Thesis: Harry Leahey

2006

Philip M. Peters

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

HARRY LEAHEY:

MASTER GUITARIST, MUSICIAN AND TEACHER

By Philip M. Peters

A thesis submitted to the

Graduate School-Newark

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

in partial fulfillment of requirements

for the degree of

Master of Arts

Graduate Program in Jazz Studies

Written under the direction of

Professor Lewis Porter

and approved by

____________________

____________________

Newark, New Jersey

May, 2006

ii

Abstract

Harry Leahey was a guitarist and guitar teacher who lived, taught and performed

primarily in New Jersey. His career began in the early 1960s and continued until his

death in 1990. He studied guitar with Lou Melia, a local guitar teacher, Al Volpe, the

renowned studio guitarist and teacher of such players as Joe Pass and Sal Salvatore,

leading jazz and studio guitarist Johnny Smith and Dennis Sandole, teacher of such

students as Pat Martino and John Coltrane. He studied theory and composition at

Manhattan School of Music.

Although he never achieved a high degree of fame he played and recorded with

Phil Woods, Gerry Mulligan, Al Cohn, Jack Six, Warren Vach and numerous other well

known jazz artists, all of whom held him in the highest esteem. He performed with local

artists, both jazz and commercial. From 1978 to 1990 he performed with his own trio and

in duo settings with various bass players. He recorded one album with his trio, one duo

album with Steve Gilmore and one solo album.

A dedicated and practical family man, he chose to devote himself to teaching the

guitar. He taught privately at his home in Plainfield, New Jersey and from 1974 to 1988

at William Paterson University (then William Paterson College).

He died in 1990 at the age of 54. This thesis provides a biography of this

neglected artist, tracing his musical and professional development. In addition there are

two musical analyses, one analyzed solo and an analysis of one aspect of his teaching

method, his approach to teaching chords. Finally a bibliography and a discography are

included. Regrettably there is very little in print about him. His bibliography includes two

iii

books in which he is briefly mentioned and several magazine and newspaper articles

about him.

iv

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the myriad persons who provided support and

encouragement throughout the pursuit of this project. In particular: Dr. Lewis Porter, Dr.

Henry Martin and Dr. John Howland of the Jazz Masters Program at Rutgers University

for their help and guidance; Deborah Leahey, Tom Anthony, Edie Eustice, Roy

Cumming, Glenn Davis, Phil Woods, Ron Naspo, Ronnie Glick and Walt Bibinger for

their generosity in sharing their remembrances and documentary materials with me.

In addition the author acknowledges and gives special thanks to the Morroe

Berger - Benny Carter Jazz Research Fund for a generous research grant and to the

Institute of Jazz Studies in Newark, New Jersey for opening the Harry Leahey archives to

me.

v

Preface

From 1968 to 1974 I studied guitar with Harry Leahey. From 1974 until his death

in 1990 I studied with him intermittently and frequently went to hear him play. Harry was

my first guitar teacher. He took an eighteen year old self-taught folk strummer and

patiently guided him through the treacherous waters of modern jazz harmony and correct

guitar technique. He revealed secrets to me that he had spent years uncovering. He was

generous in the extreme with his time and his knowledge.

It is not unusual for someone to speak of his teacher, especially his first teacher,

in superlative, even hyperbolic terms. But in Harrys case there is the recorded evidence:

his recordings with Phil Woods, the concert with Al Cohn that was captured, his own

albums and the informal recordings done by students, fans and fellow musicians. Theres

the unanimous agreement among those who played with him, those who studied with

him, and those who heard him perform, that he was a brilliant musician. And theres the

list of professional musicians and educators who put in their biographies studied with

the great jazz guitarist Harry Leahey.

Harry Leaheys playing, like that of certain jazz greats like Miles Davis, Stan

Getz and Dave Brubeck, appealed to jazz fans as well as people who thought they didnt

like jazz. Perhaps thats because his incredible technique and deep theoretical

understanding of music were never an end unto themselves, but rather a vehicle through

which he expressed the feelings of a warm and gentle soul.

vi

Its been a little over fifteen years since we lost Harry Leahey. For those of us

who were privileged to have been close to him Phil Woodss simple words ring true: I

miss him dearly.

Table of Contents

Abstract .......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... iv Preface ............................................................................................................................v Harry Leahey Bio ............................................................................................................1 The Harry Leahey Chord Method ..................................................................................39 Analysis of Harry Leaheys solo on Djangos Castle (Manoir de Mes Rves) ................56 Interview with Tom Anthony.........................................................................................72 Harry Leahey Discography ..........................................................................................121 Harry Leahey Bibliography .........................................................................................141

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Harry Leahey Bio

Harry Leahey was born on September 1, 1935 in Plattsburg, New York. His

parents were Henry Leahey and Edith Leahey, ne Lamonde. The senior Leahey,

originally a resident of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, was stationed in the US army in

Plattsburg, New York when he met Miss Lamonde. The historic Plattsburg Barracks is

located on the west side of Lake Champlain, about one mile from the village of

Plattsburgh, New York. Miss Lamonde was from Potsdam, New York, north of the

Adirondack foothills in central St. Lawrence County, New York. The Leaheys had four

children. His siblings were two brothers Michael and Patrick and a sister, Edith (now

Dillon.)

Upon Mr. Leaheys discharge from the Army, the Leaheys moved first to Perth

Amboy and then to Plainfield, New Jersey. The elder Leahey wanted Harry to be a

professional prize fighter. Young Harry was athletically gifted, as photos of him playing

baseball and other sports illustrate. As a small boy, Harry went to the YMCA every

morning with his dad. There, he trained and became a Mosquito Weight boxer who could

take on anyone his own size and weight.1

At the age of thirteen Leahey received his first guitar. As he recounts:

When I was thirteen years old my mother and father placed a guitar in my hands

and said "Play" - and I did. My uncle Al was a guitarist and I wanted to play like

1 Summer 1991 All Music Things Harry Loved.

- 2 -

him. It was unconditional love from the start. I barely made it through high school

because of all the time I spent with the instrument.2

His first instrument was a Stella guitar.3 Stella was an inexpensive brand favored

by such blues artists as Muddy Waters and Leadbelly and folk and hillbilly artists as

Woody Guthrie. Shortly thereafter he began to study at Sayer's Studio in Plainfield with a

teacher named Lou Melia. It was here that Leahey met his lifelong friend, musical

associate Tom Anthony who was studying with Lou Melias brother, John. Tom

performed with Harry in several groups and eventually became his brother in law. Leahey

was an avid student who practiced diligently. He would often play late into the night,

hiding with his guitar under his bed covers. Edie Eustice tells a story of Harry getting into

trouble with his father with his practicing and his sense of humor. In the summer while

Mrs. Leahey was mowing the lawn, Harry would be sitting by the window practicing

scales. As his mother pushed the mower across the yard Harry would follow her

movements going back and forth across the guitar neck, arousing his fathers ire.4 Like

many guitarists of that time, Melia taught a picking technique known as consecutive

picking.5 In this type of picking the guitarist employs alternating down and up strokes

until two notes in a row require the pick to cross from one string to the next. At that point

the player uses two down strokes in a row. The movement is primarily from the wrist

which is loose and flexible. Arpeggios can be played with mostly down strokes.

Fingerings are often arranged to allow many of these consecutive down strokes. The

sound can be very legato but can lack definition as the attack is relatively light. This older

2 Liner notes to Unaccompanied Guitar, 1989. C. Macey Productions.

3 Conversation with Tom Anthony.

4 Conversation with Edie Eustice.

5 Conversation with Tom Anthony.

- 3 -

style of picking is in stark contrast to what would become one of the cornerstones of

formidable technique the Leahey would attain: strict alternate picking from the elbow

with a stiff wrist. After a few years with the Melia brothers, Harry and Tom began to

study with renowned guitarist Harry Volpe. Volpe had been a studio musician and

recording artist since the 1920s. He had run a teaching studio in New York City on 48th

Street for years and had taught such people as Johnny Smith, Joe Pass and Sal Salvatore.

Little is known about Leaheys time with Volpe. The only thing Tom Anthony

remembered for certain about the lessons was that Volpe also taught consecutive picking.

While still in his early teens Leahey began performing in public with his sister

Edith who went by the nickname Sunshine. Sunshine sang and played the guitar and

Leahey played guitar. Leaheys first guitar idol was Les Paul. Paul had invented

multitrack recording and various special effects including overdubbing and speeding up

tracks. He and his wife, singer Mary Ford had a string of hit recordings including How

High The Moon, Mockin' Bird Hill and Tiger Rag. The Leaheys patterned themselves

after the famous Les Paul and Mary Ford act. The young guitarist was able to master the

repertoire, if not the speeded up layers of guitars. Tom Anthony, who by that time had

begun to play the bass, joined the group. The group played in various theaters in

Plainfield. They appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, then the most prestigious television

variety show. They also appeared on the Ding Dong Show, a popular childrens

television show.6 Edie Eustice related Leaheys account of the Sullivan appearance.

