Dave Pike

“In much the same way hippies can be an iconic symbol of the late ’60s, the early ’60s might be represented by the world of the Jet Set. The Jet Set was a carry over from the Café Culture of the ‘50s and first popularized in such films as Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960) and Edward’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). The women were beautiful, glamorous, and sexually available. The men were slick, sharply dressed, and talking the fast hip lingo. The alcohol flowed, cigarettes burned, and the music always swung. The music more often than not was related to jazz. A carry over from the coffee houses, jazz had migrated into the penthouses and bachelor pads of the city dwelling hipsters. As it did, it also evolved into a hipper sound. By the mid ’60s the sound of boogaloo had become very popular with the dance crowds. First developed as a Nuyorican sound of Latin rhythms, soul and R&B, many popular jazz artists of the day found themselves gravitating towards it. One such artist was jazz vibraphonist Dave Pike.

Originally a drummer, Pike became one of the most consistent vibraphone players in jazz. Noted more as a sideman who had worked with Carl Perkins, Paul Bley, and Dexter Gordon among others, Pike never gained much fame on his own. During the early to mid ’60s, after returning to New York from California and joining up with flautist Herbie Mann, he electrified his vibes and began exploring the Latin rhythms percolating throughout the city. Through his time in New York and work with Mann, Pike was able to score a recording contract with Atlantic Records. With his 1966 debut for Atlantic, Jazz for the Jet Set, Pike had his finger on the pulse of American music. Here was a perfect and complimentary blend of jazz, Latin, soul and R&B.

Atlantic Records sought to capitalize on this hip sound and image with artists like Dave Pike. On Jazz for the Jet Set, vibraphonist Pike and an all-star lineup produced an album that might be thought of in hindsight as a synopsis of an overly romanticized era. The album cover aptly features an attractive model adorned in the 1966 Pan-Am stewardess uniform with a space helmet (appropriate for the Space Age fads of the time). The music inside provides a soundtrack to a world we only have access to via films of the day.