© 2006
Philip M. Peters
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
HARRY LEAHEY:
MASTER GUITARIST, MUSICIAN AND TEACHER
By Philip M. Peters
A thesis submitted to the
Graduate School-Newark
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
in partial fulfillment of requirements
for the degree of
Master of Arts
Graduate Program in Jazz Studies
Written under the direction of
Professor Lewis Porter
and approved by
____________________
____________________
Newark, New Jersey
May, 2006
ii
Abstract
Harry Leahey was a guitarist and guitar teacher who lived, taught and performed
primarily in New Jersey. His career began in the early 1960s and continued until his
death in 1990. He studied guitar with Lou Melia, a local guitar teacher, Al Volpe, the
renowned studio guitarist and teacher of such players as Joe Pass and Sal Salvatore,
leading jazz and studio guitarist Johnny Smith and Dennis Sandole, teacher of such
students as Pat Martino and John Coltrane. He studied theory and composition at
Manhattan School of Music.
Although he never achieved a high degree of fame he played and recorded with
Phil Woods, Gerry Mulligan, Al Cohn, Jack Six, Warren Vaché and numerous other well
known jazz artists, all of whom held him in the highest esteem. He performed with local
artists, both jazz and commercial. From 1978 to 1990 he performed with his own trio and
in duo settings with various bass players. He recorded one album with his trio, one duo
album with Steve Gilmore and one solo album.
A dedicated and practical family man, he chose to devote himself to teaching the
guitar. He taught privately at his home in Plainfield, New Jersey and from 1974 to 1988
at William Paterson University (then William Paterson College).
He died in 1990 at the age of 54. This thesis provides a biography of this
neglected artist, tracing his musical and professional development. In addition there are
two musical analyses, one analyzed solo and an analysis of one aspect of his teaching
method, his approach to teaching chords. Finally a bibliography and a discography are
included. Regrettably there is very little in print about him. His bibliography includes two
iii
books in which he is briefly mentioned and several magazine and newspaper articles
about him.
iv
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the myriad persons who provided support and
encouragement throughout the pursuit of this project. In particular: Dr. Lewis Porter, Dr.
Henry Martin and Dr. John Howland of the Jazz Masters Program at Rutgers University
for their help and guidance; Deborah Leahey, Tom Anthony, Edie Eustice, Roy
Cumming, Glenn Davis, Phil Woods, Ron Naspo, Ronnie Glick and Walt Bibinger for
their generosity in sharing their remembrances and documentary materials with me.
In addition the author acknowledges and gives special thanks to the Morroe
Berger - Benny Carter Jazz Research Fund for a generous research grant and to the
Institute of Jazz Studies in Newark, New Jersey for opening the Harry Leahey archives to
me.
v
Preface
From 1968 to 1974 I studied guitar with Harry Leahey. From 1974 until his death
in 1990 I studied with him intermittently and frequently went to hear him play. Harry was
my first guitar teacher. He took an eighteen year old self-taught folk strummer and
patiently guided him through the treacherous waters of modern jazz harmony and correct
guitar technique. He revealed secrets to me that he had spent years uncovering. He was
generous in the extreme with his time and his knowledge.
It is not unusual for someone to speak of his teacher, especially his first teacher,
in superlative, even hyperbolic terms. But in Harry’s case there is the recorded evidence:
his recordings with Phil Woods, the concert with Al Cohn that was captured, his own
albums and the informal recordings done by students, fans and fellow musicians. There’s
the unanimous agreement among those who played with him, those who studied with
him, and those who heard him perform, that he was a brilliant musician. And there’s the
list of professional musicians and educators who put in their biographies “studied with
the great jazz guitarist Harry Leahey.”
Harry Leahey’s playing, like that of certain jazz greats like Miles Davis, Stan
Getz and Dave Brubeck, appealed to jazz fans as well as people who thought they didn’t
like jazz. Perhaps that’s because his incredible technique and deep theoretical
understanding of music were never an end unto themselves, but rather a vehicle through
which he expressed the feelings of a warm and gentle soul.
vi
It’s been a little over fifteen years since we lost Harry Leahey. For those of us
who were privileged to have been close to him Phil Woods’s simple words ring true: “I
miss him dearly.”
Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... iv Preface ............................................................................................................................v Harry Leahey Bio ............................................................................................................1 The Harry Leahey Chord Method ..................................................................................39 Analysis of Harry Leahey’s solo on Django’s Castle (Manoir de Mes Rêves)................56 Interview with Tom Anthony.........................................................................................72 Harry Leahey Discography ..........................................................................................121 Harry Leahey Bibliography .........................................................................................141
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Harry Leahey Bio
Harry Leahey was born on September 1, 1935 in Plattsburg, New York. His
parents were Henry Leahey and Edith Leahey, née Lamonde. The senior Leahey,
originally a resident of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, was stationed in the US army in
Plattsburg, New York when he met Miss Lamonde. The historic Plattsburg Barracks is
located on the west side of Lake Champlain, about one mile from the village of
Plattsburgh, New York. Miss Lamonde was from Potsdam, New York, north of the
Adirondack foothills in central St. Lawrence County, New York. The Leaheys had four
children. His siblings were two brothers Michael and Patrick and a sister, Edith (now
Dillon.)
Upon Mr. Leahey’s discharge from the Army, the Leaheys moved first to Perth
Amboy and then to Plainfield, New Jersey. The elder Leahey wanted Harry to be a
professional prize fighter. Young Harry was athletically gifted, as photos of him playing
baseball and other sports illustrate. As a small boy, Harry went to the YMCA every
morning with his dad. There, he trained and became a Mosquito Weight boxer who could
take on anyone his own size and weight.1
At the age of thirteen Leahey received his first guitar. As he recounts:
When I was thirteen years old my mother and father placed a guitar in my hands
and said "Play" - and I did. My uncle Al was a guitarist and I wanted to play like
1 Summer 1991 All Music Things Harry Loved.
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him. It was unconditional love from the start. I barely made it through high school
because of all the time I spent with the instrument.2
His first instrument was a Stella guitar.3 Stella was an inexpensive brand favored
by such blues artists as Muddy Waters and Leadbelly and folk and hillbilly artists as
Woody Guthrie. Shortly thereafter he began to study at Sayer's Studio in Plainfield with a
teacher named Lou Melia. It was here that Leahey met his lifelong friend, musical
associate Tom Anthony who was studying with Lou Melia’s brother, John. Tom
performed with Harry in several groups and eventually became his brother in law. Leahey
was an avid student who practiced diligently. He would often play late into the night,
hiding with his guitar under his bed covers. Edie Eustice tells a story of Harry getting into
trouble with his father with his practicing and his sense of humor. In the summer while
Mrs. Leahey was mowing the lawn, Harry would be sitting by the window practicing
scales. As his mother pushed the mower across the yard Harry would follow her
movements going back and forth across the guitar neck, arousing his father’s ire.4 Like
many guitarists of that time, Melia taught a picking technique known as consecutive
picking.5 In this type of picking the guitarist employs alternating down and up strokes
until two notes in a row require the pick to cross from one string to the next. At that point
the player uses two down strokes in a row. The movement is primarily from the wrist
which is loose and flexible. Arpeggios can be played with mostly down strokes.
Fingerings are often arranged to allow many of these consecutive down strokes. The
sound can be very legato but can lack definition as the attack is relatively light. This older
2 Liner notes to Unaccompanied Guitar, 1989. C. Macey Productions. 3 Conversation with Tom Anthony. 4 Conversation with Edie Eustice. 5 Conversation with Tom Anthony.
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style of picking is in stark contrast to what would become one of the cornerstones of
formidable technique the Leahey would attain: strict alternate picking from the elbow
with a stiff wrist. After a few years with the Melia brothers, Harry and Tom began to
study with renowned guitarist Harry Volpe. Volpe had been a studio musician and
recording artist since the 1920s. He had run a teaching studio in New York City on 48th
Street for years and had taught such people as Johnny Smith, Joe Pass and Sal Salvatore.
Little is known about Leahey’s time with Volpe. The only thing Tom Anthony
remembered for certain about the lessons was that Volpe also taught consecutive picking.
While still in his early teens Leahey began performing in public with his sister
Edith who went by the nickname “Sunshine”. Sunshine sang and played the guitar and
Leahey played guitar. Leahey’s first guitar idol was Les Paul. Paul had invented
multitrack recording and various special effects including overdubbing and speeding up
tracks. He and his wife, singer Mary Ford had a string of hit recordings including How
High The Moon, Mockin' Bird Hill and Tiger Rag. The Leaheys patterned themselves
after the famous Les Paul and Mary Ford act. The young guitarist was able to master the
repertoire, if not the speeded up layers of guitars. Tom Anthony, who by that time had
begun to play the bass, joined the group. The group played in various theaters in
Plainfield. They appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, then the most prestigious television
variety show. They also appeared on the Ding Dong Show, a popular children’s
television show.6 Edie Eustice related Leahey’s account of the Sullivan appearance.
While Harry was backstage Sullivan saw the teenager with his guitar. He asked him if he
6 Conversation with Edie Eustice.
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would accompany a Sara Conk, yodeler.7 Harry agreed and made his big time debut
accompanying a yodeler! It wasn’t until Harry and his sister performed a piece by
Rachmaninoff that Sullivan realized what a serious musician the young guitarist was.8
A neighbor of the Leaheys, a saxophone player by the name of Bill Pfeiffer
introduced the guitarist to a man who would have a profound impact of him,
professionally and personally. Pfeiffer was in the army with renowned guitarist Johnny
Smith. Pfeiffer told Smith about his talented neighbor and asked him if he would teach
him. At the time Smith, who was already established as a leading jazz and studio guitarist
did not have a teaching practice. As a favor to Pfeiffer he agreed to take Leahey as a
student. It was Smith who introduced Leahey to alternate picking. Leahey, ever the
conscientious student adjusted to the new technique and mastered it. Smith, who was an
amateur pilot, used to fly from Long Island, New York where he lived to Hadley Airport
in Plainfield. He would fly his young student to Long Island where the two of them
would make a day of it. After about six months of tutelage, Smith one day upon
delivering their son back to them announced to Mr. And Mrs. Leahey that he had taught
Harry all he could about the guitar, but that he would be happy to teach him to fly a
plane!9 Leahey, in 1968 during my second lesson with him, referred to those “Johnny
Smith chords that no one can play”. He then proceeded to play a beautiful chord melody
solo using those “impossible” chords. The influence of Smith’s characteristic piano-like
voicings and moving inner lines can be heard in Leahey’s solo recordings, such as Some
Other Time from “Unaccompanied Guitar”.
7 Summer 1991 All Music Harry on TV. 8 Conversation with Edie Eustice. 9 Conversation with Tom Anthony.
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Leahey attended North Plainfield High School from which he graduated in 1953.
At Christmas time of that year pianist Bill Evans, another Plainfield resident came home
on leave from the service. While he was home he and Leahey played together
informally.10 No recordings are known to exist of this encounter. Tom Anthony recalls at
least a couple more occasions when Leahey and Evans played together.
Harry Leahey and Tom Anthony practiced together every week, playing in the
chicken coop in the Anthony family’s yard. Tom recalls that the two young musicians
played together once a week but after a while Harry began to show up more frequently.
Tom then observed that Harry was paying more and more attention to his younger sister,
Karen.
In their junior or senior year of high school, Leahey and Anthony met another
musician who would profoundly influence them and with whom they would share many
professional experiences. Drummer and singer Richie Moore was deeply into jazz and the
music of performers like Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. Moore educated the
impressionable young musicians about music other than Les Paul and Mary Ford. At the
same time, Sunshine was becoming discouraged with music. Harry, who studied with
great teachers and practiced constantly, was making great strides technically and was
performing challenging music. In one of their theater performances, the siblings
performed a specialty number Nola, the 1915 Felix Arndt piano novelty piano solo. The
arrangement was supposed to have the two guitarists trading phrases, with Harry taking
the first. Sunshine was unable to keep up. It was events like this that led to her leaving the
group and Harry and Tom to form a band with Richie Moore.
10 Conversation with saxophonist Bob Miller.
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Moore, Leahey, Anthony and pianist Romolo (Rom) Ferri became The Richie
Moore Four in around 1951. The Four was a professional, rehearsed band, complete with
promotional photos. Plainfield in the early 1950s had a thriving nightclub business. Route
22 was a busy strip with many clubs. The Four played club gigs doing the popular songs
of the day. In addition to his skill as a drummer, he taught other area drummers including
Ronnie Glick. Moore was a talented singer who excelled at the Frank Sinatra material
with which he had familiarized his young band mates. He was also a very entertaining
showman. Rom Ferri recalled that Moore would announce the group as “Tom, Dick,
Harry and [pause] Romolo?”
Plainfield in the early 1950s had two interesting characteristics. Its downtown
area was a well known central New Jersey shopping area. People would come from
surrounding towns to shop there. And it was a racially mixed town, with generally good
relations between the races. Plainfield had two record stores, Brooks Record Shop on
Watchung Ave near East 4th Street and Gregory's Music on Front Street. Gregory’s dealt
primarily with the white clientele while Brooks dealt with the African American
clientele. In about 1952, Leahey who had been a patron of Gregory’s became friendly
with Edie Linzer, an employee of the store. Edie, who is now Edie Eustice, recalls
Leahey as a shy, soft spoken jazz fan. She showed him a Johnny Smith record and asked
him if he liked Smith. Leahey told her he had studied with Smith. When she didn’t
believe him he invited her to come hear him performing, adding that he would do some
Johnny Smith style playing. The two of them became good friends. Edie lent Leahey a 10
inch Django Reinhardt record. She doesn’t recall if Harry had ever heard Reinhardt
before but does remember that he loved the record. The record was a collection of some
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of Reinhardt’s 1940s recordings. Two of the songs on it were Manoir de Mes Rêves and
Nuages, both Reinhardt compositions. In a short time Leahey learned both songs and
incorporated them into his repertoire. Edie recalled that whenever she would go into a
club where Harry as performing, as soon as he saw her he would play Nuages for her. He
continued to perform both songs for the rest of his life. In fact, he recorded them both
with the Phil Woods Quintet in the late 1970s, Nuages as a solo vehicle on Song for
Sisyphus and Manoir de Mes Rêves with the full band doing his arrangement on Live at
the Showboat.
Leahey didn’t confine his musical studies to the guitar. In 1954 or 1955 Leahey
studied theory and harmony at Manhattan School of Music. Unfortunately the exact dates
are not available.11 At this time Manhattan School of Music did not yet have a jazz
program. It was at the urging of Rom Ferri that Leahey enrolled at Manhattan. Leahey
however was dissatisfied with this course of study and left after about one year. He chose
at that point to pursue his dual career as a teacher and performer and to study music, both
on his own and with private teachers.12
Throughout the early 1950s Leahey continued to work the local circuit with
Richie Moore as well as with other local groups. One of the clubs they worked was
Dudley’s in West Orange, New Jersey. At Dudley’s they had played Dixieland with and
augmented group. In the summer of 1955 the group was playing at the Cabana Club on
Eagle Rock Avenue also in West Orange. Stan Rubin’s Dixieland band, The Tigertown
Five had been booked to play on the Grote Beer (Great Bear), a ship that was sailing from
11 Email correspondence from David L. McDonagh, Registrar of Manhattan School of Music. February 09, 2006. 12 Conversation with Rom Ferri.
- 8 -
Hoboken, NJ to Rotterdam, Holland. At the last minute The Tigertown Five had to back
out of the gig and Richie Moore was asked to fill in. Moore quickly put together a
Dixieland band, mostly made up of musicians who had played the Dudley’s gig with him.
Moore and the group took a big chance taking this gig. The only compensation they
received for playing on the boat their passage. Since they had been booked on such short
notice, they had no work lined up in Europe. But they took the plunge. Upon arriving in
Rotterdam they debated whether to look for work in Paris or Copenhagen. They decided
on Paris. Once in Paris they played July 14th, Bastille Night on the streets of Paris. This
performance led to a gig at a club called Le Riverside near Notre Dame. It was at this
club that they met expatriate clarinetist Albert Nicholas who would sit in regularly with
the group. The Paris gig lasted through July. Now they needed another gig to finish out
the summer. Fortunately pianist Rom Ferri’s friend Tony Camillo was in the Army,
stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. Through him the group was able to get a booking at the
Topper Club, an officer’s club. The band members had to sneak onto the base and
pretend that they were authorized transients.
From 1960 to 1962 Leahey served in the United States Army. While in the Army
he played with Ira Sullivan. He also played saxophone in the Army Band. Edie Eustice
recalled Leahey’s account of how he learned the saxophone on short notice. The band
needed a sax player. Leahey knew that if he could play with the band he would be
traveling and performing for the officers. So he applied for the position, stating that he
played the saxophone but did not have one. The director of the band got him one. Leahey
then spent one day with the instrument and by that evening had figured out how to play it
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enough to get into the band. In the spring of 1960 Tom Anthony’s younger sister Karen
left home to join Leahey at Fort Dix. On May 4, 1960 the two of them were married.
Harry Leahey taught guitar from an early age. Glenn Davis who would become
the drummer in Leahey’s trio recalls “I think he was always teaching. Even when he was
a kid people told me that he used to teach. Cause Ritchie Moore taught too. There was a
place I used to teach in Westfield. And that was one of the places I think Harry you know
spent one day there and different places. But he was always teaching. He'd case load.
Like sixty plus a week.”
By the 1960s Leahey had become well established both as a teacher and as a
player on the thriving New Jersey nightclub scene. Bassist Ronnie Naspo recalls working
with Leahey, both of them side musicians when still in their late teens or early twenties.
Naspo is a Montclair, New Jersey based bassist whose performing credits include work
with Bucky Pizzarelli and Vic Juris. He also served on the Faculty in the jazz program at
William Paterson University (then William Paterson State College). Naspo talks about
them being hired for commercial gigs that “didn't turn out too commercial.” By that
Naspo meant that he, Leahey and the other musicians would invariably infuse their own
jazz oriented personalities into whatever music they played. The earliest gig Naspo
recalled was in Seaside Heights, New Jersey at what he described as a “young people's
club” in the late 1950's or early 60's. He spoke of five and six night a week steady gigs
where he and Leahey would “occasionally wind up together.” He also stated that there
were “lots of musicians” in the Plainfield area and frequent jam sessions, particularly in
clubs on Route 22. When I asked Naspo what he felt distinguished the young Leahey’s
playing most he replied “his eighth note swing feel. Even on the early gigs he had that
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good swing feel. You know he played eighth note runs you could tell it was Harry ‘cause
the eighth notes had a certain feel. And I've always admired that about Harry… Subtly
different, but it's that subtle difference that gave him that really the infectious feeling that
he has.”13 That subtle difference is evident in Leahey’s later playing as well. For instance
in his solo on “Django’s Castle”, which is analyzed later in this paper, Leahey varies the
eighth note values from straight to varying degrees of swing values over an even eighth
note Bossa Nova rhythm section. He uses this as an added dimension in the same way he
uses dynamics and variety of timbre. Leahey’s versatility was already apparent at this
time. In addition to playing commercial gigs featuring the pop tunes of the day and
playing jazz at jam sessions Leahey played Dixieland. Again Naspo: “Harry did a
Dixieland thing around South Orange. Bob Miller was in it. We would go down and hear
them in the mid to late 50's. Dixieland was popular among young people.”14
It was in the early 1960’s that Leahey began several associations that would prove
to be extremely important to him. It was then that he met bassist Roy Cumming and
drummer Glenn Davis with whom he would later perform as the Harry Leahey Trio.
