If names like Charlie Parker, Wild Bill Davison, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Chet Baker, Benny Golson, Bix Beiderbecke, Charlie Patton, Louis and Duke are familiar”even fascinating”to you …
If the rompin’, stompin’, ricky-tick sound of the first jazz recording (“Tiger Rag,” 1917) by the Original Dixieland Jass Band still pokes you in the sweetbreads …
If you can dial that down and kick back to June Christie’s “Something Cool” with Stan Kenton …
Then you may be a good match for an ongoing number of weekly listening sessions starting tomorrow, March 24 and continuing every Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Brookfield Village Hall, 8820 Brookfield Ave.
It’s called the Brookfield Jazz and Blues Appreciation Society, and it’s the brainchild of local resident Ian Tiele, who began such a club in England 26 years ago that still thrives. Tiele has been a jazz and blues collector since the late 1960s.
“I think it all started with Dave Brubeck’s monster hit classic, ‘Take Five.’ I got myself grabbed good by that tune, and everything that followed kept sounding almost as good or better,” Tiele said.
He found that song so infectious that it wasn’t long until he had assembled an eclectic collection of perennials, new stuff and “seldom-heards,” both blues and jazz. Today, Tiele is the caretaker of some 3,000 recordings”CDs, tapes, LPs, even old 78s. He estimates he owns about a hundred albums of Bill Evans and Miles Davis alone. Though he adores jazz and blues, when pressed he also admits an affinity for classical music.
He has followed jazz from the Nice Festival in France where he met Brubeck, Woody Herman and Shelly Manne, to Ronnie Scott’s famous jazz club in London. There, he caught the incomparable James Moody. Disappointed at not hearing the sax man play the flute, Tiele made a request, and Moody responded with an extended flute solo on “Here Comes That Rainy Day.”
“It was a lovely moment,” reminisced Tiele. “Jazz m usicians are usually very accommodating; so is jazz.”
This Englishman is so daft on the stuff that he popped the question to his wife three years ago at Andy’s Jazz Club in Chicago during a Von Freeman saxophone solo. He even carries a Walkman to stay tuned while on the move.
Tiele sees the Brookfield Jazz and Blues Appreciation Society as a series of informal, mostly unstructured get-togethers for jazz lovers of all genders and preferences eager to share something each knows is good”and to open new areas of the music to themselves and others.
“Enjoyed listening is what’s it’s all about,” said Tiele. He added that there’s much enrichment in commenting, criticizing, sharing anecdotes and swapping CDs or albums at the meetings. Trading books, photos and just enjoying the common experience of the music”it all comes out. If the jazz and blues lover plays it right, he or she will take home a lot more than they might bring.
Playing the music on a stereo system won’t be the only item on the agenda Thursday evenings. Once things get underway, there are plans for a musician to drop in now and then.
“It’s what we did with the original club back in England, and it worked nicely,” said Tiele.
Some people who have expressed interest in stopping by include John Hasbrouck who plays ’30s blues bottleneck or finger style guitar, bassist Larry Gray and guitarist Zvonimir Tot, who”no matter how good he may be”should be the only Zvonimir Tot you’ll ever encounter.
The English version of the society had sponsored a showing of “Jazz on a Summer’s Afternoon” a full length, award-winning film on the legendary 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. It drew a turnaway crowd and marked a high point for the original club. Be nice to see and hear all this again”in Brookfield.
The get-togethers here will, of course, welcome anyone relatively new to the music. A sound system is provided by the village, and all attending may bring their own “sounds.” Plans for members to attend occasional concerts or live clubs dates is a distinct possibility. Admission to meetings is free, and there are no dues.
For more information on the club, check out a Web site Tiele has created at www.brookfieldjazz.org.
