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The definitive arranger/composer of the bop era,
Tadd Dameron wrote such standards as "Good Bait," "Our Delight," "Hot House," "Lady Bird," and "If You Could See Me Now." Not only did he write melody lines, but full arrangements, and he was an influential force from the mid-'40s on even though he never financially prospered.
Dameron started out in the swing era touring with the Zack Whyte and
Blanche Calloway bands, he wrote for
Vido Musso in New York and most importantly, contributed arrangements for
Harlan Leonard's Kansas City Orchestra, some of which were recorded. Soon
Dameron was writing charts for such bands as
Jimmie Lunceford,
Count Basie,
Billy Eckstine, and
Dizzy Gillespie (1945-1947) in addition to
Sarah Vaughan.
Dameron was always very modest about his own piano playing but he did gig with
Babs Gonzales' Three Bips & a Bop in 1947 and led a sextet featuring
Fats Navarro (and later
Miles Davis) at the Royal Roost during 1948-1949.
Dameron co-led a group with
Davis at the 1949 Paris Jazz Festival, stayed in Europe for a few months (writing for
Ted Heath), and then returned to New York. He wrote for
Artie Shaw's last orchestra that year, played and arranged R&B for
Bull Moose Jackson (1951-1952) and in 1953 led a nonet featuring
Clifford Brown and
Philly Joe Jones. Drug problems, however, started to get in the way of his music. After recording a couple of albums (including 1958's
Mating Call with
John Coltrane) he spent much of 1959-1961 in jail. After he was released,
Dameron wrote for
Sonny Stitt,
Blue Mitchell,
Milt Jackson,
Benny Goodman and his last record but was less active in the years before his death from cancer.
Tadd Dameron's classic Blue Note recordings of 1947-48, his 1949 Capitol sides and Prestige/Riverside sets of 1953, 1956, 1958, and 1962 are all currently in print on CD. ~ Scott Yanow