Victor Feldman

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Victor Feldman
Feldman in San Francisco, 1976
Feldman in San Francisco, 1976
Background information
Birth nameVictor Stanley Feldman
Born(1934-04-07)7 April 1934
Edgware, London, England
Died12 May 1987(1987-05-12) (aged 53)
Woodland Hills, California, United States
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsVibraphone
Drums
Percussion
Piano
Associated actsMiles Davis
Lighthouse All-Stars
Steely Dan

Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as an adult. Feldman emigrated to the United States in the mid-1950s, where he continued working in jazz and also as a session musician with a variety of pop and rock performers.

Early life[]

Feldman was born in Edgware on 7 April 1934.[1] He caused a sensation as a musical prodigy when he was "discovered", aged seven. His family were all musical and his father founded the Feldman Swing Club in London in 1942 to showcase his talented sons.[2] Feldman performed from a young age: "from 1941 to 1947 he played drums in a trio with his brothers; when he was nine he took up piano and when he was 14 started playing vibraphone".[1] He featured in the films King Arthur Was a Gentleman (1942) and Theatre Royal (1943). In 1944, he was featured at a concert with Glenn Miller's AAAF band, as "Kid Krupa" (in reference to drummer Gene Krupa).[3] He also "took a prominent role in the musical Piccadilly Hayride" (1946–1948).[1]

Professional life and Career[]

His drums teacher Carlo Krahmer encouraged Feldman to play the vibraphone which he did first in the Ralph Sharon Sextet and later in the Roy Fox band. Feldman played with Vic Lewis and Ted Heath.[1] Feldman played with Sharon from late 1949 to 1951, including for performances in Switzerland.[1] There were further overseas trips with Ronnie Scott (to Paris in 1952), and Harry Parry (to India).[1] He also played with Parry in the UK from October 1953 to January 1954.[1] From 1954, when he recorded with Jimmy Deuchar, and played again with Scott, "he was working mainly as a pianist and vibraphonist; his early vibraphone playing showed the influence of Milt Jackson".[1]

He was a notable percussionist, but it was as a pianist and vibraphone player that he became best known.[4]

Before leaving the UK to work in the US, Feldman recorded with Ronnie Scott's orchestra and quintet from 1954 to 1955, which also featured other important British jazz musicians such as Phil Seamen and Hank Shaw. It was Scott who recommended that Feldman emigrate to the US, which he did in 1955.[5] Once there, his first steady work was with the Woody Herman Herd.[5] He had frequent return trips to the UK over the following years.[5] His 8-week visit in 1956–57 included studio recording sessions and club appearances.[5] After Herman he joined Buddy DeFranco for a short time.[1] In 1958, he had his own working band on the west coast, which included the innovative bassist Scott LaFaro. His 1958 album The Arrival of Victor Feldman includes LaFaro and Stan Levey on drums. He recorded with many jazz artists, including Benny Goodman, George Shearing, Cannonball Adderley and Miles Davis, most notably on Davis' 1963 album Seven Steps to Heaven, the title tune being his own composition. Davis invited Feldman to join his group full-time, but Feldman declined, preferring the stability of studio work to the career of a touring musician.[6] The 5-CD Shelly Manne Black Hawk set, originally released on LP in September 1959, is a good representation of Feldman's unmistakable driving "comping" behind the soloists, helping to define the session as a valuable hard bop genre element.

In 1957, Feldman settled in Los Angeles permanently and then specialised in lucrative session work for the US film and recording industry. He also branched out to work with a variety of musicians outside of jazz, recording with artists such as Frank Zappa in 1967, Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell in the 1970s and Tom Waits and Joe Walsh in the 1980s. It is Feldman's percussion work on Steely Dan's song "Do It Again" that gives the song its Latin groove. Feldman appears on all seven Steely Dan albums released in the 70s and 1980 in the band's first incarnation.

