Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

Growing up with show business

I didn't realize until I was an adult, that a frequent dinner guest my father used to invite over was actually Edgar Bergen. (The greatest American ventriloquist and father of actress Candice Bergen).

I remember one evening after a huge home-cooked, Italian meal, the gentleman stood up from the table, went to the front door and brought back over a case. Since my father was a professional musician, I thought the man had a tenor saxophone in it and was going to engage with my father in a little "after dinner duo jam" - something that was more common than not growing up in a musical household.

To my surprise when the case was opened, a little monocle wearing man was inside! The dialog had me laughing for hours, and thereafter, (for a number of years in my childhood), I would always ask dad if Charlie was coming over whenever we scheduled company for dinner.

I realized who that man and his little friend was years later (and after my father had passed away), when my mother called me up one day and said; "I've been cleaning up the attic, and there are some things of yours you need to pick up." Sure enough, I found the autographed picture (shown below) along with little notes and a dollar bill with Charlie McCarthy's picture on it.

Additionally, I found a picture of my father with General Westmoreland, and an accompanying plaque from the military praising my father's work as an arranger and musical director for the U.S.O's "Edgar Bergen Show" which toured in Vietnam for the troops in the 1960's. The "picture" was complete, and I'm sorry to say I never had the chance to "step out" with them all when I was a little older - as the caption reads.

The caption on the photo reads:
"Hello! Tony! When you are a little older - we will all step out. - Edgar Bergen and Charlie."



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Tony Pacini And Chuck Redd

Jazz Under The Dome

I first met Chuck Redd around 2004-5. An opportunity arose to put together a concert for Chuck, and have him fly out from his hometown Washington D.C. The Portland band designated to accompany Redd featured; myself on piano, Ed Bennett bass, guitarist Dan Balmer and drummer Mel Brown. Shortly after receiving the confirmation call about the date, a package with Chuck Redd CDs and charts were delivered to my door. I was enthralled with what I heard, and proceeded not only to learn, but to memorize his music, (essentially enable myself with the ability to play Chuck's melodies and arrangements without reading them). Upon talking with Chuck for the first time on the phone a few days before his flight out, we discovered a commonality; our mutual connection and study of the music and albums of Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, Monty Alexander and Oscar Peterson. We really connected musically in conversation, and we hadn't even shared a bandstand yet - it felt good already, but wait, there's more.

Not only was the show a success, but the hanging out afterward revealed something else that would become more than coincidental. My father was a pro musician his entire life, but at one point in his elder years, he wanted to slow down a bit, and tried his hand working for a talent agency as an agent. Needless to say, he would receive tons of artist's albums and "promo kits". As a child I used to raid dad's LP collection, and enjoyed the whole process of setting the LP on the turntable, cleaning it, etc, - the things a child learns from observant impingement. Well, anyways, back to the "after gig hang". I told Chuck that one particular album in my youth was a favorite, and it came from a promo kit my dad received as an agent. Ultimately, that album pointed me into jazz. I explained to him that I used to wear the thing out, and it comprised Washington D.C. players. I wanted to know if he had ever heard of them. I announced the title: "The Freddie Merkle Group - Jazz Under The Dome", featuring the arrangements of pianist / arranger Bill Potts. To my amazement, Chuck said Bill was a mentor of his, and basically the guy that inspired him to pursue not only playing the vibes, but to move "onwards and upwards". Ironically, although Mr. Potts never knew it, he had inspired me too.

In the ensuing years, Chuck Redd and I would do countless concerts and collaborations. The once a year "Jazz Reunion" policy was always anticipated with electric enthusiasm, almost in the same way vibraphonist Milt Jackson would reunite on the West Coast with saxophonist Teddy Edwards, bassist Ray Brown, pianist Monty Alexander, and drummer Dick Berk 30 years earlier. The friendship and camaraderie grew between Chuck and I, and we started to perform outside of Portland for a while, at places like; "The Oregon Coast Jazz Party" in Newport, OR, "The Shedd Institute", Eugene, OR, and nearby college concerts. In addition, I coordinated two spectacular concerts that were simulcast world wide over the internet with Chuck on drums with my trio. I simply moved my drummer Timothy Rap to percussion on those concerts, thus augmenting the music. (Watch some excerpts of those simulcast concerts over at the videos page here at the website). Chuck is a splendid and skillful drummer, and drew out some new color and groove on my arrangements at those live concerts. In closing, I'll just point us into the future. The next step will be playing music for the world, not just the neighborhood, and I wouldn't be surprised if you see my good friend, and jazz soulmate Mr. Redd once again.