Cumming and Davis both have impressive playing credentials. Cumming has performed
with Teddy Wilson, Al Haig, Chick Corea, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, Booker
Ervin, Johnny Hartman, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, Phil Markowitz
and others. Davis is Marion McPartland’s long time drummer and has performed with
Stan Getz, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, Phil Markowitz and others. It was also this
association that would lead to Leahey becoming a member of the Phil Woods Quintet. In
13 From an interview with Ronnie Naspo. 14 From an interview with Ronnie Naspo.
- 11 -
an October 12, 2005 interview Cumming and Davis shared their recollections of their
initial meeting and subsequent relationship with Leahey with me:
RC: We were just talking about the first time we met Harry. Glenn met him first.
GD: I met him first. I met him, I can't tell you the date, it was the early sixties
when he got out of the army and it was uh at Joe Cappowanna's club in Bound
Brook New Jersey, the Hideaway was across the tracks and I forget who I was, I
was telling Roy, I forget who I was sitting with but Tom Anthony was there with
Harry. They were sitting at the bar. It was during the week. And whoever I was
sitting with said, “See that guy over there? He's a helluva guitar player.” And I
looked over and these guys were all smashed (laughs) and giddy. And I said
“which one?” and he said “well, they're both great guitar players but I mean the
one closest to us.” And that's sort of when I met him. And then later when I was
doing the El Morocco gig with George Cort you know and Wayne Wright was on
the gig and there was, you know different guitar players subbing, I'd go out to
Jersey and I knew Harry was playing at the Alibi on Route 22. Ring a bell?
FP: Yeah I remember that club.
GD: Yeah. And he was playing with Hay Jackson, he was playing saxophone. The
band was so bad, he didn't really need to play guitar (laughs). So he was playing
saxophone which fit better with the band cause he didn't play the saxophone that
well. And I kept on telling Harry “I'm playing with all these guys in New York,
you play much better than they do” you know, I mean hello, you know.
FP: What was his response to that?
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GD: Well, Harry was like, he was always involved in Ritchie Moore, you know
local guys. Ritchie Moore Four which you know they used to do Hi-Los and
RC: Did Harry sing?
GD: Yeah.
RC: I didn't know that.
GD: They all sang.
RC: Wow.
GD: And they would do, what's that other band, the ones with singers? Not the
Hi-Los but
FP: The Four Freshmen?
GD: Yeah, The Four Freshmen. They used to cover The Four Freshmen. And they
were working five, six nights a week and they would rehearse and have all these.
FP: It would be great if there were any recordings of that.
GD: I don't remember, but I thought they were the greatest band cause every time
I'd go out they'd get off the wall… And they would just you know they would just
be off the wall. They would do Dixieland tunes and Ritchie Moore would get up
on the bar. You know with a cymbal and they'd go around the bar walking
RC: Steal drinks
GD: (Laughs) Steal drinks.
RC: I remember those days.
FP: And that was just basically a regulation commercial band of the time.
GD: Yeah, but all friends.
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RC: They were all working six nights a week. That's what they were doing,
working all the time.
RC: First time I met Harry was down in Barry Miles' house I recall.
FP: When was that?
RC: This was like early sixties. Probably around sixty, maybe sixty three or four.
GD: And I don't know how many times we played before Harry started playing
with Mike, Mike Melillo and Roy.
RC: Well I played with him once before that before we played I think. Remember
John Dense? A great drummer who was around before he moved to California.
He's a brother, he married my sister. So, he had a night at The Cove. Like a
Monday night or something. And he said “I've been hearing about this guitar
player Harry Leahey and I want to get him.” So he calls him. And Harry says
“sure” he comes down and we played. In fact I brought my tape recorder. I
actually have a tape of that.
GD: And Mike was on that gig?
RC: No, it was a trio, guitar, bass and drums.
FP: So that was a jazz gig.
RC: Yeah. It was amazing, it was just great. I'll play it for you. I have that.
FP: If you can get me a copy of that I'd love to hear it.
RC: Yeah. I will. And that's the first time I actually met Harry. We had talked.
Because before that he was very shy. And we just said hello at Barry Miles. Just
so quiet, he didn't say anything.
FP: What were you doing at Barry's, a session?
- 14 -
RC: Yeah. I think Barry was maybe just starting to play piano or something
maybe. I'm not sure if he was playing drums or piano. I can't remember. That was
way back. Cause his father used to call me. Cause Barry never called anybody.
GD: Barry was shy too.
RC: His father would call and say “why don't you come down and play with
Barry?” And I'd go down and play. But I remember meeting Harry and every
body saying so much about him. I remember liking his playing. And I remember
trying to talk to him at the end and he was just so painfully shy or something.
GD: Yeah he was shy.
RC: I remember leaving saying “who is that guy?”
GD: Who is that masked man?
RC: He was just so quiet. You couldn't get anything out of him. He wouldn't talk.
Way back then. The early sixties I guess.
Cumming goes on to describe the circumstances of Leahey’s meeting with pianist
Mike Melillo:
RC: But then Mike called him, right Mike called him
GD: Yeah.
RC: to come out and play at the farm which he had from like 1970 to about '75 or
so.
FP: Did he know Mike earlier?
GD: Not really. He knew of him. Cause I mentioned that I was playing with Mike
and he aught to come up to the farm and play or something some time.
RC: That's right.
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GD: Because he was just doing commercial you know, commercial. Blue Hills
Manor. All this like Route 22 work you know I mean which was really not really I
mean he was so much better than that. I mean heads above that. And I always
tried to encourage him but (laughs) you know he always looked at me like I was
bullshitting.
FP: Why did he, did he do that because he didn't think he was you know
GD: Hard to say Flip.
RC: I think his kids and stuff.
GD: Yeah I was playing with Mike. I was hanging out and playing. Through Roy
I met Mike. And we did some gigs down the shore and I got Mike on it.
RC: That's right.
GD: Do you remember Lou Stewart?
FP: No.
GD: That name. He died of cancer but you know he was doing this gig down the
shore with this vocalist. And he said “you know somebody who wants this gig?
Cause I'm teaching in the school and I'm wearing.” He was sick. And he didn't say
he was sick. But you know he said. So I called Roy you know cause I'd heard
tapes of Mike and I said “is he working?” He said “yeah he's not working but he's
a hard guy to get out of the house.” Then I called him up and he went for it. It was
two or three nights a week. And that's how I met Mike and then I started playing
at the house and I don't know. You moved up there after Mike got divorced or
split or whatever.
RC: That's right, about a year.
- 16 -
FP: Moved up to where?
RC: The farm.
GD: Allamuchy, that was north of Hackettstown. Off the main road, old farm
house. I mean a real farm, a working farm.
RC: Way off the road.
FP: Like the ones you see around here.
GD: They just rented the house. So it was a hang.
FP: Right.
RC: Perpetual session.
FP: Nice.
RC: Musicians every day.
FP: He was from Newark originally, right?
RC: He went to Arts High, went to Newark. Before that Mike was playing he
played with Sonny Rollins.
FP: He had played with Sonny Rollins before that?
RC: Before that. In '64 or '63. He was one of the first piano players I heard at the
Clifton Tap Room. That's how I met Mike at the Clifton Tap Room in the early
sixties. His first club, Amos's. And then I became friends with Mike. I knew him
you know through the years.
GD: I think I met you through John Scully, right? You came out to my studio.
RC: That's right.
GD: And played.
RC: That's right. That's when I just got out of the army.
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GD: And we did those things with Ritchie Bierach. Those sessions right?
(Laughs)
RC: That's right.
GD: (Laughs) it’s pretty out. Pretty out scenes.
RC: New York scene man.
GD: Yeah.
RC: That was really out. That's right, Glenn used to have this place you could
play. It was right next to a railroad track.
GD: An old switchman's shack. I had it for seven years. Cost me a hundred and
twenty five dollars a month rent.
RC: There was like an old upright piano in there.
GD: I had an old upright piano.
RC: And John Scully.
GD: A lot of history going down. (Laughs) A lot of hang after gigs.
RC: Probably Harry used to hang out there.
RC: I remember the first time Harry came up to Mike's. Man, he was just
amazing. First time those guys played it was like they played forever.
GD: They just hooked up.
RC: Piano and guitar is always like
FP: It can be a conflict.
RC: It can.
FP: But they locked in?
RC: It was amazing.
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GD: They just hooked up immediately.
RC: It was like boom. Mike was so gassed. That was the band. That was it!
GD: Yeah that was it.
FP: So that was the beginning of In Free Association?
RC: In Free Association.
GD: Pretty much.
RC: Absolutely.
Melillo, the son of a bass player, had played piano from the age of five. As Davis
stated he went Arts High School in Newark, New Jersey. In 1962 he received a BA in
music composition from Rutgers University, also in Newark. From 1962 to 1964 he
worked in the house trio at the Tap Room in Clifton, New Jersey with bassist Vinnie
Burke and drummer Eddie Gladden. It was with that trio that he first accompanied Phil
Woods. He then played with saxophonist Sonny Rollins from 1965 to 1967. He, Leahey,
Cumming, and Davis came together as In Free Association in 1970. In 1973 he moved to
the Pocono region of Pennsylvania. He, Woods, bassist Steve Gilmore, and drummer Bill
Goodwin then formed the Phil Woods Quartet 15
Leahey’s association with Melillo led directly to his being asked to join the Phil
Woods Quintet, or rather to be added to the Phil Woods Quartet, making it a quintet.
Woods had moved to France in 1968. That same year he formed the quartet the
European Rhythm Machine which remained intact until 1972. After briefly leading an
experimental electronic quartet in Los Angeles Woods moved to Delaware Water Gap,
15 Barry Kernfeld: ‘Melillo, Mike', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 24 August 2005), <http://www.grovemusic.com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu>.
- 19 -
Pennsylvania. In October 1973 he formed his quartet with Melillo, Gilmore, and
Goodwin.16
In a September 25, 2005 interview Woods talked about adding Leahey to his
band:
FP: How did you meet Harry? Were you introduced to him by Mike Melillo?
PW: Yes, Mike Melillo introduced me to Harry. [He] brought him over. When I
first came back from Europe we used to have jam sessions over at Mike's house. I
was staying with Bill Goodwin at the time. And Steve Gilmore and Bill had been
working together a lot so we started jamming at Mike's house and he invited
Harry over and that's how we eventually formed the Quintet from those jam
sessions.
FP: Around when was that?
PW: Seventy four, seventy five, something like that. Mike, Bill and Steve and I
first started as a quartet. And then when we had the Showboat gig that's when we
added Harry because I had written a Brazilian Suite. I wanted to have the guitar
and I wanted to use the soprano and I thought the soprano and the guitar would
work well. So that's how that all happened. The Showboat album was kind of a
catalyst for adding guitar. And we used percussion too on that.17
16 Barry Kernfeld: ‘Woods, Phil', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 24 August 2005), <http://www.grovemusic.com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu>. 17 From an interview with Phil Woods.
- 20 -
The album to which Woods refers, "Live From The Showboat” recorded in
November of 1976 and released in 1977, won the group a Grammy award. The album
won the award for best live jazz performance. Leahey considered this award the high
point of his career.18 The album also received a five star review in Down Beat Magazine.
Writer Russell Shaw was positively effusive in his praise of the band and the album. He
starts by stating that he is rarely “moved to superlatives” and then proceeds to heap them
on the album. He praises the audience at The Showboat and then compares the band,
most favorably to the “overrated European Rhythm Machine” stating that they were
“glorying in wave after wave of musical triumph.” He singles Woods out as
“consummately masterful.” He does add some praise for the sidemen but confines his
discussion of Leahey to the phrase “not forgetting the Djangoish guitar of Harry
Leahey.”19 Regrettably this comment does justice to neither Django Reinhardt nor Harry
Leahey. However it was at least positive and no doubt well meant.
Sadly Leahey’s wife, Karen was in the early stages of the illness that would
eventually take her life at the time that Phil Woods had offered Leahey the spot in the
band. Leahey’s daughter Deborah recalls that her mother insisted that he go on tour with
the band.
The 1970s was a busy time for Leahey. During the time period when he began his
associations with Melillo and Woods he maintained an extremely busy teaching schedule
and continued to perform with local commercial groups. One night he would be playing
Bebop, the next night he would be playing a Carlos Santana solo (both to perfection.) It
18 Richard Skelly. December 2, 1988 The Home News He keeps on pluckin’. 19 Russell Shaw. October 20, 1977 Down Beat Magazine p. 28 Record Reviews.
- 21 -
was during this time that he also began working regularly with bassist Ronnie Naspo. In
this October 3, 2005 interview Naspo recalls this period:
RN: I think my main association w/ Harry started in the seventies. It was from a
job I did with Harry that I met Bucky. Harry and I, when we were playing as a
duo got a job at Gulliver’s, Amos's guitar night -- It was our first guitar night
there and we had prepared some stuff --
FP: When was that?
RN: Closest I can come is the seventies -- we go and we set up, a little uneasy, I
was a little uneasy -- respected jazz club and I knew that a lot of players came in,
guitar players to hear Harry. So we're just getting set up we're on the stand -- the
end of the bar was directly in front of the bandstand, about six feet away -- with
just a few minutes tuning up, whatever, getting things set up and who comes in
but Bucky Pizzarelli and Les Paul and sit right down in front -- Les Paul was one
of my heroes, and one of Harry's too -- so we did what we did -- they were very
cordial -- they had to respect what Harry did, cause he was such a wonderful
player
FP: They must have known about him.
RN: Yeah, they, “hey let's check this guy out” -- Harry at that point, his name
was around -- Then we continued to play together as a duo. That started cause I
started taking lessons from him.20
Comparing Harry as a teacher to the old school of guitar teaching, as taught by his
first teacher Mickey Vest, Naspo said this: "The chord studies I got with Mickey were
20 Interview with Ronnie Naspo.
- 22 -
like Mel Bay, the barre chord book. But with Harry, I guess he got it from Sandole, the
five different systems of chords, the sets. My jazz training with Mickey was we would
play duets. And he would play a chorus and then I would [pause] attempt. He said ‘just
keep listening and keep trying.’ That was my jazz education -- He didn't talk about the
relationship of a specific type of scale to a specific type of chord -- That’s what jazz
education was at that point, when he was a young fellow, nothing, listen to the records
and try to copy them, figure it out, sort of. Cause he could play jazz. But Lord knows how
those guys learned it, strictly by ear. There were no methods.”
The Gulliver’s that Naspo referred to was Amos Kaune’s club in West Paterson,
New Jersey. In the early 1970s and into the early 1980s Gulliver’s was the biggest jazz
club in northern New Jersey. Kaune’s first club, the Clifton Tap Room was where bassist
Roy Cumming had first met pianist Mike Melillo. In 1970 Kaune started a Monday guitar
night. Leahey was regularly featured on Monday guitar night. His growing reputation and
large number of students assured a busy night every time he appeared there. The night
was so successful that it was written up in Guitar Player Magazine. When interviewed for
the article Kaune singled out Leahey among the many guitarists who appeared there.
One of the most popular jazz rooms among guitarists on the east coast is a tavern
called Gulliver's. Located in West Paterson, New Jersey, about twenty miles from
New York City, the club presents jazz seven nights a week. And this room,
opened in 1970, has been the home away from home for many outstanding jazz
guitarists.
The setting is a warm and handsome one, dominated by a huge rectangular bar.
The bandstand, off in a corner, can be easily seen from any part of the room. The
- 23 -
tables along the walls are made from shuffle boards which were cut and polished
by the club's owner, Amos Kaune.
Walls are lined with pictures of the various jazz musicians who have worked there
over the past couple of years. The piano is lighted by a bulb in the bell of a
trumpet which hangs from the ceiling, and the rest of the room is just as dimly lit.
The whole feeling is one of intimacy, a good background for the listening
audience.
Monday nights are reserved for jazz guitarists to perform. Week in and week out,
Guitar Night is one of Gulliver's' biggest attractions. Amos Kaune admits that not
only is it one of his best weeknights, but it's when he gets a chance to hear his
favorite instrument, the guitar.
What gave you the idea to make Mondays into Guitar Nights?
In prior years, here and at the last place I owned, I had tremendous success with
guitarists, and a lot of guitar players came to hear one another. On Mondays at my
old place we used to feature recognized jazz people, but somehow we always did
better with guitarists. We brought in Tal Farlow. Chuck Wayne, Jim Hall, Kenny
Burrell and Attila Zoller among others. Because of that previous success, I
brought Guitar Night to Gulliver's.
Which guitarists have you featured here?
We've had Pat Martino, Chuck Wayne, Joe Puma, Joe Cinderella, Skeeter Best
and some local players. The one who stands out most in my mind, though, is
Harry Leahey. Everyone who has heard him play agrees that he is the Johnny
Smith of the Seventies.
- 24 -
Which ones have been the biggest Monday night draws?
They've all done quite well, even local guitarists like Jimmy DeAngelis and Pat
Mahoney who are two excellent players who just need breaks. The biggest
Mondays were ones when we featured Pat Martino, Harry Leahey, Bucky
Pizzarelli and the combination of Chuck Wayne with Joe Puma.21
In April 1973 Leahey was involved in Don Sebesky’s Giant Box project. Sebesky,
who along with Bob James was a house arranger for Creed Taylor’s CTI label had
assembled an all-star cast for this ambitious project. This double LP featured such CTI
stars as flutist Hubert Laws, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, saxophonist Joe Farrell and
guitarist George Benson. Leahey is heard, albeit faintly on a medley of Igor Stravinsky’s
Firebird and John McLaughlin’s Birds Of Fire. For this recording Yamaha custom built a
twelve -string guitar for Leahey to play. The guitar is currently in the possession of James
Leahey, Leahey’s older son and an excellent guitarist in his own right. Unfortunately
Leahey’s work on this track is confined to section playing. In fact, the twelve-string
guitar could easily be mistaken for a harpsichord. Leahey told me that Sebesky had
recorded a tribute to Wes Montgomery, another CTI artist who had died 1968. Sadly that
track was not released. One can only speculate as to the effect that performance might
have had on Leahey’s career.
In 1974 Leahey began teaching guitar at William Paterson University (then
William Paterson College) in the jazz program. He was one of the first adjuncts in jazz.
He continued to teach there until 1988.
21 Robert Yelin April 1973 Guitar Player Magazine Two unique nightclub experiments that worked.
- 25 -
Another musician that Leahey worked with around this time was saxophonist Eric
Kloss. Again Cumming and Davis:
RC: We used to do gigs at a place called Richard's Lounge. Way back in the early
seventies.
FP: With Eric?
RC: In Free Association, and Eric.
GD: And Eric. Yeah. Actually I think we got our foot in the door with Eric. Eric
came out to the farm a couple of times and played just you know just session. And
then he got the gig down there and he hired us as a rhythm section. Bad move.
(Laughs)
FP: Why do you say that?
GD: Cause we were so out.
RC: It was like anarchy.
GD: Yeah. We were so out. Poor Eric was on his own.
RC: Mike liked to do certain tunes and that was it. That was the tunes we did.
Basically that's what we did. (Laughs)
FP: And if Eric called tunes that Mike didn't want to do.
RC: Well, all my tapes are of all the stuff that we did with Free Association.
GD: Yeah. I have some things with Eric but they were with Harry, at Wallace's.
FP: At Wallace's?
RC: And also at Gulliver's. I remember playing a couple of gigs with Harry and
Eric at the first Gulliver's. 22
22 From an interview with Roy Cumming and Glenn Davis.
- 26 -
Leahey also performed with pianist John Coates. He appears with Coates on the
1981 OmniSound LP “Pocono Friends.” From 1974 to 1978 drummer Buddy
Deppenschmidt led a band called Jazz Renaissance “which at various times included
Coates, Richie Cole, Mike Melillo, and the guitarist Harry Leahey.”23
In the mid 1970s Leahey also performed with bassist Jack Six. The duo made
several appearances at Sweet Basil’s in New York City. When guitarist John Scofield left
Gerry Mulligan in 1976 Six recommended Leahey to Mulligan. Six recollects that
Mulligan was “knocked out” by Leahey, who subsequently performed with his band at
five or six engagements. Deborah Leahey recalls seeing her father with Mulligan at
Carnegie Hall but no documentation has surfaced as to the date of that concert.