While Harry was backstage Sullivan saw the teenager with his guitar. He asked him if he

6 Conversation with Edie Eustice.

- 4 -

would accompany a Sara Conk, yodeler.7 Harry agreed and made his big time debut

accompanying a yodeler! It wasnt until Harry and his sister performed a piece by

Rachmaninoff that Sullivan realized what a serious musician the young guitarist was.8

A neighbor of the Leaheys, a saxophone player by the name of Bill Pfeiffer

introduced the guitarist to a man who would have a profound impact of him,

professionally and personally. Pfeiffer was in the army with renowned guitarist Johnny

Smith. Pfeiffer told Smith about his talented neighbor and asked him if he would teach

him. At the time Smith, who was already established as a leading jazz and studio guitarist

did not have a teaching practice. As a favor to Pfeiffer he agreed to take Leahey as a

student. It was Smith who introduced Leahey to alternate picking. Leahey, ever the

conscientious student adjusted to the new technique and mastered it. Smith, who was an

amateur pilot, used to fly from Long Island, New York where he lived to Hadley Airport

in Plainfield. He would fly his young student to Long Island where the two of them

would make a day of it. After about six months of tutelage, Smith one day upon

delivering their son back to them announced to Mr. And Mrs. Leahey that he had taught

Harry all he could about the guitar, but that he would be happy to teach him to fly a

plane!9 Leahey, in 1968 during my second lesson with him, referred to those Johnny

Smith chords that no one can play. He then proceeded to play a beautiful chord melody

solo using those impossible chords. The influence of Smiths characteristic piano-like

voicings and moving inner lines can be heard in Leaheys solo recordings, such as Some

Other Time from Unaccompanied Guitar.

7 Summer 1991 All Music Harry on TV.

8 Conversation with Edie Eustice.

9 Conversation with Tom Anthony.

- 5 -

Leahey attended North Plainfield High School from which he graduated in 1953.

At Christmas time of that year pianist Bill Evans, another Plainfield resident came home

on leave from the service. While he was home he and Leahey played together

informally.10 No recordings are known to exist of this encounter. Tom Anthony recalls at

least a couple more occasions when Leahey and Evans played together.

Harry Leahey and Tom Anthony practiced together every week, playing in the

chicken coop in the Anthony familys yard. Tom recalls that the two young musicians

played together once a week but after a while Harry began to show up more frequently.

Tom then observed that Harry was paying more and more attention to his younger sister,

Karen.

In their junior or senior year of high school, Leahey and Anthony met another

musician who would profoundly influence them and with whom they would share many

professional experiences. Drummer and singer Richie Moore was deeply into jazz and the

music of performers like Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. Moore educated the

impressionable young musicians about music other than Les Paul and Mary Ford. At the

same time, Sunshine was becoming discouraged with music. Harry, who studied with

great teachers and practiced constantly, was making great strides technically and was

performing challenging music. In one of their theater performances, the siblings

performed a specialty number Nola, the 1915 Felix Arndt piano novelty piano solo. The

arrangement was supposed to have the two guitarists trading phrases, with Harry taking

the first. Sunshine was unable to keep up. It was events like this that led to her leaving the

group and Harry and Tom to form a band with Richie Moore.

10 Conversation with saxophonist Bob Miller.

- 6 -

Moore, Leahey, Anthony and pianist Romolo (Rom) Ferri became The Richie

Moore Four in around 1951. The Four was a professional, rehearsed band, complete with

promotional photos. Plainfield in the early 1950s had a thriving nightclub business. Route

22 was a busy strip with many clubs. The Four played club gigs doing the popular songs

of the day. In addition to his skill as a drummer, he taught other area drummers including

Ronnie Glick. Moore was a talented singer who excelled at the Frank Sinatra material

with which he had familiarized his young band mates. He was also a very entertaining

showman. Rom Ferri recalled that Moore would announce the group as Tom, Dick,

Harry and [pause] Romolo?

Plainfield in the early 1950s had two interesting characteristics. Its downtown

area was a well known central New Jersey shopping area. People would come from

surrounding towns to shop there. And it was a racially mixed town, with generally good

relations between the races. Plainfield had two record stores, Brooks Record Shop on

Watchung Ave near East 4th Street and Gregory's Music on Front Street. Gregorys dealt

primarily with the white clientele while Brooks dealt with the African American

clientele. In about 1952, Leahey who had been a patron of Gregorys became friendly

with Edie Linzer, an employee of the store. Edie, who is now Edie Eustice, recalls

Leahey as a shy, soft spoken jazz fan. She showed him a Johnny Smith record and asked

him if he liked Smith. Leahey told her he had studied with Smith. When she didnt

believe him he invited her to come hear him performing, adding that he would do some

Johnny Smith style playing. The two of them became good friends. Edie lent Leahey a 10

inch Django Reinhardt record. She doesnt recall if Harry had ever heard Reinhardt

before but does remember that he loved the record. The record was a collection of some

- 7 -

of Reinhardts 1940s recordings. Two of the songs on it were Manoir de Mes Rves and

Nuages, both Reinhardt compositions. In a short time Leahey learned both songs and

incorporated them into his repertoire. Edie recalled that whenever she would go into a

club where Harry as performing, as soon as he saw her he would play Nuages for her. He

continued to perform both songs for the rest of his life. In fact, he recorded them both

with the Phil Woods Quintet in the late 1970s, Nuages as a solo vehicle on Song for

Sisyphus and Manoir de Mes Rves with the full band doing his arrangement on Live at

the Showboat.

Leahey didnt confine his musical studies to the guitar. In 1954 or 1955 Leahey

studied theory and harmony at Manhattan School of Music. Unfortunately the exact dates

are not available.11 At this time Manhattan School of Music did not yet have a jazz

program. It was at the urging of Rom Ferri that Leahey enrolled at Manhattan. Leahey

however was dissatisfied with this course of study and left after about one year. He chose

at that point to pursue his dual career as a teacher and performer and to study music, both

on his own and with private teachers.12

Throughout the early 1950s Leahey continued to work the local circuit with

Richie Moore as well as with other local groups. One of the clubs they worked was

Dudleys in West Orange, New Jersey. At Dudleys they had played Dixieland with and

augmented group. In the summer of 1955 the group was playing at the Cabana Club on

Eagle Rock Avenue also in West Orange. Stan Rubins Dixieland band, The Tigertown

Five had been booked to play on the Grote Beer (Great Bear), a ship that was sailing from

11 Email correspondence from David L. McDonagh, Registrar of Manhattan School of Music. February 09,

2006. 12

Conversation with Rom Ferri.

- 8 -

Hoboken, NJ to Rotterdam, Holland. At the last minute The Tigertown Five had to back

out of the gig and Richie Moore was asked to fill in. Moore quickly put together a

Dixieland band, mostly made up of musicians who had played the Dudleys gig with him.

Moore and the group took a big chance taking this gig. The only compensation they

received for playing on the boat their passage. Since they had been booked on such short

notice, they had no work lined up in Europe. But they took the plunge. Upon arriving in

Rotterdam they debated whether to look for work in Paris or Copenhagen. They decided

on Paris. Once in Paris they played July 14th, Bastille Night on the streets of Paris. This

performance led to a gig at a club called Le Riverside near Notre Dame. It was at this

club that they met expatriate clarinetist Albert Nicholas who would sit in regularly with

the group. The Paris gig lasted through July. Now they needed another gig to finish out

the summer. Fortunately pianist Rom Ferris friend Tony Camillo was in the Army,

stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. Through him the group was able to get a booking at the

Topper Club, an officers club. The band members had to sneak onto the base and

pretend that they were authorized transients.

From 1960 to 1962 Leahey served in the United States Army. While in the Army

he played with Ira Sullivan. He also played saxophone in the Army Band. Edie Eustice

recalled Leaheys account of how he learned the saxophone on short notice. The band

needed a sax player. Leahey knew that if he could play with the band he would be

traveling and performing for the officers. So he applied for the position, stating that he

played the saxophone but did not have one. The director of the band got him one. Leahey

then spent one day with the instrument and by that evening had figured out how to play it

- 9 -

enough to get into the band. In the spring of 1960 Tom Anthonys younger sister Karen

left home to join Leahey at Fort Dix. On May 4, 1960 the two of them were married.

Harry Leahey taught guitar from an early age. Glenn Davis who would become

the drummer in Leaheys trio recalls I think he was always teaching. Even when he was

a kid people told me that he used to teach. Cause Ritchie Moore taught too. There was a

place I used to teach in Westfield. And that was one of the places I think Harry you know

spent one day there and different places. But he was always teaching. He'd case load.

Like sixty plus a week.

By the 1960s Leahey had become well established both as a teacher and as a

player on the thriving New Jersey nightclub scene. Bassist Ronnie Naspo recalls working

with Leahey, both of them side musicians when still in their late teens or early twenties.

