Read The Guide to Classic Recorded Jazz Online

Authors: Tom Piazza

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The Guide to Classic Recorded Jazz (65 page)

BOOK: The Guide to Classic Recorded Jazz
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Page 279
Gordon). Bud Powell was in death-defying form when these were recorded; this set will make your amplifier break out in a sweat.
The same can be said for Dizzy Gillespie's 1957 album
Sonny Side Up
(Verve 825 674-2), which features one of the great tenor battles of all time (maybe the greatest) - "The Eternal Triangle," a fourteen-minute up-tempo workout on which Stitt and Sonny Rollins are paired off against each other in true gladiatorial style. In Stitt's eight choruses (and the subsequent exchanges with Rollins), you can hear that he had a seemingly unlimited number of ways to negotiate the chord changes, breathing fire all the way. Stitt also has some good moments with Gillespie on
Duets
(Verve 835 253-2), as well as on the stunning
For Musicians Only
(Verve 837 435-2), where Stitt, on alto, cuts a game but badly overmatched Stan Getz to ribbons.
Stitt's overall most satisfying album is probably
Constellation
(Muse MCD 5323), recorded in 1972 (not 1971, as the CD liner notes say) with an ideal rhythm section of Barry Harris, Sam Jones, and Roy Brooks. Alternating between tenor and alto on a program of standard ballads ("Ghost of a Chance," "It's Magic") and jazz standards, mostly from the bop era (Parker's "Constellation," Bud Powell's "Webb City," Tadd Dameron's gorgeous "Casbah''), Stitt shows the full range of emotion and technique throughout, in a relaxed but very exciting session. His tenor balladry on "Ghost of a Chance" is wondrous, as is his delicious playing on "Casbah," which critic Ira Gitler called a "jasmine-scented, night-wind line" in the album's original notes. So is his two-fisted playing on the swinging blues "By Accident" and the minor-key Basie favorite "Topsy," as is his quicksilver alto on the ultrafast title tune. Harris's piano solos are characteristically bright throughout. This album was produced by Don Schlitten, who had a knack for getting the best out of musicians of a bebop persuasion. He also produced the slightly earlier, and slightly less satisfying,
Tune Up
(Muse MCD 5334), recorded with the same group, but with Alan Dawson on drums in place of Roy Brooks, and with a similar repertoire. But "slightly less satisfying" than
Constellation
means very good and worth having.
Stitt's fine all-alto tribute to Parker,
Stitt Plays Bird
(Atlantic 1418-2), is discussed earlier. His three tenor tracks on the mostly alto
Sonny Stitt Sits In with the Oscar Peterson Trio
(Verve 849 396-2) include a good "Moten Swing." To hear him in a varied program recorded in the early 1950s playing tenor, alto, and baritone saxophones, check out
Kaleidoscope
(Prestige/OJC-060). And, in the wish department, keep an eye out for a Stitt album called
Personal Appearance
on Verve; recorded in the late 1950s and long out of print, this has Stitt in steaming-hot form on alto and tenor. If you like Sonny, and Verve decides to reissue this, run, don't walk, to the store and grab it.
 
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Lucky Thompson
Critics have questioned for years whether Eli "Lucky" Thompson's nickname was appropriate. An extremely gifted and uncompromising musician who has never received recognition commensurate with his talent, Thompson has several times disappeared from the music scene in order to meditate and escape various pressures for which, by all reports, he has no taste. He has been off the scene for a decade and a half, and those who would know say he hasn't even picked up the horn for years. When you listen to him play, you will feel as badly about this as every other Thompson fan does.
Thompson came to prominence in the 1940s, an unclassifiable player who obviously loved Coleman Hawkins and Don Byas, and throughout his career he continued to grow and deepen. He had a very expressive, warm sound, and his ideas ran in unorthodox directions; he was a thinker in addition to being a swinger, the kind of musician who brought out the best in those around him. Thompson's presence on a record, whether as sideman or leader, almost invariably coincided with above-average work from everyone concerned.
His 1964 album
Lucky Strikes
(Prestige/OJC-194) is a thing of beauty, a quartet session with a golden rhythm section of Hank Jones, Richard Davis, and Connie Kay. Thompson plays tenor and soprano saxophones, and he composed six of the eight tunes. This is not your basic blowing date, although the music swings hard in a number of grooves; Thompson came up with interesting arranging touches for all the tracks, which add variety and challenges while also allowing great latitude for improvisation. Some of the music is Latin-tinged, some is straight-ahead swinging, there is a waltz, and there are a couple of exquisite ballads, including a version of Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood," which Thompson plays on soprano at a slow tempo with Jones and Davis embroidering pretty patterns around his unimaginably pure held notes. Soul, fire, swing, deep emotion, imagination, lyricism - Thompson had it all, and it's all here. This set is impossible to recommend highly enough.
The same goes for Thompson's
Tricotism
(Impulse/GRP GRD-135), which brings together the results of four legendary 1956 dates with bassist Oscar Pettiford. On eight of the sixteen tracks, Thompson plays in a trio with Pettiford and guitarist Skeeter Best for a sound that is unique to these performances - relaxed yet alert, warm yet astringent. The opportunity to hear Pettiford, one of jazz's greatest bassists, at such length and so much in the foreground is reason enough to pick this up. The other tracks are performed by a sextet in which Thompson is joined by trombonist Jimmy Cleveland and, on four, pianist Hank Jones. Thompson composed all but two of the pieces here
 
