New Dameronia: Paul Combs and "Unheard Dameron"
"Good Bait". "Our Delight". "Hot House". "If You Could See Me Now". "Soultrane". "Lady Bird". "On a Misty Night". "Tadd's Delight". All jazz standards, or close to it, and all from the pen of a brilliant soul who is starting to fade from collective memory. But not if Paul Combs can help it. Above: Tadd Dameron (photographer and date unknown) Above: Saxophonist and Dameron biographer Paul Combs The composer was Tadd Dameron (1917-1965), a solid pianist and brilliant crafter of song whose career was cut short by drugs and cancer. Beloved by the bebop community, Dameron wrote tunes and played for some of the finest, from Lunceford and Basie to Dizzy and Trane. His profile was once strong enough that Philly Joe Jones led a popular tribute band, Dameronia, for a couple of decades. Yet today, because he died at only 48 and spent much time out of the public eye, Dameron is mostly known for writi...