jowett,
Houston.
Michael Palmer
>The problem with being "old" is that you have memories. Victor Feldman
>was part of my initiation into jazz in the 50s.
>Victor Stanley Feldman was born in England on 7/4/34. He was mainly
:Hi ! I can add a little to your V.F. story being also "old". Vic
started off in the public eye by appearing at his father's jazz club
called,not surprisingly,The Feldman Club at 100 Oxford Street,London.
This venue was still operating when I left England but had changed hands
many times. In the fifties Humphrey Lyttleton was resident. Vic became of
of the leaders of modern jazz in the fifties and my best memory of him
was in the all-star Ronnie Scott Band with Jimmie Deuchar,Tony Crombie,etc.
What a band. I guess there are records still around but I don't have any.
I think that Vic left for the States to miss out on being conscripted for
national service (I wasn't so fortunate) I remember reading about this in
the "Melody Maker" when it was a paper for musicians and fans. I seem to
recall his first job was with Woody Herman. He made heaps of records,one
of the best was with C'ball Adderley "Poll Winners" on Riverside with Wes
Montgomery. It was a tragedy that he died so young. He ruturned to
England several times and sat in with Ronnie Scott/Bennie Green's band at
a rehearsal room off Leicester Square at which I was present. Pity it was
never recorded. That day he played drums and Tony Crombie played piano.
Michael Palmer
(An *old* jazz fan)
Elliot E. Kallen
Let's not forget the Vee-Jay LPs "Love Me With All Your Heart","I Left
My Heart in San Francisco", and "It's a Wonderful World". While very
commercial, they still feature moments of Feldman brilliance. Better
still are the Pacific Jazz LPs, "Victor Feldman Plays Everything in
Sight" (appropriately titled, too), and especially "The Venezuela
Joropo", which shows off his exceptional latin-influenced chops. Also, I
recommend his Concord Jazz LP "The Artful Dodger" and his two
Direct-to-Disc records "In My Pocket" and "Secret of the Andes".
Throughout his career, Feldman was the definition of musical excellence and
taste.
-Elliot