<<

'..l&e

occasionally more shadow than sub_stance roast our pup br ethr~n for shamelessly t~ is to be expected, of course, but m the pandering to ba:e musical tastes, for t~eir ,~ The main it holds up well under . repeated pecuniary pursmt_ of the novel, the g1m- .~ playing. Everyone connected with these mick, the cute title, the catchy sound- 1t-l sessions has every reason to be proud, for using anything, in _short, w~ich ~ill ~~ Giants titillate record buyers mto partmg with . for the assignments have been executed 1 their dollars. (It's significant, I think, that ~;ii are still on with taste and professionalism. I for one am delighted to see Montgomery garner it's referred to as "money music" in the 'In such a popular following as these sele~­ aptly-named trade journal Cash Box.) !i PRESTIGE! But when some of our boys engage in ' --- -· ~------·--···-- --- tions have brought him. He deserves . ,t. -Welding the production of music which is similarly :~ contrived, more often than not we either fffi find some means of justifying it or simply 'N lllCEOARITHE CEDAR WIILTON TRIO, QUMH(T i;. auu,rtr KENNYDORHAM, JUNIOR COOt(. lEROY VINNfGAR. Bll.L'f HIGGINS turn our backs on it. H's apparently all :j '~ MORGAN-Blue Note 4213/ right when we do it. , 84243, Ca-Lee-So; Zambia;. Yesterday; . Sunrise­ The guys on this record bring a great :'' Sunset· Nite Flite· The Delightful Veggie. deal of expertise and elan to the discharge Pers~nnel: Mo:gan, ; Joe ~endersonh, i: tenor ; McC~y . Tyner, piano; Bo of the business at hand, but what, after Ju Cranshaw bass· Billy H1gg10s, drums. Trackk 3 all is that business but the attempt at .ri & 4 • Mo~gan 'Ernie Rova!. ; Tom c­ Intosh tromb~ne· Jim Buffington, ; cr~fting a sample of "soul" music which ·p Phil 'woods, a'!to saxophone, flute; W_ayne will be enough like all other samples of 1 Shorter, ; D~nny Bank, har!ton~ saxophone flute bass ; Tyner, piano, the genre yet will have some slight differ- ,, Cranshaw,' bass; ', drums. ence-some catchy turn of phrase, sound, i Rating: * * * * * or coy title-that will cause jukebox play. !I From his "enfant terrible" days of a ers or radio record spinners to play this CEDARWALTON/PRESTIGE 7519 decade ago with to his particular soul piece rather than the count­ thoroughly mature stature today, brazen less others currently available? energy and perpetual emotion have cas­ The music here is neither good nor caded from the bell of Lee Morgan's horn. bad; mostly it's just inoffensive, moves Ca-Lee-So features a loping calypso ac­ pleasantly and doesn't make any demands cent in the theme, with Tyner introducing upon the listener. If he wants to listen to the happy proceedings. Morgan and Hen­ it, he'll hear music with attractive sur­ derson solo succinctly, and Tyner follows faces, good rhythmic interplay and a cer­ with a solo showing his fine flexibility. tain superficial contemporaneity of sound. FOR FREECATALOG SEND TO Zambia is set at an up tempo pace. He'll not find depth or commitment, how­ Inc. After the hea.d, Henderson takes charge, ever, for that's not what this music offers. going on an exhilarating excursion. M?r­ Mostly it's for nonlistening-for talking 203 So. Washirigton Ave. gan sustains the soaring spirit. Followmg over at a club or party, dancing, etc. Bergenfield, New Jersey Tyner's appropriate solo, Morgan and What's saddening about this particular Henderson engage ih jovial eight-bar ex­ set is that the hoped-for commercial suc­ changes. cess probably will not materialize. The Getthe new cymbal sound from For Yesterday and Sunrise, Sunset, music is not all that catchy. provides plush orchestral Naturally, there are some tasty mo­ settings to showcase the enthusiastic Mor­ ments-there'd pretty much have to be gan and Shorter. The latter piece contains with musicians of this caliber involved. PASHAiSUPERSONIC especially stirring moments from the But the flowers are scattered over some soloists. thin soil and there aren't that many of On Nite Flite Morgitn impishly teases them. There is one good tune, Ousley's and cajoles with characteristic frenzy, and The Latter Days, which sounds like a Henderson maintains the contagious ex­ piece that might have been performed by citement with throaty chortles and double­ an early group--it's got that stop effects. Tyner, not to be outdone, kind of feeling to it. This is the only dips into his bag of tricks and with the piece that breaks out of the soul mold. The sound today's drummers want. splendid backing of Higgins and Cran­ Superior Turkish type. Compare with Onward and upward! Please? shaw turns in a highly dynamic per­ -Welding the ones that cost twice as much. formance. See your favorite dealer. Deggie is done in a comfortable waltz TROPHYMUSICAL PRODUCTS meter. Henderson, Morgan, and Tyner are adroit in weaving the image and the Various Artists 1278 West 9th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44113 THE CHICAGOANS (1928-1930)-Decca DL tune swings along in jovial fashion. 9231: Milenberg Joys; My Daddy Rocks Me Spacious, relaxed atmosphere, the bal­ (Husk O'Hare's Footwarmers); There'll Be Some Changes Made; I Found a New J!aby; anced selection of the repertoire, and the Baby, Won't You Please Come Home ( ADIFFERENT KINDOf RECORD CLUB cohesiveness of the performers are the Rhythm Kings); Me (Frank Tesche· witha SpecialMembership Plan ... macher); Downright Disgusted; Fare Thee W'_elf rewards offered in this and the Trying to Stop My Crying; Isn't There _a LiCtltb FeaturingJAZZ offerings are true-Lee delightful. Love to Spare (Wingy Manone and his ~ Also,Popular, Folk, Classical, etc. -Johnson Royale Orchestra); Copenhagen; Prince of Wat)ls No purchaseobligations-No list (Elmer Schoehel's Friars Society Orchestra ; pricepurchases. Virtually all labels W ailin' Blues; Barre/house Stomp (The Cellar Boys). . w· gy and artists available.Choose from Collective personnel: Muggsy Spamer, 10 catalog of over 25,000 . Grassella Oliphant Manone, Dick Feige, cornet; Jack Read, trotn· Writefor freedetails .•• THE GRASS IS GREENER-Atlantic 1494: bone; , , Mezz Get Out of My Life, Woman; Ain't That Mezzrow, , Wade Foster, Floyd Towne, Peculiar?; Soul Woman; Peaches Are Better George Snurpus, reeds; , Art hHodhej• Down the Road; The Yodel; Cantaloupe Wom­ Jack Gardner, Frank Melrose, Elm~r S~ oe e • an: The Latter Days; Rapid Shave. piano; , banjo; Ray B1ond1, fhbt· Personnel: , trumpet, fluegelhorn, lie Barger, ; Jim Lanigan, Jo!'n u ; pocket trumpet; Harold Ousley, tenor saxophone; bass, ; Gene Krupa. George_ Wetthng, Aug1 DOWN BEAT/MARCH21 , guitar; John Patton, organ; Major Schellange, drums; Red McKenzie, vocal. Holley, bass; Oliphant, drums. Rating:**** PERCUSSIONISSUE Rating:** Justly, this album is subtitled "Frank ON SALEMARCH 7 What's sauce for the goose ought, of Teschemacher His Influence." The name course, to be sauce for the gander. We of Teschemacher may mean little or noth-

30 □ DOWN BEAT . g to the current generation of jazz en­ beat it was to keep. thusiasts,JO but to many o Id er f ans, "T esch" Jazz Me is taken from a test pressing as a hero; a legend. His untimely acci­ that miraculously survived an unissued :ental death at 26 in March 1932, a little date featuring an all-reeds-and-rhythm more than six months after that of Bix lineup. The reedmen are Tesch and Rod Beiderbecke, marked the ~nd of an era Cless on and altos, and Mezz and cut down a great promise. on tenor. Tesch takes alto and clarinet Tesch played the clarinet (and occa­ choruses, both good, and there is a short sional saxophone), and was associated with glimpse of Cless-one of the unsung that talented bunch of yo~ng whit_e Chi­ heroes of the bunch. ca«oans in search of the Jazz grail who Trying and Little Love are sprightly w:re to become known as "The Austin versions of pop tunes, with Manone's New High Gang." On this record, in Decca's Orleans horn and jazz vocals ,to the fore. new reissue series, some