TONY OVERWATER / Op

Oscar Pettiford

His friends called him OP. He changed the way the double bass is heard and played. He made the bass a genuine solo instrument and was the first to incorporate the cello into jazz ensembles. He played with Thelonious Monk, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Erroll Garner, Max Roach, Woody Herman and Duke Ellington. Oscar Pettiford died in 1960 in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the age of only 37, which is not an acceptable reason for the fact that his music and playing are not on many lips these days. Strange. Disrespectful even. As a successor to Jimmy Blanton, and like his contemporaries Charles Mingus and Milt Hinton (who convinced him to quit his steady job for a career in music), Oscar Pettiford gave jazz bass playing a significant sway. His style was quite unique, straight on the beat, without the common triole feel swing around the time. With a clear attack, an articulate, frank tone and superior phrasing, in his time Pettiford was a very sought after musician and band leader, even though he had quite a temper.

Like Charles Mingus, OP was from Afro-American and American Indian extraction. Born on september 30, 1922 in an Indian Reservation in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, Pettiford was surrounded by music from day one. His father headed a family touring band that was based in Minneapolis and his mother played the piano and taught music. OP learned to play many instruments on the way and by age ten he was singing in front of the band. At fourteen he got a definite hold on the double bass. In 1943 he was engaged in Charlie Barnet’s band as one of two bassists (the other was Chubby Jackson) and with them he travelled to New York City the same year. A crucial move since OP ended up in the middle of the flourishing bebop scene on 52nd street. He participated on Coleman Hawkins’ famous ‘The Man I Love session and recorded with Earl Hines and Ben Webster. In the winter of 1943-44 OP co-led a group with Dizzy Gillespie at the Onyx club. Afterwards he landed gigs with many small and large ensembles until he joined Duke Ellington’s big band in 1945 where he stayed for three years. As the successor to Jimmy Blanton OP further developed the leading role of the bass and proved to be a crucial influence for other oustanding bas soloists like Ray Brown and Charles Mingus. Later, he joined Woody Herman’s band where he would often play the (amplified) cello. This of course wasn’t just another four string instrument. Apart from the size, it needed to be tuned in fourths instead of fifths to be played like a bass. In 1958, Pettiford traveled to Europe with the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. He liked it there so much that he decided to make it his home. He played gigs with Stan Getz, Hans Koller and Attila Zoller, but never achieved the level of acclaim that he had hoped for.

Though a plentiful performer, Pettiford composed just two dozen compositions, among which are some haunting ballads and bluesy bop tunes. Some, such as ‘Swinging ’till the girls come home’, ‘Oscar’s blues’, ‘Little Pearls’ and ‘Tricotism’ have become standards. The latter is an impossible composition in D flat major, next to G major the key OP mostly wrote in, and very difficult for a bas player because it doesn’t leave the player any note on an open string. This makes it hard, if not impossible to use the resonance of the intrument, and makes the notes sound brisk and firm, which fits his style and in hindsight could have been a reason for him to play in this key.

Bassists like Ron Carter, Al McKibbon, Christian McBride and of course Tony Overwater still marvel at Pettiford’s style and compositions. Overwater feels very much at home with Pettifords clear, almost simple phrasing on the borderline of straightforward-ness and emotionless. It connects well with his love for the Dutch New Realism in art of people like Piet Mondriaan. “It’s the combi-nation of melancholy and realism of Pettiford that I love” says Overwater. “It is understated passion”.

Oscar Pettiford was taken away from us way too soon, but his music lives on. Therefore Turtle Records is very pleased to be able to present Tony Overwater’s personal and contemporary tribute to both OP’s playing and compositions.
Rob Becker

With this cd I realised one of my dreams. Ever since I heard his music, I wanted to record the music of Oscar Pettiford. It was in my first year at the Royal conservatory in The Hague that one of my teachers told me I sounded a bit like Pettiford and that I should listen to his music. I was sure he either meant OscarPeterson or Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. I had never heard of Pettiford. But as soon as I started exploring his records I was hooked. Pettifords music has a charm that lays somewhere between bebop, blues and chamber music. His lines and melodies are clear and transparent and his solos are a sort of abstract constructions with the intensity and colourfulness of the blues. I don’t know much of his personal background, his motives or his behaviour, but I do feel connected to the essence of his music.

Recording with Maarten and Wim was a long awaited experience. We’ve been playing on and off since 1988 but never recorded a cd. These guys are not only excellent musicians of considerable reputation but also two of my closest friends. Their contribution to this cd is equal to mine. Their input and feedback made the cd what it is.
Tony Overwater

1. Laverne walk
2. Two little pearls
3. Tricotism
4. Stardust
5. Blues in the closet
6. Bohemia after dark
7. Gentle art of love
8. Mr Man
9. OP
10. Oscar’s blues

Wim Kegel drums
Maarten Ornstein tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Tony Overwater bass
Ernst Reijseger cello on tracks 5, 6, 10
Ack van Rooyen flugelhorn on tracks 2, 4, 6, 7