Eddie was an excellent guitarist and vocalist, and my music employer for two terms totaling some 20 years. Many were spent playing as a unamplified duo. I joined Eddie when he had just acquired his Gibson L5, a stone killer guitar. He bought it after a gig at Baker’s Keyboard in Detroit, where he was sharing the bill with Kenny Burrell. The power went out at Baker’s and Eddie decided on the spot that he would not depend on electricity to perform. Playing acoustically, we made some huge discoveries with sympathetic vibrations, which never occur when playing amplified. I had to abandon many standard bass lines, especially on ballads, and learn a new approach to accompaniment.
Being a vocalist, his singing range determined our keys. So, the first time I played Waltz For Debbie, it was in D. Groovin’ High was in B, Variations on a Theme By Bird in E, Wait ‘Til You See Her, a very difficult waltz, in B. Also, tempos could be fierce. A few years of this and I was entirely fearless. The most meaningful compliment I’ve ever received was whispered to me by Teddy Wilson during that gig.
This is from his obit:
“Jazz musician Eddie Hazell performed for five decades in clubs and concerts in the U.S. and Canada, and he was particularly well known in the New York area, playing in clubs ranging from Michael’s Pub and Stryker’s in New York to the Newport Jazz Festival. He died Tuesday, Nov. 2 at age 76The singer-guitarist, who recorded his first album in 1961 at age 27, was familiar to jazz aficionados from his numerous albums and television appearances including the “Merv Griffin Show”, “AM New York”, the “Today Show”, “Kraft Music Hall” with Ed McMahon and “Broadway Tonight.” His work was also popular in Japan.
.In the 1960s, he was headlining clubs with comedians Bill Cosby, in Chicago, and Rich Little, at the Four Seasons in New York and the Americana Hotel in Puerto Rico. Writing in the New York Times in June 1975, critic John S. Wilson reported on Hazell’s trio at Stryker’s Pub in New York: “Nothing that Mr. Hazell chooses to do can be taken for granted, because his approaches are personal and imaginative and the guitar solos – both chorded and single-stringed – which are spread generously through his work, put an emphasis on a combination of both rhythm and melody that is rarely followed by jazz guitarists these days. What he achieves is an unusual mixture of superior supper club performance and bright, swinging, exciting jazz.” “
A review from Rex Reed:
“Over at Michael’s Pub, something positively amazing is happening… I’ve been in two nights in a row and I still can’t believe the fireworks… He sings and plays a wide variety of songs ranging from old evergreens like “Sweet Lorraine” to Alec Wilder’s “Mimosa and Me” with impeccable taste and freshness…”
Eddie knew more songs than anybody I ever met. One night, I believe it was Michael’s Pub, Eddie got word that songwriter Richard Rogers was in the audience, and without announcing anything, he began playing and singing Rogers’ tunes, one after another. Now Rogers had a policy of never leaving when a musician was playing his work. Only problem was, he desperately needed to get to the men’s room to relieve himself. And Eddie just kept cranking out song after song, so Rogers just sat there, about to burst.
What’s sad is that soon after I joined, the 60’s revolution began. Rock and roll destroyed the market for hip jazz as entertainment. Now 45 years later, younger, less gifted singers are making a bundle doing Eddie’s stuff.
I'm aware none of you know of Eddie. I just owe him this.
When I walked into the funeral home yesterday, propped up next to Eddie was the L5.