of the best in his Tesch has fine solos on both; he impro­ small but significant recorded legacy of vises, especially on the former, and he some 25 sides is once again made avail­ seems relaxed here. There is also a brief able, alongside some oddments of the glimpse of young , who does period which will be gobbled up by col­ very well in the ensembles, and already lectors due to their extreme rarity, though had the makings of a style. they are musically disappointing. One of Tesch's very best solos occurs Tesch is present on all but four of the in the Schoebel Wails; more like his idol, 14 tracks. The Chicago Rhythm Kings Jimmy Noone, than any other he re­ sides are among the most famous of the corded, and very relaxed, flowing, and school, recorded in April and May of rhythmically free. Curiously, this date was 1928. The Cellar Boys session was the last more arranged and organized than the Tesch made, and the final installment in others, but Wettling's good drums and the recorded saga of authentic Chicago Barger's nice guitar moved the beat along Style (they were cut in January 1930). smoothly. Feige's cornet is in a Bix Disputes used to rage among critics as groove, especially on Copenhagen, one of to whether there was such a thing as Chi­ the favorite "jam" tunes of the period. cago Style. Today, disregarding the nice­ The Cellar Boys session is something ties of musical hair-splitting, one may con­ else again. The band played in a small clude that there was indeed such a style: speakeasy and the music is rough and what it was, in effect, was the first de­ ready. An unknown accordion player is on liberate attempt by white musicians to play hand, as well as Melrose's barrelhouse their own kind of jazz in an authentic piano, and Manone is in a lowdown mood. (i.e., Negro) manner. For many reasons, Young Bud Freeman takes two of his it was not an entirely successful attempt, best early solos here. especially on Stomp. but some very laudable music was created He swings and growls. His break on Wail­ in the process, and most of the players ing is something else. Tesch's solo on involved-those who survived-maintained Stomp opens with some liquid lower reg­ their commitment to jazz throughout their ister, then switches into high gear for a subsequent careers. joyous 12 bars, the notes punched out The best performances on this album with an almost trumpet-like edge. Wingy's have a freshness and rough-hewn enthu­ solo features some drag-tempo in the best siasm that stands the test of time. They New Orleans manner. These were among are spirited and decidedly un-commercial, the very last "hot" records issued before despite the occasional period vocals, and the Depression closed the studio doors to they swing in their own free-wheeling man­ such uncompromising efforts. ner. They remain unique. The four remaining tracks have only Among these are Changes, with its solid their rarity to commend them. The Husk Spanier lead and fine Tesch solo-it can O'Hare sides were never issued; the per­ almost stand as a definition of his style: sonnel is unknown, but there is a lineup, the slightly sour tone; the definitely blues­ suggested by expert John Steiner, which inflected intonation; the urgency of plenti­ includes only one fairly well-known ful ideas not always under control; the name: banjoist Lou (Lew) Black of the inventions and turns of phrase that in­ erstwhile New Orleans Rhythm Kings. A BACH fluenced such diverse personalities as Pee passable cornet is featured, as is a rather Wee Russell and Benny Goodman. Mc­ nasal vocalist; it was once rumored that Kenzie's vocal, albeit a bit corny, has a Tesch was on clarinet, but he is definitely MOUTHPIECES nice feeling to it, and is certainly several not. As examples of jazz-flavored mid­ cuts above the customary white vocalisms western dance music of the period, the of the day. tracks are of limited interest to historians. $9to $22.50 Found is all instrumental. Tesch gets The Manone