Patty Waters has long been one of the more intriguing and irregular members of the ESP family, a roster crowded with eccentric and eclectic personalities as is. An émigré from the West Coast to New York in the mid-60s, she was subsisting as a cashier and waitress like so many other “starving artists” when Albert Ayler fortuitously introduced her ESP owner Bernard Stollman. A pair of records and regular performances followed, but she left the scene abruptly several years later to focus on family.
Waters’ much vaunted return to performing after an absence of 30 odd years had certain parallel resonances with the return of bassist Henry Grimes, though the latter’s hiatus was the product of far less positive circumstances. I attended her 2003 Vision Festival performance with Burton Greene and Mark Dresser and found it disappointingly, but understandably, lacking. She seemed stage-shy and more than a little overwhelmed by all the effusive adoration and the experience as a whole, leaving Greene and Dresser to fill the holes with a fair amount of instrumental duo-play.
ESP’s “Complete” reissue combines Waters two albums for the label onto a convenient single disc. While only a scant four months separate the two albums there are strong stylistic and programmatic differences between them. Blessed with a title that boils things down to an apposite essence, Sings occupies the first eight tracks. Waters’ timbre and phrasing exhibits a similar economy. She leafs through a songbook of seven original tunes in duet with pianist Burton Greene. Most drift by in times of less than two minutes apiece and none clock in excess of three. Her voice assumes the delicacy and texture of fissured porcelain, fragility and melancholy lacing the haiku-like lyrics to these haunted torch songs that brings to mind Billie Holiday and a more modern analogue, Devorah Day. Waters was never a stage-dominating diva, even in her youth, but she did have a certain aura of individuality that instantly set her apart and it’s especially evident on these emotionally-naked opening numbers. Bassist Steve Tintweiss, who would go on to fill a sideman slot for Ayler in the saxophonist’s final months, and drummer Tom Price are present too, but their contributions are limited to the Side B-spanning version of “Black Was the Color of My True Love’s Hair,” a trap-door cueing tour de force of ululating and often banshee-force vocalese that cemented Waters’ stature as an avant garde icon and would become a career-defining signature.
The remaining tracks comprise the College Tour album, the slice of vinyl that would end up Waters’ swan song until her new millennial reemergence. All but two feature her fronting a quartet comprised Dave Burrell and the now forgotten rhythm team of Perry Lind and Scobe Stroman with Guiseppi Logan guesting on flute. The music is more nebulous in structure and the sidemen accept more prominent roles, particularly Logan whose flute shears and soars right alongside Waters’ murmurs and whispers, rising together to another whirlwind howl on pieces like the dolorous “Hush Little Baby with Ba Ha Bad,” one of two tracks that use nursery rhyme verse as source material. Also among the tracks: a duet with Ran Blake on “It Never Entered My Mind” and a version of “Wild With the Wind” reuniting her with Greene.
To my ears the stark parity of her debut record has the edge over its successor, but it’s marvelous to have both in one package. Bags’ own Cliff Allen contributes his customarily astute level of scholarship for the liners (that “musicologist” designation after his surname ain’t no joke) joining musings from Bernard Stollman and an essay of gratitude by the artist herself to complete an abundant booklet. From what I gather, just as in Grimes’ case, Waters’ previous powers have largely and miraculously returned and if anything, the intervening years have made her fans all the fonder. It’s a pleasure and a boon to have her earlier entries back in print and readily available as point of reference for her present and future endeavors.
~ Derek Taylor
Posted by derek on January 11, 2006 6:07 PMAh, good it fell into yr hands Derek - they sound a hell of a lot better than the pressings of the LPs, that's for sure! Patty's music is wonderful, and not enough of her straight-ahead material has been heard, though some recent CDs seem to be pointing more in that direction (esp. "Happiness is a Thing Called Joe," which I like a lot). It's funny, in a way, how identified she is with free music, when it almost seems like her contributions to that area of work are a brief (albeit mind-melting to hear) aside in a highly individual oeuvre.
As an ass-ide, the ESP personnel info are slightly incorrect, as Patty accompanied herself at the piano on side 1 of "Sings," rather than Burton. So I hear, anyway.
And thanks for the props!
Posted by: clifford at January 11, 2006 7:36 PMYou wanna hear where the introvert Patty Waters is coming from, listen to Yesterdays from the Helen Merrill-Clifford Brown album on Mercury. Even the title "Sad Am I, Glad Am I" comes from that song. Black still has great power, even if it's a bit of a period piece of freak-out.
