Yesterday, I posted about pianist Craig Davis's new trio tribute to Dodo Marmarosa. I also promised you a fabulous Backgrounder album this week by Marmarosa. Well, why not today, since you probably still have Dodo on your in mind.
Dodo's Back! is one of my favorites. It's elegant and pushy, with touches of George Shearing in places. Recorded in Chicago in May 1961, the album was released in 1962. Marmarosa was backed by Richard Evans on bass and Marshall Thompson on drums.
What was Marmarosa coming back from? Mental illness that was likely set in motion years earlier following a beating on a subway platform that Buddy DeFranco addressed in my interview with the clarinetist. In the late 1950s, Marmarosa stopped recording and began acting erratic, disappearing for weeks and giving gig money away. In 1960, he decided to move to California, departing from Pittsburgh by car. Vehicle problems caused him to stop in Chicago. Argo Records arranged to record him there, but Marmarosa left town suddenly. The recording session was delayed until 1961.
Despite Dodo's Back! being a masterpiece, the release failed to re-launch Marmarosa's career. He recorded one more studio album and then gigged until 1968, when he gave up playing entirely. For the balance of his life, Marmarosa lived with his sister and then in a Veterans hospital. He died in 2002.
Here's Dodo Marmarosa's Dodo's Back!...
Dodo's Back! is one of my favorites. It's elegant and pushy, with touches of George Shearing in places. Recorded in Chicago in May 1961, the album was released in 1962. Marmarosa was backed by Richard Evans on bass and Marshall Thompson on drums.
What was Marmarosa coming back from? Mental illness that was likely set in motion years earlier following a beating on a subway platform that Buddy DeFranco addressed in my interview with the clarinetist. In the late 1950s, Marmarosa stopped recording and began acting erratic, disappearing for weeks and giving gig money away. In 1960, he decided to move to California, departing from Pittsburgh by car. Vehicle problems caused him to stop in Chicago. Argo Records arranged to record him there, but Marmarosa left town suddenly. The recording session was delayed until 1961.
Despite Dodo's Back! being a masterpiece, the release failed to re-launch Marmarosa's career. He recorded one more studio album and then gigged until 1968, when he gave up playing entirely. For the balance of his life, Marmarosa lived with his sister and then in a Veterans hospital. He died in 2002.
Here's Dodo Marmarosa's Dodo's Back!...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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