From an early recording session of the Vivien Garry Trio featuring the iconic Vivien Garry on bass and rising star Arv Garrison (who later went on to record with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Howard McGhee for the Dial label) on guitar.
Arv and Viv met when Arv was playing with the Bud Ziegler Trio in Toledo, Ohio in 1941. In a 1989 interview with Bob Dietsche for Toledo magazine, Viv stated:
“I was so crazy about Arv when I first met him that I used to follow him around to all of his rehearsals. I noticed that his bass player was having trouble getting the chords right, and I said to myself, ‘Hell, I can do better than that’, so I went out and bought a bass from a guy who informed me that ladies did not play the bass fiddle. I took it home and put it in the middle of the front room. When Arv came over that night, I said, ‘Teach me to play this, and we’ll become famous.’ I learned fast, so in a few weeks I was already better than Arv’s regular bass player.”
They soon got married and formed their own trio and headed to NYC, where they landed a contract at Kelly’s Stable on 52nd Street. This venue gained them exposure, and soon after, this session for the Guild label was arranged.
“Altitude” – a proto-bop tune by Lionel Hampton and guitarist Irving Ashby from 1941 – demonstrates the trio’s articulate timing and delightful ensemble interplay.
Recorded at Decca Studios in New York City circa 1945.
Released as Guild 124.
Credits:
Vivien Garry – bass
Arvin Garrison – guitar
Teddy Kaye – piano
Sources:
https://jazzresearch.com/arv-garrison/
https://jazzresearch.com/vivien-garry-on-record/
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