Serge Chaloff was the premier baritone saxophonist of the bop era, his fiery, dynamic improvisations restoring the instrument to prominence some months prior to the arrival of
Gerry Mulligan.
Chaloff was born in Boston on November 24, 1923. His father was a pianist with
the Boston Symphony Orchestra while his mother, Margaret, taught music at the Boston Conservatory of Music, over time educating an illustrious series of pianists including
Keith Jarrett,
Herbie Hancock, and
Richard Twardzik.
Chaloff himself studied piano and clarinet before teaching himself the baritone sax in emulation of
Jack Washington and
Harry Carney.
Charlie Parker was also a monumental influence.
Chaloff made his professional debut in support of
Boyd Raeburn, followed by a stint behind Georgie Ault. He first earned widespread renown after joining
Jimmy Dorsey in 1945, earning the distinction of bebop's first baritone soloist.
Chaloff nevertheless remains best known for his stint with
Woody Herman's Second Herd, which he joined in late 1946. Alongside tenors
Stan Getz,
Zoot Sims, and Herbie Stewart he vaulted to jazz immortality the following year via the
Jimmy Giuffre composition "Four Brothers," a landmark recording extending each of the saxophonists a solo turn. In mid-1947
Chaloff also led his first recording session, leading trombonist
Red Rodney, tenor saxophonist
Earl Swope, pianist
George Wallington, bassist Curley Russell, and drummer
Tiny Kahn on several sides cut for the Savoy label.
However, by this time
Chaloff was deep in the throes of heroin addiction, and for years after leaving the
Herman band in 1949 he was considered persona non grata throughout much of the jazz community, earning an abysmal reputation for missed gigs and erratic performances.
Chaloff settled in New York City, assembling a group featuring the visionary pianist
Bud Powell and trombonist
Earl Swope that, sadly, never recorded. By early 1952 he returned to Boston, and that spring cut an unissued session with pianist
Twardzik, trombonist
Sonny Truitt, bassist Jack Lawlor, and drummer Jimmy Weiner. Championed by local disc jockey Bob Martin,
Chaloff gradually eased back into the larger consciousness, appearing on television's The Steve Allen Show and leading the house band at the Beantown club Jazzorama. In 1954, he signed to
George Wein's Boston-based Storyville to cut
The Fable of Mabel, recorded with local luminaries including alto saxophonist
Charlie Mariano and trumpeter
Herb Pomeroy, and a year later the label also issued his collaboration with altoist
Boots Mussulli. After completing work on
Boston Blow-Up!, a loose but impassioned
Stan Kenton-produced date for Capitol,
Chaloff relocated to Los Angeles, where in 1956 he assembled pianist
Sonny Clark, bassist
Leroy Vinnegar, and drummer
Philly Joe Jones to record his masterpiece Blue Serge, a gripping, evocative set that ranks among the finest jazz recordings of its era. But by the time of its release
Chaloff was confined to a wheelchair, partially paralyzed as the result of a spinal tumor. The cancer spread, and he died July 16, 1957, at the age of just 33. ~ Jason Ankeny