Victor Feldman

Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987)[1] was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as an adult. Feldman emigrated to the United States in the mid-1950s, where he continued working in jazz and also as a session musician with a variety of pop and rock performers.

Victor Feldman
Feldman in San Francisco, 1976
Background information
Birth nameVictor Stanley Feldman
Born(1934-04-07)7 April 1934
Edgware, London, England
Died12 May 1987(1987-05-12) (aged 53)
Woodland Hills, California, United States
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)

Early life

Feldman was born in Edgware on 7 April 1934.[2] He caused a sensation as a musical prodigy when he was "discovered", aged seven. His family were all musical and his father founded the Feldman Swing Club in London in 1942 to showcase his talented sons.[3] Feldman performed from a young age: "from 1941 to 1947 he played drums in a trio with his brothers; when he was nine he took up piano and when he was 14 started playing vibraphone".[2] He featured in the films King Arthur Was a Gentleman (1942) and Theatre Royal (1943). In 1944, he was featured at a concert with Glenn Miller's AAAF band, as "Kid Krupa" (in reference to drummer Gene Krupa).[4] He also "took a prominent role in the musical Piccadilly Hayride" (1946–1948).[2]

Professional life and career

His drums teacher Carlo Krahmer encouraged Feldman to play the vibraphone which he did first in the Ralph Sharon Sextet and later in the Roy Fox band. Feldman played with Vic Lewis and Ted Heath.[2] Feldman played with Sharon from late 1949 to 1951, including performances in Switzerland.[2] There were further overseas trips with Ronnie Scott (to Paris in 1952), and Harry Parry (to India).[2] He also played with Parry in the UK from October 1953 to January 1954.[2] From 1954, when he recorded with Jimmy Deuchar, and played again with Scott, "he was working mainly as a pianist and vibraphonist; his early vibraphone playing showed the influence of Milt Jackson".[2]

He was a notable percussionist, but it was as a pianist and vibraphone player that he became best known.[5]

Before leaving the UK to work in the US, Feldman recorded with Ronnie Scott's orchestra and quintet from 1954 to 1955, which also featured other important British jazz musicians such as Phil Seamen and Hank Shaw. It was Scott who recommended that Feldman emigrate to the US, which he did in 1955.[6] Once there, his first steady work was with the Woody Herman Herd.[6] He had frequent return trips to the UK over the following years.[6] His 8-week visit in 1956–57 included studio recording sessions and club appearances.[6] After Herman he joined Buddy DeFranco for a short time.[2] In 1958, he had his own working band on the west coast, which included the innovative bassist Scott LaFaro. His 1958 album The Arrival of Victor Feldman includes LaFaro and Stan Levey on drums. He recorded with many jazz artists, including Benny Goodman, George Shearing, Cannonball Adderley and Miles Davis, most notably on Davis' 1963 album Seven Steps to Heaven, the title tune being his own composition. Davis invited Feldman to join his group full-time, but Feldman declined, preferring the stability of studio work to the career of a touring musician.[7] The 5-CD Shelly Manne Black Hawk set, originally released on LP in September 1959, is a good representation of Feldman's unmistakable driving comping behind the soloists, helping to define the session as a valuable hard bop genre element.

In 1957, Feldman settled in Los Angeles permanently and then specialised in lucrative session work for the US film and recording industry, with the exception of joining the Cannonball Adderley Quintet in 1960-61.[8] He also branched out to work with a variety of musicians outside of jazz, recording with artists such as Frank Zappa in 1967, Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell in the 1970s and Tom Waits and Joe Walsh in the 1980s. It is Feldman's percussion work on Steely Dan's song "Do It Again" that gives the song its Latin groove. Feldman appears on all seven Steely Dan albums released in the 1970s and 1980 in the band's first incarnation.

Feldman's vibraphone soloing is featured extensively on the Grammy Award-winning The Music from Peter Gunn, with AllMusic writing, "There's some particularly impressive work by drummer Shelly Manne and vibes player Victor Feldman, whose cool, understated playing seems to deliberately recall that of Milt Jackson."[9]

Feldman died of a heart attack in 1987 at his home in Los Angeles, aged 53, following an asthma attack.[6]

In 2009, he was inducted in the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.[10]

Discography

As leader
Year recorded Title Label Personnel/Notes
1948–54 The Young Vic Esquire With various
1955 Suite Sixteen Tempo/Contemporary Some quartet; some septet; some big band
1956 Victor Feldman in London, Vol 1 Tempo Some tracks quartet with Terry Shannon (piano), Pete Blannin and Lennie Bush (bass; separately), Phil Seamen (drums); one track quartet with Dizzy Reece (trumpet), Bush (bass), Seamen (drums)
1956 Transatlantic Alliance Tempo With various
1956–57 Victor Feldman in London, Vol 2 Tempo With various
1957 Vic Feldman on Vibes Mode Most tracks quartet, with Carl Perkins (piano), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Stan Levey (drums); some tracks sextet, with Frank Rosolino (trombone), Harold Land (tenor sax) added
1958 The Arrival of Victor Feldman Contemporary Trio, with Scott LaFaro (bass), Stan Levey (drums)
1959 Latinsville! Contemporary With various
1960–61 Merry Olde Soul Riverside Most tracks trio, with Sam Jones and Andy Simpkins (bass; separately), Louis Hayes (drums); some tracks quartet, with Hank Jones (piano) added
1962 Stop the World I Want to Get Off World Pacific Trio, with Bob Whitlock (bass), Lawrence Marable (drums)
1962 A Taste of Honey and a Taste of Bossa Nova Infinity Some tracks quartet with Nino Tempo (tenor sax), Bob Whitlock (bass), Colin Bailey (drums); some tracks quartet with Buddy Collette (tenor sax, flute), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Ron Jefferson (drums); some tracks quintet, with Clifford Scott (flute, tenor sax), Laurindo Almeida (guitar), Al McKibbon (bass), Chico Guerrero (drums)
1962 Soviet Jazz Themes Äva Some tracks sextet with Harold Land (tenor sax), Nat Adderley (cornet), Joe Zawinul (piano), Bob Whitlock (bass), Frank Butler (drums); some tracks sextet with Land (tenor sax), Carmell Jones (trumpet), Herb Ellis (guitar), Whitlock (bass), Butler (drums)
1964 Love Me with All Your Heart Vee Jay With unknown others
1964 It's a Wonderful World Vee Jay Quartet, with Bill Perkins (flute), Monty Budwig (bass), Colin Bailey (drums)
1965 His Own Sweet Way Ronnie Scott's Jazz House Trio, with Rick Laird (bass), Ronnie Stephenson (drums); in concert
1967 Victor Feldman Plays Everything in Sight Pacific Jazz Feldman plays all instruments
1967 The Venezuela Joropo Pacific Jazz Most tracks with Bill Perkins (flute, alto flute), Dorothy Remson (harp), Emil Richards (vibes, marimba), Al Hendrickson (guitar), Max Bennett (bass), Larry Bunker (timbales), Milt Holland (maracas, percussion); some tracks with Perkins (flute, alto flute), Dennis Budimir (guitar), Monty Budwig (bass), Colin Bailey (drums)
1986 Smooth TBA As Victor Feldman's Generation Band
1973? Your Smile with Larance Marable, Bob Whitlock
1973? Seven Steps to Heaven Choice Quartet, with Tom Scott (alto sax, tenor sax, flute, alto flute), Chuck Domanico (bass), John Guerin (drums)
1977? The Artful Dodger Concord With Jack Sheldon (trumpet, vocals), Monty Budwig and Chuck Domanico (bass; separately); Colin Bailey (drums)
1977? In My Pocket
1978 Together Again Yupiteru with Monty Budwig (bass), Shelly Manne (drums)
1982 Secret of the Andes Palo Alto With Hubert Laws (flute), Lee Ritenour (guitar), Abraham Laboriel (electric bass), Harvey Mason (drums), Alex Acuña and Milt Holland (percussion)
1983 Soft Shoulder Palo Alto As Generation Band; with sons Trevor Feldman (drums), Jake Feldman (bass), and Josh Feldman (management), Tom Scott and various others
1983 To Chopin with Love Highlight Trio, with John Patitucci (bass), Trevor Feldman (drums)
1984 Call of the Wild TBA Records As Generation Band; with sons Trevor Feldman (drums), and Josh Feldman (mixing engineer), Tom Scott, Robben Ford and various others
1984 Fiesta TBA Records With Chuck Mangione (flugelhorn, trumpet), Chick Corea (keyboards), Dianne Reeves (vocals)
1985? High Visibility As Victor Feldman's Generation Band; with various
1987 Rio Nights TBA Records Recorded in 1977, released in 1987. With Hubert Laws (flute), Harvey Mason (drums), Chuck Domanico (bass), Fred Tackett (guitars), son Trevor Feldman (drums), John Patitucci (bass), Eddie Karam ("music coordinator" and marimba)