Naspo is a Montclair, New Jersey based bassist whose performing credits include work

with Bucky Pizzarelli and Vic Juris. He also served on the Faculty in the jazz program at

William Paterson University (then William Paterson State College). Naspo talks about

them being hired for commercial gigs that didn't turn out too commercial. By that

Naspo meant that he, Leahey and the other musicians would invariably infuse their own

jazz oriented personalities into whatever music they played. The earliest gig Naspo

recalled was in Seaside Heights, New Jersey at what he described as a young people's

club in the late 1950's or early 60's. He spoke of five and six night a week steady gigs

where he and Leahey would occasionally wind up together. He also stated that there

were lots of musicians in the Plainfield area and frequent jam sessions, particularly in

clubs on Route 22. When I asked Naspo what he felt distinguished the young Leaheys

playing most he replied his eighth note swing feel. Even on the early gigs he had that

- 10 -

good swing feel. You know he played eighth note runs you could tell it was Harry cause

the eighth notes had a certain feel. And I've always admired that about Harry Subtly

different, but it's that subtle difference that gave him that really the infectious feeling that

he has.13 That subtle difference is evident in Leaheys later playing as well. For instance

in his solo on Djangos Castle, which is analyzed later in this paper, Leahey varies the

eighth note values from straight to varying degrees of swing values over an even eighth

note Bossa Nova rhythm section. He uses this as an added dimension in the same way he

uses dynamics and variety of timbre. Leaheys versatility was already apparent at this

time. In addition to playing commercial gigs featuring the pop tunes of the day and

playing jazz at jam sessions Leahey played Dixieland. Again Naspo: Harry did a

Dixieland thing around South Orange. Bob Miller was in it. We would go down and hear

them in the mid to late 50's. Dixieland was popular among young people.14

It was in the early 1960s that Leahey began several associations that would prove

to be extremely important to him. It was then that he met bassist Roy Cumming and

drummer Glenn Davis with whom he would later perform as the Harry Leahey Trio.

Cumming and Davis both have impressive playing credentials. Cumming has performed

with Teddy Wilson, Al Haig, Chick Corea, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, Booker

Ervin, Johnny Hartman, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, Phil Markowitz

and others. Davis is Marion McPartlands long time drummer and has performed with

Stan Getz, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, Phil Markowitz and others. It was also this

association that would lead to Leahey becoming a member of the Phil Woods Quintet. In

13 From an interview with Ronnie Naspo.

14 From an interview with Ronnie Naspo.

- 11 -

an October 12, 2005 interview Cumming and Davis shared their recollections of their

initial meeting and subsequent relationship with Leahey with me:

RC: We were just talking about the first time we met Harry. Glenn met him first.

GD: I met him first. I met him, I can't tell you the date, it was the early sixties

when he got out of the army and it was uh at Joe Cappowanna's club in Bound

Brook New Jersey, the Hideaway was across the tracks and I forget who I was, I

was telling Roy, I forget who I was sitting with but Tom Anthony was there with

Harry. They were sitting at the bar. It was during the week. And whoever I was

sitting with said, See that guy over there? He's a helluva guitar player. And I

looked over and these guys were all smashed (laughs) and giddy. And I said

which one? and he said well, they're both great guitar players but I mean the

one closest to us. And that's sort of when I met him. And then later when I was

doing the El Morocco gig with George Cort you know and Wayne Wright was on

the gig and there was, you know different guitar players subbing, I'd go out to

Jersey and I knew Harry was playing at the Alibi on Route 22. Ring a bell?

FP: Yeah I remember that club.

GD: Yeah. And he was playing with Hay Jackson, he was playing saxophone. The

band was so bad, he didn't really need to play guitar (laughs). So he was playing

saxophone which fit better with the band cause he didn't play the saxophone that

well. And I kept on telling Harry I'm playing with all these guys in New York,

you play much better than they do you know, I mean hello, you know.

FP: What was his response to that?

- 12 -

GD: Well, Harry was like, he was always involved in Ritchie Moore, you know

local guys. Ritchie Moore Four which you know they used to do Hi-Los and

RC: Did Harry sing?

GD: Yeah.

RC: I didn't know that.

GD: They all sang.

RC: Wow.

GD: And they would do, what's that other band, the ones with singers? Not the

Hi-Los but

FP: The Four Freshmen?

GD: Yeah, The Four Freshmen. They used to cover The Four Freshmen. And they

were working five, six nights a week and they would rehearse and have all these.

FP: It would be great if there were any recordings of that.

GD: I don't remember, but I thought they were the greatest band cause every time

I'd go out they'd get off the wall And they would just you know they would just

be off the wall. They would do Dixieland tunes and Ritchie Moore would get up

on the bar. You know with a cymbal and they'd go around the bar walking

RC: Steal drinks

GD: (Laughs) Steal drinks.

RC: I remember those days.

FP: And that was just basically a regulation commercial band of the time.

GD: Yeah, but all friends.

- 13 -

RC: They were all working six nights a week. That's what they were doing,

working all the time.

RC: First time I met Harry was down in Barry Miles' house I recall.

FP: When was that?

RC: This was like early sixties. Probably around sixty, maybe sixty three or four.

GD: And I don't know how many times we played before Harry started playing

with Mike, Mike Melillo and Roy.

RC: Well I played with him once before that before we played I think. Remember

John Dense? A great drummer who was around before he moved to California.

He's a brother, he married my sister. So, he had a night at The Cove. Like a

Monday night or something. And he said I've been hearing about this guitar

player Harry Leahey and I want to get him. So he calls him. And Harry says

sure he comes down and we played. In fact I brought my tape recorder. I

actually have a tape of that.

GD: And Mike was on that gig?

RC: No, it was a trio, guitar, bass and drums.

FP: So that was a jazz gig.

RC: Yeah. It was amazing, it was just great. I'll play it for you. I have that.

FP: If you can get me a copy of that I'd love to hear it.

RC: Yeah. I will. And that's the first time I actually met Harry. We had talked.

Because before that he was very shy. And we just said hello at Barry Miles. Just

so quiet, he didn't say anything.

FP: What were you doing at Barry's, a session?

- 14 -

RC: Yeah. I think Barry was maybe just starting to play piano or something

maybe. I'm not sure if he was playing drums or piano. I can't remember. That was

way back. Cause his father used to call me. Cause Barry never called anybody.

GD: Barry was shy too.

RC: His father would call and say why don't you come down and play with

Barry? And I'd go down and play. But I remember meeting Harry and every

body saying so much about him. I remember liking his playing. And I remember

trying to talk to him at the end and he was just so painfully shy or something.

GD: Yeah he was shy.

RC: I remember leaving saying who is that guy?

GD: Who is that masked man?

RC: He was just so quiet. You couldn't get anything out of him. He wouldn't talk.

Way back then. The early sixties I guess.

Cumming goes on to describe the circumstances of Leaheys meeting with pianist

Mike Melillo:

RC: But then Mike called him, right Mike called him

GD: Yeah.

RC: to come out and play at the farm which he had from like 1970 to about '75 or

so.

FP: Did he know Mike earlier?

GD: Not really. He knew of him. Cause I mentioned that I was playing with Mike

and he aught to come up to the farm and play or something some time.

RC: That's right.

- 15 -

GD: Because he was just doing commercial you know, commercial. Blue Hills

Manor. All this like Route 22 work you know I mean which was really not really I

mean he was so much better than that. I mean heads above that. And I always

tried to encourage him but (laughs) you know he always looked at me like I was

bullshitting.

FP: Why did he, did he do that because he didn't think he was you know

GD: Hard to say Flip.

RC: I think his kids and stuff.

GD: Yeah I was playing with Mike. I was hanging out and playing. Through Roy

I met Mike. And we did some gigs down the shore and I got Mike on it.

RC: That's right.

GD: Do you remember Lou Stewart?

FP: No.

GD: That name. He died of cancer but you know he was doing this gig down the

shore with this vocalist. And he said you know somebody who wants this gig?

Cause I'm teaching in the school and I'm wearing. He was sick. And he didn't say

he was sick. But you know he said. So I called Roy you know cause I'd heard

tapes of Mike and I said is he working? He said yeah he's not working but he's

a hard guy to get out of the house. Then I called him up and he went for it. It was

two or three nights a week. And that's how I met Mike and then I started playing

at the house and I don't know. You moved up there after Mike got divorced or

split or whatever.

RC: That's right, about a year.

- 16 -

FP: Moved up to where?

RC: The farm.

GD: Allamuchy, that was north of Hackettstown. Off the main road, old farm

house. I mean a real farm, a working farm.

RC: Way off the road.

FP: Like the ones you see around here.

GD: They just rented the house. So it was a hang.

FP: Right.

RC: Perpetual session.

FP: Nice.

RC: Musicians every day.

FP: He was from Newark originally, right?

