Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as an adult. Feldman emigrated to the United States in the mid-1950s, where he continued working in jazz and also as a session musician with a variety of pop and rock performers.

Early life

Feldman was born in Edgware on 7 April 1934. He caused a sensation as a musical prodigy when he was "discovered", aged seven. His family were all musical and his father founded the Feldman Swing Club in London in 1942 to showcase his talented sons. Feldman performed from a young age: "from 1941 to 1947 he played drums in a trio with his brothers; when he was nine he took up piano and when he was 14 started playing vibraphone". He featured in the films King Arthur Was a Gentleman (1942) and Theatre Royal (1943). In 1944, he was featured at a concert with Glenn Miller's AAAF band, as "Kid Krupa" (in reference to drummer Gene Krupa). He also "took a prominent role in the musical Piccadilly Hayride" (1946–1948).

Professional life and career

His drums teacher Carlo Krahmer encouraged Feldman to play the vibraphone which he did first in the Ralph Sharon Sextet and later in the Roy Fox band. Feldman played with Vic Lewis and Ted Heath. Feldman played with Sharon from late 1949 to 1951, including performances in Switzerland. There were further overseas trips with Ronnie Scott (to Paris in 1952), and Harry Parry (to India). He also played with Parry in the UK from October 1953 to January 1954. From 1954, when he recorded with Jimmy Deuchar, and played again with Scott, "he was working mainly as a pianist and vibraphonist; his early vibraphone playing showed the influence of Milt Jackson". He was a notable percussionist, but it was as a pianist and vibraphone player that he became best known. Before leaving the UK to work in the US, Feldman recorded with Ronnie Scott's orchestra and quintet from 1954 to 1955, which also featured other important British jazz musicians such as Phil Seamen and Hank Shaw. It was Scott who recommended that Feldman emigrate to the US, which he did in 1955. Once there, his first steady work was with the Woody Herman Herd. He had frequent return trips to the UK over the following years. His 8-week visit in 1956–57 included studio recording sessions and club appearances. After Herman he joined Buddy DeFranco for a short time. In 1958, he had his own working band on the west coast, which included the innovative bassist Scott LaFaro. His 1958 album The Arrival of Victor Feldman includes LaFaro and Stan Levey on drums. He recorded with many jazz artists, including Benny Goodman, George Shearing, Cannonball Adderley and Miles Davis, most notably on Davis' 1963 album Seven Steps to Heaven, the title tune being his own composition. Davis invited Feldman to join his group full-time, but Feldman declined, preferring the stability of studio work to the career of a touring musician. The 5-CD Shelly Manne Black Hawk set, originally released on LP in September 1959, is a good representation of Feldman's unmistakable driving comping behind the soloists, helping to define the session as a valuable hard bop genre element. In 1957, Feldman settled in Los Angeles permanently and then specialised in lucrative session work for the US film and recording industry, with the exception of joining the Cannonball Adderley Quintet in 1960-61. Feldman's vibraphone soloing is featured extensively on the Grammy Award-winning The Music from Peter Gunn, with AllMusic writing, "There's some particularly impressive work by drummer Shelly Manne and vibes player Victor Feldman, whose cool, understated playing seems to deliberately recall that of Milt Jackson." He also branched out to work with a variety of musicians outside of jazz, recording with artists such as Frank Zappa in 1967, Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell in the 1970s and Tom Waits and Joe Walsh in the 1980s. It is Feldman's percussion work on Steely Dan's song "Do It Again" that gives the song its Latin groove. Feldman appears on all seven Steely Dan albums released in the 1970s and 1980 in the band's first incarnation. Feldman died of a heart attack in 1987 at his home in Los Angeles, aged 53, following an asthma attack. In 2009, he was inducted in the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.

Discography

As leader

Main source:

As sideman

With David Ackles With Arthur Adams With Pepper Adams With Cannonball Adderley With Nat Adderley With Alessi Brothers With Peter Allen With Gregg Allman Band With Curtis Amy With Patti Austin With Hoyt Axton With The Beach Boys With The Beau Brummels With Bob Bennett With Stephen Bishop With Bobby Bland With Blue Magic With Karla Bonoff With Terence Boylan With Toni Brown With Solomon Burke With Kim Carnes With Valerie Carter With Johnny Cash With David Cassidy With Chad and Jeremy With Kerry Chater With Cher With James Clay With Rita Coolidge With Bob Cooper With Christopher Cross With Dalbello With Miles Davis With Kiki Dee With Buddy DeFranco With Jackie DeShannon With Cliff De Young With Neil Diamond With The 5th Dimension With Dion DiMucci With Ned Doheny With The Doobie Brothers With Charlie Dore With Yvonne Elliman With The Emotions With Phil Everly With The Everly Brothers With José Feliciano With The Floaters With Four Tops With Michael Franks With The Free Movement With Glenn Frey With Richie Furay With Ted Gärdestad With Terry Garthwaite With Marvin Gaye With Amy Grant With Cyndi Grecco With Lani Hall With Albert Hammond With Woody Herman With Dan Hill With Paul Horn With Thelma Houston With Paul Jabara With Milt Jackson With Al Jarreau With Elton John With J. J. Johnson With Plas Johnson With Jack Jones With Quincy Jones With Rickie Lee Jones With Sam Jones With Thomas Jefferson Kaye With The Keane Brothers With Stan Kenton With Barney Kessel With B.B. King With Bobby King With John Klemmer With Gladys Knight With Nicolette Larson With Peggy Lee With Ketty Lester With Gordon Lightfoot With Lulu With Mary MacGregor With Henry Mancini With Harvey Mandel With Shelly Manne With Jon Mark With Gene McDaniels With Bobby McFerrin With Kate & Anna McGarrigle With Carmen McRae With Randy Meisner With Melanie With Jim Messina With Stephanie Mills With Liza Minnelli With Adam Mitchell With Blue Mitchell With Joni Mitchell With The Miracles With The Monkees With Melba Moore With Maria Muldaur With Michael Martin Murphey With Anne Murray With Oliver Nelson With Michael Nesmith With Randy Newman With Olivia Newton-John With Wayne Newton With Nielsen Pearson With Kenny Nolan With Alan O'Day With Pages With Freda Payne With Leslie Pearl With Art Pepper and Zoot Sims With Esther Phillips With Sam Phillips With Poco With June Pointer With Jean-Luc Ponty and Frank Zappa With Billy Preston With Helen Reddy With Della Reese With Minnie Riperton With Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton With Sonny Rollins With Brenda Russell With Evie Sands With Leo Sayer With Boz Scaggs With Lalo Schifrin With Seals and Crofts With Bud Shank With Carly Simon With Patrick Simmons With Frank Sinatra With The Singers Unlimited With O. C. Smith With David Soul With Dusty Springfield With Candi Staton With Steely Dan With Foster Sylvers With The Sylvers With James Taylor With Livingston Taylor With Willie Tee With Three Dog Night With The Manhattan Transfer With Gino Vannelli With Leroy Vinnegar With Tom Waits With Narada Michael Walden With Wendy Waldman With Joe Walsh With Dionne Warwick With Wayne Watson With Jimmy Webb With The Whispers With Deniece Williams With Joe Williams With Lenny Williams With Paul Williams With Gerald Wilson With Renn Woods With Betty Wright With The Youngbloods With Frank Zappa