If you had the misfortune as a jazz musician to come up in the early 1960s, you were likely ill prepared to cope with the seismic shift in the music landscape as rock and soul swept away an entire generation of potential listeners. One of these victims was Eddie Diehl, a beautiful guitarist with gorgeous taste who found it increasingly difficult to earn a living.
On his first recording, Diehl had the distinction of replacing guitarist Grant Green on Jack McDuff's On With It album in November 1961. The other musicians on the date were Harold Vick (ts) Brother Jack McDuff (org) and Joe Dukes (d). Diehl then went on to record in the 1960s with McDuff, Sonny Stitt, Johnny “Hammond" Smith and George Braith. But recording work was thin and by the 1970s, recording and club work was even thinner.
So Diehl—a Staten Island, N.Y., native who relocated to Poughkeepsie, N.Y.—became a guitar repairman to supplement his gig income. Amazingly, he made just one album as a leader. Recorded for Lineage Records in 2003, the album was Well, Here It Is and featured Diehl backed by Hank Jones (p) John Webber (b) and Mickey Roker (d). It wasn't released until 2007.
The album is extraordinary for a couple of reasons. First, that's a monster trio behind Diehl, and listening to Hank Jones accompany anyone is a delight. Second, Diehl was a pretty guitarist with a firm sense of swing, rich chord voicings and smart melody lines. After you listen to the album, you wonder how a talent like Diehl could have been ignored for so long by labels. My guess is Diehl operated so far below the radar and without a network of friends and business contacts that no one knew he was out there. A shame and a tragedy for jazz, since Diehl could have recorded another dozen like this one.
Eddie Diehl died June 20, 2017. He was 80.
JazzWax clips: Here's Aquarian Melody...
Aquarian Melody
Here's Diehl on Hank Mobley's Thinking of Home album in 1970 playing Justine with Woody Shaw (tp), Hank Mobley (ts), Cedar Walton (p) Mickey Bass (b) and Leroy Williams (d). Dig Diehl's solo!...
And here's an interview with Diehl...
On his first recording, Diehl had the distinction of replacing guitarist Grant Green on Jack McDuff's On With It album in November 1961. The other musicians on the date were Harold Vick (ts) Brother Jack McDuff (org) and Joe Dukes (d). Diehl then went on to record in the 1960s with McDuff, Sonny Stitt, Johnny “Hammond" Smith and George Braith. But recording work was thin and by the 1970s, recording and club work was even thinner.
So Diehl—a Staten Island, N.Y., native who relocated to Poughkeepsie, N.Y.—became a guitar repairman to supplement his gig income. Amazingly, he made just one album as a leader. Recorded for Lineage Records in 2003, the album was Well, Here It Is and featured Diehl backed by Hank Jones (p) John Webber (b) and Mickey Roker (d). It wasn't released until 2007.
The album is extraordinary for a couple of reasons. First, that's a monster trio behind Diehl, and listening to Hank Jones accompany anyone is a delight. Second, Diehl was a pretty guitarist with a firm sense of swing, rich chord voicings and smart melody lines. After you listen to the album, you wonder how a talent like Diehl could have been ignored for so long by labels. My guess is Diehl operated so far below the radar and without a network of friends and business contacts that no one knew he was out there. A shame and a tragedy for jazz, since Diehl could have recorded another dozen like this one.
Eddie Diehl died June 20, 2017. He was 80.
JazzWax clips: Here's Aquarian Melody...
Aquarian Melody
Here's Diehl on Hank Mobley's Thinking of Home album in 1970 playing Justine with Woody Shaw (tp), Hank Mobley (ts), Cedar Walton (p) Mickey Bass (b) and Leroy Williams (d). Dig Diehl's solo!...
And here's an interview with Diehl...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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