Interview: Wanda Stafford (Pt. 2) - JazzWax http://www.jazzwax.com/2014/08/interview-wanda-stafford-pt-2.

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JazzWax
Marc Myers writes daily on jazz legends and legendary jazz recordings

August 19, 2014

Interview: Wanda Stafford (Pt. 2)

Wanda Stafford's album In Love for the Very First Time was arranged by Bill Russo and recorded in June 1960between
Russo's School of Rebellion and Seven Deadly Sins for Roulette, with virtually the same band. One of the exceptions was
the inclusion of Bill Evans, a quiet period for the pianist during which he played New York clubs with his trio while picking
up sideman recording dates for extra cash.

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For her part, Wanda's phrasing and swing on the albumher first, at age 20are superb. Her voice has a husky, breathy
sound akin to June Christy and Chris Connor. Russo's arrangements are inventive, and the band assembled was terrific:
Bernie Glow, Burt Collins, Louis Mucci and Jimmy Glasel (tp); Bill Elton, Don Sebesky, Eddie Bert and Kenneth Guffrey
(tb); Dick Meldonian (cl, as); Tony Ferina (bs); Bill Evans (p); Howard Collins (g); John Drew (b) and Ed Shaughnessy(d).

But why wasn't there a followup to this album? Here's Part 2 of my two-part interview with Wanda...

JazzWax: Why was Bill Russo so difficult to work with on your Roulette album?
Wanda Stafford: Arrangers want you to work around their arrangements. I
dont think he ever heard me sing, so he just arranged the way he saw fit, and it
was my problem to figure it out. I rehearsed the songs for a couple of weeks
with my friend, pianist Al Plank. When I ran them down at Bell Sound Studios,
Russo said, You have to fit in the spaces. You cant be behind the beat. It was
my nature to come in behind the beat. Thats when I realized it wasnt going to
be a straight-ahead jazz session but a jazzy pop album. I was a bit upset. I
thought to myself, So this is going to be Wanda Stafford accompanies Bill
Russos Arrangements? Bill wanted the record to be wild and crazy behind
me. Fortunately, I could pull it off.

JW: Had you heard his arrangements prior to arriving at the

studio?
WS: No. I walked in cold and nailed it. We recorded from 7 to 11 p.m. over two
nights in a row. Back then, you didnt have all these electronic mixes. I was live
with the band, isolated in the studio by acoustic baffle panels.

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JW: Was Al Plank on piano?

WS: No. I was a young girl from Indianapolis then. I asked innocently if Al could be the piano player. They said, No. We
have Bill Evans [above].

JW: What did you tell Plank?

WS: I said, Al, I tried to get you on the date but they said they have some guy named Bill Evans. Al flipped, since he
knew of Bill by then. I had no idea who he was.

JW: What was it like to work with Evans?

WS: I was isolated in the studio, but I remember that Evans got up and left a lot, and we had to wait each time for him to
return. I knew the guys on the date were good, but I didnt know their reputations yet. I was a kid. [Above, Bill Evans in
1960]

JW: How did you feel after the first night?

WS: I couldnt sleep. I was so excited by those arrangements. It was the first time I had a sleepless night from being
pumped and wired.

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JW: Did you become pals with anyone on the date?

WS: No one was really friendly. Russo ran a tight ship. I went there with my Thermos of warm water, honey and vinegar,
and went to work. I knew the songs inside and out. When Russo threw me curves where the tempos slowed in places, I had
to watch him carefully. A few times he gave me freedom. After the horns had their say, Bill Evans often had the
background parts. To me it was just another gig, and I figured Id find my spot and did. [Above, Eddie Bert]

JW: In the studio, were you wearing a headset?

WS: Yes, I had headphones on and read down the arrangements, since I could read music. We ran each song down once
and then recorded. The band was so professional, and I was pretty well rehearsed on the songs. We didnt need to fix
anything after. They were all first takes.

JW: No editing?
WS: The only edit was on I Only Have Eyes for You, which I recorded with just Bill Evans, John Drew and Ed
Shaughnessy [above]. When I received the album, there was an annoying flugelhorn that had been overdubbed. I was
pretty upset and called producer Peter Kameron, who told me that Bill Russo had overdubbed the part. For years people
thought it was Burt Collins and part of the session. It wasn't. The horn eats into my vocal and eclipsed Bill Evans. A shame,
really. Peter told me it wasn't Burt but Russo, who overdubbed himself. It's so disruptive. I have no idea why he did that.

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JW: Other than that, was everything else straight-up?

WS: Yes. I was paid $600 for the session. Richard Kollmar, Dorothy Kilgallens husband was at the session and became
my manager for a short time in New York. But Peter was able to land me with the William Morris Agency, which booked
tours. I had to go on the road to promote the album, so I did. In Winnipeg, Canada, I played at a big Chinese restaurant
where there was a floor show. Agents at William Morris told me they had a singer up there who was different and asked
me to check her out. [Above, Richard Kollmar and Dorothy Kilgallen]

JW: Who was it?

WS: Barbra Streisand. Wow, what a voice.

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JW: How do you know who was on the date? The LP didn't list the musicians, nor did the Japanese CD.
WS: A jazz critic from Japan got in touch with me years ago. He said that EMI Japan was reissuing the album on CD. I
said to him, Why me? He said people there loved the album. I told him that I didnt remember all the names of the guys
on the date. He sent me the names that he had translated from the Japanese. When EMI bought the rights to remaster the
album, they had the old files.

JW: So what happened with your career after such a great start with this album?
WS: I quit. I had a baby right out of high school a few years earlier. My sister was taking care of her while I was in New
York, Canada and Chicago, since I was divorced by then. I also was pretty lonesome. I had a daughter crying for me all the
time and I was sitting in hotel rooms. Thats when I realized I wasnt cut out for the road.

JW: What did you do?

WS: I went to my agent and Morris Levy, the owner of Roulette, and told them I had to quit and return to Indianapolis.
They warned me that Id never have this opportunity again. I said, What am I supposed to do? I have no choice. Female
musicians and singers back then had different hurdles than the guys, and not all of these hurdles could be jumped. The
heart plays a role. Its funny, now that I think back, I had the same agent as Barbra Streisandfor one album, anyway.

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JW: What did you do back home?

WS: I resumed singing in local supper clubs like the Lamplighter so I could raise my daughter. Every now and then I
would hear my album played on the radio, which stung a little. A few years later, I traveled out to San Francisco on
vacation and hung out with a drummer-friend from Indianapolis. He had a gig at the Hungry I. After I auditioned at the
club, the owner, Enrico Banducci [above], asked if I wanted to sing there on a steady basis. He said if I ever moved to
town, Id have a job.

JW: What did you do?

WS: When I returned to Indianapolis, I realized I had too many bad memories there. So I moved to San Francisco with

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my little girl and got a job in a department store. At the Hungry I, I opened for comedians like Bill Cosby, Mort Sahl and
Professor Irwin Corey. I also sang at the Playboy Club when Al Plank became musical director. In the 1990s, I began
producing my own CDs. [Above, "bunny" waitresses at the San Francisco Playboy Club in 1968]

JW: What was the most gratifying moment of your career?

WS: When my daughter said to me less than a year ago, Thank you, mom, for throwing away everything for me. To hear
that made it all worthwhile. Id do it all the same way again.
JazzWax notes: Wanda recorded a bunch of fabulous CDs, including
Something Cool, from 2011 (go here). She also will be appearing with
her trio at the Panama Hotel in San Rafael, Calif., on the second Thursday
of each month.

Wanda's other albums are also terrificSongs From the Heart (1995),
Let's Face the Music (1997) and Live at Pearl's (2003). You'll find links to
the albums and more information about Wanda at her site here.

JazzWax clip: Here's Wanda with Burt Collins (tp), Bill Evans (p),
John Drew (b) and Ed Shaughnessy (d)...

Posted by Marc Myers at 12:05 AM | Permalink

Tags: Bill Evans, Bill Russo, Wanda Stafford
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