RC: He went to Arts High, went to Newark. Before that Mike was playing he

played with Sonny Rollins.

FP: He had played with Sonny Rollins before that?

RC: Before that. In '64 or '63. He was one of the first piano players I heard at the

Clifton Tap Room. That's how I met Mike at the Clifton Tap Room in the early

sixties. His first club, Amos's. And then I became friends with Mike. I knew him

you know through the years.

GD: I think I met you through John Scully, right? You came out to my studio.

RC: That's right.

GD: And played.

RC: That's right. That's when I just got out of the army.

- 17 -

GD: And we did those things with Ritchie Bierach. Those sessions right?

(Laughs)

RC: That's right.

GD: (Laughs) its pretty out. Pretty out scenes.

RC: New York scene man.

GD: Yeah.

RC: That was really out. That's right, Glenn used to have this place you could

play. It was right next to a railroad track.

GD: An old switchman's shack. I had it for seven years. Cost me a hundred and

twenty five dollars a month rent.

RC: There was like an old upright piano in there.

GD: I had an old upright piano.

RC: And John Scully.

GD: A lot of history going down. (Laughs) A lot of hang after gigs.

RC: Probably Harry used to hang out there.

RC: I remember the first time Harry came up to Mike's. Man, he was just

amazing. First time those guys played it was like they played forever.

GD: They just hooked up.

RC: Piano and guitar is always like

FP: It can be a conflict.

RC: It can.

FP: But they locked in?

RC: It was amazing.

- 18 -

GD: They just hooked up immediately.

RC: It was like boom. Mike was so gassed. That was the band. That was it!

GD: Yeah that was it.

FP: So that was the beginning of In Free Association?

RC: In Free Association.

GD: Pretty much.

RC: Absolutely.

Melillo, the son of a bass player, had played piano from the age of five. As Davis

stated he went Arts High School in Newark, New Jersey. In 1962 he received a BA in

music composition from Rutgers University, also in Newark. From 1962 to 1964 he

worked in the house trio at the Tap Room in Clifton, New Jersey with bassist Vinnie

Burke and drummer Eddie Gladden. It was with that trio that he first accompanied Phil

Woods. He then played with saxophonist Sonny Rollins from 1965 to 1967. He, Leahey,

Cumming, and Davis came together as In Free Association in 1970. In 1973 he moved to

the Pocono region of Pennsylvania. He, Woods, bassist Steve Gilmore, and drummer Bill

Goodwin then formed the Phil Woods Quartet 15

Leaheys association with Melillo led directly to his being asked to join the Phil

Woods Quintet, or rather to be added to the Phil Woods Quartet, making it a quintet.

Woods had moved to France in 1968. That same year he formed the quartet the

European Rhythm Machine which remained intact until 1972. After briefly leading an

experimental electronic quartet in Los Angeles Woods moved to Delaware Water Gap,

15 Barry Kernfeld: Melillo, Mike', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 24 August 2005),

.

- 19 -

Pennsylvania. In October 1973 he formed his quartet with Melillo, Gilmore, and

Goodwin.16

In a September 25, 2005 interview Woods talked about adding Leahey to his

band:

FP: How did you meet Harry? Were you introduced to him by Mike Melillo?

PW: Yes, Mike Melillo introduced me to Harry. [He] brought him over. When I

first came back from Europe we used to have jam sessions over at Mike's house. I

was staying with Bill Goodwin at the time. And Steve Gilmore and Bill had been

working together a lot so we started jamming at Mike's house and he invited

Harry over and that's how we eventually formed the Quintet from those jam

sessions.

FP: Around when was that?

PW: Seventy four, seventy five, something like that. Mike, Bill and Steve and I

first started as a quartet. And then when we had the Showboat gig that's when we

added Harry because I had written a Brazilian Suite. I wanted to have the guitar

and I wanted to use the soprano and I thought the soprano and the guitar would

work well. So that's how that all happened. The Showboat album was kind of a

catalyst for adding guitar. And we used percussion too on that.17

16 Barry Kernfeld: Woods, Phil', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 24 August 2005),

. 17

From an interview with Phil Woods.

- 20 -

The album to which Woods refers, "Live From The Showboat recorded in

November of 1976 and released in 1977, won the group a Grammy award. The album

won the award for best live jazz performance. Leahey considered this award the high

point of his career.18 The album also received a five star review in Down Beat Magazine.

Writer Russell Shaw was positively effusive in his praise of the band and the album. He

starts by stating that he is rarely moved to superlatives and then proceeds to heap them

on the album. He praises the audience at The Showboat and then compares the band,

most favorably to the overrated European Rhythm Machine stating that they were

glorying in wave after wave of musical triumph. He singles Woods out as

consummately masterful. He does add some praise for the sidemen but confines his

discussion of Leahey to the phrase not forgetting the Djangoish guitar of Harry

Leahey.19 Regrettably this comment does justice to neither Django Reinhardt nor Harry

Leahey. However it was at least positive and no doubt well meant.

Sadly Leaheys wife, Karen was in the early stages of the illness that would

eventually take her life at the time that Phil Woods had offered Leahey the spot in the

band. Leaheys daughter Deborah recalls that her mother insisted that he go on tour with

the band.

The 1970s was a busy time for Leahey. During the time period when he began his

associations with Melillo and Woods he maintained an extremely busy teaching schedule

and continued to perform with local commercial groups. One night he would be playing

Bebop, the next night he would be playing a Carlos Santana solo (both to perfection.) It

18 Richard Skelly. December 2, 1988 The Home News He keeps on pluckin.

19 Russell Shaw. October 20, 1977 Down Beat Magazine p. 28 Record Reviews.

- 21 -

was during this time that he also began working regularly with bassist Ronnie Naspo. In

this October 3, 2005 interview Naspo recalls this period:

RN: I think my main association w/ Harry started in the seventies. It was from a

job I did with Harry that I met Bucky. Harry and I, when we were playing as a

duo got a job at Gullivers, Amos's guitar night -- It was our first guitar night

there and we had prepared some stuff --

FP: When was that?

RN: Closest I can come is the seventies -- we go and we set up, a little uneasy, I

was a little uneasy -- respected jazz club and I knew that a lot of players came in,

guitar players to hear Harry. So we're just getting set up we're on the stand -- the

end of the bar was directly in front of the bandstand, about six feet away -- with

just a few minutes tuning up, whatever, getting things set up and who comes in

but Bucky Pizzarelli and Les Paul and sit right down in front -- Les Paul was one

of my heroes, and one of Harry's too -- so we did what we did -- they were very

cordial -- they had to respect what Harry did, cause he was such a wonderful

player

FP: They must have known about him.

RN: Yeah, they, hey let's check this guy out -- Harry at that point, his name

was around -- Then we continued to play together as a duo. That started cause I

started taking lessons from him.20

Comparing Harry as a teacher to the old school of guitar teaching, as taught by his

first teacher Mickey Vest, Naspo said this: "The chord studies I got with Mickey were

20 Interview with Ronnie Naspo.

- 22 -

like Mel Bay, the barre chord book. But with Harry, I guess he got it from Sandole, the

five different systems of chords, the sets. My jazz training with Mickey was we would

play duets. And he would play a chorus and then I would [pause] attempt. He said just

keep listening and keep trying. That was my jazz education -- He didn't talk about the

relationship of a specific type of scale to a specific type of chord -- Thats what jazz

education was at that point, when he was a young fellow, nothing, listen to the records

and try to copy them, figure it out, sort of. Cause he could play jazz. But Lord knows how

those guys learned it, strictly by ear. There were no methods.

The Gullivers that Naspo referred to was Amos Kaunes club in West Paterson,

New Jersey. In the early 1970s and into the early 1980s Gullivers was the biggest jazz

club in northern New Jersey. Kaunes first club, the Clifton Tap Room was where bassist

Roy Cumming had first met pianist Mike Melillo. In 1970 Kaune started a Monday guitar

night. Leahey was regularly featured on Monday guitar night. His growing reputation and

large number of students assured a busy night every time he appeared there. The night

was so successful that it was written up in Guitar Player Magazine. When interviewed for

the article Kaune singled out Leahey among the many guitarists who appeared there.

One of the most popular jazz rooms among guitarists on the east coast is a tavern

called Gulliver's. Located in West Paterson, New Jersey, about twenty miles from

New York City, the club presents jazz seven nights a week. And this room,

opened in 1970, has been the home away from home for many outstanding jazz

guitarists.

The setting is a warm and handsome one, dominated by a huge rectangular bar.

The bandstand, off in a corner, can be easily seen from any part of the room. The

- 23 -

tables along the walls are made from shuffle boards which were cut and polished

by the club's owner, Amos Kaune.

Walls are lined with pictures of the various jazz musicians who have worked there

over the past couple of years. The piano is lighted by a bulb in the bell of a

trumpet which hangs from the ceiling, and the rest of the room is just as dimly lit.

