LP-746

Illinois Jacquet - Bosses of the Ballad

Released 1964

Recording and Session Information

Illinois Jacquet, tenor saxophone; 18 strings, woodwinds, harp, french horns and rhythm, Benny Golson, Tom McIntosh, arranger
Regent Sound Studios, New York City, October 29 + 30 1964

13521 Begin the beguine
13522 All through the night
13523 Use your imagination
13524 It's all right with me
13525 Do I love you?
13526 I've got you under my skin
13527 So in love
13528 Get out of town
13529 I love you
13530 I concentrate on you
13531 You do something to me
13532 Every time we say goodbye

Track Listing

I Love You	Cole Porter	October 29 + 30 1964
Get Out Of Town	Cole Porter	October 29 + 30 1964
So In Love	Cole Porter	October 29 + 30 1964
I Concentrate On You	Cole Porter	October 29 + 30 1964
You Do Something To Me	Cole Porter	October 29 + 30 1964
Everytime We Say Goodbye	Cole Porter	October 29 + 30 1964
Use Your Imagination	Cole Porter	October 29 + 30 1964
All Through The Night	Cole Porter	October 29 + 30 1964
Begin The Beguine	Cole Porter	October 29 + 30 1964
It's All Right With Me	Cole Porter	October 29 + 30 1964
Do I Love You	Cole Porter	October 29 + 30 1964
I've Got You Under My Skin	Cole Porter	October 29 + 30 1964

Liner Notes

COLE PORTER'S fabulous talent has left an indelible effect on the American popular music and musical comedy scene. Yet the use of his enormous output by jazz artists has been curiously limited. Tentative explanations for this neglrct have not been convincing. One of these, offered by one of the most discerning avd productive jazzmen, might offer a clue to the mystery. "Cole Porter", he said, "was a tremendous composer, but his tunes were written mainly for use in the theater. His melodic lines were unusually long, and perhaps this fact discouraged jazz musicians from making greater use of them." Whatever the reason may be, the fact is that except for a handful of Cole Porter compositions, his repertoire has been largely ignored by jazz instrumentalists. This album proves conclusively that there was no musically valid reason for this omission.

ILLINOIS JACQUET is an accomplished ballad interpreter in his own right, but never before has he recorded so many ballads at one time. He has recorced ballads before, but not more than one or two in an album. During night club engagements he sprinkles his ballads gingerly, one or so to every half dozen tunes. Nevertheless, some of his most successful recordings have been ballad tunes. During the early 1940' Illinois scored strongly with a particularly exquisite recording of the ballad "I Don't Sand A Ghost Of A Chance With You". This was followed by "Memories Of You", recorded after gruelling, though commercially-rewarding tours of duty with the Lionel Hampton and Cab Calloway bands. In the 1964 Argo album "DESERT WINDS", he included the ballad "You're My Thrill" in a poignant performance.

Jacquet, one of the most disciplined and self-demanding of musicians, has given deep thought and study to the ballad. "The ballad is the most demanding test of jazz performers", he believes. "Musicians playing ballads require an exceptional ear. The instrumentalist must possess a full, rich tonal quality that comes only after long training. When I play a ballad, I approach it the way a singer would. I read the lyrics over and over, and then I try to interpret their meaning through my instrument: Jacquet regards this album as a significant departure from the norm for him. "The ballad soothes the heart when properly played", he explains. "It is supposed to induce romance. And there is a great need for peace in our world, and for love."

Illinois Jacquet was 16 years old, and playing spiritedly, though not with his present brilliance and maturity, in the orchestra of the all-Negro Phyllis Wheatley High School in Houston, Texas, when he first made musical contact with the genius of Cole Porter. Jacquet was then playing a B flat soprano saxophone, and also first alto, in the orchestra's reed section. He admired Cole Porter in his youth as a prolific compose€ and a rare musical talent. "Cole Porter was a master of the ballad form", he says. "His music is melodically exciting and moving. He felt his melodies. Porter's music conveyed tremendous feeling. I knew the man, Cole Porter, only through his tnusic, but it was a warm, close, and fascinating friendship."

Cole Porter had won world fame as a composer and lyricist long before his death. Porter lived a life of alrnost baroque elegance, made possible by inherited wealth, and had cultivated expensive tastes. Music to him was more a hobby, and an outlet for his enormous creative energies, than a means of livelihood. He wrote sumptuous scores for numerous Broadway musicals and films, and his tunes were hummed and sung by millions. Between World Wars 1 and 2, he gravitated gaily between America and Europe, consorting with a slick, super-charged international set which was addicted to a glossy high life. In those free and frivolous, but highly productive years, his hone base was mainly Paris — where he maintained a luxurious home on the teaming and tumultuous Left Bank. In 1919. he settled in Paris with his new wife. Although Paris, the French Riviera, and Venice were his favorite playgrounds, all Europe was his territory and he explored it in exotic fashion. Many of his most famous songs, which breathe America so intimately, were actually written in places like Paris, Rome, or on a yacht cruising up the Rhine. Porter was a fabulous gourmet with an enormous zest for life, and did not permit his appallingly active social schedule to blunt his creative process.

Porter was admired for his craftsmanship by the most distinguished writers of his time. Perhaps the greatest praise of all came from Richard Rodgers, who said: "Few people realize how architectually excellent his music is. There's a foundation, a structure, and an embellishment. Then you add the emotion he's put in, and the result is Cole Porter."

Born on a farm in Peru, Indiana, Porter played the violin at six, the piano at eight, and when he was ten composed his first published song, "The Bobolink Waltz". He was educated at the fashionable Worchester Academy in Massachusetts, at Yale, and at Harvard, where he studied both law and music. Porter's life differed from that of most American composers in that he never had to face the bitter battle to earn a living from his music. A wealthy family solved that problem for him. His father, Samuel Fenwick Porter, was a prosperous fruit grower, and his maternal grandfather, J. O. Cole, had struck it rich in the lumber business. After college, Porter devoted himself somewhat arrogantly to a life of ease, elegance, pleasure and casual musical creation.

He was a master of the ballad form which he employed delightfully — both musically and ivrically. His scores for Broadway musicals are studded with some of the greatest hits in musical history. The ballads which comprise this album are played with imagination and taste. All were written for a series of Broadway shows beginning in 1928 with "PARIS", (which was really a play with music) and concluding in 1955 with "SILK STOCKINGS". In the intervening years, Cole Porter wrote scores for such musicals as "FIFTY MILLION FRENCHMEN" (1929), "THE NEW YORKERS" (1930), "WAKE UP AND DREAM" (1929), "ANYTHING GOES" (1934), "JUBILEE" (1933), "RED, HOT AND BLUE" (1936), "LEAVE IT TO ME" (1938), "DUBARRY WAS A LADY" (1939), "PANAMA HATTIE" (1940). "SOMETHING FOR THE BOYS" (1943), "MEXICAN HAYRIDE' (1944), "KISS ME KATE" (a 1948 musical interpretation of Shakespeare's Taming Of The Shrew". which was his most stunning commercial triumph) "CAN-CAN" (1953) and "SILK STOCKINGS" (1957) which closed an astonishing career of writing brilliant scores for musical comedies.

Pain darkened and saddened Cole Porter's last years. Crippled, as a result of a riding accident in 1937, he underwent thirty operations in twenty years, culminating in the amputation of his right leg in 1938. What once was a life of hectic pleasure, changed to a harsh and physically miserable existence. He withdrew from the world of fun and excitement he had loved so much. When Porter died at the age of 72, (on October 15, 1964) Esmond Edwards of Argo Records, a long-time Cole Porter admirer, decided that one significant way to memorialize Porter would be to have his works interpreted by a jazz artist of stature. Illinois Jacquet, one of the acknowledged 'bosses" of the tenor saxophone, was selected to explore a series of Cole Porter ballads. This album represents the musical summation of Jacquet's findings.

One final word of admiring acknowledgement is in order for two gifted orchestrators responsible for the arrangements. Benny Golson arranged and conducted "GET OUT OF TOWN", "SO IN LOVE", "I CONCENTRATE ON YOU", "EVERYTIME WE SAY GOODBYE", "ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT", "IT'S ALL RIGHT WITH ME" and "DO I LOVE YOU". Tom McIntosh, the brilliant trombonist-arranger, orchestrated and conducted "I LOVE YOU', "I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN", "YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME", "BEGIN THE BEGUINE" and "USE YOUR IMAGINATION'.

Tempos range from the slow and subdued, to the lively and exuberant. Jacquet continually weaves lush tapestries on the melodic structures created by Cole Porter. His interpretations are richly evocative of the composer, and form a sentimental man whose life has become a fable of our times.