Feldman's vibraphone soloing is featured extensively on the Grammy Award-winning The Music from Peter Gunn, with AllMusic writing, "There's some particularly impressive work by drummer Shelly Manne and vibes player Victor Feldman, whose cool, understated playing seems to deliberately recall that of Milt Jackson."[7]

Feldman died of a heart attack in 1987 at his home in Los Angeles, aged 53, following an asthma attack.[5]

In 2009, he was inducted in the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.[8]

Discography[]

As leader[]

Year recorded Title Label Personnel/Notes
1948–54 The Young Vic Esquire With various
1955 Suite Sixteen Tempo/Contemporary Some quartet; some septet; some big band
1956 Victor Feldman in London, Vol 1 Tempo Some tracks quartet with Terry Shannon (piano), Pete Blannin and Lennie Bush (bass; separately), Phil Seamen (drums); one track quartet with Dizzy Reece (trumpet), Bush (bass), Seamen (drums)
1956 Transatlantic Alliance Tempo With various
1956–57 Victor Feldman in London, Vol 2 Tempo With various
1957 Vic Feldman on Vibes Mode Most tracks quartet, with Carl Perkins (piano), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Stan Levey (drums); some tracks sextet, with Frank Rosolino (trombone), Harold Land (tenor sax) added
1958 The Arrival of Victor Feldman Contemporary Trio, with Scott LaFaro (bass), Stan Levey (drums)
1959 Latinsville! Contemporary With various
1960–61 Merry Olde Soul Riverside Most tracks trio, with Sam Jones and Andy Simpkins (bass; separately), Louis Hayes (drums); some tracks quartet, with Hank Jones (piano) added
1962 Stop the World I Want to Get Off World Pacific Trio, with Bob Whitlock (bass), Lawrence Marable (drums)
1962 Infinity Some tracks quartet with Nino Tempo (tenor sax), Bob Whitlock (bass), Colin Bailey (drums); some tracks quartet with Buddy Collette (tenor sax, flute), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Ron Jefferson (drums); some tracks quintet, with Clifford Scott (flute, tenor sax), Laurindo Almeida (guitar), Al McKibbon (bass), Chico Guerrero (drums)
1962 Soviet Jazz Themes Äva Some tracks sextet with Harold Land (tenor sax), Nat Adderley (cornet), Joe Zawinul (piano), Bob Whitlock (bass), Frank Butler (drums); some tracks sextet with Land (tenor sax), Carmell Jones (trumpet), Herb Ellis (guitar), Whitlock (bass), Butler (drums)
1964 Love Me with All Your Heart Vee Jay With unknown others
1964 It's a Wonderful World Vee Jay Quartet, with Bill Perkins (flute), Monty Budwig (bass), Colin Bailey (drums)
1965 His Own Sweet Way Ronnie Scott's Jazz House Trio, with Rick Laird (bass), Ronnie Stephenson (drums); in concert
1967 Victor Feldman Plays Everything in Sight Pacific Jazz Feldman plays all instruments
1967 The Venezuela Joropo Pacific Jazz Most tracks with Bill Perkins (flute, alto flute), Dorothy Remson (harp), Emil Richards (vibes, marimba), Al Hendrickson (guitar), Max Bennett (bass), Larry Bunker (timbales), Milt Holland (maracas, percussion); some tracks with Perkins (flute, alto flute), Dennis Budimir (guitar), Monty Budwig (bass), Colin Bailey (drums)
1970? Smooth TBA As Victor Feldman's Generation Band
1973? Your Smile with Larance Marable, Bob Whitlock
1973? Seven Steps to Heaven Choice Quartet, with Tom Scott (alto sax, tenor sax, flute, alto flute), Chuck Domanico (bass), John Guerin (drums)
1977? The Artful Dodger Concord With Jack Sheldon (trumpet, vocals), Monty Budwig and Chuck Domanico (bass; separately); Colin Bailey (drums)
1977? In My Pocket
1978 Together Again Yupiteru with Monty Budwig (bass), Shelly Manne (drums)
1982 Secret of the Andes Palo Alto With Hubert Laws (flute), Lee Ritenour (guitar), Abraham Laboriel (electric bass), Harvey Mason (drums), Alex Acuña and Milt Holland (percussion)
1983 Soft Shoulder Palo Alto As Generation Band; with sons Trevor Feldman (drums), Jake Feldman (bass), and Josh Feldman (management), Tom Scott and various others
1983 To Chopin with Love Highlight Trio, with John Patitucci (bass), Trevor Feldman (drums)
1984 Call of the Wild TBA Records (division of Palo Alto) As Generation Band; with sons Trevor Feldman (drums), and Josh Feldman (mixing engineer), Tom Scott, Robben Ford and various others
1984 Fiesta TBA With Chuck Mangione (flugelhorn, trumpet), Chick Corea (keyboards), Dianne Reeves (vocals)
1985? High Visibility As Victor Feldman's Generation Band; with various

