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