Harry Leahey did perform at Carnegie Hall with the Phil Woods Quintet. As part
of the Newport Jazz Festival, the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra and the Phil Woods
Quintet shared the bill at a midnight concert on June 28, 1977. Unfortunately the New
York Times review the group’s performance received was somewhat less than favorable.
Writer John S. Wilson said that Woods was “in high virtuoso form on both alto and
soprano saxophones” but that “his group seemed bland by comparison, serving him with
strong support for his solos but not finding any solo ideas of its own that could stand up
against Mr. Woods’s”.24 Apparently Wilson felt that the Phil Woods Quintet had gone
very far downhill in a very short period of time. About one month earlier he had written
of the band “Phil Woods, who has been a consistently interesting jazz saxophone soloist
for the last two decades, while he played, for the most part, with pickup groups is now
23 Barry Kernfeld: 'Deppenschmidt, Buddy', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 24 August 2005), <http://www.grovemusic.com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu>. 24 John S. Wilson New York Times Jun 30, 1977 Newport Jazz: Vibrant Virtuosos.
- 27 -
leading a quintet that functions as an ensemble rather than merely a backdrop for his
solos. At Hopper's, Avenue of the Americas at 11th Street, where the quintet is appearing
this week and next, Mr. Woods, playing alto and soprano saxophones, Mike Melillo on
piano and Harry Leahy[sic] on guitar, develop ensemble passages, backed by Steve
Gilmore, bass, and Bill Goodwin, drums, that are unusual in this generally solo-
dominated music. Like the Modern Jazz Quartet, the group as a whole is as important as
the individual members. And when the soloists enter, they sustain the level of interest
established by the ensemble.”25
In 1978 Leahey left the Phil Woods Quintet. Again Woods:
Harry didn't stay with us that long. Harry was not a road rat. He made a couple of
tours, but he actually was a family man and he preferred teaching. He preferred
staying home and teaching. He didn't like those long days in the motel room
watching CNN. That was not his bag. And I can dig it.26
The May 19, 1978 issue of the Courier-News ran a feature on Harry Leahey
entitled Guitar teacher Harry Leahey looks at his performing as just a hobby, written by
staff writer Kenneth Best. Best refers to Leahey as “a musician who is most at home
conveying his knowledge to students rather than performing on stage”. He quotes Leahey
as referring to live performing “a hobby”. According to Leahey in this article he had been
added to the group for the Live at the Showboat album at the request of producer Norman
Schwartz and was originally “just supposed to do the album”. Leahey’s humility and
respect for Woods came out in his statements that “It took me a while to get used to
25 John S. Wilson New York Times May 26, 1977 Jazz: Phil Woods 5. 26 From an interview with Phil Woods.
- 28 -
playing with Phil. He had been someone that I had listened to for years. I had a hard time
holding my pick.” Anyone who had ever seen Leahey play live could attest to the fact
that he certainly had no trouble holding his pick! The article goes on to describe the
making of Song for Sisyphus, released in 1978 by Gryphon but listed in the article as a
Century release. The album was recorded direct-to-disk meaning that the group had to the
entire set with no mistakes! Again Leahey: “We had to make three (disk) masters because
each one can only produce a limited number of copies. It took us 11 hours and there were
many starts. The music is all the stuff we were playing on the road, but it was still
difficult.” Deborah Leahey stated that her father did not enjoy recording. This session
must have been quite a chore for him. On this album he contributes a beautiful solo
rendition of Django Reinhardt’s Nuages as well as burning solos on the title track and
several others. Although the article does not give an exact date to Leahey’s departure
from Woods’s band it states that “earlier this year [he] had to decide whether to stay on
the road for the 200 days per year Woods required or return full time to his students and
his family.” Leahey of course chose the latter. His explanation for his decision is a sad
commentary on the musician’s lot in the field of jazz performance. One must look at his
statement in light of the fact that he was performing with a winner of the Down Beat,
Playboy and Metronome polls and with a Grammy Award winning band. “It was a really
great year. I think my playing improved and I learned more in that time than in all my
years studying. But to survive playing jazz and trying to support a family is difficult.
Being on the road all the time is not always a very good life. It takes tremendous energy.
Most of the (jazz) money today is in the schools.” He goes on to give a plug to a gig he is
holding down on Thursday s at a club called TJ’s in Meyersville, NJ. Upon his return
- 29 -
from the road, Leahey found the demand for his tutelage extremely high. “Now I’m
teaching five days a week, sometimes 12 hours a day.” At the time of this article he had
recently recorded with Michel LeGrand on the LeGrand Jazz album released in 1978 on
the Gryphon label. 27
After Leahey stopped touring with the Phil Woods Quintet, he resumed playing
with his In Free Association band mates Cumming and Davis. It was this band that was at
TJ’s (although neither Davis nor Cumming remembered the name of the club.). From the
October 12, 2005 interview:
GD: So then we started rehearsing again.
FP: So that's about '78.
RC: Yeah exactly.
GD: Yeah. Then we went into The Golden Putter. I think that was the first gig.
We had
RC: That's right. Steady gig for a year.
GD: What night was that anyway? It was a Thursday night?
RC: It was a Wednesday or Thursday.
GD: Wednesday or Thursday. And we got, we built that to the point where she
added a Sunday, a matinee Sunday. But she had two bars going. And we still
couldn't get any
RC: With two bands. They had a band after us.
27 Kenneth Best May 19, 1978 The Courier-News Guitar teacher Harry Leahey looks at his performing as just a hobby.
- 30 -
GD: We still couldn't get any money out of her. Every time we'd go in the room
she'd start whispering right. (Whispers) "Oh I can't do that right now. I wish I
could. You're certainly deserving." We couldn't get (laughs) and she's making lots
of money. At the same time you know I was trying to interest Yosho Inomaha into
doing something with OmniSound.
RC: Shawnee Records.
GD: Shawnee enterprises.
RC: That was the record company.
GD: Subdivision of Fred Waring’s press. And John Coates was doing all this
recording and John loved Harry.
RC: Cause they played together years ago.
GD: They played together too. John was instrumental and I kept on Yosho and
that's how that recording came. But it took him over a year. We were ready a year
before that.
RC: We were really hot on that stuff.
GD: We were hot. We actually weren't playing that material that we have on the
record. We had sort of moved on from that. So we had to go back and like sort of
redo it. You know, work it up again.
RC: We always felt that we had played that stuff better a year before we made
that record.
GD: Yeah I think we had.
FP: But that is a great record.
RC: Yeah everybody likes that record.
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FP: That record really holds up.
GD: Yeah it does hold up. We've actually listened to it lately. (laughs)
RC: Yeah because we wanted to make a CD of it. Cause the masters are gone.
FP: Didn't you tell me that you found a pristine copy of it?
RC: Yeah. So I brought it to a friend who's got a really high class system.
FP: The thing about your trio that was so great was that it was in the tradition but
it was extending the tradition. It was modern but it was not out. Just like a logical
extension.
GD: Right. Using all the elements. We did a concert in '85 or '86, something like
that up in
RC: Rochester?
GD: Rochester at a college and we did a concert with a choir. Mainly trio and
then a couple things they'd arranged for choir. Still Waters.
RC: The musical director arranged them.
GD: And the next day we did a workshop. I worked with drummers and Harry did
this thing about how you could play on notes, predominant notes in the chorus
and kept changing the ways that you could play off all this stuff. And we were
just looking at him like (laughs) what?28
The 1980s began with great promise for Leahey. His association with Phil Woods
including his participation on a Grammy Award winning LP had given him greater name
recognition. As he had stated in the Courier-News article he was now carrying a
28 From an interview with Roy Cumming and Glenn Davis.
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tremendous teaching load. In addition to his private students he served on the faculty in
the jazz program at William Paterson University. He was also playing a fair number of
jazz gigs. Listings in the New York Times announce performances with his trio, with Ron
Naspo and as a soloist. In March of 1981 Leahey was profiled in the Newark
Star-Ledger. George Kanzler was the paper’s jazz critic. In the article Kanzler states that
while Leahey’s name doesn’t appear in the Encyclopedia of Jazz, “the omission is an
error on the part of the encyclopedia’s editors for, Harry Leahey is a terrific jazz guitarist
and the leader of one of the finest small combos in this area as well as a near legendary
guitar teacher who has influenced dozens of younger jazz and rock guitarists in New
Jersey.” He then goes on to praise a performance by Leahey’s trio with a guest
appearance by saxophonist Leo Johnson. He singles out a rendition of “Sweet and
Lovely”. Of note in this profile is the statement from Leahey that when he studied with
Johnny Smith, Smith “liked me so much he never took a dime from me.”29
On June 30, 1981 Leahey performed at the sixth annual jazz picnic sponsored by
the New Jersey Jazz Society and presented as part of the Kool Jazz Festival. He appeared
as part of the Don Elliot Quintet which also included pianist Derek Smith. The set was
called a “bright contrast to the dominant traditional tone of the day” and was noted for
performances of “My Funny Valentine” and “Here’s that Rainy Day”.30 He continued to
be featured at Gulliver’s. Other venues that featured Leahey included the Plainfield
Public Library; Seton Hall University, where on March 25, 1982 his trio split the bill with
a duo of his brother in law Tom Anthony and his son James Leahey performing classical
29 Joseph F Sullivan June 30, 1981 The New York Times Twenties Classics Recreated in Jersey In a Festive Part of Jazz Festival. 30 George Kanzler March 8, 1981 The Newark Star-Ledger A family man by day and top artist by night.
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duets; William Paterson College; the William Carlos Williams Center in Rutherford, New
Jersey; the Unitarian Fellowship in Morristown, New Jersey and the Small World Jazz
Café in Hoboken, New Jersey. On March 18, 1984 Leahey gave a solo concert at the
Oldwick, New Jersey Community Center. That concert was recorded and contains
versions of “I Concentrate on You”, “St. Louis Blues”, “Stardust”, “My Funny
Valentine”, “C Jam Blues”, “Embraceable You”, “You Stepped out of a Dream”, “All the
Things You Are”, “Strings and Things” and “Satin Doll”. In these performances Leahey
displays his mastery of the solo jazz guitar idiom. In his melody statements and
improvised choruses he moves effortlessly between block chords, single notes, octaves,
melodies with chord accompaniments and two and three part polyphony. In “St. Louis
Blues” he moves the melody seamlessly between registers, from the treble accompanied
by lower chords to the bass with chords on the top, much as a pianist might. He opens
“My Funny Valentine” with a classically influenced arrangement that takes full
advantage of open strings within rich chords. He then plays a chorus of melody as a waltz
followed by and improvised chorus containing all the aforementioned elements. A
modulation up a whole step leads into the out chorus with a tag in 3/4 time. Although the
influences of Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel, Joe Pass and Johnny Smith are evident
Leahey never imitates. Even while playing within the tradition of these great players he
always maintains his own unique identity. In both the melody and improvised choruses of
“C Jam Blues” he turns the guitar into a miniature big band.
Between 1984 and 1986, in addition to leading the Harry Leahey Trio, performing
solo and performing with Ronnie Naspo, Leahey performed with a trio consisting of
himself, organist Dave Braham and drummer Ronnie Glick. Glick, a Plainfield native had
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moved back to North Plainfield. Within two weeks of having moved there he noticed a
sign outside of Jones Chateau, a local club about six blocks from his house at 44
Watchung Avenue in Plainfield, advertising live organ trio jazz. He went into the club
and found that he knew the club’s owner, Willie Jones, from the Newark, New Jersey
jazz club scene. Glick had worked for Jones when he was the manager of the Cadillac
club. The two of them struck up a conversation. Jones knew who Harry Leahey was and
Glick told him that he could bring an organ trio into the club. Jones booked the trio for a
steady Tuesday night. After about a year he added Thursday nights. The group continued
at the club for about three years until “an incident in the club, unrelated to the band”
brought the gig to an end. In fact this (unspecified) incident “put the club under” and it
folded shortly after the band left. In 1985 Leahey suffered a heart attack. During his
recovery guitarists Vinnie Corrao, Bob DeVos and others subbed for him. Leahey’s quick
recovery allowed him to return to the gig after a few weeks. During the trio’s extended
gig at Jones Chateau musicians, both local and well known, would stop by to hear the
trio. Fortunately there exist a small number of recordings of this group. In these
recordings one can hear an extremely cohesive and swinging group. All three musicians
contribute equally to the overall sound and demonstrate their abilities both as ensemble
players and as true virtuosi in the jazz idiom. Leahey is featured on Body and Soul. He
proves in this performance that his harmonic, melodic and rhythmic mastery of jazz
guitar were second to no one. During this time period the group also performed regularly
at O’Connor’s in on 1719 Amwell Road in Somerset, New Jersey. In addition to trio gigs
the group also hosted a guest artist series. The headliners who appeared with the group
were Al Cohn, who did two evenings with the trio, David (Fathead) Newman and Lou
- 35 -
Donaldson. Again, fortunately, a recording survives of the Donaldson performance.
Performing tunes such as Charlie Parker’s Billie’s Bounce the four musicians don’t sound
like a star with a local house rhythm section, but like four peers, four masters of jazz.
Other venues where Leahey performed in the 1980s included The Cornerstone in
Metuchen, New Jersey, where he played as a duo with Ronnie Naspo and with cornetist
Warren Vaché.
On November 8, 1987 Karen Leahey succumbed to a long illness and died. This
was the second blow to a man for whom the future had looked so bright a few short years
earlier.
On April 24 1988 Leahey participated in a concert with pianist Derek Smith’s
sextet. The concert was at the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse in Hampton, New Jersey. The
group also included trumpeter Randy Sandke, saxophonist Harry Allen, bassist John
Goldsby and drummer Chuck Riggs. The concert had been presented by the New Jersey
Jazz Society. Afterwards he went to visit his old friend Edie. After spending the evening
together he told her that he would call her and he left. The next day he went to the VA
Hospital in Watchung, NJ where he was diagnosed with stage-four cancer. Four days
later Edie asked singer Rosemary Conti if she had seen Leahey. Rosemary told her that
Leahey was still in the hospital recovering from surgery. Leahey began to study
macrobiotic cooking as a way to help him fight his illness but it was Edie and Leahey’s
mother who did the cooking.
Harry Leahey had touched many people’s lives and there were several benefits
held to raise money to help defray his medical expenses. On June 5, 1988 a marathon
- 36 -
benefit concert was held at The Strand Music Mall in Hackettstown, New Jersey. Among
the participants were Phil Woods, pianist Barry Miles and guitarist Vic Juris. On July 11,
1988 there was a benefit concert at Gulliver’s in Lincoln Park, New Jersey. Among the
performers were guitarists Tal Farlow and Vic Juris, saxophonists Bennie Wallace, Harry
Allen and Tom Hamilton, clarinetist Kenny Davern, pianists Keith MacDonald, Morris
Nanton and Rio Clemente, singers Grover Kemble and Kit Moran and others.
Harry Leahey had expressed that he wished, like saxophonist Al Cohn, to play
right up to the end. Between his diagnosis and his death he performed regularly at
Trumpets in Montclair, New Jersey at Café D’Angelico, also in Montclair, New Jersey
and numerous other venues including Zanzibar in New York City. During this time
period he frequently performed in a duo setting with bassists Gary Mazzaroppi and Rick
Crane as well as with his trio. He was the first call sub for guitarist Tal Farlow, whose
base of activity was the New Jersey shore. He also got together with veteran jazz guitarist
Chuck Wayne for informal sessions. On September 15, 1989 he performed at the
Watchung Arts Center in Watchung, New Jersey. On June 8, 1990 he performed there
again in a duo with Gary Mazzaroppi. Readers of the June 1990 Watchung Arts Center
newsletter were advised to make reservations for this performance. “When Harry Leahey
picks up his guitar, the packed hall goes quiet. His nimble fingers dance over the strings
in seemingly effortless sweeps. Yet the sound that emerges is lively, circling around the
melody as he improvises his own interpretations of recognizable tunes. At the end of the
evening, the crowd is reluctant to let him go.” On June 24, 1990 he participated in
George Wein’s JVC Jazz Festival performing in the Super Jazz Picnic in Waterloo
Village, Stanhope, New Jersey. Leahey shared the bill with such players as Flip Phillips,
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Dave McKenna, Jake Hanna, Kenny Davern, Frank Vignola, Randy Sandke, Ken
Peplowski, Buck Clayton and others. On Monday, July 16, 1990 Leahey made his last
appearance with In Free Association at Trumpets. On Saturday, July 28, 1990 he
performed at Café D’Angelico with Gary Mazzaroppi. Mazzaroppi says “His playing was
brilliant despite a fluid retention problem that made him swollen and uncomfortable. It
was impossible for Harry to ever sound bad.”31 The following day Leahey entered Robert
Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J. On Sunday August 12, 1990
Harry Leahey died.
Although he received very little critical acclaim, fellow musicians were
unanimous in their praise for Harry Leahey. A few representative quotes: “Harry was a
master.” – Glenn Davis. “The most complete guitarist I ever heard” – Vinnie Corrao. “I
was flabbergasted by his playing” –Warren Vaché. “He was the top of the heap. He was
the best guitar player that I had ever played with and I played with every [one]” – Phil
Woods. “I don’t think there’ll ever be another Harry Leahey.” – Jack Six. “He was a
great guitarist and a very beautiful man.” – Leo Johnson.
Over the course of a thirty year career as New Jersey’s premier guitar teacher
Leahey taught literally thousands of students, many of whom went on to successful
careers. Among his former students are Vic Juris, Bob DeVos, Jon Herington, Warren
Vaché, Jack Six, Walt Bibinger, Larry Barbee, Chuck Loeb, Jeff Mironov, Donovan
Mixon and Tom Kozic.
31 Summer 1991 All Music And the music was unforgettable.
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In addition to his devotion to music, the guitar and to his family Harry Leahey
was also an intellectually curious man with a deep interest in spirituality and philosophy.
Deborah Leahey told me that both of his parents were well read and would have
philosophical discussions long into the night. Because of this, and because of his
somewhat portly physique, Leahey was affectionately known to friends as “The Buddha”
of jazz. In fact bassist Roy Cumming wrote a tune in dedication to Leahey called “The
Buddha.”
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The Harry Leahey Chord Method
For this discussion of Harry Leahey’s approach to teaching chordal playing on the guitar
I have drawn from lessons which he gave to me in the late 1960s and early 1970s and from
conversations with two of his former students, Walt Bibinger and Larry Maltz. I am grateful to
them for their help putting this together.
Leahey taught a system of chords built on five groups of four strings to which he gave
letter designations from A to E. With the highest string (in pitch) as 1 and the lowest as 6, the sets
were: A: 6432, B: 5432, C: 5321, D: 6543 and E: 4321. The basis of the system was five types of
seventh chords. Here in Leahey’s own hand is his explanation of the derivation of the chord types
or qualities:
Although there are five chord sets, there are only two distinct sets of voicings. The
voicings of letter A are duplicated by letter C and letters B, D and E are all the same voicing.
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The chord study began with the progression C Major 7th, A minor 7th, D minor 7th, G7th.
The chords are to be learned as a progression in four positions and as four chords in four
inversions each. The following pages illustrate the chord progression worked out in five chord
sets. Each set is represented by a grid. The grid’s rows are the progression and its columns are the
chord inversions.
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The following pages illustrate the five seventh types worked out in all five chord sets.
