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Home , Grady Tate, Herbie Lovelle, Kansas Fields, The Kennedy Dream

RECORDINGS REPORTS: LPs

PERSONNEL, DATA REPORT

Leonard Feather: in This collection is a companion to Feather's latest book and part of a project intended to reveal the '60s, Vol. I: The Blues. Leonard Feather "the diversity of directions in which the jazz idiom has been moving during the Sixties." Oliver All-Stars; , organ; Wes Mont­ Nelson's of "St. Louis Blues" has something of the character of those Gil Evans did gomery, guitar; , drums; Count for Miles Davis, and it creates an autumnal backdrop for imaginative improvisation by Basie and his Orchestra; , on . There is an appropriate vehicle for 's , and Newman appears alto saxophone; and , piano, in again in a dashing duel with on "John Brown's Blues." The material on the second quintet. Verve stereo, V6-8677, $5.79; mono, side, drawn from existing sessions, includes the Basie band playing a good arrangement by Eric V6-8677, $5.79. Dixon, the Montgomery-Smith trio performing in an excitingly predictable fashion, and Hines and Hodges collaborating like the masters they are in "C Jam Blues."

Erroll Garner: That's My Kick,. Garner, The rhythmic strength of Garner's left hand is such that the addition of bongos and guitar to his piano; Wally Richardson or Art Ryerson, trio verges on the superfluous. Fortunately, they do not get in the way very much, and the set guitar; Herbie Lovelle or George Jenkins, proceeds with all his customary joie de vivre. "The introductions are as madly tantalizing as ever, drums; Jose Mangual or Johnny Pacheco, and this time more than half the tunes are originals, among them being a pretty "Nervous Waltz" bongos. MGM stereo, SE-4463, $4.79; mono, and an intense "Afinidad." E-4463, $4.79.

Oliver Nelson: . Nel­ Each of 's seven compositions, except the somber "Day in Dallas," is preceded by son, composer, arranger, and conductor; the voice of President Kennedy in an inspiring excerpt from a speech. The music, performed with with big band and string quartet. Impulse dignity and respect, often assumes spacious, almost symphonic proportions, but jazz is properly to stereo, AS-9144, $5.98; mono, M-9144, the fore and quite unabashed in "The Rights of All" and a boppish impression of ""The Artists' $4.98. Rightful Place." Alto saxophonist Phil Woods, the most distinguished .soloist, can also be heard in another unusual context on Greek. Cooking (Impulse 9143), where he is supported by musicians playing such instruments as the bouzoukie, the oud, the dumbeg, and the accordion. They suggest that rock 'n' roll was perhaps of Hellenic origin after all!

The Panasste Sessions: Tommy Ladnier, The sessions recorded in 1938 by the French critic, Hugues Panassie, were greatly responsible for trumpet, with sextet; , clari­ the subsequent "New Orleans Revival." They also brought Ladnier, a great trumpet player, back net and , with sextet; into the limelight momentarily, just a few months before he died. His inspiration, like Mezzrow's Frankie Newton, trumpet, with sextet. and Panassie's, was King Oliver and the Creole Jazz Band. Their joint intentions are best realized RCA-Victor LPV-542, mono only, $4.79. on "Revolutionary Blues" and "Comin' On with the Come On," where Sidney De Paris is the second Mezz Mezzrow: Mezz Mezzrow a la Schola trumpet. is heard to advantage on the first session, guitarist Teddy Bunn on all Cantorum. Mezzrow, clarinet; Peanuts Hol­ three. Several titles from a later, less rewarding session under Frank Newton's name are also land, Guy Longnon, ; Milton Sea- included. They contain attractive solos, but are more in conformity with the idiom of the swing ley, piano; Kansas Fields, drums. Ducretet era. The Ducretet-Thompson record (obtainable to order through Capitol Imports) was made in Thompson DUX 40330, mono only, $4.79. Paris in 1955 and is another example of Mezzrow's single-minded devotion to first principles. It is remarkably successful, especially when the limitations of the then-available personnel are considered.

Don Patter.son: Gain' Down Home. Patter­ The rhythmic understanding between the three musicians on the Cadet is impressive. There son, organ; Paul Weeden, guitar; Billy are no excesses, everything is unhurried, and the set as a whole might serve as a model for most organ James, drums. Cadet stereo, LPS-787, and groups. Not confined to the Jimmy Smith "bag," F'atterson often employs the chorded "orchestral" mono, LP-787, $4.79. Sotd Happenin'. method of to good effect. Material and tempos are well chosen, and in this respect Patterson, organ; Vincent Corrao, guitar; the more recent Prestige album is less satisfactory. Corrao, too, is less convincing on the blues than Billy James, drums. Prestige 7484, stereo Weeden, but Patterson and James remain a formidable duo. and mono, $4.79.

