Good Vibes (and Piano) from Detroit

One of the reasons I decided to reinvigorate this blog was a YouTube video of Terry Pollard. Pollard, a fine pianist and vibraphonist who emerged from the incredible explosion of jazz talent that was Detroit in the late 50s, was one of the few women to make her mark in the music during that period. After playing with many of the top musicians of the day, touring for several years with the vibist Terry Gibbs, and recording only one album as a leader, she returned to Detroit to raise a family and faded from the scene.

After her death in 2009, Terry Gibbs’ YouTube channel posted a video (below) of his quartet with Pollard on piano and in a terrific duet with Gibbs on vibes. It’s a demonstration of talent that ranks with that of Barry Harris Tommy Flanagan, two other acclaimed Detroit musicians of her era. It’s also a reminder that jazz can be fun and doesn’t need to take itself as seriously as it often does these days. And yes, that’s Steve Allen on piano during the vibes duet. From the YouTube comments, which are less idiotic than usual, it seems that Pollard was a fine person as well as a great musician.

Whatever negligent conglomerate owns the rights to Bethlehem Records should reissue her 1955 LP but, given the state of the music business, it may be up to Fresh Sound or one of the other Andorran labels to do it. Anyway, I’m glad we have this clip and a Euro reissue of The Terry Gibbs Quartet Featuring Terry Pollard  (kudos to Gibbs and Bethlehem for the original billing!) to keep Terry Pollard’s memory alive.