Friends and admirers of Bob Florence, including his Limited Edition band, gathered at the Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood on June 15 to pay tribute to the arranger, composer, leader and pianist.. Florence died exactly a month earlier at the age of seventy-five. In Florence’s honor, the piano remained silent. A jazz fan and videographer, Mike Kaiser, captured the Limited Edition playing Billy Strayhorn’s “Chelsea Bridge in Florence’s arrangement and posted it on the Daily Motion web site. The band is made up of Los Angeles luminaries. Trombonists Charlie Loper and Bob McChesney are featured soloists in the Strayhorn. Guitarist Larry Koonse also solos. The drumming, done with his patented combination of energy, precision and looseness, is by Peter Erskine.
Tributes To Bob Florence
June 28, 2008 by
Here is the personnel of the Limited Edition:
Saxes: Jennifer Hall, Tom Peterson, Don Shelton, Kim Richmond, Billy Kerr, Bob Efford
Trombones: Alex Iles, Charlie Loper, Bob McChesney, Don Waldrop
Trumpets: Steve Huffsteter, Pete DeSiena, Carl Saunders, Lee Thornburg, Ron Stout
Bass: Trey Henry
Drums: Peter Erskine
Guitar: Larry Koonse
A dedicated educator, Florence was scheduled to lead an all-star band at the Centrum Jazz Port Townsend Festival in Washington State on July 26th. He was for years a faculty member at the week-long jazz workshop held in connection with the festival. Composer-arranger Kim Richmond, lead alto saxophonist of The Limited Edition and a Florence protégé, will conduct the Centrum band in yet another tribute to his boss.
As Mike Kaiser notes in the comment section of this entry, he posted on YouTube four additional performances from the June 15 tribute.
The nonagenarian pianist presented de Barros with every biographer’s hope, unrestricted access to his subject’s personal papers and nearly unrestricted access to her private thoughts. He made the most of it, turning exhaustive research and hundreds of hours of interviews into a true story with the sweep of a novel. From the early discovery of McPartland’s musical gift through her wartime service, her ecstatic and stormy marriage to Jimmy McPartland, her growth as a pianist, her deep affair with Joe Morello, and the radio show that made her a national figure, she has had a fascinating life. It makes a splendid read.
Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band had three fewer musicians than most big jazz outfits. Its size permitted precision, flexibility and subtlety, yet the band had the power of sprung steel. In this concert from a half century ago, the CJB is as fresh as yesterday. Arrangements by Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn and Johnny Mandel set standards to which big band writers still aspire. Bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Mel Lewis inspired Mulligan, Brookmeyer, Conte Candoli, Gene Quill and Zoot Sims to some of the best soloing of their careers. This beautifully produced issue of the complete concert is a basic repertoire item.
In case you haven’t seen them, I posted four others on YouTube. I’m especially fond of “Carmello’s By The Freeway.” The interplay between Carl and Peter is compelling.
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=bob+florence+catalina&search_type=&aq=f