ALLAN MORRISON
New York Editor
EBONY MAGAZINE

LP-745

The Ramsey Lewis Trio - More Sounds of Christmas

Released 1964

Recording and Session Information

Ramsey Lewis, piano; Eldee Young, bass; Redd Holt, drums; John Avant, trombone; Sol Bobrov, David Chausow, Henry Ferber, Irving Kaplan, Mark Konorad, Harold Kupper, Abe Meltzer, Albert Muenzer, Harold Newton, Theodore Ratzer, Everett Zlatoff-Mirsky, strongs; Pete Eagle, harp; King Fleming, Will Jackson, arrangers
Universal Recording Studio, October 14 1964

13476 Snowfall
13477 Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
13478 Snowbound
13479 The twelve days of Christmas
13480 Little drummer boy

Ramsey Lewis, piano; Eldee Young, bass,cello; Cleveland Eaton, bass; Steve McCall, drums
Universal Recording Studio, October 15 1964

13481 We three kings
13482 White Christmas
13483 Egg nog
13484 Jingle bells
13485 Plum puddin'

Track Listing

Snowbound	Russel Faith/Clarence Kehner	October 14 1964
The Twelve Days Of Christmas	Lewis/Edmonds arr	October 14 1964
Egg Nog	Ramsey Lewis	October 15 1964
Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer	John D. Marks	October 14 1964
Jingle Bells	J. Pierpont /arr Young	October 15 1964
Plum Puddin'	Eldee Young	October 15 1964
Snowfall	Claude Thornhill	October 14 1964
We Three Kings	Ramsey Lewis arr	October 15 1964
White Christmas	Irving Berlin	October 15 1964
Little Drummer Boy	Davis/Onorati/Simeone	October 14 1964

Liner Notes

IN THE MOOD of Yuletide, snow flurries, and good tastin'— three kings, (Ramsey Lewis, Eldee Young, and Red Holt) tell it like it is! They make merry music with piano, bass and drums mounted in a sleigh full of strings, and "go, go, go" with the spirit of Christmas and good jazz.

One good thing about this stocking full of goodies — it will outlive the holiday season. "TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS", "JINGLE BELLS", "WE THREE KINGS" et al, Ramsey and company make for year-round good listening.

Two good things about this album are the talented arrangers, King Fleming and Will Jackson. These Chicagoans have combined forces to produce arrangements that compliment the trio's style, and add new lustre to familiar tunes.

Three good things about "More Sounds of Christmas" are Ramsey, Eldee and Red. These young men continually display their unique ability to make any kind of tune their own. They have adapted classical tunes to their style, (BACH TO THE BLUES) bossa nova tunes, (RAMSEY LEWIS TRIO — BOSSA NOVA) and country & western tunes, (COUNTRY MEETS THE BLUES). Whatever the source of the material, the trio makes it a swinger or a lyrical thing of beauty with their personal hallmark.
A fourth good thing is drummer Steve McCall, who filled in for Red Holt (no small feat) on all sides featuring the trio without strings. When Red was unfortunately unable to make the session, Steve was called on short notice. Although he had never played with Ramsey or Eldee before, he performed admirably, and the feeling of swinging togetherness was preserved.

The beautiful "SNOWBOUND" is given a sensitive reading by Ramsey, with the rich string sounds of the Fleming/Jackson arrangement lending fine counterpoint.

Forget all the mediocre arrangements you've heard of "TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS." This one moves! From the "round" beginning with the cello and celeste, it picks up momentum when Ramsey switches to piano for his solo and later fades out wailing.

While we're on the subject of the celeste, how about the hip-swinging, foot-tapping celeste work on "EGG NOG"! Here again Ramsey does his solo work on the piano — and work he does! This egg nog is a potent brew reserved for serving to the "cool ones."

And how about Eldee Young's rollicking version of "JINGLE BELLS"! No "one horse open sleigh" for him; his cello is rocket propelled and soon gets into orbit with Eldee humming along. Eldee's cello outings on the trio's albums have been consistent favorites with the fans, and "BELLS" will be swinging on many turntables.

"SNOWFALL" is strictly for lovers, embraces. fireplaces, and if you're in the mood...some slow dances. "LITTLE BOY" grows up under the fast, skilled hands of Red Holt; and "PLUM PUDDIN'" has obviously been soaked with a heady brandy, or maybe more likely, some corn "likker." It has that down-home Christmas feeling.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, and thanks, Trio! Rest your ears on this beauty! is no "Ho, Ho, Ho" here...it's all "Yeah, baby!

Louise D. Stone
Jazz Columnist
Chicago Daily Defender

LP-744

Sonny Stitt and Bennie Green - My Main Man

Released 1964

Recording and Session Information

Bennie Green, trombone; Sonny Stitt, alto, tenor saxophone; Bobby Buster, organ; Joe Diorio, guitar; Dorel Anderson, drums
Ter Mar, Chicago, March 10+11 1964

13053 Our day will come
13054 The night has a thousand eyes
13055 Let's play Chess
13056 Broilin'
13057 Flame and frost
13058 My main man
13059 It might as well be spring (unissued)
13060 Double dip

Track Listing

Flame And Frost	Esmond Edmonds	March 10+11 1964
Let's Play Chess	Sonny Stitt	March 10+11 1964
Double Dip	Sonny Stitt & Bennie Green	March 10+11 1964
Our Day Will Come	Gerson & Hilliard	March 10+11 1964
My Main Man	Sonny Stitt & Bennie Green	March 10+11 1964
The Night Has A Thousand Eyes	Vic Mizzy & Irving Taylor	March 10+11 1964
Broilin'	Sonny Stitt & Bennie Green	March 10+11 1964

Liner Notes

BENNIE GREEN and SONNY STITT have maintained a mutual admiration society for many years now, and yet to my knowledge, this is the very first time they have recorded together as featured soloists, Hence, the title of the album, "MY MAIN MAN".

The setting for this album came about rather uniquely. Bennie, for a long time after he left the Charlie Ventura "Bop For The People" venture in the late '40's, toured with his own swinging group which featured the trombone/tenor sax voicing similar to the sounds herein, but his cohorts at that time usually were Charlie Rouse, and later, Billy Root. After that band broke up, Bennie traveled mostly as a single, working with house rhythm sections throughout the country. Sonny Stitt also has worked extensively as a single throughout his career, except for the memorable years he double teamed with Gene Ammons. Recently, in Chicago, Sonny and Bennie were booked in as single attractions in a "jam session" atmosphere at McKie's, with a local rhythm section. Their natural afnity to each others style gave impetus to their decision to tour together as a unit. During that first Chicago stay, a suggestion was made that they record together, but previous booking commitments prevented a date at that time.

Later this year when I contacted them to be featured at the 9th Annual Charlie Parker Memorial Concert, held in Chicago each March, an opportunity arose for the delayed recording session, which then took place the day following the concert. This postponement had also given them time to perfect enough tunes for an album, and to really develop the intricacies of their individual styles to best work harmoniously with each Bennie Green is one of the very few modern day trombonists whose allegiance stems from influences prior to J. J. Johnson. Bennie's seemingly effortless, relaxed style would be better described as having stemmed from a fondness for the big sound, and humor-tinged trombonings of Dickie Wells and/or Vic Dickenson, flavored with a strong personal approach that is all Bennie Green. His most positive asset is that he always swings — be it ballad or up tempo — and is immediately identifiable. Bennie certainly is one of the great trombonists of our time.

Sonny Stitt has always been considered by fan and musician alike to be one of the foremost saxophonists ever to play jazz, In this album, Sonny sticks to tenor sax, although many prefer him on alto. His is also an effortless style, and notes just seem to cascade from the horn. Most Stitt fans seem to associate him most closely with Charlie Parker, which, of course, is quite a compliment to Sonny. Yet, also there is a great love and respect for Lester Young, which has, together with his own very large talent, made Sonny one of the true giants of the modern saxophone.

Here is the first recorded meeting of two individual talents which compliment each other, and an auspicious meeting it is! For their accompanying rhythm section, Sonny and Bennie chose wisely. Bobby Buster, on organ, provides the basic chordal background and bass line, and is one of the few musicians in the Chicago area who practices discretion with the easily overbearing instrument. His solos indicate that he is not a mere Jimmy Smith emulator, but is well grounded in the blues idiom. Joe Diorio, the guitarist, is quickly becoming well known through his many Argo sideman dates, (among them is #730, "Move On Over", with Sonny Stitt and Nicky Hill.) and is soon scheduled for a featured album of his own. His blending with the organ's chordal backrounds, plus added rhythmic fill-ins are as interesting as his many solos. Completing the rhythm team is one of the finest drummers ever to come out of the Chicago area — Dorel Anderson. Considered to be one of the very few claimants to the mantle of the legendary Ike Day, (together with Wilbur Campbell) Dorel has sparked many of the live sessions held around town, and can also be heard on an earlier Argo album, #609, "Chicago Scene".