The whole feeling is one of intimacy, a good background for the listening

audience.

Monday nights are reserved for jazz guitarists to perform. Week in and week out,

Guitar Night is one of Gulliver's' biggest attractions. Amos Kaune admits that not

only is it one of his best weeknights, but it's when he gets a chance to hear his

favorite instrument, the guitar.

What gave you the idea to make Mondays into Guitar Nights?

In prior years, here and at the last place I owned, I had tremendous success with

guitarists, and a lot of guitar players came to hear one another. On Mondays at my

old place we used to feature recognized jazz people, but somehow we always did

better with guitarists. We brought in Tal Farlow. Chuck Wayne, Jim Hall, Kenny

Burrell and Attila Zoller among others. Because of that previous success, I

brought Guitar Night to Gulliver's.

Which guitarists have you featured here?

We've had Pat Martino, Chuck Wayne, Joe Puma, Joe Cinderella, Skeeter Best

and some local players. The one who stands out most in my mind, though, is

Harry Leahey. Everyone who has heard him play agrees that he is the Johnny

Smith of the Seventies.

- 24 -

Which ones have been the biggest Monday night draws?

They've all done quite well, even local guitarists like Jimmy DeAngelis and Pat

Mahoney who are two excellent players who just need breaks. The biggest

Mondays were ones when we featured Pat Martino, Harry Leahey, Bucky

Pizzarelli and the combination of Chuck Wayne with Joe Puma.21

In April 1973 Leahey was involved in Don Sebeskys Giant Box project. Sebesky,

who along with Bob James was a house arranger for Creed Taylors CTI label had

assembled an all-star cast for this ambitious project. This double LP featured such CTI

stars as flutist Hubert Laws, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, saxophonist Joe Farrell and

guitarist George Benson. Leahey is heard, albeit faintly on a medley of Igor Stravinskys

Firebird and John McLaughlins Birds Of Fire. For this recording Yamaha custom built a

twelve -string guitar for Leahey to play. The guitar is currently in the possession of James

Leahey, Leaheys older son and an excellent guitarist in his own right. Unfortunately

Leaheys work on this track is confined to section playing. In fact, the twelve-string

guitar could easily be mistaken for a harpsichord. Leahey told me that Sebesky had

recorded a tribute to Wes Montgomery, another CTI artist who had died 1968. Sadly that

track was not released. One can only speculate as to the effect that performance might

have had on Leaheys career.

In 1974 Leahey began teaching guitar at William Paterson University (then

William Paterson College) in the jazz program. He was one of the first adjuncts in jazz.

He continued to teach there until 1988.

21 Robert Yelin April 1973 Guitar Player Magazine Two unique nightclub experiments that worked.

- 25 -

Another musician that Leahey worked with around this time was saxophonist Eric

Kloss. Again Cumming and Davis:

RC: We used to do gigs at a place called Richard's Lounge. Way back in the early

seventies.

FP: With Eric?

RC: In Free Association, and Eric.

GD: And Eric. Yeah. Actually I think we got our foot in the door with Eric. Eric

came out to the farm a couple of times and played just you know just session. And

then he got the gig down there and he hired us as a rhythm section. Bad move.

(Laughs)

FP: Why do you say that?

GD: Cause we were so out.

RC: It was like anarchy.

GD: Yeah. We were so out. Poor Eric was on his own.

RC: Mike liked to do certain tunes and that was it. That was the tunes we did.

Basically that's what we did. (Laughs)

FP: And if Eric called tunes that Mike didn't want to do.

RC: Well, all my tapes are of all the stuff that we did with Free Association.

GD: Yeah. I have some things with Eric but they were with Harry, at Wallace's.

FP: At Wallace's?

RC: And also at Gulliver's. I remember playing a couple of gigs with Harry and

Eric at the first Gulliver's. 22

22 From an interview with Roy Cumming and Glenn Davis.

- 26 -

Leahey also performed with pianist John Coates. He appears with Coates on the

1981 OmniSound LP Pocono Friends. From 1974 to 1978 drummer Buddy

Deppenschmidt led a band called Jazz Renaissance which at various times included

Coates, Richie Cole, Mike Melillo, and the guitarist Harry Leahey.23

In the mid 1970s Leahey also performed with bassist Jack Six. The duo made

several appearances at Sweet Basils in New York City. When guitarist John Scofield left

Gerry Mulligan in 1976 Six recommended Leahey to Mulligan. Six recollects that

Mulligan was knocked out by Leahey, who subsequently performed with his band at

five or six engagements. Deborah Leahey recalls seeing her father with Mulligan at

Carnegie Hall but no documentation has surfaced as to the date of that concert.

Harry Leahey did perform at Carnegie Hall with the Phil Woods Quintet. As part

of the Newport Jazz Festival, the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra and the Phil Woods

Quintet shared the bill at a midnight concert on June 28, 1977. Unfortunately the New

York Times review the groups performance received was somewhat less than favorable.

Writer John S. Wilson said that Woods was in high virtuoso form on both alto and

soprano saxophones but that his group seemed bland by comparison, serving him with

strong support for his solos but not finding any solo ideas of its own that could stand up

against Mr. Woodss.24 Apparently Wilson felt that the Phil Woods Quintet had gone

very far downhill in a very short period of time. About one month earlier he had written

of the band Phil Woods, who has been a consistently interesting jazz saxophone soloist

for the last two decades, while he played, for the most part, with pickup groups is now

23 Barry Kernfeld: 'Deppenschmidt, Buddy', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 24 August 2005), . 24

John S. Wilson New York Times Jun 30, 1977 Newport Jazz: Vibrant Virtuosos.

- 27 -

leading a quintet that functions as an ensemble rather than merely a backdrop for his

solos. At Hopper's, Avenue of the Americas at 11th Street, where the quintet is appearing

this week and next, Mr. Woods, playing alto and soprano saxophones, Mike Melillo on

piano and Harry Leahy[sic] on guitar, develop ensemble passages, backed by Steve

Gilmore, bass, and Bill Goodwin, drums, that are unusual in this generally solo-

dominated music. Like the Modern Jazz Quartet, the group as a whole is as important as

the individual members. And when the soloists enter, they sustain the level of interest

established by the ensemble.25

In 1978 Leahey left the Phil Woods Quintet. Again Woods:

Harry didn't stay with us that long. Harry was not a road rat. He made a couple of

tours, but he actually was a family man and he preferred teaching. He preferred

staying home and teaching. He didn't like those long days in the motel room

watching CNN. That was not his bag. And I can dig it.26

The May 19, 1978 issue of the Courier-News ran a feature on Harry Leahey

entitled Guitar teacher Harry Leahey looks at his performing as just a hobby, written by

staff writer Kenneth Best. Best refers to Leahey as a musician who is most at home

conveying his knowledge to students rather than performing on stage. He quotes Leahey

as referring to live performing a hobby. According to Leahey in this article he had been

added to the group for the Live at the Showboat album at the request of producer Norman

Schwartz and was originally just supposed to do the album. Leaheys humility and

respect for Woods came out in his statements that It took me a while to get used to

25 John S. Wilson New York Times May 26, 1977 Jazz: Phil Woods 5.

26 From an interview with Phil Woods.

- 28 -

playing with Phil. He had been someone that I had listened to for years. I had a hard time

holding my pick. Anyone who had ever seen Leahey play live could attest to the fact

that he certainly had no trouble holding his pick! The article goes on to describe the

making of Song for Sisyphus, released in 1978 by Gryphon but listed in the article as a

Century release. The album was recorded direct-to-disk meaning that the group had to the

entire set with no mistakes! Again Leahey: We had to make three (disk) masters because

each one can only produce a limited number of copies. It took us 11 hours and there were

many starts. The music is all the stuff we were playing on the road, but it was still

difficult. Deborah Leahey stated that her father did not enjoy recording. This session

must have been quite a chore for him. On this album he contributes a beautiful solo

rendition of Django Reinhardts Nuages as well as burning solos on the title track and

several others. Although the article does not give an exact date to Leaheys departure

from Woodss band it states that earlier this year [he] had to decide whether to stay on

the road for the 200 days per year Woods required or return full time to his students and

his family. Leahey of course chose the latter. His explanation for his decision is a sad

commentary on the musicians lot in the field of jazz performance. One must look at his

statement in light of the fact that he was performing with a winner of the Down Beat,

Playboy and Metronome polls and with a Grammy Award winning band. It was a really

great year. I think my playing improved and I learned more in that time than in all my

years studying. But to survive playing jazz and trying to support a family is difficult.

Being on the road all the time is not always a very good life. It takes tremendous energy.