Each set is represented by a grid. The grid’s rows are the five chord types and its columns are the
chord inversions. Although the sets are shown together they are meant to be studied individually,
each one mastered before going on to the next one.
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The next step towards mastery of a chord set is a series of “root exercises” which consist
of, in four inversions each CM7, FM7, BbM7, etc. through the circle of fifths. This is repeated for
each of the 7th chord types. Short chord progressions are given to figure out. Here is an example:
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Dm7 (#5), G7 (b5), CM7 (b5), CM7 (#5). Each chord is to be played in four inversions and the
progression is to be played in four positions.
From the 7th chords the 9th, 11th and 13th chords are derived as follows. Ninth chords are
built by replacing the root with the 2nd, 11th chords are built by replacing the 3rd with the 4th and
13th chords are built by replacing the 5th with the 6th. Once the student has learned the 9th, 11th and
13th chords the progressions become more complex as this next example illustrates: Fm (M7),
Bb7 (b5 b9), EbM13 11, cm11 (#5).
Harry Leahey stated his philosophy of teaching in an interview published in the Home
News, a Plainfield area newspaper. “Most of the time what I’m dealing with is mechanics. Since I
lean toward improvisation, I like to give the student a tune to play as soon as I feel he can handle
it. With guitar, you can go on teaching the mechanical and technical aspects for years. You can
take scales and go on to modes and intervals, and the student can have all this knowledge and still
not know how to play a tune.”32 Here an example of a tune from a lesson he gave to me in late
1968.
32 Richard Skelly December 2, 1988 The Home News He keeps on pluckin’.
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Standard songs such as “Tenderly” would be harmonized using these chord forms by
playing the melody on the highest string and finding the chord voicings that went under the
melody notes. While harmonizing a song using just one group of strings can necessitate awkward
leaps and occasional register changes, it opens the door to rich chord melody arrangements. Using
this system it is possible to create “instant” arrangements that are serviceable and often sound
great “right out of the box”.
After the student had done all five sets, Leahey would write out simple melodies with
chord progressions to harmonize with the melody on each of the six strings, using set C for the
first string, B for the second string, D for the third string, E for the forth string, C for the fifth
string and A for the sixth string. The first three combinations had the melody in the treble note of
the chords, the other three in the bass notes. Here is an example assignment and its solutions.
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Harry Leahey once told me that it is not how many chords you know, but how you use
the chords you know that is important. While it is certainly true that a guitarist can make
wonderful music with a limited chord vocabulary, in the hands of a creative musician the
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encyclopedic knowledge with which the diligent student of this system will be rewarded can
provide the basis for beautiful harmonic explorations.
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Analysis of Harry Leahey’s solo on Django’s Castle (Manoir de Mes Rêves)
Harry Leahey’s solo on Django’s Castle (Django Reinhardt) from “Live From
The Showboat” by the Phil Woods Six (1977) RCA LP 12": BGL2-2202 is a masterpiece
of construction and motivic development. He uses Reinhardt’s melody as a point of
departure and builds upon it in extremely creative ways. While he doesn’t use any of
Reinhardt’s signature licks, his glissandi, tremolos, bent notes, etc, his improvisation
stays connected to the melody throughout, sometimes in very subtle ways. His uses of
motives and contour give the entire solo coherence. His approach to the song is
dramatically different from Reinhardt’s. Where Reinhardt played the song as a slow,
Swing style ballad, Leahey gives it a Bossa Nova treatment. He retains the original key of
D Major. In the early part of the structure Leahey uses the same chords as Reinhardt but
alters the harmonic rhythm. Later he introduces chord substitutions. Even when his
chords go the furthest from the original they always sound “inside” and logical within the
framework of the song.
Reinhardt’s melody, as recorded by Django Reinhardt on February 17, 1943 for
the Swing record label and reproduced here, is based on an ascending two note motive
which is answered by a descending motive. Both motives are stretched out over two
measures. The theme is almost entirely built on this pattern, with decorative figures in the
half cadence at mm 12-16 and two ascending motives in the climax at mm 25-28. The
harmonic rhythm of the song, starting with the half note pickup note up to the last eight
measures at m 25, consists of a chord lasting two beats followed by a chord lasting for six
beats. This harmonic rhythm follows the melodic rhythm. At mm 25-28 the chords
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sustain for eight beats each. Finally at mm 29-30 there are two chords per measure, two
beats each. Measures 31-32 are essentially the tonic chord with two fill-in color chords at
beats three and four of m 31. For the first twenty four measures of his solo Leahey
employs the same chords as Reinhardt but alters the harmonic rhythm. Instead of the
repeating short/long pattern he smoothes out the rhythm and gives each chord four beats.
Measures 25-28 of the melody are the climax At this point the harmony consists of two
measures of the IV chord and two measures of the II7 chord. At this point, where
Reinhardt has slowed the harmonic rhythm, Leahey speeds it up. The two measures of
GMaj become one measure of GMaj7 followed by one measure of Em7. The rhythmic
momentum is heightened by a scale wise descending bass line from G to D in half notes,
effectively doubling the harmonic rhythm. At m 27, instead of progressing to an E7 chord
as Reinhardt does, Leahey continues the movement of the bass to a C#, as the root of a
C#m11 chord. This chord lasts for two beats and acts as a secondary ii chord to B minor,
the relative minor to the song’s tonality. The C#m leads to an F#7, a secondary V chord
to B minor. In m 28 Leahey progresses to a B minor chord for two beats, and finally in
the second half of the measure to the E7 chord that was in the original. This entire two
measure sequence of chords has served as a way of delaying the entry of the E7 harmony.
In Leahey’s melody statement he keeps the F# melody note as a common tone over this
series of chords. It is worth mentioning that this sequence of chords appears in the same
place in Richard Rogers’s My Romance. Whether this was intentional on Leahey’s part
will never be known. Measures 29-30 of the original contain a chromatic sequence of
#iim7 #V7 iim7 V7 leading to the final cadence. At this point Leahey applies an
interesting substitution. Where Reinhardt leads to the ii V from a half step above, Leahey
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puts a bivm7 bII7 progression in m31. He has used the chromatic ii V movement but
moved a half step down from Bm7 E9 sequence in m 28. Since Bbm7 and Eb7 are a
tritone away from Em7 and A7, this pair of chords serves as a substitute for the ii V
progression in D Major. Since the melody note in m 29 is an F it fits perfectly on top of
these substitute chords. In m 30 Leahey uses the original chords, Em7 to A7. Placing the
basic chords after the substitute chords has the effect of making the standard chords
sound surprising and fresh. At mm 31-32 Reinhardt breaks up the two measures of tonic
chord by putting a ivm6 and a #iv diminished 7 on the third and fourth beats of m 31,
returning to the tonic chord for m 32. Leahey takes this I ivm change and expands it into
a two measure interlude, one measure for each chord. This gives the soloist a sort of a
dénouement in which to wrap up the ideas expressed in the body of the solo. These
reharmonizations occur at the climactic part of the song and heighten that effect. They
also provide fertile ground for melodic invention.
Leahey’s solo is one chorus long (thirty two bars plus the two bar interlude). He
expands on the song’s call and response motif. Throughout the solo he builds a series of
call and response phrases, each one like a pair of perfectly matched bookends. The
original melody is almost entirely “inside” the chord changes. In keeping with the spirit
of this almost completely diatonic melody Leahey chooses almost exclusively notes that
fall within the scale or that relate closely to the chord against which they are played. Any
chromatic (relative to the chord) notes that he uses are either decorative, passing tones
between chord notes or clearly outline substitute chords. His use of chord substitutions is
masterful; in one place he presents three different sonorities against one basic harmony in
the space of one measure. He does this in such a melodic way that the listener is unaware
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that he has been taken on this sonic walk around the block. He uses rhythmic variety to
propel the solo forward and accentuate his note choices. There is not one single measure
of uninterrupted eighth or sixteenth notes. Instead there is a combination of syncopated
eighth and sixteenth note runs, with generous doses of sustained notes and rests.
Moreover he plays with the eighth note values. Never quite straight, never quite swing,
the runs float over the Bossa Nova-like rhythm section, gently playing with the listener’s
ear. He uses subtle dynamics as well. Although most of the solo is played within a limited
dynamic range, at one point he plays a short figure, almost as an aside very softly,
immediately bringing the level up the match the intensity of the next phrase. Finally there
is his tone. Leahey used extra heavy strings on his guitar and played with a very small
polished stone pick. This gave his guitar an incredibly rich warm sound which was
captured beautifully in this recording. His sustained notes are given a lovely wide vibrato
and have an incredibly bright ringing sound for an amplified acoustic guitar.
Here are the first two phrases of Django’s Castle, mm 1-8 plus the pickup note:
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This alternation of a two note ascending motive with a two note descending motive sets
the pattern for most of the melody of the song. Here is the opening phrase of Leahey’s
solo, mm 1-4:
He begins the first measure with F# to A, the motive with which Reinhardt begins his
original melody. Measure one ends with F# to E, the motive with which Reinhardt
answers the first. The C# and the second A in the middle of the measure serve to outline
the tonic D Major 7 chord. Just as Reinhardt did, Leahey sustains the last note of m 1 into
m 2 making a two bar motive. However Leahey has compressed the call and response of
Reinhardt’s first phrase into one motive. Reinhardt placed the F# in the pickup to the first
full measure. Placing it against the A7 (b9) chord gave the note color as it functioned as a
13th. Giving it two full beats further accentuated it and reinforced its status as an
important melody note. Leahey, on the other hand played a G note, the 7th of the
Dominant A7 chord as a pickup note. He plays it as an eighth note on the “and” of four,
giving it a definite upbeat feeling, as if he were taking a breath before going to the
important F# note on the downbeat. Like Reinhardt Leahey completes his phrase with a
two measure answering motive. Measures 3-4 are virtually identical in rhythm and very
similar in contour to mm 1-2. Rather than outline the chord, he plays a short scalar
passage from B, the 6th of the harmony to D, the tonic before descending to G. The G is
sustained and serves as a sort of a reverse suspension. Within the D Major 7 chord the G
is a dissonant non-chord note, the “avoid note”. In m 4 it becomes the 7th of the A7 and
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thus “resolves”, albeit to the most dissonant member of the chord. The original melody
places a pickup note prominently on the third beat of m 2, leading to the “answer”. By
contrast, Leahey leads into his, again on the third beat, with a three note stepwise figure
in a descending sequence that dovetails beautifully into m 3. The four measure phrase is
symmetrical, consisting of two semi phrases of two measures each. While it is primarily
made up of ascending figures the overall contour is descending. The main motivic
material is in eighth and longer notes and the connecting sequence uses sixteenth notes to
move it forward. The pickup note leading into the phrase and the final note of the phrase
are G notes.
Here is the second phrase of the solo, mm 5-8, with the pickup note:
Again Leahey leads into the phrase with a pickup note on the “and” of four leading down
stepwise to the downbeat. He then continues with a variation of Reinhardt’s up/down
motif. In m 5 he plays on lower pitches than m 1, but they function as higher voices
within the chord. He sustains the last note of m 5 into m 6 and plays an arpeggio as a lead
into the motive that begins in m 7. There is a subtle subtext to the up/down pattern in
these two measures. He expands on the pickup note stepping down to a stressed note. The
second half of m 6 is a C# diminished 7th arpeggio, which forms the upper notes of an
A7(b9) chord. A D note on the “and” of two leads down, stepwise to this arpeggio. The
Bb note on the “and” of four leads stepwise down to an A note in m 7. This A note in turn
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begins another up/down figure. There are two interesting features to this measure. First of
all, a more common figure for a guitarist to play would have been this:
The B note would have continued the forward motion (and been easier to play.) But
Leahey was not finished with his pattern of stepping downward into accented notes. He
then goes up to a D, or the 11th of the chord in anticipation of the D7 chord that is about
to follow in the nest measure. Continuing the up/down pattern a C to E leap strongly
establish the A minor sonority. The E note sustains into the downbeat of m 8, beginning
the measure on the 9th. In m 8 he varies the three techniques he has used earlier in the
solo. He arpeggiates an Eb diminished triad which is the upper notes of a D7(b9). He
leads to this arpeggio with a D, reversing the downward stepwise movement of the
previous pickup notes. He is also using the tonic note, usually the most important note of
a chord, on a weak beat, while the 9th sounds on the downbeat. The four note figure that
ends m 8, and serves as a pickup to m 9, tricks the ear rhythmically and harmonically. B
goes to C and it sounds as though there will be some kind of scale pattern based on a D7
chord. The Ab and Eb notes that follow tell us that this really an Ab triad, or a tritone
substitution on the D7 chord. Now the four note figure reveals itself to be a standard jazz
figure, even a cliché that has been made fresh by surprising the ear. In one measure
Leahey has used a D9, an Eb diminished triad and an Ab triad to function as a D7 chord.
And he has done this without sounding in any way clinical or contrived.
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Here are the next two phrases in the melody, mm 9-16.
Measures 9-12 are the opening phrase transposed up a perfect fourth with its up/down
call and response. Measures 13-16 contain the only rhythmic variety in the song, and the
only departure from the basic up/down motif.
Here is the next phrase of Leahey’s solo, mm 9-14 (note the six bar phrase
length):
Leahey has taken the first two notes of Reinhardt’s original phrase, B and D and inverted
them. The resulting large ascending leap, which outlines the chord, becomes the motive
in a figure and sequence pattern that he develops over the next six measures. After the
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sixth leap Leahey plays the same third leap that appears in the melody, reinforcing the
solo’s connection to the melody. Three times he plays an ascending sixth in this rhythm:
and follows it with new material that serves to connect the figures and move the solo
forward. The top notes of these leaps are B, A and G#. In m 11, as part of his connecting
material he plays a Bb which receives an agogic accent by virtue of its length relative to
the notes around it. This Bb note creates a chromatic line pulling strongly to the G# notes
which are stressed in mm 14-15, both in the bass and in the solo line. This G# being a
tritone away from the tonic adds great color to the solo, all the more so because of the
strong pull of the chromatic line.
A burst of sixteenth notes, interrupted by some syncopation serve as a lead in, or
pickup to the second half of the chorus.
Before going into this double time run Leahey leaves three beats of open space, one half
from the previous measure and two and a half in this measure. This gives the listener’s
ear a moment to breathe. In addition to doubling of the speed, Leahey introduces more
chromaticism into this run. This is over chord changes that are chromatic ii V sequences.
It is interesting to note that the last four notes of this measure, which forcefully lead into
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the second half of the chorus, are another up/down pair. The first half of the chorus ends
on the same note it began with, giving it continuity.
Reinhardt’s melody at mm17-24 is identical to the melody at mm 1-8.
Here is the opening four bar phrase of the second half of Leahey’s chorus, mm
17-20:
Although it may not be apparent at first glance, or on first hearing, Leahey is continuing
the up/down pattern and choosing notes in key places that are strongly connected to the
melody. The contour of m 17 ascends from F# 5 to C# 6, and then descends to G 4.
Measure 18 ascends from G 4 to D 5 and descends back to G 4. Measures 19-20 is a two
bar up/down pair, ascending from F# 4 to E 6 and descending to E 5. The connection to
the song’s melody is subtle. The first two notes of m 17 are the first two notes of m 17 in
the song, sped up by a factor of eight. The last two beats of m 20 consist of two eighth
notes followed by an eighth note and two sixteenth notes. The note on beat three, m 20 is
an F#. The last note in the group is an E. The notes in between these two are decorative
connecting notes that pull strongly to the final E. The F# to E motive comes from the
melody. The E is in turn tied across the barline to the downbeat of m 21 as the E in m 19
of the melody is tied over the barline to m 20. Behind the accelerated rhythm and flurry
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of sixteenth notes is a clear reference to Reinhardt’s melody. In fact, it could be argued
that Leahey has taken Reinhardt’s four notes phrase and fleshed it out into a syncopated,
highly animated line. As he was earlier in the solo, Leahey is ever mindful of the chord
changes. In m 17 he clearly outlines a D Major 7 with an added 6th. He ends the measure
on a G, again sustaining over the barline to give the effect of the reverse suspension as in
mm 3-4. In m 18 he superimposes what sounds like a G Major tonality over the A13 in
the first two beats with a short ascending run. On beat three he lands squarely on a C# 5
giving a feeling of G Lydian before arpeggiating down the A7 sonority. Once again a G
on the “and” of four leads to an F# in m 19 where we come to rest for a beat and a half.
An ascending leap of a Major 7th takes us to a blue third, resolving immediately to a
natural third in a blues motive that sounds remarkably un-bluesy. Leahey then takes us up
the Major 9th of the chord, E, which he sustains over the barline for another reverse
suspension as the chord changes to A dominant. In a reversal of what he had done in m
18, he superimposes the G Major tonality with a descending arpeggio. As mentioned
above, the last two beats of m 20 are dominated by the F# E motive. In a twist on a guitar
cliché, A13 to A7(#5) to DMaj9, Leahey approaches the F natural, the #5, by a whole
step and the E, the Major 9th by a minor 3rd. The E falls on the last sixteenth note of the
measure and is tied over to the next measure and next phrase.
Here is the next phrase of Leahey’s solo at mm 21-24:
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Measure 21 begins on an E 5 which is tied over from m 20. This is very similar to the
melody where four measures begin with an E which was tied over from the previous
measure. On the second beat he outlines a G triad, the IV chord at a pianissimo. This triad
gives the effect of a suspension, gently decorating the I chord to which he returns on the
third beat. He then plays a delicate figure that serves as a brief rest stop between the
busyness of the previous phrase and the intensity that will ensue. In fact, it could be
argued that this measure really belongs to the previous phrase, making another pair of
phrases of uneven length. The decision to place it in this phrase was purely arbitrary.
Measure 22 begins with a beat of silence. From there it builds tension. In this measure
Leahey borrows two ideas he has used previously in the solo. From m 18 he takes the G
Major run superimposed over the A7 harmony leading to a C# note with a Lydian feel.
This time he has increased the intensity with sixteenth note syncopation. The last beat of
the measure is another up/down pair, one that he is reprising from m 16. This is the last
four note group, two up followed by two down of the solo, although he continues to use
the up/down contour. In mm 23-24 Leahey creates a striking variation on a Bebop cliché.
The chords are Am7 to D7, one measure each. Here is a line that would have fit perfectly
over these changes:
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This line, which is used by every aspiring jazz improviser and many true jazz improvisers
would have clearly outlined the chords and lead seamlessly to the next measure. It would
also have been uninspired and boring. What Leahey has done is to extract the power of
this line, (after all it didn’t become a cliché because it wasn’t powerful), and create
something new, exciting and fresh. The descending Am7 arpeggio is there, but its
entrance is delayed for two beats. In those two beats, Leahey places his most Reinhardt-
inspired line of the whole solo. Reinhardt often played what sounded like chromatic runs.
However, when the run crossed from one string to the next he would play a whole step.
Since he played these runs at supersonic speeds he would fool the ear into “hearing” a
complete chromatic run. Leahey has borrowed a short piece of this type of run, placing
the whole step between G and A. He has started and ended on an F#, anticipating the D7
that will appear in the next measure. After this he states the Am arpeggio as a sixteenth
note pickup to the following measure. He then takes the G# and the G notes which will
ultimately lead to an F#, the 3rd of the D7 chord and places them against the D7 chord.
The clichéd lick places these notes against the Am chord where they function as the Maj7
and min7 of the chord. Against the D7 they function as a #11 and 11. In the clichéd
version, the E pedal tone adds rhythmic momentum and pulls melodically toward the F#
from below, while the chromatic line pulls from above. Leahey plays a repeated E note
above and below the chromatic line. The lower E pulls upward toward the F#, as in the
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cliché. The upper E pulls down to the b9, written here as a D# for ease of reading. There
is now voice leading going in three directions at once.