With the high caliber of musicianship contained in this album, detailed appraisal of the tunes is unnecessary. There are, however, several real highlights that I would like to pin-point for you.

The two Bossa Novas on side one, "FLAME AND FROST", and the pop tune, "OUR DAY WILL COME", are done in a light, airy manner, suggesting that Bennie and Sonny have a special liking for that particular musical mode. On "Flame", in particular, Sonny's offering is as pretty and uncomplicated a solo as you would ever want to hear. The middle two tunes, 'LET'S PLAY CHESS", and "DOUBLE DIP", are blues influenced, with the former having a simple, down theme, and the latter done in a bright tempo. The four bar trades between the horns on "Dip", and the famous Stitt tag ending, make this cut an exciting one.

The title tune of the album, "MY MAIN MAN", opens side two in a low-down, dirty groove with Diorio's solo very outstanding. Sonny lays right in there during his solo, and manages to stay pretty even while building his intensity, as only he can. The very beautiful "THE NIGHT HAS 1,000 EYES", is Bossa Nova theme-wise, then switches to 4/4 time for the solos. "BROILIN' the final selection, is another deep sounding blues, with the ending figure of the theme borrowed from Bird's "Hymn". On this track, the old-time stop chorus device is used behind the solos to great effect, and a strong backbeat permeates the rhythm pattern. B. G. opens his solo with a "C. C. Rider" quote, and then continues with some blues ingredients all of his own making.

Not much doubt can exist, after listening to this collection of relaxed, swinging, modem improvisation, that the featured horn players not only are professionals of the highest degree, but are imbued with exceptional natural talents that place them well above the ordinary run of "recording artists". Although they may not be considered as the utmost in new sound adventurism, their place in the annals of jazz history will be vell preserved and represented by their always swinging and vitality filled excursions into the morass of what is called creativity, because they always emerge smiling and victorious.

- Joe Segal

LP-743

Gene Shaw - Carnival Sketches

Released 1964

Recording and Session Information

Gene Shaw, trumpet; Charles Stepney, vibes; Roland Faulkner, guitar; Richard Evans, bass,arranger; Marshall Thompson, drums; Benny Costa, conga, latin percussion
Ter Mar, Chicago, May 11 1964

13227 The big sunrise
13228 Goin' downtown
13229 Cha bossa
13230 Street dance
13231 Goin' back home

Gene Shaw, trumpet; Kenny Soderblom, flute, bass flute; Eddie Higgins, piano; Richard Evans, bass,arranger; Vernel Fournier, drums; Marshall Thompson, dums, conga
Ter Mar, Chicago, July 17 1964

13350 Soulero
13351 Ain't that soul
13352 Samba nova
13353 The days of wine and roses

Track Listing

The Big Sunrise	Richard Evans	May 11 1964
Goin' Downtown	Richard Evans	May 11 1964
Cha Bossa	Richard Evans	May 11 1964
Street Dance	Richard Evans	May 11 1964
Goin' Back Home	Richard Evans	May 11 1964
Ain't That Soul	Richard Evans	July 17 1964
Soulero	Richard Evans	July 17 1964
Days Of Wine And Roses	Henry Mancini	July 17 1964
Samba Nova	Richard Evans	July 17 1964

Liner Notes

THIS is a singular record by a musician who deserves much more recognition than he has received — Gene Shaw. He is unique, as a man and as a musician. He seldom has followed an easy or predictable path in either music or living.

For example, most musicians are well into the music profession at tender ages. Gene, however, didn't begin to play trumpet until he was in the Army. This was in the late '40's.

In the mid 'SO's, after he'd left his native Detroit to try his luck in New York City, he was a member of that boiling caldron called the Charlie Mingus Jazz Workshop — an experience seldom forgotten by musicians who've been exposed to it. Gene has good reason not to forget Mingus. After a heated run-in with the volatile bassist, Gene literally broke up his trumpet and swore never to play again. He became a silversmith, then a ceramicist, and finally a hypnotist. He and his wife opened a school of hypnotism in Greenwich Village around 1958, about a year after he had given up playing. Later, Gene finally concluded that man did not have the knowledge to use hypnotism properly, and closed his school.

Before he had stopped playing, however, Gene had made a rather remarkable record with the Mingus group. This album, "Tijuana Moods", was issued in 1962, five years after it was made. In his notes for the album, Mingus raved about the trumpeter who was known as Clarence Shaw during the time he worked with the bassist.

The critics raved too, but no one, not even Mingus, knew where Shaw had gone. Shortlv after the record was issued, Shaw, now known as Gene, showed up in Chicago leading a group at a local club. The success of the Mingus album and the consequent focus of attention on Shaw, had decided him to return to music. Or, as Gene has put it, "Mingus ended it; Mingus began it again".

Gene was soon signed to an Argo contract. This is the third Gene Shaw album on the label; and, for me, it is his best. And that isn't liner-note hyperbole, because on this album, particularly in the five-part "Carnival Sketches", Gene comes closest to expressing what he calls his others might call the self, the soul, the heart. Whatever term used, it is unmistakable when present in music, and it is present here.

The quietness of the man, his near-placidity, his impishness cloaked in poignancy (or vice versa), all are heard in the course of these two sides. One can hear in his music Gene's abiding dual interests in life: the mind-soul (his foray into hypnotism and his generally philosophical approach to living), and construction (working with silver and clay, as well as his expressed desire to be a good carpenter). In this music, Gene combines the two by building Jong-lined, melodic improvisations of emotional-intellectual depth.

In essence, his soul shines through. There are no high-register outpourings of meaningless notes — he is not that sort of man. But there is his melancholoy cry — his brooding, if you will — and there is that hard core of hope that marks all satisfying jazz performances.

The setting for Gene's trumpet is Latin-Spanish. The "Carnival Sketches" suite was A & R man Esmond Edwards' idea. "I wanted something for Gene that was not just another album of unrelated tunes", Edwards said. "I wanted some continuity, an over-all premise — at least for one side. Richard Evans, having a propensity for writing Latin things, I thought would be best to write the date."

And Evans, as the saying goes, took care of business. Besides composing all the album's tunes. with the exception of Hank Mancini's "The Days Of Wine and Roses", Evans contracted the men for the two dates. He said the two qualities for which he looked in the men were, a good reading ability and the artistry to improvise with feeling: "You can get guys with a lot of feeling, but who can't read", Evans explained, "and you can get guys who can read but can't play with the proper feeling. Any session I write, I want to be as effcient as possible. You're limited to how much you can put down on paper, and you have to depend on the musicians to interpret what you want — 'I want a thing like this...'—the guys on this record are easy to work with."

The easy-to-work-with men are generally well known among Chicago musicians and jazz listeners. Vibraharpist Charles Stepnay, also an accomplished pianist, has worked most recently with tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris, but Stepnay's talents have been displayed in many Chicago clubs, if not very many recording studios. This quiet, almost taciturn musician is the outstanding vibes player in the Chicago area. Listen particularly to his well-thought-out and sensitive work on 'Coin' Downtown", and "Street Dance".

Guitarist Roland Faulkner came to Evans' attention when the two were working in the same band at the C & C Lounge, a cavernous club on the south side. Faulkner's creativity is one of the highlights of 'Carnival Sketches", particularly in his easeful "Cha Bossa' solo.

Kenny Soderblom is one of the most adroit woodwind players in Chicago, but spends much of his time at the lucrative work to be found in transcription and recording studios. This is one of his few jazz outings. His fetching flute work is especially well done on the lilting "Samba Nova".

Pianist Eddie Higgins' experience ranges from traditional jazz (with such groups as Jack Teagarden's) to modern (usually with his own trio, which includes bassist Evans, at such establishments as the London House). His ability to play within the temper of a tune is amply evident in his plunging, blues-drenched solos on "Soulero" and "Ain't That Soul", and in his light-fingered, delicate work on "The Days Of Wine And Roses" and "Samba Nova".

The three percussionists heard in this album are among the most respected in Chicago - Marshall Thompson has worked with innumerable groups, and his devilishly subtle, dancing playing has served as a source of inspiration for many young Chicago drummers. VernelJ Fournier, best known for his work with Ahmad Jamal and George Shearing, is an impeccable accompanist, one whose taste and imagination is without rival — as his hi-hat work shows on "Samba Nova". (Incidentally, both Fournier and Thompson play the 3/4 bolero figure in the opening and closing choruses of "Souleto".) Benny Cooke, the junior member of the percussion trio, has worked with several combos around Chicago, including Higgins', and has headed his own group from time to time. This is his first recorded performance on conga drum, and one might do worse than get caught up in the cross-rhythms he and Thompson play on "Street Dance".

