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Post your stories or comments about Claude RangerDo you have a story about Claude? Have you played/studied with him or heard him play? Post your recollections & thoughts about Claude here so that others may also enjoy them. Or if you prefer, email me direct & I can post them for you mailto:armand@clauderanger.com . THIS FORM HAS BEEN DISABLED DUE TO SPAMBOTS! - please email me any comments regarding Claude... ------------Comments/Stories------------ Date: 09/18/2009 at 11:13:16
Poster: Gerry Labelle
When we played at the Esquire Show Bar with Elvin Jones - Elvin`s Band was with great players and great people, Gene Perla on Bass, Steve Grossman & David Liebman on Saxophone, Jan Hammer on Rhodes keyboard, I was playing with Claude`S Band than, We ended up all playing together at times and Elvin did come up and sit in with us to play and have fun. For those that were in the audience this must have been an hysterical time because we were letting creativity go without concerns of anything. Let me say that all Elvin & Dave were great to us, they made feel like one of the guys, sharing stories of the great John Coltrane group. Dave Liebman is something else not only has a player or educator but has a great humanist, his sincerity and humility has been a great spiritual light to me. He was a perfect fit for Claude. This was the time that we were switching from Claude`S Band to my Band playing different material depending on the job opportunity we had. All I can say Claude would take No back seat to any one, he was always intense with great musical ideas and he made the music happen all the time. If you expected a down beat on 2 and 4 Claude was not you're drummer, if you wanted action and the best of creativity he was the master.
I can remember many great moments with Claude I always gave him all the room he wanted and he did the same for me. Armand I can only ask that every one that still care about Claude have a minute of prayer for someone that needs it very much. God bless you for doing what you're doing, giving credit to is art. May this site help not only Claude but his ex-wife and the beautiful twin daughters that he had. You have no idea that Claude would have been doing what he did without them. It is very unfortunate that his life has turned around but of no surprise to me knowing that he always walked on the edge. Last time I meet with Claude was Approx year 2000 in North Vancouver he came to visit me, he wanted to play again, he mentioned than I don't want to play tunes anymore I just want to play with people that understand where I am going. There are very few people that understood Claude's way of thinking. Free but not free. He also made me aware that he was very sick, we had discussed the kind of music he would like to do and again no surprise to me it just got stronger confirming what he always enjoyed doing. A combination of stuctures and free zones. Unfortunately it never happened, I was back in Montreal busy doing what I do and he was in Vancouver. Maybe in the future God only knows!!!!!!!!
I will ask that any one that wishes to talk about Claude please remember that he needs love, and please also remember that he has 2 beautiful daughters that will enjoy one day hearing about good things to remember from their father. Leave out the unnecessary stories that would not make him feel good or not bring some healing to the ones that have been hurting along the way. He is a good man that has been true to what he believes musically. I will always miss you my friend.
Have a Nice day.
Gerry Labelle
Date: 09/18/2009 at 11:06:00
Poster: Larry Crowe
I stumbled upon your site and it brought back some memories!
I studied at York University here in Toronto between 1980 and 1985. I studied with Claude for a year. I have one fond memory of those lessons on Silverbirch Ave. Claude had a dog named Serge (a German Sheppard). I remember having to hold down a jazz ride pattern (ding ding da ding etc...) play various snare and bass drum patterns against that while Serge growled at me! This sure improved my concentration! Ha! Ha! I'll never forget those lessons!
I also remember your brother, great bass player! I used to and still work with a bass player named Steve Bright who I'm sure Marty would remember.
Cheers
Larry Crowe
Date: 09/18/2009 at 10:34:13
Poster: Alan Roth
I am friends with Lorne Lofsky and Shelly Berger, and we made the transition from rock to jazz together....we used to go down to Georges and Bourbon St and see Claude a lot. I remember seeing a concert that may have been a fundraiser for medical treatment for Ed Blackwell (don't quote me on this part...my memory's foggy)...but Claude and Michel Donato played with Sonny Rollins and I can still remember their 5 minute vamp before Sonny came out from the back, winding his way to the stage through the tables.....that was one serious groove.
Thanks for your response..and thanks for doing your part to keep the memory of Claude's playing alive. Between Terry Clarke and Claude, we were treated in Toronto to top level jazz drumming....
Alan Roth
Date: 01/09/2007 at 07:04:46
Poster: Stories - CommentsDavid Decker
I came across your site this morning following an impulse to google various sites pertaining to the history of jazz in Canada.
I couldn't resist writing after discovering yours; my personal history will tell you why. I am 56 years old, an American currently living in Falls Church, Virginia. Although raised in Rochester, NY, I attended the University of Toronto during the years 1968-69. I had studied jazz drumming in Rochester under the tutelage of Alfred Aman while in high school, and, though I never considered playing professionally, the vibrant music scene of both the campus and the city pulled me into its orbit. I withdrew from university, began studying privately with James Blackley, and performing with trumpeter Mike Malone, pianist Paul Schaeffer (of David Letterman fame), Jim Heineman, Ted and Kathy Moses, and guitarist Michael Munoz.
Taking a break from playing during the summer of 1970, I managed a restaurant owned by Bob Levant called Meat and Potatoes, just outside the U of T campus grounds on Huron Street as I recall, and was involved in hiring most of the music performers showcased there up until the spring of 1971 when I returned to playing full time. Top jazz players were among those who performed there at that time including Sonny Greenwich, Don Thompson, Jerry Fuller, Terry Clarke, Ed Bickert, Lenny Breau, Ronnie Parks, Glen MacDonald...and the Brian Barley trio with Claude Ranger and Michael Donato, as I recall, on bass.
I could not agree with you more regarding Claude Ranger's talent. He is, in my view, the finest jazz drummer in Canadian jazz history. Other superb drummers of those years had wonderful musicality in their playing. But none had combined that sense of the music with both utterly flawless technique and at the same time that magnificent timekeeping "feel" of Claude's. So powerful; so musical; but always so loose. He is Canada's Elvin Jones.
I agree with you that it is simply unfathomable how so great a jazz talent could remain in such obscurity. You are performing a wonderful service honoring Claude as you are, both to the man and to the art form. I wish you the very best.
Date: 01/09/2007 at 07:00:22
Poster: Stories - CommentsMiles Black
Claude lived in my hometown of Vancouver in the 80's -90's with his gal Judy. During that time, I played with him occasionally with vocalist Kate Hammett-Vaughan. We even recorded an album with Kate which was never released, as well as some tracks for CBC's Hot-Air CD Vol#1. I also played a few times with Campbell Ryga's quartet featuring Claude.
In 1994, Claude played in my quartet. We travelled across Canada during the summer months thanks to a Canada Council grant, playing all major jazz festivals. The group featured Tom Keenlyside on flute and sax, Miles Hill on Bass, and myself on piano. Before the tour we recorded an album on cassette, called "Spin Cycle". I may have a single copy left...I will find it and burn it onto CD for you so you can hear what may have been Claude's last album. I am fairly certain that our tour was Ranger's last.
I'll never forget my old friend...he was at times very gentle and at other times quite fiery. He was always very kind to me, and helped a great deal with my French studies. His playing varied from night to night, depending on his mood. His playing consistently swung, and some evenings it was beyond belief.
One night with Cambell Ryga's quartet I turned around to watch Claude play a drum solo on a fast bebop tune. He played for a few bars, creating a thunderous sound, with cymbals and kick drum creating some sort of demonic roar, then stopped to light a cigarette!! Here is the part that defies explanation: As he was engaged in lighting the smoke, the drum solo mysteriously continued! I mean, the sound of loud drumming continued. We watched in awe as this wizard of the drums non-chalantly picked up where he left off! Regarding the famous dangling cigarette, Claude told me that he did not inhale...the cigartte was simply a way to help him 'forget about the drums'. That struck me as a Zen technique, although I have not adopted it myself.
As for his whereabouts, I have not seen or heard from him in many years.
All the best, and thank you for the wonderful site!
Date: 12/12/2006 at 11:20:53
Poster: Stories - CommentsPhil Dwyer
I vividly remember sitting in one of the dorm rooms with Graham Kirkland
in 1982 listening to tapes that he had of Claude with Kirk, Marty, and
Roland. Graham was a total Claude devotee at that time (and for many
years after), and while the music was different than anything I had
heard up to that point (I was 16 years old) I found it very inspiring.
That was the same year that I met Don Thompson, who of course had
nothing but superlatives to describe Claude. After playing with both Don and
Claude over the years in different situations the thing that I found them to
have in common was a relative intolerance (expressed in very different ways)
for players who were unwilling(able) to truly commit to the music. They both
really demand a total 'go for it' approach, and would seem perplexed when that
didn't happen. I guess that's why both Don and Claude seemed to gravitate
towards younger players who might not have the refinement but who were willing
to leave their internal organs hanging out at the end of the night.
In the summer of '84 I lived in a house with Jonnie Bakan, Rik Villa,
the White brothers, Steve Donald, and Graham K. I don't know how we all fit!
Most, or all now that I think about it, of the guys in that house
were playing in Claude's band at the time so naturally I got a chance
to check out what they were up to and then did some playing with
Claude myself. I had just got back from several mind-altering months
of studying etc in New York and had lots of crazy aggressive energy,
which I'm sure Claude just loved. Anyway he ended up hiring me to
play with him at Bourbon Street for a week (or maybe part of a week I
don't really remember) and at that point I decided that I would
probably move to Toronto permanently......so when the club closed
it's doors shortly before the gig I was crushed, and went back to the
west coast.
I think it was around '86 or '87 that he moved to
Vancouver because I did a bunch of playing with him around that time,
including concerts at the Western Front, and the Yardbird Suite
(Edmonton) with Don Thompson and Rene Worst, a bunch of gigs in this
funky underground space that Chris Nelson (RIP) was booking, and also
opening for Charlie Haden with a group that Claude put together with
me and 3 or 4 other tenor players. The guys at Coastal Jazz and Blues
I think were quite supportive of him in terms of booking him for the
supporting bands for 'headliners' at the jazz fest, but as you know
being a 'back-up' musician was not really Claude's thing and the
constant smoking and drinking started to wear thin as times changed.
Shortly after that I moved to Toronto and only played with Claude
once or twice during trips back to BC for visits. I did do a really
fun gig with Sean Drabbit and Brad Turner at the Glass Slipper but I
can't remember too many details.
The subject of Claude's whereabouts is an often raised topic in these
parts, and I am asked frequently about him as well when I make trips
back to Toronto. No-one seems to have any hard information, but it
has been over ten years since I have seen him and at that point he
was still sounding great but was playing in a lot of pain.
I can't say that I really know him very well, probably few do, but we
did have a really good connection on a musical level, and I was quite
often on the receiving end of some of his pointed observations
concerning the foibles of many of the musicians 'on the scene'. He
seemed quite incapable of managing the routine affairs of day to day
existence. I don't know if that was something that he cultivated and
then let get out of hand, or if he was always just like that. I do
know that anyone who came into contact with Claude, and was open to
what he had to offer, was profoundly affected by the experience. This
was certainly the case with me. I have a drawing of Claude (done by
Kirk's very talented wife Lucy) hanging up in my living room and when
people ask 'who is that' I play them the drum solo from the end of
"For Dave Holland" by way of explanation.
Sincerely,
Phil Dwyer
[editor's note - see www.roadhouserecords.ca/albums/memories.html for the album referred
to in this post]
Date: 11/13/2006 at 10:22:03
Poster: Stories - CommentsJames Scott (oscarwildeofwit@hotmail.com)
I plan to make a documentary on Claude in the new year. If anyone is willing to speak on camera about their experiences with Claude please contact me at the email address above.
Date: 11/09/2006 at 15:55:06
Poster: Stories - Commentstodd jollimore
as a young man I had the priveledge of knowing claude. my father was a member of Dr. Music as well as many other projects with claude. as a young drummer wanabee I had the luck to have a couple of lessons, of course to be told I was a putz and should become a guitar player. well drummers dont take criticism well and I continue to be a putz who wishes he could be one tenth the musician and drummer, and still dont play guitar!
Date: 11/06/2006 at 06:49:46
Poster: Stories - CommentsJm
Wow - claude ranger is a revelation - incredible!
Date: 04/26/2006 at 08:17:28
Poster: Stories - Commentsmmorse@ca.inter.net
My good friend Terry King has mentioned our introduction to Claude in 1970. We were the house band in a jazz coffee house in Val David called Jazz et Café. Some amazing people trooped through there, including Marius Coulthier, Peter Leitch, a very young Steve Hall, and Brian Barley. Brian amazed us, of course, and told us about Claude's playing and writing. He showed us some of Claude's tunes, and explained some things about Claude's unique and insightful concept of harmony, based on the extensions of a seventh chord.
Terry and I went down to Old Montreal, and heard him with Billie Robinson, Peter Leitch, and Freddie McHugh. Growing up in NJ/NYC, I had already heard many great musicians--but nothing like this. The energy and creativity never flagged for a second, nor did the utter beauty of sound from the drums.
Shortly afterwards, Terry and I asked Claude to play a set at a college concert. To our amazement he said yes, and even agreed to do a rehearsal. We played in the basement of the McGill student centre. Claude was affable but quiet, setting up with seeming unconcern. The first tune we called was Claude's "Le Pingouin,: which we had learned from a record of Claude, Brian, and bassist Daniel Lessard. The bass line is a simple chromatic pattern in half steps. I started playing it, and after a few measures, Claude started to play. That first few moments was one of the defining moments of my life. He was playing the most complex things I had ever heard from
a drummer, yet it fit so beautifully and simply with the bass line he composed.
We finished the rehearsal, and played the concert a few days later, in a kind of ecstatic daze. We finished our set, and had to find the promoter to get our salary. 20 or 30 dollars for all three of us? Something like that; we gave it all to Claude, naturally. In any event, Claude waited backstage. The next act had already started, a loud rock band. When we found Claude, he was sitting with his back to the wall, which shaking from the volume of the rock band--composing music! Thunderstruck, we asked how he could do this, and he said something like "only what you hear inside matters."
Many folks here have rightly mentioned Claude's capacity to turn any musical event into something extraordinary and artistic. I remember once going to hear Claude up on St. Hubert someplace, with Terry and Jerry Labelle. The group was just a trio, an amiable but utterly pedestrian organist, singer--and Claude. The music was the most banal bar trash of the day. One of the numbers was a merengue. The hook to the commercial merengue beat is four sixteenth-notes on the snare drum at the end of the second bar of the pattern, leading to the downbeat: ducka-ducka-DUM; ducka-ducka-DUM. When the tune started, my friends and I suddenly felt something utterly marvellous, and didn't know immediately what it was. We soon figured it out. Claude was playing all of the standard accents for merengue, but was playing the principle figure on the ride cymbal instead of the snare. The first sixteenth note, he left out altogether. The next was piano-pianissimo, the next pianissimo, and the fourth and last piano, in a slight, incedibly controlled crescendo. The effect was magical, profoundly musical, and danceable, too! Even if someone else had thought of this ingenious variation, it demands virtuoso control of dynamics to pull it off. Who else but Claude could do that?
Claude always played the complete music, never just a drum part. I had the opportunity to work four nights with Claude in Ottawa, a trio gig with baritone saxophonist Charles Papasoff. It was all standards and jazz tunes, and Claude played with such sensitivity to the music that you actually hear the chord changes, both in his accompaniment and solos. Here was a drummer on the level of the greatest in jazz, a composer and theorist of the same calibre, and a profoundly inspiring bandleader and teacher to several generations of musicians.
Michael Morse
Date: 04/18/2006 at 16:50:04
Poster: Stories - CommentsDave Liebman
Claude was a true original and for that time when I knew him (early 70s) a voice in the Canadian wilderness, speaking drum wise. He was clever, sincere and the real deal. He didn't take any prisoners!! It's a pity he is not on the scene giving forth his great energy.
Dave Liebman
Date: 04/15/2006 at 21:37:54
Poster: Stories - CommentsSteve Hall steve_hall57@hotmail.com
Having been curious and concerned about the current state of Claude for several years now, I was very pleased this week to be directed to this site by which to celebrate and maintain some visibility and access to the contribution of a unique Canadian musical genius who is/was also despite his quirks a beautiful sensitive human being. While it would be good to know that he is alive and in any way well even if no longer pursuing music, it is gratifying at least to see that he is not forgotten, and to share some experiences of him with others. I first heard Claude live at the Jazz en Liberte broadcast performances with Brian Barley, Lee Gagnon and others and at least in one instance under his leadership and featuring his writing, in the late 60s era, and met him through my friendship with Brian, another superb musician (tenor/soprano/bass clarinet) who passed tragically at 27. ( These CBC archives if they have still exist could be investigated as a source for material to preserve here). His trio with Claude and Michel Donato and later Daniel Lessard on bass was by far the best and most exciting group in Montreal at the time, to me at least. I recall it was called Aquarius Rising, also the name of a Barley composition (which I believe I have somewhere in my archives in Brians’ hand), and Claude would take these incredible extended stop and go solos with the two inch cigarette ash suspensefully hanging out his mouth corner. At some point he heard me play and heard something he liked, and it was a tremendous boost that this highly evolved player not only agreed to play local gigs with me but I recall while at Vanier College him bringing his kit over just to play trio with myself and bassist Dave Gelfand, who has posted a comment here also. We would play tunes but Claude also liked to play “free” , and I remember how telepathic he seemed, how exciting to attempt to iniate a new feeling or tempo and have it just materialize like magic with so much drama and swing. Gelfand and I were in love with Tony Williams, who was obviously one of Claudes’ major influences and of whom he spoke in special regard, and we felt with some right even in retrospect that we were fortunate enough to be playing with someone in a similar league as Tony. Reading Gene Perlas’ telling comment re Claude, the great drummers and Elvin Jones brings to mind being witness to two or three nights in the early seventies featuring a double bill at the Esquire Show Bar on Stanley where Claudes’ quartet with Jerry Labelle had the daunting task of trading sets with Elvin with Gene, Dave Liebman and Jan Hammer playing very serious Fender piano, and totally holding their own, Elvin and Claude seeming to inspire each other as the night progressed, embracing afterwards. Dave and I also had the unique experience of being graciously hosted by Herbie Hancock at his hotel during an engagement of his sextet there, having the nerve to play him a recording of us with Claude to which his response was ”tasty drummer”. I recently came across a recording from the Rising Sun of myself and Claude with Jane Fair and Brian Hurley from circa 73-75 and really felt sorry for him because his level was so far beyond us( and indeed he rarely got to play with true peers with the exception of Sonny Greenwhich and a handful of others) and yet he was always encouraging and complimentary to me. At one point he wrote out some diminished exercises of his own design I believe for me to practice, which might be interesting to post here if I can unearth them. Also will pursue locating a great recording of Aquarius Rising featuring his composition “Le Pingouin”. The last time I experienced Claude was in the mid-nineties when he was playing with PJ Perry at the Montreal festival, and we played together at one of the evening hotel sessions, just another impression of being uplifted and amazed, and at that time he seemed much more relaxed and in control of his habits than in previous years. As I suppose is obvious, I feel a great deal of love and gratitude to this man and wherever he may be wish him all peace and blessing. Thank you Armand once again for this tribute website and opportunity to honor Cluade Ranger.
Date: 04/13/2006 at 05:18:07
Poster: Stories - CommentsDavid Gelfand davidjoelgelfand hotmail.com
I got a chance to play with Claude in Montredal in the early seventies with tenor saxophonist Steve Hall. I played a set at the Café Prague and we did a few jam sessions at Vanier College. He was extremely encouraging to both of us (we were very green back then!). Somewhere in my father's basement are some decaying reels of tapes of these sessions.
Playing with Claude was an incredible experience. he could bring out the best in any musician if he liked you! You felt he was listening to you and the whole band. He left an indelible mark on my playing.
Date: 01/23/2006 at 20:33:33
Poster: Stories - CommentsBarry Romberg
when i was coming up in the late 70's & early 80's, i used to go & see Claude play all the time.
the gigs with Sonny Greenwich were always particularly awesome.
you would sit there with your eyes closed listening to the music & he would playing something really heavy & you'd open your eyes to see what he was doing & more often than not he'd be lighting a smoke or cracking another beer & playing with one hand!
one time he was playing with James Moody at Bourbon St. Claude really brought the whole gig to a whole other level. after, we talked and i gave him a ride home. i was driving my mothers car & as soon as he got in he immediately cracked a beer, which made a little uneasy.
i told him that the gig was killer & he said he hated it.
then he told me that he had no use for his hihat any longer?
but the one gig that sticks in mind is when Claude played with Dave Liebman. at one point they were playing a duet & it was so intense Dave had his soprano pointing between the cymbals directly at Claude, who for about the only ten minutes i ever witnessed did not smoke or drink, that was really something, heavy!
i can't imagine how much of an influence he had on me? i would have to say quite a bit!
CLAUDE WAS THE SHIT!!
after Claude left TO and went to the west coast there would be occasions where i would be playing somewhere on tour; a few times i can recall where i'd be playing on an outdoor stage i'd turn around & he'd be standing behind me.
on the one hand i was flattered that he actually came out to see me, but on the other hand the last thing i needed was to have Claude Ranger standing behind me when i'm playing. boy, my lick went right out the window.
i don't think he was playing then, & we would talk abit, that happenned twice, and that was the last time i saw him.
there is no doubt in my mind that Claude goes down in history as one of the all time great drummers, along with all the other heavies.
unfortunetly he was certainly under recorded, and that trio thing that was never released with Brian Barley & Michel Donato is unbelievable!
it's also too bad no recordings were released with his band with Kirk, Roland, Marty & Chris. that was a nice band, Claude wrote some great music for that band.
Where ever you are MY MAN i wish you well.
i feel so privileged to have been able to share in the experience of your genius. you raised the bar for all that followed.
http://www.barryromberg.com
Date: 01/01/2006 at 17:03:50
Poster: Stories - CommentsJoey Goldstein joegoldATsympaticoDOTca
Hi. I just stumbled onto this web site. I'm glad you're doing this.
The first jazz album I ever played on was Ron Allen's record Leftovers. Claude was the drummer on 1 side of the LP. (Ron on saxes, me on guitar, and Dave Fields on bass.) We taped a live performance at a club called Danielle's and Ron included it on his album.
I was totally lost for most of that side with Claude! But I still run into people who tell me how good they thought that stuff sounded.
I only knew Claude a little bit thru my association with Ron and a bit more thru other things happening around town. He was the A-list drummer that I always wanted to play with because he pushed you beyond what you thought you could do. Most of my favorite Toronto drummers were students of Claude or were highly influenced by him. It was an great honour to have gotten to play with him, let alone record with him.
I've heard the stories of Claude having a real hard time-of-it nowadays. I hope he's doing better now than the worst of these stories have it and that things are going a little easier for this great great musician.
Date: 12/09/2005 at 22:44:50
Poster: Stories - Commentstony tonyrowat@hotmail.com
I was a fan of the second Doctor Music album, and the TV show they were playing on "The Music Machine" was it? This was around 1974. So I saw Claude on TV. I was knocked out. I can't really put it into words- you had to see him live, as other posters have said. I have most of his Lps/cds, but they were always a pale sketch of the 3 dimensions of him live. Maybe 4 dimensions. Maybe 5. He really was the most extraordinary drummer I've ever seen. Of course, part was the cigarette, the beer, the look...and then the amazing drumming.I was a drummer myself, and so he was an inspiration. For some reason I never asked to take lessons with him; I don't know why- maybe I was intimidated. I started drumming in 1970, and played for fifteen years, and he was my main guy. I saw him whenever I heard he was in Toronto, and it was always a unique event.
The first time I saw him, Dr. Music was doing a gig at the Colonial Tavern, in 1974 (just before it became a strip club- it had been jazz since the 40's, I believe). DM had just released
"Bedtime Story", the best Canadian jazz album ever, hands down. The group that night was stunning: Doug Riley on organ, Steve Kennedy and Keith Jollimore on horns, Don Thompson on bass, Bruce Cassidy on trumpet, Barrie Tallman on trombone, Doug Mallory on guitar and soulful dark vocals, and Claude and (I think) Terry Clarke on drums with Michael Craden on wild percussion. The band knocked me out and on the break I approached Claude, who was sitting alone on the balcony, drinking. I stammered how great I thought he was, and he replied in French: then I realized we were the two solitides in action. I also realized he had almost few teeth, and he was quite heavy in those days.
I saw him at several other gigs, but one that stands out was when he premiered his own band (this was around 1981, I think). He had lost a lot of weight and had a new girlfriend who was his aggressive and ambitious manager. I remember Kirk Mcdonald and Chris Chahley were on horns, Roland Bourgeois was on flugelhorn, Mark Eisenman played keyboards and Marty Malanson was on bass. At later gigs the piano was gone, and this harked back to Claude's horns, bass and drums band from Montreal in the late sixties. The new band played a lot of Claude's compostions (as did the sixties version) and it was a terrific outfit; they should have been recorded. I recall CJRT broadcast a concert of theirs in Toronto, so there must at least be that tape extant.
But there was of course the dark side of Claude: at a c.1979 week-long gig with Lenny Breau, Claude was fired the first night for drunkeness, and a friend of mine talked to Lenny who said that Claude had blown the recording date for the album too. Then around 1982/83 I went to Stratford (the town hall) for a Sonny Greenwich gig. It was funny and tragic. First, as a civic building there was no smoking and no drinking. So Claude lost his 2 main props. But then he began to "secretly" drink, that is by intermittently revolving 180 degrees on his stool and tilting his head back (while keeping the beat going with the ride cymbal). It wasn't so secret, of course, and there were giggles from the audience. However, as the performance continued, something awful became apparent: Claude was getting bombed.
He began to play behind the band- I mean, he wasn't playing too slow, he was just behind,like a half a beat- consistently. It was like watching a master musician slowly deconstructing his technique right before your eyes. Then he almost fell off the stool, but would save himself at the last second. The whole audience became caught up in this strange saga of: is he going to fall off the stool or not?. We would all move our bodies with his, then right ours as he did his.
He never did fall off the stool, but the gig was destroyed, although it was an interesting human drama. After the show I and a friend stayed at our table, unable to look away from the car crash that had just occurred. Greenwich, who had a right to be really pissed off, was instead trying to do a one-man intervention, but Claude was having none of it. You couldn't hear what Sonny was saying, but he was being very polite, gentle and patient; but every once in a while Claude would explode, loudly yelling something like " OH, SO YOU THINK I"M DRUNK, EH?" or "SO YOU THINK I F@#$%D UP THE GIG, EH?"
It was extremely unpleasant, and deeply saddening.
After that, Claude's reputation in Toronto started
to go down: everyone knew he was brilliant, probably the best drummer out of Canada ever, one of the greatest jazz drummers in the world at that time, but he had become..."unreliable".
Later I heard he moved back to Montreal, and then out to Vancouver, and then...nothing.
PS: I spoke with Don Thompson about 2 years ago when he was doing a little big band gig (about 10 guys) in TO; I asked him about the Dr. Music material on GRT records, and he said the studio had gone bankrupt and all the tapes were seized and probably destroyed at that time (or sold for the tape). So if cds are to ever come out,they'll have to be done from Lps. So keep your Lps!!
PPS: I think Claude's greatest recordings were the CBC album with Brian Barley (such a genius), and the two GRT albums, which I think are the two greatest, most original and beautifully "Canadian"
jazz albums ever recorded: "Bedtime Story" and Moe Koffman's "Solar Explorations" (both 1974). But there's another session that may be the most original Canadian session ever: I believe it is a studio session, because that's what Mark Miller (who wrote such beautiful pieces in his first book on Claude and Brian Barley) told me, several years ago. I visited Miller in his home, and he played me a tape of Claude, Barley and Michel Donato, allegedly cut in a Montreal stidio in 1969; it is a miracle, a professionally recorded and produced session, with the greatest, most virtuosic, most creative, most original Canadian trio ever playing at their peak- it's far superior to the CBC album, and it has never been released.
PPPS: RE: the discography:
Here's some albums that are missing from your discography:
1. Lee Gagnon Quartet: "La Jazztek" Capitol Records ST 6226. Recorded in Montreal in April 1967, with Gagnon on horn, Art Roberts piano and Michel Donato.
2. Lee Gagnon Quintet: "Je Jazze" Capitol ST 6253. Recorded in Montreal, September 1968, with Gagnon, Ron Proby trumpet, Pierre Leduc piano and Roland hayes bass.
3. Brian Barley Trio: CBC Records 309. Recorded June 1970, with Barley and Donato.(CD: Just A Memory Records JAS 9502-2) This group was known as "Aquarius Rising" when it gigged.
4. Herb Spanier: "Forensic Perturbations" CBC 376. Recorded in Montreal October, 1972, with Spanier trumpet, Alvin Pall horn, Donato bass and Bernie Senensky piano.
5. Dr. Music: "Bedtime story" GRT REcords 9233-1005. Recorded in Tronto Feb and March 1974, with Doug Riley Keyboards, Doug Mallory vocals and guitar, Keith Jollimore alto, Steve Kennedy tenor, Bruce Cassisy Trumpet, Barrie Tallman trombone, Don Thompson bass and Dave Brown on drums. (note: this album is a solid masterpiece. It starts with a gorgeous rendition of a Jimmy Webb song "I Keep it Hid" with a masterful vocal by Doug Mallory, then there's an avant garde compostion by Riley called "Take that, Rollo". The first side finishes with a claude ranger compostion "Tickle". Side two begins with another Mallory vocal "She's Funny That Way", then a Riley tune influenced by late 60's Miles Davis called "Gandalf" and the album closes with a very melodic and sweet "Bedtime Story" by Herbie Hancock. A stone masterpiece, which simply must be released on cd.)
6. Another masterpiece: Moe Koffman: "Solar Explorations" GRT Records 9230-1050 Recorded in Toronto July 1974. A double album which features Koffman plus Doug Riley keyboards, Don Thompson and Rick Homme bass, Michael Craden percusssion, Terry Clarke drums, Sonny Greenwich guitar, Guido Basso, Fred Stone, Al Stanwyck and Arnie Chycoski trumpet, Rob McConnell, Russ Little, Ian McDougall and Bob Livingston trombone, Eugene Amaro and Keith Jollimore horns, David Rosenboom violin and synthesizer, Peter Schenkman cello. It is an avante garde exploration of the nine planets with the cream of Canadian jazz at that time, and Claude plays on 7 planets (as usual). He was at the top of his profession at this time, both professionally and artistically; neither he nor Canadian jazz would ever have it so good again.
7. Don Thompson Quartet: CBC Records 480. Recorded at McMaster University in September 1977, with Thompson on piano, Rick Homme on bass and Michael Stuart on horn.
8. P.J. Perry: "Sessions": Suite Records 1001. Recorded July 1977, with Perry on alto, Bob Tildesley on trumpet, George McFetridge on piano and Torben Oxbol on bass.
9. Ron Allen Quartet: "Leftovers" Black Silk records 8045. Recorded in Toronto in October 1980, with Allen horns, Joey Goldstein guitar and Dave Field bass.
Date: 11/06/2005 at 01:20:27
Poster: Stories - Commentsromeoc3@hotmail.com
Hi I’m claudes son inlaw and his daughter and I are trying to locate him.Just like to know if he is ok.Hope you can help us thank you.
Date: 10/18/2005 at 20:53:54
Poster: Stories - CommentsStephane Proulx
Having seen Claude Ranger on 3 occasions here in Montreal in the 80’s and having been at that time introduced to his playing by Camille Belisle (a Montreal drummer) I have always been a great admirer of him. Even in those years he was a legend, someone who had went “over the big mountain” as Camille Belisle would say. Camille would tell me that when Claude was in town I could just go to him and he would gladly explain me a few concepts about triplets on a napkin, witch is exactly what happened when I finally got the courage to go and talk to him in a bar on Avenue du Parc in Montreal. ( As I write these notes and thanks to your website, I am also listening to his solo on “le jouet magique” wich is pure magic and virtuosity. It had been a while since I had listened to his recordings).
I don’t know if you ever got a chance to see the documentary on Guy Nadon (a Montreal drummer who likes to call himself “Buddy Poor”) entitled “Le roi du drum” (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0192538/ ). There is a scene where you get to see Claude playing next to Guy Nadon. I remember that the director of this documentary (who was apparently unaware of the playing and intensity of Claude Ranger) wanted to change the focus of his documentary and make one on Claude instead when he realised who this guy was.
I don’t know where you live but I am sure you would get a lot of testimonials from people who got to know him back in the 70's in Montreal. You could also list your website on this one here so that younger Montreal jazz musicians who don’t know him already be able to get a taste of this “sacred monster”:
http://www.jazzmontreal.com/servlet/Jazz/pages/musicians/e/index.html
Stephane Proulx
Date: 10/18/2005 at 20:46:24
Poster: Stories - CommentsBuff Allen
For a few years in the nineties, Claude and I were both doing some work for Ray Ayotte, for his drum company, Ayotte Drums. By this time I knew Claude wasn't playing any more. At one point during this period, I played a couple of concerts with Don Thompson. He had just come from Montreal. Dewey Redman's piano player either didn't show up, or had trouble at the border, so he called Don at the last minute. After the concert, Dewey was asking Don about Claude, and all Don could tell him was that Claude was out west, and not very active. The hot young New York drummer who was playing with Dewey (and now I've forgotten who it was!) was asking who they were talking about. Don said that they were discussing one of the greatest jazz drummers Canada has ever produced, to which Dewey replied, "Make that the world!"
I related that to Claude when I saw him next (which also happened to be the last time I've seen him), as I thought his ego could use a boost. All he would say to the above was, "Oh, dat Dewey!" But I could see that he was secretly pleased, and that made me feel better.
You're absolutely right about the power of the live stuff, that we can never recover, because you had to be there. My two personal favourites were when Claude first joined Moe Koffman's band, and they were trading fours on a blues, when at one point Claude stopped playing, stuck his head between his cymbals, and asked, "Moe, can I 'ave a 'ole chorus?"
The other time he was with Bernie, Rob and Dave Piltch at Yellowfingers. I can't remember what tune it was, but at one point, Claude started bashing out this one figure, and it was kind of in the way and not in relation to what was going on, and I was very surprised, but then suddenly the bridge came in, which was the figure Claude was playing..... he was setting them up, and it suddenly made incredible sense, and was absolutely brilliant.
Thank you for putting this site together. Claude is one of my heroes, and I'll always treasure the times I had the extreme privilege of witnessing the rough, unexpected bashing become unbelievable magic. The power and the grace within that man's playing will haunt me forever.
Date: 10/10/2005 at 19:11:01
Poster: Stories - Commentsjpmccrory@msn.com
I know Claude first in Montreal in the late sixties when he played with Gerry Lebel (tenor sax, Cyril Beaulieu, fender piano and a bass player, I forget who. They just screamed at the Bar du Music Hall. He was so great. I moved to Toronto in 1970? and he moved there a little later. I shared a house with him and his family (wife Denise and three girls) near Bathurst and Egglington.
He was a great friend and we spent lot of time together talking about music, playing together sometimes althoug I was nowhere near his level. Very few where. He is so talented, but also tormented. He always brought me with him to his gigs. At the Old Spaghetti Warehouse where he played with the Moe Kaufman band, Ed Bickert, Rick Homme. He was so far ahead of those guys.
He had (has) such powerfull playing. I really ripped when he played with Lenny Breau. I may have some early recordings somewhere in storage.
I've heard him play with some of Duke Ellington's band members (Paul Gonsalves) in Toronto after house clubs. I never met any musician of any caliber that was not completely amazed by his talent.
He could be a prickly guy and sometimes uncomfortable in public at times. We were close for many years in Toronto. He often shared his opinions about this musician or that one with me. He would call them squares. He just loved Lenny Breau. If you ever heard them live together you understand why.
I remember some recordings with saxophonist/bass clarinetist Brian Barley who died around 1970-71? I may have some in storage. I used to go around with a friend and a Ampex reel to reel in Montreal in the late sixties. We recorded Nelson Simonds, Charlie Biddle, Sadique Hakim and Claude Villeneuve at small club on Guy street. Don't remember the name, Brian Barley too. I remember when Brian lent Steve Hall his soprano sax when he was only 15 or 16 years old. Steve was also very talented.
But Claude was way out there, past all the others. He was always very kind to me. We even played some party gigs where he played fender piano just for fun and I played bass. He wrote the arrangements and we played a New Years eve job in some hotel. He was great to be around.
I moved away to Florida and have not heard from Claude in more than 28 years.
PL
Date: 09/17/2005 at 06:12:10
Poster: Stories - Commentsdrum2430@earthlink
A a young drummer in Toronto during Claude's stay there, I was blessed with the opportunity to see him play on a regular basis. Although I sat for many nights listening to him with various artists one night in particular stands out. I had gone to George's Spagetti House to hear him play and was standing in the entrance waiting to be seated. Where I stood I was unable to see Claude but could hear him clearly. When I finally was shown to my seat the band was playing a screaming uptempo tune and Claude was dropping "bombs" every which way. The energy level coming from the stage was awesome. When I rounded the corner into the room Claude became visible to me. I will never forget looking at this man playing with such ferocious intensity and seeing a cigarette (that was almost always present) hanging from his mouth with the ash almost two inches long. As intense as his playing was he was just as relaxed. This image of Claude as loose as a bean bag has stayed with me for years as one of the most important lessons any drummer could have. Thank you Claude for sharing your inspiration with us.
Date: 09/05/2005 at 17:41:05
Poster: Stories - Commentsterryking@mindspring.com
Claude Ranger was one of my early influences as a jazz musician, and is still one of the strongest presences in my musical experience. I was playing jazz violin in Montreal around 1971, when I met Claude along with my friend, bassist Mike Morse. At that time we had never played with a musician of Claude's stature (I'm not sure I've ever played with anyone of his stature since, either).
I did a series of gigs with Claude and various other musicians. Many included Claude's current quartet of Jerry Labelle on sax, Bob Bouthillier on keyboards, and Claude Boucher on Fender bass. These gigs were extremely variable in quality and environment. For example, a number of times I joined the quartet at the "Bar du Music Hall" on St. Denis street, to play whatever we felt like until the Elvis Presley imitation contest began. At that point, of course, we had to try to play backup to the two main competitors, "Elvis Presley Canadien" and "Elvis Presley Italien". EPC always won, and a bucket of water was thrown over EPI's head. Meanwhile, the band and I were playing (for example) "Teddy Bear" while very high on a mix of Labatt's and acid.
I suppose everyone knows about Claude's legendary cigarette-lighting routine. Claude always had a cigarette hanging from his lip (as is clear from the photos on this site). In the midst of any playing situation, no matter how intense, Claude would calmly reach out with his left hand (right hand still playing brilliant ride cymbal), pluck a new ciggy from the pack, light it on the old one, and replace his smoke, without missing a whisker.
Shortly after moving to Toronto in 1974, Claude advised me to move there, too. I moved there in fall 1974 and played George's Spaghetti House with Claude, Dave Field, and Jerry Labelle. The music was all Claude's, and all "free improv." The Toronto establishment never really recovered. Never did Toronto drummers, until Claude finally moved to Vancouver.
I think that's enough for now. I have many more memories of Claude, one of the greatest musicians I've ever met.
Date: 07/27/2005 at 05:53:26
Poster: Stories - CommentsGene Perla
Having had the opportunity to play with some of the greatest drummers
(Elvin Jones, "Philly" Joe Jones, "Papa" Joe Jones, Art Blakey, Roy
Haynes, Mel Lewis, Buddy Rich, Billy Higgins, etc.), I can honestly
tell you that I always looked forward with extreme delight to be
playing with Claude, and he never let me down.
He was a stand-alone individual and I would rank him in the same category
as those I've mentioned above, except for one -- Elvin. Elvin was in
a class by himself, and I know that Claude would agree as he told me so
himself.
Gene Perla
Date: 02/28/2005 at 09:12:41
Poster: Stories - Commentsivanbamford@hotmail.com
I had the pleasure of knowing Claude from '96 to 2001. I didn't know who he was when we first met. But we got along and we would see each other a lot during the jazz fest in Vancouver. He tried to get me to go with him to see Guy Nadon and I couldn't go(damn!). He told me he was selling his drum kit and I was just about to go work in San Franisco and would be back in 3 weeks with the money. He was asking 900$ for his custom made Ayotte kit, hardware and cases(he desperately needed dental work at the time)! I paid 1500$, it was the least I could do. I still didn't really know who Claude was, but was starting to find out pretty quick because some people weren't too pleased that some nobody got his drums when there were all these great drummers who would have killed for them. But Claude was really encouraging and always emphasized not giving a shit about what other people said or thought. He said he wasn't an educator, but he was the best teacher I ever had. He gave good exercises, but it was the way he put things that made him great. Once I was playing for him and he stopped me and said "You might fuck up the band if you accent the four like that", instead of "you're not solid when you're trying to accent the four" like some teachers at my school would have said.
When I knew Claude he had stopped drinking and playing. I could only listen to the albums. He would talk about how his perspective had changed and how hard it was to deal with alcoholism. He still had an extremely sparse apartment(TV, matress, incense). I don't think I'll ever meet anyone like him again. I would have quit playing long ago if it wasn't for Claude.
Date: 02/11/2005 at 16:17:36
Poster: Stories - CommentsRene Amesse
I took lessons from Claude (late 60's/early 70's) when he was living
in the Rosemount area of Montreal. I would show up at his house around
5:00pm and most times he would be just getting out of bed. He would then
tell me to go downstairs in the basement and warm up while he got dressed etc.
He'd show up with a large coke bottle in one hand, a small container filled with
aspirins in the other and a pile of music under his arm. All this while coughing
his guts out (damn that f....n habit). He'd sit down at the pads and
would 'warm up' for a few minutes (ARGHHHHHHH.......heavy shit) My jaw
would drop to the floor everytime. He would then swallow a handfull of aspirins
and a gulp of coke. When I got enough nerve to ask him why he took so many,
he told me it was because of some arthritis in his left forearm.
Anyway, after those preliminaries we would start the lesson. We worked from
a book called '4-Way Coordination' by Marvin Dahlgreen and Elliot Fine.
He once told me that this was THE book for playing in the Tony Williams style.
He said that was the method used by Tony's teacher Allan Dawson. The book
is originally meant for classical percussionists but Dawson (and others) applied
it to the drumset. Claude mastered this and even took it to another level. Man,
he would play those so fast and yet with such soul and feeling.
He also pointed out to me that the faster the tempo (swings) the ride cymbal becomes more and more eight notes rather than bouncy notes. This is why Williams and Claude can play that eight-note high-hat instead of the 'classic' 2 & 4. He also showed me how to phrase stuff using all four members. Playing off beats and small ghost notes and fills using the high hat instead of the snare for example (with the foot not the sticks) and to spread a phrase over all four members.
At one point he was doing this gig in a cheap club that had shows. The house band (Claude etc..) had to back them up. I'll tell you, I have no idea how those 'singers' didn't get lost with the tempo or just finding the 'one'. He would play as if he was playing with Miles or something.
Here was this corny little tune being belched out by small time 'vedettes' and
Claude would be BURNIN' in the background. I would go there to listen to him
with a few friends who where also drummers. Many a night we would leave the club
virtually speechless for hours because he would blow our minds away :-()
One night I asked him if he practiced anything in particular that enabled him
to play 5 rapid consecutive strokes with his bass drum (he'd double that on
the ride). We sat down in a dark corner of the bar and he wrote out these
exercises on two sheets of paper and said "Here, do this everyday for a year
and you'll be able to play anything with your bass-drum". Actually, I still have most
of the exercises he wrote for me back then.
There were three other players on that gig. Bass, sax, and piano. Well, they giged
there for about 9 months and on the last day, Claude gave each band member a
method (thick books he wrote). One for bass, one for sax, and another for piano.
I saw this with my own eyes.
Claude Ranger and Tony Williams are the reason I spent my life as a drummer.
It's been very hard for Claude because unlike Tony Williams, he could never find
(locally or in Canada as far as I'm concerned) musicians who were up to his
level of playing. So, a lot of musicians tended to put him down saying he overplayed
or that he's got an 'attitude' problem. They're just JEALOUS of his immense talent.
Claude, si jamais tu lis ceci je te remercie du fond du coeur pour avoir consacrer ta
vie a jouer de la VRAI musique. Tu es une source inestimable d'inspiration. BRAVO!!!
Rene Amesse...........
http://pages.infinit.net/overload/home.html
overload@videotron.ca
Date: 02/09/2005 at 11:53:01
Poster: Stories - CommentsJon Ballantyne
I heard Claude many times in the 80's. Once was with Woody Shaw at a club on St. Catherines St. and he was burning. I am sure Woody was digging it, because he was playing great too. That was 1985.
I think Claude is one of the most musical drummers I've ever heard. He has that elusive element of surprise in his playing and a touch/approach which somehow reminded me of great modern painter applying paint to a canvas. There certainly is a great forward motion thing, which is a dying art; at least beautiful, loose playing like that.
I did play one night with Claude in Vancouver in 1988 with Dave Turner and Ron DiLoro, which I remember as being a wonderful experience; a real honour.
Jon Ballantyne
www.jonballantyne.com
NYC
Date: 02/09/2005 at 06:31:37
Poster: Stories - CommentsDan Bodanis www.thedanbodanisband.com
Studying with Claude during the mid-70's was always fun. Not so much fun in the "laughing" sense, but more so fun with regard to the adventures that took place in and around the lessons.
Claude lived in a rooming house on Chicora Avenue in the Annex District of Toronto. He was on the top floor living in a single room with a bathroom down the hall.
In the room was a bed, a very lonely closet with no door, a Remo Practice Pad Drum set, covered in dish towels and duck tape, a music stand, and huge stacks of music that Claude composed and would sit on during my lessons.
Claude epitomized the "starving artist syndrome." Please understand, I do not mean this in a negative or derogatory manner! More so, Claude was the type of person that completely dedicated himself to his love for music. Everything else took a backseat, including his own self-preservation surrounding food consumpton.
My lessons would take place on Saturday mornings. I cannot remember the number of times Claude had not eaten for a day or two, and would call me an hour before the lesson and ask if my mother would be able to make him a sandwich.
I would ask my mother to make Claude a sandwich, which she always did, and Claude would call me back 10 minutes later (just before I left for the lesson), to remind me to bring the sandwich!
The first time I saw a naked woman was during a drum lesson at Claude's place.
My father used to drive me to my lessons, wait outside in the car for an hour, and I would walk up the 3-4 flights of stairs to get to Claude's room at the top of the house. (Usually with sandwich's and coke's in hand!)
One Saturday morning, I knocked on the door, heard voices inside then complete silence! I continued knocking, and finally called out: "Claude, Claude, it's me, Dan Bodanis!"
Claude opened the door a crack, with the chain still engaged. He than closed it, unlatched the chain, than ushered me in. His first words were, "Oh I thought you were my wife!"
As Claude motioned me over to the practice pad drum kit, I saw a woman in bed, under the covers. Claude instructed me to warm up.
As I was warming up, I could here them talking in French.
The next thing I remember...
Actually, before I tell you about this, I also have to remind you that Claude used to sit really low when he played drums. The drum stool was at the lowest setting, which is a relevant detail, particularly as it relates to my eye line for viewing things.
Back to the story...
The next thing I remember was looking from the music stand on my left side, over to the right side of the kit, about where the ride cymbal would normally be located, and there was a very curvy pair of hips... naked hips, with a very, shall we say "well forested center piece?"
I was shocked as this was my first (really) upclose encounter with the realities of the female form. I immediately looked up and saw the rest of her unclothed form, stopping at two mammoth breasts (remember, I was only 13!), and she then said to me (as if this was all perfectly natural and normal for a 13 year old pre-pubescent boy from the suburbs to see): "I'm making Claude a cup of coffee, would you like me to make you one?
I said: "No thank you, I don't drink coffee," then went back to practicing my lesson.
Between sandwiches, cokes, naked woman, and drum lessons, that's how it was at Claude's place on Saturday mornings during the mid. 70's!
Dan Bodanis
www.thedanbodanisband.com
PS. Claude was a great teacher and always an inspiration as a drummer, but most important, he continually redefined himself as a musician by pushing the limits and breaking through musical barriers!
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