LP-668

The Quincetet – The Music Of Quincy Jones

Released 1961

Recording and Session Information

Benny Bailey, trumpet; Ake Persson, trombone; Lennart Jansson, baritone saxophone; Gunnar Svensson, piano; Gunnar Johnson, bass; Joe Harris, drums
Stockholm, October 8, 1959
1804 The golden touch

Benny Bailey, trumpet; Ake Persson, trombone; Lennart Jansson, baritone saxophone; Gosta Theselius, piano; Gunnar Johnson, bass; Joe Harris, drums
1805 I'm gone
1806 Meet Benny Bailey
1808 Plenty, plenty soul
1811 The midnight sun never sets
Benny Bailey, trumpet; Ake Persson, trombone; Arne Domnerus, alto saxophone; Bjarne Nerem, tenor saxophone; Lennart Jansson, baritone saxophone; Gosta Theselius, Gunnar Svensson, piano; Gunnar Johnson, bass; Joe Harris, drums
Jones Beach
1809 Fallen feathers

Ake Persson, trombone; Arne Domnerus, alto saxophone; Bjarne Nerem, tenor saxophone; Gosta Theselius, Gunnar Svensson, piano; Gunnar Johnson, bass; Anders Burman, drums
1810 Count 'em

Track Listing

The Golden Touch	Oscar Pettiford, Quincy Jones	October 8 1959
Jones Beach	Quincy Jones	October 8 1959
The Midnight Sun Never Sets	Henri Salvador, Quincy Jones	October 8 1959
I'm Gone	Quincy Jones	October 8 1959
Meet Benny Bailey	Quincy Jones	October 8 1959
Count 'Em	Jimmy Cleveland, Quincy Jones	October 8 1959
Fallen Feathers	Quincy Jones	October 8 1959
Plenty, Plenty Soul	Milt Jackson, Quincy Jones	October 8 1959

Liner Notes

QUINCY JONES wears many hats. He is an arranger of brilliance. He plays trumpet passably. He leads his own large orchestra, a feat that requires more than conducting, in that a leader also has to be father, mother, wife, and psychiatrist to some 16 musicians. But, most of all, he is a composer who writes with delicate melodic sense and rhythmic vigor.

He is a budding Duke Ellington, and there are many who will tell you that his orchestra will be the band of the 1960s.

He already has given impressive indication of the road he intends to take. The recent trip he made with his band revealed to listeners what his first two albums had led them to suspect — that his orchestra is precise, joyously swinging, and interested in exploring arrangements that show thought in their preparation and are written expressly for the musicians in that band, utilizing their individual capabilities.

One of those individuals created a good deal of attention on his own. That would be Benny Bailey, the trumpeter with huge tone and broad attack who went to Europe in 1953 with Lionel Hampton and stayed there until Quincy called Benny back from Sweden to join him.

Bailey's performances herein show you why Jones was so eager to get him on the band. This LP was cut in Sweden last year in the company of another American, drummer Joe Harris, and the light-quick Swedish trombonist Ake Persson, another member of the Jones band. Several combinations of Swedish all-stars make up the backing.

The Golden Touch was arranged by pianist Gunnar Svensson and features solos by Persson, followed by Bailey, baritone saxist Lennart Jansson, and Svensson.

I'm Gone is a medium blues that spots muted Benny Bailey over an ensemble background, Persson, tenor saxist Bjarne Nerem, and pianist Gosta Theselius, who plays marvelously in all his appearances here.

Jones Beach, another easy blues, follows. It's in quintet format, with Bailey and alto saxist Arne Domnerus at the horns. They start with a double-time introduction, Theselius picks up with a funky lead-in to the ensemble and later plays a nicely-built solo.

Quincy's best-known composition to date may well be The Midnight Sun Never Sets. A hauntingly pretty ballad, it has been recorded several times, but never any better than on this album as it becomes a solo vehicle for Persson. Theselius also contributes some lovely piano.

Theselius arranged Meet Benny Bailey, which again shows why Benny is meeting with such approval.

