Morgenstern, Dan. [Record Review: the World's Greatest Jazzband
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ber, clarinet, soprano sax; Bud Freeman, tenor moving and inspiring force here. solo honors sax; Ralph Sutton, piano; Bob Haggart, bass; Gus U M OJ A M U S I C C 0. go to bassists Clarke and McBee and Bon~er Johnson Jr,, drums, vocal. PRESENTS on piano. (There is also the usual per~usstve Rating:****½ w~· labryinth of clicks. clacks, clonks and dings:) Most Christmas albums are gimmicks, and. There seems to be some mix-up regarding I guess this one is too. But it's a musical tune titles, sequence and timing on the album. gimmick, and in a sense it's my favorite of all I have referred to the titles as they appear on the WGJ's albums. There's a lot of variety the record label. here. a lot of imagination. and a lot of fun. For side one. 4½ stars; for side two. I½ Much of the imagination is in the arrange -/'/Isch stars. ments, only a few of which are routine. Hark really swings, opening with Wilber's clarinet and Johnson's drums only and building from there. Drnmmeris a duet for Lawson's muted CECILTAYLOR horn and Johnson (who throughout is in su Ted Daniel BUELLNEIDLINGER perb form). Rudolph features a zany vocal by Dickenson and Johnson. NEW YORK CITY R&B-Barnaby KZ 31035: O.P.; Cell Walk tor Celeste; Cindy's Main Mood; A little masterpiece is Silent Nii:ht, done at Things Ain't What They Used to Be. a fine, funky slow drag with superb solos by Personnel: Taylor, piano; Neidlinger, bass; Bil Dickenson (with plunger), Wilber (on so ly Higgins, drums, tympani (tracks 1,_ 3, 4) or Dennis Charles, drums (track 2); Archie Shepp, prano) and Freeman (very relaxed). Haggart's tenor sax (tracks 2.4); on track 4, Clark Terry, good sound and time are much in evidence, trumpet; Roswell Rudd, trombone; Steve Lacy, and Sutton's celeste is a nice touch. soprano sax; Charles Davis, baritone sax, added. Jini:le Bells is another coup. graced by Recorded 1961. Rating:****½ Vic's dirty plunger (the same opening he used on Leo Watson's immortal version) and his The extraordinary thing about this album is Louis-ish vocal, nicely backed by Yank, plus its timeless quality. It is at once old and new, yet always fresh. ajaunty Wilber soprano bit and more of Vic's Though this was Neidlinger's date, there's plunger. White is done with a slight blues no doubt that Taylor is the dominant factor, tinge. features Ralph at his best. and has a fine and that he deserves the co-leadership billing Freeman spot, very lyrical. (no matter that the reason for listing it as And then there's Christmas Soni:, a vehicle Taylor-Neidlinger is to cash in on what popu for Butterfield's lovely fluegelhorn, with a larity exists for Cecil). soulful comment from Bud. A pretty one. The intensity of the music has not decayed The rest is nice, too. A jolly bit of musical in its years of non-release. It's nice. finally, to cheer, and, by the way, an excellent in have the album. but in retrospect it obviously troduction to jazz for people with ears hith wouldn·t have done much to get Cecil more in erto clogged to its charms. They'll be able to the public ear had it been issued in 1961, recognize the tunes. ...' when it was recorded . -morgenstern Clifford Thornton 'in the notes, Neidlinger tells Nat Hentoff that his inclusions of O.P. (for the late bassist PRICE$4.95 each Oscar Pettiford) was done "so that Cecil Postage & Handling: U.S. & Can. add 25<; Foreign, $1.00 would be playing a 12-bar blues." He also Reissue U M O J A M U S I C C 0. points out that it's the only recording of Cecil 338 East92 St. New York, NY 10028 playing a 12-bar blues. If you think the blues form boxes him in. just listen. Not too many Roundup blues like this. This and Cindy's, the two trio Yusef tracks. are the most together. Cell Walk, which adds the always-inter by Dan Morgenstern esting but not yet nearly fully developed Lateef's Shepp. is the eccentric Taylor at work. It's a An abundance of reissues in the jazz field stream-of-qrnsciousness. impressionistic mu has been accumulating, and we've decided to Music sical collage with numerous movements and catch up with some of it in survey form. by moods, Actually. each of the 19 albums discussed Alnur Music Thini:.1·is ajoy. albeit an odd one. Cecil has below deserves as much space (and in many a far more bluesy feeling here. and his backing cases. more) as the new stuff. but complete Alnur Music has added to its catalogue two new and much sought after STAGE BAND ARRANGEMENTS: is unbelievably intense and hot (making it hot personnel listings alone would take up more Warm Hearted Blues: Big Band Arrangement. re for the soloists, that is). In <1ddition to brief pages than we have available! corded on Album ..A Flat. G Flat & C", by Yusef La solos by Cecil. Shepp, Terry. Rudd and Lacy. teef (Impulse Records) . .... $6.00 Billie Holiday ~, Oasis: Big Band Arrangement, recorded on Album there's a juicy collective improvisation before The current renewal of interest in the work ..The Golden Flute··. by Yusef Lateef (Impulse Re the closing theme statement. of perhaps the greatest female jazz singer of cords) . $6.50 New music by Taylor (even old music) is them all was sparked not so much by the Other Works: [! Yusef Lateef Method On How to improvise hard to come by these days. This is an impor release of the film purportedly about her life (soul music). ................ $4.95 tant release. · - smith as by the discovery of her God Bless the Mr. Lateef used this method while teaching at The Child by several popular singers and groups. Manhattan School of Music in New York and pri vate students. So pleased were his students and so Appropriately. Columbia's two-record set, expressive the results. he has made this method the first in a spate of recent Billie LPs. is titled available to the public. God Bless The Child (G 30782). Considering :; Yusef Lateel's Transcribed Solos for Flute, Oboe, THE WORLD'SGREATEST and Tenor Saxophone ................ $3.00 JAZZBAND that the label owns some of the best things Alnur has received numerous letters requesting Billie ever made, it is disappointing. To those material such as this from Mr. Lateef. HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SWING-World who already own the magnificent three-record .. Yusef Lateef's Flute Book of the Blues. .. $2.50 jazz 5-2: Hark the Herald Angels Sing; Little · : Trio for Piano, Violin & Flute. .. $3.00 boxes (The Golden Years, Vol. 1&2). the total Saxophone Quintet# 1 .. $4.50 Drummer Boy; Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer; Silent Night; Joy to the World; Jingle Bells; White absence of discographical information is frus Postage: U.SA add 20c per order: Christmas; I'll be Home For Christmas; The Foreign add 50c per order trating; to those new to Billie's art. the lack of Christmas Song; Winter Wonderland; Deck the even the slightest hint as to who the great Address orders to: Halls. supporting musicians are is an insult. ( I've ALNUR MUSIC Personnel: Yank Lawson, trumpet; Billy But terfield, trumpet, fluegelhorn, Vic Dickenson, been assured by Columbia that the set will be P.O. Box 343 Teaneck. N.J. 07666 trombone, vocal. Ed Hubble, trombone; Bob Wil- issued with new notes. but after holding the 22 □ down beat .