Today in Jazz History
Boston native and baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff was the son of a composer and a piano teacher known as Madame Chaloff. His career is often overlooked due to his erratic behavior due to drug abuse and alcoholism and his early death from spinal cancer at age 33. Nonetheless, Chaloff was the first great be-bop baritone player and his musicianship was much admired during his time. He won the DownBeat Magazine poll for best baritone saxophonist every year between 1949 and 1953. On this date in 1954 Chaloff was in the studio recording The Fable of Mabel for Storyville Records.
Serge Chaloff first came to national attention in 1945 as a member of the Boyd Raeburn band where he played with Dizzy Gillespie on the first recording of A Night in Tunisia (or Interlude, as it was called on the record). He was also one of the “four brothers” in Woody Herman’s Second Herd along with Zoot Sims, Stan Getz and Al Cohn. In 1950 he briefly played with the Count Basie Octet.
The Fable of Mabel is the title track of a 10-inch record and was written by pianist Dick Twardzik. On the liner notes, Twardzik describes the piece as "The Fable of Mabel was introduced to jazz circles in 1951-52 by the Serge Chaloff Quartet. Audiences found this satirical jazz legend a welcome respite from standard night club fare. In this legend, Mabel is depicted as a woman who loves men, music and her silver saxophone that played counterpoint (her own invention which proved impractical). The work is divided into three movements:
1. New Orleans
2. Classical
3.Not Too Sad an Ending.
The soulful baritone solo by Serge Chaloff traces Mabel's humble beginnings working railroad cars in New Orleans to her emergence as a practicing crusader for the cause of Jazz. During her Paris days on the Jazz Houseboat, her struggle for self-expression is symbolized by an unusual saxophone duet Charlie Mariano and Varty Haritrounian. Mabel always said she wanted to go out blowing. She did."
Here is a link to the 1954 recording by the Serge Chaloff nonet: