{"id":10,"date":"2012-09-27T04:56:28","date_gmt":"2012-09-27T04:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smegmamusic.com\/site\/?p=10"},"modified":"2014-08-31T00:21:45","modified_gmt":"2014-08-31T00:21:45","slug":"test4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smegmamusic.com\/site\/?p=10","title":{"rendered":"Lee Rockey"},"content":{"rendered":"

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6 months or so after we moved\u00a0 to Portland in 1975, we heard about this Event at the\u00a0 Portland Art museum .\u00a0 Nothing could have prepared us for what was unfolding , wild Drums, Electric violin and cello played through a Echoplex A 4 channel tapedeck was playing prerecorded Electronic scronks, wood flutes, and off speed voices. Dancers were holding video cameras run thru a Paik video Synth. making a live projection. The music was ,crazed,scary,funny and beautiful.\u00a0 Behind all this was Lee Rockey (1926-2002). this was his second, and last of his full blown personal\/art\/world performances. I was luckey enuff to see him play his last (paying) gig on drums a few months later\u00a0 with \u00a0 \u00a0 Kennith Rexroth’s” Poetry and Jazz” at the same place.<\/p>\n

6 months or so after we moved\u00a0 to Portland in 1975, we heard about this Event at the\u00a0 Portland Art museum .\u00a0 Nothing could have prepared us for what was unfolding , wild Drums, Electric violin and cello played through a Echoplex A 4 channel tapedeck was playing prerecorded Electronic scronks, wood flutes, and off speed voices. Dancers were holding video cameras run thru a Paik video Synth. making a live projection. The music was ,crazed,scary,funny and beautiful.\u00a0 Behind all this was Lee Rockey (1926-2002). this was his second, and last of his full blown personal\/art\/world performances. I was luckey enuff to see him play his last (paying) gig on drums a few months later\u00a0 with \u00a0 \u00a0 Kennith Rexroth’s” Poetry and Jazz” at the same place.<\/p>\n

Lee Rockey was a hard-swinging Jazz drummer {of the Gene Krupa style} who had mastered the modern style by 1946 . A hipster back when it meant something, he wore a zoot sute with a reet pleat and spoke “jive” . while in town he would back up traveling “jump” acts as The Treineirs, or play modern jazz with his pals originally called the Vancouver wiz kids. Moved to NYC in 1953 Joined Neil Hefty { a very undedrated bandleader who had just\u00a0 written great arrangements for Count Basie that sent his carer back to the top}.\u00a0 then was on Herby Mann’s first 10″ lp {a great cool jazz classic with AL JAZZBO COLLINS\u00a0 orig. THEME\u00a0 MUSIC\u00a0 the purple grotto).\u00a0 lived the life for a few years ,then came back to portland to stay. He continued playing with the best musicians in Portland\u00a0 and was part of the legendary Way Out\u00a0 Club Band in 1963.<\/p>\n

Then everything changed, \u00a0 America’s classy adult Jazz\u00a0 was lost on the next generation . \u00a0 Lee\u00a0 gave up playing Jazz , like many of his generation, {miles ect.} he was a relentless searcher that NEVER LOOKED BACK. possibaly inspired by ornette Coleman took\u00a0 up electric violin .\u00a0 Homemade electronics free drumming bells flutes piano all melted together as he channelled Debussy, bartok\u00a0 and new sounds to create his own soundworld