Chuck Redd: revisted (December 5th, 2007)

On December 5th, (2007) the Mel Brown Quartet and I had the pleasure of sharing the bandstand with a very good friend of mine, vibraphone master Chuck Redd, (who is also a celebrated drummer in the jazz world). Chuck has toured with, the Charlie Byrd Trio, the Great Guitars ( Charlie Byrd, Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel ), Conte Condoli and the Mel Torme All Star Jazz Quintet, earning critical and popular acclaim.

Chuck had performed with us ( the M.B.Q. ) once before and I looked forward to the upcoming encore. We met up at the club a few hours before the gig. Local vibist Mike Horsfall had delivered and set up his vibraphone for Chuck's use that night. After an hours' run through with Mel, Ed, Dan and myself, Chuck and I jammed on a few personal favorites - Eluthera, a Monty Alexander tune, Horace Silver's Juicy Lucy and Hoagy Carmichael's Rockin' Chair, the last of which we performed as a duo that night. The combination of stride piano and vibes worked well on the Carmichael tune.

We began the evening with Chuck's original Happy All The Time from his CD of the same name. Chuck's arrangement of Laura and his original When Redd Is Blue gave the audience a tasty sample of his well rounded artistry.

Mike Horsfall joined Chuck at the vibes for a vaudeville style presentation of I'll Remember April. Standing side by side, each appearing to block the other's reach while trading fours.

Chuck stayed in Portland for several days allowing us to meet at the Benson Hotel Friday night to hear saxophonist and friend Lee Wuthenow. The band invited us to sit in. With Chuck on drums, myself on piano, Andrea Niemiec on bass, and the wonderful Lee Wuthenow on tenor, we woke up the room with I Remember You, I've Never Been In Love Before, and the Jobim jewel Dreamer. As is the custom in Portland, musicians converged on the Benson after their own gigs, sharing musical experiences, news, and jazz past, present and future in general. It was a great "hang" as we say.

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The Tony Pacini Trio Performing Strong At Wilf's Restaurant

Recalling The Holidays; Friday, December 28th, 2012

I'm listening to George Shearing with the Robert Farnon Orchestra as I write this, reflecting on the wonderful evening we (the Tony Pacini Trio) enjoyed on the last Friday of 2012. As I walked into Wilf's that night, I couldn't stop smiling as I was greeted by so many devoted friends and fans. Included in the congregation were several people I hadn't seen in a while, and some, who despite feeling under the weather, or having to travel a fair distance, were compelled to make the effort / pilgrimage choosing to share their warmth and evening with us. We enjoyed the company of all, and also made friends with new listeners. The trio graciously channeled the attentiveness of all those wonderful people back into the music.

One of our devoted listeners had brought her entire family, (in town for the holidays), and had asked what the "Third Stream" selections advertised on my website were about. I acknowledged her question by showing her a piece of music-manuscript-paper before the gig that consisted of simply one line of music: a fermata (hold sign), a chord progression consisting of three measures of arco (bowed bass), followed by my hand-written cue as follows; "Chopin solo piano", "repeat intro with band", then "band in on Jobim tune", concluding with coda (ending). I said; "They'll (the trio) know what to do".

We begin: I took the bench, poised myself at the piano, and thought that it might be nice to start the evening off soft and with a solo-piano number so as to provide more crescendo room for the musical entrance of my longtime gifted colleagues, Tim Rap (drums), and Ed Bennett (bass). Most of the time the approach to kicking off the night is like saying; "Hey, let's get this thing going and swing hard", but the room seemed to be especially sentimental with loyal listeners and new ones all getting to know each other, and, with the intent of listening. I simply began playing Dave Brubeck's "The Duke" solo, and transitioned into two tunes written by Ellington, following which I provided the intro cue to Tim and Ed for our up-tempo samba rendition of "Prelude To A Kiss". Having 13 years (at time of writing) of musical rapport with Tim and Ed allows me the opportunity to program a set of music on the fly by incorporating arrangements they know that they will jump in on as soon as they hear me segue into them - I'm so lucky to have them (Lucky To Be Me, as the song suggests).

The cross-pollination of "classical meets jazz" medley mentioned earlier we played next. It was one of two "Third Stream" selections I arranged that I debuted at this performance. Ed Bennett's arco work accompanying my harmonic redirection was superb, and Tim Rap did what he does so well on the drums; shaped the medley from start to coda with sensitivity, dynamics, and respect on a compositional level.

We also performed my involved arrangement of Franz Lehar's "Your's, Is My Heart Alone", our new piano trio "thumbprint" on Clifford Brown's "Daahoud", and my original compositions "Pastel For Two" (a mixed-meter waltz) and "I Feel Your Smile" (an original ballad with influence and connotations from Monty Alexander's "That's Why").

