A Too-Brief Glimpse of Herbie Nichols

Herbie Nichols is one of the forgotten heroes of jazz.

Thirty-four years after his death in 1963, he continues to be relatively unknown, even to many serious jazz fans. Sadly, the lack of recognition simply continues the circumstances of his brief life (he was 44 when he died of leukemia), since Nichols--despite a prodigious talent as a pianist and composer--recorded rarely and was obliged to spend a good part of his life accompanying shows and playing in Dixieland bands.

Ironically, he wrote an article about Thelonious Monk for the African American magazine Music Dial in 1946 that may have been instrumental in bringing Monk to the attention of producer Alfred Lion at Blue Note. Yet Nichols himself, despite sending frequent tapes to Lion, was not recorded by Blue Note until eight years after the company signed Monk in 1947.

And when he did get around to recording, his career was painfully short. In five trio sessions for Blue Note, recorded in 1955-56, he produced material intended for release on five 10-inch LPs. All of those recordings, as well as extensive alternate takes, have now been released in a three-CD collection, “Herbie Nichols: The Complete Blue Note Recordings.”

What emerges is a too-brief portrait of a genuinely original talent. Nichols’ playing bears references to Monk and to Art Tatum, even a few traces of Teddy Wilson and Bud Powell. And one wonders if Phineas Newborn Jr. was familiar with Nichols, given some of the similarities in their style. But mostly Nichols simply sounds like a unique player--so unique that it’s hard to understand why he wasn’t recorded more often.

His tunes are solid melodies, often moving in unlikely harmonic directions, and--like Monk’s music--intriguing enough and filled with sufficient musical resources to attract the attention of other players. Unfortunately, the music in this compilation, attractive as it is, represents a small portion of Nichols’ 170 compositions.

Still, it’s all that remains of his work as a leader (he recorded on rare occasion as a backup player), and Blue Note should be commended for making it available. (Mosaic issued the same material a few years ago in a limited-edition, five-LP boxed set.)

A.B. Spellman’s book “Black Music: Four Lives” (Schocken Books) includes an extensive interview with Nichols, speaking shortly before his death. “I’m not making $60 a week,” Nichols told Spellman. “I’m trying to sell some copyrights, but if you don’t have somebody behind you in this country, you die.”

Nichols’ talent, his creativity, and his intelligent observations about the music business are the stuff of an important jazz voice--one that deserves to be rescued from its current anonymity.

On the Shelves: There is plenty of interesting reading matter available for holiday gift giving for both the dedicated and the casual jazz fan. For example, no less than three Thelonious Monk books arrived in the legendary jazzman’s 80th anniversary year.

“Thelonious Monk: His Life and Music,” by Thomas Fitterling (Berkeley Hills Books), first published in Europe in 1987 and now available in a new translation, takes a look at Monk from three perspectives: his piano and composition techniques and his discography.

“Straight, No Chaser, The Life and Genius of Thelonious Monk,” by Leslie Gourse (Schirmer Books), is written in the author’s characteristically detailed style, filled with anecdotal material, and based upon extensive interviews with friends and family.

“Monk,” by Laurent de Wilde (Marlowe & Company), is particularly intriguing because it was written by a first-rate jazz pianist. De Wilde’s observations are all highly personal, his viewpoint that of a musician attempting to find insights and understanding in the life of a much-admired influence.

Miles Davis fans will find a variety of diverse views of the Prince of Darkness in a series of essays in “A Miles Davis Reader,” edited by Bill Kirchner (Smithsonian).

Another book by a practicing musician, “What Jazz Is,” by pianist Jonny King (Walker), informatively addresses questions listeners always ask about jazz--”Where’s the melody?” “What does the rhythm section do?,” etc.

And budding guitarists who have worn out their blues licks will enjoy the quick entree into jazz phrases provided by guitarist Sid Jacobs’ “Complete Book of Jazz Guitar Lines and Phrases” (Mel Bay Publications).