Jimmy Rushing: Every Day I Have the "Harvard Blues," which Rushing made with in 1941, was one of his biggest successes. Blues. Rushing, vocal, with big band featur­ Here he delivers the topical lyrics of a comparable number called "Berkeley Campus Blues." As ing , trombone; Clark Terry, on the earlier recording, he is faithfully accompanied by Dicky Wells, one of the truly individual trumpet; , organ. Bluesway trombonists jazz has produced. He has exceptional command of his instrument and his wry com­ stereo BLS-6005, $4.79; mono, BL-6005, ments complement Rushing's singing perfectly. On the whole, and understandably, the older songs $4.79. from the period when both were with Basic come off best. Clark Terry makes typical contributions, and Hank Jones displays the same elegant taste oa organ that we are accustomed to in his piano playing.

Sarah Vaughan: Sassy Swings Again. Sarah This is worth having if only for J. J. Johnson's superb arrangement of "Take the 'A' Train." Vaughan, vocal, with big band; arrange­ Played at a relaxed, slow tempo, it has fine work by the band, especially by the muted trumpets. ments by , J. J. Johnson, Manny The blocks of orchestral sound laid against the singer's extended tones create an atmosphere worthy Albam, and Bob James. Mercury stereo, SR of . Elsewhere, the importance of swinging is forgotten as Miss Vaughan displays 61116, $4.79; mono, MG 21116, $4.79. her celebrated vocal virtuosity and indulges in theatrical climaxes and contrasts. Some over-busy on the second side don't help either.

Junior Wells: It's My Life, Baby! Wells, Wells has a good feeling for tempos and is convincing as singer and harmonicist. His first tentative harmonica and vocal; Buddy Guy, Walter chorus of the instrumental, "Slow, Slow," is extraordinarily evocative. Buddy Guy accompanies Beasley, guitars; Freddy Below or Little Al, him sensitively and takes several brilliant solos. The little group swings easily and naturally, both drums. Vanguard stereo, VSD-79231, $5.79; in the studio recordings and those made in a club. James Cotton, who formerly sang and mono, VRS-9231, $4.79. played harmonica with , appears in a similar role on Verve Folkways FTS-3023, but here the tempos are less fitting and the addition of trumpet, trombones, and saxophones is a liability rather than an asset.

Gerald Wilson: Live and Swinging. Wilson, Like Wilson's six previous Pacific Jazz , this is heavy on brass, which the live recording arranger and conductor, with eighteen-piece doesn't always do total justice. As a result of several personnel changes, Charles Tolliver (trumpet) band. Pacific Jazz stereo, ST 20118, $5.79; and Hadley Caliman (tenor saxophone) debut in the former's "Paper Man" and then return in mono, PJ-10118, $5.79. a rearrangement of Wilson's "Viva Tirado." The most exciting newcomer, however, is drummer Carl Lott, who adds a great deal of fire to the performances, particularly to that of "The 'It's' Where It's At." Neal Hefti's "Li'l Darlin'," usually a trumpet showca.se, in this instance features some adroit organ playing by Jack Wilson. —STANLEY DANCE.

