Jimmy Knepper - R.I.P.

[stevebop]

Terribley sad news from the NYT:


June 16, 2003

Jimmy Knepper, Versatile Jazz Trombonist, Dies at 75
By PETER KEEPNEWS

immy Knepper, a jazz trombonist best known for his productive but stormy association with Charles Mingus, died on Saturday in Triadelphia, W.Va. He was 75.

The cause was complications of Parkinson's disease, his wife, Maxine, said yesterday from their Staten Island home. Mr. Knepper was living temporarily at the home of his daughter, Robin Rios, in Triadelphia, Mrs. Knepper said.

Over the course of a career that began when he was in his teens, Mr. Knepper was a featured soloist in countless bands, big and small. But his reputation as one of the most original trombonists of his generation rests largely on the music he made with Mingus from 1957 to 1962.

Mr. Knepper's distinctively gruff sound and loose-limbed phrasing were essential elements in some of the most celebrated albums by Mingus, the great bassist and composer, including "The Clown," "Tijuana Moods" and "Mingus Ah Um."

The jazz critic Leonard Feather wrote that Mr. Knepper's "solos with Mingus are intricate, beautifully structured and complete statements."

But relations between the plain-spoken Mr. Knepper and the notoriously volatile Mingus were often tense, and they came to an abrupt and violent turning point during preparations for a New York concert in 1962. Mr. Knepper recalled in a 1981 interview with Lee Jeske of Down Beat magazine that in the course of an argument about Mr. Knepper's role as music copyist for the concert, Mingus "just kind of slapped me in the mouth," and the blow "just happened to break off my incisor."

The injury seriously affected Mr. Knepper's embouchure; it took him several years to regain his full range on the trombone.

Mingus was convicted of third-degree assault (his sentence was suspended), and a fruitful collaboration was seemingly ended forever. Surprisingly, though, Mr. Knepper worked with Mingus again in the 1970's, appearing on the album "Let My Children Hear Music" in 1971, at a Carnegie Hall concert in 1976 and on the last three albums Mingus recorded before his death in 1979.

Mr. Knepper characterized his return to the Mingus fold as a kind of grim inevitability.

"It was very depressing to think that I'm linked with this guy for the rest of my life," he told Down Beat in 1981, referring to his earlier days with Mingus. "And now I feel the same way."

The link proved enduring: he spent much of the 1980's as a member of Mingus Dynasty, a group devoted to playing Mingus's music and made up primarily of former Mingus sidemen.

James Minter Knepper was born in Los Angeles on Nov. 22, 1927. Although he was not yet 30 when he first worked with Mingus, he was already a seasoned veteran, having spent time in several big bands, including those of Charlie Barnet, Woody Herman and Claude Thornhill. During his five years with Mingus, he continued to work occasionally for other bandleaders, most notably Stan Kenton. In 1960 he went to Africa with a small group led by the flutist Herbie Mann, and in 1962 he was a member of the Benny Goodman ensemble that toured the Soviet Union.

Mr. Knepper recorded only occasionally as a leader or co-leader, and he never led a band of his own. But if he was something less than a star, he was greatly admired by fellow musicians for his skill as an improviser and for his ability to function comfortably and creatively in any context. He played in the pit bands of several Broadway musicals and, from 1968 to 1974, with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. Throughout the 80's and 90's he regularly toured Europe as a freelance soloist.

In addition to his wife, Maxine, a former jazz trumpeter, and his daughter, Ms. Rios, he is survived by four grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Knepper's son, Timothy, died in Los Angeles in 1991 at age 34, she said.

Mr. Knepper once said that jazz "shouldn't be taken very seriously" and that "in a lot of ways, it's just shallow, superficial and pyrotechnical." But whether or not those words were a true reflection of his feelings, he always played jazz with great passion and fervor — even if he found it a less-than-ideal way to make a living.

"It's hard for a jazz musician to live a rational life, unless he has an independent income or a busy maximum of work," he said in 1977. "You really have to be dedicated to the music to be able to survive."

Always Know,

Steve Schwartz

Jazz From Studio 4
Friday, 7p-12a
WGBH, 89.7FM, Boston
www.wgbh.org

[Tom Storer]

May he rest in peace. Great trombonist. I saw him a few times with Mingus Dynasty in the 80's when he was leading it. I recall one concert where, as a saxophonist wandered around backstage looking for his reeds, Knepper regaled the posh audience with dirty jokes.

One album of his I especially like is "Dream Dancing," with Ralph Moore, Dick Katz, George Mraz and Mel Lewis. I think he also had some albums on Steeplechase.

