Excerpted from wikipedia…
Herbie Fields gravitated toward an R&B conception in the
fifties, and was disgruntled about his lack of success.
Vibist Terry Gibbs noted: “We played opposite a nine-piece
band led by Herbie Fields at Birdland. He was a good tenor player but not in
the bebop style. He was more of a "honker" and played what they
called rhythm and blues. He did that very well but he wasn't a Birdland-style
attraction.”
Pianist Bill Evans recalled: “In some ways he had been a
forerunner of rock & roll. He was wiggling, jerking. Rock n' roll came,
brought millions of dollars, but nothing for Herbie Fields.”
Fields died following an overdose of sleeping pills in Miami
on September 17, 1958 .
Herbie Fields cl / Charlie Harris sb / William Mackel g / Dodo Marmarosa p.
