Hasaan: The Last Unissued Tracks, 2 of 2

Last time I told you a little about Hasaan, and I began sharing with you his last remaining unreleased recordings, thanks to the generosity of Alan Sukoenig.

Next is Hasaan’s version of Jerome Kern’s “The Song Is You” (with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein). This wasn’t issued because the beginning is missing. Alan explains:

The most fruitful recording day was Sunday, October 25, 1964, with two back-to-back sessions. The first of these ended prematurely when a group of people arrived for a scheduled meeting. A short walk to another piano lounge found a somewhat out-of-tune Steinway grand occupied by a student who was playing "The Song Is You" as squarely as possible. Hasaan managed to take over the keyboard and launched into the same tune before I could start my tape recorder. By the end, the student had wandered away.

That student missed something amazing. But now we can all enjoy it!:

At the end, it sounds like someone chuckles a bit, and then Hasaan refers to the recording of this song “many years ago” (actually 1952) by Charlie Parker, which he evidently found inspirational.

In the next selection, Hasaan plays an unknown tune. It sounds like a standard, that is, something from the “Great American Songbook.” If you recognize it, please let me know:

By the way, just after the above track, he went into “Falling in Love with Love,” which opens the solo Hasaan double album.

And finally, here is a short trio performance of “Three-Four Versus Six-Eight Going Four-Four Ways,” an Hasaan original that also appears on the album with Roach. His originality as a composer matches his singular witty titles. Here, Henry Grimes is on bass and Kalil Madi on drums. This version is missing the opening theme statement, and begins as Hasaan is trading with the drums, followed by a closing theme statement. This was the first track on the tape, recorded probably in 1962, that he gave to the late saxophonist Dave Shrier without explanation (see previous essay). Enjoy!:

In these two installments, you’ve heard yet more reasons why the cover of the Max Roach album referred to him as “The Legendary Hasaan.” Legendary indeed, and for good reason!

All the best,
Lewis