George Tucker

I don't know him at all and AMG has precious little to say except for his recording credits and that he died at 38 years of age.


http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?...9A9B32CAE5E0CD9CFE8468DA1&sql=11:4srz28vc056a

 

Mr. Tucker plays on one of my all-time favorite "sleeper" discs, Jaki Byard's Live!! at Lennie's On the Turnpike. He's keeping company with Jaki, Joe Farrell and Alan Dawson. That record swings so hard . . .

 

Man, both of those Jaki discs at Lennie are just incredible.

George Tucker plays his @ss off on those.

 

Not to mention an Illinois Jacquet date with Alan Dawson and Barry Harris also live from Lennie's called "Bottoms Up".

 

Check out a Zoot side w.Dave McKenna and Dannie Richman on drums playing more trad type tunes.Can't remember the albums name...Marshall ??
Update: The Zoot album is called " Down Home " and was recorded in 1960. Any relation between George and Ben Tucker ?

 

Other than they both played bass, nope. Ben is still living and gigging down around Savannah.

 

Ben Tucker could play very good arco, and on a Kay! I have the Mosaic Curtis Fuller box and from that it is really clear that he was a very accomplished musician.

 

I came across George Tucker's playing on the Stanley Turrentine record, "Look Out!"

I particularly appreciate the amount of space and bluesy-ness Tucker applies to his solo on 'Yesterdays'.

It sounds like a good candidate for a quick transcription. Got to get through some others on my list first.

 

So did Slam Stewart.

I remember hearing Marshall Hawkins solo be bop ala arco on his Kay M-1 a couple of times when/while Richie Cole left the stage to powder his nose. Like Ben, Marshall is another lesser known great.

 

George Tucker does an awesome job on the Walt Dickerson albums "To My Queen" and "Unity". He and Walt interact so beautifully especially on the title tracks of each album. Andrew Cyrille plays drums on both.

 

Also check Tucker out on Freddie Redd's San Francisco Suite...an undersung pianist from the heyday. Tucker's also on a bunch of Horace Parlan sides from the 50's and I can't think of what other gems

 

GT

 

Great opening solo from George Tucker.

 

There are some bio-infos about him on wikipedia:
George Tucker (musician) - Wikipedia

 

Amazing recordings. Two of my favorite records have the most spectacularly out of tune pianos ever on a commercially released recording. These and the Eric Dolphy Five Spot stuff. Both pianists (Mal Waldron with Dolphy) play with great exuberance anyway.

 

Great bassist. I think he played a ton with Horace Parlan's trio in the 60's. He's on "Doin' Alright", the great Dexter Gordon recording. I've always thought his sound was outrageous.

 

I too admire this bassist so much that I made up my mind to purchase my own double bass to transcribe his forcible and intellectual playings.

Especially in major recordings, his name is first seen in the credit of Clifford Jordan's "Cliff Craft(1957)" from Bluenote. And this is probably his very first career as a pro bassist. And in around 1961 he formed a group called "The Play House Four" with his most acquainted musicians:Harace Parlan(p),
Al Harewood(ds), Booker Ervin(ts). I think this is one of the finest time in his career. In 1963 He joined Lambert,Hendricks&Bavan's group and also recorded several great playings with them there.
/Go check out "Jazz Casual" in 1963


I have no idea why he is so underrated with such crazy-grooving sound, he is difinitely one of the best jazz bassist of all time.

 

I have a Clifford Jordan album called "Cliff Craff" (w/ Art Farmer, Sonny Clark, Louis Hayes) that George Tucker's on, and boy, does it swing.