Page 281
(and one of the two is a collaboration between Thompson and Pettiford); each is a gem, especially the ballad "A Lady's Vanity" and two unusual blues, "Mister Man" and "Old Reliable." This is one of the essential Thompson items.
Another excellent Thompson set is
Lucky Thompson Paris 1956, Volume 1
(Swing SW 8404), which features the tenorist in several settings, mostly with European musicians. French pianists Henri Renaud and Martial Solal, tenorist Guy Lafitte, and ex-Fletcher Henderson trumpeter Emmett Berry are featured; the best tracks have Thompson playing with just a rhythm section (on one track he plays accompanied by only bass and drums). Again, most of the material was composed by Thompson himself, and, as on
Lucky Strikes
, Thompson makes an exception for a Duke Ellington ballad - "Sophisticated Lady," this time. His sound is so original, his ideas so fresh. His playing on the original ballad "One Last Goodbye" is fabulous - emotionally moving, aesthetically convincing, and intellectually satisfying. Thompson's further European adventures are chronicled on
Kenny Clarke in Paris, Volume 1
(Swing SW 8411); here he plays four jazz standards ("Now's the Time," Tadd Dameron's "The Squirrel," ''Stompin at the Savoy," and "Four") with a small group under the leadership of drummer Clarke and four tunes with a small big-band. The tracks are all three and a half minutes and under, though, and this set isn't as satisfying as any of the previously mentioned Thompson albums.
Four 1947 tracks under Thompson's leadership appear on
Esquire's All-American Hot Jazz Sessions
(RCA/Bluebird 6757-2-RB); among them is one masterpiece, Thompson's famous version of the ballad "Just One More Chance," a ballad interpretation on a level with Coleman Hawkins's "Body and Soul." Thompson takes a number of hot choruses on the up-tempo "Boppin' the Blues." This track is an example of how brilliant playing can transcend even the most ordinary material.
Thompson, as noted, was a heroic sideman on many a record date, but none more so than the great 1954 Miles Davis session that produced "Walkin'" and "Blue 'N' Boogie." Available on Davis's
Walkin'
(Prestige/OJC-213), these two tracks feature the tenorist at the top of his game. His blues solo on the title track has been much celebrated, but I enjoy his stampeding romp on "Blue 'N' Boogie" even more; Davis and trombonist J. J. Johnson back him up with exciting riffs (borrowed from Coleman Hawkins's original recording of "Disorder at the Border"), and Thompson wails on top of them. Again, not to be missed. Thompson and Davis were together also for the 1946 Charlie Parker date that produced "Ornithology" and "A Night in Tunisia" (available on
The Legendary Dial Masters, Volume 1
[Stash ST-CD-23]). Thompson's rambunctious playing here is a startling contrast with Bird's lines, which sound
 
