Flory, Med

After serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II, Flory graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in philosophy and went to New York, where he worked with his own small groups as well as the big bands of Woody Herman and Claude Thornhill. He moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1950s, becoming involved with the arrival of cool jazz on the West Coast. Meeting and performing with players such as Art Pepper, Buddy Clark and Joe Maini, he planted the seeds for the eventual creation of Supersax.

Med Flory enjoyed both a profitable music career and successful stints as a television and film writer and actor. His alto sax and clarinet work are deeply influenced by the classic bebop sound, notably the playing of Charlie Parker. Though he doesn’t directly emulate Parker, Flory’s sound, phrasing and approach reflect his reverence for his music.

He played clarinet and alto with Claude Thornhill in the ’50s, and tenor with Woody Herman. Flory formed his own New York band in 1954, then moved to the West Coast two years later. He organized a big band that performed at the inaugural Monterey concert in 1958. Flory played with Terry Gibbs’ nonet and orchestra in the late ’50s and early ’60s, recording with both units and also cutting sessions with Art Pepper and Herman on baritone.

After almost forty years, these classic arrangements by Med Flory of Charlie Parker solos harmonized for five saxophones are available for students and professionals. The idea for celebrating the creativity of Parker goes back to 1956. According to Flory, he began transcribing the solos from a set of records that were sold to him by the alto saxophonist Joe Maini. He wrote three arrangements and Flory, Maini, Joe Kennedy, Richie Kamuca and Bill Hood ran them down for fun. Bassist Buddy Clark heard them and suggested Flory create a whole book of such solos. But it wasn’t until the early ‘70s that Supersax really came together. Flory and company rehearsed in his home for over a year until Flory’s wife finally suggested that they play at a club in Los Angeles called Donte’s. The reception was phenomenal, and the group soon made its first album, Supersax Plays Bird for Capitol Records. Supersax produced a dozen well-received albums and earned a Grammy award in 1974 for Best Performance by a Jazz Group. Besides its co-founders, the Supersax alumni roster embodies such well-known names as Bill Perkins, Warne Marsh, Conte Candoli, Jack Nimitz, Frank Rosolino, Lanny Morgan, Jake Hanna, Lou Levy, Carl Fontana, Blue Mitchell and Jay Migliori. After Clark left the group in 1975, Flory continued playing and recording with Supersax.

Med Flory passed away on March 12, 2014, exactly 59 years to the day after Charlie Parker.

PHIL NORMAN TENTET TEN ARRANGEMENT SET

Recorded by the Phil Norman Tentet

Arranged by Bob Florence, Med Flory, Tom Kubis, and Roger Neumann

10 Jazz Little Big Band Arrangements, Six Horns and Rhythm

Jazz Lines Publications

PN-1000

$445.00

The Global Source for Jazz

Flory, Med