Jazz man ‘Stage’ has been doing his thing for decades

By John Benson

It’s just another gig in a long list of shows dating back more than 60 years. That’s how legendary organ player Harold “Stage” Hardrick, 80, is approaching his band Stage & Company’s show at the Lemon Grove on Saturday.

For Hardrick, a Youngstown native who briefly moved to Pittsburgh before being drafted into the armed services during World War II, music is how he remembers his childhood. Though his father died when the organ player was 7 years old, he recollects times when his whole family would sit around, sing and perform.

“I began playing music as a young fellow,” Hardrick said. “My father used to play, and my family was very musical. They all sang at the church. When my dad died, my mother raised our family. So we played music at the house and the church. And I started playing by air. We grew up on Madison [Avenue] when they first built these projects here on the North Side. And Carl ‘Ace’ Carter, who played in the Count Basie Band, he’s dead now, was also born in Youngstown, and we both came up at the same time. Then I went to Youngstown State University for music and studied piano. I didn’t graduate.”

A traveling musician, the organist has played under the Stage & Company moniker for decades. He called his genre the Youngstown style or the groovy sound, which falls somewhere between jazz and blues. Talking to him about his past collaborations results in one story after another involving a who’s who from yesteryear’s regional music scene.

“I played with quite a few guys who are dead,” Hardrick said. “I played with Big Boogie D years ago, and I played with Eugene Barr out of Pittsburgh. He was a sax player. I traveled to New York City with my trio but I had different people. They’re dead now. I played with Jack McDuff, Groove Holmes and a lot of those big famous musicians and singers from my day.”

Hardrick continues to perform as a trio. For his upcoming Lemon Grove show, he’ll be joined by saxophonist Nate Pinkard and drummer Roscoe Thurston. Though their set mostly features jazz and blues standards, he’s not against adding new originals into the mix. In fact, he’s excited about new track “Germantown Boogie,” which may or may not be played live anytime soon.

In many ways, watching Hardrick and company in action is like a living history lesson in the roots of jazz and blues. Suffice it to say, this show harkens back to the 20th century and is a learning experience for those music fans whose only point of reference to the past is contemporary rock and hip-hop.

“That’s right, I think everyone should come see us,” Hardrick said. “I figure they should learn everything: hip-hop, jazz, blues, polka, bossa nova. Just learn it all and enjoy.”