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| Ed Reed (2009) | |
|---|---|
(Photo by (Photograph by Ashley Summer)) | "Uplifting" isn't the sort of description usually applied to the biography of a jazz musician, but it's apposite in the case of vocalist Ed Reed.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1929, Ed Reed grew up in Watts, California. The music scene there wasn't just for adults: Ed was in high-school talent shows with "Little Esther" Phillips and Bobby Nunn of The Coasters, and his schools were visited several times by his first influence, Nat Cole, whom Ed describes as "so tall ... his clothes were just gorgeous". Talk to Ed about his time in Los Angeles, and he'll quite casually mention a litany of famous jazz names: Charles Mingus, Dexter Gordon, Frank Butler, Hampton Hawes, Ornette Coleman, Frank Morgan, ... Leaving high school before graduation, Ed joined the Army, and it was there that he became addicted to heroin. As he says now, "I knew it was crazy from the outset, from the first time: from the first drink and the first fix, I thought 'this is the stupidest thing anybody could do'": that's why it's called "addiction". The main result was that Ed served four stints in San Quentin and Folsom prisons on drug-related charges, but, unlike Hampton Hawes, he was not pardoned by President Kennedy. While behind bars, Ed occasionally performed with Art Pepper (the great alto saxophonist the story of whose self-destructive life is far from "uplifting"), and Ed attributes his very survival of those years to his love of jazz. After 40 years in a cycle of drug addiction, arrest, incarceration and release, Ed finally got his life turned around: he encountered and persevered with a program of drug and alcohol recovery, one which led to the "day job" he loves. He has created a successful health education lecture series he calls "The Art and Practice of Living Well". As he asks his students, "What are you trying to do with this experience we call living? What's your intention for this next moment? If you were the person you want to be, who is that?" At age 78, when most people are long retired and when most addicts--and even ex-addicts--are long dead, Ed made his first recording, "Ed Reed Sings Love Stories", something which came about thanks to the efforts of Peck Allmond and Bud Spangler. "The Song Is You" followed the following year, and, at the age of 80, Ed has a third in the works. Ed Reed has a great voice, and a great--even uplifting--story. |
| Pick | Artist | Album | Song | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # 1 | Joe Turner with Art Tatum | The Best of Joe Turner: The Boss of the Blues | Wee Baby Blues | (Blues Forever) |
| # 2 | Sarah Vaughan | The Divine Sarah Vaughan: The Columbia Years 1949-1953 | You Taught Me to Love Again | (Columbia) |
| # 3 | Charlie Parker | April in Paris | Embraceable You | (Pazzazz) |
| # 4 | J.S. Bach | Mstislav Rostropovich Cello Suites Nos 1-6 | Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 | (EMI Classics) |
| # 5 | Bill Evans | You Must Believe in Spring | You Must Believe in Spring | (Warner Bros) |
| # 6 | Johnny Hodges | Passion Flower 1940-46 | Passion Flower | (Bluebird) |
| # 7 | The Beatles | Abbey Road | She Came in through the Bathroom Window | (EMI) |
| # 8 | Miles Davis | The Complete Concert: 1964 (My Funny Valentine and "Four" & More) | My Funny Valentine | (Columbia) |
| Book | Paramhansa Yogananda, "Autobiography of a Yogi" | |||
| Luxury Item | "Mingus and Chuy, my cats" | |||
| Gilad Atzmon
12 Jun Carolyn Brandy 19 Jun Stuart Brinin 16 Oct Ralph Carney 04 Sep India Cooke 20 Feb Ronald Davis 23 Oct Mark Feldman 27 Mar Herb Gibson 06 Mar Nancy Gilliland 29 May | Jon Hendricks
16 Jan Laurence Hobgood 10 Jul Bill Horvitz 13 Nov Nat Johnson 01 May Tom Madden 13 Mar Charlie McCarthy 06 Nov Don Neely 25 Sep Nathan Oliveira 28 Aug Ed Reed 24 Jul | Walter Savage
14 Aug Mike Stern 12 Dec Adam Theis 21 Aug Mads Tolling 17 Apr Hristo Vitchev 22 May Paul van Wageningen 10 Apr Nancy Wright 20 Nov Jim Zimmerman 06 Feb |