Talk about saxophone playing in Baltimore and before long you're going to be talking about Mickey Fields. I was recently interviewed by some folks from the Baltimore Jazz Alliance who are putting together a book about the history of jazz in Baltimore (or "Charm City" as it is sometimes referred to), my home town. So I got to speak about Mickey and in doing so he's been on my mind lately.
Mickey (who passed in 1995) was emblematic of a special type of musician, the home town hero who could have gone on to fame in the music but decided to remain at home. I regret that the the history of jazz does not do better service to local scenes and players who while not well known outside of their hometowns played a great role in the development of the music. Often we read interviews with one or another of the greats who will reference a name or two of someone who greatly influenced them. Often that player was someone who did not record much if at all and not much is usually found out beyond these informal anecdotes.
So I am very pleased that Mickey Fields will get some of his "due" in this upcoming publication. More on that when it comes out. Suffice it to say that Mickey was a warm and generous man who provided much encouragement to us younger musicians coming up and demonstrated night after night in just about every club in town just how it's done. The fact that he could hold his own with Sonny Stitt was a matter of strong local pride. The fact that he did not record much is lamentable. He had a gutsy sound and delivery and possessed a sophisticated knowledge of blues and bebop. I once recall hearing Mickey at a neighborhood club filling the room with an enormously raw sound while romping through the changes of some uptempo tune. It was as if I was hearing Albert Ayler play bebop.
The only recording I have of Mickey was done considerably earlier than that and evidences the quintessential type of Mickey Fields experience enjoyed by so many in Baltimore back in the day. It's a 1969 LP called "The Astonishing Mickey Fields" that is beyond rare and hard to find. Here's a track, "Lover Man"...
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Thanks Ellery. What a sound. Sounds like he was using a piece of lathe for a reed. I was playing in St Louis one time and the "local" opening band had a guy called Willie Aitken, who gave me a pretty good lesson and was very nice about it! Mickey sounds beautiful.
ReplyDeletePhil,
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping in. Yea, we have to remember these musicians who brought us up and promote their legacies whenever we can...
I remember Mickey very well. I was a wannabe who took some cheap bongos out to the Lake at Columbia many years ago, and Mickey allowed me to sit-in and "play" along. I sounded like crap, but he never made me feel worthless.
ReplyDeleteOn another occasion, I took my beat-up trumpet to 3-P's Lounge (East Baltimore) where Mickey, Reggie Glasco (drums), and Jimmy Wells (vibes) did a weekend jam session. Once again, Mickey let me do a "solo" that I totally butchered yet his gestures towards me were nothing but encouraging. He later offered to GIVE me a copy of his album after seeing me present at nearly every Jazz set in town on a regular basis. Unfortunately, that transaction never came to pass. Mr. Fields was a busy man to catch!
My last experience with Mickey Fields was at Sportsmans' Lounge several months before his passing. THIS time, Andy Ennis had invited me to meet him and sit-in on the open jam session for a tune or two as a "Jazz whistler" after hearing me do "Girl From Ipanema" at Buddys Pub - a novelty act. Once again, I did nothing to write home about but I must have improved a little...Mickey was standing on stage looking down at me as I whistled from the floor. I can still visualize him nodding his head in approval...and that made me feel like a million bucks. This man loved his Craft so much that he encouraged others (in spite of their lack of talent) WITHOUT HESITATION!
P.S. - I noted elsewhere that Mickey Fields was the piano player for Al Brown & The Tunetoppers' hit - The Madison.
http://www.bluesart.at/NeueSeiten/REMEMBERING+AL+BROWN+(1929-2009)%20.html
Hello DJ Balto BMan…
ReplyDeleteYea, Mickey touched so many people. I hear a lot of wonderful stories like yours. And thank's for the Al Brown info, new to me...
I have a 45 rpm record on Marti Records label m-402. It's Cracker Jack on the A-side and Abraham, Martin and John on the B-side. It shows Mickey and His Mice (featuring Mickey Fields, Tenor Sax). It's a great record but I can't find a date of release (issue). By any chance do you know when it was recorded. Thanks Shannon
ReplyDeletetazsmg@yahoo.com
Hello Shannon,
ReplyDeleteI've heard those tracks but I don't know when they were recorded. If I had to guess I might say mid to late '60s...
My husband and I loved Mickey. He was best man for us. His playing would make me cry
ReplyDeleteThanks Anon...
ReplyDeleteThe Cracker Jack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ADzJGnkmzI&playnext=1&list=PLrbJ0PgWav9U1t51dT_DkDOFEnwnjucQ8&feature=results_video
ReplyDeleteYea Ellery , thanks for remembering Mickey and keeping his music alive . I wonder if you knew 'Red' , a Polish guy who I've heard was the only white cat that could 'hang' with the likes of Mickey ? Supposed to have been a really nice guy who lived for the love of the music .
ReplyDeleteMikL, I don't recall "Red", maybe before my time...
ReplyDeleteHow about Left Bank Cookout? That's a barn-burner if ever there was one. Rarely heard and unavailable. I had a copy of that album years ago. Would love to hear that and relive the absolutely Astonishing Mickey Fields with Groove Holmes pushing each other to the extreme.
ReplyDelete