Gene was unstinting in his praise for Evans' work, both as composer and as organizer. He said: "It was a very smooth session — due to Richard's ability, He had it all organized, and it worked."

Evans, one of Chicago's best bassists, (and there are a number of excellent ones in the city) has displayed his compositional and arranging skills before. Some of his most notable work was done for the Paul Winter Sextet, of which he was a member during its six month State Department tour of Latin America in 1962; and for Ahmad Jamal's album (Argo #712) which the bassist composed, scored, and conducted. He also has written arrangements for the Lionel Hampton and Maynard Ferguson bands. For the most part, Evans is self taught, both in playing and writing; however, after several years of performing and composing, he enrolled at Chicago's Wilson College, "to find out what I was doing".

Evans said that two of the tracks on the second That Soul" and "Soulero" were heavily influenced by his playing with Ahmad Jamal for several months in 1962 and '63. Evans then pointed out, "Soulero", "goes into a rhythm similar to Ahmad's "Poinciana". That's one reason I used Vernell Fournier. (who worked for several years with Jamal) he was the first one to make it up. On "Ain't That Soul", the basic rhythmic structure is based on things Jamal played. I want to give credit where it's due."

"Carnival Sketches" might, in the composer's words, "represent a typical day on the town below the border. Most of the ideas were jazz influenced. The rhythm, however, is infuenced by the Latins, and the rhythm sction gets a lazy but firm beat. We were trying to get that certain feeling in the record".

Gene Shaw. Richard Evans, and friends succeeded in doing just that, and in producing a lovely, sometimes poignant, moving record.

—Don DeMicheaI

LP-742

Sahib Shihab - Summer Dawn

Released 1964

Recording and Session Information

Ake Persson, trombone; Sahib Shihab, alto, baritone saxophones, flute; Francy Boland , piano; Jimmy Woode, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums; Joe Harris, percussion
Cologne, Germany, May 8+9 1963

Lillemor
Please don't leave me
Waltz for Seth
Campi's idea
Herr Fixit
Jay-Jay (unissued)

Track Listing

Lillemor	S. Shihab	May 8+9 1963
Please Don't Leave Me	S. Shihab	May 8+9 1963
Waltz For Seth	S. Shihab	May 8+9 1963
Campi's Idea	S. Shihab	May 8+9 1963
Herr Fixit	S. Shihab	May 8+9 1963

Liner Notes

THERE is one moment...when the darkness of the night begins to pass...when first light creeps from horizon through the leaves of the trees, 'round the corners of your neighbor's house...it sneaks through the windows softening the colors on its way, altering your feeling of past and present, banishing all those many troubles....

Listen! The sounds seem transparent...they echo...they come again...and now from over there...

You smell the cool breeze, touching heart and brain, rebuilding your ego, helping to strip off the troublesome yesterday...

You're alone. It is summer dawn...

Here is music for your strange mood. The piano starts the first track, slow tempo beat, a strict beat, a swinging beat. Lillemor — here minor harmonies give the tune a rural, romantic feeling of some place in Spain or France. The tempo changes to medium fast — the flute solos. Light phrasing contrasts beautifully to the earthy, swinging beat of the rhythm section and the repeating piano figures. The trombone adds a new color, a counterpoint of sound and phrasing, backed by the pulsating beat of this wonderful rhythm and the driving piano. Summer dawn...

This music has more to offer, because it shows the personality of Sahib Shihab at its best. Sahib is a universal musician who reflects musical experiences in jazz since the end of the thirties. He lived through the important periods of modern jazz with his heart and mind wide open toward everything that was good music, regardless of being termed "Mainstream", "Bop", "Cool", "West-coast", "Eastcoast", "Hard Bop", et cetera. When you listen closely to his music, you will find traces of all these, but they are immersed in his deep musicianship and his true jazz personality.

Sahib Shihab's background reads like the record of a master of advanced studies. Let's name a few steps in his growth to one of the stars in jazz. He studied with Elmer Snowden and at Boston Conservatory '37 to '42. Played in between with Luther Henderson and Larry Noble. Made his first record with Fletcher Henderson with whom he played during '44 and '45. Joined Roy Eldridge end of '45, and afterwards was a couple of years around Boston. Came to New York City to join Budd Johnson '47-'48, just in time to be in the middle of the new movement that changed the outlook of jazz. He played and recorded with Theolonius Monk, Tadd Dameron, Milt Jackson and many other "boppers". In '49-'50, he was with Art Blakey's group; in the early fifties, with Dizzy Gillespie and Illinois Jaquet. During the titlies and early sixties, he went to Europe several times, leaving behind a strong impression and influence on European musicians.

In his early professional years, Sahib was heard mostly on alto sax; later, more often on baritone sax and flute. Today, his name is inseparably connected with these two instruments.

The unity of these jazz performances is not alone bound up with the compositions and the arrangements of Sahib Shihab, though in their understated simplicity they have a melodic beauty that is seldom found in jazz of today. The rhythmical subtleties add to the overall qualities of being relaxed vehicles for free-blowing, but there is an immediacy that you hear and feel every moment when listening which defies analysis. The playing of the rhythm section helps greatly to promote the sense of flux and contrasting constant renewal that makes llstenmg to this record so invigorating an experience.

Well, this is no surprise, with Kenny Clarke as the nucleus of the rhythm group. Kenny 'Klook' Clarke is a major figure and contributor in jazz, one of the founders of modern jazz, and is ranked as one of the all-time great drummers. He influenced a whole generation of musicians with his playing, though living in Paris since the middle of the fifties somewhat dimmed his name to the general American public. Nevertheless, his name alone will assure a conoisseur to expect top class musical experiences.

Talking of the rhythm section we have to name Jimmy Woode's bass, which together with Kenny's drumming, is the driving force for the group and the reliable harmonic anchor for the improvisors. By the way, Jimmy has been with the Duke quite a while, and this alone is an award for extraordinary craftsmanship and artistry. The good sounding rhythm with its full-bodied color is also a result of the added bongos of Joe Harris, who manages to stay out of the way of the players — a quality not often found with drummers—but his playing is felt through the set.

There are two members of the group not yet mentioned. Two Europeans, pianist-composer-arranger Francy Boland from Belgium, and trombonist Ake Persson from Sweden. Francy Boland this time is a sideman, though normally he is a leader of recording sessions, both as composer-arranger and as musical director of the band. In the fifties he was in the States writing arrangements for different name-bands, such as Basie and Goodman. In Europe, he is famous for his swinging modern big band arrangements; and his inventiveness as a is reflected in his piano playing. He has the talent of using the right dynamic approach every moment, thus making his playing helpful to soloists and interesting for listeners as well. Ake Persson has been Scandinavia's outstanding trombone player for about ten years. There are only a few trombonists in Europe who might match his talents at times, but they lack the consistency of his playing. He is impressive, whether playing in a big band, or whether main soloist in his own small groups. American musicians love the sound of his slide trombone and his easily flowing romantic improvisations, so he often joins American name-bands as they travel in Europe.

The music speaks alone...we said it before. You have your soul to feel the beauty, to follow lines and structure, and to enjoy the spiritual excitement. Whether you enjoy the flowing, easy sounding theme of "Please Don't Leave Me", or the climaxing piano solo in the same piece—the bass solo in "Waltz For Seth" or the swinging baritone sax—listen to the first bars of this solo and pay attention to Kenny. Whether you listen to "Campi's Idea", (named after Gigi Campi, the well known Cologne jazz enthusiast who organized this recording) with the romantic flute solo of Sahib, the interesting tempo changes, the piano comping, the moving trombone solo; or to the up-tempo "Herr Fixit", with the cooking Kenny and humorous, driving flute solo, you know that these six musicians where in the right mood, in the right stimulating surroundings to feel what we all feel when it's:

SUMMER DAWN
Nat Jungnick

LP-741

The Ramsey Lewis Trio At The Bohemian Caverns

Released 1964

Recording and Session Information

Ramsey Lewis, piano; Eldee Young, bass; Redd Holt, drums
Bohemian Caverns, Washington D.C, June 4 + 6 1964

13256 All of you (unissued)
13257 The cave
13258 Let's have it... (unissued)
13259 The shelter of your arms
13260 People
13261 Something you've got
(West Side Story medley :)
13262 Maria
13263 Somewhere
13264 Jet song
13265 To-night
13266 Fly me to the moon
13373 My babe

Track Listing

West Side Story Medley	L. Bernstein	June 4 + 6 1964
Somewhere		June 4 + 6 1964
Maria		June 4 + 6 1964
Jet Song		June 4 + 6 1964
Somewhere		June 4 + 6 1964
People	J. Styne	June 4 + 6 1964
Something You Got	Chris Kenner	June 4 + 6 1964
Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)	B. Howard	June 4 + 6 1964
My Babe	W. Dixon	June 4 + 6 1964
The Caves	R. Lewis	June 4 + 6 1964
The Shelter Of Your Arms	S. Collie	June 4 + 6 1964

Liner Notes

FOR MORE than four years the Bohemian Caverns in Washington, D. C., has provided a steady home for jazz and its faithful supporters. This club is known world wide for its physical layout of sculpturesque beauty and stalactite formations hanging from its ceiling. Said club owner Tony Taylor to his partner Angelo Alvino and myself, "That's why, times when we don't even have a strong act in the room to draw the people, there are a certain amount of individuals who might filter through here anyway, just to see the place". So here we find the very necessary ingredients of the mixture to make jazz — the customer, the atmosphere, and the world's finest performing artists.

