THE BRIEF BUT DEEP CAREER OF RICHARD “DICK” TWARDZIK — OR: HOW ‘BOUT A LITTLE “RE-SEARCH”?

It was not exactly the result of a research, it came to me as a gift: # 500 of the limited edition (1000 items) “Early Chet – Chet Baker In Germany 1955-59 – Lost Tapes”.

The album is only available on vinyl (officially!), and therefore I will post just one track, namely the one featuring also Richard “Dick” Twardzik, the ingenious pianist this little article is about.

The number, entitled “Bockhanal” by Jack Montrose, dedicated to the other Richard, Mr. Bock from Pacific Records, this very number is one sensational find from the archives of the SWF (Südwestfunk Baden-Baden, now fusioned with the SDR, Süddeutscher Rundfunk to the one big station SWR, Südwestrundfunk).

When talking so much about radio in South-Western Germany, it’s logical to me that a blues has to be posted; and “Bockhanal” *IS* one hell of a blues!

I hope you will enjoy the little ride through the all too short career of one of jazz’s finest pianists & composers, Mr. Richard Twardzik.

The other tracks are self-explanatory; you will have to listen closely for finding the, err, golden thread 😉

How about a little “Re-Search”, huh?

All Chettish best,

Yours truly,
Brew

“I’ll Remember April” (Gene de Paul)

Charlie Parker (as) Joe Gordon (tp) Bill Wellington (ts) Dick Twardzik (p) Charles Mingus (b) Roy Haynes (d) – Hi-Hat Club, Boston MA, December 8-14, 1952

“I’ll Remember April”

Richard Twardzik (p) Carson Smith (b) Peter Littman (d) – Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ. 27 October 1954

“Bockhanal” (Jack Montrose)

Chet Baker Quartet with Kurt Edelhagen Big Band, Chet Baker (tp) Richard Twardzik (p) Jimmy Bond (b) Peter Littman (d) – SWF, Jazztime Mainz, Kurfürstliches Schloss, September 20, 1955

“Re-Search” (Bob Zieff)

Chet Baker (tp) Richard Twardzik (p) Jimmy Bond (b) Peter Littman (d) – Studio Pathé-Magellan, Paris, October 11, 1955