Plenty, Plenty Soul, written by Quincy especially for Milt Jackson, is treated somewhat faster here than Milt did it, and highlights Bailey and Theselius.

Fallen Feathers, Quincy's moving tribute to Charlie Parker, is all Benny Bailey save for a short intro by Theselius.

Count 'Em, an easy blues, winds everything up, and the horns of Persson and Nerem take the solo spots.

We think you'll find this combination of Quincy Jones' music and the resounding horns of Benny Bailey and Ake Persson to be a stirring mixture and one that points out yet one more facet Of Quincy's talent. He has an unerring sense Of taste when it comes to picking the right chairs. Quincy Delight Jones is something else!

Al Portch

LP-667

Jamal At The Pershing Volume 2

Released July 1960

Recording and Session Information

Ahmad Jamal Trio
Ahmad Jamal, piano; Israel Crosby, bass; Vernell Fournier, drums

Pershing Lounge, Chicago, IL, January 17, 1958

10343 Too late now
10344 All the things you are
10345 Cherokee
10346 It might as well be spring
10347 I'll remember April
10348 My funny Valentine
10349 Gone with the wind
10350 Billy Boy
10351 It's you or no one
10352 They can't take that away from me
10353 Poor butterfly

Track Listing

Too Late Now	Lerner, Lane	January 17 1958
All The Things You Are	Kern, Hammerstein	January 17 1958
Cherokee	Ray Noble	January 17 1958
It Might As Well Be Spring	Rodgers, Hammerstein	January 17 1958
I'll Remember April	Raye, DePaul, Johnston	January 17 1958
My Funny Valentine	Rodgers, Hart	January 17 1958
Gone With The Wind	Wrubel, Magidson	January 17 1958
Billy Boy	Arranged By – Jamal	January 17 1958
It's You Or No One	Styne, Cahn	January 17 1958
They Can't Take That Away From Me	Gershwin	January 17 1958
Poor Butterfly	Golden, Hubbell	January 17 1958

Liner Notes

THE nights of January 16 and 17, 1958, marked the turning point in the career of Ahmad Jamal. Argo Records took a load of recording equipment to the Lounge of the Pershing hotel on Chicago's sprawling south side and taped the entire two-night output of the then-comparatively-obscure Ahmad Jamal trio.

The album which resulted from the first night's session (But Not For Me, Argo LP 628) almost instantaneously shot Jamal into the very highest echelon of jazz performers and became one of the biggest-selling recordings in jazz history.

This album comes from the second night. How it happened to come about may be of interest to the listener.

Jamal spent literally dozens of hours selecting the selections that made up But Not For Me. He took into consideration tempos, keys, and types of tunes to make for smooth pacing. After he had finished, and the album was released, turned away from the remaining tapes with almost a sigh of relief and promptly dismissed them from his mind.

In July of 1960, some 2 1/2 years later, a couple of persons ran across some file cards which indicated there was a whole night's output untouched, pulled the tapes out of storage, listened to some three hours of unreleased material.

It took just a few minutes to discover that both nights had produced set after set of consistently remarkable music. Some of the unreleased sides fairly cried to be issued.

Jamal was consulted about the possibility of making this second volume of Pershing performances. He was reluctant. "They're over two years old," he said. "The trio is that much older now, and we don't play the same way we did then."

Then the tapes were played for him. He heard Cherokee. "I'd forgotten that one," he said. "It came out pretty nice." He heard It Might As Well Be Spring. "I listened to Tatum a lot. I guess you can tell by the ending of that." He heard Gone With The Wind. "You know where I got that introauction? Don Elliott's group played at the Modern Jazz room some time before we did the Pershing date and his pianist — I don't remember his name...Bob somebody — played it that way."

He heard Billy Boy. "Gee, we've been doing that one a long time. We recorded it for another label in 1952, then Red Garland's group did the same arrangement not long ago."

He heard Too Late Now, "That's a good tune. We should begin to use it again in our repertoire. I think that might be a good side to lead off the album."

The reluctance had disappeared.