Here are the last two phrases of the melody, mm 25-32 with the pickup from m
24:
In mm 25-28 Reinhardt breaks with the up/down pattern and presents two two-note
motives, both going up, with the second on reaching the highest note of the song, F# 5.
The last phrase, mm 29-32, contains the chromatic chord progression #iim7 #V7 iim7 V7
resolving to the tonic. Melodically there is one last up/down pair. Measure 31 has on
beats three and four ivm6 and #iv dim7 chords respectively. As we have seen this last
group of eight measures is the only part of the song that Leahey has truly reharmonized.
Here is the melodic line he plays against this section:
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This is the busiest part of the solo, matching the intensity of the chord changes and the
climactic nature of this part of the song. Again there are examples of the up/down
contour. For example, starting on the second half of the second beat of m 26 the line
ascends from A# 4 to D# 6 on the first beat of m 27. The line then descends to G# 4. The
D# 6 is the highest note in the solo, coinciding with the highest note in the song occurring
on the same beat. Measure 27 ends with another up/down pattern and mm 28-32 each
have a similar contour. In m 31 the speed of the line begins to wind down and mm 32-34
gently wrap up the solo in relaxed eighth notes. Leahey concludes the solo on G 5, the
note with which he began the solo and ended the first half of the solo, bringing the solo
full circle to a logical ending which could only be followed by the closing melody
statement.
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In this solo, Leahey has built sophisticated lines from the simplest material. He
has used motivic development, rhythmic variety, and an incredible harmonic sense to
create new melodies that, while remaining connected to the source material are fresh and
exciting. There are no wasted notes, no stock phrases, and no filler. This solo is an
example of the reason Phil Woods referred to Leahey as “the best guitarist to come down
the pike.”33
33 Conversation with Phil Woods.
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Interview with Tom Anthony
Tom Anthony recalls when he first met Harry in his freshman year at North
Plainfield High School. Harry was one year ahead of him:
TA: I met Harry; we both went to Sayer's studio. Bill Sayer was a trumpet player
and he had a place on Park Avenue in Plainfield and Harry and I both studied with
the Melia brothers, John and Lou. I studied the mandolin. My uncles gave me
mandolin lessons. That's when I was about twelve years old, something like that.
And Harry of course was a guitar player so we met and he was studying with Lou
and I was studying with John. And John would teach me (makes tremolo sound
and gesture) the mandolin. In those days, Les Paul's, the beginning of the wire
recorder, the Webster or whatever it was, the first wire recorders and that's when
Les Paul was doing these multiple recordings where he'd speed up.
FP: He did that with wire recorders?
TA: I believe it started with the wire recorder. That was pre-tape recorder
(laughs). So they listened, he and his sister, Edith and they called her Sunshine,
they started as Les Paul and Mary Ford kind of and they copied all of Les Paul
and Mary Ford's things.
FP: So Harry was able to copy
TA: He was copying Les Paul. Of course he wouldn't speed up as fast but he
would do all the same material, How High the Moon and stuff like that that they
did. And of course Sunshine was Mary Ford. And then they met me and I was a
mandolin player. Then I started playing the guitar. Then I went to high school and
they said "we don't need a mandolin player in the orchestra or the band."
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(Laughs.) So I started playing the bass. They said "we need a bass player". So not
long after that we had a trio.
FP: Guitar, bass and vocals.
TA: Uh huh. And we played in the Oxford Theater, some of the theaters that were
in Plainfield at that time. They had five theaters, believe it or not in Plainfield.
The Liberty, the Oxford, the Strand, I can’t remember all of them but I think there
were five theaters.
FP: So you would do live shows?
TA: We would do volunteer kind of things. A lot of it was talent shows. Like Ted
Mack’s kind of thing. We’d do talent shows. The Oxford Theater was a place
they’d have shows they’d have comedians come in, some of the old timers, Henny
Youngman, I remember seeing him there, people like that, you know. And they’d
have amateur night and we’d do things like that. But then as he went through high
school, Harry and I became very good friends… But as we got later in high
school, like juniors and seniors then we met people who were jazz players like
Richie Moore was a good friend of ours, drummer. And he started educating us
and we started learning other things than Les Paul and Mary Ford.
FP: So you were fifteen or sixteen?
TA: Yes, very impressionable age. Thank goodness we met Richie.
FP: Were you both still studying at that studio?
TA: He studied with Lou. The studio finally folded up I think. They closed down.
And then we would go to their homes. Then I started studying with Lou, the
guitar.
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FP: So you were both studying the guitar?
TA: We were both studying with Lou. We’d go to Highland Park, to his home.
FP: What kind of stuff was Lou teaching you?
TA: Lou was a jazz player and he was very much, oh I would say into Tony
Mottola, and he would be a hero of his, Tony Mottola and people like that. He
was kind of a funny guy. He told me that in order to play the guitar you should
have strength, so I dug a hole for an oil tank for him. (Laughs.) That’s one way he
got someone to do his oil tank hole for him. And then it was interesting that Harry
loved to practice, always. He liked to practice.
FP: How about you?
TA: I didn’t like to practice, no. I used to like to listen to Harry practice. But Lou
would have us practice by the hour and the technique then was, you know later
when he studied with Johnny Smith, Johnny Smith would alternate his picking.
And it was pretty much like a tremolo technique and he would just strictly
alternate picking. Lou Melia would use sometimes double down strokes you know
when you go from string to string and that was a technique that up to this day I’m
sure that some people use that.
FP: Consecutive picking.
TA: Yeah. And I was, being a mandolin player for me the alternate picking was
just natural. So I had to fight to learn how to play the way Lou Melia said “that’s
not the way to do it, you know.” I had to practice his way. Besides digging the
hole (laughs.) So Harry just followed Lou’s instruction and he learned to do it that
way. So in the meantime we’re getting to play more jazz with Richie and he’s
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introducing us to singers, Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee and people like that. And
we’re starting to hear some good music, Tony Bennett and whoever. And Richie
even sang like Frank Sinatra. He had very much a Sinatra voice. And then we
started playing jazz things. I think we worked at a place called The Lodge on
Route 22 a little trio and that kind of thing. Guitar, bass and drums and Richie
singing Frank Sinatra. So then I think Harry had a neighbor, a saxophone player
whose name was Bill Pfeiffer. And he was in the army with Johnny Smith. So
then through Bill Pfeiffer Harry met Johnny Smith. He said “I have a friend
Johnny Smith who at that time lived on Long Island. And Johnny Smith was also
a pilot had we had an airport here, Hadley Airport. So Johnny Smith would
actually pick up Harry at Hadley Airport and fly him to his place on
Long Island. And he’d give him a lesson and they’d have an afternoon of it.
Johnny Smith didn’t have any students so he was doing this as a friend kind of
with Bill Pfeiffer.
FP: So he must have been really impressed with Harry’s playing.
TA: Yeah. But the first thing he did was to say “you have to alternate pick.” And
after all this working with Lou Melia.
FP: I thought that Harry studied with Harry Volpe too before he studied with
Johnny Smith.
TA: Yeah in the interim or maybe just before he met Johnny Smith yeah. We both
would go to 48th Street and study with Harry Volpe.
TA: Well, we both went in together.
FP: You took the bus into New York?
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TA: Took the bus into New York or the train. I guess it was mostly the bus and
studied with Harry Volpe on 48th Street.
FP: And Harry Volpe was probably also a consecutive picker?
TA: I think yeah. He was more like Lou Melia, I believe.
FP: Right.
TA: Actually, I can’t quite remember. That’s a long time ago, but I think so. So
then Harry Volpe would write his own songs, his own music, and we would play
of course out of the Harry Volpe book and that kind of thing. So yeah, he was in
there too, and who else might he have studied with? I think that was the guitar
teacher. So it would have been Lou, Harry Volpe, Johnny Smith, maybe in that
order, yeah, exactly.
FP: And so Johnny Smith, in the late ‘40s, early ‘50s was really coming into his
own.
TA: Yeah. In the meantime, Johnny Smith, we’d go… You could go to New
York at 18 and go to pubs. So we were lucky enough to sit on the side of the
Birdland and then drink out of the cardboard cups, the beer out of the cardboard
glasses. You know that kind of thing.
FP: But you really weren’t 18 at that point, were you?
TA: Well, I think we, no, you know what? That’s true. But P.B. Marquette was
the guy who would take the tickets. He was pretty strict, so I can’t remember
whether we could get away with that. I really don’t remember, but.
FP: But Johnny Smith.
TA: So we might have been around 18 before we went in to see Johnny Smith.
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FP: Had he already recorded Moonlight in Vermont?
TA: Yep. I think Eddie Safransky was the bass player then and Stan Getz was on
those early Roost. Was it Roost Records?
FP: Yeah.
TA: And the 78s. They were 78s. So we all fell in love with Johnny Smith, and
then Moonlight in Vermont and all those ballads that he played. Johnny Smith
was playing Birdland quite often. So we’d go to Birdland with him with our jaws
dropping and watching him play.
FP: So after Harry was introduced to Johnny Smith by his neighbor…
TA: By Bill Peiffer.
FP: Bill Peiffer, and then he heard Harry play and then he invited him?
TA: Well, I think he just took Harry, just because Bill was such a good friend, I
think he said sure, I’ll teach your friend. So I don’t know if he ever heard Harry
before he started teaching him. But of course when he heard Harry, then he took
him under his wing and he was…
FP: So Harry was already a great player by then, right?
TA: Well yeah. Harry always had great technique cause as I said he loved to
practice. So whatever, whether it was Lou Melia’s technique or whatever. So he
had to switch gears then when he went with Johnny Smith and do the alternate
picking. Then he came home one day. I remember he said “Tom, guess what?
Remember how you used to play when you played the mandolin technique?
That’s how I have to play now.” So I went back to my regular way of playing.
FP: Did you keep studying too?
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TA: I didn’t study jazz guitar except for with Lou Melia. So then I was more or
less… And I had good technique cause I played the mandolin. But I never
studied it with any one else after Harry Volpe. So I would have been John Melia,
Lou Melia, Harry Volpe, and Harry was – never studied with John – but Lou,
Harry Volpe and Johnny Smith at that time. So then we kind of were getting
close to 18 or 19 I guess, when we were watching them in Birdland, Johnny Smith
in Birdland. Then we formed a Dixieland band. So we started playing at places
where you live in the Oranges. There’s a place called Dudley’s. We played there.
It was a converted… It was a church.
FP: Was Bob Miller in that band?
TA: Bob played with us, but he wasn’t in that particular band.
FP: Oh.
TA: But Buddy Wood was a trombone player and George Egbert, a clarinet
player, and of course Richie on the drums. And who else? Harry played the
guitar. We were the rhythm section.
FP: So in the Dixieland band and Harry’s playing guitar with…
TA: Harry’s playing the guitar. He wasn’t nuts about it, but every once in a
while the had to play the banjo.
FP: He ended up quitting, right?
TA: He quit the tenor banjo; he didn’t fit the banjo too well. He didn’t like the
banjo that was. It was thrown off the ship, but later, a couple of years later while
we were playing on the Grote Beer, the Health American Ship Line with the
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Dixieland band. We found summer school trips to Rotterdam, Holland and we
spent the summer there. That’s another story, but…
FP: Well, you’ve got to tell me that story too.
TA: Yeah, okay. So that’s kind of… In the meantime, we’d meet some
interesting people like from this area. There was – Alvie Dealeman was a
drummer and Harry went to a couple of sessions with Bill Evans.
FP: He did? He did make a couple of sessions?
TA: Yeah, and it was like Alvie Dealeman’s house or something.
TA: So Alvie would say “Oh, I know this kid who plays a nice guitar” and Bill
Evans had to be home at that time cause he lives in North Plainfield.
FP: Was Bill Evans in the army or something at that time?
TA: I can’t remember.
FP: He was a little older than you guys, right? About nine years older, wasn’t he?
TA: Something like that, yeah. So it wasn’t often but maybe a couple, two or
three times that Harry would go and play with Bill Evans.
FP: So that was before Bill Evans became really famous.
TA: Yeah, that was before he met Scott LaFaro and people like that, Bob Moses.
So then I’m trying to get the order now. So we had those little things happening
here and there. Then as I said, the Richie Moore Trio, it was the Richie Moore
Trio; we did The Lodge and some pubs. We were just starting.
FP: You said Richie did the Frank Sinatra stuff.
TA: Yeah, Richie was the Frank Sinatra.
FP: Did Harry sing?
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TA: No, Harry was not a singer, nor was I.
FP: Because Glenn and Roy were telling me about going to hear the band and
they were doing some Hi-Los tunes…
TA: Oh, yeah. But that was like a joke, but I mean we tried. Well, it wasn’t –
didn’t mean to be a joke. But yeah, we tried to do some…
FP: Cause he said that everybody in the band sang.
TA: The Four Freshman and the Hi-Los. We tried to do that, yeah. Now there’s
another person. I’m glad you mentioned that because Romolo Ferri - I don’t know
if you know that name – Rom Ferri.
FP: Rom Ferri, yeah.
TA: Yeah, so now he… Then we started, we had Rom. He was a pianist. Then
we became a quartet.
FP: Was that the Richie Moore Four?
TA: Yeah, exactly the Richie Moore Four then. So Richie was the leader for a
long time. So then Rom was going to Manhattan School of Music and he was
quite a pianist to this day. He still lives on Charles Street down in the Village. He
married Linda, another pianist, classical pianist.
FP: Well, that’s another question that I’m going to have to ask you at some point
cause Harry went to Manhattan, right?
TA: Yes, he did, but not long.
FP: That’s probably a little later on in the story.
TA: When did he go to Manhattan?
FP: Did he go…
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TA: I think it was after we had taken a trip to Europe. It was.
FP: Okay. So when we get there you will tell.
TA: Yeah, right. But anyway, that’s kind of how we evolved from this Les Paul
Trio to meeting Richie Moore, and then starting to play jazz gigs.
FP: So after you met up with Richie, is that kind of the end of his…
TA: Yeah, that whole thing just…
FP: His sister was no longer…
TA: His sister, no, she kind of gave up singing and the guitar.
FP: Did she?
TA: Yeah.
FP: She played the guitar too, right?
TA: She played the guitar. Yeah. I’ll tell you one little story that was interesting.
When we did the show at the Oxford Theater, they played Nola. Now Nola was a
piece that Les Paul played with that speeding up the tempo time, whatever. And
Harry use to practice by the hour and he could play Nola like it’s no problem.
FP: So she’s playing rhythm guitar and he’s playing melody.
TA: She for the most part played rhythm guitar, but they figured we’d do a back
and forth, kind of a tongue and cheek version of it where he would play the first
part and she would come in on the first two bars and then each come in on the
second two bars. But she couldn’t keep up with Harry and she was heartbroken,
and the father gave her hell and all this kind of stuff. And that might have been
the beginning of the end for poor Sunshine.
FP: So Harry – but he could bring it up to speed.
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TA: Harry – dada dada dada dada dada dada. Then she’d go… She couldn’t
quite keep up with him.
FP: She didn’t practice as much as he did.
TA: She didn’t practice as much, no. No, not at all. So then the trio was
dissolved. The Les Paul sound went away. Anyway, we left that to Les Paul and
Mary Ford. So then we started to get into the quartet with Romolo Ferri and
Richie also played the cocktail drum and the bongos quite well. So that was
another feature. Then we started playing in the Oranges, I said Dudley’s. There’s
another place called the Cabana Club, remember that.
It was on Eagle Rock Avenue. Well, we played way back in the early 50s there.
FP: You were playing Dixieland or…
TA: Dixieland. We played the Dixieland there.
FP: Cause Dixieland was pretty popular around that time.
TA: Yeah. They had the guys from Princeton, what they call the Dukes of
Dixieland or something like…
FP: They were from Princeton originally?
TA: No, I’ll make sure I get the right name now. There was Stan Rubin, Stan
Rubin, and maybe it wasn’t the Dukes. Anyway, so they were quite famous in
Princeton. They played at the Nassau Inn, a place like that.
FP: Right.
TA: It wasn’t Tigertown Five, was it? I don’t know. I can’t remember. They
were quite known anyway. So that’s how he got the job on the Grote Beer, but
they were playing the ships. There were three student ships that left Hoboken.
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(Inaudible) was in Hoboken in those days, and so there would be relatively small
ships. It would hold about 1,000 students, 800-1,000.
FP: Right.
TA: So there was the Watermen, the Zouder Cruise (sp) I remember, and the
Grote Beer, which means Great Bear. So anyway the Princeton group, Stan Rubin
and whatever the Dukes, whoever they would call, had to back out for one reason
or another. So they had to get a replacement in a hurry. So then we kind of
slapped together this Dixieland band, and we had already played in the Oranges,
Dudley’s and places like that. So we had to get the people who could leave the
country and go on the boat. I think most of the guys from the Dudley’s group did
go, but he got a trombone player and George Egbert and people like that. So we
went in 1955 and 1956, two years, leaving in June, go to Rotterdam, get off the
ship and you were there for the summer. For better, for worse, hope you can get
some work. And the first year it was such a fast transaction that we didn’t have
any bookings, so we went, had the nerve to go to Rotterdam with just our passage
on the ship. We didn’t get paid on the ship. We played for our passage. So then
when we got to Rotterdam…
FP: Did you get gigs in the first year?
TA: Oh, we did quite well, but it was like a flip a coin, where do you want to go?
Do you want to go to Paris? Do you want to go to Copenhagen? Some wanted to
go to Scandinavia, Copenhagen. Others wanted to go to Paris. Paris won, and we
ended up playing Bastille Night, which is July 14th on the streets of Paris, and got
a job at Le Riverside, right near Notre Dame. Then we met an American Black
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clarinetist, Albert Nicholas, and played with him and he’d sit in. So we had a
pretty nice group.
FP: Yeah.
TA: And Harry at that time started to listen, just prior to going on the Grote Beer,
really got into Barney Kessel. He would buy records. And I think Bill Peiffer
was another educator of ours. He had some Barney Kessel recordings, and then
Harry started to listen to Barney Kessel. He just loved Barney Kessel and he
started to sound like Barney Kessel.
FP: Was he still studying with Johnny Smith? Obviously not when he went…
TA: No, I think that was not that long. I can’t remember exactly, but it might
have been maybe less than a year that he studied with Johnny Smith.
FP: Oh, really.
TA: By that time Johnny Smith said “I taught you everything I know”, all his
arpeggios and some of his repertoire. He said now it’s up to you. I remember
that happening. He said you have to do it on your own now. You have to go
and… Johnny Smith dismissed him. He said that’s all I could teach you,
something like that.
FP: Right. Well, okay. I thought Harry might have studied with him for longer
than that. TA: I would say less than a year because… Maybe Johnny Smith said
I can’t keep flying over the Hadley Airport. I think Harry did take some buses
and trains to get there. It took him all day to get there.
FP: Right, but it would be worth it.
TA: But it was worth it, yeah.
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FP: So if I can get now the dates and chronology straight here. Cause you say
you guys are about 18 now, 18, 19…
TA: Yeah. I know when we went to our first trip on the Grote Beer, and this
would have been post Johnny Smith. We were 19.
FP: 19. So that must be about ’54.
TA: It was September. So maybe Harry was just 19 and I was still 18.
FP: Oh, okay.
TA: Cause I wouldn’t be 19 until January.
FP: So that’s ’54.
TA: ’55 we went.
FP: Oh, in ’55?
TA: Figure we got…
FP: Oh, that’s right. Harry’s born in ’35.
TA: I was born in ’36.
FP: And he was born in ’35.
TA: ’35. So maybe he was 20. We have to add that up.
FP: So he’s already graduated high school.
TA: Yeah, we’re both out of high school.
FP: He hasn’t gone in the army yet, right?
TA: He hasn’t gone in the army yet, right. And now I think Manhattan was later
– after ’56 I believe.
FP: Okay. So you guys go over to Rotterdam.
TA: First of all it was 1955.
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FP: Then you do the gigs. So you had one gig in Paris?
TA: No, we had… Yeah, we had a gig that…
FP: It’s a steady gig?
TA: A steady gig for the month of July, the time we were there, and then Romolo
Ferri…
FP: Right.
TA: …was a cast with us that year.
FP: Right.
TA: And that’s how Manhattan gets him because Romolo at that time had gone
to Manhattan, and whether he was still there and still going at that time or not I
don’t remember. But he was a student at Manhattan School of Music and that’s
how he got Harry into it.
FP: All right.
TA: So it was through Romolo, so it all fits together.
FP: Yeah. Now it’s starting to come together.
TA: Yeah. Then Romolo had friends in the army in Frankfurt, Germany, so we
played the month of July in Paris and had a wonderful time as I said with Albert
Nicholas sitting in with us and all that. I should have put it in an album. I have
pictures of some of this.
FP: Oh, now was he just sitting in or was he part of the band?
TA: Albert just sat in. But he liked us and he would say we were swinging when
we were going out. I remember him saying that. And he was a wonderful man.
- 87 -
He was one of those guys who went to Paris as a black player and was treated so
much nicer than here and just stayed there.
FP: Yeah. So you guys were still playing in Dixieland.
TA: Dixieland band. We were the Somerset Seven because we were mostly
from Somerset County, except some of the people were from the Oranges and
other places.
FP: So the Somerset Seven was kind of like the Richie Moore Four augmented
with some horns.
TA: Augmented, exactly, exactly. Through Richie we found Buddy Wood who
lives in Elizabeth, and they weren’t people all from Plainfield or around
Plainfield. So anyway that was through Rom who had friends in… Tony Camillo
as a matter as fact – I hope you know that name.
FP: Yeah.
TA: Tony Camillo was in the army then. And through Tony we went to
Frankfurt, and we had to like crawl through a hole in the fence and act like we
were in the army. We were in a transient part of the army, stationed there in
Frankfurt. So at night we’d have to sneak in and some of the transients were a
football’s team and musicians, and all these people that are not supposed to be
there. Well, the football was, but we weren’t supposed to be there. So through
Tony they said now don’t say too much and make sure you make your bed and
you had to be able to bounce a quarter and all that, hospital corners and all that,
yeah, which that was a joke. Anyway, none of us could don that. So anyway, we
played at the officer’s club that was called The Topper Club, so remember that,
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with a real big tough sergeant named Sergeant Hendricks, and Sergeant Hendricks
through Romolo asked if we could play there. We played the remainder of the
time at the Topper Club. So we actually had two – we did some side jobs in
Kaiserslautern I remember, and we’d do other army affiliated places. Paris was
not though. Paris was just a… We got that job from the Bastille Night, but from
now on we’re working through the army and pretending to be in the army. We
had some fights with the MPs. They thought we were in the army. We’d shout
back at them “go to hell, we’re not in the army”. We’re lucky we didn’t get our
heads beaten, but we were certainly army age, 19. So anyway, then the first year
we did well for not having anything lined up.
FP: During the year before the next summer, you continued to work in clubs?
TA: Yeah. We worked places on Route 22 here. In those days, I think Harry
started to work with – now here’s where it gets fuzzy. He worked with Johnny
Spizo and Danny Spizo and people like that. Yeah, just gigs.
FP: You were doing these commercial clubs.
TA: Commercial kind of gigs, yeah. There are a lot right on Route 22.
FP: Was the Richie Moore Four still working at all?
TA: Richie Moore Four stayed together for years, on and off. So we were
together through the sixties for quite a long time. Yeah. So yeah, we had our gigs.
Then I think Rom started to talk to Harry about going to school, about going to
Manhattan School of Music, and I don’t know whether he… He probably started
after the next year in 1956. I’m fuzzy about that. He could have maybe done it
then. I don’t know.
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FP: Actually, I got a hold of books that he used, from Edie Eustice. And the one
book has a copyright date on it of 1960. So that sort of dates that.
TA: Yeah. Yeah.
FP: Well, the first year you went over was ’55.
TA: ’55, and we went back in ’56.
FP: So you guys must have played together – well, we said through the 60s even.
TA: Yeah right. So we continued to play from then on. The Dixieland band
dissolved probably not long after.
FP: No more Somerset Seven.
TA: No more Somerset Seven after our second trip to Europe.
FP: Did you record?
TA: Yeah, we recorded this Dixieland band in Germany.
FP: Was it recorded to be released?
TA: Yeah, it was a radio program. So this was we went to the radio station, I
believe it was Kaiserslautern, some place close to Frankfurt, and yeah. It was a
pretty nice recording. Now this recording I believe was the second year. It was
’56 I believe. That’s right because Rom couldn’t go the next year and we had a
replacement pianist, who wasn’t as good as Rom. You could hear little things
happening there, but we had a good trumpeter. The first year was Mike Arnodo
who was from this area. He went to Scotch Plains High School. So we changed
two people I think the second year. Instead of Rom, we had another pianist. So
he’s on the recording. And we had Don Batiste, a trumpeter, who was just a very
talented guy who played in Massachusetts in a polka band. So he had all this fast
- 90 -
playing and stuff like that. But he was just a very talented guy and he picked up
on the Dixieland very well. So the next thing he was playing Bobby Hackett kind
of things. So we did a mix of Dixieland plus some jazz. With that ensemble we
just did some jazz things.
FP: And that’s the one that you recorded with?
TA: Yeah, so you’ll hear a mix of not only Dixieland. You’ll hear – I forget the
song, but some jazz song.
FP: So do you get to really hear Harry on it?
TA: Oh, yeah. And then Harry did Alice in Wonderland. Yeah, he did that, and
he did a little medley I think. So yeah, you could hear the Barney Kessel influence
very much so.
FP: And Johnny Smith?
TA: Yeah, you could always hear Johnny Smith, but he’s leaning more heavily
towards Barney Kessel. As much as he admired Johnny Smith, he loved Barney
Kessel and he really went that way more towards Barney Kessel.
FP: So you can hear that on the recording?
TA: Yeah, you can very much.
FP: I’d love to hear that.
TA: Yeah, I think you can really hear that. Yeah. I must say it was a pretty good
recording and you could hear us doing some of that and the trumpet player kind of
doing Bobby Hackett kind of things.
FP: Did you Richie sing with the band?
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TA: Richie’s singing S’Wonderful, George Gershwin things in Frank Sinatra
style. Yeah, that’s what it’s pretty much all. So now any questions?
FP: Yeah.
TA: I can go on.
FP: Ah, this is great. Keep going.
TA: Oh, yeah. There are so many things I’ll probably forget. The Richie Moore
Trio and Quartet - that lasted quite a while. We played a lot of gigs and we met
other people in the area. Herb Fener (sp) always played the vibes and trumpet.
Other people – Bill Robinson was a singer. So we played with pickup kind of
bands too.
FP: So now we’re up to late 50s or we were almost…
TA: Then we’re getting into the 60s.
FP: So at that point from what I got from Roy and Glen, that’s around when they
first met Harry. The closest they could place it is somewhere around ’60, ’63,
something like that, and they put Barry Miles in the picture.
TA: Oh, Barry Miles, another… That’s during that early period when we were
in high school, we had met Barry, and Terry was just a real little kid then. But
Barry was playing drums more in those days, like almost all drums. So yeah, so
Bob Miller or we called him Mousey, we all played with Barry. That’s another
part of that period.
FP: Yeah.
- 92 -
TA: Yeah, and there were other people. Bobby Johnson was a guy that we use to
play with now and then, and there were a lot of area people that we played during
those late teenage years.
FP: Right. So now we’re up to the early 60s? Harry hasn’t gone in the army yet,
has he?
TA: Oh, when did Harry go into the army? Oh, I’ll tell you a segue into it.
FP: And Harry hasn’t gotten married to Karen yet, has he?
TA: Right, so I’m trying to think of that time period. This is before we would…
And we started to meet. Before Roy we met Glen Davis, and Glen started to play
some gigs with us too early on with Harry and me and…
FP: You and Harry?
TA: Yeah. We played at some bowling alley called the Boom-Boom Room.
Ralph Stricker (sp) was a accordionist that we played with sometimes with Glen.
In fact, I think sometimes the four of us, Harry, Ralph Stricker, and… But then I
guess Harry met Karen. I guess do I note that period when we were between Les
Paul style and Harry and I use to practice together sometimes in my chicken coop
up in Warren Township. He’d come up maybe once a week or so and we’d
practice. I’d play the bass and he’d play the guitar. We’d practice in the chicken
coop. There were no chickens, but we had a coop, a nice quiet place to practice.
Then I noticed he starting coming up more than once a week, like two or three
times a week. He started to notice my little sister.
FP: How old was she?
- 93 -
TA: She was younger. Karen was younger, so at that time she was like maybe
14, I’m guessing, an early teenager. We were much older. We were 17 or 18. So
that’s how he met Karen. But Harry went into – you were talking about the army
– several years later when he was drafted into the army.
FP: Oh, he was drafted?
TA: Yeah. He was drafted, yeah.
FP: So what year do you…
TA: Now I’m trying to think when that would be.
FP: Now that’s later then…
TA: It’s after the…
FP: It’s later than Korea and it’s earlier than Vietnam, right?
TA: It’s after Korea and it’s before Vietnam, right.
FP: So he got lucky in that…
TA: Not much after Korea, but it was after Korea, yeah. Yeah. So he was – I
guess now this would have been after our Dixieland experience in Paris and
Germany.
FP: After the two years…
TA: Yeah, right. So probably not long after that that he was drafted. I got out of
the army because I had a bout with rheumatism. And so Harry was very jealous of
me because I was able to get out of the army. I was 4F and he tried everything.
He got drunk and red eyes and all. That didn’t help. He still had to go in the
army.
FP: Somehow I can’t picture Harry as a soldier.
- 94 -
TA: Well, we use to joke about that because Harry in high school use to wear
these baggy pants and the shoes were never polished. The soles would flap up
sometimes. He was not into being in Brooks Brothers suits. So they said well,
the army is gonna straighten him out. Now remember when he went to Fort
Knox, he went to basic training in Fort Knox, and he was stationed there for quite
a while. So we thought when he comes home his shoes are gonna be polished and
he was gonna have soles. He comes home and he started giving lessons to his
officer, and the guy liked him so he didn’t care whether he polished his shoes or
not. So Harry comes home with soles flapping. It didn’t change him at all, not
even the army.
FP: You reminded me of something when you said he started giving lessons to
the officer. Was he already teaching when he was in high school?
TA: No, not really. He didn’t start teaching to later really, but I don’t think he so
much taught the guy, but he would show him and that kind of thing. He met Jack
Six I think around that time. I think through the army. I think that’s where they
met, and another fiddle player, a real nice guy. I can’t remember his name now.
He met some other musicians that he kept friends with after the army, but that’s
when he all of a sudden found himself married too because my sister eloped and
went to Fort Knox with a Billy Holiday record under her arm and said “here I am,
Harry.” She was maybe 17 or something like that. So they got married down
there.
FP: Oh. Well, I guess he must have been pretty willing.
TA: Oh, yeah. They just hit it off very well.
- 95 -
FP: Wow. So she was 17. Oh, he must have been almost… Well, he must have
been about 20 or 21.
TA: Yeah, army age. So yeah, they had been after him. So we were 19 and 20
thereabouts on the Holland American Line Ship. So he would have been…
Yeah, that’s right. So he would have been about 21. And it would have been right
after his Manhattan School of Music. That would have been – maybe he went to
Manhattan as soon as we got back from the second trip to Rotterdam. But it was a
matter of months. He didn’t even spend a whole year at Manhattan. He enrolled
and then probably with the help of Rom got into Manhattan. Maybe that’s why he
left because of the army. That’s a little fuzzy. But it would have been close.
FP: Well, he could have probably gotten a deferment, couldn’t he?
TA: For what reason?
FP: A college to – cause if you were enrolled in school you could…
TA: I don’t think you could.
FP: What, they didn’t have it?
TA: I don’t think they had that, no. If you were drafted, you were drafted. No,
cause he tried everything. I mean if he could of he would have done it, yeah.
Yeah, I know that. So it would have been probably why he left Manhattan would
be to go into the army I think.
FP: Oh, what a shame.
TA: You have to confirm that with Debbie. She would remember. So then after
that…
FP: 1935 – he was born in 1935.
- 96 -
TA: Yeah.
FP: Now the book has a copyright of 1960.
TA: Okay.
FP: So that’s 25 years.
TA: What book was that?
FP: One of the theory books from…
TA: Oh, from Manhattan?
FP: From Manhattan School of Music.
TA: Oh, okay. Oh, okay.
FP: It’s Harry Hanson.
TA: Okay, well that fits in.
FP: So then he would have to be at Manhattan later.
TA: So maybe it was after the army.
FP: He would have to be already married after the army.
TA: You should talk to Rom about that because I don’t remember it that way.
FP: So Rom actually helped him get in, so he would be the guy.
TA: Yeah, he would know. But I’m pretty sure that he went to Manhattan he
wasn’t married yet, but I may be wrong. I may be wrong about that.
FP: That’s going back a little ways.
TA: Yeah, right. Yeah. But then at that time I started getting interested in… I
guess the second year I started to listen to Andre Segovia. Then I got interested in
the classical guitar. That’s when Harry and I kind of drifted apart for years. I
mean we played gigs always, now and then weddings and that kind of thing.
- 97 -
FP: Oh, but you were still friends then obviously.
TA: Oh, yeah, of course.
FP: You were family.
TA: Yeah, family, we were family. We still played gigs, but he had the Harry
Leahey Trio with Roy and Glen, and I started playing more classical guitar. Then
we kind of drifted apart. Then he began the Harry Leahey Trio with Roy and
Glen. They were very tight and they practiced a lot.
FP: Yeah. From what they were telling me, it sounds like they didn’t really get
together until later than this though.
TA: Yeah, it would have been later.
FP: It was the 70s.
TA: Yeah. Yeah.
FP: It was a little bit before he started playing with Phil, which he started first…
They started playing with Mike Melillo (sp).
TA: Yeah.
FP: It would be around ’74 or so.
TA: Okay, yeah. Yeah, but I think Roy and Glen played together quite a bit
before he met Phil Woods and Mike Melillo. So they would have been before
then.
FP: Right.
TA: But when did they say it would have been?
FP: I think it’s about ’74.
- 98 -
TA: Yeah, I can’t remember exactly. But yeah, after I started getting into the
classical guitar. We still played gigs together, so that period of the mid 60s to
70s…
FP: You were playing bass?
TA: I was playing bass. Yeah, I always kept playing the bass, even though I
played the classical guitar.
FP: A way to get more gigs.
TA: Oh, yeah, I got more gigs with the bass always. But then I would start
playing little recitals in New York, the New York College of Music, that kind of
thing. I got involved with Alex and Abello and then other people. Then I started
teaching and that’s when Harry and I both probably started getting into teaching
more.
FP: Yeah. When I started studying with Harry, he was 68, and that’s when he
was on Myrtle.
TA: Yeah, right.
FP: Myrtle Avenue.
(THIS SECTION SOUNDED LIKE HIS SON WAS SPEAKING IN SOME
AREAS).
TA: Yeah.
DA: No.
FP: No, I think in ’68.
DA: I was alive when he was here or like I was like 6 or 7 when they moved to
Myrtle or something like that, yeah. I was so scared of the house, I sh-- my pants.
- 99 -
TA: He lives on…
DA: (Inaudible) in that bathroom anyway.
TA: He was on Gerard.
DA: Right.
TA: Remember Gerard?
FP: Gerard. Gerard.
TA: Gerard Avenue, a couple of blocks in from Route 22.
FP: Come to think of it, I remember the first time I went to his house, it was in
Greenbrook.
DA: Right, it was Greenbrook house.
TA: There’s one on Washington Avenue. That’s where had the ducks.
FP: Right, I remember the ducks.
TA: You got Quacky and Wacky.
FP: I don’t even remember where the first place was. It was Greenbrook because
I got totally lost coming from New Brunswick.
TA: Yeah, he lived on Washington Avenue, but prior to that it would have been
Gerard Avenue. So he was teaching. There he had a pretty full schedule.
FP: At that point he had tons of students.
TA: At that point tons of students.
FP: And that would only be a few years after you guys kind of parted company
as far as the band.
TA: Yeah.
- 100 -
FP: So that wouldn’t be long after that at all. So he built up his reputation and
his schedule really first.
TA: Yeah, right. So that’s a little fuzzy period for me from the mid 60s to when
he started playing full-time with Roy and Glen as you said in the early 70s. So
from about the mid 60s on, I think we kept playing with Richie, gigs, weddings
and that kind of thing. Harry then started meeting other people as I did and we
played more freelance probably.
FP: So he probably… Cause one of the things I really have to find out…
Actually, I have to find out some of the exact biographical data, but like when his
kids were born.
TA: Yeah, right. So of course Debbie could help you there.
DA: (Inaudible), let’s see.
TA: Yeah.
DA: How old am I? I’m gonna be 39 in January. Debbie’s six years older than I
am.
FP: You’ll be 39 in January?
DA: Yeah.
FP: I’ve been 39 for a long time. It’s a good age.
TA: It’s a good age.
DA: So she’s gonna be… Yeah, she’s gonna be six years. So she’s maybe 44 or
if she’s 43, gonna be 45 in…
DA: No, wait. Yeah, 45 in January.
FP: Yep.
- 101 -
DA: She’s January 26th.
FP: Yeah.
TA: That’s Debbie, right?
DA: Yeah.
TA: Another person I left out of which I shouldn’t certainly is Bill Kermode (sp),
who became my stepfather. We played a lot together…
FP: Oh.
TA: …with Harry and Bill and not only gigs, but in our homes and at parties and
birthdays and that kind of stuff. So Bill was a tenor sax player and very much.
We played the Blue Hills Manor.
FP: Oh.
TA: And Harry I think played some of those gigs. Not so much there cause that
was like a society type band. Harry wasn’t definitely into that.
FP: No?
TA: But then we started meeting and he played some gigs with Anne Finch and
Bill Holiday, not Billie Holiday the singer, but Bill Holiday the bass player; they
called Billy Holiday too. So we had a whole lot of freelance stuff going on
around that time.
FP: There was a whole scene out of those – a lot of clubs.
TA: A lot of clubs and the place is Charlie’s Brown now. What was the name of
that club? You remember the name of that one?
FP: I can’t think of the… Hey may.
- 102 -
TA: And Harry also spent time with Benny Dadino (sp). They had a quartet with
Richie and Benny, a sax player. Eddie Elchin (sp) was another guy, Karidis (sp).
So yeah, I would say from the mid 60s on a bunch of different short-lived groups.
FP: So at this point Harry’s already got a couple of kids. He’s married.
TA: Yeah.
FP: And so he’s…
TA: He’s taking gigs wherever he can.
FP: He’s taking them wherever he can…
TA: Yeah.
FP: …and he’s teaching a lot. I remember.
TA: Yeah, he did a lot of teaching. Then there was Danny Spizo. They had an
organized group for awhile, but they had pictures and Danny Spizo played the
organ and piano and his father was a guitarist, John Spizo, Johnny Spizo. So
yeah, there was another group with Richie involved again with Danny Spizo, I
think Benny Dadino, and Harry. Did I say Richie? Anyway, I think they had a
four piece group.
FP: Are these commercial things?
TA: Yeah, they were commercial things.
FP: Not really (inaudible).
TA: Yeah, and sometimes weddings and that kind of thing, but often some pub
on Route 22 here somewhere.
FP: Right.
