The Luckless Man (OT)

Tina Brooks

Some people are lucky. John Seabrook, writing in The New Yorker, said of Steve ("Fly Like an Eagle," "Take the Money and Run," "The Joker") Miller, "His mother, a former singer, and his father, a physician, were jazz and blues aficionados from Milwaukee, where Miller grew up; Les Paul was his godfather. Later, when the family moved to Dallas, T-Bone Walker would play guitar in his parents’ living room. 'That kind of luck is just stupid,' Miller said."

If there was ever an opposite of stupid luck, it's the forlorn tale of Tina Brooks, a "lame" from Fayetteville, North Carolina, by way of New York city. A small, reticent man with a woman's name, he was a sort of an opposite "Fresh Prince," too—instead of "I got in one little fight and my mom got scared / And said 'You're moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air,'" young Tina got bullied mercilessly in New York city and had to be sent back to live with relatives in Fayetteville for his own protection.

I've learned over the years that if there's a band that I think is more popular than I think it deserves to be, or less popular than it deserves to be, the first place to look is the frontman or -woman—the band that's more popular than its music will have a good-looking singer or leader with strong gender characteristics and/or admirable qualities; the band that's less popular than its music deserves will have a leader who's unattractive or otherwise not personally or physically admirable. It's not invariably the case. But it's the first place to look.

Tina Brooks is a poster child for the latter situation. There's a fine but little-known article by Jack Chambers that tells his story and thankfully still exists online. (Of course it's "little-known"—naturally. Everything about Tina Brooks is little-known.) It starts out like this:

Listening to The Waiting Game by Tina Brooks, freshly mastered in 2002 with 24-bit technology in Blue Note's limited edition Connoisseur series (Blue Note 40536), there can be no doubt that Brooks was a hard-bop master. Here is abundant evidence of the tenor saxophonist's easy but insistent swing, his blues-based sound and feeling perfectly suited to the hard-bop genre that was the special domain of Blue Note Records at their best. Brooks also seems to be a natural leader, as the composer of all five original themes (the sixth is the Broadway ballad "Stranger in Paradise"), and the dominating voice in the quintet of hard-bitten but stylish veterans Johnny Coles, Kenny Drew, Wilbur Ware and Philly Joe Jones.

He was 28 when he made the record, and you might have thought, if you didn't know better, that he was well on his way to an influential career in the jazz forefront. Then comes the sobering thought—when Tina Brooks recorded The Waiting Game in 1961, his career was effectively finished. The record date fell five days before his 29th birthday, but he never recorded again. He would live 13 more years, but neither The Waiting Game nor any of the other music of his mature years was released in his lifetime. He died at 42, a bitter, penniless, incapacitated wreck, but he was he was given up for dead years before that.

It's a great article, one I've read several times, and a vivid if very sad story. Well worth reading, except you probably won't—Brooks gets ignored, and you'll probably ignore him too.

Tina Brooks' first date as a leader, Minor Move, is a virtual congress of the luckless—double bassist Doug Watkins fell asleep at the wheel and drove headlong into an oncoming truck at the age of 27; pianist Sonny Clark (who you first met in these pages at number 9 on my Jazz Starter Kit list) died of a probable heroin overdose at 31; and the brilliant trumpeter Lee Morgan was shot and killed onstage by his jealous common-law wife, Helen Moore AKA Helen Morgan, when he was 33 (it's the subject of the film I Called Him Morgan). Of the personnel on the record, only drummer Art Blakey, of the Jazz Messengers (the wrong drummer for Brooks, the only flaw of Minor Move), lived to be old.

Of the four who died young, though, Brooks was the most luckless; the others had careers and got acclaim and enjoyed success. Brooks, brilliant as he was, was stillborn as an artist, his outstanding work unaccountably left in the can for reasons no one knows, until after it was too late for him.