One of the most exhilarating feelings a jazz fan could have is to watch and listen to great musicians, and the audience here attests in unanimous agreement to the aforementioned statement. I assume by now that you know that the Ramsey Lewis Trio recorded this album live at the Bohemian Caverns, in the heart of the nation's capital. On hand was a full house of eager Ramsey Lewis fans, a new piano, and bass and drums tuned to perfect pitch. Here you will find an energetic and joyous atmosphere as the trio - opens with music from WEST SIDE STORY. The improvisations in the West Side Story medley are not all in the jazz choruses. The arrangement itself is more than just a clever restatement of the melody. Each section of the score reveals to the listener a different face of the structure, and when the final Chorus and the dramatic coda are reached, a thorough exposition of the remarkable work of Leonard Bernstein has been accomplished.

In creating a jazz version for three themes of this story, the trio combined its great musical know-how to reveal beautiful, dramatic contrast, tenderness, love, and unrest.

On "PEOPLE", the trio defies description, and proves that "people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world."

The blues can often come very close to truc poetry, a virtue that is often overlooked, and a mighty convincing story is told here in the very popular opus, "SOMETHING YOU GOT".

It is difficult to praise Ramsey Lewis' pianistic ability too highly. Ramsey makes a bold adventure of "FLY ME TO THE MOON" or "IN OTHER WORDS": and his consistently high performances are just short of miraculous.

One of the country's best cello and bass players, since Oscar Pettiford, is Eldee Young. This young man is so advanced that there is seemingly no harmonic puzzle too abstract for resolution, no rhythmic limb too high for him to jump off. All this is proven in his venturesome journey with "MY BABE" Many professional players of swinging repute mention Red Holt as their favorite drummer. Red can do more with his left hand, than most can do with both. He is well received for his efforts on "SHELTER OF YOUR ARMS".

"THE CAVES" brings the fellows together with great applause; this one written by the trio for the club.

This album contains many musical principles and musical feelings; and before jazz fulfills its promise there may be a long lonesome road ahead, yet efforts like this show the way and make the whole thing worth while. You will agree that this is one of the best sessions in the career of the three: Ramsey, Red, and Eldee — the illustrious RAMSEY LEWIS TRIO.

Al Clarke
WOOK Radio
Washington, D. C.

LP-740

James Moody - Comin' On Strong

Released 1964

Recording and Session Information

James Moody, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, flute; Kenny Barron, piano, organ; George Eskridge, guitar; Chris White, bass; Rudy Collins, drums
Ter Mar, Chicago, September 16 1963

12704 I've grown accustomed to her face
12705 Zanzibar
12706 Sonnymoon for two
12707 Dizzy
12708 Ole [For the gypsies]
12709 Please send me someone to love
12710 Autumn leaves
12711 Fly me to the moon (In other words)

Track Listing

In Other Words (Fly Me To The Moon)	Bart Howard	September 16 1963
Dizzy	James Moody	September 16 1963
Autumn Leaves	D. Kozma, J. Mercer, A. Prevert	September 16 1963
Ole	Dizzy Gillespie	September 16 1963
Sonnymoon For Two	Sonny Rollins	September 16 1963
I've Grown Accustomed To Your Face	Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Loewe	September 16 1963
Zanzibar	Esmond Edwards	September 16 1963
Please Send Me Someone To Love	Percy Mayfield	September 16 1963

Liner Notes

IN MANY WAYS, the title of this album is unnecessary. Comin' On Strong is the way James Moody does things musically. Moody has contributed too much to jazz and to the general dignity of the jazz business to have it any other way.

Moody the musician is a product of bop era. The wages of those years were destructive to many of its participants, yet Moody remains. The quality of the music produced by many members of the then avant-garde movement has been variable, yet Moody's is consistently excellent. Many men have shifted their musical conceptions to take advantage of this fad or that craze. yet Moody, (if necessary), will take music and fit it to his conception. Musicians have taken up new instruments to give them added versatility and their musical personality changes to suit the demands of the instrument; yet Moody plays alto, tenor and flute in a style that is distinctly his own.

Moody has a history of producing unique musical performances. Moody's Mood For Love is a classic ballad performance, but slow pieces are a small part of his repertory. A list of his outstanding works Will number pieces as diverse as NJR. Hey Jim , Disappointed, The Strut, Last Train From Overbrook, Darben the Redd Foxx, With Malice Towards None and Workshop. HoW many men can claim such a huge collection (still only partially accounted for here) of musical successes?

Moody has also given a good deal of inspiration to young musicians. During the period when he led a septet he featured men such as Babs Gonzales, Johnny Coles, Eddie Jefferson, Gene Kee and Clarence Johnston. Moody also used the compositions of talented musicians like Quincy Jones, Benny Golson and Tom McIntosh while these men were largely unknown to the general public.

Moody the man has suffered some untimely misfortunes during his 20 years as contributing jazzman. The year 1938 is one he would like to forget. Too many bottles of cheap wine threatened his career but Moody committed himself to Overbrook Hospital in New Jersey and came back.

In the summer Of 1961, Moody took his group to The Five Spot in New York after an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival and things were good until the club was closed by the police and the band was out of work. Moody, however, went to Chicago where he shared the bandstand for a couple of weeks with three other saxophonists; Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Stitt. The performances of these men during their stay at McKies DJ Lounge shook the very foundations of the Chicago Jazz world and people still talk about it three years later. Lesser men could not have made it yet Moody did.

For the last two years, Moody has been an associate of John Birks Gillespie. Now Moody concentrates more on alto and flute; although tenor was the horn he played when he was a member of Mr. Gillespie's first big band in the middle 1940's. The fine interaction between Moody and Diz has been evident from the very beginning of their latest relationship. Moody is the ideal compatriot for Dizzy because his shy manner meshes with the leader's extrovert personality. The result is nightly demonstration of musical and social common sense.

In this album, Moody is assisted by the Gillespie rhythm s«tion of Kenny Barron, Chris White and Rudy Collins and Chicagoan George Eskridge on guitar. As with each Moody release. the listener gains a little more insight into the musical personality of the man. In this case, it is two Latin pieces, Ole and Zanzibar, that reveal another facet of his versatility. Zanzibar was written by Esmond Edwards, the man responsible for the making of this album and I think the listener will agree that With works like Zanzibar coupled with Bonita and Desert Winds (recorded by Illinois Jacquet), jazz may have found its answer to Prez Prado.

Moody has also contributed an original to the date. It is a line entitled Dizzy and during the course of its performance, one can enjoy an affectionate portrait of our number one trumpeter and presidential candidate.

Moody has always brought to his ballad performances a unique interpretative powers and in this collection, Fly Me To The Moon and I've Grown Accustomed To Your Face are fine examples.

COMIN' ON STRONG?: OF COURSE. Anything else would be an insult to the man.

Bob Porter
Editoe, "The Digger"

LP-739

Baby Face Willette - Mo-Roc

Released 1964

Recording and Session Information

Baby Face Willette, organ; Ben White, guitar; Eugene Bass, drums
Ter Mar, Chicago, 27 March + 2 April 1964

13142 Dad's theme
13143 Misty
13144 Bantu penda
13145 But not for me
13146 Sight in darkness
13147 Mo-roc
13148 Unseen and unknown
13149 Zip five

Track Listing

Mo-Roc	Roosevelt Willette	27 March + 2 April 1964
Bantu Penda	Roosevelt Willette	27 March + 2 April 1964
Dad's Theme	Roosevelt Willette	27 March + 2 April 1964
But Not For Me	George & Ira Gershwin	27 March + 2 April 1964
Misty	Erroll Garner & Johnny Burke	27 March + 2 April 1964
Unseen And Unknown	Roosevelt Willette	27 March + 2 April 1964
Zip Five	Roosevelt Willette	27 March + 2 April 1964
Sight In Darkness	Roosevelt Willette	27 March + 2 April 1964

Liner Notes

THE MUSIC on this album offers strong cvidcnce of the versatility-and-greatness of Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette. This versatility and greatness is divided into two levels, first as an instrumentalist, second as a composer.