[stevebop]

Lest we forget, in addition ot his dates with Mingus, Jimmy is also on recordings by George Adams/Dannie Richmond; Mose Allison (Swinging Machine); Joshua Breakstone; Richard Davis (Muses For...); Gil Evans (Into the Cool: Where Flamingos Fly); Ricky Ford; Lee Konitz (The Nonet recordings); Tony Scott and Bill Evans; Gary Smulyan; Clark Terry (Color Changes); Bennie Wallace. And when will Verve ever release the fabulous Pepper (Adams) (Jimmy)Knepper Quintet, originally on MetroJazz.
Jimmy had a great sardonic sense of humor in his playing and as reflected in some of his song titles:

Bertha The Dragoness
Ogling Ogre
Idol of the Flies
Gnome on the Range
Leave of Absinthe
Nearer My God in G
Dearth of A Nation

RIP Jimmy

__________________
Always Know,

Steve Schwartz

Jazz From Studio 4
Friday, 7p-12a
WGBH, 89.7FM, Boston
www.wgbh.org

[Brian Olewnick]

Very sad. With George Lewis, my personal favorite trombonist. Heard him interviewed a number of times and always regretted his bitterness, though I suppose he had his reasons. RIP.

[Joe Milazzo]

Damn.

A player to be valued for reasons obvious to anyone who knows his work, but jazz historians also owe Kenpper a great debt, as he cleared up a good deal of the BS surrounding Dean Benedetti and Benedetti's relationship to Charlie Parker.

RIP.

[Clay Fink]

A great leader as well. I love "Dream Dancing", "Cunningbird", "Idol of the Flys" and the Soul Note date whos name escapes me.

His solo on "Hatian Fight Song" is one of my favorite solos of all time.

[Steve Reynolds]

one of the great ones


RIP, Mr. Knepper

[frankpop1]

hopefully, somebody will re-release his recording 'Jimmy Knepper in L.A.' a fine recording with Lew tabackin who blows a memorable tenor sax performance.

knepper & mingus, sounds like just two crabby ol' farts to me, but dont rest in peace knepper. SWING!

and so it goes

[Dr Dave]

"It was very depressing to think that I'm linked with this guy for the rest of my life," he told Down Beat in 1981, referring to his earlier days with Mingus. "And now I feel the same way."

I'd like to think Jimmy was joking, but I guess probably not. I wouldn't want to lose my incisor/embouchure/paycheck to Mingus, either. "Leave of Absinthe" was a favorite. I like to think that Frank Lacy will be channelling Knepper on future gigs...

[Tanager]

I feel much the same as I do whenever one of the greats passes - another voice quieted from which I never got to hear as much as I would have wished, but from which I got far more than I deserved.


(yeah, maybe corny, but that's the way I feel.)

[Brian Olewnick]

Dr. Dave, from the several interviews I've heard with Knepper, it seems he had a real love/hate relationship with Mingus. Loved the music of course and returned to it a number of times but had some real issues with the man. I think a good deal may have stemmed from Knepper feeling that, especially with the large ensembles, he did a good deal of the arranging and transcribing (of things like Mingus' sung lines and perhaps messily played examples on piano) and didn't receive the credit he deserved. Jack Walrath (another guy who's always struck me as, personally, rather unpleasant and full of himself) made similar claims with regard to the albums around the 'Changes' period. I'm guessing the truth, as usual, lies somewhere in the middle. Probably Mingus' gargantuan persona dwarfed their own a bit and they felt somewhat unfairly overshadowed. Who knows, maybe that's one of the things that gave his (Knepper's) playing some of its vitality and rawness.

[Bort]

Hi all,

I have a remeniscence of a personal encounter with Jimmy Knepper.

About two years ago, I traveled to New York and set up a lesson with Mr. Knepper. All of our phone interactions had been somewhat mysterious, but I found his home on Staten Island and was greeted by his wonderful wife, Maxine (herself a former jazz trumpeter in the D.C. area). Jimmy was finishing some food and watching TV in the kitchen, and for a few hours we just listened to music together. He was very lethargic and I could tell his vision wasn't too good, but he played me some old stuff with Tony Scott and Bill Evans and a wonderful live session he recorded with Lew Tabackin. I still haven't found a copy of it.

When we began to play, Jimmy woke up a bit. I was struck by the musicality he embedded in each note that he played. He put such life into the horn! I carry that with me today.

As the evening wore on I got hungrier and hungrier, and he started to tire again. We decided to call it a day after 6 or 7 hours together! Jimmy was reluctant to bring me to the ferry because Ken Burns' Jazz was premiering that night, but eventually his wife convinced him to drive me. Those 20 minutes in the car I will never forget. Let me just say that his automotive skills were not quite as well-developed as his musical skills!

I'm thankful I was able to spend that day with him and that he left us such an enjoyable recorded legacy. And although he is gone from us now, I'm glad we both made it out of that car ride alive!

[Dr Dave]

Thanks for the story, Bort. It's this kind of stuff that makes jazzcorner what it is.

Brian: I'm inclined to agree with your interpretation. Sy Johnson, who wrote arrangements for Mingus in his last years (and had a brief memorable stint at the piano bench) was well aware of Charles's penchant for self-aggrandizement. Fortunately for Sy, at least as I understand it, his main reaction to this was amusement.

[gonzo]

wasn't there a story about mingus planting heroin in jimmy's car and reporting him to the cops. jimmy had an argument with mingus and had punched in the stomach.

[hearsay]

Goodbye to an unheralded master. I saw him in highschool at a concert at Harvard with trombonist Carl Fontana. Knepper really impressed me though, even at the beginning of my jazz listening I could tell how soulful he was.