Musically, everything Tina Brooks did in his short star-crossed life is worth checking out. My own favorite is Back to the Tracks, a great hard bop album in the high Blue Note style that rewards multiple listens. It's another all-star lineup—Jackie McLean on alto, Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Kenny Drew on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and a more sympatico Art—Art Taylor—on drums.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2018 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Michael Badalamenti: "Thanks for bringing Tina Brooks to my attention. I spent quite an enjoyable afternoon listing to Minor Move, The Waiting Game, Back to the Tracks, True Blue, and Street Singer. Reading Chambers' article about the suppression of Brooks' music by Blue Note was heartbreaking."

Comments

[Michael Ferron]

I love the sound of Tina Brooks. Really nice. Thank you for that.

Now for Steve Miller? I thought he peaked with Space Cowboy back in the late 60's. Good song. I guess Fly Like an Eagle was ok but most of his work was not overly original or presented any kind of lasting impressions be it the lyrics or the music itself. Oh and the umm "borrowed" riffs on a song or two was a bit over the top. Just sayin.

[Jeremy Fagan]

Thanks Mike, one of your best. What a story - and thank you for shaming me into clicking through and reading it.

[Wolfgang Lonien]

Wow Michael - that "Back on the tracks" swings real hard! Thanks for the tip, man!

[james wilson]

Steve Miller has said that he aspired to make hit singles and he succeeded at that. He lived in my neighborhood here in Dallas and I have visited the house under new ownership.There is a large 2 car garage in a detached building with a full second floor that I imagine was a great jam space with enough physical separation to allow a band to blast away without annoyance to others. Steve and Boz were schoolmates in high school here.

[John Krumm]

I confess a guilty pleasure when listening to Steve Miller. Probably nostalgia, and unlike other pop/rock from my youth (Boston, The Eagles, Aerosmith, The Police, Queen, The Cars) he hasn't worn out his welcome.

I'll definitely check out Tina Brooks.

[Manuel]

Tina Brooks didn't have "a woman's name." His name was Harold Floyd Brooks. "Tina" was a nickname from his boyhood.
Anyway, respect for a man who could bring together such disparate musicians as Kenny Drew and Wilbur Ware.

[I shouldn't respond to being baited like that but...it originated as a boyhood nickname. It was also his stage name and professional name and what he was called. Maybe you're a big fan of the famous movie star Archibald Leach? ;-) --Mike]

[Ernie Van Veen]

After listening to Back To The Tracks, I have to say I would pay a lot of money to be able to play piano with the likes of Tina Brooks. I'd also pay a lot of money to be able to play piano like Kenny Drew. However, I have to admit, as a musician, and speaking entirely for myself, the fact I even have any money is, emphatically, due to the day job.

[Manuel]

Re. Archibald Leach: are we talking about the actor from 'Monkey Business' and 'I Was a Male War Bride', or the character from 'A Fish Called Wanda'? ;)

[Exactly! :-D --Mike]

[Svein-Frode]

The documentary film "The Story of Anvil" is truly worth watching. It's a heartbreaking story of a band that never made it, but with members refusing to give up.

More often than not, those that didn't make it simply weren't good enough. But the amount of hidden treasures are almost infinite - I know that from collecting records for over 30 years.

I just discovered the progressive rock band "England" that released only one album in 1977. 1977 was the year of punk, so the album and band faded into oblivion. Sad, because it was a symphonic prog masterpiece.

[Jeffrey MacMillan]

Great column Mike. If Tina hadn’t already been an addict, dealing with the Blue Note kingmakers would have driven him to becoming one!
I hope you will write more on this topic in the future. Maybe earlier styles of Jazz too if you have interest. That period doesn’t get the attention it deserves IMHO. Why rock and roll was able to steamroll over Jazz and almost effectively wipe it out is a fascinating question. Swing era it was THE THING.What caused it’s demise? Payola, post war mentality, radios driving public taste....but jazz changed and perhaps left the public scratching their heads. Not a lot of dancing done with later jazz records. Mike the door is open to drive thru...