As an instrumentalist, "Baby Face" exploits a highly rhythmic and "funky" organ sound, a sound that today is extremely popular with the record buying public, including both lovers of Rhythm and Blues and Jazz.

As a composer, all of the original tunes in the album were composed by Willette. The others, "Misty", the Errol Garner classic, and "But Not For Me" are by now jazz standards.

Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette was born on September 11, 1933 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Like many of today's top jazz organists, He got his start playing in church. He is no newcomer to the jazz organ scene. Among earlier dues he has paid were stints with the great Joe "The Honeydripper" Liggins and "Big" Jay McNeely.

After years of traveling on the road, experiencing the pros and cons of a musician's life socially, economically and musically, Willette decided to make it on his own, and formed a trio. The group as represented on this record was formed in the fall of 1963.

The organ of Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette is unique. It jolts with the unexpected and the new. It has something to say and uses every resource to interpret its message. Willette's organ is ingenious — gifted with musical expression — listen now to ROOSEVELT "BABY FACE" WILLETTE...

The set opens with MO-ROC, a tune which is named in short for Chicago's Moroccan Village where "Baby Face" is currently employed. Willette's driving solo sets the mood for Ben White's "cooking" guitar on this track.

In Swahili, which is an African language, BANTU PENDA means "Black Love". This track features mellowness involving contrasting elements of these two instruments, the organ and guitar.

DAD'S THEME, "Baby Face" asserts, "is a tune that was dedicated to my father who died recently". Again the soulful organ of Willette is establishing new pitches, more funk and harmony. The marching togetherness on this is beautiful.

The much recorded "BUT NOT FOR ME" has good melodic lines. Willette plays through the tune in a provocative manner, then tosses the feature spot to Ben.

An African female witch doctor was in mind when Willette recorded UNSEEN AND UNKNOWN. Notice the blending of harmonics on this one. The screaming, which connotates the voicings of the witch doctor, also enhances this set.

ZIP FIVE, another Willette original, begins with a swinging, grooving, rollicking beat. Freedom of expression is dominant here. Throughout the whole 'grooving" affair, the listener will not only get a chance to hear the tremendous virtuosity of the Willette organ, but to "dig" Ben White and Eugene Bass in a secondary but forceful role "wailing" and "pushing" the set to a successful conclusion.

Rounding out this tastily prepared album, the trio indeed reaches the essence of musical compatibility on SIGHT IN DARKNESS. Here Willette's organ and White's guitar concur ideas. On this, as well as throughout the album the skinmanship of Eugene Bass is very much appreciated.

Looking over the whole session, all of the charts on this album, which is "Baby Face" Willette's first album for Argo, you will find one of the most spirited and original organists in the "World of Jazz" today — Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette.

Tom Reed
"THIS IS JAZZ"
KPRS FM
Kansas City, Missouri

LP-738

The Art Farmer Quartet - Perception

Released 1964

Recording and Session Information

Art Farmer, trumpet, fluegelhorn; Harold Mabern, piano; Tommy Williams, bass; Roy McCurdy, drums
Nola Studios, New York City, 25-27 October 1961

11424 Tonk
11425 Change partners
11426 Nobody's heart
11427 Ponsu
11428 The day after
11429 Lullaby of the leaves
11430 Kayin'

Track Listing

Punsu	Art Farmer	25-27 October 1961
The Day After	Tom McIntosh	25-27 October 1961
Lullaby Of The Leaves	B. Petkere & Jos. Young	25-27 October 1961
Kayin´	Art Farmer	25-27 October 1961
Tonk	Ray Bryant	25-27 October 1961
Blue Room	L. Hart & R. Rodgers	25-27 October 1961
Change Partners	Larry Coleman & Jos. Darion	25-27 October 1961
Nobody´s Heart	L. Hart & R. Rodgers	25-27 October 1961

Liner Notes

"I think of Art as 'Mr. Melody'. He has an uncanny gift for melody, and for the ways of weaving it in and out of harmonic progressions effectively, as though he were creating another composition himself. Art has a big, round, warm sound all his own, which makes his ballads seem to sing. Art doesn't compose very many tunes, but when he does, they are so meaningful...he has a vast knowledge of scales and modes, which is evidenced in his playing. I predict that before long, Art will be one of the biggest jazz trumpeters we have ever known."

Those comments were made back in 1960 by Benny Golson, shortly after he had become Art Farmer's partner in the direction of the Jazztet. Except that the word fluegelhorn may now be substituted for trumpet, all of Golson's remarks apply to the Farmer of 1964. Another important change can be made in the original text: that last sentence can safely be switched from the future to the present tense.

For the benefit of those who may have jumped on the Farmer bandwagon a few years late, a brief summation of his background may be in order. Born Arthur Stewart Farmer in Council Bluffs, Iowa, August 21, 1928, he was raised in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1945 he and his twin brother, the late Addison Farmer, moved to Los Angeles. With the exception of a 1947-8 hiatus in New York, Art remained a West Coaster for most of the next seven years, working with the bands of Horace Henderson, Floyd Ray, Johnny Otis, Benny Carter and the combo of Wardell Gray. In 1952-3 he spent a year in the memorable Lionel Hampton band that included Clifford Brown and Quincy Jones in its trumpet section; some records made in Sweden with a small group during that time were among the first to bring him national attention among jazz audiences.

Settling in New York in 1953, Art formed a group with Gigi Gryce, an alumnus of the same Hampton band. After a year or two off and on with Gryce, he joined Horace Silver's early quintet in 1956. Two years later he began an intermittent association with Gerry Mulligan that lasted several years and included a couple of motion picture assignments (I Want To Live), (The Subterraneans). After three years as co-leader of the Jazztet, Art struck out on his own again in late 1962; most recently he has been heard leading a quartet that features guitarist Jim. Hall.

During the Jazztet years, Farmer doubled between trumpet and fluegelhorn. Lately, however, he has completely abandoned the trumpet for public appearances, relegating it to practice sessions at home.

"The fluegelhorn gets the sound I want more consistently than the trumpet," he told Gene Lees in a Down Beat interview. "I like to hear the low notes. I talk in a low voice, and I like to play like that...if you want to shout and scream, then fluegelhorn is not the instrument."

If shouting and screaming is your musical meat, then this is not your album.

Art's personality is reflected in his approach to music just as surely as his softly modulated speaking voice is reflected in the sound of his horn. This is an unpretentious, mainly introspective session Of the kind that has led too often to comparisons between Art and Miles Davis. Analogies of this kind are a common ailment among jazz critics, who tend to throw names around as if to imply that every soloist has to have a stylistic genealogical tree. Farmer's is a typical case of a style that has undergone such labored analysis, while in fact the only need is for an examination of his work in its own terms. What you hear when you listen to these sides is not a Davis-influenced luminosity or a Hackett-inspired lyricism, but rather a Farmer-fashioned individuality.

Art's rhythm section is composed of men with impressive credits in the contemporary scene. Harold Mabern, whom I heard a while back as a member of Miles Davis' group, was also featured in the Jazztet during its later days and has been heard on records with Jimmy Forrest and others. As Harvey Pekar once observed. "He is a relatively unsung pianist who extracts a full, warm sonority from the instrument; he uses long, complex phrases on the up-tempo tunes, yet his work retains an aura of calm."

Roy McCurdy, a drummer so dependably effective that he has been referred to as Sturdy McCurdy, was also a member of the Jazztet and has been heard with Sonny Rollins and other combos around New York. Tommy Williams is best known for his work during the past couple of years with Stan Getz.

Punsu establishes the attractive mood of the set immediately. A simple but charming theme. it provides a framework for a long, beautifully flowing Farmer solo as vell as for a Mabem excursion that demonstrates the above-cited ability to avoid violence. Tommy Williams' chorus, too, is unspectacularly effective.

The Day After is an exquisite illustration of Art's ability to distill into a brief performance all the essence of his melodic creativity. Listening to this track, a non-musician friend of mine commented: "It seems as though he can even make a major chord sound minor."

Lullaby of the Leaver is an unorthodox treatment of the 1932 pop standard. After an opening chorus on which, except for the release, Art is accompanied only by Williams' walking bass, he yields the spotlight immediately to Tommy for a solo chorus. An unexpected and valuable-added touch is the casual commentary by Art during the second half of the bass and piano choruses, almost as if his horn were performing the comping role of a rhythm section member.