Our last set included two songs with special guest tenor saxophonist Harry Allen who converged upon us along with delightful vocalist Rebecca Kilgore and friends. They had just finished performing with Rebecca at a different venue. Nonetheless, Harry sat in and we played a fairly brisk version of Gershwin's "Love Walked In", followed by "How Am I To Know", an obscure tune written by Jack King and Dorothy Parker from the 1929 film "Dynamite". Well, the gig went overtime, but it was worth it - so much fun!

To conclude 2012, I performed in piano-trio format at the jazz venue (now gone) Portland Prime Restaurant with bassist Ed Bennett and drummer Mel Brown. The following Monday evening brought Mel, Ed, myself and the addition of saxophonist John Nastos at Portland Prime once again to ring in the new year.

Please keep in mind, The Tony Pacini Trio still performs every last Friday of the month at Wilf's Restaurant and Jazz Lounge. Hope to see you soon!

Warmly,
~Tony Pacini

"A Night To Remember"

A Tony Pacini Trio performance at Wilf's Restaurant "&" Bar Friday, May 19th, 2006

By Steve Kullowatz -Jazzscene Magazine Jazz Society Of Oregon (Read below)

"I walked into Wilf's just in time to catch Tony's take on Lullaby of the Leaves, but since the place was absolutely packed, I had to listen from the back of the restaurant. He still sounded great. I sat with a very nice couple who were lucky enough to have wandered in on the right night. Pacini is respected among musicians and listeners alike as one of the top jazz pianists in the area (I think it goes way beyond the Northwest, though). Tony was joined by two of the best sidemen around, Ed Bennett (bass) and Tim Rap (drums). Following that trio tune, Tony launched into a series of solos - a showcase of his skills featured in his new solo piano CD release "Piano A La Carte." This particular set included Pure Imagination, Eastside Westside, Emily, and Moonlight In Vermont. Ed and Tim came back in to help out on Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me, Ed's bass solo, solid and assertive. The final creation of the set started out with Bobby Timmons' Dat Dere, Tony slamming the keys, Tim hot on the tempo, the whole thing built up till you knew it couldn't get any higher - the crowd absolutely roared while the piano faded down and the bass took over keeping everyone glued to the stage (which really isn't there, but you'd swear these guys were eight feet in the air). Tony moved from that into a classical piece and from there, built the fire up again with Clifford Brown's Daahoud. We still had two sets to go. My, Oh My.

At the break, I managed to commandeer a table about four feet from the keyboard with no obstructions to my view. To watch Tony Pacini play, even if you were deaf, would be a rare treat. Seeing his hands poised, ready to take the next solo, watching his eyes calculating where he wants to go with it, and then seeing him dive into it full-speed with no hesitation - it was just great to see a man enjoy his work so much.

The second set started with a long piano intro, barely brushing the familiar melody of Just Friends, but you caught the tune as soon as the bass and drums came aboard. This was an up-tempo arrangement that had everybody bouncing. Tim's stick work intense and masterful, Ed not losing one inch to anyone on bass, and I thought the whole trio might get picked up for speeding. On his bass solo, Ed moved all around the melody in a veritable display of virtuosity, and then Tony and Tim traded fours, driving each other (and the crowd) into a frenzy. This was one great tune.

Lil Darlin' showed up next as a soft ballad, very slow, deliberate and lush, then moved up a bit, featuring nice interplay between piano and bass, then on to a piano solo during which Tony's fingers tickled and caressed the keys with tender affection - eight people in audience fell in love, some with each other. Just to move the crowd from an "Ahhh" mood to a "Ohhhh" mood, Tony picks up the tempo with his left hand, double-timing with the right, then fading back to slow and gentle. Ed's bow was used to great effect during this passage. Those grouped around the musicians were riveted, but watching one couple, with a lovely young woman affectionately leaning on her guy's shoulder, dreamy-eyed, told the whole story. The ending had Ed and Tony playing the same chords, perfectly matched. I knew how the young woman felt. Even though many of us had died and gone on to heaven, Tony kept on playing, moving into a strong, bluesy Teach Me Tonight - once during the bass solo, which was lovely in a higher register, Tony looked over at me and gave me a sly look as if to say, "Is this fun or what?," then he pounded out a solid finish a la Gene Harris. This was beyond fun.

The second set ended with a great rendition of Georgia, moving into a hot Sweet Georgia Brown that had my leg bouncing at about 90 miles and hour. Very inventive and featuring great work by Tim Rap trading back and forth with Tony. The third set was every bit as fine as the first two and featured some nice solo work by Mr. Pacini on Skylark and If I Loved You. This was a night to remember.

Wilf's employees were marvelous in serving the crowd and being unobtrusive at the same time. This is a great, smoke-free venue for cool jazz and enjoying an evening out - great food, incredible music."

-STEVE KULLOWATZ, editor: Jazzscene Magazine, Jazz Society Of Oregon.

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