Session
in Rock Hill
When guitarist Vince Lewis moved from
A native of
Surprisingly, at least to those who can only
imagine banjo-pickers in
In fact, Vince started playing at many of those clubs
as a teenager. It’s also a university town,
the home of
On
his return from Florida, Vince made a new home near
His career took off. He made a number of
jazz CDs to rave reviews in
The Washington Post
and
Jazz Improv Magazine. He
opened for and became friends with B.B. King and Dave Brubeck. He
played at the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.
Back in
They almost managed it in 2007. Vince was to come
south to do a three-night corporate gig with Ted’s sextet at the
Palm Beach Ritz-Carlton, but a last-minute university commitment put
the kibosh on their plan.
The idea
Then in mid-2008, Ted had an idea. His wife
Marie says that when Ted “has an idea,” she knows to get ready for
just about anything.
The
idea was that he and Vince would meet in a recording studio
somewhere between
In just a day or so, everyone had agreed to the plan. Saturday morning, August 23 worked for everyone’s schedule. Marie, Vince’s friend in her own right, agreed to travel with Ted and Jean.
Bassist Tom Hildreth lived in
Stormy weather
Enter Tropical Storm Fay, with only modest winds
but with rain of virtually Biblical proportions. Ted and Marie
watched the weather, finally deciding to go to
Thursday afternoon, August 21, Fay stalled just
offshore
But
by Friday morning, the storm had inched its way west and was now
halfway across
Luck smiled on the intrepid trio. There was some
wind and some occasional very heavy rain, but the plan worked. A lot
of hours later, they found themselves in
The music
Vince hadn’t seen Ted or Marie since 1999. After a
lot of hugs and smiles and snapshots, the musicians got down to work
around 10:00 o'clock Saturday morning.
Ted brought along detailed lead sheets. He talked
through each one with the guys, did some brief rehearsal, and then
it was time. The tunes were chosen for musical pleasure as opposed
to commercial appeal, and the sound was magical. It was mostly first
takes, which is what everyone hopes for.
The studio has a Bechstein concert grand piano.
Acoustic pianos of any kind are increasingly rare in studios these
days, and a top-quality concert grand is practically unheard of.
Electronic instruments are now standard, but electronics, even of
the highest quality, are simply not the same. What a treat the
piano turned out to be for all the musicians.
Vince played one of his favorite Heritage guitars,
a Vince Lewis signature model. He played through the same Redstone
speaker that he uses on stage, miked, the method much preferred by
purists over direct input.
Tom,
the first-call bassist for shows coming to Charlotte, a consummate
musician and a delightfully light-hearted guy, made everything come
out right without the need for a lot of explanation.
Jean played a fine studio drum kit but with his own cherished
cymbals and sticks.
The first tune was
Like Young, an André
Previn composition that’s been Ted’s theme since the 1970s. They were off and running.
They
did Nat King Cole’s
Nature
Boy, Linus and Lucy from the Peanuts TV specials, a gorgeous
Johnny Mandel ballad called
Unless It’s You, and another Nat King Cole ballad,
That Sunday, That Summer.
They were cookin’ on You’re Gonna Hear from Me, another Previn tune. They did a haunting bossa nova called Moonlight, a John Williams composition that was recorded by Sting for the remake of "Sabrina." They did two of Vince’s tunes, East to Wes, a Wes Montgomery tribute with a propulsive Latin beat, and Sue’s Waltz.
Tom led them walking
through town to a great spot for lunch, and then it
was back to finish up. Ted dubbed his vocals, Boyd did a quick mix
with Vince in the booth, and suddenly it was all over. The dream had
become a reality.
Dinner at an inexpensive Southern-style place was
wonderful, with fried green tomatoes, cornbread, and huge glasses of
iced tea. Then it was back to the motel with some slices of homemade
pound cake from Boyd’s wife, Linda, saved for dessert.
Vince and Ted are talking about how and when the
album might be released. Meanwhile here’s a sample of the sounds
they made that day in