For Valentine's Day ... Trudy Pitts and "Mr C," in their own words
From: David Schulman
Series: Musicians in their own words
Length: 07:20
This one's a natural for Valentine's Day -- it's s first-person duet featuring an unsung hero of the Hammond B-3 electric organ, the late Trudy Pitts (who died in December 2010), and her husband, Bill "Mr C." Carney. They played with the likes of Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry and Pat Martino. But over the years their most rewarding musical partnership was the one they shared with each other. One thing they were not able to agree on, though, was the date of their anniversary. The piece starts with their story of first getting together in Philadelphia, close to 50 years before this interview was recorded in 2006. Carney, a drummer, had a band called the Hi-Tones, which featured the young John Coltrane on sax (in those days, Carney later told me on the phone, Coltrane would even do a little R&B barwalking). Carney and Coltrane were looking for a new keyboard player, and eventually found their way to the home of the young Trudy Pitts ... For more music and photos visit: www.trudypitts.com A natural for Valentine's Day. Part of the CPB-supported "Musicians in Their Own Words" project. This piece first aired January 7, 2007 on NPR's Weekend All Things Considered.
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Piece Description
This one's a natural for Valentine's Day -- it's s first-person duet featuring an unsung hero of the Hammond B-3 electric organ, the late Trudy Pitts (who died in December 2010), and her husband, Bill "Mr C." Carney. They played with the likes of Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry and Pat Martino. But over the years their most rewarding musical partnership was the one they shared with each other. One thing they were not able to agree on, though, was the date of their anniversary. The piece starts with their story of first getting together in Philadelphia, close to 50 years before this interview was recorded in 2006. Carney, a drummer, had a band called the Hi-Tones, which featured the young John Coltrane on sax (in those days, Carney later told me on the phone, Coltrane would even do a little R&B barwalking). Carney and Coltrane were looking for a new keyboard player, and eventually found their way to the home of the young Trudy Pitts ... For more music and photos visit: www.trudypitts.com A natural for Valentine's Day. Part of the CPB-supported "Musicians in Their Own Words" project. This piece first aired January 7, 2007 on NPR's Weekend All Things Considered.
Broadcast History
First aired on All Things Considered, Sunday January 7, 2007.
Timing and Cues
INTRO:
Next, as part of the "Musicians in their own words" series, we're going to meet Trudy Pitts and Bill Carney.
They've been partners in music, and in life, for half a century ... They met in Philadelphia in the 50s, when Carney had a band that included the young John Coltrane.
Pitts has a delicate touch at the piano ... as a young woman, she studied classical technique at Juilliard. Her signature instrument, though, is the Hammond B-3 electric organ. She uses one foot for the bass line, the other for the volume. Mr C., as she likes to call her husband, backs her up on drums.
Still, through all their years together, one thing Pitts and Carney have NEVER been able to agree on ... is the date ... of their anniversary ...
TAPE IN: "June 2nd, 1958. That's when it was. ... "
TAPE OUT: (ends with music tail). Last spoken words: " ... I say, well, he sent me an angel. And amen."
OUTRO:
Bill Carney and Trudy Pitts, making music together for half a century. We heard from them as part of the series Musicians in their own words, produced by independent producer David Schulman and supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
FURTHER BACKGROUND:
In September 2006, Pitts became the first jazz player to perform on the new, $6.4 million pipe organ at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, in Philadelphia.
Pitts and Carney's wedding date was JUNE 2, 1958
Here are links to her commercially available CDs:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000GC1H/sr=8-1/qid=1148329768/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3231925-5488969?%5Fencoding=UTF8
http://cdbaby.com/cd/trudypittsmrc
http://cdbaby.com/cd/trudypitts
Trudy Pitts' website:
www.TrudyPitts.com
her bio on Music Match:
http://www.mmguide.musicmatch.com/artist/artist.cgi?ARTISTID=866553&TMPL=LONG#bio
and a bio/review at All About Jazz:
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=185
CONTACT INFO:
organlady2@juno.com
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organology | Trudy Pitts | Legends of Acid Jazz. | Prestige | 00:00 |
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Barrett Golding
Posted on January 28, 2007 at 02:47 AM | Permalink
Review of Trudy Pitts and "Mr C" in their own words
this piece is like a bouquet of radio roses; send it your loved ones, aka, your listeners, on Valentine's day. Trudy and MrC talking together is a duet as lovely as their music, which, as they say, is either "better than sex" or "an accomplishment." if your station doesn't have six minutes on Valentine's for this sweet piece of audio candy, then you really ain't got, imho, a station.