Page 282
almost cool by comparison. Thompson also makes a significant contribution to some 1952 Thelonious Monk recordings (including the wonderful "Skippy"), available on
Thelonious Monk-Genius of Modern Music, Volume 2
(Blue Note 81511).
Thompson and vibraphone master Milt Jackson were old friends and musical partners, and they hooked up for several good sessions. Jackson's
Plenty, Plenty Soul
(Atlantic 1269-2) features Thompson on four 1957 tracks, along with trumpeter Joe Newman, bassist Oscar Pettiford, and drummer Connie Kay (the pianist, unaccountably left off the personnel listing, is Horace Silver), the best of which is the infectious "The Spirit-Feel." Thompson really gets a groove going on this up-tempo blues and builds to a great climax. Thompson is also on board for the Jackson set
Second Nature
(Savoy SJL 2204), a collection of blowing-session-style items from 1956, mostly popular and jazz standards like "Now's the Time," "Sometimes I'm Happy,'' and "Flamingo," mixed in with a number of originals. Thompson and Jackson are accompanied by Hank Jones, Wendell Marshall, and Kenny Clarke (Wade Legge replaces Jones on several tunes), and everything moves along in a very casual and swinging manner. Several tracks from this set turn up also on the Jackson set
From Opus de Jazz to Jazz Skyline
(Savoy ZD 70815), including a good version of "Lover," on which the melody statement switches back and forth between a waltz and a brisk four-four.
Benny Golson
Another of jazz's undersung heroes is Philadelphia-born composer and tenor player Benny Golson. Although well known as the composer of jazz standards such as "Stablemates," "I Remember Clifford," "Killer Joe," and "Blues March," Golson, like Thompson, has never really received his due as a saxophonist. One reason for this is that both men represent something of a countertradition to the Lester Young-through-Charlie Parker approach that came to be seen as the mainstream of modern jazz playing on all instruments. Their conception of melody ran differently, coming more out of Don Byas and Coleman Hawkins; their approach was fuller toned, less legato, heavier sounding, in a time in which most musicians wanted to sound airborne.
Still, fellow musicians were very aware of Golson both as composer and saxophonist, and even the jazz public at large woke up to him after he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1958. Blakey's
Moanin'
(Blue Note 46516), perhaps the strongest single album Blakey ever recorded, is a Golson showcase; four of the set's six tunes are Golson originals, and he takes fiery, surprising solos throughout. A listen to his solo on the title track, pianist Bobby Tim-
 
Page 283
mons's bluesy "Moanin'," shows what a brilliant player Golson is; he starts with simple phrases in the lower range of the horn, then combines them into ever more complex sentences, using the musical equivalent of subordinate clauses to comment on what he has just played as he goes along, the phrases never ending up quite where you expect them to, getting more and more heated, higher pitched, faster, covering the entire range of the horn, finally, like a preacher building a sermon to a climax. Trumpeter Lee Morgan's solo on this is justly famous, but Golson's is a masterpiece, too.
The album also includes Golson's fine swinger "Are You Real?," his cool-as-a-breeze walking tempo "Along Came Betty," and his appropriately titled ''Blues March." On all of them, the tenorist's contributions are extremely inventive, and he really doesn't sound like anyone else. This album is one of the essential jazz recordings and is a perfect place to check out Golson's unique style.
Another album that nicely balances Golson's writing and playing skills is
Art Farmer/Benny Golson - Meet the Jazztet
(MCA/Chess CHD-91550), recorded in 1960. Trombonist Curtis Fuller is also present in the front line, giving Golson a third voice to work with (in addition to trumpeter Farmer) on his ingenious arrangements of originals like "I Remember Clifford," "Killer Joe," and the haunting ballad "Park Avenue Petite," as well as on standards like "It Ain't Necessarily So" and the rarely done "Serenata." Golson is a volcano of ideas and fire in his playing; listening to him is sometimes like riding a roller coaster, as his lines twist abruptly, never settling into predictable patterns. His solo on "Serenata" is especially exhilarating. But Golson is one of the master ballad players, too; his version of "Easy Living" here is lovely. This album is one of the neglected landmarks of the music.
Benny Golson's New York Scene
(Contemporary/OJC-164) is a nice 1957 set including quartet and quintet items (with Wynton Kelly on piano and Art Farmer on trumpet), as well as several cuts with an expanded band including Julius Watkins's French horn and Gigi Gryce's alto sax. Although this wasn't a working band, the same care is taken with arrangements (some of which were written by Gryce or Ernie Wilkins), the music never turns into a string of boring solos, and Golson sounds wonderful as always. Again, he scores with a gorgeous ballad performance of "You're Mine, You."
The Other Side of Benny Golson
(Riverside/OJC-1750), an especially cooking 1958 set on which Golson gets a chance to solo at somewhat greater length, has Curtis Fuller on trombone, Barry Harris on piano, Golson's Blakey colleague Jymie Merritt on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. If you like Golson's playing, this one is a real feast. Check out, too, what a big and varied sound he gets in his ensemble sketches here, writing for only tenor and trombone. The same
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