Dave Frishberg died on November 17, 2021. Here's a repost of our previous blog entry about him.

Dave Frishberg - Can't Take You Nowhere

Dave Frishberg is a terrific bop-influenced pianist who came on the scene in the 1950's as a sideman for musicians such as Carmen McRae, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims.  Since the early 1980's, however, he has been best known as a composer and singer of songs, some of which provide wry (but rarely mean) commentary on modern life ("Blizzard of Lies," "Quality Time"), some of which are sweetly nostalgic (his tributes to Marilyn Monroe and Christy Matthewson; his ode to the guys in the band, "I Want to be a Sideman"; and "Van Lingle Mungo," a recitation of the names of baseball players from the 30's,40's and 50's set to a lilting melody) and others that are simply funny ("I Was Ready"; "Slappin' the Cakes on Me").  His melodies are inventive, and his lyrics are carefully constructed, with complex, yet pleasing, rhyming patterns and wordplay.

While perhaps the best overview of Frishberg's compositions is his Classics album, my favorite Frishberg album is Can't Take You Nowhere because it features him in a concert setting (rather than in studio) and playing not only his own tunes, but others' music as well.   Among the best of the "other's" is a medley of tunes by Frank Loesser, who Frishberg refers to as his hero.  The medley includes perfect miniature versions...that leave you wishing for more...of "I Believe in You" (from How to Succeed in Business), "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" and "Guys and Dolls."  On "Zoot Walks In" Frishberg pays tribute to his former band mate, the great tenor sax player Zoot Sims, by adding words to a Zoot/Gerry Mulligan tune (which they called "Red Door").  The lyric shows off Frishberg's ability to mix vernacular, internal and end rhymes and jazz phrasing and references to create real poetry:

            Got a tone all his own, a happy kind of sadness,

            With just a touch of tenor madness,

            And when Zoot walks in

            All the tenormen in the joint start cheering.

Frishberg's two best known songs are here as well, the satirical "My Attorney Bernie," which tells of a slick and resourceful L.A. lawyer, with his "Dodger season boxes and office full of foxes" (I hope he didn't have someone like me in mind when he wrote it) and "I'm Hip," written with Bob Dorough, which gently pokes fun at the over-enthusiastic jazz fan (ditto).

Finally, because this is a jazz column, and because his singing and humor often overshadow his playing, Frishberg's skill at the piano is definitely worth mentioning.  Like other players of generation, his solos tend to feature boppish single note lines played in the right hand that sound as though they could be played on a sax or trumpet.  But rather than supporting those lines with chords comped in the left hand, as would be typical, Frishberg's left hand bangs out walking bass lines which create rollicking boogie-woogie feel.  And, as with Nat Cole, his comping and fills provide perfect support behind his singing.