Main source:[9]

As sideman[]

With The Youngbloods

  • Elephant Mountain (RCA Victor, 1969)

With

  • Dane Donohue (Album) "Casablanca" (Columbia, 1978)

With Pepper Adams

With Cannonball Adderley

  • Cannonball Adderley and the Poll Winners (Riverside, 1960)
  • The Cannonball Adderley Quintet at the Lighthouse (Riverside, 1960)
  • Live in Europe (Pablo, 1984) (Fantasy, 1994)
  • Paris 1960 (Fantasy, 1997)
  • The Cannonball Adderley Quintet Plus (Riverside, 1961)

With Leo Sayer

  • Here (Chrysalis Records, 1979)

With Candi Staton

  • Young Hearts Run Free (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)
  • House of Love (Warner Bros. Records, 1978)

With Michael Franks

  • Objects of Desire (Warner Bros. Records, 1982)

With Glenn Frey

  • The Allnighter (MCA Records, 1984)

With Deniece Williams

  • Song Bird (Columbia Records, 1977)

With Kim Carnes

With Dion DiMucci

  • Streetheart (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)

With Gordon Lightfoot

  • Shadows (Warner Bros. Records, 1982)

With Marvin Gaye

With Jim Messina

  • Messina (Warner Bros. Records, 1981)

With Mary MacGregor

  • ...In Your Eyes (Ariola Records, 1978)

With Michael Nesmith

  • The Wichita Train Whistle Sings (Dot Records, 1968)

With Richie Furay

  • Dance a Little Light (Asylum Records, 1978)

With Sam Phillips

  • Dancing with Danger (Myrrh Records, 1984)

With Billy Preston

With Maria Muldaur

  • Sweet Harmony (Reprise Records, 1976)
  • Open Your Eyes (Warner Bros. Records, 1979)

With Dusty Springfield

  • Cameo (ABC Dunhill Records, 1973)

With Dan Hill

  • If Dreams Had Wings (Epic Records, 1980)

With Willie Tee

  • Anticipation (United Artists Records, 1976)

With Nat Adderley

  • A Little New York Midtown Music (Galaxy, 1978)

With Patti Austin

  • Patti Austin (Qwest Records, 1984)

With Livingston Taylor

With Curtis Amy

  • Way Down (Pacific Jazz, 1962)

With James Clay

  • A Double Dose of Soul (Riverside, 1960)

With Yvonne Elliman

  • Yvonne (RSO Records, 1979)

With Rita Coolidge

  • Never Let You Go (A&M Records, 1983)

With Bob Cooper

  • Coop! The Music of Bob Cooper (Contemporary, 1958)

With Stephen Bishop

  • Careless (ABC Records, 1976)

With B.B. King

  • L.A. Midnight (ABC Records, 1972)

With Michael Martin Murphey

  • Flowing Free Forever (Epic Records, 1976)
  • Lone Wolf (Epic Records, 1978)
  • The Heart Never Lies (Liberty Records, 1983)

With Christopher Cross

  • Christopher Cross (Columbia Records, 1979)

With Stephanie Mills

  • Merciless (Casablanca Records, 1983)

With Miles Davis

  • Seven Steps to Heaven (Columbia Records, 1963)
  • Quiet Nights (Columbia Records, 1963)

With Kiki Dee

  • Stay With Me (Rocket, 1978)