Patty lived for years here in Santa Cruz and used to babysit the kids of some friends of mine. I got introduced once. She did not want to talk about music or singing or "the old days," none of that. She didn't want to talk much at all! - seemed
like a deeply damaged soul and it was hard to be around her after awhile. I'm glad to hear she's performing again, no matter the circumstances.
I'm hoping our resident musicologist Mr Allen will be coming up with an interview with her before too long..
My favourite quote from the Burton Greene interview on the subject of 'Black was the Color': "I pushed her over the edge, man. I dropped the garbage can cover on the piano on that date!"
When I was in Santa Cruz (1988-90), Patty Waters was often at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center jam nights, handling the sign-up sheet and singing standards with the house rhythm section.
Posted by: jeff schwartz at January 12, 2006 1:29 PMI hope to have an interview with her someday, though she is very - and perhaps understandably - reluctant. I've sort of left it up to her on that front. She does seem very upset by the subject of her musical coming-up, so it sounds like some people and circumstances really fucked her over. Anyway...
Anybody around here dig the Jeanne Lee-Ran Blake duo record on RCA? Another very important piece of the Patty Waters puzzle...
Posted by: clifford at January 12, 2006 5:00 PMYeah, Jeanne Lee is the bomb. The album with Ran Blake is solid gold. Also the BYG Shepp release "Blasé," with Dave Burrell, Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors also. Jeanne sings a "Sophisticated Lady" that is so sophisticated, so blasé, it practically melts in your ears.
Posted by: djll at January 12, 2006 5:50 PMI am with Djll on this one, I picked up that first lp with Jeane Lee and Ran Blake at a flea market last year, it is so amazing.
I also love the trio with Jimmy Lyons and Cyrille (a duo portion is heard in the movie "Ghost Dog")
My newest cd's ("curxes") instrumentaion is based on a group called "Principle Life" with Kowald, Jeane Lee and two danes: Klaus Hovman (bass) and Marilyn Mazur (percussion). I never heard the group, but i was always intrigued by the idea of two basses, voice and percussion.
All I really know about Patty is that when I did a (strange) gig with Burton Greene, she came and she was nice.
Blase is hall-of-fame quality music by all parties concerned. I even like that blowing number, "Touareg," quite a bit. But seriously, it should be in any jazz-dilettante's collection, next to KOB and ALS. And Starbucks will buy the Charly catalog...
But what's this about a track from Nuba being in Ghost Dog? How odd.
Posted by: clifford at January 13, 2006 10:53 AMWould love to hear that RCA Lee/Blake session, but it appears to be out of print and used copies are going for over $40 on amazon...Anybody know of a reissue on that one?
i recently copped the later Lee/Blake disc "You stepped out of a cloud" for $2 in the bargain bin of a used cd dumping ground (to call it a 'store' would be far too kind) near Tulane University... It's also quite lovely and makes me want to hear more. I like her duos with Mal Waldron too. What a loss - she's one of the only jazz singers i really love listening to (and one of the only ones who doesn't induce the ol' cringe reflex...)
And Damon, that sounds like a great idea for a group...(and a good idea to pick up some of the many threads left by PK) - look forward to hearing it. The DAT of a trio gig I did with Kowald and drummer Endre Landsnes was among the many losses of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Posted by: Rob Cambre at January 13, 2006 12:58 PMThe Lee/Blake was on a French BMG reissue with the original artwork (digipak CD) a couple of years ago, but I'm not sure if this is still around.
I got the original LP in VG++ for like $8, and if you have a turntable, the vinyl might be worth scouring for. There is a reissue LP from the '80s (a French RCA Jazz Masters or something like that) floating around too, bad art but not hard on the wallet. Did you try Gemm.com?
Posted by: clifford at January 13, 2006 9:46 PMThe CD of Lee/Blake I found at Amoeba Berkeley, used, on RCA/Bluebird I think. Just a year or two ago, $8. It's on loan at the moment, to a singer...
Posted by: djll at January 13, 2006 11:49 PMhttp://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004TY5B/403-3271455-6355638
http://www.discofeel.com/art-lee-the-newest-sound-around-a-ran-blake-15177.html?Page=1&artiste=L
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