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makes it increasingly impossible for music,
art and humanity to flourish or even exist.
Ned Corman
Rochester, N.Y.
Champian Fulton
Block Chord Champs
Champian Fulton’s article (“Pro Session,”
September) about four jazz pianists who
used block chords effectively—Milt Buckner,
Erroll Garner, Red Garland and Oscar
Peterson—was refreshing. I feel that Red
Garland used block chords with the greatest
artistic effect. When I listen to his use
of block chords in the recordings that he
made with Miles Davis in the ’50s and
his trio recordings, I am enthralled.
George Shearing is also a seminal
pianist in the use of block chords. I feel
that his influence on the development
of jazz piano styles has been somewhat
overlooked because of his “commercial”
output of such albums as Velvet Carpet
and Black & White Satin, in which his piano
was swathed by string sections. When you
listen to some of his quintet recordings,
you can hear his deft use of block chords.
Adolphus Williams
Maple Glen, Penn.
Don’t Steal From Artists
Chuck Sher’s article (“Sher Denounces Piracy
In Publishing,” October) raises a profound
and increasingly troubling issue: Musicians,
music lovers and sensitive people need to
thwart rampant electronic stealing. Music
pirating is, in Sher’s words, “just plain wrong.”
Each of us needs to do all we can to discourage
music theft because along with the
crime comes the coarsening of society, and
a blurring between right and wrong. Humans
cannot tolerate shameful actions. We should
attend to Sher’s plea to make certain that his
life’s work and other artists’ creative efforts
are not sucked into a deep, dark pit—one that
Remembering Eddie Marshall
I was saddened by the news of Bay Area jazz
drummer Eddie Marshall’s death on Sept. 7.
I was immediately transported back to San
Francisco’s Keystone Korner, the mecca of
my teenage years, where, as a Palo Alto high
schooler in the early ’70s, I used to see Marshall
play with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson
and saxophonist Manny Boyd. What a perfect,
swinging, joyous combination of drums and
vibes. I loved the way Marshall played, especially
with Hutcherson! I consider these to be
some of the happiest memories of my youth.
I remember Marshall’s drumming with a great
deal of fondness and I will miss him. I hope
Blue Note Records will reissue such Hutcherson
gems as Knucklebean and Waiting. How
I would love to hear those records again.
Bob Zander
Palo Alto, Calif.
Carl Allen
Allen’s Perfect Score
Three cheers for Carl Allen (“The Blindfold
Test,” November). Not only did he bat a very
rare 1.000, but his comments were lucid,
perceptive and generous. And of course, Ted
Panken’s good choices helped make this a
Blindfold Test to remember.
DAN MORGENSTERN
NEWARK, N.J.
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mitchell haddad