With Betty Wright

  • Betty Wright (Epic Records, 1981)

With Dalbello

  • Pretty Girls (Talisman, 1979)

With Dionne Warwick

  • Love at First Sight (Warner Bros. Records, 1977)
  • Friends in Love (Arista Records, 1982)

With Olivia Newton-John

  • Totally Hot (MCA Records, 1978)
  • Physical (MCA Records, 1981)

With José Feliciano

  • 10 to 23 (RCA Victor, 1969)

With Melanie

  • Photograph (Atlantic Records, 1976)
  • Seventh Wave (Neighbourhood Records, 1983)

With Valerie Carter

  • Wild Child (ARC, 1978)

With Bobby McFerrin

  • Bobby McFerrin (Elektra Records, 1982)

With Amy Grant

  • A Christmas Album (Myrrh Records, 1983)

With Peter Allen

  • I Could Have Been a Sailor (A&M Records, 1979)
  • Not the Boy Next Door (Arista Records, 1983)

With Karla Bonoff

  • Wild Heart of the Young (Columbia Records, 1982)

With Cher

With Lulu

  • Lulu (Polydor Records, 1973)

With Neil Diamond

  • Heartlight (Columbia Records, 1982)

With Evie Sands

  • Estate Of Mind (Haven Records, 1974)
  • Suspended Animation (RCA Victor, 1979)

With Buddy DeFranco

  • Blues Bag (Vee-Jay, 1965)

With Ted Gärdestad

  • Blue Virgin Isles (Polar, 1978)

With Jackie DeShannon

  • New Arrangement (Columbia Records, 1975)

With Carly Simon

  • Another Passenger (Elektra Records, 1976)

With Al Jarreau

  • Jarreau (Warner Bros. Records, 1983)

With The Doobie Brothers

With Liza Minnelli

  • Tropical Nights (Columbia, 1977)

With The Free Movement

With Solomon Burke

  • Electronic Magnetism (MGM Records, 1971)

With Thelma Houston

With Jimmy Webb

  • Angel Heart (Real West Production, 1982)

With Woody Herman

With Paul Horn

  • Impressions of Cleopatra (Columbia Records, 1963)

With Milt Jackson

  • Memphis Jackson (Impulse!), 1969)

With Cyndi Grecco

  • Making Our Dreams Come True (Private Stock Records, 1976)

With Peggy Lee

  • If You Go (Capitol, 1961)
  • Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota (Capitol, 1972)
  • Mirrors (A&M, 1975)

With J. J. Johnson

  • A Touch of Satin (Columbia Records, 1962)
  • Concepts in Blue (Pablo, 1981)

With Plas Johnson

  • This Must Be the Plas (Capitol Records, 1959)

With Brenda Russell

  • Brenda Russell (Horizon Records, 1979)

With Randy Newman

  • Born Again (Warner Bros. Records, 1979)

With Quincy Jones

  • The Hot Rock OST (Prophesy, 1972)
  • Roots (A&M Records, 1977)

With Sam Jones

  • The Chant (Riverside, 1961)

With Stan Kenton

  • Hair (Capitol, 1969)

With Barney Kessel

  • Let's Cook! (Contemporary, 1957 [1962])
  • Carmen (Contemporary, 1958)

With Minnie Riperton

  • Minnie (Capitol Records, 1979)

With Melba Moore

  • Peach Melba (Buddah Records, 1975)

With Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

  • Once Upon a Christmas (RCA Records, 1984)

With John Klemmer

  • Waterfalls (Impulse!, 1972)
  • Intensity (Impulse!, 1973)

With Henry Mancini

  • The Music from Peter Gunn (RCA Records, 1959)

With Shelly Manne

  • Shelly Manne & His Men Play Peter Gunn (Contemporary, 1959)
  • Son of Gunn!! (Contemporary, 1959)
  • At the Black Hawk 1 (Contemporary, 1959)
  • At the Black Hawk 2 (Contemporary, 1959)
  • At the Black Hawk 3 (Contemporary, 1959)
  • At the Black Hawk 4 (Contemporary, 1959)
  • At the Black Hawk 5 (Contemporary, 1959 [1991])
  • My Son the Jazz Drummer! (Contemporary, 1962)
  • Daktari (Atlantic Records, 1967)