48 SR/July 15, 1967 PRODUCED 2005 BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED MOSTLY MODERNISTS bard, a quartet on the other. Its arrival, however, reminds me that I have neg­ lected to give discussion to RoUins's previous and still recent release, which was a performance of the music he Jazz at the Movies wrote for the British film Alfie (Im­ pulse A/AS-9111). The LP release is not drawn directly from the film's sound track; it features a HAT IS a good film score? Is functional role as a background in the nine-piece group, with scoring and con­ it music which is good enough barroom and dance hall, should have ducting by Oliver Nelson, and with Rol­ W to stand on its own, out of its embraced so enthusiastically still another lins as the chief soloist, occasionally original context? Or is it, on the other functional role as background at the spelled by guitarist and hand, music which is effective in context movie house. But jazz, as usual, proved pianist Roger Kellaway. RoUins's pieces but which might not stand up in a con­ to have an unpredictable vitality. John would seem to meet the first, functional cert hall? Lewis wrote some very good pieces for requirement of film music very well in On film, effective drama is a complex the Modern Jazz Quartet to play in the sections like "Street Runner with of several things. Movies with sound background during a French movie Child" and the waltz "On Impulse." and dialogue are still primarily visual called, in this country, No Sun in Ven­ But, to me, certain portions seem to stand experiences like their silent forebears. ice (they're on Atlantic 1284). And up on their own also. These include But they begin as written narratives, Lewis wrote a first-rate score for a small the robust, main "Alfie's Theme," which which portray character, situation, and orchestra for Odds Against Tomorrow. Rollins interprets twice, swaggeringly plot through dialogue. When they are That latter score, paradoxically, was even confident before the film's action and executed, they also include photography, more functionally conceived in terms of introspectively after it. Second, a lovely a carefully edited montage of "shots," the action of the film, but was somewhat "Child" theme which is played and and some "background" music as a part better heard on its own. (It was issued echoed variously throughout. Rollins is of their final effect. At the crudest level, on United Artists 4061 but is now out the chief interpreter and improviser, of one might say that the music is there of print.) course, and beside him Burrell and Kel­ simply to keep the audience from be­ laway seem rather functional, even in coming distracted. And at a somewhat XERHAPS the most interesting ap­ the stronger parts of the score. Nelson's higher level, it is there to underline and proach was used by Miles Davis for an orchestrations are appropriately lean perhaps compliment mood, situation, and entirely forgettable French new-wave and complementary to the saxophonist's character. film called, over here. Frantic! Davis and writing and playing. The film composer walks a narrow his sidemen watched a screening of the line; he has to be good enough not to be movie and made some notes and sketch­ JLHE East Broadway Rundown LP noticed. If he does not do his job well, es. Then they proceeded to improvise features a rather different Rollins. It he will be noticed, either because he their score in direct response to a second offers two extended, loosely structured does not contribute to dramatic effect screening of the movie in the recording pieces—the "Rundown" title piece and well enough or because, one might say, studio. (The results can be heard on "Blessing in, Disguise"—with former he contributes too much—he distracts Columbia CL 1268.) John Coltrane associates, Jimmy Garri­ one from the drama and draws too much One of the two Sonny Rollins records son on bass and Melvin Jones on drums. attention to himself. We would not that I am about to discuss is not a film On occasion, trumpeter Hubbard, pre­ underline a dramatic film with a Beetho­ score. It is called East Broadway Run­ sent on the first title only, has also par­ ven symphony because, no matter how down (Impulse A/AS-9121) and pre­ ticipated in similar "free form" projects good the film, the audience might end sents a Rollins trio on one side and, with with both Coltrane and Ornette Cole­ up listening to Beethoven. In short, good the addition of trumpeter Freddy Hub- man. film music is a purely functional aspect Rollins matured in the mid-Fifties, of one kind of drama. at a time when the modern jazz of the One example of ideal movie music period was finding ensemble approaches would be Max Steiner's score for King and forms for itself over and above the Kong. It sounds perfectly mai'velous, is take-your-turn, string-of-solos approach almost totally effective in context, and yet with which it had discovered and estab­ one probably could not bear it for more lished its basic language. Rollins, at his than five minutes if he were asked to sit best a sort of one-man sextet, functions attentively during a performance in a best (and paradoxically with gi-eater concert hall. There are several film freedom, I think) within the strict tra­ scores, however—one thinks particularly SoibbVt'v dition of song forms and blues, some­ of a couple of Aaron Copland's—which times fulfilling their "rules" in his highly manage to sound right in context and individual way and sometimes bril­ yet do stand up on their own. liantly extending, or even knowledge- About ten years ago, the movies be­ ably breaking, those rules. Thus, the best gan an earnest use of jazz as background performance here is a relatively brief music. Naturally, the industry discov­ reading of Richard Rodgers's "We Kiss ered some fairly derivative hacks of its in a Shadow," which finishes off the LP. own to grind the stuff out, but it also When he takes on the currently fash­ invited some more-than-capable jazz ionable loose, "free" forms, as on the musicians, and even some first-rate ones, other two pieces, Rollins avoids his own into the fold. best kind of challenge, I think, and we It may seem odd that jazz, a form hear one of the most orderly melodists of music which has been so long de­ in jazz history courting disorder. termined to free itself from a purely 'r >*R/Jir'MAf-^C^^O^^^V^ —MARTIN WILLIAMS. SR/July 15, 1967 49 PRODUCED 2005 BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED