Matthias Heyman
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jazzmatt.bsky.social
Matthias Heyman
@jazzmatt.bsky.social
Double bassist, professor @VUB, researcher @EhB/KCB, into all things B: Beatles, Blanton (Jimmie), bass (playing and researching), and Belgian jazz (history).
Reposted by Matthias Heyman
Jimmie Blanton/ Duke Ellington - Pitter Panther Patter

Recorded: 1940

Jimmie Blanton - bass
Duke Ellington - piano

(Jimmie was his preferred spelling of his name & how he signed his name, although often misspelled as Jimmy. Poor guy passed away at 23 in 1942, who knows what he would have done)
October 25, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by Matthias Heyman
My article discusses how I re-enacted the music of Duke Ellington in order to better understand how the unamplified double bass of Jimmie Blanton was (being perceived as) louder than other swing bassists.

Fun to write, even more fun to play! 🎶🎻🎙️ (2/2)
May 27, 2025 at 8:34 AM
My article discusses how I re-enacted the music of Duke Ellington in order to better understand how the unamplified double bass of Jimmie Blanton was (being perceived as) louder than other swing bassists.

Fun to write, even more fun to play! 🎶🎻🎙️ (2/2)
May 27, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Klopt, het gebeurt nog wel al eens. Ik heb ook al Sarah Vaughan aangekondigd zien staan als Bessie. Om nog maar te zwijgen van die keer dat een gerenommeerde krant bij een andere zangeres (denk dat het Holiday was) een foto plaatste van de actrice (Diana Ross?) die haar in een biopic speelde.
May 18, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Absoluut waar wat Smith betreft maar de foto toont een andere grote dame, zij het dan van jazz. Dat is immers Ella Fitzgerald, ergens einde jaren dertig, toen ze nog zong in de band van Chick Webb (de drummer in deze foto). Hun carrières overlapten maar kort…
May 18, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Thank you, much appreciated! Only bits and snippets on Blanton so far but a book is in the making. If only I found time to finish it.

Also, too bad I missed your recent gig in Belgium. I had to teach. Sadly, “going to a gig” didn’t count as a proper sub for teaching, as per my school admin… 🤷‍♂️
March 30, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Thanks for the great post! I studied with Piet Verbist around the time he discovered Wilbur Ware. We had such fun checking out Ware on Rollins’ Night@Village Vanguard.

I got so hooked that Piet warned me to not become a Ware clone!

So I moved on to Ben Street. Not sure if that helped me to declone
March 30, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Every publication is worth a celebration! 👏
March 25, 2025 at 6:17 PM