Al Haig was a fascinating and mysterious pianist. Haig's style was an elegant synthesis of hard-core bebop and lounge, which means he had an extraordinary technique. And his bop recordings are so early—at the start, in fact—that Haig and Bud Powell most likely influenced each other through mutual visits at Harlem clubs. Today, Haig is largely forgotten, despite his many accomplishments.
Raised in Nutley, N.J., Haig was the pianist on Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie's first bebop recordings, for Guild, in May 1945. The session included Salt Peanuts, Shaw 'Nuff, Lover Man and Hot House. He went out to the West Coast with the group during their run at Billy Berg's in Hollywood and returned to New York with Gillespie when Parker decided to remain in Los Angeles.
In New York, he played and recorded with all of the emerging bebop stars in 1946 and with the Stan Getz Quintet in 1948. He also played and recorded on Parker dates with Miles Davis, was on one of the famed “Birth of the Cool" sessions led by Davis, on other Parker sessions in early 1950s, and he recorded with the Wardell Gray Quartet. [Photo above of Al Haig with Miles Davis on a “Birth of the Cool" recording session, in January 1949]
Haig's 10-inch leadership albums began in the early 1950s and continued on 12-inch LPs throughout the decade. Between 1965 and 1974, as rock evolved to become a highly lucrative recording business, dramatically reducing the number of jazz album opportunities, Haig stopped recording and spent most of his time playing in clubs and cocktail lounges.
In 1974, Haig was invited to tour Europe by Tony Williams, owner of the U.K.'s Spotlite Records. That year, in Europe, Haig recorded two trio albums—Round About Midnight and Invitation—and a quartet album, Special Brew, with guitarist Jimmy Raney.
Invitation is a must own. Recorded in London for Spotlite in January 1974, Haig was backed by Gilbert “Bibi" Rovere (b) and Kenny Clarke (d). The songs were Invitation, Enigma, Sawbo City Blues, If You Could See Me Now, Sambalhasa, Day Dream, Linear Motion and Holy Land. Five additional tracks were issued on a Japanese release of the album in 1990.
Haig's playing is fluid, lush in places, bop-centered and spirited in others. While his recordings have been uniformly excellent throughout his career, the 1970s were a high point for him in terms of phrasing, his attack and high compositional standards. He was a beautiful player with an abusive temper, most notably with spouses. In 1969, he was acquitted of strangling his wife, Bonnie, in their home. Haig claimed she was drunk and fell down a flight of stairs. In her 2007 memoir, Death of a Bebop Wife, Grange Rutan, Haig's next spouse, challenged that account. [Photo above of Al Haig]
Al Haig died, in 1982. He was 60.
JazzWax clips: Here's the entire album, including the five bonus tracks...
Raised in Nutley, N.J., Haig was the pianist on Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie's first bebop recordings, for Guild, in May 1945. The session included Salt Peanuts, Shaw 'Nuff, Lover Man and Hot House. He went out to the West Coast with the group during their run at Billy Berg's in Hollywood and returned to New York with Gillespie when Parker decided to remain in Los Angeles.
In New York, he played and recorded with all of the emerging bebop stars in 1946 and with the Stan Getz Quintet in 1948. He also played and recorded on Parker dates with Miles Davis, was on one of the famed “Birth of the Cool" sessions led by Davis, on other Parker sessions in early 1950s, and he recorded with the Wardell Gray Quartet. [Photo above of Al Haig with Miles Davis on a “Birth of the Cool" recording session, in January 1949]
Haig's 10-inch leadership albums began in the early 1950s and continued on 12-inch LPs throughout the decade. Between 1965 and 1974, as rock evolved to become a highly lucrative recording business, dramatically reducing the number of jazz album opportunities, Haig stopped recording and spent most of his time playing in clubs and cocktail lounges.
In 1974, Haig was invited to tour Europe by Tony Williams, owner of the U.K.'s Spotlite Records. That year, in Europe, Haig recorded two trio albums—Round About Midnight and Invitation—and a quartet album, Special Brew, with guitarist Jimmy Raney.
Invitation is a must own. Recorded in London for Spotlite in January 1974, Haig was backed by Gilbert “Bibi" Rovere (b) and Kenny Clarke (d). The songs were Invitation, Enigma, Sawbo City Blues, If You Could See Me Now, Sambalhasa, Day Dream, Linear Motion and Holy Land. Five additional tracks were issued on a Japanese release of the album in 1990.
Haig's playing is fluid, lush in places, bop-centered and spirited in others. While his recordings have been uniformly excellent throughout his career, the 1970s were a high point for him in terms of phrasing, his attack and high compositional standards. He was a beautiful player with an abusive temper, most notably with spouses. In 1969, he was acquitted of strangling his wife, Bonnie, in their home. Haig claimed she was drunk and fell down a flight of stairs. In her 2007 memoir, Death of a Bebop Wife, Grange Rutan, Haig's next spouse, challenged that account. [Photo above of Al Haig]
Al Haig died, in 1982. He was 60.
JazzWax clips: Here's the entire album, including the five bonus tracks...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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