Main source:[11]

As sideman

With David Ackles

With Arthur Adams

  • I Love Love Love My Lady (A&M, 1979)

With Pepper Adams

With Cannonball Adderley

With Nat Adderley

With Alessi Brothers

  • Alessi (A&M Records, 1976)
  • Long Time Friends (Qwest Records, 1982)

With Peter Allen

With Gregg Allman Band

With Curtis Amy

With Patti Austin

With Hoyt Axton

With The Beach Boys

With Bob Bennett

With Stephen Bishop

With Bobby Bland

  • Reflections in Blue (ABC Records, 1977)

With Karla Bonoff

With Terence Boylan

  • Terence Boylan (Asylum, 1977)
  • Suzy (Asylum, 1980)

With Toni Brown

  • Toni Brown (Fantasy, 1980)

With Solomon Burke

  • Electronic Magnetism (MGM Records, 1971)

With Kim Carnes

With Valerie Carter

With Johnny Cash

With Kerry Chater

  • Part Time Love (Warner Bros. Records, 1977)
  • Love on a Shoestring (Warner Bros. Records, 1978)

With Cher

With James Clay

With Rita Coolidge

With Bob Cooper

With Christopher Cross

With Dalbello

With Miles Davis

With Kiki Dee

  • Stay With Me (Rocket, 1978)

With Buddy DeFranco

With Jackie DeShannon

With Cliff De Young

  • Cliff De Young (MCA, 1975)

With Neil Diamond

With The 5th Dimension

With Dion DiMucci

With The Doobie Brothers

With Charlie Dore

  • Listen! (Chrysalis Records, 1981)

With Yvonne Elliman

  • Yvonne (RSO Records, 1979)

With The Emotions

With Phil Everly

  • Star Spangled Springer (RCA Records, 1973)

With The Everly Brothers

With José Feliciano

  • 10 to 23 (RCA Victor, 1969)

With Michael Franks

With The Free Movement

With Glenn Frey

With Richie Furay

  • Dance a Little Light (Asylum Records, 1978)

With Ted Gärdestad

With Terry Garthwaite

  • Hand in Glove (Fantasy, 1978)

With Marvin Gaye

With Amy Grant

With Cyndi Grecco

With Lani Hall

  • Blush (A&M, 1980)

With Albert Hammond

With Woody Herman

With Dan Hill

  • If Dreams Had Wings (Epic Records, 1980)

With Paul Horn

With Thelma Houston

With Milt Jackson

With Al Jarreau

  • Jarreau (Warner Bros. Records, 1983)

With Elton John

With J. J. Johnson

With Plas Johnson

With Jack Jones

  • Harbour (RCA Victor, 1974)
  • With One More Look at You (RCA Victor, 1977)

With Quincy Jones

With Rickie Lee Jones

With Sam Jones

With Thomas Jefferson Kaye

  • Thomas Jefferson Kaye (Dunhill Records, 1973)
  • First Grade (Dunhill Records, 1974)

With The Keane Brothers

  • The Keane Brothers (20th Century Records, 1977)

With Stan Kenton

  • Hair (Capitol, 1969)

With Barney Kessel

With B.B. King

With Bobby King

  • Bobby King (Warner Bros. Records, 1981)

With John Klemmer

With Nicolette Larson

With Peggy Lee

With Ketty Lester

  • Ketty Lester (Records By Pete, 1969)

With Gordon Lightfoot

  • Shadows (Warner Bros. Records, 1982)

With Lulu

  • Lulu (Polydor Records, 1973)

With Mary MacGregor

With Henry Mancini

With Harvey Mandel

  • Righteous (Phillips, 1969)

With Shelly Manne

With Jon Mark

  • Songs for a Friend (Columbia, 1975)

With Gene McDaniels

  • Natural Juices (Ode, 1975)