Disgusted and Fare Thee carried away in his solo (it is said that he Well were issued, but have become ex­ Whenyoufind a mouthpiece hated all his records, and would break treme rarities. They prove that rare not any that he came across), but it's not bad, always equals good: the rhythm plods matcosts less, something and there is a sample of young Joe Sulli­ awfully; Manone sings a lot, and not at importanthasbeen left out. van feeling his oats (dig teenaged Gene his best, and Freeman tries hard but The number on the outside of the cup designates Krupa's bass drum behind him), plus a doesn't get anywhere. The best moments · a genuine Vincent Bach mouthpiece. rare tenor solo by Mezzrow, which is very come from Wade Foster's clarinet; he well constructed and has an appealingly seems to have been an Omer Simeon man, archaic sound. Lanigan's bass is righteous. and had a nice sound. Baby, the third item from this session, Speaking of sound, the reproduction on some tracks leaves a lot to be desired, and $elmer Went unreleased until 1943 and is an in­ Box 310, Elkhart, Indiana 46514 teresting failure. The ense~ble hovers on Decca's engineers might profitably tal~e a listen to what the boys at RCA Victor Prices and specifications subject to change !he verge of collapse, and Condon's vocal without notice or obligation, is pure camp, but his banjo had found the are doing in this vein. But it's good to have this material available again, to flesh his audience. I mentio_n this because it would diffi. 1·. Youcan train to be out the obscure legend of Frank Tesche­ be macher, whose music still has a message. cult to know on the basis of this LP :,~ an announceror D.J.! If today's youngsters wonder what that without having heard Cain in person. The ( message might be, let them consider that album is a mish-mash of 12 tracks, most · Tesch was in his early 20s when he made of them hits, with rock by these records: a middle-class Chicago boy H. B. Barnum and Oliver Nelson. Cain who had started on violin, but crossed who has nearly all the solo space, is unde; . the tracks when he heard other voices. wraps and never has a chance to get into Few tried harder to make the music their it. Jackie Kelson and Howard Roberts are own, and when he made it, it was some­ present in the accompaning band but only thing special. -Morgenstern Johnson solos-a very brief stint in Respect. This is the typical Capitol treatment. I would guess that Capitol wastes more talent each year than some independent SOULSTIRRINGS labels have on their entire roster. One Our Free VoiceAnalysis Tells You shudders to think what might have hap­ WhetherYou Have The Talent To pened to a Groove Holmes or Jack Mc­ BecomeA BroadcastPersonality! BY BOBPORTER Duff, had they been handled in this man- ' IMMEDIATE DEMAND • Radio· TV stations ner. everywhere need both men and women to take over important good-paying jobs The same unswinging sound is present right now. Free placement assistance! , Chicken Fat (Impulse A- on all the tracks. Best of a bad lot is TRAIN AT HOME DR. IN ONE OF OUR 9152) The Way I Feel, a John Patton line STUDIO SCHOOLS• You can study broad· which is one of Cain's favorite tunes. Capi: cast techniques at home, in your spare Rating:**** time, or in one of our many studio schools Henry Cain, The Funky Organization of to! would have had a better product and throughout the country under the super• Cain a better debut LP if less money and vision of our Directing Faculty of 8 Famous (Capitol ST 2688) Broadcasters. Accredited Member National Rating:**½ fewer players had been involved. The Home Study Council and National As• rating is entirely for Cain and his po­ sociation of Trade and Technical Schools. The Best of (Verve V/V6- 8721) tential. Rating: * * * * * Although the title of Jimmy Smith's Approved for Veterans' Educational latest LP is apt, it might better have been Assistance Benefits ("G.I. Bill")! Little Richie Varola (Verve V/V6-8722) Check coupon