Playing by Instinct

A call to Med Flory…

I thought, since Lee Katzman’s collection of photos included some of Med, it would be good to put them up at the same time.

I called Med to pass on some of the good things John Bunch had to say about him, and in the conversation, asked about pianist Jimmy Rowles. (Both Lee and John Bunch had talked about him.) I didn’t see any mention of Indiana on Rowles’ biography. He played in Seattle and, after moving to L.A. (where Med has lived and thrived since the ’50s), he played with Lester Young, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Les Brown, Tommy Dorsey and Tony Bennett (several of whom John Bunch played with, and I know Med played with Woody Herman).

This morning I had happened to look at the name credits on the “Benny Goodman: The Complete Capitol Trios” disc that gets played a lot in my kitchen, and — weird coincidence — he’s featured on it, along with Teddy Wilson and Mel Powell. I thought, I’ve been listening to him for a year without even knowing it.

And then, even more of a coincidence, Med pointed out he also plays on Med and Lee’s “Lee Katzman Meets Supersax!” I’m sure Lee mentioned that to me but I forgot. Once I tie someone’s name to music I’ve heard, it sticks, but until then…

What’s interesting about the history of jazz is that although there are a bewildering amount of names who have contributed in some way, there’s usually only 1 or 2 degrees separation — at most — between whom they’ve performed with. Once I start looking, I’ll probably find out I’ve got five or six records he’s on…