With Bobby McFerrin

With Kate & Anna McGarrigle

With Carmen McRae

With Randy Meisner

With Melanie

  • Photograph (Atlantic Records, 1976)
  • Seventh Wave (Neighbourhood Records, 1983)

With Jim Messina

  • Messina (Warner Bros. Records, 1981)

With Stephanie Mills

With Liza Minnelli

With Adam Mitchell

  • Redhead in Trouble (Warner Bros. Records, 1979)

With Blue Mitchell

With Joni Mitchell

With Melba Moore

With Maria Muldaur

  • Sweet Harmony (Reprise Records, 1976)
  • Open Your Eyes (Warner Bros. Records, 1979)

With Michael Martin Murphey

With Anne Murray

With Oliver Nelson

With Michael Nesmith

With Randy Newman

With Olivia Newton-John

With Wayne Newton

  • Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast (Chelsea, 1972)
  • While We're Still Young (Chelsea, 1973)
  • She Believes in Me (Aries, 1979)

With Kenny Nolan

  • A Song Between Us (Polydor, 1978)

With Pages

  • Pages (Epic, 1978)

With Freda Payne

With Leslie Pearl

  • Words & Music (RCA Records, 1982)

With Art Pepper and Zoot Sims

With Esther Phillips

  • All About Esther (Mercury Records, 1978)

With Sam Phillips

With Poco

With June Pointer

  • Baby Sister (Planet Records, 1983)

With Jean-Luc Ponty and Frank Zappa

With Billy Preston

With Helen Reddy

With Della Reese

  • On Strings of Blue (ABC, 1967)
  • Let Me in Your Life (LMI, 1973)

With Minnie Riperton

  • Minnie (Capitol Records, 1979)

With Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

With Sonny Rollins

With Brenda Russell

With Evie Sands

  • Estate Of Mind (Haven Records, 1974)
  • Suspended Animation (RCA Victor, 1979)

With Leo Sayer

  • Here (Chrysalis Records, 1979)

With Boz Scaggs

With Lalo Schifrin

With Seals and Crofts

With Bud Shank

With Carly Simon

With O. C. Smith

  • Together (Caribou, 1977)

With Dusty Springfield

  • Cameo (ABC Dunhill Records, 1973)

With Candi Staton

  • Young Hearts Run Free (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)
  • House of Love (Warner Bros. Records, 1978)

With Steely Dan

With James Taylor

With Livingston Taylor

With Willie Tee

  • Anticipation (United Artists Records, 1976)

With The Manhattan Transfer

With Gino Vannelli

With Leroy Vinnegar

With Tom Waits

With Narada Michael Walden

With Wendy Waldman

  • The Main Refrain (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)

With Joe Walsh

With Dionne Warwick

With Wayne Watson

  • Man in the Middle (Milk & Honey, 1984)

With Jimmy Webb

With Deniece Williams

With Joe Williams

  • With Love (Temponic, 1972)

With Paul Williams

With Gerald Wilson

With Renn Woods

  • Out of the Woods (Columbia, 1979)

With Betty Wright

  • Betty Wright (Epic Records, 1981)

With The Youngbloods

With Frank Zappa

References
  1. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 848/9. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  2. Larson, Steve; Kernfeld, Barry, Feldman, Victor (Stanley) [Vic], Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J147800 (subscription required)
  3. Barbara Feldman (16 September 1995). "100 Oxford Street – Arts & Entertainment". The Independent. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  4. "British-Born Jazz Prodigy Victor Feldman Dies". Los Angeles Times. 14 May 1987. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  5. Jazz, All About. "Victor Feldman - Part 1: The Arrival". All About Jazz. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  6. Gelly 2014, p. 119.
  7. See Bob Belden's liner notes to the 2005 reissue of Seven Steps to Heaven. Columbia/Legacy CK 93592
  8. Ginell, Cary (2013). Walk Tall: The Music and Life of Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. Hal Leonard. ISBN 9781480343030.
  9. "The Music of Peter Gunn (Original Soundtrack)". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  10. Gilbert 10/13/2009, Calvin. "Rascal Flatts Perform With Toto During Musicians Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony". CMT News. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  11. "Victor Feldman Catalog". Jazzdisco.org. Retrieved 1 August 2018.

Bibliography
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