Kayin' was named for Art's manager, Miss Kay Norton. A brightish-tempoed theme on the regular 32-bar pattern, it recalls his confident comment about the mood generated with his horn: enjoy the feeling I get when I'm putting air through the fluegelhorn; the sound is natural and good, so I can stop worrying about how I sound and just worry about what I want to play and how to play it."

Tonk, not to be confused with the old Ellington-Strayhorn piano duet specialty of the same name, is based on an A-A-A-B structure in 16-bar stanzas plus an eight-bar release that is actually a variation of A. McCurdy's brush fills and general support are a bouyantly helpful element.

Blue Room, a Rodgers & Hart standard that goes all the way back to 1926, is introduced in a characteristically speculative Farmer mood, with occasional comments from Tommy Williams. In strong contrast is Change Partners, the most extrovert track of the session. McCurdy's support is a dynamic plus factor in this renovation of the 1938 Irving Berlin song.

The closing track, Nobody's Heart, offers a succinct compendium of virtues: a standard tune ideally suited to Art's idiom, a rerninder of his essentially melodic nature, a delightful interlude of quiet chording by Mabern, and, most impressive of all, the unaccompanied Farmer passages that open and close this low-key performance.

So many angry voices are being heard in jazz at present that the equanimity of an Art Farmer may seem anachronistic to the uninitiated. The truth. of course, is that the new and harsher sounds no more cancel out such values as Farmer's than James Joyce invalidates Dickens, or Baldwin Langston Hughes. As long as there is room for beauty and lyricism in jazz, such voices as Farmer's will newer be silenced.

LEONARD FEATHER

LP-737

Oliver Nelson - Fantabulous

Released 1964

Recording and Session Information

Art Hoyle, Eugene (Snooky) Young, trumpet; Ray Wiegand, trombone; Tony Studd, bass trombone; Phil Woods, clarinet, alto saxophone; Bob Ashton, clarinet, tenor saxophone; Kenny Soderblom, flute, tenor saxophone; Oliver Nelson, tenor saxophone, arranger, conductor; Jerome Richardson (baritone saxophone,flute, alto-flute; Patti Bown, piano; Ben Tucker, bass Grady Tate, drums
Universal Recording Studio, Chicago, March 19 1964

13071 Teenie's blues
13072 Daylie's double
13073 Three plus one
13074 A bientot
13075 Hobo flats
13076 Take me with you
13077 Post no bills
13078 Laz-ie Kate

Track Listing

Hobo Flats	Oliver Nelson	March 19 1964
Post No Bills	Oliver Nelson	March 19 1964
A Bientot	Billy Taylor	March 19 1964
Three Plus One	Oliver Nelson	March 19 1964
Take Me With You	Willie Jean Tate & Oliver Nelson	March 19 1964
Daylie's Double	Audrey Nelson	March 19 1964
Teenie's Blues	Oliver Nelson	March 19 1964
Laz-ie Kate	Oliver Nelson	March 19 1964

Liner Notes

OLIVER NELSON hit the jazz world like a tornado about four years ago and he's been gaining momentum ever since. Although relatively unknown when he moved to New York City from his native St. Louis, Oliver shortly established himself as one of the most sought-after reedmen in town and was constantly in demand for recording sessions, concert orchestras, stage bands and jazz club dates. On these jobs he would play alto, tenor, baritone saxophone or clarinet as the occasion required; but on one job I recall, he played third trumpet in Reuben Phillips' band at the Apollo Theatre!

For all his facility with various instruments, Oliver best likes to express himself on the tenor sax and does most of his solo work on that instrument. His style is an interesting blending of the Coltrane-modern school and the straight-ahead, it's-got-to-swing philosophy.

As this album demonstrates, Oliver plays a "lotta" tenor sax. However, most of his current reputation as a musician is based not on his performance as an instrumentalist, but on his abilities as a composer and arranger. After his first few arranging assignments the word spread that a fresh and important talent was on the scene and Oliver was soon swamped with assignments. He wrote for Brook Benton, Benny Goodman, Ray Charles, Jimmy Smith, Art Farmer, Maynard Ferguson and as the expression many more."

The Nelson tunes and arrangements are highly regarded by musicians because they are always challenging and interesting. His harmonies are fresh and often surprising and he makes effective use of shifting rhythmic patterns and the interplay of orchestral sections.

But other arrangers are capable of intriguing their fellow musicians. Oliver's work is valuable because it has also succeeded in pleasing the general public — the untrained listeners who want to be entertained and not educated—and I think Oliver achieves this by always having his arrangements swing in a forthright way. The swing isn't implied, it's there!

This album was recorded in Chicago with the band that Oliver Nelson brought from New York for a concert presented by jazz DJ, Daddy-O Daylie, (Two exceptions are the Chicagoans, Arthur Hoyle and Kenny Soderblom.)

As is normally the case with Nelson's music, the challenges presented made the musicians function at top effciency and there was a festive, enthusiastic atmosphere in the studio.

In addition to Oliver's excellent tenor work, this LP has several fine solos by members of the orchestra. Patti Bown has some wonderfully "aggressive" solos on HOBO FLATS, POST NO BILLS, DAYLIE'S DOUBLE and TEENIES BLUES. Jerome Richardson's "growl" flute solo on POST NO BILLS is a high-point in the LP and Phil Woods' alto solos on POST NO BILLS and THREE PLUS ONE are as brilliant and arresting as a view of the Northern Lights.

I won't attempt a tune by tune summary of the album, but in addition to the solo highlights I've already mentioned, I'd like to emphasize the following:

Nelson's "vocal" tenor exploration of Billy Taylor's A BIEN TOT and his own TAKE ME WITH YOU points up why the tenor saxophone has been called the instrument that most closely resembles the human voice.

The Ravel-like building of the band behind Oliver's tenor soliloquy in TAKE ME WITH YOU

Let it be noted that DAY LIE'S DOUBLE (named for the above mentioned Daddy-O Daylie) was composed by Oliver's talented wife, Audrey.

THREE PLUS ONE — a socko, curtain-raiser type of tune, reminiscent of the type of things the swing era bands used to open their sets with; is a virtuoso arrangement that would have taken most merely competent musicians days to master, but the super-pros in the band gobbled it up.

The beautiful Ellingtonish mood of LAZIE KATE...

The wild things that happen in the arrangement of TEENIES BLUES.

Chicago trumpeter Hoyle's fiery solos on THREE PLUS ONE.

This then is some of the latest work of Oliver Nelson, who has been called "fantastic" and "fabulous". We call him 'FANTABULOUS"

Esmond Edwards

LP-736

Budd Johnson – Ya! Ya!

Released 1964

Recording and Session Information

Budd Johnson, tenor saxophone; Al Williams, organ; Richard Davis, bass; Belton Evans, drums
Sound Makers Studio, New York, January 20 1964

12933 When hearts are young
12934 The revolution
12935 Big Al
12936 Exotique
12937 Where it's at

Budd Johnson, tenor saxophone; Al Williams, organ; George Duvivier, bass; Belton Evans, drums

12938 Come rain or come shine
12939 Ya ya
12940 Tag along with me
12941 Chloe [Song of the swamp]

Track Listing

Ya! Ya!	Budd Johnson	January 20, 21 1964
Come Rain Or Come Shine	Johnny Mercer & Harold Arlen	January 20, 21 1964
Big Al	Budd Johnson	January 20, 21 1964
Exotique	Esmond Edmonds	January 20, 21 1964
The Revolution	Budd Johnson	January 20, 21 1964
Tag Along With Me	Budd Johnson	January 20, 21 1964
Chloe	N. Moret & Gus Kahn	January 20, 21 1964
When Hearts Are Young	Romberg, Goodman, Wood	January 20, 21 1964
Where It's At	E. Herbert	January 20, 21 1964

Liner Notes

THE music we today call JAZZ has many facets, many styles, many young striving blowers and fortunately, quite a large corp of creative unhampered instrumental giants.

The featured tenor saxophonist of this album is one of these creative giants. Budd Johnson's career has spanned virtually all of the many styles that have controlled Jazz for one period or another. He has been and is still master of them all. Up till now, the most important segment of the medium that had Budd Johnson as an active practitioner was the pre and early Bebop era. His playing and arranging helped the big swing-entrapped Earl Hines band to begin an important musical change — a change that has never been improved upon (because everything that came after it was based upon it)!

Much of the frantic "free form bag" now extant is merely another feverish attempt to get away from the Bebop forms. The most successful ventures in this direction are being accomplished by the more mature players. Budd Johnson is one of these.

His previous Argo album, "French Cookin'", (721), had him backed by a conventional bass, piano, guitar, drums, plus an augmented Latin percussion section. This album gives Budd a little more blowing room with less of an arranged framework. Here he is accompanied and aided by Al Williams, organ; Belton Evans, drums; and alternating bassists George Duvivier and Richard Davis.