for special information Rating:** titled The Best of Jimmy Smith with Orchestra. The organist's Verve affiliation It is hard to imagine an LP so funky has found him with big-band backing on Send to CAREER ACADEMY's division that it loses some commercial potential, most of his dates. of famous broadcasters for free book­ but the Brown set may just be the one. All the tracks are hits of recent vintage, let, record and voice analysis details! Brown is the "downest" city blues guitar­ and there has been no artificial shortening ist I have heard, and here he has help of the performances. I Got My Mojo r------, from Herb Ellis and Arthur Wright, so Working and Hoochie Coache Man have the wattage gets pretty heavy at times. vocals by the leader, and Old Man River The playing utilizes contemporary rock ~~M~~ ..~~~~~~J,."' ~ has .a beautiful solo, but aside Milwaukee,Wisconsin 53202 rhythm, but the sound of the players, from that, the album is straight ahead I want to know if I have broadcasting aptitude especially Brown, echoes some of the worth developing. Please rush more information. country blues feeling. If you remember Jimmy Smith. Smith is, of course, the the sides that Big Joe Turner made with master, and for those interested in a sam­ pling of his hits, this is the best possible name age Elmore James on guitar, you will know what I mean. package. address phone Oliver Nelson helped out with some To be truthful, a real Best of Jimmy writing and contributed two previously Smith would have to include selections __...... ,. city/state/zip N40:3-7/68 recorded originals, but unfortunately his from his Blue Note dates, but I suspect tunes don't fit this setting very well. that, eventually, Blue Note will get l ~ Jiam interestedin: □ HomeStudy around to that. L ., ...... -"' _ □ SchoolStudy O G. I. Bill ___ _J The most interesting tracks are a couple of Ellis pieces that feature the composer Little Richie Varola is a 23-year-old on 12-string guitar. Sad But True uses organist featured with the Louis Prima the background Chuck Berry introduced in show. His record has both the strength his recording of Memphis, and has some and weakness of Prima's Vegas lounge­ beautiful playing by Ellis and Brown. style jazz. I'm Goin' to Jackson is not in any way The album is well programmed, with an ~onnected with the Nancy Sinatra hit, but admirable variety of music, but Varola 1s a slow blues of exceptional power. is primarily a flashy organist whose antics For young musicians interested in root would appear to be visual in nature. He city blues, this album is an excellent place can't play a ballad, and his Meditation is to start. Even a normally placid player like a ghastly mistake. The backing by the Gerald Wiggins (on organ here) is moved Prima band is good; the arrangements are to get into the groove. If I am hearing this crisp and well played. There is swing of a right, I think Brown would fit beautifully superficial kind on the up-tempo tracks, with Lloyd Glenn, Jesse Stone, Maxwell but again the focus is entirely on Varola, Davis and other of the older LA blues­ which is strange since the mighty Sam HERE NOW! and NEW! blowers. Recommended for the work of Butera is present. ------Brown and Ellis. While the Prima band might be a good "" Organist Henry Cain has been working place to develop showmanship, it is not MOUTHPIECES around Los Angeles for several years the best surrounding for musical growth. For Trumpet, Cornet, and Flugelhorn. usually in the company of I think Varola has some growing to do, From oll Dealers and/or Della Reese. He has a good sense and according to the note, he will be FERGUSON, BELL LIMITED (Directors: Jack Bell, managing/ of construction, a flair for picking good making a national tour this spring. Per­ Maynord Ferguson, technical) tempos, and is a powerful and entertaining haps the next time out things will perk BRADFORD 1, ENGLAND player who establishes good rapport with up a bit. ~ , 32 □ DOWN BEAT ◄