TA: Or even up in your area, we have sure played some gigs of that way.
- 103 -
FP: I remember hearing Harry… It was probably the very early 70s with a guy
called Nicky Don (sp).
TA: Nicky Don, yeah. What did he play? Was he a singer?
FP: I think he was a singer.
TA: Singer, bass player or something like that.
FP: Something like that.
TA: Then another period during the 60s, right, I believe it would be, maybe
that’s in the 70s, would have been at the Alibi.
FP: Right.
TA: And we played there for a long time with Matty Dice, a trumpeter.
FP: Oh, with Matty Dice, yeah.
TA: And Sonny Stevens was a singer. And geez, then Harry… I mean he had a
lot of freelance. Another person was Yvonne Green, was that her name? We’d
played some gigs Down Neck Newark and all the Reservation.
FP: Oh.
TA: So we were… That was a lot of, I guess, freelance is the right word I guess.
FP: Yeah.
TA: However, he did have those, and maybe Debbie could help you there more,
the organized groups of pictures with Danny Spizo, Cortez. It was Matty Dice.
That was just the six night a week gig that we all hated.
FP: Oh, you hated it?
- 104 -
TA: Oh… Yeah, we used to call Friday night animal night cause, well the girls
would come in and the guys would come in like this. The place was full of
smoke. In those days everybody smoked.
FP: Right. Including you guys, right?
TA: I never smoked.
FP: You never smoked?
TA: Never smoked. I had very sensitive eyes from an early age. I just couldn’t
stand smoke. I’d leave intermission. I’d run out of the Alibi and then go to the
bowling alley next door and have a beer next door. But anyway, where are we
now. So any questions?
FP: No, this is great.
TA: Then he got at the time period – it’s fuzzy to me now – when he started
playing with Phil Woods and they want on the road. They went to Japan and they
went to Scandinavia and quite a few places.
FP: Right. Well, now we’re up to the 70s.
TA: Yeah.
FP: So maybe there is… There is one thing I could ask you about cause when
you’re doing what, the six night week a thing at the Alibi,…
TA: The Alibi.
FP: …that was with Matty Dice?
TA: We did that with Matty Dice and that was for quite a long period. I mean
we did that at – it could have been over a year.
FP: Oh, Matty Dice was a really good player…
- 105 -
TA: Yeah.
FP: …and a large repertoire. I notice he had tons of tunes.
TA: Yeah, a large repertoire and chops and…
FP: Yeah, he was a really good player.
TA: Yeah.
FP: So I mean back in those days, a commercial band was playing more of a
swing style than nowadays, right? I mean you were playing…
TA: A lot of ballads… I mean, yeah, we didn’t do a lot of Clifford Brown or
jazz things as such. We did some.
FP: Oh, you did?
TA: Yeah. But for the most part, Matty just kind of stuck to the standards. So a
lot of it was just…
FP: And he sang too, right?
TA: And he sang.
FP: Yeah.
TA: Yeah. And of course his son is using all – well, the pop music that time.
(Inaudible) Sonny.
FP: Right.
TA: Remember?
FP: Yeah. Yeah.
TA: Of course she sang that…
FP: Of course.
- 106 -
TA: …and things like that. So was the pop music of that period, but leading for
more choice ballads and the Rogers and Hart thing, that kind of thing.
FP: So that must have been part of like Harry developed a huge repertoire too.
TA: A tremendous repertoire. He was very much an accompanist. He
accompanied more singers; Yvonne Green, and then later Rosemary Conte, and
you name it. I mean he was a great accompanist. Singers loved to have him as an
accompanist.
FP: Yeah, I bet.
TA: Yeah, so he did a lot of that. I think he got a little tired of it after awhile
cause he had to do a lot of it.
FP: Yeah.
TA: These singers – I can’t really remember. I’ve forgotten, but many, many
singers. Then he didn’t really get into doing the originals of jazz tones and his
own music, his own compositions, until Roy and Glen I think.
FP: Was he playing it… I mean I know that Ronnie Naspo mentioned…
TA: Ronnie Naspo.
FP: …hearing him, but some sessions and things.
TA: Well, there’s another group that he played with quite a bit was with Dave
Braham, the organist, with Ronnie Glick.
FP: That was back at that time?
TA: Well, that would have been… No, that would be have been, gee.
(Inaudible). The main one he played was Ronnie Glick and there was Dave
Braham, and there was a place right on Watchung Avenue they use to play at.
- 107 -
DA: Oh, yeah. That was called – oh, God I call remember. It’s got a Chinese
Restaurant. On the bridge there.
TA: Right by the bridge there’s a place. It was a jazz club.
FP: Oh.
DA: That was great.
TA: Yeah.
FP: Yeah.
DA: That was later though.
TA: You gotta talk to Ronnie.
FP: Yeah.
TA: Cause he’ll give you that period.
FP: Ronnie Glick.
TA: Ronnie Glick, okay.
FP: Yeah.
DA: I think that was in the 80s though…
TA: Yeah, that might have been in the…
FP: Oh, okay.
TA: That would be…
DA: That was later.
TA: Sometimes Jimmy Ponder – sometimes Ponder…
FP: Right.
TA: …and Harry played, the two of them,…
FP: Yeah.
- 108 -
TA: …right there in that place on…
FP: Oh. Oh, in that place.
TA: And other places too.
FP: I know they played at Wallace’s.
TA: Yeah.
DA: Oh, yeah.
TA: They were great together, Jimmy Ponder and Harry. Yeah, they loved the
musical admiration. Then of course another whole period is when Harry played
down the shore at that jazz brunch.
FP: For Tal Farlow.
TA: Then Les Paul would play there sometimes too with Gary Mazaroppi. Then
Harry did a period of time where he played a lot with Gary…
FP: Right, that was later.
TA: Yeah, that was all later.
FP: Almost at the end.
TA: Yeah, right. Yeah.
DA: (Inaudible) I think was towards the end, right? I think he was already sick,
right, (inaudible).
TA: Yeah. Yeah, that may have been around that time. I’m sure I’ll think of a
bunch of the things.
FP: Anything that you think of you can always…
TA: I can call you on the…
FP: Yeah.
- 109 -
TA: And I will send the pictures.
FP: Oh, that’ll be fantastic.
TA: That was quite impressionable. I think for 19 year old guys, we sounded
pretty good.
FP: Yeah.
TA: And you can definitely hear Harry with Barney Kessel influence there.
FP: That’s funny because later on you don’t really hear that influence.
TA: No, well… Harry, when he evolved and changed his style, he’d go totally…
FP: In a different direction.
TA: …different direction.
FP: Yeah.
TA: And then almost you could say this is the Barney Kessel period, this is the
Johnny Smith period.
FP: Right.
TA: This is Wes Montgomery time. So you very much get into the Wes
Montgomery – (inaudible).
FP: Yeah. Oh, yeah, I heard him do that tune. I never dug that too much, the
thumb bass, cause with the pick he got a beautiful sound.
TA: Oh, I yeah.
FP: I mean he just got an amazing sound.
TA: It’s an amazing sound… So he didn’t do a lot of thumb. Even with the
octaves, he played with the pick mostly.
FP: Right.
- 110 -
TA: Yeah.
FP: He could do things with the pick.
TA: See he was always interested in the classical guitar.
FP: Right.
TA: He could play any – like his son, Jimmy, he could play any style. So we
played some things together. In fact, we had a gig once with Rosemary Conte,
Harry, and me, just two guitarists and then I’d play the Fender bass and we’d
switch off that way. But Harry…I’d do something arpeggio like Harry did with
the pick. He also would do like the Villa Lobos and things like that where he
would play these tunes with a pick, and I would be struggling to do with all my
fingers and he’d come up and do it with a pick. Of course he did play with his
fingers too.
FP: He did that sometimes?
TA: Sometimes like a lot of electric guitar players – he’d play with the pick and
these three fingers. He would do that quite often. It’s all up here, right?
FP: Yeah, definitely. He was a big fan of Django’s too.
TA: We’d always sit for hours and listen to Django. We loved Django.
FP: But he never tried to sound like him?
TA: He never tried to sound like Frank Vignola. He’ll play more with the Django
style.
FP: Yeah. Yeah.
TA: But Harry never… He did his own thing, but he played like Nuages and he
played Django’s Castle and things like that. Then I wish he had written more.
- 111 -
The songs that he wrote – Silver Threads and Rain Danse, and his own
compositions.
FP: Yeah, he didn’t write too many of them?
TA: Oh, maybe comparatively. He wrote quite a few and others that he never
really organized. So he did that mostly with Roy and Glen.
FP: Yeah.
TA: And then later he had been recording with, as you know, with Steve Gilmore
where he did his own music.
FP: Yeah. When he was playing with Roy and Glen I mean at that point, and
when he was playing with Phil as well, he really had developed his own unique
style, and he didn’t…
TA: He became Harry Leahey.
FP: Yeah. He didn’t sound like him.
TA: So earlier on, he always had his own way of course like everybody has their
own personal style. You can tell that’s Harry Leahey playing, even though he
sounded like Barney Kessel, and you can tell it’s Harry Leahey.
FP: It would be really interesting to hear that Barney Kessel sound.
TA: It’s very much on that Dixieland recording, yeah. And when we played
places like these local pubs, he was playing a lot like Barney Kessel then. Then
later on you never know. He just totally switched off and didn’t have any part of
Kessel; any, anything like him anymore after that. And Barney Kessel probably
played with the slide, the pick, and he probably played more that way, and he
went to these little triplets where he’d slide the pick and that kind of thing.
- 112 -
Howard Roberts. Harry loved all those guys. He had recordings by Howard
Roberts and he did some others. He loved Tal Farlow. There was a period where
he listened to a lot of the tunes by Tal Farlow and they became good friends.
FP: Right.
TA: Yeah. What are some others? Joe Pass – he loved Joe Pass. He and I use to
go see Joe Pass for a while, up in West Paterson.
FP: He was a great player too.
TA: Yeah.
FP: But I don’t think he had anything on Harry personally.
TA: Well, the quote from Phi was, I don’t know if it’s written or not, but he said
“that Harry is the greatest unknown guitarist.” He put it another way that Harry’s
the best guitar player that nobody knows or should know. In other words, he
should have been known more.
FP: Well, he didn’t care to be famous, right?
TA: No. No.
FP: He never cared about that.
TA: He wasn’t crazy about road work. He’d rather be at home, and for a guy
who was such a (inaudible) also, he gave it all to the students as you know.
FP: Yeah.
TA: He spent hours. I mean there were some students, his last student who
would never go home. They would be there to midnight. He was very giving as a
teacher, very, very. So he had kind of his close knit followers. You know some
of them – Larry Barbie.
- 113 -
FP: Oh, right. Yeah.
TA: Barbie became almost family, and there’s one that Debbie’s husband was
originally Harry’s student. He wasn’t too happy about that. Debbie will tell you
that.
FP: Things will happen.
TA: Yeah, right. That’s tough. But other guitarists that there were – who are
some of the others guys? Of course Walt and his parents use to love to go to their
house and my sister was like the – took care of all the neighborhood kids, right?
John Maimone’s son. What’s his name?
DA: Mark Maimone.
TA: Mark Maimone practically lives there. She practically brought him up.
FP: Wow.
TA: And you know John was recording – he did a lot of recording.
FP: Oh, was he the guy from the Jersey Jazz?
TA: Yeah, he did a lot of Jersey Jazz. Then his wife was a great organist. I’ll tell
you a little funny story of my relationship with John Maimone. He always
wanted to record me, so he said – and I never wanted us to record – I’m not gonna
sound like Harry. He said I’d like to record you and I said well, why? He said
well, you’re very well-known as a classical guitarist and you have a very good
reputation. I said, then why should I spoil it?
FP: That’s great. Did he record you though?
TA: No, he never did.
FP: You didn’t give in.
- 114 -
TA: He said well, I guess what could I say after that?
FP: Did you and Harry ever record like your duo things or…
TA: Never duo things. We have family as I mentioned that we do with Bill
Kramod on the saxophone. We use to go to a club – a place called Mazur’s and
Richie would sing. It was very funny stuff. I mean Richie had Robert’s tape
recorder that he never knew how it worked and it was a disaster always, and we
use to go to this place Mazur’s. Remember Mazur’s out in High Bridge, and we’d
go on St. Patrick’s Day. So we have home recordings of all of us playing. Mazur
is St. Patrick’s Day disaster #1, disaster #2, that’s how we titled it. At one time
I’m playing the bass in the bathroom. They said, where’s Tom? I had to go to the
bathroom and I took the bass in the bathroom with me. He said Tom’s in the
bathroom with his bass.
FP: Well, you gotta do what you gotta do.
TA: And so Harry would tear out the guitar. Sometimes those are some of the
most – no reserve. He just would tear out the guitar and some of those were quite
interesting. But the tape recorder Harry that Rich was (inaudible). Then he
would cut it out for a while. He just didn’t know how to work it. So everything is
in kind of bits and that kind of thing.
FP: That’s too bad.
TA: Too bad, yeah. Then he did “in the olden days a glimpse of stocking” …
FP: Anything Goes.
- 115 -
TA: Richie’s singing that one; “in the olden days a glimpse”… Then the backup
part goes (speaker is making weird noises). Then he goes (speaker is making
weird noises). “The world has gone wild today.” He takes off on that.
FP: Yeah, I heard a couple of stories about Richie being pretty wild too.
TA: Yeah, he was a wild guy.
FP: Walking with a big cymbal – walking around the bar.
TA: Yeah. And Dudley’s, we use to walk around the bar with the Dixieland
band, that was part of it, and sometimes we’d walk through the place and go into
the ladies room and stuff like that with the Dixieland band. Yeah, Richie was a
wild man. He really was.
FP: And he died, right?
TA: He died tragically. He went to California and fell off – he had too many
martinis and fell off two steps or something like that. He was in a coma for about
a week and died. Yeah, Richie… They always dreamed of having a studio piano.
He always had these wonderful fantasies, dreams that never realized. He was
always broke. He was always… Creditors were always after him. I had to get
him out of there. When he went to California, we literally had to sneak out of his
garden apartment because he was so far in debt, and yet we had to get going at
night to get past the superintendent and that kind of thing. That’s how Richie
was.
FP: Do you remember when Harry started going to Dennis Sandole?
- 116 -
TA: Yeah, he’d go over to Philly to study with Sandole. Geez, when the heck
would that be? He also studied – another name that comes to my mind – he
studied with a pianist in New York.
FP: Not Tristano?
TA: I think so.
FP: Lennie.
TA: It was Tristano.
FP: He studied with Lennie Tristano?
TA: He said he was Lennie Tristano.
FP: I never knew that.
TA: Yeah. Yeah.
FP: That’s interesting.
TA: He was Lennie Tristano. Cause Lennie was like – at that time was
considered kind of an avant guard almost. Yeah.
FP: When would that be? Would that be…
TA: Geez, I remember him going to New York and studying with Lennie
Tristano and going to Philly with Sandole. There again, maybe Debbie may not
remember that. It wasn’t long. I’d said it was a matter of a few months he
studied with Lennie Tristano, and Rom – I can remember that.
TA: Harry never played much with Anne Finch. I did. I played more with Anne
Finch. Do you know Anne Finch?
FP: No.
- 117 -
TA: She went with Bill Evans at one time. And I got to see Bill Evans a lot
through Anne Finch because we’d go to Vanguard or whatever and… So I just
saw her name here, that’s what made me think of her, but he really didn’t play
that much with her.
FP: Did you guys play at the Red Bull Inn?
TA: Yeah, we played there. The place, Charlie Brown’s, now I’m trying to
remember… That was a…Harry played a lot there. He played with Danny… I
think Johnny Spizo too. He played with Danny Spizo, the son. There’s another
organist. Of course, Johnny was a guitar at first. It didn’t (inaudible) with them.
He was the father, but Danny played the organ. But there was another guy who
played the organ that Harry played a lot with. He wasn’t too happy. What the
hell is his name?
FP: Harry wasn’t too happy?
TA: He wasn’t happy playing with this organist, but it got hid. He played quite
awhile with them. There was another guitar player at that time. The name
escapes me. I’ll have to call you when I remember some of these people
FP: Okay.
DA: I wanna say Putter or something, Putter. What was that called?
FP: The Golden Putter.
DA: Exactly.
TA: But had a name even before that.
FP: Was that on 22? Was Golden Putter on 22?
TA: Yeah. Well, the Golden Putter I think was… It used to be Kirwans.
- 118 -
DA: Oh, is that right? See I didn’t know that.
TA: Yeah, (inaudible) Kirwans. But the other place – Charlie Brown’s was still
something else… That’s where… Bracco. Bracco.
FP: Bracco?
TA: I’m trying to think of his first name – Bracco. Yeah, the guy’s name was
Bracco. I’ll think of his first name. Anyway, Bracco was an organist and he
played… He goes back in the whole history. He played when they had all the
bowling alleys and all that kind of stuff. He played all that stuff. He was a fixture
around here in this area; A, B, C, I wanna do that. Who else would remember his
name? Maybe Debbie would remember Bracco. His name was Leroy then. That
was a real commercial thing. I mean that was… Harry wasn’t happy with that
job, but he got a lot of work on days when he needed to work.
FP: So it’s amazing that he kept his jazz jobs through all that commercial stuff.
TA: He played a lot of commercial stuff, a lot of commercial stuff, and that
Bracco would be the…
FP: And probably with players that really weren’t up to snuff.
TA: No way, yeah.
DA: Joe Bracco?
TA: No, I think it’s Mike Bracco, yeah. I think it’s Mike.
FP: These people – people like this are only of interest because Harry played
with them.
TA: Oh, yeah. Yeah, and people would go, despite a Mike Bracco.
FP: Oh, they would go see Harry.
- 119 -
TA: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He played with him for a quite awhile actually. I
forgot about that. Eddie Elchin. You know Eddie was nowhere near his caliber,
and few people were.
FP: Yeah, right. Well, I mean the typical like local guys.
TA: Yeah, these are local guys and then Harry… I can tell you at another time,
but I played with, I guess it was a sax player or it was a guitarist, not a leading
guitarist, whatever he played, he was a nervous wreck. We were playing in
Princeton and Jack Winter – remember Jack Winter - …
FP: Yeah.
TA: …he was a maniac when it came to time.
FP: Right.
TA: If you weren’t playing on time, he’d start screaming. So this kid, I can’t
remember exactly who it was; this kid was nervous and so Jack started screaming
and Harry gave him hell, gave Jack Winter hell. He said “look, lay off him.” He
said “he’s scared as it is, and you’re making him nervous, you’re making it worse.
He’s trying. He’s doing his best.” So I was so proud of Harry there. He said he’s
doing his best and knock it off. It took a lot for Harry to say that to somebody.
He would avoid it. He’d just walk away. Usually he’d never confront anybody.
TA: He played right up until the end.
FP: He played at Trumpets.
TA: He did that one solo album.
- 120 -
FP: I have the review from Guitar Player. It says it’s a limited edition. Well,
Harry never pursued a big time career.
TA: No, he didn’t. He was a family man. He adored his kids.
