Warren Chiasson - Quartessence (2015)

Master vibraphonist Warren Chiasson was born and raised in Nova Scotia and made his move to New York in 1959. A pioneer of the four-mallet technique, his mastery of the instrument wasn't widely known -- except by fellow jazz musicians -- until a 1988 concert with Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall, a 50th anniversary celebration of the historic 1938 Spirituals to Swing concerts that record producer/jazz impresario John Hammond organized. On January 16, 1988, Chiasson performed with Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall in a historic recreation of the original concert, with Chiasson taking the part of an unavailable Lionel Hampton.

After moving to New York, he joined pianist George Shearing's quintet and worked with Shearing until 1961 to lead his own group. Others Chiasson has performed with include the Chet Baker Quartet and the Tal Farlow Trio. Throughout the rest of the 1960s, he played vibes at the New York World's Fair and was a percussionist for four years in the Broadway hit musical, Hair. He teamed up with Shearing again in 1972, and later recorded his first album as a leader, Quartessence, for Van Los Records. After touring and recording with Roberta Flack, he was back to pursuing a solo career again and recorded Good Vibes for Kurt Weill in 1977 for Monmouth/Evergreen Records. A third album, Point/Counterpoint, for the Empathy label, was released in 1988.

As a youngster, Chiasson's influences included Charlie Parker as well as pianists Paul Bley, Bud Powell, and Shearing. Touches of their styles can be heard on his original compositions. Chiasson can be heard on B.B. King's album Blues 'N' Jazz, on MCA Records, which won a Grammy Award in 1984. His other session credits include Roberta Flack's self-titled debut for Atlantic, Hank Crawford's Centerpiece album for Buddha/Arista, Les McCann's Les Plays the Hits for Mercury, Helen Ward's Songbook, Vol. 1 for Mercury, and Chuck Wayne's Traveling for Progressive. ~ Richard Skelly