SALVATORE NISTICO - HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDER!

There he is – in his pomp, the bruiser with a heart of gold.

I’ve just unearthed a cassette at the bottom of a dusty pile……..

SAL playing in Brighton on March 13th 1985 accompanied by BRIAN WAITE (Kidderminster-based railway enthusiast, jazz pianist and author), PAUL WHITTON (the Paul Chambers of Eastbourne) and myself.

I’ve put three tracks at the top of the “Music” page playlist for you to appreciate what a superb player SAL was. It’s not a great recording (by someone in the audience with a bit of chatter and a bit too close to the drums!) but well worth concentrating on the tenor saxophone.

Finding this tape inspired me to dig into SAL’s history but I could find disappointingly little on the internet. The best thing was the recollections of his daughter Miriam: A gladiator of stocky Southern Italian physique with thick curly black hair and a crumpled forehead.

My own memory from that night is of a figure with a build similar to Tubby Hayes in Tubby’s “tubby” days but SAL was taller and more imposing physically than Tubbs.

Miriam went on to qualify her physical description of her father by adding that her father was sensitive underneath his gruff exterior and used to struggle when on tour with the machismo and bravado of the men he was playing with.

She was probably referring to the sparky, young members of the WOODY HERMAN big band among whom he worked solidly between 1962 and 1965 as featured soloist.

But I suddenly thought back to my own gig with him. He was playing in a dazzling, fearless style (note particularly the breakneck STITT’S BLUES).

And, recalling my five years with Tubby, I assumed that he would prefer a forceful, assertive drummer behind him. I think he did – he certainly was very complimentary – but I just wonder if I misread his personality. Oh well.

March 1985 was one of several trips to England by SAL and he took part in a professionally recorded gig just a week later at Peter Ind’s Bass Clef club with the then STAN TRACEY quartet (THEMEN, BABBINGTON and TRACEY junior).  It’s amusing to hear him “sparring” with the slippery ART THEMEN who skates all over the horn while SAL is content to play in a more four-square, restrained way than he did seven days earlier in Brighton.

To stick with the boxing metaphor, he’s GEORGE FOREMAN and Art’s MUHAMMED ALI……………………….

Wind the clock back 20 years or so and SAL, probably touring at the time with Herman, was in London in July 1964 and appeared at Ronnie Scott’s “old” place (Gerrard St) on a gig with the Tubby Hayes quintet (Deuchar, Shannon, Logan and Ganley). Two lengthy numbers were later released on CD (Tubby Hayes INVENTIVITY on Candid CCS 79101/2) and it is once again interesting to hear SAL in a tenor “battle”with someone much nearer to his own style than Art Themen.

Actually, “battle” is the wrong word. The proceedings are better described as sedate. No fast tempos (although Just friends speeds up fractionally) and if the pairing can be compared to anything, it would be with the old “Jazz Couriers”. Tubby is all smooth, fluent semiquavers while SAL is gruffer and leaves more space, like Ronnie Scott used to do.

Nearly two years later, SAL is back in town again and this time Les Tomkins interviews TUBBY and SAL together for an article in CRESCENDO magazine. It is fascinating to hear the last part of this live interview, which was transcribed for the magazine, on the same Candid CD.

The two tenor stars have a heart-to-heart about their professional lives (Les Tomkins hardly gets a word in!) SAL finds the heavily arranged scores in big band work  inhibiting for the soloist. They both bemoan “running the changes”on familiar tunes and lacking inspiration. Tubby even says audiences expect him to play the same licks they’ve heard on his records. But they both agree emphatically that, when inspiration does come, they should seize the moment and solo for as long as they need whatever the tempo to achieve creative release. One details had me in stitches – Tubby proudly announces that he has a reputation for eating drummers! If I’d only known………..

SAL NISTICO was born in 1940 in Syracuse, New York – an Italian American. He died in Bern, Switzerland in 1991 at the tragically early age of 50. He had moved to Europe for the latter part of his career He made altogether about ten records under his own name, starting with two for the Jazzland/Riverside label in 1961 and 1962 which I have been studying.

The first “HEAVYWEIGHTS” features a quintet including Nat Adderley and Barry Harris. SAL plays immaculately but it all sounds a bit restrained and Walter Perkins is unusually disappointing on drums.

The second “COMIN’ ON UP” is a marked improvement. Barry Harris once again enhances the date, as does bassist Bob Cranshaw and there are two fine Italians in whose company SAL asserts himself more: Sal Amico on trumpet and Vinnie Ruggiero on drums.

Later recordings in Europe included dates with Benny Bailey, Billy Brookes and Dusko Gojkovic. (Oops, I have a cassette of a gig I did with Dusko which Stephen Didymus kindly lent me ages ago and I must copy and return………………)

I suppose in conclusion I would see SAL NISTICO in an impressive line of hard bop/post bop FULL-ON “great white hopes” (sorry about the boxing) of the tenor saxophone stretching from J.R.MONTEROSE through TUBBY, BOB BERG, JOE FARRELL, MICHAEL BRECKER, STEVE GROSSMAN AND JERRY BERGONZI to JOE LOVANO and CHRIS POTTER………I’m sure there are a few glaring omissions there!

I love SAL NISTICO and I am so lucky to have played with him, if only once.  May he rest in peace.