- 121 -
Harry Leahey Discography
Date: ca. April 1973
Location: Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Label: CTI
Don Sebesky (ldr), Hubert Laws (f), Phil Bodner, Jerry Dodgion, Walt Levinsky,
George Marge, Romeo Penque (ww), Randy Brecker, Alan Rubin, Joe Shepley (t,
fh),
Freddie Hubbard (t), Jim Buffington, Earl Chapin (frh), Wayne Andre, Warren
Covington (tb, eu), Garnett Brown (tb), Paul Faulise, Alan Raph (btb, eu), Tony
Price (tu), Harry Leahey (g), Don Sebesky (ep, arr, con), Ron Carter (b), Billy
Cobham (d), Dave Friedman, Phil Kraus, Airto Moreira (per), Al Brown, Harry
Cykman, Max Ellen, Paul Gershman, Harry Glickman, Emanuel Green, Harold
Kohon,
Charles Libove, Harry Lookofsky, Joe Malin, David Nadien, Gene Orloff, Elliot
Rosoff, Irving Spice (vn), Seymour Barab, Charles McCracken, George Ricci,
Alan
Shulman (vc), Homer Mensch (cb), Margaret Ross (hrp), Carl Caldwell, Lani
- 122 -
Groves, Tasha Thomas (v)
a.01Firebird (Igor Stravinsky)
b.01Birds Of Fire - 13:55 (John McLaughlin)
Both titles on:- CTI LP 12": 6031/6032 - Giant Box (1973)
a, b performed as medley.
"Firebird/Birds Of Fire" is a blending of the Stravinsky and McLaughlin
compositions.
Date: ca. November 1976
Location: The Showboat Lounge, Silver Spring, MD
Label: RCA
Phil Woods (ldr), Phil Woods (ss, as, arr), Harry Leahey (g, arr), Mike Melillo
(p, arr), Steve Gilmore (b), Bill Goodwin (d), Alyrio Lima (per)
a.a-01A Sleepin' Bee - 07:25 (Truman Capote, Harold Arlen)
Novus CD: 3104-2-N - Live
b.a-02Rain Dance - 07:59 (Harry Leahey)
- 123 -
Novus CD: 3104-2-N - Live
c.a-03Bye Bye Baby - 07:43 (Jule Styne, Leo Robin)
Novus CD: 3104-2-N - Live
d.a-04Django's Castle [aka Manoir De Mes Reves] - 05:40 (Django
Reinhardt)
Novus CD: 3104-2-N - Live
e.b-01Cheek To Cheek - 11:34 (Irving Berlin)
Novus CD: 3104-2-N - Live
f.b-02Lady J - 05:03 (Phil Woods)
g.b-03Little Niles - 12:50 (Randy Weston)
h.c-01A Little Peace - 06:54 (Mike Melillo)
i.c-02Prelude (Preludio) - 05:50 (Phil Woods)
j.c-03Love Song (Cancao De Amor) - 04:00 (Phil Woods)
k.c-04Wedding Dance (Dance De Bodas) - 06:00 (Phil Woods)
l.c-05Joy (Alegria) - 05:50 (Phil Woods)
m.d-01I'm Late - 06:54 (Bob Hilliard, Sammy Fain)
Novus CD: 3104-2-N - Live
- 124 -
n.d-02Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) - 05:54 (Stevie
Wonder)
Novus CD: 3104-2-N - Live
o.d-03High Clouds - 05:48 (Ettore Stratta)
Novus CD: 3104-2-N - Live
p.d-04How's Your Mama - 05:11 (Phil Woods)
Novus CD: 3104-2-N - Live
All titles on:- RCA LP 12": BGL2-2202 - "Live" From The Showboat
(1977)
i, j, k, l performed as medley.
Harry Leahey (arr) on b, d only. Mike Melillo (arr) on c, e, h only. Omit Phil
Woods (arr) on b, c, d, e, h.
c-02 through c-05 are listed as the suite "Brazilian Affair (Intriga Amorosa)"
Date: April 27, 1977
Location: Cambridge, MA
- 125 -
Label: Philology
Phil Woods (ldr), Lee Konitz, Phil Woods (as), Harry Leahey (g), Steve Gilmore
(b), Bill Goodwin (d)
a.Donna Lee (Miles Davis)
Philology CD: W74-2 - A Jazz Life
Date: August 15, 1977
Location: Pori, Finland
Label: Mosaic
Phil Woods (ldr), Phil Woods (as), Harry Leahey (g), Mike Melillo (p), Steve
Gilmore (b), Bill Goodwin (d)
a.Song For Sisyphus - 16:42 (Phil Woods)
b.Cheek To Cheek - 13:44 (Irving Berlin)
c.High Clouds - 07:04 (Ettore Stratta)
All titles on:- Mosaic CD: MD5-159 - Phil Woods Quartet/Quintet 20th
Anniversary Set
- 126 -
Date: November 9, 1977
Location: RCA Studios, New York City
Label: Gryphon
Phil Woods (ldr), Phil Woods (as, arr), Harry Leahey (g, arr), Mike Melillo (p,
arr), Steve Gilmore (b), Bill Goodwin (d)
a.a-01Song For Sisyphus - 05:26 (Phil Woods)
b.a-02Last Night When We Were Young - 03:56 (Harold Arlen, E. Y.
Harburg)
c.a-03Nuages - 03:16 (Django Reinhardt)
d.a-04Change Partners - 04:47 (Irving Berlin)
e.b-01Monking Business - 05:30 (Mike Melillo)
f.b-02Summer Afternoon - 04:40 (Mike Melillo)
g.b-03When My Dreams Come True - 03:03 (Irving Berlin)
h.b-04Shaw 'Nuff - 03:33 (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie)
All titles on:- Gryphon LP 12": G-782 - Song For Sisyphus (1978)
- 127 -
- Hindsight CD: 620 - Summer Afternoon Jazz (1999)
Omit Phil Woods (as) on c, g. Omit Harry Leahey (g) on g. Omit Mike Melillo (p)
on c. Omit Steve Gilmore (b) on c, g. Omit Bill Goodwin (d) on c, g. Harry
Leahey (arr) on c only. Mike Melillo (arr) on e, f, g only. Omit Phil Woods
(arr) on c, e, f, g.
Date: ca. 1978
Location: C.I. Recording Studio, New York City
Label: Classic Jazz
Ron Odrich (ldr), Ron Odrich (cl, bcl), Harry Leahey (g), George Duvivier (b),
Grady Tate (d), Leopoldo Fleming (per)
a.Afro-Disco - 03:58 (Jim Odrich)
b.Espresso - 04:22 (Gerry Mulligan)
c.Summer Day - 03:37 (Jim Odrich)
d.Line For Lyons - 04:15 (Gerry Mulligan)
All titles on:- Classic Jazz LP 12": 35 - Blackstick (1978)
- 128 -
No date given.
Date: March 1978
Label: Gryphon
Michel Legrand (ldr), Phil Woods (as), Gerry Mulligan (bar), Burt Collins, Jon
Faddis, John Gatchell, Joe Shepley (t), John Clark, Albert Richmond, Brooks
Tillotson (tb), Tony Price (tu), Don Elliott (vib), Harry Leahey (g), Michel
Legrand (p, arr, con), Bernie Leighton, Tom Pierson (key), Ron Carter (b), Jimmy
Madison, Grady Tate (d), Erroll 'Crusher' Bennett, Portinho (per), Gloria
Agostini (hrp)
a.01Southern Routes (Les Routes de la Sud): North (Michel Legrand)
b.01Southern Routes (Les Routes de la Sud): West (Michel Legrand)
c.01Southern Routes (Les Routes de la Sud): East (Michel Legrand)
d.01Southern Routes (Les Routes de la Sud): South - 23:19 (Michel
Legrand)
- 129 -
e.02La Pasionaria - 03:34 (Michel Legrand)
f.03Malagan Stew - 05:15 (Michel Legrand)
g.04Iberia Nova - 05:05 (Michel Legrand)
h.05Basquette - 08:50 (Michel Legrand)
All titles on:- Gryphon LP 12": G-905 - Le Jazz Grand (1978)
- DCC CD: 609 - Le Jazz Grand
a, b, c, d performed as medley.
Date: December 11, 13, 14, 1979
Location: New York City
Label: Philips
Harumi Kaneko (ldr), George Young (ts), Dave Samuels (vib), Harry Leahey (g),
Hank Jones (p), Ron Carter, Steve Gilmore (b), Bill Goodwin, Grady Tate (d),
Armen Halburian (per), Bob Dorough, Harumi Kaneko (v)
a.01Brown Skin Gal (Duke Ellington, Paul Francis Webster)
b.02Comin' Home Baby (Ben Tucker, Bob Dorough)
c.03Too Shy To Say (Stevie Wonder)
- 130 -
d.04I've Got Just About Everything (Bob Dorough)
e.05But For Now (Bob Dorough)
f.06You Took Advantage Of Me (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)
g.07These Foolish Things (Jack Strachey, Harry Link, Holt Marvell)
h.08A Good Man Is Hard To Find (Eddie Green)
i.09How About You? (Burton Lane, Ralph Freed)
All titles on:- Philips LP 12": FS 7032 - I Love New York
- Philips CD: 32JD-127 - I Love New York
Ron Carter (b) on a, b only. Omit Steve Gilmore (b) on a, b. Omit Bill Goodwin
(d) on a, b. Grady Tate (d) on a, b only. Bob Dorough (v) on b, i only.
No specifics available.
Date: May 5, 1980
Location: Venture Sound Studio, Somerville, NJ
Label: OmniSound
- 131 -
Harry Leahey (ldr), Harry Leahey (g), Roy Cumming (b), Glenn Davis (d)
a.a-01Split Rock - 03:13 (Roy Cumming)
b.a-03Send In The Clowns - 05:49 (Stephen Sondheim)
c.b-02All Or Nothing At All - 06:35 (Arthur Altman, Jack Lawrence)
All titles on:- OmniSound LP 12": N-1031 - Still Waters (1980)
Roy Cumming (b) on a only. Glenn Davis (d) on a only.
Date: May 8, 1980
Location: Venture Sound Studio, Somerville, NJ
Label: OmniSound
Harry Leahey (ldr), Harry Leahey (g), Roy Cumming (b), Glenn Davis (d)
a.a-02Rain Dance - 06:38 (Harry Leahey)
b.a-04Delilah - 08:01 (Victor Young)
c.b-01Still Waters - 07:45 (Harry Leahey)
d.b-03His Majesty - 10:05 (Harry Leahey)
All titles on:- OmniSound LP 12": N-1031 - Still Waters (1980)
- 132 -
Date: December 15, 1980
Location: Deer Head Inn, Delaware Water Gap, PA
Label: OmniSound
John Coates, Jr. (ldr), Phil Woods (cl, as), Harry Leahey (g), John Coates, Jr.
(p), Steve Gilmore (b)
a.a-02Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West - 06:52 (John Lewis)
OmniSound LP 12": N 1038 - Pocono Friends (1981)
b.a-03Singing With You - 08:02 (John Coates, Jr.)
OmniSound LP 12": N 1038 - Pocono Friends (1981)
c.b-03More Than You Know - 07:55 (Billy Rose, Edward Eliscu, Vincent
Youmans)
OmniSound LP 12": N 1038 - Pocono Friends (1981)
d.c-03Some Changes - 04:43 (John Coates, Jr.)
OmniSound LP 12": N 1038 - Pocono Friends (1981)
e.c-04How Can We Be Wrong - 08:27 (Arthur Schwartz)
OmniSound LP 12": N 1038 - Pocono Friends (1981)
- 133 -
f.d-03How Can We Be Wrong - 09:36 (Arthur Schwartz)
OmniSound LP 12": N 1038 - Pocono Friends (1981)
g.e-02Why Shouldn't I? - 06:21 (Cole Porter)
OmniSound LP 12": N 1045 - Pocono Friends Encore (1982)
Phil Woods (cl) on d only. Omit Phil Woods (as) on a, c, e. Harry Leahey (g) on
a, e only. Omit Steve Gilmore (b) on a, d, g.
Date: December 18, 1980
Location: Deer Head Inn, Delaware Water Gap, PA
Label: OmniSound
John Coates, Jr. (ldr), Harry Leahey (g), John Coates, Jr. (p), Steve Gilmore
(b)
a.e-04Brazilian Stew (No. 13) - 07:50 (John Coates, Jr.)
b.f-02Like Someone In Love - 05:17 (Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke)
- 134 -
c.f-03Hymn To Her - 06:08 (John Coates, Jr.)
All titles on:- OmniSound LP 12": N 1045 - Pocono Friends Encore
(1982)
Omit Harry Leahey (g) on c. Omit Steve Gilmore (b) on b.
Date: May 25, 1981
Location: Venture Sound Studio, Somerville, NJ
Label: OmniSound
Steve Gilmore, Harry Leahey (ldr), Harry Leahey (g), Steve Gilmore (b)
a.Daahoud - 05:13 (Clifford Brown)
b.Epistrophy - 05:51 (Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke)
c.Twisted Blues - 04:23 (Wes Montgomery)
d.Silver Threads - 05:01 (Harry Leahey)
e.I Concentrate On You - 06:54 (Cole Porter)
f.Strings And Things - 03:55 (Harry Leahey)
All titles on:- OmniSound LP 12": N-1042 - Silver Threads
- 135 -
Date: June 1, 1981
Location: Venture Sound Studio, Somerville, NJ
Label: OmniSound
Steve Gilmore, Harry Leahey (ldr), Harry Leahey (g), Steve Gilmore (b)
a.Never Let Me Go - 07:42 (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans)
b.A Little Peace - 06:34 (Mike Melillo)
Both titles on:- OmniSound LP 12": N-1042 - Silver Threads
Date: ca. December 20, 1984
Location: Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Label: Muse
Mark Murphy (ldr), Gerry Niewood (f, ts), Ted Curson (t, fh), Harry Leahey (g),
David Braham (org), Jimmy Lewis (b), Ed Caccavale (d), Grady Tate (d, v),
Lawrence Killian (per), Mark Murphy (v)
a.a-01Living Room - 05:30 (Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach)
b.a-02Our Love Rolls On - 04:07 (Dave Frishberg)
- 136 -
c.a-03L. A. (Med Flory)
d.a-03L. A. Breakdown (Larry B. Marks)
e.a-03The Way It Was In L. A. - 05:55 (Ray Linn)
f.a-04There'll Be Some Changes Made - 03:35 (Benton Overstreet, William
Blackstone, Bill Higgins)
g.b-01Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens - 05:22 (Alex Kramer, Joan
Whitney)
h.b-02Misty (Erroll Garner, Johnny Burke)
i.b-02Midnight Sun - 05:56 (Johnny Mercer, Johnny Burke, Lionel Hampton)
j.b-03Charleston Alley - 02:39 (Jon Hendricks, Leroy Kirkland, Horace
Henderson)
k.b-04Full Moon - 02:42 (Mark Murphy)
l.b-05Maxine - 02:35 (Donald Fagan)
All titles on:- Muse LP 12": MR 5345 - Living Room (1986)
c, d, e performed as medley.
- 137 -
h, i performed as medley.
Jimmy Lewis (b) on h, i only. Ed Caccavale (d) on a, f, j, k only. Omit Grady
Tate (d) on a, f, j, k. Grady Tate (v) on h, i only.
c. d. e. form a suite titled L. A. Song Cycle.
Date: April 17, 1986
Location: Cecilia S. Cohen Recital Hall, Fine and Performing Arts Center, East
Stroudsburg University, PA
Label: IAJRC
Al Cohn (ldr), Al Cohn (ts), Harry Leahey (g), Steve Gilmore (b), Bill Goodwin
(d)
a.01The Hymn (Wichita Blues) - 08:11 (Jay McShann)
b.02Sweet And Lovely - 09:43 (Gus Arnheim, Harry Tobias, Jules Lemare)
c.03One Note Samba [aka Samba De Uma Nota So] - 08:07 (Antonio Carlos
Jobim, Newton Mendonça)
d.04What's New - 09:34 (Bob Haggart, Johnny Burke)
- 138 -
e.05My Shining Hour - 08:14 (Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen)
f.06Broadway - 10:03 (Bill Bird, Henri Woode, Teddy McRae)
g.07When Your Lover Has Gone - 10:44 (Einar A. Swan)
h.08Easy Living - 08:50 (Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger)
All titles on:- IAJRC CD: 1016 - In Concert At East Stroudsburg
University (2001)
Date: ca. March 1989
Location: Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Label: C. Macey Productions
Harry Leahey (ldr), Harry Leahey (g)
a.01Alice In Wonderland - 04:46 (Bob Hilliard, Sammy Fain)
b.02Some Other Time - 06:13 (Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, Adolph
Green)
c.03Never Let Me Go - 06:32 (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans)
d.04Embraceable You - 03:22 (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)
e.05Star Dust - 02:44 (Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish)
- 139 -
f.06You Stepped Out Of A Dream - 03:53 (Gus Kahn, Nacio Herb Brown)
g.07Come Rain Or Come Shine - 06:19 (Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen)
h.08Silver Threads - 04:40 (Harry Leahey)
i.09Spring Is Here - 05:12 (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)
j.10There's No You - 05:52 (Hal Hopper, Tom Adair, George Durgom)
k.11Django's Castle [aka Manoir De Mes Reves] - 04:32 (Django Reinhardt)
All titles on:- C. Macey Productions CD: - Unaccompanied Guitar
Date: ca. 1990
Location: Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Label: Cexton
James L. Dean (ldr), James L. Dean (f, cl, ts, arr), Nelson Hill (f, ss),
Claudio Roditi (t, fh), Hart Smith (tb), Harry Leahey (g), Noreen Sauls (p),
Charles Sastre, Earl Sauls (b), Glenn Davis, Rich De Rosa (d), Glenn Weber
(per), Marlene Ver Planck (v)
a.01Ceora - 09:13 (Lee Morgan)
b.02Another Day Without Your Love - 04:38 (Pat Mahoney, Ross N.
- 140 -
Schneider)
c.03Samba De Ludlow - 04:14 (Ross N. Schneider, Pat Mahoney)
d.04Don't Go - 04:08 (Sammy Lee Joffe, Ross N. Schneider)
e.05Antibes - 04:05 (Don Rader)
f.06Joao - 07:07 (Clare Fischer)
g.07Pensativa - 08:45 (Clare Fischer)
h.08Now We Know - 04:53 (Willard Robison)
i.09Melancholico - 06:14 (Gary McFarland)
j.10Where Is April - 04:27 (Loonis McGlohon, Billy Ver Planck)
k.11Superslick - 07:53 (Mike Barone)
All titles on:- Cexton CD: CR-8158 - Ceora (1992)
In addition there exist many informally recorded, unreleased recordings.
- 141 -
Harry Leahey Bibliography
Kernfield, Barry, ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. New York: Grove. 2001.
Ronald Michael Radano. New Musical Figurations: Anthony Braxton's Cultural
Critique. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1994.
Robert Yelin. “Two unique nightclub experiments that worked. Guitar Player
Magazine.” April 1973.
John S. Wilson. “Jazz: Phil Woods 5.” New York Times May 26, 1977.
John S. Wilson. “Newport Jazz: Vibrant Virtuosos.” New York Times Jun 30,
1977.
Russell Shaw. “Record Reviews.” Down Beat Magazine p. 28. October 20, 1977.
Kenneth Best. “Guitar teacher Harry Leahey looks at his performing as just a
hobby.” The Courier-News May 19, 1978.
George Kanzler. “A family man by day and top artist by night.” The Newark Star-
Ledger March 8, 1981.
Joseph F Sullivan. “Twenties Classics Recreated in Jersey In a Festive Part of
Jazz Festival.” The New York Times June 30, 1981.
Richard Skelly. “He keeps on pluckin’.” The Home News. December 2, 1988.
- 142 -
George Kanzler. “Guitarist takes listeners 'to the next level'.” The Newark Star-
Ledger March 11, 1990.
George Kanzler. “Jazz guitarist Leahey dies of cancer at 54.” The Newark Star-
Ledger August 14, 1990.
“Harry Leahey, Jazz Guitarist, 54.” New York Times August 16, 1990, B14.
“Final Bar. Harry Leahey.” Down Beat, 58/1 January 1991, 12.
All Music, Summer 1991. Entire issue devoted to Harry Leahey.
“Harry Leahey, Jazz Guitarist, 1935-1990.” Guitar Player December 1990, 20.