Al Grey - The Last Of The Big Plungers
Released 1960
Recording and Session Information
Al Grey And The Basie WingJoe Newman, trumpet; Al Grey, Benny Powell; trombone; Billy Mitchell, tenor saxophone; Charlie Fowlkes, britone saxophone; Floyd Morris, piano; Eddie Jones, bass; Sonny Payne, drums
Chicago, September 25 & 28, 1959
9750 Bluish Grey
9751 I got it bad
9752 How come you do me like you do?
9753 Things ain't what they used to be
9754 Open wider please
9755 Don't get around much anymore
9756 Bewitched, bothered and bewildered
9757 The elder
9758 Kenie-Konie
Track Listing
| Things Ain't What They Used To Be | Ellington, Persons | September 25 & 28 1959 |
| Open Wider, Please | Al Grey | September 25 & 28 1959 |
| I Got It Bad | Ellington, Webster | September 25 & 28 1959 |
| Don't Get Around Much Anymore | Russell, Ellington | September 25 & 28 1959 |
| How Come You Do Me Like You Do | Austin, Bergere | September 25 & 28 1959 |
| Bluish Grey | Thad Jones | September 25 & 28 1959 |
| The Elder | Thad Jones | September 25 & 28 1959 |
| Bewitched | Rodgers & Hart | September 25 & 28 1959 |
| Kenie-Konie | Frank Foster | September 25 & 28 1959 |
Liner Notes
AS A RULE, when young men have grown up in relative respectability, there is an entire pulsating slice of life with which they are not ordinarily acquainted. Apparently the members of this Al Grey octet are notable exceptions as, in this album, they chop a big, meaty chunk from the shank of life and cook.Count Basie and his men should not really own the monopoly on swing and drive - another fact of which these Basiephiles seem to be unaware. They swing with a drive and ease derived from imperious self-confidence and the results lend some credence to the Basie-Has-An-Exclusive-On-Swing assumption.
Here seven Basieites and a worthy Chicago trespasser capture a large segment of life and explore every possible facet of its existence. The group expresses the warmth of love, the exuberance of swing, the funk of blues, and even takes a healthy whack at the reminiscence of Dixieland.
The big baritone of Charlie Fowlkes, the additional solid backing from the trombone of Benny Powell, along with the nudging, slightly kicking push from drummer Sonny Payne transform this group from a small combo sound to a cohesive full swinging aggregation with body and depth.
The four original tunes and the arrangements are by two of Basie's most featured instrumentalists and arrangers, trumpeter Thad Jones and saxophonist Frank Foster. Both are heavy contributors to the Basie book and here they have designed the perfect frameworks for individual expression of each soloist.
Jones, an accredited member of the musically prolific Jones Family Organization, wrote the romping, saucy Bluish Grey and The Elder.
When among friends, Thad uncorks a few of the imaginary characters who travel the circuit with him constantly. Among the childhood disciplinarians he recalls are the school teacher, the social dignitaries, and the ever impressive Baptist Elder. Here we meet the Elder in all his resplendent authority, and the combo is shouting his message.
Renie-Konie and Bluish Grey are the originals written by Frank Foster. Foss, as he is referred to by his co-workers, seems to be a kissing cousin of the blues, and their steaming, smoltering suggestion seldom escapes his pen. Kenie-Kouie is the original written especially for Al.
Kenie-Konie, underneath that intriguing foreign flavor, actually means nothing in any language. It is an expression attributed to Basie guitarist Freddie Green who uses it in preference to "thingamajig" and "Whatchamacallit." Foster arranged all the standards on the date.
As for the chef of this cooking fest, 34.year-old Albert Thornton Grey of Aldie, Va., first attracted the attention Of musicians While serving in the navy, and upon being discharged he worked with many of the leading bands. including Jimmie Lunceford, Arnett Cobb, Lionel Hampton, and Lucky Millinder. He received greatest acclaim after joining Dizzy Gillespie's big band in 1956.
At the collapse of that band in 1957, Grey joined Count Basie. His powerful attack and sputtering, forceful drive leave critics undecided as to whether Grey is the last of the big deals or the first of the new. The name of this album however is coincidental with this factor. It refers instead to the plunger mute which Grey used for the date.
From the throbbing opening led by bassist Ed Jones, punctuated by the piano of Floyd Morris and the growling trombone of Grey, the group begins the long push and they don't let up until time to put away the instruments in their Kenie Konies.
Young modern fans, the mature traditional listeners, the followers of experimentalization — in short, jazz fellow travelers everywhere — should extract a big emotional charge from the Last Of Big Plungers.
Barbara J. Gardner