I don't think it need ever have been there. These sides are examples of the polished skill and remarkable interplay that are the marks of the Jamal trio. Israel Crosby is onhand to give imaginative and rock-steady support. Vernell Fournier is, as ever, fluid and quick as Jamal displays all the qualities that have elicited so much vociferous respect from fellow musicians, critics, and record buyers.

Whether this album was recorded 2 1/2 years or 2 1/2 days ago makes no difference. It is fresh, swinging. inventive, and timeless.

And I have a hunch that 10 years from now, it still will be.

Jack Tracy

LP-666

Hey! It's James Moody

Released 1960

Recording and Session Information

James Moody, tenor saxophone, flute; John Gray, guitar; Eldee Young, bass; Clarence Johnston. drums; Eddie Jefferson, vocals
Chicago, December 29, 1959

9930 Troubles in de lowlands
9931 Tali
9932 Please say yes
9933 Stella by starlight
9934 Indian summer
9935 Blue jubilee
9936 Woody'n you
9937 Don't blame me
9938 Last train from Overbrook
9939 Summertime

Track Listing

Stella By Starlight	Washington, Young	December 29 1959
Indian Summer	Herbert	December 29 1959
Don't Blame Me	McHugh, Fields	December 29 1959
Last Train From Overbrook	James Moody	December 29 1959
Please Say Yes	McIntosh	December 29 1959
Blue Jubilee	McIntosh	December 29 1959
Woody'n You	Dizzy Gillespie	December 29 1959
Trouble In De Lowlands	James Moody	December 29 1959
Summertime	DuBore, Gershwin	December 29 1959
Tali	McIntosh	December 29 1959

Liner Notes

THE jazz scene today is a treadmill that moves slowly but inexorably to the right. Yesterday's innovator, who entered the stage at far left, may be a reactionary by tomorrow's standards. In these terms it might be said that James Moody currently is situated smack dab in the middle of the stage.

Moody's perspectives, his approach to playing a horn, may not have altered substantially; it is the angle from which he is inspected that has induced this optical illusion. To Louis Armstrong and his contemporaries, Moody probably is a modernist, "one of them damn beboppers" still under fire from Satchmo and a few other diehard veterans for allegedly destroying jazz by having extended its boundaries beyond the minor seventh. But to Ornette Coleman or Charlie Mingus, Moody may seem old-fashioned, even conservative, since the style he represents basically is rooted in a movement that reached its peak more than a decade ago.

All this attitudinizing is, of course, irrelevant. The only point that remains valid is: does Moody play with soul, with his own feelings, and with the technical ability to transmit them to the listener? The answer, afflrmative of course, may be found in any of his albums and most particularly, I think, in the present LP with its informal approach and uncluttered context.

The pattern of Moody's career has been a simple one, composed of three main phases. As the army took him in 1943, when he was 18, and kept him through '46, he got off to a relatively late professional start. The first major phase was his membership in the Dizzy Gillespie band of 1947; the second was a three-year in Europe freelancing mainly in Stockholm and Paris. The third stage, which has lasted up the present, has found Moody touring the U.S. as leader of his own band. Originally known exclusively as a tenor saxophonist, he began doubling on alto during the second phase and recently, as his Argo LPs eloquently attest, has been concentrating more and more on the flute.

On these sides Moody plays tenor and flute, with the backing of a rhythm section which, except for the two tracks featuring Eddie Jefferson's vocals, is pianoless. This, howver, is not the kind of piano-bereft instrumentation that leaves a conspicuous gap in the accompaniment: the presence of a guitar assures both Moody and his listeners of an unobstrusive but guide through the harmonic contours of each track.

The guitarist in question. though not yet a generally familiar jazz name, is greatly respected among fellow-musicians who have heard him in Chicago. Johnny Gray's regular gig is the Don McNeil Breakfast Club show. Aside from his studio chores he occasionally has an opportunity for a record date; he was heard previously with Moody on Last Train From Overbrook (LP 637). Gray's work is reinforced by the sturdy presence of Eldee Young, the 24-year-old Chicago-born bassist who, after a long apprenticeship in the rhythm and blues field working for Chuck Willis, T-Bone Walker, et al, found a suitable niche in the Ramsey Lewis trio, with which he has been heard in clubs and on Argo LPs.