From the opening "work song" type bass figure followed by the squiggly-wiggly type organ figure you can readily feel the non-frantic blues-walking groove on the album's opening title tune, "Ya! Ya After stating the captivating theme Budd lays out till the organ solo swings him in with his own intense message.

"Come Rain Or Come Shine", has always been a beautiful blowing ballad. Budd treats the first chorus tenderly, then doubles it up for his 'blowing' segment. The bridge of the initial chorus is played especially pretty, theatre organ style, by Al Williams.

Bass and drum set the tempo for "Big Al" with Budd coming in blowing with no apparent theme in front. As the tune moves along, however, a very definite set of chord patterns assert themselves until the organ and tenor are playing a two-part invention.

The final selection on Side 1, "Exotique", is just that. Its unhurried theme and feeling remind me of Illinois Jacquet's Argo hit, "Bonita". Budd's style here is sort of "hot, clipped and urgent". Richard Davis' 'orientale' bowed solo in quarter tones is certainly a shocker the first time you hear the record. But as you listen to it repeatedly, it grows into an irresistible statement of great beauty.

Undoubtedly a paraphrase on the "free form bag" mentioned earlier, side two's opening tune is titled, "The Revolution". And also, as we said before, it seems that the most successful ventures into this type of playing are being executed by the more mature musicians. This tune is written utilizing the general interval sounds made by most of those involved with the form. How can you have written free form? I suppose the same way we've evolved "written jazz". Anyhow, Budd jumps into his free solo with a groan and proceeds to develop within the tune's structure, a fine feeling and meaning. All revolutions should be as painless!

"Tag Along With Me", is just that, a series of tags used as the central sounding board for the improvisations, instead of as an ending to a tune. This device lends itself most happily to bouyant type ideas and has been made most famous by the tandem team of Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt. Lester Young, in the '40's began using this style for endings in a more restrained manner, and Budd Johnson on this one really evokes the "Prez" image.

"Chloe", is given a slow bongo beat treatment in a sort of bounce style, with Budd making the major call for this lost swamp girl.

A bright and happy coutrast to the preceding tune follows, "by the name of" "When Hearts Are Young". Al Williams' organ is thoughtfully restrained as Budd builds in a flowing singing manner a solo that sounds as if it should go on forever. It almost does, but is finally faded out with the band still playing.

The closer is a statement of definiteness with no argument permitted, "Where It's At". It's just a strong moving blues in a gutter groove. Like here's the whole message right now!

I don't really believe this is the most important Jazz album ever made. Nor do I believe Budd Johnson thinks this. The claim here is that it is the latest recorded example of the continuing creativeness and melodic inventiveness of one of the under-rated saxophone giants of yesterday, TODAY, and undoubtedly, tomorrow. Those who have been championing the talents of Budd Johnson for quite a while are singularly impressed with his current work and are convinced that the greatest part of his career is only now just beginning.

It's all right here in the grooves of this album for you to hear and appreciate. Don't disappoint your inner ear.

JOE SEGAL

LP-735

Illinois Jacquet – Desert Winds

Released 1964

Recording and Session Information

Illinois Jacquet, alto, tenor saxophone; Tommy Flanagan, piano; Kenny Burrell, guitar; Wendell Marshall, bass; Ray Lucas, drums; Willie Rodriguez, percussion
RVG, Englewood, New York, February 13 1964

13006 Star eyes
13007 Blues for the early bird
13008 Canadian sunset
13009 When my dreamboat comes home
13010 Lester leaps in
13011 You're my thrill
13012 Desert winds

Track Listing

When My Dreamboat Comes Home	Dave Franklin & Cliff Friend	February 13 1964
Desert Winds	Esmond Edwards	February 13 1964
Star Eyes	Don Raye & Gene DePaul	February 13 1964
Blues For The Early Bird	Illinois Jacquet	February 13 1964
Lester Leaps In	Lester Young	February 13 1964
You're My Thrill	Ned Washington & Burton Lane	February 13 1964
Canadian Sunset	Eddie Heywood	February 13 1964

Liner Notes

I HAD never met Illinois Jacquet prior to this recording session, though I have been an admirer of his tenor saxophone sound for years. Please allow me to introduce you to the men involved in the production of this album and allow me to take you to the session with me.

You are holding the product of many years of experience in a number of different fields, all closely related, in that each is necessary for the production of record albums in general and this album in particular.

The talents of the recording engineer are very necessary in the production of the final product and Rudy Van Gelder is one of the best. Rudy's studio is located in New Jersey, just across the George Washington Bridge from New York City. The setting of the studio is suburban and from the reports of musicians, very conducive to musical creation.

Illinois Jacquet gives the first impression of being in command, of himself his music and hence, the situation at hand — the making of a record. My first impression was proven by the events of the afternoon. Illinois does all things in a relaxed, confident way, born of long experience and great ability. The experience has been gathered from working in the bands of Basie and Hampton and leading various small groups of his own. With the Hampton band, Illinois became very well known for his solos on Flyin' Home and his section work with both bands was fine. That he has benefited from all this is evident in the 1964 sound of Illinois Jacquet.

The actual recording session took a while to get going. By this I mean not the actual playing but "going" in a cooking sense. Rapport must be established between the musicians involved, because these men do not work together in a regular group. It takes some time to get the "feel" of the ideas each man wishes to contribute. The last Illinois Jacquet recording (Argo LP-722) has some of the same personnel but a change of only one man changes the complexton of the album.

Willie Rodriquez, besides being a latin percussionist, is a very funny man. Upon examining Willie's very barren head, I complained of the glare. To this Willie explained that he would have worn his toupee but it would have altered the studio accoustics.

The first tune of the album, When My Dreamboat Comes Home, was made for Illinois Jacquet or did he make the tune into his own? Upon reflection coupled with listening, I feel that the latter supposition is more valid. The tempo is sort of jog-along and Jacquet fits perfectly into the rhythmic slot provided by the rhythm section; with Ray Lucas and Wendall Marshall supplying a really sturdy beat as they do throughout the album. Kenny Burrell follows the opening Jacquet solo with one of his own. Kenny is tall and lean and plays guitar in a style befitting his stature. He sort of lopes along with long phrases and ideas. Tommy Flanagan follows, tasteful as ever.

Desert Winds opens with a theme statement by Illinois and Kenny Burrell, followed by a tenor solo, but not just any tenor solo. This one is by Illinois Jacquet and that is saying something. The slightly eastern flavor carries throughout the piece, back to the unison line and then out.

Star Eyes is taken pretty much as written and done in this manner, demonstrates yet another side of Illinois Jacquet. This is a beautiful song and the original is only enhanced by the very personal Jacquet treatment. The Tommy Flanagan solo further points out why Tommy is so much in demand for recording sessions and club work. If I needed a piano player I would hire Tommy Flanagan.

Blues For The Early Bird came about by Jacquet saying, "Blues!" and then they played it. Note that Illinois plays alto on this track — not tenor. He swings on both.

Lester Leaps In is, a tribute to "Pres", in the title and in the playing style. Illinois Jacquet leans toward Lester Young in style derivation and it is especially evident on this tune. This is a real screamer and I told Esmond Edwards thaf as soon as this one is released I would use it to lead off my show. You can hear why. It is very important to start a radio show off each night with music which will hold the interest, of the listener. This one starts strongly, builds strength in the middle and conclådes with power. Kenny Burrell plays some very polished rhythm guitar, illustrating his ability to fill other than a solo role Jacquet is all over the horn, up, down and around but not as a showboat. He is using his command of the horn to communicate his ideas to the listener. If you are reading these words while you are in a record store and have yet to sample the sound contained herein or hereon, ask the man to play Lester Leaps In for you. From this time on you will be an Illinois Jacquet admirer like so many others before you.

When Jacquet recorded You're My Thrill, he stopped the show. Everyone in the studio went over to congratulate him on his poignant, sensitive rendition of the lovely old tune. A lot of people have forgotten how lyrical this man can be with his horn.

Eddie Heywood's Canadian Sunset never had it so good. The same beat is present that propelled the first tune on side one. We started this way and we end this way — all the way around then back home.

So from a Canadian Sunset to a New York one, the session ended. I bade adieu to all the musicians, to Esmond Edwards and to Rudy Van Gelder. I lingered with Illinois to invite him to the show for an interview. Possibly the word "interview" is not quite the proper word choice. I think it could better be called a "talk". I feel I can say this because I now know the man and his music much better than I did before this recording session. You know him better also.

Willie Rodriquez yolunteered to drive me back to Manhattan and we recrossed the Hudson. I enjoyed the day and you will surely be pleased with the product Of this day. Enjoy yourself!

R. D. HARLAN
Radio Station WNCN—FM
New York City