With Carmen McRae

With Blue Mitchell

With Nicolette Larson

  • Nicolette (Warner Bros. Records, 1978)
  • In the Nick of Time (Warner Bros. Records, 1979)

With Wendy Waldman

  • The Main Refrain (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)

With Oliver Nelson

  • Zig Zag (MGM, 1970)

With Art Pepper and Zoot Sims

With Sonny Rollins

  • Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders (Contemporary, 1958)

With Helen Reddy

  • Music, Music (Capitol Records, 1976)

With Lalo Schifrin

  • Gone with the Wave (Colpix, 1964)
  • The Cincinnati Kid (MGM, 1965)

With Bud Shank

With Rickie Lee Jones

  • Rickie Lee Jones (Warner Bros. Records, 1979)
  • Pirates (Warner Bros. Records, 1981)
  • Girl at Her Volcano (Warner Bros. Records, 1983)
  • The Magazine (Warner Bros. Records, 1984)

With Boz Scaggs

  • Down Two Then Left (Columbia Records, 1977)

With Steely Dan

  • Can't Buy a Thrill (ABC Records, 1972)
  • Countdown to Ecstasy (ABC Records, 1973)
  • Pretzel Logic (ABC Records, 1974)
  • Katy Lied (ABC Records, 1975)
  • The Royal Scam (ABC Records, 1976)
  • Aja (ABC Records, 1977)
  • Gaucho (MCA Records, 1980)

With Joni Mitchell

  • The Hissing of Summer Lawns (Asylum Records, 1975)
  • Hejira (A&M Records, 1976)
  • Wild Things Run Fast (Geffen, 1982)

With Albert Hammond

  • Albert Hammond (Mums Records, 1974)

With James Taylor

  • Gorilla (Warner Bros. Records, 1975)
  • In the Pocket (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)

With Gino Vannelli

  • Brother to Brother (A&M Records, 1978)

With Harold Vick

  • Commitment (Muse, 1967 [1974])

With Leroy Vinnegar

  • Leroy Walks! (Contemporary, 1958)
  • Leroy Walks Again!!! (Contemporary, 1963)

With Tom Waits

  • Heartattack and Vine (Asylum Records, 1980)
  • Swordfishtrombones (Island Records, 1983)

With Gregg Allman Band

With Gerald Wilson

  • Feelin' Kinda Blues (Pacific Jazz, 1965)
  • On Stage (Pacific Jazz, 1965)
  • The Golden Sword (Pacific Jazz, 1966)

With Elton John

  • 21 at 33 (Rocket, 1980)
  • The Fox (Geffen, 1981)

With Frank Zappa

  • Lumpy Gravy (Capitol Records, 1968)

With Jean Luc Ponty and Frank Zappa

  • King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa (World Pacific Jazz, 1970)

With Joe Walsh

  • There Goes the Neighborhood (Asylum Records, 1981)

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Larson, Steve; Kernfeld, Barry, Feldman, Victor (Stanley) [Vic], Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J147800 (subscription required)}}
  2. ^ Barbara Feldman (16 September 1995). "100 Oxford Street – Arts & Entertainment". The Independent. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  3. ^ "British-Born Jazz Prodigy Victor Feldman Dies". Los Angeles Times. 14 May 1987. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  4. ^ Jazz, All About. "Victor Feldman - Part 1: The Arrival". All About Jazz. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Gelly 2014, p. 119.
  6. ^ See Bob Belden's liner notes to the 2005 reissue of Seven Steps to Heaven. Columbia/Legacy CK 93592
  7. ^ "The Music of Peter Gunn (Original Soundtrack)". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  8. ^ Gilbert 10/13/2009, Calvin. "Rascal Flatts Perform With Toto During Musicians Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony". CMT News. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Victor Feldman Catalog". Jazzdisco.org. Retrieved 1 August 2018.

Bibliography[]

External links[]

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