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| Serge Chaloff |
It was
called Dinty More’s and although it was a short-lived venue, it was one hearty
jazz-stew of a nightclub.
The room in focus was actually the second version of a Dinty More’s in downtown Worcester Pearl Street
The only
other thing we know of the place is that it was owned by William Campbell. Boston
The
second Dinty was also owned by Campbell but operated by drummer Eddy “Sham’ Shamgochian and club manager Eddie "Ali Baba" Zarmanian. It
was located in a building directly behind the Plymouth Theater at 25 Central Street.
“We ran
it for less than two years in the ‘50s,” Shamgochian said. “It was flooded out.
I almost cried when I saw the whisky bottles floating around in there.”
In
addition to running the venue, Shamgochian played drums in the house rhythm
section with pianist Fred Holovnia and his brother Joe on bass.
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| Eddy "Sham" Shamgochian |
“We played there until it closed,” Shamgochian said. “We backed up some big names too – Serge Chaloff, Charlie Mariano, Boots Mussulli, the pianist Russ Freeman, he married a
In
describing the club’s layout Joe Holovnia said, “You’d entered on Central Street Plymouth
Although Holovnia
never recorded with Chaloff, the two musicians were captured in action by an
unknown photographer and the shot appears on the cover of the Uptown CD
release, Serge Chaloff – Boston
A few notes
of Chaloff. He was a musical genius. He played the baritone like it was made
for him. You can find his bio anywhere. The 5 cent version reads like this: He
was born to parents who were both classical pianists. His father played in the
BSO. His mother was Madame Chaloff, teacher of the greats. Look it up. Let’s
play the name- drop-card for Serge. He played and recorded with the likes of
Woody Herman, Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Zoots Sims, et al, you get the
picture. He kicked a vicious drug habit only to die of spine cancer at the age of 33.
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| Charloff and Holovnia |
The
photos of the saxophonist for the Boston 1950 set are kind of odd in that the
recording precedes the photograph and none of the music is from the Worcester
club. Nevertheless, it’s a cool photo.
“I own the originals," Holovnia said. "I have them on the wall here in my home. The producer of the recording, Dr. Robert Sunenblick, he contacted me and asked for permission to use them.”
When
asked if he remembered the timeline of when he worked at Dinty More’s,
Holovnia said, “It was some time in the mid-‘50s. It before I was married. I
was about 23.”
By most
accounts Chaloff played the room often. Asked what he recalled of the
saxophonist, Holovnia said, “This was prior to the wheelchair. He was off the stuff [heroin] by then, but still drinking heavily. Like, a fifth of gin, but you’d never know
by his playing. Beautiful.
“My association
with him was top notch,” Holovnia added. “It was never let me see if I can stump
the band. He was receptive to what we were doing. He’d work with you. He was
highly original. For instance, I remember he played “All I Do Is Dream of You.”
And he’d say, ‘Okay at this part modulate up a ½ step. I remember that because
I wrote an arrangement of that tune based on what Serge did. But generally,
he’d just call tunes. He’d say, 'Do you know so and so?' And we say, 'Yes,' and he’d
count it off.”
To hear Serge playing “All I Do Is Dream of You” go here -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xgrXfi3q91o
In his
book, The Boston Jazz Chronicles,
author Richard Vacca stated that, “In late 1954, Chaloff voluntarily entered
the rehab program at Bridgewater State Hospital
Given
that Chaloff was not using drugs and not yet in a wheelchair, this places his
time at Dinty More’s sometime between 1955 and ’56. Shamgochian seemed to
recall that the baritone saxophonist played every Sunday at Dinty More.
Holovnia
recalls that the attendance was usually sparse and in the small room, the band
generally played acoustic. “There was one mike on a stand out front,” he said.
There was a PA-system, a little 20 watt amp. I didn’t amplify my bass. I just
played and whatever the mike picked up that was it.”
In April of 1955, Chaloff took a band that featured saxophonist
Boots Mussulli, trumpeter Herb Pomeroy, pianist Ray Santisi, bassist Everett
Evans, and drummer Jimmy Zitano into the studio to record the legendary album,
Boston Blow-Up!
Commenting on the recording, Chaloff said,
"When I came back on the music scene, just recently, I wanted a book of
fresh sounding things. I got just what I wanted from Herb and Boots. I think
their writing shows us a happy group trying to create new musical entertainment
by swinging all the time. Jazz has got to swing; if it doesn't, it loses its
feeling of expression. This group and these sides are about the happiest I've
been involved with. You can't imagine what a thrill it is to be playing again
with wonderful musicians, and know that everything is swinging in a healthy
groove."
The name
Dinty More for clubs is almost as common as Tammany Hall. There were and are
restaurants and clubs with that name in Boston , New York Montreal Los Angeles, East Providence
The Worcester
 |
| The late great merry prankster, Jaki Byard |
Dinty
More’s is the place -- as Worcester legend has it – where Byard was playing one
night when a gaggle of noisy patrons’ grew too loud for his liking. The pianist looked up
from the keyboard and without missing a beat placed a set of wound-up chattering
teeth on top of the club’s spinet and kept right on playing.
Sidebar 1.
See: http://www.discogs.com/Charlie-Mingus-Mingus-Revisited/release/2615742
Sidebar 1.
File this under: "Six Degrees of Serge." In April of 1955, the band that backed the baritone saxophonist at Dinty's was hired to support singer Lorraine Cusson. Ms. Cusson or Cousins, as she is often listed, is somewhat of a mystery woman in the annals of jazz. Historically speaking, she appeared on early recordings of Charles Mingus singing two of his darkest pieces, "Eclipse" and "Weird Nightmare." At the time of her local shows, James Lee in his Telegram & Gazette "Backstage" column wrote, "A Conover model rated A-1 in the song department opens at the Club in Oxford Friday." He also noted that Cusson, who originally hails from Chicopee, will "share headline honors with Eddie Sham's band, now enlarged to a quintet, which moves from Dinty More's to the North Oxford spot. Featured with it is Jackie Byard. The singer and orchestra will be there Fridays and Saturdays indefinitely." Byard would later spend a number of years as Mingus' pianist.
Sidebar 2.
*Note: This is a work in progress. Comments, corrections, and suggestions are always welcome at: walnutharmonicas@gmail.com. Thank you. Please check out my other blog on Worcester songwriters at: www.worcestersongs.blogspot.com
Serge Chaloff
File this one under: "Seven degrees of Serge." If we put two and two together it could possibly explain this story. Occasional headliners at Dinty's were the Arthur Murray Dancers. Another was pianist Russ Freeman. In 1955, the Telegram ran this item: "The wedding is announced of Miss Joyce Swenson of Holden to Russ Freeman of Los Angeles, composer and pianist with Chet Baker's band. They are visiting here, having come on from the coast. She is a former instructor at Arthur Murray's dance studio here. The Baker orchestra will open Monday at the Celebrity Club in Providence." In March of 1954, Serge recorded sides with Freeman on George Wein's Storyville label.
*Note: This is a work in progress. Comments, corrections, and suggestions are always welcome at: walnutharmonicas@gmail.com. Thank you. Please check out my other blog on Worcester songwriters at: www.worcestersongs.blogspot.com
Serge Chaloff
DOB: November
24, 1923
DOD: July
16, 1957
Resources
The Plymouth
Dr.
Robert Sunenblick -- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/31/arts/music/31kapl.html?pagewanted=print&_r=0
Details
Clips
Origins
of the name Dinty Moore
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