* En anglais uniquement
Looking at pianist
Joe Albany's life in hindsight, it is miraculous that he lived to almost reach 64. Serious problems with drugs and alcohol resulted in a series of harrowing incidents and his domestic life would never be described as tranquil (his second wife committed suicide while his third almost died from a drug overdose).
Albany's life was so erratic that he only recorded once during 1947-1971. However,
Joe Albany's real importance is as one of the early bop pianists. After playing accordion as a child, he switched to piano in high school and in 1942 joined
Leo Watson's group. He had short-term associations with
Benny Carter,
Georgie Auld,
Boyd Raeburn, and most significantly
Charlie Parker.
Albany's live recordings with
Parker and some brilliant studio sides with
Lester Young in 1946 (the latter later reissued on Blue Note) were the high points of his career. Decades of struggle followed (which he frankly described in the excellent 1980 documentary Joe Albany...a Jazz Life), with Riverside's The Right Combination (a rehearsal session with tenor saxophonist
Warne Marsh) being the only documentation from the lost years. Other than a short stint with
Charles Mingus in the mid-'60s, it was not until 1972 that
Albany started to have a comeback. He recorded a set with violinist
Joe Venuti and was a leader on albums for Revelation, Horo, Inner City, SeaBreeze, and Interplay. The excellent 1982 Elektra/Musician set
Portrait of an Artist was the final statement from the troubled but talented pianist. ~ Scott Yanow