Houston loses a treasure of vibrant jazz scene
On one hand, Larry Slezak viewed playing saxophone as his job. He told the Chronicle he’d “played with just about everybody you can imagine in jazz, R&B, pop. … I’ve worn just about every uniform you have to wear to play.”
On another, Slezak was an instrumentalist of great creativity, sensitivity and breadth. Listen to his 2008 album, “No Worries,” and you’ll hear a man consumed by the beauty in hearing, processing and presenting music. I loved Slezak in ballad mode — like his “You’ve Changed,” which moves like a plume of exhaled smoke — but give a minute to his interpretation of José Feliciano’s “Chico and the Man.” In other hands, a ’70s TV theme would present an easy target for cheap irony. But Slezak’s soprano sax moves with the fluid energy of a young dancer.
Slezak was a treasure in Houston’s jazz scene from his arrival in 1973 to his death on July 28 after a battle with cancer that spanned nearly two years. He was 71.
Thomas Helton, a bassist and composer in Houston, called Slezak a “mentor and friend.” He said Slezak “had two very rare gifts. His ability to communicate and connect with people through his playing as well as his respect for those that came to hear him. The humanity in his playing is something you don’t hear very often. He was always honored to have people come out and hear him. … He would always say, ‘Its great when guys like us can play for people like you. … It’s great.’ ”
For all that has been written over the years about jazz’s many styles and stages, Slezak believed the form wasn’t full of radical offshoots or reinventions but rather just one long river of information and creativity. “People like to say there was this style in the ’20s, this style in the ’30s, and then it was something else from 1945-50,” he said. “But the truth is different. It’s all a continuum. You take from your predecessors. Take what you like and add your own tilt to it. It becomes an evolution.”
That said, Slezak did admit he thought 1958 was a pinnacle year — not just for jazz, but all popular American music — and one that hooked him as a listener. He was born in New York in 1946. At 12, he heard Bill Doggett’s R&B instrumental “Honky Tonk” and was immediately hooked. Though he gravitated toward the saxophone, Slezak loved the sound of an electric keyboard after hearing that song, and would lead his own Larry Slezak Hammond Organ Band.
Living in New York as a kid afforded him the opportunity to see and hear the regal big bands led by Duke Ellington and Count Basie. He quickly took to the saxophone and earned paying gigs as a teen.
Many of those big-toned players were based in Texas, including Arnett Cobb. So in his late-20s, Slezak moved to Houston and sunk roots here. Slezak made his living playing saxophone and flute in all manner of ensembles. More than 30 years after his arrival, Slezak finally had the opportunity to record “No Worries,” his first album as a session leader with terrific backing that included local guitar great Clayton Dyess and bassist Helton. The album was also a cross-generational project, with Slezak’s son, Joe, on drums.
Slezak played without interruption until late 2015, when doctors found a lemon-size tumor on his brain. Surgery and further treatment kept him from playing for months, taking away a bright voice from the city’s jazz scene.
A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Earthman Resthaven, 13102 Interstate 45 N.