That Moody's mood is a modern one and his sound more compelling than ever can be deduced from the first two notes on the opening number. Stella By Starlight is a tenor sax excursion in which his approach is certainly less florid than on some of his band performances, and oeems to swing more loosely all the way. By placing this as the opening track on side Moody has made himself pretty hard to follow, but there is none of the expected letwdown. Indian Summer is a flute solo in completely contrasted pace and style, the first 16 bars played with rubato guitar before the accompaaiment eases into a moderate tempo.

Don't 8Jame Me, a tenor solo, is a striking illustration of Moody's talent for setting mood and holding it consistently through a performance. Notice how, at bar 10 of his first chorus, he uses a gap in the melody (actually a long note) to insert a swift and imaginative sequence of improvised notes but still returns to earth in time to resume the pursuit of what is basically a melodic solo.

Even the double-time passages in the second chorus are occasional and discreet. This is one of Moody's most compelling and best-constructed tenor solos, It wouldn't surprise me to hear it set to lyrics by Eddie Jefferson on some future album. And that, of course, is exactly what has happened with the next track. Last Train From Overbrook.

The original version of this fascinating blues theme was an instrumental, used as the title number of an LP Moody taped on his release from the Overbrook institution in New Jersey. The story was too well told in the notes by Dave Usher and Frank London Brown on LP 657 to need repetition here; besides, in setting lyrics to this theme Jefferson has recreated the story in a poignant first-person story of Moody's own experiences and emotions. In addition to Eddie's vocal, this new version differs the others in several ways, notably in that Moody plays flute instead of tenor.

Not too many of his listeners realize that Jefferson, who since 1953 has doubled as manager and singer with Moody, was the first man ever to set lyrics to jazz instrumentals, years before King Pleasure and almost two decades before Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross. Now 41, Jefferson is a Pittsburgher wih a long background in show business as a dancer and singer. It was he whose lyrics to Moody's celebrated I'm In The Mood for Love solo, which he sang on Argo LP 613.

The pleasant theme of Please Say Yes was written by Tom McIntosh, who plays trombone in Moody's regular band. Moody again reverts to tenor and there are a few moments that are, surprisingly, reminiscent of Getz, who's about the last soloist I'd have expected to compare with Moody.

Blüe Jubilee is a flute blues with very strong support, as well as individual solos, from Gray and Young. Listening to Moody here I reflected that the flute, after only six years of common jazz use, has begun to find its own jazz sound. Just as you wouldn't want a jazz trumpeter to sound like Rafael Mendez, or a saxophonist like Freddy Martin, men like Moody are establishing for the flute in jazz a peculiar tonal personaäty- It's getting so you can tell a flutist from a flautist.

Woody'n You, the Dizzy Gillespie tune of the early '40s, is played as an up-tempo, tenor solo; Trouble In De Lowlands (with Eddie Jefferson adding local color at the end as we seem to hear a baby crying) is a folksy and very basic minor 12-bar blues played on flute all the way.

Summertime, bringing Eddie Jefferson front and center again, offers some seasonal reflections that evidently never occurred to DuBose Heyward: I was especially touched by Eddie's observation that fish are jumping out of the lake, flop flop flop/trying to give the fishermen a break. This tongue-in-cheek treatment of the Gershwin song is by no means without precedent. I remember hearing a girl named Jerry Kruger Going something even more irreverent with it back in the 1930s.

Tali, a title I haven't been able to figure out except that it's an anagram of tail, is the most interesting track of the album, compositionally at least. McIntosh has conceived some pretty changes in this minor theme. Gray's guitar complements Moody's flute, punctuates, counterpoints, and briefly plays in two-part harmony with him. It's a delightful and most unusual performance, reflecting on McIntosh, Moody, and Gray.

No matter where he stands on that eternal treadmill of jazz, I believe James Moody knows just where he is, and who he is, and what to do about it. Keep watching him closely; he may not be as far across the stage as you think.

LEONARD FEATHER