Most of the (jazz) money today is in the schools. He goes on to give a plug to a gig he is

holding down on Thursday s at a club called TJs in Meyersville, NJ. Upon his return

- 29 -

from the road, Leahey found the demand for his tutelage extremely high. Now Im

teaching five days a week, sometimes 12 hours a day. At the time of this article he had

recently recorded with Michel LeGrand on the LeGrand Jazz album released in 1978 on

the Gryphon label. 27

After Leahey stopped touring with the Phil Woods Quintet, he resumed playing

with his In Free Association band mates Cumming and Davis. It was this band that was at

TJs (although neither Davis nor Cumming remembered the name of the club.). From the

October 12, 2005 interview:

GD: So then we started rehearsing again.

FP: So that's about '78.

RC: Yeah exactly.

GD: Yeah. Then we went into The Golden Putter. I think that was the first gig.

We had

RC: That's right. Steady gig for a year.

GD: What night was that anyway? It was a Thursday night?

RC: It was a Wednesday or Thursday.

GD: Wednesday or Thursday. And we got, we built that to the point where she

added a Sunday, a matinee Sunday. But she had two bars going. And we still

couldn't get any

RC: With two bands. They had a band after us.

27 Kenneth Best May 19, 1978 The Courier-News Guitar teacher Harry Leahey looks at his performing as

just a hobby.

- 30 -

GD: We still couldn't get any money out of her. Every time we'd go in the room

she'd start whispering right. (Whispers) "Oh I can't do that right now. I wish I

could. You're certainly deserving." We couldn't get (laughs) and she's making lots

of money. At the same time you know I was trying to interest Yosho Inomaha into

doing something with OmniSound.

RC: Shawnee Records.

GD: Shawnee enterprises.

RC: That was the record company.

GD: Subdivision of Fred Warings press. And John Coates was doing all this

recording and John loved Harry.

RC: Cause they played together years ago.

GD: They played together too. John was instrumental and I kept on Yosho and

that's how that recording came. But it took him over a year. We were ready a year

before that.

RC: We were really hot on that stuff.

GD: We were hot. We actually weren't playing that material that we have on the

record. We had sort of moved on from that. So we had to go back and like sort of

redo it. You know, work it up again.

RC: We always felt that we had played that stuff better a year before we made

that record.

GD: Yeah I think we had.

FP: But that is a great record.

RC: Yeah everybody likes that record.

- 31 -

FP: That record really holds up.

GD: Yeah it does hold up. We've actually listened to it lately. (laughs)

RC: Yeah because we wanted to make a CD of it. Cause the masters are gone.

FP: Didn't you tell me that you found a pristine copy of it?

RC: Yeah. So I brought it to a friend who's got a really high class system.

FP: The thing about your trio that was so great was that it was in the tradition but

it was extending the tradition. It was modern but it was not out. Just like a logical

extension.

GD: Right. Using all the elements. We did a concert in '85 or '86, something like

that up in

RC: Rochester?

GD: Rochester at a college and we did a concert with a choir. Mainly trio and

then a couple things they'd arranged for choir. Still Waters.

RC: The musical director arranged them.

GD: And the next day we did a workshop. I worked with drummers and Harry did

this thing about how you could play on notes, predominant notes in the chorus

and kept changing the ways that you could play off all this stuff. And we were

just looking at him like (laughs) what?28

The 1980s began with great promise for Leahey. His association with Phil Woods

including his participation on a Grammy Award winning LP had given him greater name

recognition. As he had stated in the Courier-News article he was now carrying a

28 From an interview with Roy Cumming and Glenn Davis.

- 32 -

tremendous teaching load. In addition to his private students he served on the faculty in

the jazz program at William Paterson University. He was also playing a fair number of

jazz gigs. Listings in the New York Times announce performances with his trio, with Ron

Naspo and as a soloist. In March of 1981 Leahey was profiled in the Newark

Star-Ledger. George Kanzler was the papers jazz critic. In the article Kanzler states that

while Leaheys name doesnt appear in the Encyclopedia of Jazz, the omission is an

error on the part of the encyclopedias editors for, Harry Leahey is a terrific jazz guitarist

and the leader of one of the finest small combos in this area as well as a near legendary

guitar teacher who has influenced dozens of younger jazz and rock guitarists in New

Jersey. He then goes on to praise a performance by Leaheys trio with a guest

appearance by saxophonist Leo Johnson. He singles out a rendition of Sweet and

Lovely. Of note in this profile is the statement from Leahey that when he studied with

Johnny Smith, Smith liked me so much he never took a dime from me.29

On June 30, 1981 Leahey performed at the sixth annual jazz picnic sponsored by

the New Jersey Jazz Society and presented as part of the Kool Jazz Festival. He appeared

as part of the Don Elliot Quintet which also included pianist Derek Smith. The set was

called a bright contrast to the dominant traditional tone of the day and was noted for

performances of My Funny Valentine and Heres that Rainy Day.30 He continued to

be featured at Gullivers. Other venues that featured Leahey included the Plainfield

Public Library; Seton Hall University, where on March 25, 1982 his trio split the bill with

a duo of his brother in law Tom Anthony and his son James Leahey performing classical

29 Joseph F Sullivan June 30, 1981 The New York Times Twenties Classics Recreated in Jersey In a

Festive Part of Jazz Festival. 30

George Kanzler March 8, 1981 The Newark Star-Ledger A family man by day and top artist by night.

- 33 -

duets; William Paterson College; the William Carlos Williams Center in Rutherford, New

Jersey; the Unitarian Fellowship in Morristown, New Jersey and the Small World Jazz

Caf in Hoboken, New Jersey. On March 18, 1984 Leahey gave a solo concert at the

Oldwick, New Jersey Community Center. That concert was recorded and contains

versions of I Concentrate on You, St. Louis Blues, Stardust, My Funny

Valentine, C Jam Blues, Embraceable You, You Stepped out of a Dream, All the

Things You Are, Strings and Things and Satin Doll. In these performances Leahey

displays his mastery of the solo jazz guitar idiom. In his melody statements and

improvised choruses he moves effortlessly between block chords, single notes, octaves,

melodies with chord accompaniments and two and three part polyphony. In St. Louis

Blues he moves the melody seamlessly between registers, from the treble accompanied

by lower chords to the bass with chords on the top, much as a pianist might. He opens

My Funny Valentine with a classically influenced arrangement that takes full

advantage of open strings within rich chords. He then plays a chorus of melody as a waltz

followed by and improvised chorus containing all the aforementioned elements. A

modulation up a whole step leads into the out chorus with a tag in 3/4 time. Although the

influences of Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel, Joe Pass and Johnny Smith are evident

Leahey never imitates. Even while playing within the tradition of these great players he

always maintains his own unique identity. In both the melody and improvised choruses of

C Jam Blues he turns the guitar into a miniature big band.

Between 1984 and 1986, in addition to leading the Harry Leahey Trio, performing

solo and performing with Ronnie Naspo, Leahey performed with a trio consisting of

himself, organist Dave Braham and drummer Ronnie Glick. Glick, a Plainfield native had

- 34 -

moved back to North Plainfield. Within two weeks of having moved there he noticed a

sign outside of Jones Chateau, a local club about six blocks from his house at 44

Watchung Avenue in Plainfield, advertising live organ trio jazz. He went into the club

and found that he knew the clubs owner, Willie Jones, from the Newark, New Jersey

jazz club scene. Glick had worked for Jones when he was the manager of the Cadillac

club. The two of them struck up a conversation. Jones knew who Harry Leahey was and

Glick told him that he could bring an organ trio into the club. Jones booked the trio for a

steady Tuesday night. After about a year he added Thursday nights. The group continued

at the club for about three years until an incident in the club, unrelated to the band

brought the gig to an end. In fact this (unspecified) incident put the club under and it

folded shortly after the band left. In 1985 Leahey suffered a heart attack. During his

recovery guitarists Vinnie Corrao, Bob DeVos and others subbed for him. Leaheys quick

recovery allowed him to return to the gig after a few weeks. During the trios extended

gig at Jones Chateau musicians, both local and well known, would stop by to hear the

trio. Fortunately there exist a small number of recordings of this group. In these

recordings one can hear an extremely cohesive and swinging group. All three musicians

contribute equally to the overall sound and demonstrate their abilities both as ensemble

players and as true virtuosi in the jazz idiom. Leahey is featured on Body and Soul. He

proves in this performance that his harmonic, melodic and rhythmic mastery of jazz

guitar were second to no one. During this time period the group also performed regularly

at OConnors in on 1719 Amwell Road in Somerset, New Jersey. In addition to trio gigs

the group also hosted a guest artist series. The headliners who appeared with the group

were Al Cohn, who did two evenings with the trio, David (Fathead) Newman and Lou

- 35 -

Donaldson. Again, fortunately, a recording survives of the Donaldson performance.

Performing tunes such as Charlie Parkers Billies Bounce the four musicians dont sound

like a star with a local house rhythm section, but like four peers, four masters of jazz.

Other venues where Leahey performed in the 1980s included The Cornerstone in

Metuchen, New Jersey, where he played as a duo with Ronnie Naspo and with cornetist

Warren Vach.

On November 8, 1987 Karen Leahey succumbed to a long illness and died. This

was the second blow to a man for whom the future had looked so bright a few short years

earlier.

On April 24 1988 Leahey participated in a concert with pianist Derek Smiths

sextet. The concert was at the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse in Hampton, New Jersey. The

group also included trumpeter Randy Sandke, saxophonist Harry Allen, bassist John

Goldsby and drummer Chuck Riggs. The concert had been presented by the New Jersey

Jazz Society. Afterwards he went to visit his old friend Edie. After spending the evening

together he told her that he would call her and he left. The next day he went to the VA

Hospital in Watchung, NJ where he was diagnosed with stage-four cancer. Four days

later Edie asked singer Rosemary Conti if she had seen Leahey. Rosemary told her that

Leahey was still in the hospital recovering from surgery. Leahey began to study

macrobiotic cooking as a way to help him fight his illness but it was Edie and Leaheys

mother who did the cooking.

Harry Leahey had touched many peoples lives and there were several benefits

held to raise money to help defray his medical expenses. On June 5, 1988 a marathon

- 36 -

benefit concert was held at The Strand Music Mall in Hackettstown, New Jersey. Among

the participants were Phil Woods, pianist Barry Miles and guitarist Vic Juris. On July 11,

1988 there was a benefit concert at Gullivers in Lincoln Park, New Jersey. Among the

performers were guitarists Tal Farlow and Vic Juris, saxophonists Bennie Wallace, Harry

Allen and Tom Hamilton, clarinetist Kenny Davern, pianists Keith MacDonald, Morris

Nanton and Rio Clemente, singers Grover Kemble and Kit Moran and others.

Harry Leahey had expressed that he wished, like saxophonist Al Cohn, to play

right up to the end. Between his diagnosis and his death he performed regularly at

Trumpets in Montclair, New Jersey at Caf DAngelico, also in Montclair, New Jersey

and numerous other venues including Zanzibar in New York City. During this time

period he frequently performed in a duo setting with bassists Gary Mazzaroppi and Rick

Crane as well as with his trio. He was the first call sub for guitarist Tal Farlow, whose

base of activity was the New Jersey shore. He also got together with veteran jazz guitarist

Chuck Wayne for informal sessions. On September 15, 1989 he performed at the

Watchung Arts Center in Watchung, New Jersey. On June 8, 1990 he performed there

again in a duo with Gary Mazzaroppi. Readers of the June 1990 Watchung Arts Center

newsletter were advised to make reservations for this performance. When Harry Leahey

picks up his guitar, the packed hall goes quiet. His nimble fingers dance over the strings

in seemingly effortless sweeps. Yet the sound that emerges is lively, circling around the

melody as he improvises his own interpretations of recognizable tunes. At the end of the

evening, the crowd is reluctant to let him go. On June 24, 1990 he participated in

George Weins JVC Jazz Festival performing in the Super Jazz Picnic in Waterloo

Village, Stanhope, New Jersey. Leahey shared the bill with such players as Flip Phillips,

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Dave McKenna, Jake Hanna, Kenny Davern, Frank Vignola, Randy Sandke, Ken

Peplowski, Buck Clayton and others. On Monday, July 16, 1990 Leahey made his last

appearance with In Free Association at Trumpets. On Saturday, July 28, 1990 he

performed at Caf DAngelico with Gary Mazzaroppi. Mazzaroppi says His playing was

brilliant despite a fluid retention problem that made him swollen and uncomfortable. It

was impossible for Harry to ever sound bad.31 The following day Leahey entered Robert

Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J. On Sunday August 12, 1990

Harry Leahey died.

Although he received very little critical acclaim, fellow musicians were

unanimous in their praise for Harry Leahey. A few representative quotes: Harry was a

master. Glenn Davis. The most complete guitarist I ever heard Vinnie Corrao. I

was flabbergasted by his playing Warren Vach. He was the top of the heap. He was

the best guitar player that I had ever played with and I played with every [one] Phil

Woods. I dont think therell ever be another Harry Leahey. Jack Six. He was a

great guitarist and a very beautiful man. Leo Johnson.

Over the course of a thirty year career as New Jerseys premier guitar teacher

Leahey taught literally thousands of students, many of whom went on to successful

careers. Among his former students are Vic Juris, Bob DeVos, Jon Herington, Warren

Vach, Jack Six, Walt Bibinger, Larry Barbee, Chuck Loeb, Jeff Mironov, Donovan

Mixon and Tom Kozic.

31 Summer 1991 All Music And the music was unforgettable.

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In addition to his devotion to music, the guitar and to his family Harry Leahey

was also an intellectually curious man with a deep interest in spirituality and philosophy.

Deborah Leahey told me that both of his parents were well read and would have

philosophical discussions long into the night. Because of this, and because of his

somewhat portly physique, Leahey was affectionately known to friends as The Buddha

of jazz. In fact bassist Roy Cumming wrote a tune in dedication to Leahey called The

Buddha.

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The Harry Leahey Chord Method

For this discussion of Harry Leaheys approach to teaching chordal playing on the guitar

I have drawn from lessons which he gave to me in the late 1960s and early 1970s and from

conversations with two of his former students, Walt Bibinger and Larry Maltz. I am grateful to

them for their help putting this together.

Leahey taught a system of chords built on five groups of four strings to which he gave

letter designations from A to E. With the highest string (in pitch) as 1 and the lowest as 6, the sets

were: A: 6432, B: 5432, C: 5321, D: 6543 and E: 4321. The basis of the system was five types of

seventh chords. Here in Leaheys own hand is his explanation of the derivation of the chord types

or qualities:

Although there are five chord sets, there are only two distinct sets of voicings. The

voicings of letter A are duplicated by letter C and letters B, D and E are all the same voicing.

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The chord study began with the progression C Major 7th, A minor 7th, D minor 7th, G7th.

The chords are to be learned as a progression in four positions and as four chords in four

inversions each. The following pages illustrate the chord progression worked out in five chord

sets. Each set is represented by a grid. The grids rows are the progression and its columns are the

chord inversions.

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The following pages illustrate the five seventh types worked out in all five chord sets.

Each set is represented by a grid. The grids rows are the five chord types and its columns are the

chord inversions. Although the sets are shown together they are meant to be studied individually,

each one mastered before going on to the next one.

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The next step towards mastery of a chord set is a series of root exercises which consist

of, in four inversions each CM7, FM7, BbM7, etc. through the circle of fifths. This is repeated for

each of the 7th chord types. Short chord progressions are given to figure out. Here is an example:

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Dm7 (#5), G7 (b5), CM7 (b5), CM7 (#5). Each chord is to be played in four inversions and the

progression is to be played in four positions.

From the 7th chords the 9th, 11th and 13th chords are derived as follows. Ninth chords are

built by replacing the root with the 2nd, 11th chords are built by replacing the 3rd with the 4th and

13th chords are built by replacing the 5th with the 6th. Once the student has learned the 9th, 11th and

13th chords the progressions become more complex as this next example illustrates: Fm (M7),

Bb7 (b5 b9), EbM13 11, cm11 (#5).

Harry Leahey stated his philosophy of teaching in an interview published in the Home

News, a Plainfield area newspaper. Most of the time what Im dealing with is mechanics. Since I

lean toward improvisation, I like to give the student a tune to play as soon as I feel he can handle

it. With guitar, you can go on teaching the mechanical and technical aspects for years. You can

take scales and go on to modes and intervals, and the student can have all this knowledge and still

not know how to play a tune.32 Here an example of a tune from a lesson he gave to me in late

1968.

32 Richard Skelly December 2, 1988 The Home News He keeps on pluckin.

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Standard songs such as Tenderly would be harmonized using these chord forms by

playing the melody on the highest string and finding the chord voicings that went under the

melody notes. While harmonizing a song using just one group of strings can necessitate awkward

leaps and occasional register changes, it opens the door to rich chord melody arrangements. Using

this system it is possible to create instant arrangements that are serviceable and often sound

great right out of the box.

After the student had done all five sets, Leahey would write out simple melodies with

chord progressions to harmonize with the melody on each of the six strings, using set C for the

first string, B for the second string, D for the third string, E for the forth string, C for the fifth

string and A for the sixth string. The first three combinations had the melody in the treble note of

the chords, the other three in the bass notes. Here is an example assignment and its solutions.

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Harry Leahey once told me that it is not how many chords you know, but how you use

the chords you know that is important. While it is certainly true that a guitarist can make

wonderful music with a limited chord vocabulary, in the hands of a creative musician the

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encyclopedic knowledge with which the diligent student of this system will be rewarded can

provide the basis for beautiful harmonic explorations.

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Analysis of Harry Leaheys solo on Djangos Castle (Manoir de Mes Rves)

Harry Leaheys solo on Djangos Castle (Django Reinhardt) from Live From

The Showboat by the Phil Woods Six (1977) RCA LP 12": BGL2-2202 is a masterpiece

of construction and motivic development. He uses Reinhardts melody as a point of

departure and builds upon it in extremely creative ways. While he doesnt use any of

Reinhardts signature licks, his glissandi, tremolos, bent notes, etc, his improvisation

stays connected to the melody throughout, sometimes in very subtle ways. His uses of

motives and contour give the entire solo coherence. His approach to the song is

dramatically different from Reinhardts. Where Reinhardt played the song as a slow,

Swing style ballad, Leahey gives it a Bossa Nova treatment. He retains the original key of

D Major. In the early part of the structure Leahey uses the same chords as Reinhardt but

alters the harmonic rhythm. Later he introduces chord substitutions. Even when his

chords go the furthest from the original they always sound inside and logical within the

framework of the song.

Reinhardts melody, as recorded by Django Reinhardt on February 17, 1943 for

the Swing record label and reproduced here, is based on an ascending two note motive

which is answered by a descending motive. Both motives are stretched out over two

measures. The theme is almost entirely built on this pattern, with decorative figures in the

half cadence at mm 12-16 and two ascending motives in the climax at mm 25-28. The

harmonic rhythm of the song, starting with the half note pickup note up to the last eight

measures at m 25, consists of a chord lasting two beats followed by a chord lasting for six

beats. This harmonic rhythm follows the melodic rhythm. At mm 25-28 the chords

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sustain for eight beats each. Finally at mm 29-30 there are two chords per measure, two

beats each. Measures 31-32 are essentially the tonic chord with two fill-in color chords at

beats three and four of m 31. For the first twenty four measures of his solo Leahey

employs the same chords as Reinhardt but alters the harmonic rhythm. Instead of the

repeating short/long pattern he smoothes out the rhythm and gives each chord four beats.

Measures 25-28 of the melody are the climax At this point the harmony consists of two

measures of the IV chord and two measures of the II7 chord. At this point, where

Reinhardt has slowed the harmonic rhythm, Leahey speeds it up. The two measures of

GMaj become one measure of GMaj7 followed by one measure of Em7. The rhythmic

momentum is heightened by a scale wise descending bass line from G to D in half notes,

effectively doubling the harmonic rhythm. At m 27, instead of progressing to an E7 chord

as Reinhardt does, Leahey continues the movement of the bass to a C#, as the root of a

C#m11 chord. This chord lasts for two beats and acts as a secondary ii chord to B minor,

the relative minor to the songs tonality. The C#m leads to an F#7, a secondary V chord

to B minor. In m 28 Leahey progresses to a B minor chord for two beats, and finally in

the second half of the measure to the E7 chord that was in the original. This entire two

measure sequence of chords has served as a way of delaying the entry of the E7 harmony.

In Leaheys melody statement he keeps the F# melody note as a common tone over this

series of chords. It is worth mentioning that this sequence of chords appears in the same

place in Richard Rogerss My Romance. Whether this was intentional on Leaheys part

will never be known. Measures 29-30 of the original contain a chromatic sequence of

#iim7 #V7 iim7 V7 leading to the final cadence. At this point Leahey applies an

interesting substitution. Where Reinhardt leads to the ii V from a half step above, Leahey

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puts a bivm7 bII7 progression in m31. He has used the chromatic ii V movement but

moved a half step down from Bm7 E9 sequence in m 28. Since Bbm7 and Eb7 are a

tritone away from Em7 and A7, this pair of chords serves as a substitute for the ii V

progression in D Major. Since the melody note in m 29 is an F it fits perfectly on top of

these substitute chords. In m 30 Leahey uses the original chords, Em7 to A7. Placing the

basic chords after the substitute chords has the effect of making the standard chords

sound surprising and fresh. At mm 31-32 Reinhardt breaks up the two measures of tonic

chord by putting a ivm6 and a #iv diminished 7 on the third and fourth beats of m 31,

returning to the tonic chord for m 32. Leahey takes this I ivm change and expands it into

a two measure interlude, one measure for each chord. This gives the soloist a sort of a

dnouement in which to wrap up the ideas expressed in the body of the solo. These

reharmonizations occur at the climactic part of the song and heighten that effect. They

also provide fertile ground for melodic invention.

Leaheys solo is one chorus long (thirty two bars plus the two bar interlude). He

expands on the songs call and response motif. Throughout the solo he builds a series of

call and response phrases, each one like a pair of perfectly matched bookends. The

original melody is almost entirely inside the chord changes. In keeping with the spirit

of this almost completely diatonic melody Leahey chooses almost exclusively notes that

fall within the scale or that relate closely to the chord against which they are played. Any

chromatic (relative to the chord) notes that he uses are either decorative, passing tones

between chord notes or clearly outline substitute chords. His use of chord substitutions is

masterful; in one place he presents three different sonorities against one basic harmony in

the space of one measure. He does this in such a melodic way that the listener is unaware

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that he has been taken on this sonic walk around the block. He uses rhythmic variety to

propel the solo forward and accentuate his note choices. There is not one single measure

of uninterrupted eighth or sixteenth notes. Instead there is a combination of syncopated

eighth and sixteenth note runs, with generous doses of sustained notes and rests.

Moreover he plays with the eighth note values. Never quite straight, never quite swing,

the runs float over the Bossa Nova-like rhythm section, gently playing with the listeners

ear. He uses subtle dynamics as well. Although most of the solo is played within a limited

dynamic range, at one point he plays a short figure, almost as an aside very softly,

immediately bringing the level up the match the intensity of the next phrase. Finally there

is his tone. Leahey used extra heavy strings on his guitar and played with a very small

polished stone pick. This gave his guitar an incredibly rich warm sound which was

captured beautifully in this recording. His sustained notes are given a lovely wide vibrato

and have an incredibly bright ringing sound for an amplified acoustic guitar.

Here are the first two phrases of Djangos Castle, mm 1-8 plus the pickup note:

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This alternation of a two note ascending motive with a two note descending motive sets

the pattern for most of the melody of the song. Here is the opening phrase of Leaheys

solo, mm 1-4:

He begins the first measure with F# to A, the motive with which Reinhardt begins his

original melody. Measure one ends with F# to E, the motive with which Reinhardt

answers the first. The C# and the second A in the middle of the measure serve to outline

the tonic D Major 7 chord. Just as Reinhardt did, Leahey sustains the last note of m 1 into

m 2 making a two bar motive. However Leahey has compressed the call and response of

Reinhardts first phrase into one motive. Reinhardt placed the F# in the pickup to the first

full measure. Placing it against the A7 (b9) chord gave the note color as it functioned as a

13th. Giving it two full beats further accentuated it and reinforced its status as an

important melody note. Leahey, on the other hand played a G note, the 7th of the

Dominant A7 chord as a pickup note. He plays it as an eighth note on the and of four,

giving it a definite upbeat feeling, as if he were taking a breath before going to the

important F# note on the downbeat. Like Reinhardt Leahey completes his phrase with a

two measure answering motive. Measures 3-4 are virtually identical in rhythm and very

similar in contour to mm 1-2. Rather than outline the chord, he plays a short scalar

passage from B, the 6th of the harmony to D, the tonic before descending to G. The G is

sustained and serves as a sort of a reverse suspension. Within the D Major 7 chord the G

is a dissonant non-chord note, the avoid note. In m 4 it becomes the 7th of the A7 and

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thus resolves, albeit to the most dissonant member of the chord. The original melody

places a pickup note prominently on the third beat of m 2, leading to the answer. By

contrast, Leahey leads into his, again on the third beat, with a three note stepwise figure

in a descending sequence that dovetails beautifully into m 3. The four measure phrase is

symmetrical, consisting of two semi phrases of two measures each. While it is primarily

made up of ascending figures the overall contour is descending. The main motivic

material is in eighth and longer notes and the connecting sequence uses sixteenth notes to

move it forward. The pickup note leading into the phrase and the final note of the phrase

are G notes.

Here is the second phrase of the solo, mm 5-8, with the pickup note:

Again Leahey leads into the phrase with a pickup note on the and of four leading down

stepwise to the downbeat. He then continues with a variation of Reinhardts up/down

motif. In m 5 he plays on lower pitches than m 1, but they function as higher voices

within the chord. He sustains the last note of m 5 into m 6 and plays an arpeggio as a lead

into the motive that begins in m 7. There is a subtle subtext to the up/down pattern in

these two measures. He expands on the pickup note stepping down to a stressed note. The

second half of m 6 is a C# diminished 7th arpeggio, which forms the upper notes of an

A7(b9) chord. A D note on the and of two leads down, stepwise to this arpeggio. The

Bb note on the and of four leads stepwise down to an A note in m 7. This A note in turn

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begins another up/down figure. There are two interesting features to this measure. First of

all, a more common figure for a guitarist to play would have been this:

The B note would have continued the forward motion (and been easier to play.) But

Leahey was not finished with his pattern of stepping downward into accented notes. He

then goes up to a D, or the 11th of the chord in anticipation of t